Straight From Life (Open)

[Appoline Meian]

The afternoon had been somewhat cloudy, but that didn't seem to stop the heat any. Even still, while most people were dressed down in shorts and sleeveless shirts, that didn't seem to stop Appoline either. She adored her full-length skirts and long-sleeved blouses, even in the muggy heat of Tokyo and the gentle warmth of Vermont. They seemed to fit her just so without clinging to her slender body at all. She liked the way the fabric swished around her ankles and wrists - it made her feel graceful, beautiful maybe.

At the very least, it made her feel normal.

Normalcy was not something she was going to get here. It was the same as Eisai - people with strange powers that defied explanation, both from biologist and physicists alike. Most of these abilities flew in the face of science and reason altogether. Pyrokinesis, telepathy, body swapping, even biological manipulation - they all were forces acting at a distance, something that science couldn't figure out since it wasn't supposed to work like that.

At least powers like hers were somewhat all right. Advanced reflexes, super strength and speed, heightened senses... those could all be explained away as a fluke of genetics. A quirk of fate, even, if you were the religious type.

Appoline still thought she had more than enough issues with her genes.

It wasn't like they were going to kill her. Oh no, far from it - aside from the powers, there was nothing wrong with her. You know, besides the whole being mostly deaf and off-colored thing. Any deviation from perfection was flawed and despicable. Of course that would be the reason for the harassment, the bullying. She made it too easy for them anyway; why defend yourself if you know the bully is right? Or rather, how is it bullying when the facts are laid bare? Just because it's harsh and you can't change anything doesn't mean it's more than aggressive criticism.

Still, it didn't matter. She figured she'd enjoy the next few days until school started and not worry about it until then. She could pretend that she was normal until then. Until Monday.

Oh, right. Tuesday; America had some odd holiday where they took the first Monday in September off work and school. Tuesday, then.

Despite not wanting to even go to school in the first place, she had somehow found herself on the grounds anyway, curse her feet. But, since she was here and there were people still milling about (it being only a short time after the last classes let out), Appoline decided to make the best out of it anyway. She wandered the grounds for a while, not really feeling the urge to enter the school proper on a nice day such as this, before setting down in the grass on the edge of the courtyard. Having brought her sketchbook and a wide selection of pencils and graphite sticks, it seemed like a nice idea to draw here.

Spreading her navy blue skirt around her so that she could rise easily, Appoline settled into the grass, shifting the sleeves of her loose white blouse before pulling her materials from her bag. She fidgeted a bit with the sunhat she wore, making sure her discolored forelock was still hidden away before returning to the task at hand. She flipped the book open to a new page, looked up at the mostly stationary people chatting away, and began to draw.

It wasn't something masterful right away; she was only just starting, after all. Still, line by line her proportions were mapped and depth charted, each basic construction a light brush of a pencil that would be removed with ease later. After each set of brief touches, she glanced up, marking who had moved and to where before continuing.

In such a state, she really wouldn't have noticed anyone walking up on her, despite having her hearing aids turned on.

[Amos Freeman]

Amos Freeman squinted around campus, looking for unattached, unsuspecting people to interview.

People often underestimated the unwillingness of high school students to give their opinion for an article of any kind. If he was lucky, he got a shy smile and a shake of the head, or a tiny giggle and a ‘sorry.’ If he was unlucky, he got ignored or worse… well, suffice to say everyone at Hammel wasn’t up to par on their manners.

He wasn’t necessarily shy, but years of experience had made him self-conscious about walking up to people who were already in groups. It wasn’t good, he’d learned, to put yourself at a disadvantage the moment you walked up for a statement.

This narrowed down his options considerably; there was one girl, sitting in the middle of the courtyard facing away from him and apparently doing nothing at all.

He cleared his throat in expectation, walking up behind her at a gentle, hopefully non-threatening pace.

“Um, excuse me,” he said politely, then realized the girl was hunched over a drawing. “Oh, sorry, you’re busy…” he scratched the top of his head and tried to look properly sheepish.

[Appoline Meian]

Despite having technology to help her, Appoline was still hard of hearing for the most part. Bust while she didn't hear the boy behind her clear his throat, nor his footsteps, she certainly heard his voice. The minute that his words left his mouth, the Japanese girl jolted in surprise, jerking her hand from the page before she made a mark she couldn't erase. She turned, looking up at him over her shoulder while tilting her hat back to get a better look.

A young man was standing there, probably a student she guessed. He looked pretty embarrassed at having startled her or come up to her while she was drawing, but her face flushed as if she'd been the one to transgress.

"Oh- ah, no, not at all," she stammered, gathering up her supplies. "Was there something you needed?" Her dark hair partially shielded her face, so the eye that he saw looking up at him was a clear, beautiful blue, framed in a petite and pale face. She flushed again as he looked at her, dipping her head modestly as she moved her skirt away so that he could sit if he wanted. Why he would really want to, she didn't know, but it was better than being rude.

[Amos Freeman]

“Sorry! I didn’t, um, mean to startle you…” Amos gave her an apologetic look, his digital recorder held loosely in his left hand. “I’m Amos. I write for the student newspaper.” He took the proffered spot across from her, crossing his legs and plopping down on the grass. His worn purple t-shirt was starting to stick to his back, even though it wasn’t nearly as hot as it had been earlier in the summer… he wondered briefly how she was able to be outside in a blouse and long skirt.

After he’d settled, he looked at the girl with polite interest; he’d never seen an Asian with light eyes before, and the sight was intriguing to him. He didn’t like girls, per se, but she was really very pretty in the objectively aesthetically pleasing way. Model-like, even.

“I’m writing an article about, um, the things Hammel students did over their summer vacation.” He explained. “Did you do anything interesting? I mean, I can leave your name out, if you want. It’s just a fluff piece… like, because we don’t have anything else to write about. News is kind of, um, slow around here.”

He smiled hopefully, hoping she would take pity on him and give him something work with.

[Appoline Meian]

"It's all right," she answered shyly, forcing her hands into her lap (though they still clung to her sketchbook). "I... I'm Appoline. It's a pleasure to meet you..." She glanced up at him curiously, then back to her lap, pale face still flushed slightly with pink. She always became this way when people stared right at her - it made her nervous. She supposed she inherited it from her father, though he only seemed to have the issue with larger groups than five.

She glanced up again when he started speaking, watching his face and lips in particular as he spoke. It helped her figure out what people were saying when her hearing aids acted up, though now it was ingrained habit whether they were working or not.

"Over vacation?" she repeated, making sure she understood. "I'm... not sure I'm the best person to talk to..." Glancing down, she brushed some of the hair from her face (though not enough for him to see her other eye), and nibbled at her lower lip in thought. "I only recently came to Hammel. I start on Tuesday with my classes."

Glancing up at him again, an idea started to form and she hurriedly flipped to a new page in her book. "Would you..." she paused, hesitating."Would you mind... if I, ah, if I sketched you? I'm not very talkative, and... it helps a little." Giving a very meek smile up at Amos, she glanced down at her hands, which were currently wringing themselves girlishly. Why did she have to be so cripplingly shy?

[Amos Freeman]

“Hi, Appoline,” Amos said politely, grinning. “It’s a pleasure to meet you too.”

He nodded his confirmation, wondering if the girl was this nervous around everyone, or just him. He supposed he had come up rather randomly….

“Oh, sorry, I didn’t know that,” he was sheepish again. “Well, surely you did, um, something fun? I mean, anything at all…” he was really, really desperate to get some statements for this story. If this didn’t work, he’d probably end up borrowing the mind of a squirrel and prancing around the courtyard until he overheard something he could use.

“Oh, and welcome to Hammel!” He said brightly. “I’ve been here for, um…” he counted off the time on his right hand. “About five years. It takes some time to get adjusted, but everyone is really friendly. I’m sure you’ll make plenty of friends.” He saw what he thought was apprehension, and he faltered a bit.

“Just let me know if you need any help finding anything, or, you know, anything like that.”

Her request caught him slightly off guard, and he felt the heat rise in his cheeks. He cleared his throat, offering a small smile.

“Sure,” he said, although his voice had gotten a little softer. “I mean, if you don’t think my face will, um, ruin your muse or something,” he chuckled at his own weak joke.

[Appoline Meian]

"Thank you," she replied, not really believing the boy about the kindness of people here. Everyone made fun of people that were different; metas were no exception. "I'll be sure to... but I really don't want to be a bother..."

She glanced up to see the blush in his cheeks and blushed herself, the slight pink turning a much deeper rose. "I-I'm sorry," she stammered, fidgeting. "I didn't mean to be so forward..." Looking up at him again as he answered, she shook her head quickly. "No! I mean... no, not at all. I... I like drawing people. Everyone has a... an aesthetic to them. It's much nicer than drawing landscapes." She looked back up to him, hiding behind her hair and hat.

"...Thank you, though."

And with that, she began to sketch. It started out with the same basic shapes she'd been blocking out with the school and perspectives. She needed to focus on something before she answered...

Oh, right; the question.

"Well..." Appoline looked away for a moment, thinking about the question as her pencil twirled in her fingers. Moving hadn't been fun, especially not the flight; her dad was so anxious that he needed to be sedated by her mom, and Cassi had talked almost nonstop to the man across the aisle. It had been really boring. Before they left, there was packing, and before that...

"Well, I suppose... my mom and dad took my sister and I shopping," she stated, immediately hating the words as they left her mouth. "We... well... we went to Shibuya for it, and that was pretty fun..."

Her words trailed off a little, and she glanced up at Amos again, unsure. Did this boy really want to hear about a shopping trip? Even if it was in the trendiest place in Japan, she wasn't sure of the significance here in the US. There'd been a video game about Shibuya a while back, but not everyone played them here.

[Amos Freeman]

“Oh, no, um, you’re not a bother at all,” Amos said hurriedly, smiling again. He wondered if he was still allowed to talk while she drew; he’d never exactly been anyone’s model before. “I was 12 when I came here, and a few older students showed me around, so it’s like, um, paying it forward, you know what I mean?”

He fidgeted a little.

“So you were in Japan, then, right? That sounds pretty cool to me,” Amos offered. He had never been out of the country. He hadn’t even had to travel very far to attend Hammel; his mother’s house was about a 3 hour bus ride away. “What’s Shibuya like? Did you buy anything, um, really cool? Or maybe just window shopping, enjoying the quality time with your family?”

He was trying to give her plenty of material to work with, but he ended up talking more about her vacation than she did. He bit his lip gently to stop himself from talking.

[Appoline Meian]

Appoline smiled a little as she drew, the slight expression lighting up her face a little more. This boy was being so nice to her; it was a little refreshing. And he seemed genuine enough, though she wasn't a meta that could tell if someone was lying or not. Still, as she drew, she found out more about him than when he talked.

She always started with the eyes, when she began detailing. They were the most constant despite being so expressive. Amos' were very pretty, and had very long lashes. She glanced up at them quite a bit as he spoke, then back to his lips when he asked her his questions.

"Japan is an... interesting place," she conceded. "It is certainly a nice place to visit, and Shibuya is really, um, boisterous." Meaning that with was a whirlwind of activity coupled with a cacophony of noise, but Appoline wasn't that articulate outside of written prose.

"We did buy a bunch of things," she added, looking back to her drawing. His eyes were coming out nicely - she could even discern the earnestness in them now. "My mother bought my sister and I a few new outfits, and we were sized and fitted for new kimonos. My dad even let my sister and I pierce our ears, and we have some beautiful pairs he surprised us with."

Now that she was drawing, the shyness seemed to dissipate slowly, making the girl a natural (if soft) speaker. She remembered all the fun they had and her smile deepened into something more peaceful and serene. It had been one of the first times they had gone out as a family in a long while, and it had probably been the most fun she'd had all summer.

"We even visited Dogenzaka and went out for ramen." She glanced up at Amos with a slight apprehension. "I mean, real ramen, not the packaged things. My dad makes really good food, and is a big traditionalist, so he won't eat most premade things. But he liked the ramen there - I guess because it's so fresh and it's super authentic."

She was going to say more, but she realized she must be babbling and stopped, looking back to her artwork. Now she focused on outlining his nose, doing one last bit of shading around the corners of his eyes before moving on. It kept her focused, and when she was focused she wasn't stammering so much.

[Amos Freeman]

Amos smiled at her smile, hoping that he had made a good impression. He’d spent enough years at Hammel to know not to assume anything. Both students and staff had all kinds of unique situations and problems, but one thing remained constant: everyone wanted someone to understand them, and all they had – really had, at the end of the day, was each other.

“I’d like to go someday,” he mused, nodding at her explanation. “I guess when I think of somewhere like Tokyo, I think of how it’s one of the most, um, populous cities in the world, and with so many people, I guess that makes sense. It’s a small island for so many people. But I think it’s amazing that it’s still a relatively, um, peaceful place.”

He hoped that his observation wasn’t offensive. He’d hate to offend the only person willing to talk to him in the entire courtyard.

“That sounds really nice,” he said encouragingly. He resisted the urge to peek at her drawing. “I don’t think I’ve seen anyone in an actual kimono before. Maybe on TV. It’s pretty neat that you got to do that. I have two half-sisters, um, they live in Manchester, which is about three hours away… their names are Rebecca and Rachael, they’re twins, and my dad took them to get their ears pierced not very long ago, actually.”

He paused, smiling a brittle smile.

“He wrote me a letter about it.”

He was quiet for a while, enjoying the contented silence. There was no sound except the light murmuring of other conversations, the wind in the trees, and the gentle sketching of her pencil.

“It would be kind of a rip-off if you went out somewhere and they made you instant ramen, right?” He grinned widely. “I’m really glad you had fun. See? You did some, um, interesting stuff after all. That’s good.”

He raised his eyebrows lightly, squinting over the edge of her paper.

“So uh, how am I coming along?”

[Appoline Meian]

"You're right," she agreed. "Japan's only about the size of California, and we've got billions of people living there. It's pretty stifling, if you ask me. I'm kind of glad we moved out here - it feels like you can just be alone without being ignored by everyone around you."

She didn't mean to make the observation and flushed, looking up at him meekly. "I mean... if you don't mind me saying so..."

She looked back to her drawing. The shading of his nose had led to softening the lines of his cheekbones and jaw. She hadn't drawn his mouth yet, but she hadn't grasped the right expression for it so far. Maybe if she talked a little more...

"We'll be wearing ours on our birthdays," she explained, "as well as for a couple festival weeks. It's like having a piece of home, you know?" She smiled shyly at him. "If there's no festival, we can still dress up and feel like we're home."

She almost talked about her dad again, but saw the fragile smile as he spoke of his own. Biting her lip to keep from saying something inappropriate, she simply looked back to her work and answered, "I'm sorry... it must be hard..." She didn't realize that before; a lot of these people were taken from their families and hardly ever saw them. At least she had everyone else in her family to support her; everyone but Uncle Hatsu, that is.

She started a little when he came back to the topic of food, laughing a bit as she got the joke. "Yeah, it was pretty nice. I guess I just don't enjoy things as much as I used to." She wasn't going to say anything else, but added without knowing she spoke aloud, "Maybe that'll change here."

When he tried to peek, Appoline pulled the picture back, hesitation written all over her face. "Oh, ah... it's... well, it's not done yet... Cane you wait just a little longer?" She hated asking favors of others, but she wanted to finish the picture before anyone saw it. She flushed crimson despite herself, now more embarrassed than ever.

[Amos Freeman]

Amos nodded as she talked, making mental notes along the way. He wasn’t used to not using his voice recorder – he had a pretty decent memory, but somewhere in the deeper reserves of his mind, he wasn’t completely confident in his ability to write an article up to par without using it.

“Yeah, it’s pretty… erm… sparsely populated up here,” he said with a small half-laugh. “I think in some towns in Vermont there are as many moose as there are people. Have you ever seen a moose?” He asked offhandedly. “Sometimes if you sit near the lawn sprinklers, you can catch them playing in them. Moose really like sprinklers.”

He cleared his throat awkwardly, wondering if that had been a weird thing to say.

“Oh, are there festivals like that around here?” He said curiously, pulling his legs tighter together. “I’ve never heard of any.” He made a mental note to look into this and possibly cover it for a culture piece later in the year. He was quickly running out of mental notebook paper to write mental notes on.

“Oh, um, no,” Amos amended quickly, seeing the look on her face. “It’s really… my parents are divorced, so even when I’m at home, I hardly ever see him anyway,” he said dismissively. He realized that sounded even worse, and he lowered his eyes to the ground for a moment. “And my mom calls and writes a lot, and sends me care packages and stuff, so, I mean, you get used to it.”

He smiled again.

“But, I mean…” he hesitated a bit; asking people at Hammel for personal information could be kind of a risk. “Did your family move here with you, or…?”

He blinked at her reaction, nodding slowly.

“No, I mean, sure, sorry, I didn’t mean to rush you or anything.” He tilted his head, but his expression was kind. “I’m sure it’ll change. It’s really not as bad here as you probably think. Promise.”

[Appoline Meian]

Appoline had never seen a moose before, outside of wildlife books and magazines she studied for school. Though, the way Amos talked about them, she was sure he had and liked them quite a bit. "Oh... I never knew that," she answered politely. "Do you see many here in Pilot Ridge?"

Humoring him didn't seem like it would be a bad thing; it seemed like talking let him relax a little, though she had no idea why he would be so nervous. She was the one that was weird.

She shook her head at the idea of the festival nearby. "No, I don't think so," she murmured, looking back at her sketch more than a little forlornly. "But, knowing my dad, he'll find a way to bring some of it here... just for my sister and me." She felt bad for talking about her family now, knowing that his were in such straights. She would have said something if she could, but comforting other wasn't a strong suit of hers. She left such things to Cassi. Any comfort she could give would be construed as pity, and pity from someone like her was almost more shameful than whatever caused the discomfort in the first place.

Appoline looked up as he smiled, and her eyes widened slightly. There it was - the expression she was looking for! Hurriedly, she sketched out the outline before the smile vanished, so intent on the drawing that she nearly forgot that he'd asked a question.

"Oh... ah, yes. We all moved here together. My mom, dad, my sister Cassi and I." She sketched rapidly, determined to finish this picture now. "My mom took the position of the on-call doctor, since she used to work at a hospital. And my dad--"

She was going to finish, but a flicker of movement caught her eye as the group playing with a soccer ball kicked it carelessly in their direction. She only saw it as it came towards them, and immediately the spry girl pushed off the ground, her power activating in a display of supernatural reflexes and gymnastic skill. The ball, which had whipped past Amos in a narrow miss, was kicked straight up into the air as the Japanese youth back-flipped from literally sitting still, her carefully laid-out skirt billowing but providing no interference as she moved.

Appoline landed firmly on one knee and her hands, her sketchbook lying haphazardly where she had been sitting. She looked up and stood as the ball came down, catching it in her hands as people came forward to retrieve it. She was about to hand it back when a flicker of white crossed her vision.

My hat! Paralyzed with panic, the young woman could only see that her hat had fallen when her powers kicked in, laying a few feet away. She stood there, shocked and horrified as she realized that Amos could not only see her naturally bleached hair, but that her hair had pulled away from her face and she was staring at him with two different colored eyes. Both were wide in panic; one clear oceanic blue, and the other a bright golden brown.

"I... I..." she stammered, unable to find the words. The ball fell from her fingers as tears welled up in her eyes. "Sumimasen!" She turned and fled then, leaving everything she had brought with her behind.

She knew it was a bad idea to go to the school today!

[Amos Freeman]

Amos opened his mouth to reply, but her sudden movement and the random soccer ball made him duck for cover. His eyes were wide with surprise, but he said nothing; he blinked several times before giving Appoline a long, amazed look.

If someone had asked him then to sum up the scenario with one word, Amos probably would have chosen ‘whoa.’

It took him a moment to register everything, and by the time he had seen the bright white in her hair and her startlingly different eyes (he had heard of heterochromia, but he’d never met anyone who had it in real life), she was already making to bolt away from him.

“Beg pardon?” He said, having no knowledge of Japanese at all. “Um, hey – whoa – hey wait! Your…” he trailed off, gathering her stuff as quickly as he could, and made to pursue her.

Amos Freeman had never been a very athletic person; he was barely passing gym class, for example, and he was pretty sure he had some mild form of asthma. He exerted very little physical effort on a daily basis, and his frame was slender, nothing more than pale flesh stretched over long bones.

He tried anyway.

“I said wait!” He called out, a rare flash of frustration gathering in his chest as he wheezed horribly. He stopped running, resting his elbows on his knees. “Please,” he added afterwards, realizing he had sounded painfully, awfully similar to his brother. Exhaustion and anger and embarrassment flooded his cheeks.

He squinted against the sunlight at the girl, who looked both terrified and a mix of other emotions he couldn’t quite identify. He sighed, coughing a bit. By chance, he looked at the sketchbook he was clutching tightly in his hand. His expression softened.

“You’re really good,” he said after a moment, waving the sketchbook slightly. “You should, um, think about joining the newspaper club. We could use an artist like you.”

[Appoline Meian]

As she fled, Appoline cried. She hadn't been so embarrassed in a long time, and she barely registered that she had left everything behind when she ran away. She'd have to go back and find Amos again at some point to get them back, but... what if...

She slowed as she reached the edge of the courtyard, wiping the tears from her face. She had been foolish and unable to leash her powers again. If this kept up, there would be no way for her to even pretend to be normal.

At the sound of Amos' voice, Appoline's heart thudded hollowly in her chest. She turned around to see him chasing after her, her bag slung haphazardly over his shoulder and her hat and sketchbook in different hands. She looked away, ashamed, and braced herself for the inevitable coldness that he was sure to show.

...It never came. Instead, he handed the sketchbook back to her, and even complimented her on her artwork. She stared at the piece, numbed, then looked up at him, unsure if he was being honest or cruel. "I..." she started, confused entirely. "I don't... understand. Why are you...?"

She bit her lip and cradled the picture to her chest. It had been almost finished before the accident with the ball, but now she hugged it as if grasping a lifeline. He was just so... nice. Only her family ever treated her like this. Why was he being...

"...So nice?"