Read it and weep (Rhett)

[Ayla Simpson]

The day was drawing to a close, the sun setting, turning the sky one wonderful shade after another. It really was a wonderful evening, one that would surely be a joy to watch. Unfortunately for Ayla, that opportunity was not open to her. As it was she was trying as hard as she could to sit still and concentrate. Some people find staying in one place difficult, for Ayla it was doubly so. Her power left her with a constant feeling of energy, like one would get during a sugar rush or after drinking a lot of caffeine. Any who have experienced this feeling know that it makes stillness and concentration almost impossible.

It was for this reason that Ayla was shifting in her seat, giving little sighs of irritation every now and then. This book was just so boring. She was supposed to read a chapter on cell structure or something like that, but it just wasn’t happening. No matter how much she tried to read, forced herself to look at sentence after sentence, none of it was making it to her brain. She had been at it for far longer than she wanted.

It probably didn’t help that she chose to do this reading in the student lounge, which was still somewhat populated even at this hour. There was something on TV. Ayla wasn’t sure what it was but it was probably better than this boring textbook. The place had gotten a lot emptier in the time the redhead had been there, but it was still full enough that she had plenty to distract herself with.

Gritting her teeth, Ayla stared back down at the page of her book, determined to get this chapter finished tonight. She forced herself to read a few sentences. Wait, hadn’t she read this part before? Or was it just very similar to another bit she had read? Something something neucleus… Oh, what does it even matter? Who cares about this stuff anyway? Ayla’s thoughts definitely weren’t with her on this one. No matter how hard she tried to study her still mind wandered.

Giving a sigh full of annoyance, the girl closed the book, putting it on the arm of the chair beside her and just glaring at it for a moment. Why did this stuff have to be so boring? Maybe if science were actually written in an interesting way then it would be easier to learn. Though, if truth be told, Ayla wasn’t much of a reader at all. Some people would go on and on about how they lost themselves in a book for hours on end, but she just didn’t see the appeal of that. No, reading was best done by other people in Ayla’s mind.

Words: 458
Tagged: Rhett
Notes: lost it at the end, sorry.

[Rhett Goddard]

"Mr. McQueen, right?" Rhett said to the girl in the chair just behind his. "Just don't talk about his hair or the fact that he's in a glass closet and you'll be fine."

Now, Rhett was not the kind of person that offered free advice to some random person in the student lounge, or anywhere else, as a matter of fact, so any smart person that knew the blonde probably thought there was some scheming behind his advice on Mr. McQueen's biology classes. Any smart person that knew the blonde even more, and this was levels not even his boyfriend had, probably would argue that his advice came out of random boredom, as Rhett has been known to do very out-of-character random things when he found himself bored. "Experimenting", he'd call it.

"You're not naturally redhead, are you?" Rhett asked without turning around to actually see the girl. "Why would you choose red?" And no, he wasn't looking at her through a reflection either, he knew the color of her hair and the subject of the book she was reading via ESP. "What's so outstanding about you, gingers?"

Anyone that knew all the details about Rhett's love life could probably guess that this was a bit more of a personal question.

[Ayla Simpson]

Ayla looked up at the disturbance. Someone in a chair a little way in front of her own spoke up, offering some seemingly random advice. Ayla raised an eyebrow at the entirely unnecessary advice. She had been at this school for four years; She didn’t need people telling her how to deal with teachers.

”I know how to handle myself in class you know, I didn’t just get here yesterday.” She looked over to the boy, sitting with his back to her, which was a little rude in Ayla’s opinion. Isn’t it courteous to look at someone when you talk to them? Still, she let it slide; it wasn’t like she cared much. At least this guy’s sudden decision to speak up gave her an excuse not to study.

He was sat there, facing forward in his chair, speaking casually. He must have been looking at her at some point, considering what he knew about her. Ayla felt a little smile turning up the corners of her mouth. She tucked her legs up under her, getting herself a little more comfortable for the conversation.

”Have you been spying on me then?” Her tone was playful, almost as though she was teasing him for watching her while she tried to study. It must have been pretty funny from an outside perspective; seeing her fidgeting and sighing at her book. ”Actually I am a natural redhead, I just wanted to add a little something to it, so I got some highlights put in. And anyway, us gingers are just awesome, that’s what’s so outstanding.”

Her gaze was fixed on the back of his head, waiting for him to turn. Surely he wasn’t going to have the entire conversation with his back to her. His own hair was fine enough from what she could see, nothing incredible though. Ayla wasn’t all that concerned about hair in general, it was just nice to make hers stand out a little more.

Words: 326
Tagged: Rhett
Notes: something.

[Rhett Goddard]

"No, you've been around four," Rhett mentioned casually. "but you're having trouble with that book when anyone in McQueen's class should know he never asks questions from the book but from his lectures." Something he, thankfully, learned quick enough. "So, yeah, maybe you do need some help. Just say take it and say thanks."

Rhett himself was also doing some light reading, unlike the redhead behind him, it was nothing academic. He wasn't the type that read books for fun, but this had called to be read somehow. It was The Time Machine, by H.G. Wells, or well, it was the French version of the book, as he had learned that it was far easier to read in his maternal language. So far, he liked it, but he couldn't understand what was so great about traveling through time, at least he couldn't understand what was so great about traveling forward.

"Sure." He answered the girl's first question. "I do that with every ginger in Earth." Hopefully that assured the sarcasm in his answer was clear enough. "You know..." He passed the book's page. "you are." He said honestly. "Not you, though, I meant the other you, the one that encompasses the gingers as a group." He smiled mildly, remembering how much he bugged Odion about being ginger. "After all you dyed your hair, at much you're fake-awesome, and I'm probably stretching it."

[Ayla Simpson]

Ayla couldn’t help a look of surprise crossing her face at the boy’s off-hand remark. It was unlikely that he could know how long she had been here. She didn’t know him from any classes, and hadn’t really seen him about much, or not that she could remember. So either she was more right in her stalking comment than she originally thought, or he was doing some kind of trick.

”Hey! How do you know how long I’ve been here? Are you doing something?” No matter what it was, she wasn’t exactly comfortable with it. If he was doing something, like using his power, well it was just not nice. Maybe she was just being overly suspicious, maybe he knew someone she knew, like a friend of a friend or something, but it still set her a little on edge.

”And anyway, we’re still supposed to do the work, and I’m not having trouble with the book, I’m just not in the mood to read right now. I understand it perfectly fine.” She was feeling just a little annoyed now. Maybe it wasn’t meant as an insult, but it sure felt like one. ”I don’t need help, and I’m not going to thank you for butting in.

Ayla was usually pretty quick to form opinions on people, and this boy was no exception. So far her opinion wasn’t exactly positive. He was just a little too casual, it was a little annoying the way he just sat there, making off-hand comments, not even being polite enough to look at her while he spoke. She felt a little like poking him in the back of the head to turn his attention more towards him and away from whatever he was reading.

”I’m still proper ginger, so my awesome is all there, I just added to it a little. If anything that makes me even more awesome. And what about you, you don’t even have awesome ginger hair at all, so what does that make you?” She wasn’t intentionally digging at him, not quite anyway, there was still an air of playfulness in he speech, but it was just tinged with annoyance. She was trying not to get irritated, but she couldn’t get over the idea that this guy was doing something, something sneaky and weird.

Words: 384
Tagged: Rhett
Notes: I need to stop posting at 2am, quality suffers…

[Rhett Goddard]

"You're welcome." Rhett said nonchalantly, even if the ginger said she wasn't going to thank him, or perhaps just because of that.

He went unto the next page of his book. It was still, not that good, but it definitely was more fun than discussing hair-color with somebody he didn't know nor cared to get to know, so he was nowhere near turning around to see this "Ayla", whose name was just appearing in the blonde's head.

"So you really think it made you more awesome?" He asked calmly as he continued reading. "Were you not awesome enough, then? Maybe you were boring and un-entertaining and you wanted to change that." He sighed strongly. "Maybe you were the one exception to the ginger-awesomeness rule."

Her following question made Rhett smirk a bit. Not like any of the prejudices against blondes applied to him, but hasn't she heard them before at least? Well, maybe not all were wrong.

"No, I am blonde." He answered. "We have more fun," He smirked again. "at least I do. You should have tried blonde."

[Ayla Simpson]

He completely ignored her first question, a fact that Ayla was none too pleased about. She was certain he was doing something now; otherwise he’d have answered. It was just unfair of him, to dig around in her head like that and find out things about her. It was all the worse because of the details he could find out. Just as she was about to blurt out her objections though he spoke again.

He was trying to annoy her now, surely. Either that or he was at least half-deaf. She wanted to re-state that she wasn’t thanking him, that she was just fine on her own and didn’t need help, but it would probably just show him that he was getting to her. That is, if he was trying to get at her. He still hadn’t looked up from his book, as though he was barely even listening.

”I was plenty awesome already, I’m not boring at all. There’s no such thing as too much awesome, so I added some more, it’s not like it’s a bad thing.” It wasn’t even that big of a deal to her. It was more arguing for the sake of not letting him win than it was for proving that she was awesome. It made her sound so narcissistic to keep going on about how awesome she was, when she had only made it as a passing comment. It was him; he was the one who kept challenging her simple statements. ”People also say blondes are airheads, so does that apply to you? Do you have more fun because it’s easier to please you?” She was letting a little anger slip into her voice now. She couldn’t help it; this guy just irritated her.

She wanted to just jab him hard in the back of his head with a finger, or hit him with her book, or something to draw his attention to her and away from whatever it was that he was reading. It was probably boring anyway, something so boring and dull that he had to entertain himself by irritating her. If he had any sense he’d just put the book down and admit that it wasn’t interesting him like Ayla had done with hers. At least she had the sense to not waste time on something she didn’t find interesting.

”And anyway, stay out of my head. I know you’re in there and I don’t want it. You’re not allowed. Ok?” Her earlier annoyance came back in full force, she may be quick to change topic, but didn’t forget easily when certain things were involved. Things like her memories and feelings, her innermost thoughts. They belonged to her alone, and anyone who tried to look into them would be punished.

Words: 460
Tagged: Rhett
Notes: hm

[Rhett Goddard]

((psst psst, sorry for how long this took. crazy long week and weekend and blabla write here more excuses ))

"Sure, I'm dump, clearly," Rhett said with a pretty marked sarcastic tone, anyone that knew Rhett, or at least his power, knew he was the complete opposite of an airhead. and well, you don't entertain that much, being boring and all that, and yet I'm having lots of fun." He smirked as he passed the page of his book. "The cliches definitely apply to me."

"Stay out of my head". Like her sparky attitude and hair weren't reminders enough of Odion, now she had to go ahead and assume he was a mind reader just like Odion thought. Heck, Rhett wasn't even sure Odion didn't still believed that, apparently for some people it was hard to grasp the true nature of Rhett's powers, then again, Rhett couldn't either.

"Don't flatter yourself," Rhett smiled slightly, still concentrated in his book. "I'm not in your head nor I want to be, I'm not a mind-reader, but a people reader," He had always thought that, he had never said it out loud though. "and you are one easy girl." He changed pages on the book, it was definitely a light read. "To read, of course, any other context I have no idea. Yet, anyway."

[Ayla Simpson]

This guy was really grinding Ayla’s gears now. She wanted more than ever to poke him in the back of the head or something. He was just sat there; so calm, so casual, so asking for it. But still, she restrained the urge, and contented herself with glaring at the boy’s blond head, as though her gaze itself would bore a hole through to his brain and tell him to knock it off.

”Hey, I’m not boring. Just because you ‘have more fun’ doesn’t mean I have no fun at all. If you’re so smart you should know that. Guess you’re right, those sayings are true for you.” Ayla felt confident that she had a point with that one, but then, it probably wouldn’t make any difference, he wouldn’t lose that certain air he had about him, the one that made him seem smug and full of himself, at least in the girl’s eyes.

She didn’t reply right away to his ‘people reading’ comment. Her first instinct had been so shout out indignantly like she had done so many times before when insulted, but for once she paused to think, even if it was only for a short while.

”Well, if you’re not a mind-reader then how do you know things about me. Like, you’re not even looking at me, which is rude by the way. How do you read someone if you aren’t even looking at them? Unless you were looking at me earlier like some kind of creep.” This guy had some nerve to say things like that, like she was some kid’s book that anyone could pick up and understand. He didn’t know the first thing about her. And if he did then he was only proving her right. Ayla was anything but open about her personal life, it’s not like he could have heard about her from a friend or anything like that.

”And hey, what do you mean you have no idea about that ‘yet’, what makes you think you’ll find out anything like that about me. What makes you think you’ll find out anything at all? Are your’ people reading’ skills that good? Or maybe you are just sneaking around in my head and you don’t want to admit it.” Surely that was the only way he could be chatting away to her like this, and the only way he could know how long she’d been at the academy. It didn’t matter if he hadn’t brought up any proper personal facts about her yet, in Ayla’s mind he was almost certainly snooping around in her private thoughts, and she was having none of it.

Words: 440
Tagged: Rhett
Notes: It’s… alright, I think.