Walker...why does that sound familiar? Suddenly it clicked. "Oh, I think I'm in his class. World history or something? He a hardass?"
Herman chuckles. "Oh, definitely. But only to cover how much he gives a s+#~. I'll say ...if you sympathize with fascists, watch out. That goes for both of us. Not that you guys do!"
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Kaoru groans as Herman responds. With the possible exception of ancient history -- pre-guns at a minimum -- she hated history. It was just so...boring. It was a story with no real plot or direction. No magic. No imagination. Just old dead dudes fighting each other. And it was presented as fact. Like it somehow hadn't been twisted to suit the narrative of whomever had won. At least with ancient history there were gods and monsters. Myths and legends. Or, y'know, people in awesome armor with interesting weapons locked in cinematic fight scenes (or at least, that's what all the wars looked like in her head).
Though even with ancient history, there tended to be lots of pointless memorization of facts and dates you could just as easily look up online. I mean, why was it even a class? When in real life would you ever need this information? It's not like they had ancient artifacts with mysterious powers they needed to research. Or like someone mentioned in their history books would suddenly show up trying to kill them, and they'd have to use what they knew just to survive. So really, what was the point?
Wait, what had Herman said about fascists? "That's...oddly specific."
Bronwyn's eyebrows shot up - "Wait, the new history teacher? He's Go's husband! Ah - sorry, I was really going to try to avoid fangirling about her. Your mom's really great though. Sorry, if you wanted to introduce yourself that way then you'd- sorry."
Herman blushes a bit but tries to play it off. "He's weirdly cool with being known as 'Go's husband.' He used to do that stuff, too. Family tradition. But, you know, I'm not some privileged celebrity kid. Not that I don't have privilege!" Herman scratches the back of his head awkwardly.
Go? Like...the game? No wait... Now that she thought about it, she vaguely recalled hearing that name in reference to some superhero. But...if Mr Walker was his dad. And his dad was married to a superhero. Then the superhero was probably his mom. And super powers were often passed down genetically....
Her brain promptly short-circuited. I mean, sure, she had looked up Halcyon City a little bit before she moved and seen references to superheroes and supervillains. But there was no way she was going to come in contact with that, right? Except now there was a possibly powered guy standing right smack-dab in front of her. She had no idea what to think or what to do about this. He probably doesn't actually have powers. There's no way. ...right?
"And before anyone asks, NO I CAN'T FLY."
"Oh. Sure. I didn't mean he wasn't a good hero too. Go just means a lot to me and..." Bronwyn closed her eyes and let out a quick breath. "Okay, sorry. I mean, I know that, like, they have public identities, I just didn't mean to... So aside from not liking fascists, which is hopefully not too distinguishing, what do you do?"
While waiting for the group to find a class to peek in on, Alexis was playing a game in her head. It was called 'Who could take me in a fight'.
The young asian boy, certainly not. Alexis doubted they had ever been in a real fight before. The prep girl with her fancy phone and make up was also out, for similar reasons. The big guy who'd spotted her might require fifteen seconds to put down, depending on if he was trained or not. Their guide seemed the toughest so far, and she figured it would take a minute at least to get in a knockout blow.
Then a mixed heritage male joined, and Alexis had trouble getting a read on him. Something about him raised her hackles quite a bit, as she observed with another group of people between her and them. She would need to observe him further. But getting closer now was just asking for discovery. They didn't seem to heading for any class.
The other girls that the athlete had talked to seemed to be heading to one. Her course determined, Alexis weaved through the crowds of people until she caught sight of that blue qipao again, tailing it into a classroom. She waited a minute before slipping in, finding the seat closest to the door and hoping not to be noticed. In the meantime, she could listen and pretend to be a part of some schoolgirl clique. It made her happy to imagine that.
"You can't convince a fascist. You just introduce his head to the concrete. I also like skating, weird movies, and f%+#ing with the patriarchy. And good music, duh."
Kaoru breathes a silent sigh of relief as Herman reveals he can't fly. Ok, good. No abilities then. Just a normal kid with famous parents.
And good music, duh.
"Doesn't everybody think their taste in music is good?" Kaoru's voice conveyed skepticism. But then, he had already surprised her with both his comment about having privilege and 'f*cking with the patriarchy'. He certainly wasn't like most of the people she had known at her old school.
"Yeah! That's why you listen to it all! Some of it is self-indulgent s+&$, but might still have a good riff! Or beat! Or something!"
Go's husband...?
Shaun gets quiet as he starts thinking. Go's a superhero, semi-famous, but that's not the connection...Christ, how long had it been since he'd been on a hero wiki? He was rusty on this stuff...there was Go...married DaDamerican...DaDamerican was the grandson of...OF...HOLY S$&%.
Shaun's eyes grow huge as he stares directly at Herman. "Holy s#@!. Holy s+&~, you're-..oh my god, you're-...I-I, uh..." At this point the biggest, dumbest smile breaks over his face as he stage whispers "You're American Dream's great-grandson...!!!
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Alexandra settles onto a bench, not far from the tour group's new arrival. another young woman, whose skin and hair match Alexandra's in tone though her hair is cut short, Septum and eyebrow pierced, and her clothes consist of a strategically damaged pair of jeans, A top with the neck hole wide enough to slump down over one od her shoulders, and a dark sports bra.
New kids The new girl, one ms. Gillian Walker, asked her older sister Scoped them out? anyone worth knowing?
Well, the one in the skirt that is definitely against dress code, not that you know what that is, seems fairly uninterested. might just be being shy. plays the cello. The one that's passing as a boy is a hacker, and seems almost funny. might be worth getting to know
Oh my gods, you like her! Gillian giggles First the 8 foot tall guy, now the new guy who doesn't actually have most of the parts you want a guy for.
Don't be crude! and I don't like her... well, I do, but not in the... I don't want to f%!@ her, gods you're a pest. Alexandra sighs as Gillian giggles more, going red in the face. More to my point, the redhead is belligerent, loud, and was in a fight recently. and Aggressively Scottish
You don't need to tell me who THAT is Gillian says, as the group runs into a boy in a fauxhawk That lunatic's kid.
Yeah. wonder which powers he has. definitely strength and invulnerability, moves and carries himself like someone with those.
And who is she? Gillian asks, indicating Alexis
Not someone who goes here. only 4 on the list of new students. saw it when Wood was chewing me out.
Already
found out River was the guy who had been spreading that rumor about me. gave him a piece of my mind Art this, Gillian smiles
Juniors? She asks
Sophomores
Then I should go meet them Gillian smiles, getting up from her seat.
Hey, Bron! Gillian says, walking over, adjusting her clothes a little. You still on sheepdog duty? her tone is less Acerbic than Alexandra's would be delivering the same line.
But Xan told me you had a crop of Newbies. Wanted to come meet them myself. Who are they?
It had been very nice seeing Bronwyn, even as truncated as it had been since she had to get to class and Bronwyn was playing school tour guide. But there had been something else that had caught her attention. An alley stink of someone who had clearly not bathed properly for some time.
She caught the barest glimpse of someone darting away, trying to blend in with the pack of students heading to class. Noting that the person was still evidently young, Shayera didn't set off any alarms like she would have if it had been an adult, so she filed that away for later.
After attendance had been taken, however, Shayera decides to investigate further. She obtains a hall pass citing a need to use the bathroom, then kicks off her heels so she can move silently through the now-empty halls. She picks up the trail of the unwashed stink and follows it to the locker rooms where she hears the showers going.
Making a decision, she returns to class.
The next period, her nose picks up the scent of the shampoo and body wash that had been in use in the locker room showers. As Mr. Houghton lectures on the structure of iambic pentameter, Shayera glances back and notices the still slightly unkempt girl at the back of the classroom. She gives her a smile.
"Yeah, real bumper crop of midyears. We've got Cassie, Kaoru, Shaun, and Herman. Guys, this is Gillian."
Bronwyn glanced at her phone again with a grimace. "Hmm, gonna be cutting things close if we're gonna see everything... Okay, recording studio's, next, but I'll show you who to talk to in the office about getting absences preapproved for independent study. You'll need that if you're gonna try to book recording time, or pop over to the MakeSpace, or if your life is... Complicated."
"Oh! There's a form you should definitely sign too. There was some kind of glitch with the standardized tests we took right before break, and like half the school's gotta retake 'em. So it's either an all day study hall on Wednesday, or, they cut a deal for free admission to the Halcyon Museum of Natural History. Definitely better than just sitting in one room all day.
"Either way," she pointed to a set of benches. "I usually grab lunch over there with some friends. Obviously you don't have to, but feel free to come sit with us. Anyways, let's keep going!"
Kaoru looks over as she heard a vaguely familiar voice. Not familiar enough that she recognized it, but familiar enough in that it reminded her of someone. Yet another person was approaching them. Man, Bronwyn's popular. That or everyone just wants to gawk at the fresh meat up close. She looks back over where Gillian had approached them from, noticing Alexandra. Is she stalking us? It would have been more likely had their school tour managed to get further than it had instead of getting almost constantly interrupted. Her eyes flicked between the two. Now that she was looking, they seemed vaguely similar. Maybe that's why Gillian's voice had caught her attention?
She grimaces as their guide announces they would be going to a museum. The study hall would almost be better (but only if she could use her computer). She had been dragged to too many museums already. Something about 'the importance of culture.' The only one she had actually enjoyed had been the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago.
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Alexis was listening intently to the teacher, an older man with glasses on a chain explaining the basics of Shakespearean poetry, as he showed examples from Twelfth Night.
"'He named Sebastian. I my brother know
yet living in my glass. Even such and so
in favor was my brother. and he went
still in this fashion, color, ornament
. For him I imitate. Oh, if it prove
tempest are kind and salt waves fresh in love!'
This line by Viola shows her willingness and desire to keep the memory of her brother, who she thinks is dead still, by continuing to play the part of a man in his name and image. Now, who can explain to me what the last line of this part means?" He asked the class. Alexis really wanted to know. Hopefully someone would answer the question.
Then she glanced at the girl in the qipao, and met her eyes.
She froze up. Someone had noticed her. But she wasn't unwashed or wearing tattered clothes. So why had she been noticed? She went through a few scenarios. Not likely a capture agent. Not likely law enforcement. Not likely vigilante. So why would a normal young student smile at her?
Because she thought that Alexis was pretty?
She felt a great flurry of confusing emotions in herself, heat rising to her cheeks as she missed the answer to the question the teacher posed. She was flustered and unable to figure out a response. Fight or flight didn't apply here, and she wallowed in her emotional cocktail. She barely noticed how the rest of the girl's clique noticed her and snicker about her mismatched clothing.
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Shayera watches the show of deer-in-headlights reactions to her making eye contact with the new girl. Definitely not really supposed to be here, she thinks. But she probably should be, if she's sneaking in to take a shower.
Shayera gives her what she hopes is an encouraging smile then turns back to pay attention to the lesson. Still, she keeps her other senses trained on the girl in case she bolts after class. I'd have a hard time keeping up with her in this qipao if she rabbits. Gotta move quick but cautiously.
Finally, the lesson on Shakespeare ends and Shayera is moving to the door as quick as she can smoothly make it. The mystery girl had positioned herself by the exit, so Shayera had to weave through the students to reach her before she was gone. "Hi!" she says trying to make it so she'd appear rude if she left without responding. She sticks her hand out in greeting while trying to maneuver to stay clear of the students filing out of the classroom. "Nice to meet you. I'm Shayera."
Worst case scenario: She was wearing this girl's clothes stolen from her gym locker and recognized it, but didn't want to accuse outright of stealing.
Best case scenario: This Shayera was attempting to get to know her because she thought she was pretty and wanted to treat her to lunch and conversation.
Alexis didn't know which one scared her the most.
"...I..." She was so quiet, her voice cracking from disuse as she found herself staring at Shayera's pleasant, too bright smile. She was a shining example of the other side, Pretty and perfect, probably with a nice boyfriend, perfect grades, on a sports team and in a foreign language club. She was everything that Alexis was not.
If she wasn't directly in her way, she would have shouldered past her, but she was afraid she'd hurt someone as fragile as she looked if she did that. "I...I'm no one. Excuse me," She said weakly, trying to manuever around her towards the door.
Dreams couldn't hurt you if you didn't try to make them real.
Herman looks at his schedule. "Geometry? Oh, great. Anyone else?"
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Slightly put-off by the apparent dismissal by Herman, Shaun had a moment of “brilliance.” ”Uh, me! Yea, I got geometry too.” In truth he didn’t have a clue what any of his classes were, he’d never even glanced at his class schedule (why bother when he wasn’t gonna attend any of them?), but this was a relation of THE American Dream! He was going wherever Herman was going, no question.
"Classic? Bet they made you learn Pachelbel's Canon too. Great cello part there."
"Yeah, everyone has to learn that one." she sighs. "So bloody repetitious!"
When Bronwyn heads over to the group of other girls, Cassie takes note. "OK, so they're *that* group here. The ones who think that money and clothes are the only important things. she thinks to herself, with a hint of jealousy, mentally noting the designer clothes they were wearing and self-consciously smoothing down her own, much cheaper clothes, the best she'd been able to do on the relatively small amount of money that Gabrielle had been able to give her. It had been easy to think that money wasn't important when she'd had more than anyone else. Now it seemed like they might be right. It was important!
"Ah, cool! Let's go together. And, yeah, my Granny Freida is something else!"
Worst case scenario: She was wearing this girl's clothes stolen from her gym locker and recognized it, but didn't want to accuse outright of stealing.
Best case scenario: This Shayera was attempting to get to know her because she thought she was pretty and wanted to treat her to lunch and conversation.
Alexis didn't know which one scared her the most.
"...I..." She was so quiet, her voice cracking from disuse as she found herself staring at Shayera's pleasant, too bright smile. She was a shining example of the other side, Pretty and perfect, probably with a nice boyfriend, perfect grades, on a sports team and in a foreign language club. She was everything that Alexis was not.
If she wasn't directly in her way, she would have shouldered past her, but she was afraid she'd hurt someone as fragile as she looked if she did that. "I...I'm no one. Excuse me," She said weakly, trying to manuever around her towards the door.
Dreams couldn't hurt you if you didn't try to make them real.
Something about the girl caused Wingblade's instincts to scream in warning, but Shayera stood firm and stayed in her way. She leans in, whispering, "You can stay, if you'd like. Or, wait. I've got Arabic next period. You won't get much out of that, and you will be noticed. Umm. Okay, I got it."
She digs into her fashionable purse at her side and pulls out a lovely silk-wrapped bundle. Handing it to the mystery girl, she says, "Here. A gift. It's Chinese tea, all the way from China. If you'll meet me after school, I'll make some for you."
And if you decide to go, I'll be able to follow you.
Bronwyn couldn't help but notice Cassie glancing back over her shoulder with a slightly fretful expression. "Your outfit's really cute, by the way. Did you, umm, did you want to meet any of those girls? I don't know if there's time now, but I'd be happy to introduce you around at lunch. Just come find me if you want."
***
Bronwyn hurriedly gave Mary-Beth the low down as they headed towards their lunch table, Bronwyn's head ducked down to her friend's level.
"Look Mary-Beth, I know I might've been wrong, but there was... a feeling something on that side of things was going on, and it seemed like it was Cassie. Just keep an eye out to see if she's got any trinkets you recognize from your books, or heck, once you see her, if she's familiar from any of the shops."
"Fine Bron, I'll pay attention, but you know I don't have the Eye for this you do."
Bafflement flits across Alexis' face as she takes the odd gift. It confused her, as she looked at the wrapped package. "...I don't have any money..." She tells her, struggling not to drop the silk enveloped tea like it was scalding her. Her fight or flight instincts finally kicked in for her, as she pushed past.
She wasn't able to fully avoid Shayera. What seemed strange was the fact that getting checked by a small girl felt like she'd just been clipped by a truck. She ran past, face flushed and flustered, but clutching the package to her chest as she tried to make sense of this.
She spent the next few hours camped under the bleachers, staring at the package and torn about what she needed to do with it. She'd stolen before, but this was something she didn't need at all. She couldn't keep something that wasn't essential for her survival. She would certainly want it back even for just the silk probably. Shayera was probably angry at her for running away as well.
It seemed strange that Alexis cared enough to even remember her name.
It was stranger still that she was waiting outside the school now after classes looking for her, holding the tea close to her chest. It smelled really good. Her stomach growled, but she could forage later. First she had to make this right.
The girl pushed past her and nearly sent Shayera flying across the hall. She spun and planted her feet -- made awkward because of the heels she wore today -- and barely recovered before falling on her rear. A twinge in her ankle told her she'd twisted it bad, but slowly the pain recedes as she disguises a limp while she heads toward the foreign language wing.
============
When lunch finally arrived, Shayera has to grind her teeth to keep the joyous smile off her face when she sees the empty space next to Bronwyn opposite Mary-Beth.
"Ni hao, you two," she interrupts, claiming the seat and setting her tray down. She pulls out a pair of lacquered chopsticks from her purse and starts eating her vegetable stir fry. "So how was break?"
"Your outfit's really cute, by the way. Did you, umm, did you want to meet any of those girls? I don't know if there's time now, but I'd be happy to introduce you around at lunch. Just come find me if you want."
"Uh, No. That's OK." Cassie replied, not wanting to confront the fashionistas whilst having to wear the cheaper clothes she currently had to put up with.
As the tour started to wind down, Kaoru ducks away to head to her own first class. It only took 5 minutes into her algebra class to make her start to regret blowing off placement tests. How did people not already know this material? At least it'll be easy? Though math probably would have been one of the few classes she could actually apply to something useful, so 'easy' wasn't exactly the best choice for it.
What would have been nice for an easy class would have been Japanese. At least it would have let her practice. Her mom had wanted her to take Latin, of course, big surprise there. And unfortunately, as one of the few semi-elective courses, foreign language was one of the things her she had gotten a bit of a 'choice' in, meaning her mom had to be involved in the decision too. As a compromise, she had managed to talk her into letting her take Chinese. I mean, she already knew kanji, so the written portion should be a breeze right? Though she had actually meant to go in and change it to Japanese when she was also 'fixing' her records. But between moving, completely redoing her image, and attempting to get around Delphi's internet blocks, it had just slipped her mind. And to her chagrin, she quickly discovered that her intro Chinese class had apparently focused more on grammar and vocabulary than writing, meaning she had a lot to catch up on. No, not catch up on. You don't care, remember? Besides, you can always change your grade later. As well as actually switch to Japanese next year.
English had been a bit of a blur, her brain too focused on her slowly filling bladder despite the lack of liquids she had drunk. As she suspected, she had not yet found any gender-neutral restrooms in the school. And she certainly wasn't about to ask. So she ended up ducking out during lunch and running home. It was better that way. At least then she wouldn't have to navigate the political minefield that was lunch. I mean, sure, Bronwyn had said they were free to sit with her, but she was pretty clearly only being polite. Plus being the awkward hanger-on into a pre-established clique would be awkward. And really, thinking about the whole thing just made her stomach knot in anxiety.
The rest of the day slipped by. History surprisingly wasn't that bad, but that was mostly because it was spent with Herman's dad introducing himself and catching up to where the rest of the class was rather than anything meaningful. Shop class was unfortunately only on Tuesday/Thursday, so she missed out on that. Somehow, despite the general lack of activity of the day, she felt exhausted by the end of it. The feeling only deepened as she realized if she went back to the house that most likely she'd be grilled by her mom about her first day. Instead, she wrapped her coat around herself, found a nice spot under a tree near the lunch tables, and pulled out her battered, old headphones. As the music started to play, she closed her eyes and leaned back. I'll just take a quick break to rejuvenate myself. Then I'll head back. And then she let the music sweep her away.
”Yea she is! My gran’da’ hassa collection of her merch from whe’ he was a kid, I swea’ I watched tha’ ol’ reel of her doing that exhibition at New York once a DAY for a while! I gotta poster of her on m’wall at home, she’s one’a my biggest inspirations.” At this point he leans in close to Herman. ”Now, be straight wit’me laddie: wha’d You inherit? My bet’s on ta strength n’ flight.”
Herman laughs at the conspiratorial tone. "Well, it's not clear. Dad, her grandson, was around peak human, so her powers were waning generation by generation. So it's possible I mostly take after my mom's side. But, no, can't fly. I can hear a pin drop down the block, which is not useful at all and more annoying than anything, but nothing so useful as flying."
”Badass! So what’s your hero name? Where y’favor for patrols? I could adjust mine, team up a tad? Eh?” Cue a playful and slightly too forceful elbow jab to the ribs.
"Wait, seriously? You ...go on patrols? Do the hero thing?"
”Hell yea’! Love it! Kickin’ ass and keepin’ the streets safe. Back home I was ta’ only game in town, but here I fin’lly got some help.” Shaun folds his arms behind his head as he smiles broadly. ”Not gon’lie, being here’s bin my dream for years! But c’mon, stop stallin’, what you doin’ for the public nowadays?”
"Training, mostly. My strength ...I have to be careful. Some guy mugs another guy out of desperation, I 'keep the street safe' recklessly, his head is a fine red mist, just because society wasn't supporting him the right way. How do you keep your powers in check?"
You can almost hear Shaun’s mental record scratch. ”Uh...er, well y’see...ah, w-well, I’m working my way towards wha’ya’da’s got, that ‘peak hum’n’ thing...” His smile is a bit more forced now.
Brownyn had run well over a hundred miles in the week Shayera had been out of town, and her heart hadn't once beat as fast or as hard as when her girlfriend sat down next to her.
She could see Mary-Beth's lips moving, and she could feel the vibration of the bench as Shayera laughed quietly and replied, but she had no idea what either one of them had said.
She slid her hand over to rest next to Shayera's, their pinkies pressed gently together on the bench between them.
***
She really had tried to tell her parents. But they really had been busy, and when she'd tested the ground with her mom... it hadn't been promising. It was a rare pajamas and tv night with her mom, and they'd been bingeing their favorite cop show when Bronwyn slowly realized that one of the women was gay... or bi, or something, and that this episode was going to be about telling her parents. It wasn't like she and her mom had never seen someone queer on tv before, but they'd never talk-talked about it, and before she knew what she was doing she'd said, "That must be so hard for her." Her mom nodded, "It's sad it took her this long to be honest with her parents. Hard for them too. I hope you never know how hard it is to watch your child make that kind of mistake."
"How's it a mistake? I mean, if she really does like that other girl, then what should she do?" Her mom had shrugged, "Maybe mistake isn't the right word. But giving up kids, a real family? It's closing off such an important part of life forever. You've seen how emotionally closed off she is, that's what happens when your love is incomplete. That's why we're always on Patrick to patch things up with his wife." She reached over to hug Bronwyn tight, "You kids and your happiness are the most important things in the world to me and your dad. You know that's why we push you all so hard, right Bronwyn? We just want you to have your best life. Thank God you make that so easy."
***
She left her hand exactly where it was and fished out her phone with the other, awkwardly texting a quick message.
Bronwyn: I'm sorry. I'll tell them soon.
Wingblade's senses had been on edge ever since the girl to whom she had given the tea had pushed past her. She was strong. Too strong. Those thoughts ran through her mind during Arabic, and the fact that if she was living in alleys and showering in lockers, then she was potentially dangerous if pushed the wrong way.
She strained for a whiff of the foreign tea, and ultimately had to put her purse in her locker to decontaminate herself. She stayed alert but caught no scent of the mystery girl before lunch.
Lunch, though, was able to pull her attention away briefly. Instead of tea, she could sense Bronwyn's heart beating and rising perspiration. It was endearing, though she only let her fingers touch hers. What was already pretty obvious got needlessly confirmed when Bronwyn tried a one-handed text message. Though with Abacus's handheld device in her purse stored in her locker, she had to lean forward to catch a glimpse of Bron's screen and the message on it.
"So, I take it your breaks were pretty uneventful, then?" she says in between bites. Before the coded message got too awkward, she laughs and shakes her head. "I'm kidding! Sorry that Dad took me to China, I know it totally makes everyone else's break seem plain. But I got you all stuff," she says to the usual lunch crew. At the brightened faces of Ronnie, Kyle and Mary-Beth (since Marco wasn't with them due to the obvious awkwardness), she gives an apologetic look. "Which all still remains packed. I got in really late last night. Tomorrow, I promise."
She mentally had to rearrange the gifts to their intended recipients, since Bronwyn's gift of the special tea was now in the hands of the mystery girl.
"That's really sweet of you, Shayera. Sorry I didn't get you anything from... Halcyon." She'd been entirely sincere in her apology until the very end, when, realizing she was being an eentsy bit crazy, she tried to inject a little face-saving irony. "Your dress is really lovely by the way." She couldn't say everything she wanted to to her girlfriend, couldn't make all the plans she should with her teammate. For a moment she wanted everyone else to just disappear. Or at least for one of the newbies to show up so she could squish up next to Shayera... And help them get situated at a new school. She could want both things.
***
She'd finished her warm-up and was waiting to talk to Coach about some alternate grips for her javelin when she saw Kaoru under the tree. She signaled to Ronnie to cover for her, but her friend gave her a withering look first. "Bronwyn. You're not going to cut in the first practice back, right." "What? No, I'm still in the uniform and everything. Just distract coach while I make sure he's okay. "
She jogged quickly over, her footfalls getting heavier as she got closer, trying to give Kaoru time to notice her. "Hey Kaoru, everything okay?"
Shayera lets a little giggle escape her throat at Bronwyn's 'apology,' then straightens to show off her dress a little bit. "Thanks! I really wanted to buy you one, but I would have had to special order one because there wasn't any for your height, and I only had the week," she explains.
She finishes eating, being cryptically vague about the things she did in China if anyone asks. Then she excuses herself. "Sorry I gotta run, but I still need to make some time with the fashionistas. They gave me the run-down on the new kids. Purely in terms of what they're wearing."
She stands and stops herself from leaning in to give Bronwyn a quick peck on the cheek. Instead, she puts a hand on her shoulder and leans in. "I was hoping to go watch your practice after school, but something came up. Maybe I'll call you later tonight?"
"Abacus, delay pickup. Standby," she tells her phone, then stuffs it into her larger school bag that contained her tablet and a few notebooks. Her purse remained in her locker, divested of phone and bank card, so when she picks up the scent of the tea, she'll know it's not just the lingering scent from where she'd stored it.
Shayera exits the school and pauses to put on her sunglasses, wave at a few departing students, and test the air. The light breeze shouldn't make it too difficult, though if the mystery girl was downwind from her, it could be difficult locating her.
She walks casually down the steps, being careful not to be too obvious she was looking around. Relying on her scent instead of her eyes, she turns from the pickup zones and lots with the rumbling buses and toward the athletic fields. There, she catches the scent of the tea.
She pulls her sunglasses down slightly and looks back toward the school since the trail seemed to lead back towards the entrance. She's waiting for me, Shayera realizes. Turning back around, she decides to trust that she stood out easily enough that the mystery girl could spot her easily from whatever vantage point she had.
She begins walking, leaving the school grounds, and follows the sidewalk towards a strategically-placed coffee shop only a block from the campus. She doesn't hurry; her heels makes that more difficult. When Shayera reaches the store she goes inside, buys two large cups of scalding hot water, a pair of tea strainers, and snags a couple sticks of honey.
She exits the store with her purchases and then spots a couple benches near a public bus stop that are empty. She sits down and waits.
Or at least for one of the newbies to show up so she could squish up next to Shayera... And help them get situated at a new school. She could want both things.
Kaoru's feels completely relaxed, the crescendos and dips in the music carrying her effortlessly away from the stress and almost constant anxiety of her first day. She's uncertain how long she had been caught up in her escape when the sound of thumping steps cuts through the upbeat Japanese music and reaches her ears. Once upon a time, roughly 7-8 years ago, the headphones had been top of the line and included a noise cancellation feature. Over the years, she had had to enact enough repairs that certain features no longer worked quite as well as they should. Clearly, it was worse than she realized if she could actually hear someone approaching her.
She opened her eyes. A look of surprise crossed her face to see that Bronwyn was clearly heading for her and, in fact, practically upon her. Hurridly she wiped the look from her face, replacing it with her carefully practiced mask of neutral indifference. The other girl's lips were moving, so she pulled the headphones down, tapping something on her spiked bracelet to shut off the flow of music to them. Uggg, damnit. Should've kept the headphones on and just stared blankly at her as the music drowned out everything she was saying. But it was too late to do that. She'd just look dumb putting the headphones back on after pulling them off.
"-oru, everything okay?"
Bronwyn was...checking up on her? Why? Did she really look that...what? Stressed? Alone? Clearly avoiding something? What emotion had she been falsely projecting? What had the girl seen that had prompted her to come over? What did Kaoru need to make sure she never did again? "Fine. Just..." Her eyes flicked away as she tried to think of something. "...resting." God that sounded so lame out loud. But it also wasn't technically a lie. "It was a long day."
She craned her head to look back at the athlete. Between her sitting on the ground and the other woman's height, it wasn't very comfortable. She quickly stood so that they could be on slightly more equal footing. Or at least, she tried to. Part way through the move her right leg loudly declared itself to be fast asleep. She flailed awkwardly, arm reaching out to grab at the tree she had been sitting against and just barely managing not to fall completely on her ass. She colored slightly as she righted herself. Glaring daggers at a spot just to the left of one of Bronwyn's sneakers, she violently shoved her hands into the pockets of her jacket.
With her leg completely numb and only just now beginning to reassert itself with pins and needles, there would be no way she could flee. Not without embarrassing herself even more than she already had. Maybe she could get Bronwyn to leave instead. "Don't you have...sports...or something after school?" She was pretty sure teams met after school. Or at least, that's what Jack had always led her to believe. And Alexandra had said Bronwyn was a triathlete or something.
Oh, you privileged a!$*&#@! Never assume people have powers! Ugh, such a bush league screw-up! But don't make too big a deal about it, this is on you!
"Oh, cool, like my Dad! Any particular fighting style?"
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She instinctively reached out to catch Kaoru when he slipped, but stopped herself from grabbing him once he got a good grip on the tree.
"Sports? Well," she gestured at the uniform of singlet and shorts she was currently wearing, "Yes. But maybe I needed a rest too."
Still standing, she leaned easily against the tree, "Is it okay if I share your tree for a second?"
She nodded her head towards the tables with a gently teasing smile, "Just so you know, if you were hoping to find me there, lunch was actually a few hours ago. Not that you had to! Once the tour's over, all the official stuff is done, you can just tell me to get lost. But, look, moving to a new place away from all your friends can be tough, and as much as I do really like this spot, it maybe looked like you're here because you weren't sure where else to go."
Alexandra takes a long draught from her thermos, feeling the nourishing caffeine claw its way into her system. then she spots Bronwyn and New-kid, hacker... Kaoru.
Kaoru and Bronwyn, sitting in a tree- a childish part of her gets in, before she silences it. but, she knows better than to ignore an instinct.
Kaoru mentally smacked herself as Bronwyn pointed out her, in retrospect, rather obvious school uniform. Track maybe? Definitely not football anyway. She then tries to jerk away as the other girl practically invaded her personal space by leaning against the same, not-all-that-big tree she was leaning against. The size also unfortunately meant she couldn't jerk away very far as she was pretty sure the rooted object was the only thing properly keeping her upright.
Her eyes widen and her face starts to burn hotly at Bronwyn's teasing. "I wasn't- I wouldn't- I-" a few more incoherent protests make their way past her lips before she recovers enough to snap her jaw shut. What was wrong with her? Even if she was adamantly avoiding looking at Bronwyn, the close proximity was clearly throwing her for a loop. She was close enough she could smell her shampoo. It smelled vaguely tropical and fruity? Whatever it was smelled nice. Nicer than the axe body wash she had talked herself into buying (though she had successfully determined that the whole 'girls chasing you about' thing was just a marketing ploy). Even if she hadn't been able to convince herself to give up her own apple-scented shampoo. I mean, she only washed her hair twice a week and then only at night, so it would definitely be covered by her perhaps slightly over-the-top-manly body wash and deodorant, right? And it's not like it smelled of flowers. Not that really mattered since she wasn't about to run into someone with a super sniffer or anything.
As Bronwyn kept talking, she withdrew her hands from her pockets and crossed them defensively across her chest. A mental barrier if not a physical one. She really wanted to just tell her to get lost. Except she also kind of didn't? Ugg, why did she have to be so damned nice?
She stared off into space for a long moment, trying to figure out how best to respond. There was enough swirling around inside her that it made it hard to make out what was what. And besides, she wasn't sure she was supposed to have feelings. After all, guys were supposed to be Tough and Strong, weren't they? That's what Jack had always said. And everyone thought she was a guy now, right? It was only girls who got all touchy-feely and sh*t. But, well, Bronwyn was a girl, so it was different wasn't it? Not as bad? Or was it worse...?
It almost looks like Kaoru's not going to respond when she says, " 'You don't have to go home but you can't stay here', eh?" Her mouth twists into a humorless half grin as she switches from staring off into the distance to looking at the ground in front of her shoes. "Mother is 'home'. Normally she's not. Too busy working. But I guess she felt like she had to be around while we settle into Halcyon." Her eyes flick to the girl next to her. "But she's not, like- we're not" She stops herself. Closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. Focuses. Choosing her words more carefully instead of letting them run stumbling out of her mouth. "She's not bad or anything. But she's got all these plans and expectations" that I'm not living up to "about who I am and who I'm going to be. And I just know as soon as I get back I'm going to get grilled about how my first day went." Probably to see if I've forced us to move again. "And I'm just...not ready to deal with that just yet." Her voice softens. "My entire day has already been about managing expectations." She rubbed her eyes wearily. It had been exhausting.
Dropping her hand and taking a deep breath, she shifts uncomfortably, wincing as her leg continues to announce its annoyance with her via pins and needles. She looks up from the ground to continue staring off at some distant point, giving a half shrug. Attempting to hide her discomfort, she changes the topic. "So, track? Never really saw the appeal of running around in circles like a rodent stuck in a hamster wheel." Though the words match things she's said in the past, they lack the almost aggressive bravado she normally put into her tone.
She followed Shayera with all of the stealth she'd been trained to do, waiting for an opportunity to approach her. She didn't want to just jump in and throw the tea at her (Though she was certainly thinking about it), but she was also starting to starve again. She never seemed to be able to get enough food. She even missed the awful tasting bars they fed her in the unit, because at least then her stomach wasn't always growling at her.
When she saw that she was sitting by herself, she wondered who she was waiting for with her beverages. If she just barged in before such a meeting, wouldn't it be rude? She didn't want her friends to notice her the way that she had noticed her. Maybe that tour guide from before was going to meet Shayera here.
Dreams didn't hurt you if you didn't try to make them come true.
The dream was getting to know her, becoming friends, allowed to sleep over at her home (She imagined some fancy apartment or house with lots of rooms), getting her clothes, taking a bath together, and making her feel like a human that mattered.
It would never happen. She'd stolen from her. She was sure that she'd hit her badly running away too, it was miraculous she wasn't hurt. She'd probably call the cops on her the moment she appeared. She wouldn't get a chance to properly explain.
The only thing that mattered was returning the tea. But she didn't see any other way that kept her safe. So she had to fall back on her last ditch thought.
As Shayera waited, she'd suddenly find herself getting hit in the back of the head by a very light package, bouncing off and landing on the bench next to her. The tea was still intact in the original packaging. The girl was already running off, as she could see her in the distance. It seemed highly unusual she was able to accurately throw the package to her from so far away. But she'd certainly get away from her on foot at the rate she was going.
Cassie did her best to sit through the classes she had before lunch without falling asleep. English, Latin (they didn't have Ancient Greek). All of them were so boring. Gabrielle had also insisted she enrol in extra maths classes ("Geothaumaturgy is very important."). At least she'd been able to keep doing History. For obvious reasons, Gabrielle had thought that might be useful.
At lunchtime, Cassie dropped the wrapped sandwich in the bin before finding a clear space on the grass away from the more crowded areas and pulling out her phone.