Checking it Out [Mathis Reeves]

[Riana Skye]

((OOC: If you want to join shoot me a PM or post Here))


The back door of the blue F-150 opened up just as the truck came to a halt. Out jumped Riana. She looked around at the suurroundings. Her eyes wide with awe and excitement . The sun shined bright in the sky, and there was a slight breeze in the air. The grass looked green, and the trees greener. Riana could live here.

Her parents got out of the truck, and to Riana it seemed as if they were as pleased as she was to see her new home. Her father looked at her and said in a rough voice, "Well...here we are. Leave your stuff in the truck for now. Me and your mother will visit the office to let them know you're here. Get some other stuff figured out. You go check this place out. Be back here in an hour with a new friend or something".

Riana nodded her agreement. Her parents started toward the office while Riana found herself alone on campus. Not really alone though, there were plenty of students milling about. None of them were paying attention to her. Riana began wandering around the campus randomly. She tried to keep track of which building was which, but didn't know what any of the buildings were anyway. So she wandered.

Riana noticed all the different faces. She realized every single one of them was special like her. If everyone had special abilities, where would Riana fit in? Feeling shy, Riana sat on an empty bench. She usually wasn't nervous about meeting other people, but this was a lot of people. Suddenly her legs remembered the long car trip from Texas to Vermont, and Riana stood up again. Stretching out as a warm breeze flowed against her back. Had it been an hour yet?

[Mathis Reeves]

Mathis really liked new people. Regardless of how the new people turned out. Like that mean old french boy, who wasn't exactly old. And Mathis probably couldn't call him mean. Just french. Which was a phrase that could account for anything the male would throw at him. So as with Theo, Mathis made it his mission to find out about the incoming new girl. Which mostly involved hanging around the offices until someone bothered to tell him what was going on.

Which is what led to the mimic running through the courtyard much like a bat out of hell, trying to locate the newest Hammel student. Stormy blue eyes scanned the healthy field as he tried to find a face he didn't know. Eventually he noticed the tanned girl by a bench and turned on his heel to jog over to her. A cheek-splitting grin jumped on his face as he stopped in front of her, waving cheerfully even though she was only a few feet from him.

"Hi there, Ma'am. I'm Mathis, you can call me Matty. You're... Riana, right? New girl from Texas? I'm from WhiteSprings myself.. 'Bout half a hour from Austin." He chirped, cocking his head to the side. "So has your guide showed up yet? If not I don't mind showin' you around the campus and to where you need to go!"

[Riana Skye]

It wasn't every day you were greeted by someone as bright and cheery as Mathis, or Matty as he wanted to be called. It surprised her, but it was welcome. Riana gave a small laugh and offered a small wave back at him. He spoke fast, giving her little time to think between questions. Feeling slightly flustered, it took her a few seconds too long before she sorted out the answers swimming in her head.

"I didn't know I got a guide, my parents are sorting things out in the office. A tour sounds cool, but I have to be back at the truck in-" Riana looked at her phone, "-half an hour".

Continuing with a slightly suspicious expression, Riana asked, "Sooooo how do you...know my name and stuff?" In a joking voice she asked, "You don't work here do you?"

All in all, Riana thinked she liked this kid. He seemed optimistic and friendly. Plus he was from Texas. Maybe knowing someone else from there would keep Riana from getting homesick. White Springs, that sounded familiar. Riana couldn't remember if she had been there for sports or if she had read the name off a map.

[Mathis Reeves]

Mathis' smile wavered when he saw the girl looking a little flustered. He knew he'd sped up a lot since he left Texas, and he could still remember the kind of confusion he used to have when he listened to people up here compared to his hometown slow, soft spoken drawl. A sheepish grin replaced his usual cheek splitting grin and he scratched the back of his neck nervously. "Sorry 'bout that, Ma'am. I know what it's like dealin' with the speed up here. Been here four years m'self." He gave her a gentle shrug in response before cocking his head to the side. His voice was much slower now, carefully controlled so he sounded like he did back when he was younger.

He tried to ignore the pang of jealously when he heard that her parents weren't just cool with her power- they were sorting out things for her. When he came up to Hammel the school had to deal with fighting tooth and nail with his parents, though they never did speak to him, he found all this out from the school officials. "Yes Ma'am. Everyone gets the option of guide when they come here but if you ain't stick around they don't usually offer for you.."

There was a pause before he laughed and held out his hand to her. "Sorry 'bout that, again. Probably sound pretty creepy, don't I? Naw, I don't work here. I'ma student like ya. But I know a bunch'a the office people and usually when there's a new kid comin' in they give me a heads up so I can come say hi... Well... Actually... I kinda just eavesdrop ta here ;bout the new people." He continued his laughter before hopping gently on his feet.

"Right! So 'bout that tour. Where do ya wanna start? I can show you to the class buildin', the infirmary, and dorms since that's probably most important right now. Then once y'all are done in the office I can give you a more detailed tour."

[Riana Skye]

Riana felt a little sorry for Matty. He must be lonely if he eavesdropped on the office people in order to talk to the new arrivals. Riana couldn't think of why he would be lonely, he seemed like a nice guy. Riana shook his outstretched hand before answering.

"I guess you're my guide for today, if you still want to".

Riana tried to think of a good starting place. The infirmary and class buildings sounded boring, and she didn't even know which dorm she was in yet. Then an idea came to her.

"Let's start right here. Where are we now?"

[Mathis Reeves]

If Riana thought Mathis was lonely then boy did she have another thing coming. Mathis prided himself with being one of the most popular boys on campus. Well... At least popular with all the people that mattered. No, he just hung around the office people listening for new recruits because he was friendly and nice enough that he wanted to make sure every new person got a proper welcome. Usually he would of had coo-.. The mimic clapped his hands before pulling the backpack around that he just remembered was on his back. Rummaging around he pulled out yet another one of his tupperware containers and opened it, holding it out to the girl. Inside were frosted sugar cookies shaped into careful letters so it spelled out 'Welcome 2 Hammel'.

"I made these for you, since I had plenty of warnin' that you'd be comin'. You aren't diabetic or nothin' are you?" The question had the mimic's face falling momentarily before he grinned again.

Sure, the buildings might be boring but they were essential. Especially when you were new and couldn't control your powers. Plus classes were held almost every day, so she really did need to know where the classes were or she'd get lost all the time.

"A'ight. This is the courtyard. Kinda the common area since we can all hang outside between class. You can get anywhere from here." He explained, smiling softly as he pointed off down the fields. "Over there is the koi ponds, if you wanna kill time we can go there?"

[Riana Skye]

When Mathis whipped out the cookies, Riana was impressed. Nobody in her family could fry an egg, let alone bake. One of Riana's goals for when she arrived at Hammel was to learn how to cook.

"Wow! Did you make those yourself? Thanks!"

Riana reached into the container and grabbed the "2". She munched happily as Mathis explained how they were in the courtyard. When he was finished she said:

"Sure let's check it out". A few moments later in an unsure voice she asked, "Um...what's a koi?"

[Mathis Reeves]

Mathis was happy that the girl seemed to like his cookies. Then again everyone liked his cookies, because they were just so dang awesome. He shot Riana another cheek splitting grin as she took one of the cookies.

"If you'd like I can try teaching you. Or we gotta home ec class you could take to learn." He laughed softly and started walking some, trying to lead her to the koi pond.

"A koi is a type of fish. It's real pretty and real big. 'Pparently it's some kind of like... Japanese fighting fish I think? I dunno. They remind me of rainbow catfish for some reason." He shrugged slowly as the came to the koi pond, pointing to the water. "I wouldn't suggest jumpin' in. People get cranky if they get wet."

[Riana Skye]

"Home Ec", Riana murmered to herself, like she was trying to store the idea away for later.

She followed Mathis to the koi pond. Rainbow catfish that kicked a*s? Now that was a cool fish. Riana looked into the pond, leaning forward to get a good view. She let out a small laugh as she spotted one of the koi. Leaning back and looking at Mathis, Riana determined she wanted to learn more about her friendly tour guide from Texas. Smiling a litttle, she asked a few questions.

"How long have you been here? You sure got a lot of talents. Tour guiding, cooking, fish-watching, smiling..."

[Mathis Reeves]

"Yep! Home Ec. Check it out. Or you can join our culinary club. It's super fun there and less stressful since it's only cookin'!" He perked up some, hoping to try and sell her on the idea of joining them.

Mathis hovered a few steps behind Riana, wanting to make sure the new girl didn't misstep and wind up in the pond. The usual cheek splitting grin graced his face at her laugh and he cocked his head to the side. "See? Real pretty right? If you wanna I can show you some of the other cool spots. We could even make it an outin' and go inta town. I haven't got a car but I can get us a ride no problem!"

At the questions though he paused thoughtfully, reaching up to scratch the back of his neck. "I wanna say I've been here... Four years? I got ma power when I was 12. So I've had a long time ta get used to Hammel."

[Riana Skye]

Culinary club? Back home, Riana hadn't had much time for clubs. She had been too busy doing other things. Which reminded her...

"You guys have a Culinary Club. What else is there? Have any sport teams, like soccer or track?"

Riana got visibly excited as she neared the end of her question. Her powers gave her an unfair advantage when compared to normal people. In the interest of fair play, no team in Texas would take her. Here at Hammel, she might have an opportunity to continue enjoying her passions.

As for the koi, Riana thought they were awesome. She wished she could take one to her dorm. That was a dumb idea, Riana didn't know how to take care of them. She knew how to take care of other animals though, and with some research, she might be able to handle the koi.

Riana almost suggested going to the library, but she doubted Mathis would be very interested in learning how to take care of fish. Plus checking out the cool places in town sounded way more fun.

"Four years, wow that's a long time. A ride into town to see the sights would be-"

A moment of responsibility struck Riana. Her parents probably needed her back at the truck soon.

"-oh just wait a sec".

Riana took out her phone and quickly checked the time. Dang! Not only was it time to return, but she was being rude for pulling out her phone in the middle of a conversation. Riana felt a pang of regret, and her cheeks flushed red.

"Sorry, crap, sorry. I need to go back to my parents' truck to say good-bye. Can I get a rain check on the rest of the tour? You understand right?"

Riana took a few steps away from the pond and towards the family truck. She hoped Mathis didn't want to meet her parents. Something embarrassing might happen during the good-bye.

[Mathis Reeves]

((Apologies for what is about to follow.))

"Yeh! We gotta ton of sports teams. I'm on basketball but one of ma roommates is apart of football. There's soccer and track and swimming. Like we gotta club or team for everything. Only bad thing about the teams is we can't really go out and battle with the other schools since we'd have an advantage.. 'Bout every time too."

His blue eyes didn't miss how she perked up at her question, nor did he miss the look she was giving the koi pond. He reached up to scratch the back of his neck to give her a sheepish grin. "Y'know... Hammel lets y'have small animals in your rooms. Rabbits... Hamsters... Fish." The grin perked up as he said the last in a pointed sort of tone. "And there's a shop in town called 'The Ark', we could go there if y'wanna pick something ou-"

Mathis blinked suddenly when when the girl pulled her phone out of her pocket. Not that it was a super rude thing to do, years living with city people had made Mathis aware people didn't like talking without a mobile device present, but it was still a bit startling that she put their conversation on hold just to check something. At her explanation though the mimic nodded in understanding.

"Well a'ight. How about I give you ma number and you can just message me whenever you wanna continue the tour? And don't forget ta ask for a map so you can find your dorm..." He paused slightly and frowned, scratching the back of his neck. "Your parents gunna help you carry everythin' inta your room?"

[Riana Skye]

((OOC: Not sure what the apology was for, lol))

Riana gave off a big smile. A soccer team and a track team. Even though there wouldn't be much competition, she would still be able to take part in some of her favorite things. There was even a pet shop nearby. Riana knew she would miss Spur for a couple months, and a koi or some other pet would help.

Riana was both relieved Mathis didn't seem offended, and disappointed she had to go. She was also hapy to receive his number. Her parents had told her to find a new friend.

"Sure. What is it?" Riana successfully fought the urge begin typing Mathis' name into her phone.

"I won't need help with my stuff. I only packed one bag. I'm only staying here until summer, then I'm going back home".

[Mathis Reeves]

He looked her up and down before grinning. "Y'like track... What's your ability?" He hadn't asked this before and usually it was an important to get through when meeting a fellow meta. Or at least it was that way for Matty, but then he was fairly nosy. If he didn't learn it their first meeting then he'd just hunt around till he found someone else who knew.

Matty was honestly debating just telling the new girl he'd wait here for her to return. However that might come across creepy. Plus he needed to put his plan into action.. A plan of cookie madness. Cookies everywhere. Cookies in lockers and classrooms. Cookies shall rain from the sky. Inside he head he was laughing evilly.

To the girl, however, Mathis merely smiled and ran through his numbers vocally. Once done he grinned. "Do y'need to know how to spell my name too or y'just gunna put down Matty or somethin'?"

His grin faded slightly in its intensity at the fact the girl would be getting to go home for her summer. While he, in all his family drama, hadn't spoken to them in four (almost five) years... Was stuck here. With a bunch of people who couldn't care less about him. Maybe he could find someone to go home with... "Oh well a'ight! Super lucky for you, then!"

[Riana Skye]

Mathis was curious about her ability. Riana didn't blame him. She wanted to know what he could do too.

"I can go...very, very, fast. What about you?"

As Mathis listed his number, Riana nodded intently. She repeated the numbers back at him to make sure she had them right. Hopefully she could remember them for the next few minutes before she plugged them into her phone.

She laughed a little when he offered to spell his name.

"I can spell it on my own, thanks".

Riana noticed Mathis' mood shift a little when she mentioned she would be going home for the summer. She didn't know his background though, and Riana couldn't think of why Mathis seemed slightly less cheerful all of a sudden. Maybe he didn't like good-byes.

"Well, see-ya later I hope".

Riana turned and took a couole steps back toward the truck. Before continuing, she looked back to offer Mathis a smile and a wave good-bye.