Sit Me Alone {open}

[Naomi Green]

Generally new students were avoided as a rule. It wasn't that there was necessarily a desire to avoid them or to outright segregate against them or anything. It was just that people generally didn't sit with people they didn't know. It was hard to unwind around someone when you didn't really know them. Sure, some managed it, and that was what parties were for. But in the cafeteria? During mealtimes? You were on your own.

Which suited Naomi fine. The girl wove her way through the crowd with the practiced ease of someone who'd survived several years of schooling. Her food tray was clutched in one hand, blasted plastic thing, and she had a bag slung over the other shoulder. Her stride was purposeful, her attire more professional than anything. If you didn't take into consideration her age, you'd probably figure her to be a new professor or recruiter.

She wasn't.

Naomi strode to the nearest student table. A flick of the wrist, and she'd hovered a napkin dispenser near her. Another to gather a handful of silverware, and she took her seat, almost regally. An empty table, but one that was now ringed with hovering metallics. The strain of keeping such relatively small objects moving was ignorable, and the girl simply sat there, beginning to eat her lunch.

But she studied the other students with a nearly predatory air, clearly picking out various individuals in the crowd. A thud distracted her, and Naomi turned to see a smallish student that had run into a napkin dispenser.

"Excuse you," said Naomi, her British accent clipping the air. She raise a brow, and the tension settled in, waiting for something to happen.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac has never been fond of the cafeteria. And surprisingly, the food’s not at fault. It’s the ‘ambiance’ he says. Far too noisy, too chaotic. He argues that he can’t even hear himself think. So the moment he got his driver’s license, he’s been driving out to town whenever lunch or dinner rolls in.

Until the whole Talk debacle that is. When he pulled that prank and his dad decided to punish him by not only stripping him of all but one credit card and his beloved car. So if he wants to go to town to eat, he has to use the bus.

No way is he using public transportation. No freaking way.

Penniless (not really, but it sure feels like it) and powerless (oh how he misses that irritating buzz of the animals in him), he walked in the wretched place, promptly ignoring the angry stares that welcomed him. He didn’t mind those lowlifes before the Talk, there’s no way in hell he’ll be affected by their supposed intimidation. He did make a mental note to tell Mrs. Morgenstern – whose office has become extremely familiar due to the massive amount of time he spends in there after school (detention) – that writing those ‘personalized’ apology letters and splitting the amount he would’ve paid Mia was a waste of time.

With JD out doing some extra coursework and Robbie somewhere else moping the ‘loss’ of his best friend, the mimic decided it’d be best to just eat outside. He couldn’t imagine how much trouble he’d be if he took the tray outside considering his current predicament. He was on his way out when those pile of hovering metallic implements caught his attention.

“You heard the woman Jim. Move,” he glared to the guy who bumped into the napkin dispenser. How could anyone miss that anyway? “I don’t know where you came from, but using powers in the cafeteria is generally frowned upon here,” shrugged Zac, casually taking the seat opposite the girl. Not that he’s any expert; he doesn’t really frequent in the cafeteria after all. “People say it looks cocky. They don’t like it. You're not really making a good first impression you know.”

[Naomi Green]

"Interesting isn't it? How we're supposed to be more special than most, yet they seem to go out of the way to suppress those abilities," observed Naomi. She smiled wryly, but waved her hand anyway. The napkin dispenser returned to the table, and most of the silverware floated into various positions around her tray. Might as well follow the rules for now; the last thing Naomi needed was for her powers to be locked or for the faculty and staff to start hounding her already.

She looked at the boy who'd shown up. Distractingly handsome, if you enjoyed the East, and handsome enough even if you didn't. Something about the way the other students looked at him suggested something too, but the new transfer didn't exactly know the whole story. Might as well talk to him though; he hadn't proved annoying or irritating as of yet.

"Can't you tell?" she asked, her accent as thick as ever. "You hardly strike me as the normal, ignorant yank. Or perhaps I misjudged you? Perhaps you're as dim as your fellows around here?"

she looked up at him, raising an eyebrow in challenge.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac perked up slightly when the girl mention something about power suppression, instinctively cocking an eyebrow as he tried to clear things up in his head. Was she talking about that unspoken rule he told her about, or does she know his current predicament? (The latter was quite an impossibility though, he thinks, since she doesn’t seem familiar and considering how easy she was on the eyes, he’s fairly sure if she’d been here long he would’ve seen her around).

Telling himself to just get along with it, he simply shrugged and went back to his potatoes. “Discipline they say. Though I’m not really sure having your powers suppressed can teach you anything. Or teach you how to feel remorse about something that you see inoffensive,” he said nonchalantly, brushing the wayward strands of hair from his face and putting a pork chop slice in his mouth. Tasty. Shame he can’t say the same for the beans.

Had this been any other day, Zac would’ve readily taken offense in what the girl had to say. But since he was supposed to be showing good behavior for the next twenty days or so, he reeled it in. “How was I supposed to know? Last time I talked to a new kid with a sexy British accent, he said he’s a transfer student from Eisai.” Grew up in London but moved with his parents months before he manifested in a country within Eisai’s jurisdiction. “And besides, I don’t really care. You can come from the new Indian school if you want, I don’t give a hoot.”

“Though I have to say, blatantly insulting me even before you give your name or know mine is making me rather interested at the moment.”

[Naomi Green]

"Wouldn't a greater discipline be to encourage us to use our powers responsibly? Completely eliminating does little more than remind us of their existence. It's almost as though they want to encourage us to think of ourselves as something special, something unique," said Naomi. She smiled at that, closing her eyes slightly. Who would have thought that school policy would edge so close to her own beliefs? Then again, Naomi was more than willing to twist whatever she could find to fit her own agenda.

Like the handsome boy who was apparently opting to sit with her. Naomi opened her eyes to look at him, her expression sliding from mildly amused to quite serious.

"Actually, that wasn't an insult, but an implication. Many of our so-called peers don't even realize such things. That you do is credit to you," said Naomi. She allowed herself a smirk to follow, and it really did look quite calculated. "Though calling my accent sexy is certain to buy you a few points."

Naomi turned to her own food, opting to at least sample some of it. Mostly salad and a decent soup, as Naomi was never a big eater. As she ate, her eyes swept the room. All the good little students divided up into their own little cliques, laughing and having quite the good time. Naomi could even see clusters of pretty people, and at least three couples, one of which boasted two members of the same sex. Meta-humans always were remarkably forward in some respects, weren't they? Regardless, all this just prompted one question from Naomi.

She turned to look Zac dead on, attempting to meet his eyes with an unflinching gaze. "Why have you opted to sit with the unpleasant British transfer student instead of the other pretty people? Were you perhaps ostracized for your behavior? Friendly? Or are you perhaps doing some variation of community service?"

It wouldn't surprise Naomi to discover that the school had assigned her minders. Though to her credit, she hadn't outright assaulted anyone here.

Yet.

[Cole Kessler]

((OOC: Sorry, couldn't help but join. XD lol))

OUTFIT: shirt, pants, hat, boots,

A day and twenty-eight stitches later, Cole's head was still pounding. No where near the intensity that it had been at, and not enough to keep him from school. It was interesting to him, really, the looks he was getting. Rightfully, after the beating he'd gotten, Cole should've been more banged up. Other than a stitched up head, a black-eye and a fat lip, the injuries were non-existent. His football jersey and ball cap showing support and readiness as the NFL's regular season approached its opening week. The "Elway Jersey" showed two things about Cole, his old football number back home and his favorite Quarterback of all time.

He carried with him no a lunch tray, but a box of pizza from his home. He had no reason to eat in the cafeteria, until he walked in. "Pork Chops!? Hells Yeah!" He quietly exclaimed, dropping the cold pizza into a nearby garbage can. He probably got a few more looks as he transitioned into a quick jog to the lunch line hoping to get there before it got much longer. He stood calmly in line as it steadily moved forward. As the lunchlady put a few slabs of meat on his plate and handed it back she noticed the wound on his forehead, "Damn, Cole, you alright?"

"Small headache, but that's all, Ms. Ramirez. Thanks for asking though." Cole laughed as he turned away and searched the cafeteria floor for a place to sit. He spotted Zac, one of his best friends, sitting with a new girl, or at least a girl new to Cole. She had to be new to the school, though. Why else would she be sitting with LaRousse? Smiling at those thoughts Cole made his way toward the two. "What's up, Ru-Ru?" Cole said as he sat down next to them, "How's that 'no powers for a month' thing going?" Cole asked with a smile.

[Zachary LaRousse]

Zac couldn’t help but chuckle inwardly as the girl spoke. By gods were those big words or what? Certainly not something he’d expect over a lunch table. Or even inside the cafeteria. He knows that it’s rude to laugh when someone’s talking, but he just can’t help it. The moment’s just too precious for words. While he’s in no way ready for such a meaningful banter over at lunch, he doesn’t regret sitting beside the girl one bit.

Though he can’t quite shake the feeling that she’s going in for something deeper. That her use of such words allude to something much darker. It takes one to know one after all.

“True, but what if the use of powers is a non-issue?” he shot back, idly poking his food with his fork, “I mean, I get the whole ‘power corrupts’ assumption, but what if even if you take his abilities away, he’s still – and I’m using the word lightly – ‘rotten’? I’m pretty adamant that it does nothing but brew resentment in the poor guy’s soul.” He himself isn’t sure what he’s getting at, indulging the girl in such a conversation, but if he could get one person to somewhat agree with what he’s saying about the unsuitable punishment the school gave him, well, it could just make his day.

The whole ‘special’ talk made him snicker, mostly because he firmly believes that such talk is bull. Pretty much along the same lines of calling meta-humans ‘gifted’. Euphemisms. “That’s what they say in the brochure, remember? ‘You’re special and unique’. What crap. When everyone’s ‘unique’ and ‘special’, you’re pretty much plain too you know.” He looked up, sending her a self-absorbed wink. “Unless of course, you have something else up your sleeve.”

Her smirk confirms it. She really has something going on. What was originally a simple attempt at checking out new faces might just well change into a mission involving deeper probing, at least in Zac’s mind anyway.

“Unpleasant? Do you Brits have a different definition of ‘unpleasant’ in your dictionary?” Nope. The girl was far from being unpleasant. And it’s more than just the visual appeal. “If I say I’m just being friendly, would you believe me?”

He was set on keeping his façade up (or what he thinks was a façade anyway) when Cole just had to barge in and ruin everything for him. In a calculated game as this, every single thing may be used against him. And what Cole said was quite a lot in itself already. “Nice to see you’re up and about too Kessler,” he shot back, hiding his displeasure in a grin, “It’s going swell. I don’t use my powers in a daily basis anyway, so it’s nothing new.” No point hiding that fact anymore. “I was just talking to, wait, I don’t think I have your name yet, have I?”

ooc:
I apologize if this was a little delayed and tad crappy.
- Jam

[Naomi Green]

Naomi's brow went up delicately as Zac continued. It sounded as if someone, most likely someone on the faculty, had gone out of their way to inflict a rather cruel and unusual punishment upon the young man. Certainly not the brightest of plans, considering the resentment it would build up. Naomi would have figured them to assign community service; work with the little humans so that you begin to understand how mortal you are. This though, this she could work with.

"Certainly power corrupts," agreed Naomi. "But truly, it's those in control that have power, like our school administrators, for example. All that time wasted telling us how special they are, only to remove it whenever we become inconvenient to them and their little mission. The powers separate us from them," she gestured away, indicating the doubtlessly missing humans. "Which makes us-"

She paused, reconsidered, and simply smiled instead. The conversation had more or less carried on anyway, so there wasn't any reason to completely tip her hand, not just yet. Far too early, though the urge was burning inside her. Besides, she wasn't quite certain if Zac had intelligence enough to be useful.

Then again, the foolish had their use as well.

But foolish or not, Zac was at least complimentary, and Naomi even chuckled slightly at his comment. "No, I'm afraid I wouldn't."

And then the new arrival showed. Larger, decidedly American, and pretty well exposing Zac's ill-conceived charade. Kessler. And Zac apparently didn't use his power, whatever that was, that often. Naomi started eating again, figuring that the two were likely to start prattling on about "man-things" when Zac artfully managed to rope her back into the conversation. A quick swallow, and Naomi was smiling up at Kessler.

"You didn't give me yours, unless it actually is Ru-ru, in which case I suggest slapping your parents," replied Naomi. She paused for a beat, before relenting: "Naomi. I recently transferred from Kocher haute école pour les surdoués."

Which, of course, she said in perfect whatever the hell that is (seriously, is that French or Dutch?), before returning to nibble delicately at her food.

[Cole Kessler]

Cole laughed when Zac answered him, "I know you don't, but still, I wanted to ask. It's called common courtesy. Plus, you are one of my best friends." Cole told him as he playfully punched Zac's arm, no strength whatsoever. Cole listened as his friend asked the new girl's name. He wondered just how long they'd been talking. Couldn't have been long if Zac hadn't learned her name yet.

Cole removed his hat and sat it on the table in front of him. Realizing the bandage had come off with his hat, he quickly reached back to it and replaced the gauze pad. The stitches remained slightly fresh but no oozing blood or anything like that could be seen, yet it was still not a sight one would want to see whilst enjoying a meal. He took up his fork and chopped off a chunk of the first pork chop and took it into his mouth, chewing slowly and savoring the flavor. It wasn't everyday the cafeteria food rivaled that of the local restaurants, let alone that of his mother's cooking.

As he cleared his throat, he realized that Zac had called him by his last name, "Well, that's a step up from 'Kessie-Poo'. Which by the way, call me that sober and I'll beat you, just sayin'." Cole said with a smile and short laugh. He looked to the new girl and offered a handshake, "I'm Cole, by the way." He told her even though she'd yet to ask his name.

[Zachary LaRousse]

“ –gods?” Zac happily filled in the blank, smiling sheepishly as he thought he’d somehow figured the new face out. He doesn’t really know what she’s up to yet, but there’s something about the way she uses her words, about the way she subtly pushes things into the direction she prefers, that piques the mimic’s interest. It’s like she has some sort of misguided – or malevolent even – scheme that she’s trying to set into motion.

She’s worth keeping an eye on then.

Would Zac learn about Naomi thinking he’s dim though, he’d be rather irritated. Because no matter how much people insist he is, he’s not. It’s just that he’s not that serious all the time. Plus, he has this massive ego that just clouds everything.

In any case, he still has his (family’s) influence and money. That ought to be useful. (Not now at least, since he’s penniless due to the punishment that was previously alluded to).

He almost spat his food out in front of him (read: onto Naomi’s clothes) when Cole said that he’s his best friend. Good god, he thought, his eyes widening in surprise. Zac has never really been comfortable at the concept of friendship. He knows he should keep some close at bay, but there’s this weird logic his ego tells him that prevents him from acknowledging such people as his friends. Even more when it comes to best friends.

Luckily, Naomi’s voice brought him back to the cafeteria. “That’s because you didn’t ask sweetheart,” he chuckled, taking in her name. Naomi. Not too imposing, if he can say so himself. “It’s Zac. From Zachary. Ruru’s Kessiepoo’s way of murdering my last name.”

Since their initial discussion has been effectively extinguished by the arrival of his ‘best friend’, he figures he might as well initiate some small talk. Nothing more uncomfortable than awkward silence while eating. “Kocher eh? Seems we get a ton of transfers from that school. Wonder why we don’t get much from Eisai or Odarennyĭ?” He took in the last of his beans and then continued, “So, is Hammel any different from Kocher?”

Such cliché questions, but it’s not like he can suddenly jump into more unorthodox topics, right?

[Naomi Green]

Naturally Naomi was already sizing up the newer arrival, trying to determine whether or not he'd be of any use to her in the future. The bandage was interesting, as was his implied relationship with "Ru-ru." The Asian teen didn't seem nearly as thrilled as Kessler did though. Naomi smiled yet again, thoroughly enjoying the discomfort around her.

"I'd call it a pleasure to meet you, Cole, but it seems a little premature," said Naomi, smiling at Kessler yet again. Zac had continued his conversation though, again drawing Naomi's attention. She nearly stared as he spoke, watching him closely and breaking only for moments while she chewed delicately at her food. When it came time for her to respond, she made certain to swallow and dab at herself with a napkin first.

"Odarennyĭ focuses upon developing their military, and most of their students are surprisingly single-minded. Though there are those that do seem likely to aid their military intelligence. Nonetheless, they have a slightly stricter way of looking at things than we do.

"Eisai is a little more surprising, though I suppose it comes down to what Japanese person in their right mind would want to come here?" she smirked at Zac. Yes, it was strange enough for the Brit to be in America, and Naomi was only here because of special circumstances, which she certainly wasn't going to be sharing with Kessler and Zac anytime soon.

She paused to take another bit of her food before answering the more direct, and likely less rhetorical, question. "Oh, it's hardly different. Save for the more intellectual environment, the lack of any accent save American, and the diminished culture. Honestly, who puts a school in the middle of Vermont unless they're trying to torture someone?"

A roll of her eyes, and Naomi was again nibbling at her food. A few bites, and a question of her own: "So what did you do that warranted your powers being stripped from you for a month? That seems rather extreme, doesn't it?"

[Cole Kessler]

"Like KessiePoo is his way of murdering mine." Cole interjected as Zac spoke. Cole shrugged off Zac's trying to keep his food down and instead re-phrased and named their 'friendship', "Well, more like one of my best bros." He said as he took another piece of meat and bit into it.

As Naomi spoke about meeting him, and said pleasure it brought, Cole grinned at how she finnished it though. Normally, he was the southern gentleman who made very few perverse jokes and rarely referenced things of the sexual nature, "Premature? I ain't touchin' that one, sweetheart." Cole said with a smile. A light snicker could be heard under his breath as a joke came through, but he refused to say it.

Behind her he couldn't help but notice a group of boys around he and Zac's age looking her over. One even had his phone out taking pictures of her backside. Really, guys? Cole said to himself before speaking again, "Excuse me one second, Naomi?" Cole focused his mind. He thought about the phone, an iPhone 4. He remembered an article about the Apple product's battery overheating and exploding that resulted from a hardware moderation. The proverbial lightbulb lit up in his head. Cole could focus his power into the phone and attempt to overload the battery in this one without harming anyone.

Subtly, he channelled a small amount of neuro-electric energy out of his body. The only thing there to give it away was a strong static field surrounding it in mid-air. He pushed it toward the phone and forced it into the hardware from the charging port and waited. One...... Two...... POP! The phone burst in two and fell to the ground. Cole continued to eat his food, swallowing before speaking, "What the hell!?" Cole said, faking the surprise in his voice, "C'mon, y'all, people's tryin' to eat here." Cole yelped as he saw the phone, "Man, that's why you don't mod the Hardware. Don't y'all know Apple's got a self-destruct failsafe? Damn!" He finished speaking and returned his attention to the two he sat with, a grin on his face, "Now, where were we?"

[Zachary LaRousse]

So maybe he wasn’t really all that subtle in his displeasure slight disagreement with the nomenclature of his relationship with the electric manipulator. It’s just that no matter how hard he tries, subtlety isn’t really his strongest suit (mostly because his ego keeps on telling him that he should always have the spotlight, not disappear on the sidelines). That, and the fact that his relationship with the one person he considers his best friend (though he hasn’t said it out loud yet) is rather shaky at the moment, he’s more or less sensitive around the whole concept nowadays.

He did appreciate the Cole took his reaction in good humor. That’s one of the nice things about the man anyway. For some reason, he could never offend him. “Well duh. I’m not me if I’m not the best at what I do. Who else could you count on to steal all those girls in your arms when I feel like you’re too spent to take on all of them?”

His eyebrow rose slightly at Naomi’s words though. Not only has he not heard that one before, it’s a bit taunting. Just another reason why he definitely needs to keep an eye on her.

And as usual, it seems Cole didn’t find anything offensive with that, at all. “I apologize for Cole’s crude joke. And if you didn’t get it, I’m totally not explaining,” he chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. Though considering how detailed her explanation/reasoning was to his supposedly rhetorical question, well, he’s fairly sure she’d get most anything one throws at her.

Yes, Naomi just managed to intimidate Zac. Not an easy feat to do mind you, considering how big his ego is.

“Hammel’s more intellectual? And here I was thinking Hammel’s the most lax meta-school there is.” Everyone knows Eisai ranks first should their test scores be compared. They had a transfer from Eisai last year and he happily breezed through every lesson they had. He barely listened to their teachers and yet he almost always gets one of the top scores. Oh how he envied that boy.

He almost choked on his food when Naomi asked about his prank. He knew it was bound to come up sometime though. “Well Cole, if you’re done showing off, I was just about to tell Naomi the little tale on how I became powerless.” Despite his seemingly harsh tone, the grin on his face says that he’s only teasing the other boy.

And so he began telling her about the Talk. About what his original plan was (Mia was supposed to distract Dr. Neville while he and Robbie sets the sound system to make moaning sounds and JD fires the cannons with genitalia-inspired jewelry and sex toys) and how it got completely overshadowed by the technopath’s display. And the rage that came soon after. “Feel free to label me a ‘bad man’ and leave now. And besides, I don’t think I’m doing much to your ‘reputation’ sitting with you. Not that I care about what clique-y cliché things the imbeciles around us think.”

ooc:
I might've rambled a bit with this one. I'm so sorry. D;
- Jam

[Naomi Green]

The two exchanged taunts like longtime friends, betraying their true relationship. It nearly made Naomi roll her eyes, and if they continued that way, she was likely to see if there was somewhere else she could slink off to. But thankfully the conversation continued with only a few asides, most of which didn't detract too much.

"I'm afraid I did get it," said Naomi. She spared a pitying smile toward Kessler. "It's a shame that he would air such a very personal issue in front of someone. I hear there are pills you can take for that these days."

And the conversation somehow wrapped its way back to the schools. Naomi shrugged. Perhaps the European school had been more intellectual as a whole, and she was simply projecting her own experiences onto it. Now that she'd arrived here, her studies were being more closely monitored than they'd been at Kocher. Which would skew her experiences of those two schools.

It certainly didn't change which school she'd rather be at now.

As if to further confirm that belief, Kessler paused in their conversation to destroy an I-phone. Naomi turned slightly, wondering why he'd even bothered to go through the trouble. She smiled and wiggled her fingers toward that table anyway. Something was likely afoot.

And back to the conversation. Zac explained in detail his childish prank, and while said prank wasn't altogether impressive, the amount of planning was. Naomi found her respect growing for the young man with each passing sentence, so that by the time he ended, she was hardly rising from her seat to leave.

"I certainly see no reason to call you that," said Naomi. "You didn't provide sufficient instructions to your distraction. You're hardly to blame if Mia cannot understand boundaries."

Though that the girl had managed such a feat was impressive. It already made Naomi acutely aware that she'd have to make contact. If Mia was willing to do something like this for money, then perhaps she could be convinced to do other such things. A little tinkering in Naomi's record could do wonders.

"I suppose his best friend and phone destroyer was in on this, of course?" asked Naomi, looking to Kessler and obviously trying to make certain he stayed in the conversation. Perhaps a part of her was thoroughly enjoying conversing with two handsome young men.

Perhaps.

[Cole Kessler]

Cole smiled as she turned his own joke around on him. Nice recovery, Naomi.... He thought to himself, glad no one in the conversation was a telepath. He could already tell this was going to be fun. Another slight snicker escaped his breath as she wagged her finger at the boys who were now phoneless.

Cole laughed as Zac brought up his supposed man-charms, "LaRousse, do I really need to bring Heather and Alex into this conversation?" He asked, refering to a next-day conversation between the two boys. Zac had told Cole of the changed attitudes of the girls Cole had slept with. And Cole had told Zac of a certain way he'd learned to use his powers which resulted in said attitudes.

Cole listened as Zac recollected the diasaster that was his prank during Dr. Neville's sex-ed seminar. Cole had resisted all of the chances he had to make perverted jokes there as well, though it took all he had to do so. "Through all this he managed to get us all threatened with detention before he even started the prank. Him and his damn balloons. Though Sidra popping the one was pretty funny." The Naomi directed a question to him, "I was...... involved indirectly, you could say. I was in the projection that was put up. The projection was the thing that had gotten them in the most trouble." Cole explained, "Though I did tell Zac what I could've done to help.... After he'd asked what I thought about it."