Old Tricks (TK.)

[Odion Martins]

Odion was starting to become busier than he wanted to be. He hadn’t stolen anything in weeks. It was itching for some alone time. There just hasn’t been enough of that for this loner. Some reprieve would be better than none, so Odi ducked his head into the hallway as he went towards the school library. His hands were in his jean pockets, a sense of peace slowly filling him. Between helping Lani train, and taking care of the three kittens, Odion hadn’t had a moment’s silence. It wasn’t that he didn’t like the kittens, or Lani for that matter, but he still needed time to think, time to let his guard down without anyone watching him.

Taking out his old and tattered deck of cards, Odion sat at his favorite table in the library, and looked out to the growing plants and things outside. He smiled. It was going to take some time to get used to not having Rhett around anymore, but eventually, he was going to be free from his ex and all the memories. It was still hard to think about sometimes. Who wouldn’t get upset over thinking about how the love of their life up and vanished into thin air without a trace. Odion wasn’t going to be in another relationship like that for a long long time.

He laid his cards out on the table, face up. “Hello old friends,” he said, not bothering to whisper. There was no one else here at this time of day. Everyone was locked up in their dorm rooms, studying like mad. And then there was Odion, who would rather space out and stare at the wall than ever look at another book again. School was a useless societal tool, and he couldn’t wait to just graduate and be done with all the bullshit. Whatever he may need in life, he could steal. Money wasn’t an issue, and with his power, the world was his oyster. Maybe that was a diabolical thought, but at least he would enjoy his life instead of just working.

Odion liked to stay in the shadows. He kept to himself, and seemed pretty unassuming to those around him. He began shuffling the cards together, something that wasn’t really necessary for building a card castle, but it was just habit. And then slowly, Odion built the base for the castle and worked his way up, unaware if anyone was watching him or not. He was smiling slightly as the tower began to rise. He was too wrapped up in the moment and forgot about where he was as he let his guard down.

[Terrance Kellam]

He should have been studying for that math exam. He should have been studying for that history exam. But what he? Of course not. TK saw no point in it. He was sure even if he did somehow manage to pass the exams this year he would still be coming face-to-face with his third year as a junior at Hammel. That wasn't a fact he was too proud about, but he knew when he got old enough and finished making his own company, he could just drop out. You don't need to know who the fifteenth president was or the angle of the ladder against a wall to translate.

Those thoughts are what brought TK to the library. Why the library? Everyone else seemed to be elsewhere, so he figured at least one person was studying. He could bug them for a little. The teen stepped inside, looking about, a bag of nacho cheese Doritos in hand. If he would have to throw them out, he wouldn't mind. The snack was almost fully devoured now anyway.

As he walked around, he couldn't remember the last time he used the library for its intended purpose. The last time he was here he was trying to get a game of hide-and-seek started... TK happened to spot Odion, and his cards were visible. He had found his newest acquaintance.

He approached the table slowly, still looking around in case others were around as well. When he neared the table, he stopped about an arms-length away -- he did not want to be responsible for knocking down the cards. He watched for a few seconds, finishing the chip in his mouth before speaking. "Niiiiiiice. I haven't built a card-house in ages. Mind if I join you?"

[Odion Martins]

Luckily for Odion, this was only the first time he would be repeating his last year. It wasn’t something he wanted to do, but he did want to better his powers. His grades he could improve if he really wanted to, but it was his power that was really holding him back. He could paused time and walk through the past like he breathed the air, however, speeding it up on a whim just wasn’t happening naturally for the boy. This, coupled with low grades, earned him another year at Hammel. Oh what fun!

TK could probably get all kinds of jobs with his power. He was a walking dictionary. Translators were paid in obscene amounts. He would fair fine in this world. As for Odion, there wasn’t a big demand for people who could stop time. At least TK could pass as normal. He didn’t need to tell anyone he was meta in order to have a translating job. It was like a free meal pass, a ‘pass GO and collect two hundred dollars’. But not everyone had a free ride, that’s why Odi was stealing his.

Odion blinked a couple times, his eyebrows furrowing as someone’s voice came through. It was a boy he shared the same math class with. The very same boy who had thrown that obnoxiously loud party a while back. TK enjoyed getting into trouble. Odion liked causing trouble but not getting caught. “If you want to, I can’t stop you,” he said apprehensively, his English accent peeking through. Odi could be very spiky and rub people the wrong way. He wasn’t out to make friends though, so pushing people aside wasn’t an issue. TK did say something that caught the ginger’s attention though. “You can build card castles?” He asked, doubt colouring his tone. That would be the first time anyone claimed such a thing around here.

For a moment the castle stood its ground. Odion had placed the last card on top as soon as TK approached. He had done it a hundred times, and he would do it a hundred more, so with a wave of his hand, the cards came tumbling down. He smiled softly, that was one of his favorite parts about building it in the first place. He brought the cards first into a pile, then into their respected deck, before extending them to TK. Odion was feeling rather generous today. “Let’s see then.”

[Terrance Kellam]

TK was thankful for his ability. It came at the right time, too. It saved him from depression and gave him all the confidence in the world. The once quiet loner had transformed himself into the guy that had to talk to everyone and couldn't wait to do things. He was definitely thankful to be one of the lucky ones. His power didn't require much training. Yes, there were time when he couldn't remember English, or thought he was speaking English but instead was speaking Czech. But aside from that, he was fine. The only thing not fine were his grades. TK had no idea how he dealt with school before his powers manifested. It seemed as if once he learned to speak every language, every other subject was suddenly unimportant. So, while he could get that translating job, don't ask him to go on a game show. You. Will. Lose.

"Keyword: ages," he smirked, taking a seat at the table. His bag of chips were set down and he whipped his hands on his fitted jeans. Eh, they'd be washed later. TK took the box and emptied it, letting the cards slide onto the table. Yup, it had been ages ago since the last time he'd built one of these. If he remembered correctly, his dad was taking him to Washington state and he tried to build a house on the plane with a flight attendant. Needless to say, that didn't work out very while. He had successfully made one later on when they landed, but he couldn't recall any other instances of the activity. TK took a few cards and haphazardly begin making a castle. This was going to end very quickly.

"I thought whoever would be in here would be studying," said TK, still working on the base that he seemed to be having troubles with. Suddenly, it was stable and he began working on the next level. He was surprising himself right now, actually. Though secretly he was placing bets against himself on how high it would get. This is as high as it's getting.

[Odion Martins]

Odion didn’t have anyone to give him confidence. Being an orphan wasn’t exactly peaches and cream. Life was hard, that was a lesson Odi had learned early on in life. He had been raised by a pack of travelling pickpocketers that consisted mostly of teenage boys. The redhead always envied those with loving, caring families, even good friends. Odi just didn’t have the capacity to let people in this way. He could show them different sides of himself, but he could never shoe them his true face. Maybe TK was one of those gifted people that hung onto languages. Odion could speak a handful of languages, but that was nothing compared to what TK could do.

Raising an eyebrow at the other boy, Odion didn’t understand what ‘ages’ was supposed to mean. He tucked it into the back of his mind for safe keeping. It might be a key he needed later. His dark blue eyes glanced to the Doritos bag. Did everyone here have horrible taste in food? Who did he have to steal from to get some decent snacks around here? He would do just about anything for some aged cheese. Ah, if only he could sneak to Europe for a day. That would require more stealing, and it was something he just didn’t have the time for, even though he could make the time. Literally.

A bemused smirk slipped across Odion’s thin lips. TK had big lips. Odion was already making mental notes. Usually Odi didn’t like other people handling his precious cards, but if they thought it was just a deck of cards, it wasn’t something he needed to worry about. “Is that what you were hoping for?” He asked, staring at TK. Odion had an intense stare that didn’t let up. The freckled boy didn’t know what was normal when it came to being awkward, due to how time operated for him. A small grin finally formed on his face, his eyes going back to the castle. He put his head in his hands and watched in silence. TK was quite the troublemaker. It was probably a good thing that he was bothering someone who had no interest in studying.

He had to admit, he thought TK was bluffing, but the castle was coming along nicely. He had managed to impress Odion, slightly. “Once it falls,” because it would, “I’ll show you a trick.”

[Terrance Kellam]

"Truthfully," he began, holding a card in his hand, trying to find out how he was going to place it on this unsteady castle before him, "I was looking for anyone." The card was positioned on the castle... and it stayed. It looked like he was going to owe himself; the castle was still standing, and looked like TK was about to begin his next tier.

TK definitely clung to languages and his ability to understand them. Without them, he'd be completely lost. As of now, there was nothing else going for him. He could only hope that nothing happened that would hinder his abilities, such as becoming deaf, mute, or blind. Or worse: a combination of the three! It was one of TK's worst fears. His only solace in that fear was that if such a situation occurred, he'd have no problem in finding new ways to communicate. Sign language and brail were -- thankfully -- covered by his abilities. The extent that his gift stretched continued to amaze him.

He was a troublemaker for a reason, one that he knew he would have to prepare to tell Dr. Neville eventually. After all, he was failing his classes again and he had plans on hosting an unofficial end-of-the-year party once everyone was done with exams. There was definite trouble in his future, but to TK it was fine. No one ever remembered the times they were bored, by themselves, hating life. But everyone always remembered the late nights, the schemes, and the parties (well, depending on the amount of alcohol, that one was up for debate). And to TK, the former of the two lifestyles was something he wanted to stay dead.

A Deuce of Hearts was picked up. He looked over the card for a second and started examining the still-standing castle, trying to figure out where it was going next. TK was oblivious to the stares. He was focused on this castle... until Odi spoke, that is. He took his eyes off the castle, looking Odi in the eyes as he replied.

"Ooh. What kind of--"... the sound of cards swooshing downward cut him off. TK stared at the heap, mouth slightly gaping, a little pissed that the castle fell the moment he put the card on it. Regardless of the outcome, though, he was going to have card castles on his brain for a few days now. A Youtube search would definitely be performed later on how to make the perfect one. Or, at least one better than he just made. TK sighed and leaned back, crossing his arms. Well, he lost his personal bet. So... he still owed himself? Something like that. "I think you jinxed me." Another smirk.

[Odion Martins]

Truthfully? No one started off a sentence with ‘truthfully’. It was Odion’s instincts that made the ginger call bullshit on whatever TK was going to say next. Odion watched TK try to steady his hand in order to make the next card stay put. “Anyone is pretty desperate,” he said, giving out his opinion although he doubted TK wanted to hear it. There wasn’t anything special about anyone. In fact, anyone was the luck of the hand. What if TK found someone who wanted to hurt him? Odion didn’t seek after people and found TK’s behaviour strange.

They were in school to see just how far their abilities could go, right? In the end, the world would have the perfect place for them, it was just a matter of getting there. Odion’s worst fear had already come true. He had been abandoned (many times). His fear was being alone, and since he isolated himself so much already, he was just trying to get by in life. Maybe the one thing he tried to avoid was his destiny. Only time would tell.

At least TK was hosting a party when school was over. Then most people wouldn’t care about the noise level. The only times Odion had were the ones TK was trying to avoid, though he was never bored. He was one his own most of the time, and yes, hating life. Scheming was Odion’s middle name though, he was just a different brand of troublemaker. Especially if it included alcohol, one of Odi’s weaknesses.

TK had sheer luck on his side, that’s what Odion had decided about his fellow classmate. When the redhead built castle, there was a trick to the trade. He knew exactly how to angle it and keep it vertical. TK just seemed to think on the moment and see what happened next, something Odi could appreciate.

Right on time, the cards fell over onto the table, and Odi gave a good humoured laugh. He was only slightly making fun of TK. “I told you so,” he said, a hand to his mouth as he openly smirked. There was just something about Odion and his demeanour and behaviours that crept their way into people’s minds in order to make a home. TK wouldn’t be the first fellow to think over something Odion did, or Odi himself. Not that Odion knew about this.

Odion blinked a couple times as TK resigned himself from the card pile. “Sorry,” he said as he collected the cards into a heap, but he didn’t sound sorry at all. After shuffling them in that fancy way only card dealers seemed to know how to do, Odion fanned the pile out face down. “Pick a card, look at it, and then put it back in the pile. I’ll shuffle it around a bit and then pick that exact same card,” the ginger smiled crookedly, “start with something small.”

[Terrance Kellam]

T.K. couldn't help but laugh at that. He did seem a little desperate, didn't he? "I guess you can say I am. There's nothing else to do while everyone else is being all 'scholarly', air quotes ending his response. There were plenty of times when he found people that just were not the right kind of person he was looking for. T.K. just chose to not worry about that possible scenario until it happened.

TK knew each one of them here had a purpose, though, whether it'd be around him or not. TK was lucky enough to find his niche in life once he discovered his abilities: communication. And he was proud to embrace that role. That kind of made him eager to hurry out of Hammel, actually. While the school did him so good, ultimately, he knew what he was doing for the rest of his life. Hopefully everyone here would soon figure out there place as well.

Oh yes, the castle was pure luck. TK wasn't even sure why it was standing as long as it did. Maybe he had watched enough TV shows growing up and seen a technique once or twice. Whatever the case, he knew he wasn't going to replicate the results he had a second time.

When Odi muttered his less-than-apologetic "Sorry," TK smirked and shook his head slightly, listening to the words come from the other after. "We're doing card tricks now?" He couldn't help but let a small laugh out from that. But, whatever. TK was amused for now. "Fine." He reached out and grabbed a card, looking over it's picture intently. TK was sure Odi couldn't use an ability to figure out it, but as he was looking over the Nine of Clubs he drew, he made sure to think "Ace of Spades" every so often before placing the card back into the pile.

What? TK went to a school with people who could do anything. It was a completely justifiable action.

[Odion Martins]

TK was going to be one of those people who turned everything Odion said into something good, wasn’t he? How annoying. Odi already had a friend like this, and one was enough. Avi was a precious girl who was easy to love, even though she could be a bit overbearing sometimes. His dark blue eyes soundlessly scrutinized TK. Odi seriously doubted TK would be as lovable. Odion would give TK one thing though which was similar to Avi – annoying.

He smirked at the air quotes. “I understand entirely,” he said simply, “I get to repeat my last year.” He wasn’t sure why he was handing out information like candy, but if TK was going to be here next year, it would be pretty obvious that Odion had stayed behind as well. And if TK graduated, then it really didn’t matter if he knew Odi was staying or not, did it?

Communication was something Odion neither enjoyed nor was good at. He liked watching people to learn about human emotion and reaction. He also liked to con people into thinking certain things about him. He was multi-faced and could be anyone he so pleased. Odion didn’t know what his place in the world was, he only knew that he could use the world to his advantage.

Odion glanced at TK, finding the boy’s laugh charming. “I don’t break my word,” he lied, but for something like showing off his hand at card tricks, he wouldn’t break his promise. The castle had crumbled and there was time to waste. TK really shouldn’t complain. Thinking ‘ace of spades’ wouldn’t fool Odion. His trick was actually pure skill, and had nothing to do with his power. Though stopping time would definitely help with this trick, it just wouldn’t be fun, and take the thrill out of the game. TK could be thinking ‘you’re an arse’ for all Odi cared.

Shuffling the pile again, Odion kept his eyes on TK, so the boy knew he wasn’t cheating. Card tricks were probably the only thing Odi didn’t cheat with. The ginger’s nimble fingers slipped between the cards, expertly flashing the nine of clubs at TK. A winning smile was on Odion’s face. He didn’t need to ask if it was the right card, because he knew it was. He shuffled his cards again, looking down at them, before staring at TK once more. He was starting to get bored. “Do you know any card tricks?”

[Terrance Kellam]

TK turn everything into something good? ... Sounded like him. He was probably entirely too optimistic about most things. Failing classes? Oh, it's okay, he didn't need them. Got into a fight? Oh, I needed to train anyway. Blah blah blah.

"You're repeating a year, too?" His right eyebrow raised. He was quite sure he was the only bad student here. Finding another was... slightly promising, actually. This meant that everyone he knew wouldn't be leaving him soon. "I'm repeating, too, probably." He would have added the little fact that he was about to become a third-year junior, but that was kind of embarrassing, no matter how okay with it he was.

TK eyed his selected card, smiling. The guy had some skills then. "I know absolutely zero card tricks. Never thought to learn any." He shrugged, looking around the library. Not much time had been wasted by coming in here, which was his plan all along until something else came up. He was definitely going to have to do something.

"How about we try something else?" His eyes darted around the library. There was something in here they could do to pass the time more, he just had to figure it out. An idea popped in his head, and he looked back to the cards then back to their interior, smiling.

"How about we make a castle... out of books?"

[Odion Martins]

Too? Odion's face had a look of surprise. "I see I'm not the only one then," he smiled softly. They were in the same boat together, at least when it came to failing school. That was probably the only commonality between then, he was almost positive about that. The ginger merely smirked as TK rephrased what he already said. It didn't really matter to Odion how long TK had been in school for. School wasn't important in the grand scheme called life, and no amount of counseling or teachers telling him otherwise would convince him.

"They're not hard to learn," Odion offered. He was not, however, offering to teach TK any. If the boy was failing school, he would probably fail at learning this as well. The best predictor of future behavior was past behavior. Odi might have had the patience of a saint sometimes, but not for morons.

The gears in TK's mind seemed to be going a hundred miles a second, and Odion glanced around the library as well. Just what was the other boy looking at? There was nothing special about a library, especially not this one. All it had was, well, books. There was really nothing else to do here... TK's smile said otherwise.

"I don't think so," Odion said, glancing between his acquaintance and the librarian, busy typing away. The ginger blinked a couple of times. "I have no interest in getting into trouble at the end of the year," he said. Or ever. Odi liked causing trouble, but he wasn't about to be caught. "Or," he smirked, "you go right ahead and I'll watch."

[Terrance Kellam]

"No one ever remembers the times they were being good," TK said, standing up with a smirk on his face. He could only wonder how long it took the librarian or the assistants to sort these books out. He did, however, know how long it would take for him to ruin all of that hard work. "Take a risk. Have some fun."

TK made his way to one of the tall shelves, checking down the aisles and all around. For the moment, the coast was clear. He knew that eventually he would end up getting caught, but he was quite sure they weren't going to kick him out for it. Hammel should have come to accept such things with TK.

A few of the books of some unimportant subject were pulled out, five for starters, and placed on top of the table TK and Odi were using to build the castle. He made a couple more trips until he was left with about thirteen books all together. While he thought over where he would build it from the ground up or incorporate the table, he posed a question to the other. "When was the last time you did something exciting? Please note that building card castles do not apply."

He had made up his mind: he was going to incorporate the table. If he had made it from the ground up, he just knew he was going to accidentally want to make a fort, and that was just asking for too much work. Trying to remember how he built the first layer of his card castle, he attempted to mimic the method. Hopefully, if it looked as if the book castle would never make it, Odi would pitch in and use his excellent card skills.

[Odion Martins]

TK was that child who enjoyed others building a sand castle, if only he got to knock it down once they were down. In hindsight, Odi was really surprised TK hadn’t just run up to him and destroyed his castle to begin with. Odion smiled a bit at TK’s words. The ginger misbehaved so often, he should technically never forget anything. “I know how to have fun,” he said, but he wasn’t about to say how, or how much. He didn’t stand with TK. If things got grisly, Odion would be out of the library faster than a blink.

Odion watched TK approach the shelves, curiosity written on his face. Was TK really going to make castles out of books? Odi finally stood up when TK began piling books on the table. His table. “You are ridiculous.” He said in a bored tone of voice. He was highly unimpressed but intrigued at the same time. This stupidity served no purpose other than to alleviate boredom, and Odion was trying to figure out why TK resorted to this.

The ginger watched the books stack, and when TK asked when the last time he did something excited was, Odion could only smirk. “Last weekend,” he said, raising a challenging eyebrow at TK. Odi had gone out to the bars, drank some, and snuck back into the school. Nothing too illegal that he wasn’t willing to brag about. But TK would have to work for his information. "And this," he nodded at the table, "this is supposed to be exciting?"

“That’s not going to work,” he pointed to the books TK was trying to build into a castle. The spacing and size of the books were all wrong! Odion stood there with his arms crossed, not moving a centimetre. Oh no, he was not about to lend a hand in this project.

[Terrance Kellam]

Odi was right. This was not going to work. Not because he couldn't build a house out of books -- though, TK really couldn't -- but because it was still not exciting. Not enough for TK anyway. He stepped back from his failing masterpiece and looked around the library, then to Odion. There time here was nearing its end, but he didn't want to necessarily leave the other out of the fun.

"You're right, actually," he said, going over in his head what would be the best thing to do now. And, of course, being the partier that he was, he got an idea. His end-of-the-school-year party was still some time away, but that didn't mean he couldn't enjoy the time in between. "Tonight... Let's go hit the town. Get some drinks and stuff." Their ages would present a slight problem in the drinking category, but TK knew how to get around that problem. Being the social thing that he was, he'd accumulated a friend or two that would buy him the necessary tools to enjoy their night. "You in?"

He would, of course, have to find out what kind of scene Odion preferred. TK enjoyed a "similar" crowd, whether he actually felt like doing things with them or not. It was in his future, he was sure of it. Just wasn't sure how long away it was going to be.

In the moments waiting for Odi's response, TK's eyes scanned over his mess... He was going to leave it all there, just like that. They had janitors and a library crew to pick all this up, right?

... right?

[Odion Martins]

He was... Right? Really? TK was no fun, readily admitting defeat. Odion could already see this relationship would fizzle out as quickly as it occurred. He knew he was right, this book castle wasn’t any more exciting than a card castle. It could have been, given the right people to build it. Also, if the books randomly blew up, that could also be exciting. But no, this was pretty mundane as mundane could be. But TK agreeing to that only made it more boring.

As soon as ‘drinks’ were mentioned though, Odion was all ears. TK had found his weakness rather quickly. Odi’s lips perked up into a grin. “That does sound more exciting than this,” he said, casting another glance at the books. Definitely more exciting than studying. He assumed TK had his own way of getting into bars, and wasn’t about to ask. And if he didn’t, well, Odi would drink alone and still have a fun. It wouldn’t be the first time, nor would it be the last.

Odi started to leave the library. He got the hint that TK wasn’t going to clean up the mess and Odion sure as hell wasn’t going to stick around to do it. “You’re not asking me out on a date, are you?” He asked, a teasing smirk on his face. Really he just wanted to know if anyone else was going to show up he needed to prepare for. Odion didn’t mind entertaining a crowd once in a while. He just needed to go in prepared.