When it rains, it pours (Martha)

[Marnie Sullivan]

The rain had come on suddenly when the students were halfway through their practice. Dark, heavy clouds had rolled in above the campus. It started with a drizzle, which in Marnie's experience wasn't enough to get practice cancelled. Then the torrent started, turning the fields to mud, and the coach was calling everybody to the benches.

In different circumstances, this would have bothered Marnie. Track practice was her primarily release, the easiest way to work off her nerves and tensions - and these days she had enough of those to go around. But it had taken maybe half a minute for her clothes to get soaked through, and nothing sapped her motivation to run like wearing freezing wet socks. Shivering, she collected her things with the rest of the team and began the trek back up to school.

Halfway across the field, Marnie - distracted by her daydreaming of a nice hot shower - stepped in a particularly slick patch of mud and came crashing down with a yelp. As she flung her arms out to break her fall, the half-full water bottle she'd been carrying sailed from her hand to go bounce off the back of one of her teammates.

"Oh god, sorry!" she exclaimed, clambering to her feet, the back of her track pants splattered with mud.

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Martha was having fun doing their practice, she knew she would never be the best at track but she loved doing it anyway but just her luck it started raining, normally rain would not keep her from doing something but it was a torrent. She looked down at the mud forming.

The coach caught her attention trying to get everyone over to the benches. She looked around to find her things then she turned and walked up to the school in the pouring rain. She tried to distract the feeling of being freezing with the strange thought that her bird friends voices were not heard inside her head. They must have found shelter further away from the field.

Ouch, something hit her back she turned round to see a girl round about her age clambering to her feet apologising. The mud on her pants had made it obvious to Martha that the girl had fell. She looked down and noticed a water bottle in the mud she picked it up.

"Don't worry" Martha waved of the apology with a hand and a warm smile even though she had went back to feeling cold. She gave the bottle back to the girl and said clearly over the noise of the rain "My name's Martha, what's yours?"

[Marnie Sullivan]

"Ah, thanks!" Marnie wiped her muddy hands on the front of her pants before reaching out to accept the water bottle which, oh of course, was filthy from the fall. She'd have to wash it extra thoroughly later.

"I'm Marnie," she responded, raising her voice to be heard over the downpour as they hurried up to the school. She held one hand up to shield her face from the rain, but it didn't help. She was glad for the introduction; Marnie knew the faces of her teammates but hadn't had a proper conversation with most of them.

"God, what a way to start the semester, right?" Marnie said as they approached the entrance. "If this keeps up it'll be too soggy to run tomorrow, too." The team didn't have practice the next day, but she'd been planning to run in the morning as usual. At this rate she'd either have to brave more mud or be stuck in the gym.

[Deleted]

 After she handed the mucky bottle to the girl she rubbed her hands together making the rain water clean the mud of her hands but she did not mind if she still had a bit of muck on her hand. Martha moved the hair out of her eyes as she trudged up to the school.

 The girl's name was Marnie. She did not know any of her teammates' names just their faces. She listened as Marnie said about it not being the best way to start the semester and Martha said "I know, I do not think I have . Hopefully the weather dies down and it won't be too soggy for your run but unfortunately I can't control the weather."

 Martha could not help smile even though she was soaked to the skin she looked at Marnie as she walked further through the rain. She said " How long have you been at the school?"

 

[Marnie Sullivan]

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind having a weather manipulator on the team for days like this," Marnie agreed. "Or even like a water bender, you know?"

They were almost to the entrance and the dryness it promised; Marnie trotted ahead to his the door open for Martha.

"I just finished my third year," she replied. Had it really been that long? Granted, she'd only joined the track team last fall, but that was still a long time to go without getting to know so many teammates. Well, better late than never.

"What about you? You been here long?"

[Deleted]

Martha listened as Marnie said it would have been good to have a weather manipulator on the track team. She nodded and listened to the conversation it was good she was talking to someone because it had been ages since she spoke to a stranger.

"Thank You" she said as she walked in the doors that Marnie opened for her. Marnie asked how long Martha had been at the school. She thought about it for a second and then she said "five years at the school but I have never really spoke to my track teammates before".

She walked at the same pace as Marnie and asked her "Do you like it here?" maybe that was a stupid question but she wanted to keep at the conversation.

[Marnie Sullivan]

"Same here, usually I'm too focused on running to think about being social." As Marnie said it, she realized that maybe that sounded weird, but it was true. Track practice was generally a place where she cared more about exercising as a way to unwind. Hopefully Martha wouldn't think it all that strange, especially since she said she didn't talk much with the team either.

"I like it all right enough, I guess," Marnie replied as she took off her soaked headband and wrung it out. Hammel was certainly an interesting place. And while lately she'd been having a rough go of it thanks to a certain stupid boy, overall the school had treated her well. "It's pretty cool sometimes, going to school with so many metas. Some of the powers people have are nuts, I heard there's a kid who can turn into a vending machine!" Suddenly Marnie recalled that Martha had said she'd been at Hammel for five years - so she must have manifested five years ago, right? "So what can you do?"

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Martha nodded agreeing with what Marnie was saying about being to focused on running to be social. She knew exactly what Marnie meant. She loved running especially when her bird friends flew beside her, talking to her as she ran.

Martha listened to Marnie as she wrung the water out of her hair with her hands. She too liked the school, she loved the thought that she was not alone in the world. She was not a weirdo.

Marnie asked what Martha could do she smiled and said "I can talk to birds and control them, but I don't do it indoors unless I want the school to be covered in bird droppings and feathers... again" she smirked at the thought of the last time she made a few birds come through the classroom window when she got mad at a couple of students. Long story.

"So what can you do?" Martha asked looking at Marnie.

[Marnie Sullivan]

Marnie giggled at the idea of birds swooping around in the hallways and classrooms, squawking and raining droppings down on people's heads.

"Oh wow," she laughed, "I bet that would make for a great prank! I'd feel bad for the janitors, though." Of course, then Martha asked about her power as well. "I have camouflage. It's not actually that helpful 'cause I can't change the way my clothes look so I just look like I have weird makeup on or something."

As Marnie talked, she made a beeline for the stairs that led up to the dorms, eager for a shower. She was about to say goodbye when a thought hit her - Martha seemed pretty nice, and Marnie was long overdue for getting to know her teammates better.

"Hey, I'm kinda hungry," she said. "Want to grab some dinner in the cafeteria later? I wan to hear what happened when you got a bunch of birds indoors."

[Deleted]

Martha laughed as Marnie said it would not have been good for the janitors. She listened as Marnie said she could camouflage but she said it was not helpful. Martha said "I think it sounds cool".

She walked with Marnie as she followed her to the stairs. Martha thought she was going to say goodbye to her but instead she asked if she would go to the cafeteria later as she wanted to hear what happened with the bird incident.

Martha nodded and smiled "Yeah that would be great and we could get better acquainted over dinner".

[Marnie Sullivan]

"Okay, great!" The smile Marnie offered her teammate was genuine - this wasn't such a bad way to start the semester, reaching out and making a new friend or two. The last couple of weeks hadn't boded well for the fall ahead, but maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

"What do you say we meet up in the caf in like an hour?" Marnie suggested as they began the climb upstairs. "I wanna get a decent shower and do something about these dirty clothes." She knew she looked like a train wreck, although that was pretty typical after practice. It didn't mean she wanted to look like one at dinner in front of her peers, though.