Bored, Bored, Bored (Open!)

[Ramona "MoJo" Knight]

Ramona Knight was not usually a child to be found sitting around and doing nothing. The girl usually could entertain herself with little to no effort. But something about today was just keeping her down. Her morning classes had been boring. Training was boring. Even lunch - a peanut butter and jelly sandwhich -had been boring. Basically, the theme of MoJo's day was boring, and it had put her into a funk. 

Now that classes were over though, MoJo was certain she could put her boredom aside by reading some comics in the courtyard while she waited for her sister to finish class and walk home. It would take quite a while, but Mo had packed quite a few comics to keep herself entertained. Or... at least she thought she had. 

After sitting down in the grass toward the middle of the courtyard, MoJo started to dig through her bright yellow backpack. Her search started normal at first, but within a few moments she was frantically scrambling through her bag, tossing her notebooks out into the grass as she desperately dug for the comic books that weren't there. She groaned, and tossed her backpack aside once she had completely emptied its contents, angry at herself for forgetting to pack her comic books that morning. 

She flopped back into the grass, and stared up at the sky. What was she going to do? If she didn't think of something... she would surely die of boredom! 

[Everett Lilien]

Everett was walking across the campus, back towards his office, and he was cutting through the courtyard to get there. After all, the weather still wasn't too shabby. He had a manilla folder in his arms, the progress folder of one Oliver Barnes. They'd just finished another training session and Everett was glad for it, because each time was exhausting, mostly because Oliver seemed to have so much going on. More than Everett did, or would ever want.

He also had a stack of comic books under his arm because he was incredibly far behind on several of his Batman and Avengers series and hoped to catch up while grabbing a bite to eat, but he still had to go back to his office because he'd forgotten to bring his wallet with him to his training session.

He saw girl tossing every single item out of her backpack in a frustrated matter. "Forget something important?" he asked. He knew what that was like.

[Ramona "MoJo" Knight]

MoJo's oh-so-interesting view of the blue sky was interrupted when a tall many with crazy blonde hair stepped into view. MoJo sat up a bit, squinting her eyes and trying to block out the glare from the sun as he spoke. She was pretty sure he must be a teacher, as he seemed much too old to be a student. He seemed to be around the age of her oldest sister, maybe. She thought the way his hair stood on end was kind of funny.

It took a moment for the words he spoke to completely register with Ramona. It was hard to read lips when someone talked to fast, or if there was a glare from the sun, or if they didn't face MoJo while they spoke. But Mo tried her best to not complain or get frustrated... not always easy. She nodded though, once she realized what the man had said - asking if she had forgotten something. She sighed lightly and looked at the mess of things she had thrown from her backpack laying in the grass, shaking her head at herself she turned back to the man.

I forgot my comic books she signed with an exasperated look on her face, which only became more so when she realized the man would have no idea what she was trying to say. Not that you understand me... Ramona added, completely aware she was talking to herself at this point. She sighed, her eyes adjusting more to the light as she took a better look at the man and finally realizing what he had under his arms. MoJo's eyes widened in excitement, and her expression went from one of frustration to one that believed she'd been sent some sort of angel. She pointed at the comics under his arms with a nod trying to express 'Those! That's what I forgot!'.

She reached for a notebook that had been tossed away and found a purple pen near by. She scrawled in her notebook in handwriting and grammar that resembled that of a 3rd grader I forget comic books. (Ramona was not really a fan of writing. She didn't understand the rules of grammar, as they differed greatly from the language she spoke... and she could completely forget about trying to 'sound out' words to spell them). She turned the notebook to the man, who, if he really liked comics as much as she did, would understand the frustration.

[Everett Lilien]

After Everett spoke, he became increasingly confused. First as the girl didn't respond to him and then as she appeared to be responding, but with her hands. Great. Sign language. Everett didn't even know a foreign language besides how to say hello in a few different languages which wasn't much. Sign language was a whole other territory and while he liked how it was so innovative and visual (because he was a visual person himself), he still had no idea what she was trying to say. And that made him feel bad.

"Sorry," he mumbled, and then realized that she couldn't hear him, which made him feel even more inadequate. "I mean..." She could probably read his lips though, right? Everett couldn't imagine not being able to hear, although he assumed it would be easier for him than being blind, because he liked to learn in pictures and everything just made much more sense.

He looked down to where she was pointing a moment later, seemingly excited and his eyes landed on his comic books and the folder reading 'Oliver Barnes.' He was sure the manilla folder wasn't what she'd forgotten and so he'd help up his comic books to her. "These?" he asked. "Man, that's the worst." He grinned at her. A young girl who liked comic books! That was awesome! He wanted to start rambling about them, but knew that his words would be spoken too fast for her to read his lips. That was a problem.

He looked at the notebook she'd held up to him, in a child's scrawl, but it was still readable, mostly because it wasn't a boy's handwriting. "I feel your pain." He really did. It was the worst sitting around doing nothing when you didn't have a comic book to pull out and read. They kept Ev's attention because they usually weren't too long and they were always interesting and left you wanting more. Ah, the beauty of comic books.

[Ramona "MoJo" Knight]

Mojo visibly sighed, though barely a noise escaped her as she slumped back down looking at her stuff. She nodded and agreed with the tall blonde man. Yes. This was painful. She put the pen back on the paper and scribbled again. My sister in class 2 hours moreshe rolled her eyes slightly as she showed the notebook to the man again - using her face to get the message across more than anything. MoJo had a skill for letting people know how she felt without words. Of course, words helped, but since she couldn't always use them the little girl had to adapt.

She quickly added to the next line of the page. I like The Flash. She showed the man with a nod and a smile. While the flash had always been a super hero MoJo quite enjoyed, her love for those comics in particular didn't take off until she developed super speed herself. Having the ability made her feel like a super hero, and she was easily able to put herself in the flash's shoes. She was also a fan of Quicksilver from the Marvel universe for the same reason. But because Quicksilver was part of the Xmen he didn't get his very own comic like the Flash did.

Mojo looked back over at her stuff again, sighing once more, and began collecting her things and stuffing them back in her bag - realizing that she may have been a bit dramatic in regards to her frustration.

[Everett Lilien]

"Well, that certainly sucks. That's a long time to sit in the grass," Everett agreed with her. She seemed to be like him, easily bored and in need of constant entertainment and she'd forgotten the most crucial thing to avoid boredom: comic books. At least she seemed to be staying in place, not wandering off without her siblings. She was young, Ev knew that much. Probably more obedient than he was.

He nodded at what she'd written about the Flash. "Good choice," he commended her. "Why is that though? Because he's fast?" he asked her. He hadn't even been thinking about what her power could be and besides, that didn't dictate his favorite comic book characters and most of the ones with electrokinesis were villains and while Ev loved his comic book villains, he considered himself on the super hero side. But in general, he identified with superheroes because they had to deal with what he had to... to a certain extent.

And then the girl was throwing her things back into her bag. "Where you going?"

[Ramona "MoJo" Knight]

MoJo nodded when the man asked why she liked the Flash. Perhaps it was a bit cliche for the girl to have a favorite super hero with a power that mirrored hers, but she was only 14 - she didn't really understand cliches. And while every part of her wanted to just run home without her sister, she knew that her mother would likely punish her if she ever did that again... So MoJo accepted the fact that she'd have to find another way to entertain herself. And perhaps this man would be it.

She finished throwing her stuff in her bag haphazardly, not because she was going anywhere, but because this way all her stuff was in her bag when she was ready to run off. Therefore the man's next question received a shrug in response. She tossed the bag aside and looked up at the man. She knew he wouldn't quite understand what she was signing, but she hoped her actions could explain to him what she was trying to get across.

I am fast like Flash she signed, emphasizing the pointing at herself. She smiled a bit mischievously before taking a step back, only to run behind the man in a tight circle in less than the blink of an eye. She tapped his shoulder once there, running back to his front when he went to turn around. Tricks like this made MoJo giggle audibly, and today was no exception.

[Everett Lilien]

She didn't appear to be going anywhere, and had only shrugged at Everett's question, but she did like the Flash because he was fast, which he assumed was reason enough for a young girl to cling to a super hero, the way Everett had clung to Superman growing up...and well, countless others.

She started signing again and the blonde was beginning to wonder if she really thought he understood, and he was sure the look on his face proved that he didn't. She pointed to herself though and a moment later, she was gone. Seemingly. He turned around when he felt a tap on his shoulder, but she still wasn't there. "Ahh, I get it, he declared, as he heard her laugh and he turned around to where she stood now. "Super speed. I have to admit I'm jealous."

[Ramona "MoJo" Knight]

MoJo's smile was wide, as she loved showing off her ability, and she loved playing little tricks on people. She loved it more when they didn't get mad, and it seemed like the man didn't mind her little game. She nodded when he claimed to be jealous, a little symbol that she understood, since she wasn't sure how else to communicate with the man at the moment. Things seemed to be going well thus far, though.

MoJo pointed at the man, putting a questioning expression on her face, and mouthing the word 'You?' - her way of trying to ask what his ability was. Mojo's facial expressions were always exaggerated, as they often helped her get her point across. She hoped the man understood because she was always quite curious about all the abilities that were represented at Hammel. Some that she had never seen in comic books before, even! Frankly, MoJo saw most abilities as super powers, and honestly felt like her life could be like a comic book if she wanted it to be. And she believed everyone at Hammel could be like their own character. She wondered what the man's super power was.

[Everett Lilien]

A lot of people were negative about their abilities, and while some of them had every right to be, it was refreshing to see someone who was not, given the young girl's bright smile. She obviously enjoyed every minute of using her power. While Ev thought his power could be fitting for a comic book, he knew that it would belong to a villain rather than a hero and he was not a villain. Always a hero. That and he had his own issues with his power, like...being afraid of lightning and his hair always standing up on end.

Her gestures and mouthing of words were slightly confusing, but he managed to catch on. He could tell that she was mouthing, 'You' and so he pointed to himself lamely. "Me?" he asked. "I'm an electrokinetic."

[Ramona "MoJo" Knight]

MoJo knew a lot about different abilities - both from her love of comic books and because she came from a family full of metahumas who had been attending Hammel long before she manifested. Therefore, the little girl probably knew what electrokenisis was. Or she at least understood what electricity manipulation was. She may have not been able to recall the word for it, though, and she definitely couldn't understand what the blonde man's lips were trying to tell her when he revealed his power.

The look on her face - a furrowed brow and a pursed lip - was probably enough to reveal MoJo's confusion. She still shrugged, hands out, the pretty universal sign for What? She never expected people to totally understand her when she gestured to them, but Ramona knew what kind of signs most people caught onto.

[Everett Lilien]

Everett understood what she was asking. He may not understand ASL, but he did understand when people were confused. It was easy to tell by facial expressions and gestures, and she was definitely confused. But he was as well. How would he be able to explain his power to her without writing it down? He'd have to practically rip her notebook from her hands and a pen to write down what his power was. He had to be creative and think of a way to explain what his power was. Or he could show her...but that could become dangerous. And they were outside, so it was more difficult to find energy to harness. And so he stood there for a moment, feeling stuck in a rut.

"Uhhh," he stammered. It was like panicking in a game of charades and the word was electrokinetic.