Been A While (Open.)

[Odion Martins]

Odion walked out of the registrar's office with a few crumpled papers in his hand. "Ball suckers..." he muttered to himself, not daring to look up from the paper. It was covered in creases - and not by his own doing. What an annoyance. It was hard enough being here, chasing after something his heart knew was lost. He wasn't here for the classes anyways, he hated school, but he had made a promise he intended to keep.

He had become somewhat of a hacker during his... absence, and finding and signing up for every class Lani would be in was easy. He thought it juvenile to resort to stalking, but here he was, doing just that and happy for it.

They'd been through a lot, had done what they had to do in Boston, and he didn't regret a thing. If Caroline hadn't encouraged him to come back here... It would be hard to say where he would be now. He could steal anywhere, but here was where he needed to be, even if that meant conclusion.

But he knew he was too stubborn for that.

Now, if only he could find this fucking classroom. Odion looked up from his schedule, scanning everything and everyone in a way that would give somebody goosebumps.

[Adelaide McLisk]

Somebody was not, strictly speaking, Adelaide McLisk in this circumstance. The calculator had her own eerie tendency to study everyone and everything, seeing them as problems that had yet to be solved. A simple look at something flooded her mind with probabilities, and she sometimes would stare unwaveringly at someone or something for far longer than was normal or comfortable. For a moment, when Add saw someone else looking with that same kind of intensity, she wondered if she'd found someone with a similar disposition.

The probabilities ran through her as she watched him move. He looked a certain way; not simply his appearance but his way of looking. Probabilities lined up, presenting possibilities to Add. The most probable was the most boring: He was lost, slightly defensive, and likely looking for someone or something. That, Add thought she could help with.

so she moved to stand directly in his path, making sure that she was quite noticeable. Nothing about her besides her position was really that outstanding: she was passably pretty, dressed like a normal college student, albeit one that preferred skirt and leggings to jeans, and she carried a battered backpack with books. Her eyes locked onto his though, or at least tried to.

"You are lost," she stated flatly, counting on the probability. "It is your first time here and no one thought to give you directions to the actual locations of your classes," she paused. "I believe I can help."

No, that didn't come off as awkward and robotic at all.

[Odion Martins]

Odion caught sight of a pretty brunette, and his lips momentarily curled up into a smile. Not exactly who he was looking for, but nothing to scoff at either – pretty things were hard to come by these days. Not that he was complaining. She seemed to be starring as hard as he was. Odion carried and let his eyes slide off of her, continuing to look down the halls and at the numbers on the doors. It was a community college for Christ’s sake; this wasn’t meant to be hard.

He wasn’t as boring as she might calculate, but Odion would never challenge that notion. He didn’t want to be anything but a shadow if he could help it.

But she was not to be missed. The young woman purposefully crossed his path, intent in her eyes. Odion had piercing dark blue eyes that seemed to see right through the person he was gazing at. That was the intention. He was surprised she would approach him at all. Other than the paperwork he was holding, he didn’t own backpack or pencil. And he couldn’t be harboring a laptop, it would definitely show. No, the only thing showing was his torso, and even that he was trying to mask.

An amused grin came to his face at her statement. Good, now he didn’t have to waste valuable time starring at nothing. “Beautiful,” he stated simply, holding his grin. What he referred to as beautiful was up to her to interpret. His British accent was stronger than ever after he had spent nearly a year out of country. He handed her the list of classes and rooms he had already memorized. A year of breaking and entering always required a quick memory.

“Astronomy, room 206.” As far as he knew, that meant it was on the second floor, and there were no stairs in sight. Next time, he would ask for a layout of the building too, then he could just scale the damn thing.

He glanced at her, waiting for her to show the way. "To whom do I owe the thank you?"

[Adelaide McLisk]

Beautiful? Add's brow furrowed for a moment as she tried to figure out what that was referring to. She immediately dismissed herself, as she certainly wasn't "beautiful." Her mind perhaps might be called such, but certainly not anything else. So it must be the solution itself that garnished the adjective.

Accent, English, which threw up quite a few probabilities. They felt so thick that Add could have sworn that she actually saw them floating in the air around the young man, ready to be locked into place about him. He wasn't giving up much in the way of information, which was slightly surprising to Add. in her experience, college students enjoyed talking about themselves. Males especially seemed to enjoy bragging about their personal accomplishments to whomever or whatever would listen.

Astronomy, Room 206, "This building?" asked Add, she looked for a sheet with some kind of writing on it, but didn't immediately notice anything. Didn't they give the new students maps? They certainly had those online. Either way, Add couldn't help without all the information. She did know where the stairs were in this particular building; they were tucked in an odd position just beyond the hallway where they stood, but it wouldn't do any good to point them out if he was supposed to be somewhere else.

"There is no need for thanks yet," said Add. She paused, then realized that the question probably meant that he wanted her name. "I am Adelaide; I go to school here." That was... information. Enough for now. the probabilities hadn't lined up yet anyway.

[Odion Martins]

Odion was no regular young man. He had lived more than anyone else his age, no thanks to his time management. And while he enjoyed bragging, it wasn't without a few drinks in him.

Odion shrugged, playing dumb. "The receptionist seemed to assume I would figure it out." And he had no problem doing so, clearly he was in no rush as the class only started in half an hour, and he could make more time if he needed.

Amused rather than annoyed by this girl, Odion simply watched her trying to figure out this small problem. The look on her face said she was making it harder than it needed to be. Odion nodded, "Pleasure. Lovely name, I'm Odion," he stated, tired of keeping up with his pseudonyms. Sometimes the truth was just easier. "I'm new here." Not a total lie.

"I could simply try the stairwell, if you can point out where it is," he suggested, reaching out for his class paper. He wanted to see how stubborn Adelaide could be.

[Adelaide McLisk]

The receptionist thought that he would figure it out? Add's face scrunched for a moment. That was... that was an abysmally low probability. Of course, he'd have no idea that Add would be able to figure that out, and she knew that it was better to keep your meta abilities a bit on the down low in Greenview. It wasn't Hammel, a fact that Add sometimes felt reminded of on a daily basis.

A name, an explanation, and Add found herself nodding. The name was unusual, very uncommon, but the newness simply made sense. Also threw up several probabilities while simultaneously locking others into place. Add could nearly stand there and just think about them, but that wouldn't get either of them to their destinations. She dug into her pocket and pulled out her phone to quickly check the time.

Add still had time. She was actually in the building because her last class had let out, so she still had plenty of time. She nodded and then looked up at Odion. "There are two staircases," she said. She turned and pointed, "one is at the end of this hallway, but it is tucked around a corner and easy to miss if you do not know what you are looking for. Another is tucked away in the opposite corner of the building," she pointed the opposite direction, into the far distance, "but it is quite a ways from here, and therefore not as logical. I shall take you to the closer one, so that you do not get lost."

Because that was probably what Add should be doing, given her own time. she turned and walked that way, figuring that Odion would follow. it wasn't as if he had anywhere else to go, unless he wanted to take the long route.

[Odion Martins]

Odion didn’t say anything more about the receptionist, but at least both young adults present could agree that she was useless and rude. If there was anyone Odion didn’t like, it was rude people.

When Adelaide pulled out her cell phone, Odion was distinctly reminded of someone else pulling out a pocket watch. God the memory hurt, but it didn’t show on his face. The only thing that showed was that up to no good smile, because he was thinking of a similar one.

“Luckily for me I have you to guide me,” he commented, apparently in a good mood. Odion put his hands at his sides and followed her, making mental notes of both stair cases. Rounding the intricate corner, Odion glanced up the stairs and back to Adelaide. “Can I thank you now?” He said, grinning. Or maybe she was planning on parading him all over campus? Oh well, if she did then maybe Lani wouldn’t be as angry if he did happen to show up at all, though such a mild reaction was slim to none.

[Adelaide McLisk]

"It was most likely that someone would have noticed that you were lost and directed you to the correct location. Most of the students are friendly, with at least a sixty percent chance of approaching someone who looks lost and directing him or her the right direction. The faculty would likely rate about the same," Add paused, both in speech and movement, looking over her shoulder at someone. "Sorry, but I don't believe in luck."

Not when everything could be broken down by math. Luck was just a probability that had been defied, nothing more, nothing less. That was why they called those with the "lucky" ability "probability manipulators." Simple as that.

As for the thanks: "You could thank me for helping escort you, but you are still not in the classroom. There is roughly a point five percent chance that I could be a serial killer leading you to a basement to murder you and wear your skin for my nightly cleansing ritual." Add let that one sit for a moment, then, realizing how her humor worked, she added: "That is supposed to be a joke. I've been told that I'm not that funny though."

They had hit the end of the hall, more or less, but Add figured she might as well escort Odion to the class. That felt like the socially acceptable thing to do in this situation.

[Odion Martins]

“Luck has to do with chances, no?” By that he meant, obviously yes it does. “According to you there was a 40% chance I would have been ignored, so I would still call it luck.” And with a look like his, the chances might’ve increased. He wasn’t someone who looked at the world with good faith, and he didn’t deserve to be treated well by any means. So this was a pleasant surprise.

As they carried on and Adelaide continued with the statistics, Odion’s eyebrows went up, and then he burst out laughing, covering up her explanation of the joke. He hadn’t laughed like this in what felt like almost half a year. “Really? Are basements often on the second floor?” Adelaide was growing curiouser and curiouser by the second. It wasn’t every day that Odion found someone else interesting.

Stopping at the class door, Odion peered through the window. It didn’t seem right, other than the identical number. He looked over at Adelaide, “What’s the probability of this room not being the one I’m looking for?”

[Adelaide McLisk]

Add's nose crinkled as Odion explained his view on luck. Oh, she'd certainly heard the argument before, but it never seemed to quite line up for her. She was half tempted to point out the various probabilities that had lined up to make his finding someone to help him an eventuality as opposed to a probability, but she didn't quite have everything to make such an assessment. No, Add saved those breakdowns for her friends.

Which may explain why she didn't have many.

As for the laugh: "The very minor percent refers to the fact that I could be a meta human with teleportation or space bending abilities which would situate it so that we could step into a basement instead of a second floor. There is always a probability of the impossible happening, though it happens with disappointing rarity." This time, she wasn't joking, keeping that same blank expression and tone throughout.

For not having been at Greenview long herself, Add still knew her way around. This came mostly from memorizing blueprints, maps, and layouts, though Add doubted that anyone wanted to know that. She smoothly escorted Odion to the door and waited, figuring she'd at least pause till he was inside. Then he asked for an exact probability, and Add nearly had to compulsively answer. Unfortunately, it also meant that she went silent and still for several seconds, hardly even seeming to breathe.

"Thirteen percent, roughly," she said, looking at the door, "based on what you've told me thus far. That would account for computer error, your error, the floorplan being changed without our knowing it, or random entropy," she paused, then looked at Odion, "unless you have a meta ability that alters the situation, which could increase it anywhere from... an additional five to fifty percent, possibly larger."

[Odion Martins]

“Disappointing? My, you are a morbid one aren’t you?” Odion held his smirk. Luckily, he was quite morbid himself, and he didn’t see the point in arguing with her statistical logic – like him, he assumed she was hiding her meta powers. He silently wondered what the probability of said probably victim being a time turner, but asking that out loud would give away information he wasn’t willing to share.

Odion shrugged. “I suppose the only way of finding out is to wait, unless you’re going to be giving me a tour of the whole campus.” Now that last part of the sentence was meant to be sarcastic, but Adelaide seemed to have a different sort of humor. Besides, he would be touring the campus at his own pace at some point in the future. Astronomy was for one reason, but maybe he could get into something to do with business… Not that he was good at school, technically speaking.

[Adelaide McLisk]

"I meant more in general, as opposed to this particular circumstance," argued Add. She didn't really see herself as "morbid," though she supposed she could understand where that was coming from, especially given this particular set of circumstances. She dismissed such judgments for a later date.

The door though, the door bothered Add. She stared at it, trying to rifle through the possible probabilities in her head. Wait or give a tour; those were the more logical choices. Add was also tempted to ask again if he'd gotten the room number correct. She stared at the room, wondering. They were technically in one of the buildings dedicated to science classrooms, so it wasn't as though they were that off. Otherwise Add would have immediately picked up on it. She looked over at Odion, wondering if the wait meant that she should stay with him or if she was free to go. The latter struck her as being unlikely, just in a general sense.

"I do not know if my giving you a tour would be overly helpful," she said, tapping her fingers to her leg as though punching numbers into a calculator, "as I have not been here that long myself. I know the locations of buildings and the like mostly from memorizing maps and my own tours, so I would not be the most ideal of guides," she sighed, some frustration bubbling up. "You are quite certain that you have the right building? They do have science classes in other buildings as well, and that is the most likely of scenarios here," and if anyone would know about likely scenarios, it was Adelaide McLisk.

[Odion Martins]

“Hmm,” Odion muttered, wondering if she perhaps thought he were a mind reader. Statistics and probability meant little to him in this situation. Numbers weren’t always reliable, and neither were people.

Odion shook his head. “It wouldn’t be necessary, and it wouldn’t be the first time I’ve been wrong,” he looked at her, “I am human after all.” He sighed and ran a hand over his head. “Well, when the receptionist pointed down the hall and not towards the exit, I assumed it would be this building.” He chuckled and seemed to be chiding himself. The more helpless and unassuming he appeared the better off he would be.

He snapped his fingers. “A map, now that would have been helpful.” Clearly he was not prepared for this “grown up” step of college. Judging by the look on her face, he most likely had the wrong building. “I can just go fetch one from the registrar's office, I wouldn’t want you to be late for your own classes.” He offered a smile. Really, he didn’t need anyone’s help.