Confused (and Lost) [Open!]

[Sayaka Ito]

Not even the first day and already she was lost. Well, technically it was the first day, just not the first day of classes. She had the good fortune to arrive on a weekend, and that meant she had plenty of time to get settled in. Not like she had much of a choice; she was being told what to do by these...people. But what else could she do? She was afraid of what she might do, and these people were offering her a chance to keep her power under control.

This scary, alien power. Sayaka shuddered as she remembered what had happened not even that long ago; Ellie had to hate her. A lot. And Sayaka didn't blame her. First things first, though. Sayaka had to figure out where everything is. She was not the type of person to learn by being led around. No, she had to go around by herself and figure out where things were. That, unfortunately, meant getting lost quickly.

"Where am I?" the Japanese girl asked herself, looking around (as well as watching out. No telling if some big person might come by and not even notice her as he pushed her aside). It looked like some kind of lounge place, but...she wasn't sure. And she didn't think she could ask for help from anyone nearby, either; so she just stood there looking around, looking for all the world like she was lost.

[Eli Morrison]

Eli was almost never at Hammel on Saturdays. Or, for that matter, any point after he was no longer being paid to be there. He did extended hours in the library during exams time, but that wouldn't be for a while, since the term had just started.

This particular Saturday, however, Midori was coming home from a recruitment. He'd decided to bring Tory in to see her, and then they could go grab something to eat after she finished all her paperwork. It was taking longer than usual though, and little Tory couldn't manage could sit still that long.

So the librarian had taken the toddler out into the hall to let him run around. Tory, of course, had other ideas and went through the first door he could find, and the next one after that. For such short legs, he was actually pretty fast. Eli could have caught up with him if he needed to, but he figured that he could keep the little boy safe, even at Hammel.

There weren't too many students around, and no one blocked Tory's tiny rampage until he ran into the student lounge. There he ran right up to a girl and waved up at her, smiling. "Hi baby!"

Eli sighed slightly to himself and scooped the toddler up into his arms before speaking to the girl. He didn't recognize her, which meant she had to be new. "Sorry about that. He calls everyone except his mom and me baby. He thinks that's the word for person."

He held the toddler on his hip and smiled at the girl. If she's new, she'd know who he was soon enough. "I'm Eli Morrison, the librarian. You're new, right?"

[Sayaka Ito]

All she had to do was breathe and relax. No one was going to make fun of her for not knowing where things were, right? After all, everyone was new, once. But even telling herself that didn't help a lot. There was always the potential, after all. The girl wondered if there was a map anywhere nearby hen she heard someone. And that someone didn't sound old at all. Startled just a little, the 11 year old turned and spotted the source of the noise.

A small little boy, easily smaller than her, and then just a moment later a man appeared. Sayaka simply nodded when he spoke up about how that was the boy usually acted. She didn't really have anything to say about it. Babies, even moreso than people her age, scared her. Oh, not because they might judge her or anything of the sort. No, it was just because they had the potential to be very, very loud. And she oh so liked silence, when she could get it.

Maybe that was where this conversation would be left, this man simply apologizing and moving on. That was what SHE wanted to happen. But, of course, what she wanted to happen and what actually did happen were two very different things indeed. "You look young to be a librarian here," Sayaka observed. He couldn't be in his late 20s; no, he looked...well, she wasn't sure what he looked like, just not old enough to be a librarian. Of course, Sayaka knew all librarians weren't old, but they weren't usually all this young, either.

"Yes, I'm new. And just a touch lost." she continued. Would she ask for help from him? Unlikely, even though he was standing right in front of her. Were he to offer it, however, she would gladly take that offer up.

[Eli Morrison]

The librarian was a little amused at her reaction. It wasn't the first time someone commented on him looking really young. If he had gone the "normal" route to get to his position, he would have graduated high school at eighteen, gone to college and grad school and got a Masters degree in Library Science. But he rarely did things by the "normal" route. "I am, but I'm pretty good at it anyway. When I'm not chasing Tory around."

The toddler heard his name and bounced, still smiling as he waved at the girl again. "Hi!"

"Well, uh, do you need any help? I've been here most of my life, so I know where things are. What are you looking for?" He usually didn't volunteer for things, but he had time until Mii finished with her paperwork. So long as the girl was okay with Tory was babbling at her the whole time.

[Sayaka Ito]

The boy was so loud...Sayaka tried to keep her patience, though. He was just a baby, after all. He could hardly be blamed for who he was. Just like she could hardly be blamed for what she was. "Oh..." Sayaka said, searching for something else to say. Of course, he managed to save her the trouble of doing that when he offered to help her.

"Well...mostly, I'm looking for everything? I don't know where anything is," she explained to him, frowning. How silly that sounded, not knowing where most of anything on the school was, but it was the truth. She knew where the office was, of course. And her dorm. But that was just about it, really.

She had no idea of anything else. "Do you chase him a lot?" Sayaka asked, referring to Tory. After asking that, she realized something; she had yet to share her name. Not odd, at least for her, but he might pick up on it. "I'm Sayaka."

[Eli Morrison]

"Well, if you want, you can join us. We were going to walk around some while we wait for his mom to finish some paperwork." And by walk, he'd originally intended to just follow wherever Tory wanted to run to, but he didn't mind having some structure to it.

Eli shrugged and put the toddler down when Tory kept tapping his arm, saying "Down. Down. Down." repeatedly. He kept hold of his hand though, so he couldn't run away just yet. "I do sometimes. Um, his mom is a recruiter here, and I've known her since we were students. I babysit when she's on recruitment trips."

"Nice to meet you, Sayaka. Midori Hawkins didn't bring you here, right? She just got back today." If she was the girl Mii recruited, then she was pretty adventurous if she was already exploring.

[Sayaka Ito]

Paperwork...she was glad she wasn't an adult, because it seemed they had to do a lot of that kind of stuff. "Sure," Sayaka agreed. It was much better than wandering around aimlessly. Besides, he had a kid and a wife; he was unlikely to pick on her for, well, anything. Sayaka glanced down to the toddler when he was put on the ground.

How odd...despite how loud he was, it was somewhat charming how excitable he was. Still, though, Sayaka did not envy Eli at all; she definitely wouldn't want someone as loud as Tory following her around all day. Ironic, then, that she was going to be the one to follow them around.

"I...don't think so? I think his last name was...Campbell?" Sayaka answered him, though she wasn't entirely sure. It was difficult, processing everything in such a short amount of time.

[Eli Morrison]

"Dr. Campbell? Tall, thin man in a suit who fidgets a lot?" He really did know everyone at Hammel. One of the benefits of not forgetting anything he'd ever learned. (Plus, James was his best friend's boss and occasionally also Tory's babysitter on the rare times Eli and Mii went out together.)

He turned to the door and gently shook Tory's hand, prompting the toddler to start walking. "Well, come on. We'll show you where the classrooms and training rooms are. You'll need to learn where your classes are held." The librarian gently led the little boy out the door, then gestured down one of the hallways.

"That way is just staff offices. The infirmary is the only really important one down that way, and there are signs all over the place for it." He and Tory turned the other way though. "And classrooms are all down this way, or upstairs."

[Sayaka Ito]

"Yup, that's him," Sayaka said with a nod of her head. She really only remembered Dr. Campbell because of that fact. That he fidgeted a lot. It reminded her of herself, actually, and how nervous she herself could get around people. The two hadn't talked a ton, which was a given considering her own personality, but still, he was certainly an interesting person. "That'd help," Sayaka commented as she followed after Eli.

Of course it would help to know where her classes were; she didn't know why she had said something so obvious. Small talk really was not her forte in the slightest, that much was obvious to anyone. By training rooms, though, she really hoped he wasn't referring to rooms for training oneself physically; maybe he was just referring to rooms where powers were trained.

"I can see myself going to the infirmary quite a bit." Sayaka commented as she took note of everything he was pointing out. So the infirmary was by the staff offices and all of that, while the classrooms were either down the hallway opposite the infirmary, or upstairs. Hopefully the layout wasn't confusing to the point that she wouldn't be able to find the rooms.

[Eli Morrison]

Eli had spent more time than he would have liked in the infirmary as a student, because he'd gone with Mii when her shapeshifting had really caused her pain. Now he avoid it mostly, unless he was dragging someone there who had injured themselves somehow in the library. "I'm sorry to hear that. Painful power?"

Once Tory had realized which direction his Eli--he didn't say "Daddy" yet, to Darryl's alleged dismay, just "Mama" and "Eli"--wanted him to go, he'd started leading the way through the hallway, past the classrooms. "The school isn't very big. Just a couple hundred students, and it's the largest it's ever been. There are only classrooms in this building, and sometimes Physical Education and Powers Training are held outside on the fields. Your teachers will let you know when they're doing that. If you didn't get a schedule already, they'll make one up for you Monday morning. Just go to the main office and talk to the receptionist. She'll help you out."

Tory waved at an older student that passed them in the opposite direction, causing Eli to smile down at him. The toddler made him feel more personable in general. "Is there anything you particularly want to find? His mom probably has a good half an hour's work left to do."

[Sayaka Ito]

"You...could say that," Sayaka looked to the side, a frown on her face. Painful indeed...not only physically, but emotionally, as some students at her old school had pointed out. Even before her power had manifested, she had the side-effect of being so small, tiny, and just generally physically weak. She had been a practical nightmare in gym class, due to her ability to really not do extended physical activity.

Still, there were worse things than being physically weak. At least she was strong enough to walk around and such, though again, not for a super long time. It was probably a good thing, then, that this place wasn't absolutely huge; it'd make it easier for her to get around. Sayaka followed the two of them once more, and listened to Eli as he spoke to her. "Hmph...do I HAVE to have a PE class?" she asked of Eli, asking in the tone of a petulant child.

It wasn't as if she'd be able to really DO anything in the class. Even compared to normal kids she couldn't do much, so compared to someone with, say, more stamina than most people, or super strength, she'd look like a super weakling in comparison. Still, the tip about the schedule was good to know. She had yet to get one, so she'd make sure to do what he said as soon as she could. Then, he asked a question, and she frowned.

"Well...hm. I guess...the gym." she decided on. It wasn't as if there were a ton of places she had to know. But she was suspecting that she would have to take a PE class, which would mean it'd be useful to know where the gym was, as much as she loathed it.

[Eli Morrison]

Eli had been a small, scrawny kid as a student as well. Of course part of that was because he graduated the high school portion of Hammel before he was 14, when he growth spurt had started. So when Sayaka spoke so derisively of PE, he had to laugh. Oh, how well did he know the feeling. "Yeah, gym class sucks, but you have to go. It was my worst class when I went here. They don't make you climb ropes or anything, though. Which is good, because then I would have sucked at it more."

It had been a long time since he'd been scrawny. Now he towered over most people and could get away with intimidating some of the younger, more annoying students.

"Okay. It's this way." He gave Tory's hand a gentle tug towards a hallway that didn't quite match up with the rest of the building, like it had been added on a few decades later. (Which was 100% accurate.) "They added a pool in the '96, and it's open whenever the gym is, except when the swim team is practicing."

Weird, when did he become a tour guide.

[Sayaka Ito]

"Just don't see the point," Sayaka admitted honestly with a shrug. It didn't seem fun or conducive to go to a class that would likely end up with her getting hurt. All it would take would be for her to try too hard in the class, or for someone big to accidentally bump into her to get hurt. Most people might not get too hurt, but her body was more frail than most people's, and thus, she got hurt a lot easier.

Maybe she'd be able to "cheat" and use her power to aid her during class. It wasn't exactly ethical, but then again, if that was the only efficient way to do things, why not go for it? "Still...glad I won't have to climb ropes," she added. That was also seen as somewhat pointless by her; why climb ropes? She just didn't get it. She didn't get a lot of physical-related things. Once more they were moving, however, and she said not another word more as Eli spoke. She might be quiet and all of that, but she wasn't rude. Or at least, she didn't try to be rude. The walls and such certainly looked different from the last part of the building they were in, though.

"I like rain, but...I've never really liked swimming all that much." she spoke up when he mentioned the pool. She chalked that up too to the fact that she got tired easily. What would be the point of swimming if you couldn't swim for long?

[Eli Morrison]

When they reached the door of the gym, Eli pushed against it gently. But it was locked tight, probably because no one bothered on Saturdays unless one of the inside sports teams was having a practice, and that wouldn't be until the evening. "Okay, so we can't go in there. But I promise there is a pool." Though if she didn't like swimming, it probably wouldn't be too much of an issue even if there wasn't.

But at that point, Eli had run out of places to show the girl. He didn't spend a lot of time with students outside of helping them with classwork in the library. "Is there anything else you want to see? It is a small campus."

Tory though, had other ideas. He pulled his little hand out of Eli's large one, and headed straight over to Sayaka. The toddler held up his arms and smiled at her, babbling, "Up! Tory up!"

[Sayaka Ito]

Sayaka was truly curious to see what the gym might be like, but...unfortunately, it would seem that it was locked that day. Which meant she also wouldn't be able to see what the pool was like. As she had said, she had never really liked swimming, but she did like the rain. Maybe she would change, and decide to try out swimming. It couldn't hurt TOO much, right?

Well, it could, but...nothing ventured nothing gained, or so the saying went. "Well, maybe the library..I like books," she spoke up, trailing off as her attention turned to the young boy walking towards her. Her first instinct? Back away a little. But she did not, she stood there and watched as he approached her. He wanted up? Nervously, she looked away from him and to Eli.

"I can't lift him." she said simply, hoping he would simply accept what she said. Sayaka did not want to explain so soon just how weak she really was, after all. Truth be told, she MIGHT be able to lift him, but if he moved or shifted or anything like that, she wasn't sure she'd be able to handle it.