Nothing's Okay (Open)

[Colette Kendrick]

Colette didn't like her new room. She didn't like her new school, not that she'd gone to any classes yet, she had just arrived, after all, but still. She was simply not happy with this arrangement. It had taken her so long to get settled into high school, she'd just started to feel like she had a good group of friends and she'd really liked her teachers, especially her English and Chorus teachers. But of course, just when Colette was happy with something, everything just had to fall apart.

Never mind the fact that now that she'd finally hit puberty, and could start feeling like the other girls her age, she had become a complete freak. At least some of the people here seemed to have useful powers. But no. All she could do was put people, including herself, to sleep. And she had no control over when that would happen. At least she had to touch people, first.

She gave up unpacking her things. She'd just managed to get her pictures and her hamster, in his cage onto her dresser drawer, and she'd thrown a few of her clothes in there, and her sheets were thrown on her bed, unmade, but they were there. Which was good, because all Colette felt like doing was plopping down onto her her bed and clinging to her pillow, careful not to touch her hands to her skin.

Surprisingly, she didn't want to sleep. She simply wanted to lay there and sulk in her own private misery.

[Aliyah Hayes]

Ah, new students... They were all so different and yet Aliyah couldn't help but feel they were all really the same. As different as their personalities and situations were, they had all come to Hammel for the same reason. Some took it in stride. Others didn't. Regardless, it took adjustment. That's where she came in. Aliyah had been there before. She knew what it was like and, now that she was on the other side, she knew the ropes.

Aliyah didn't make it a habit of ambushing new students in the dorms. Most of the time she tried to let them settle in, said hello in passing, and then let them chose to come to her if they wanted to... Or, better yet, her brother. But Aliyah had a soft spot for anyone with sleep related powers so it wasn't long before she gave in and wandered by the new girl's room.

With a plastic bag of mixed snacks in hand she tapped on the door to 403. Aliyah let her vision wander and connected briefly with someone's sight within the suite, but it didn't seem there was much to make out. "Colette?" she called through the door, trying to sound as none-intrusive as she could before knocking again.

Positive the girl was in the room, Aliyah leaned against the wall next to the door and waited, ready to offer the plastic bag as a peace offering the moment the door opened. If Colette didn't feel like talking she wouldn't force her, but she would at least introduce herself and see how she was getting along.

[Colette Kendrick]

Colette barely heard the knock at first, and her mind didn't quite register that it was anything she should bother doing anything about. All she did at that first noise was roll over on her bed, careful not to lie on the bare used mattress.

At her own name, she jumped a bit, pulled out of her dozing state. She groaned softly, trying to ensure that the sound wasn't heard. She might be miserable for the moment, but she knew that being all sulky around others was not the way to make friends. That didn't necessarily mean that Cole would be little miss perky, but it did mean that she'd make at least a small effort to be friendly.

She pulled herself off the bed and pulled open the door. "Um..." She blinked, surprised to see an older woman on the other side of the door. She certainly hadn't done anything to get the attention of the faculty yet, right? Wouldn't she have been called to an office or something had she done something wrong? Or was it policy for new students to be greeted by teachers? "Hi, there."

[Aliyah Hayes]

The door opened and Aliyah pushed herself off of the wall. She greeted the girl with a relaxed smile and a simple "Hey" before lifting the plastic bag and holding it out to her. An unofficial care package, she'd added some chips, snack bars, and assorted chocolates as well as whatever other treats she could dig up. Hopefully there would be something in there Colette liked.

"I'm Aliyah, one of the dorm monitors. Just thought I'd drop by and say hi, see how you're doing and all that."

Like the care package, her visit was unofficial. Aliyah had her various duties that she attended to but the majority of what she did was little unofficial things. Simply being there and getting to know the students. In her opinion, that's what mattered most. Besides, it made her job much more enjoyable and gave her more to put her mind to.

Aliyah shrugged a little, like the exact reason for her visit didn't really matter. "So, how's it going so far?" Hopefully Colette would invite her in to chat. Aliyah certainly wasn't going to barge in without reason but it would be more comfortable than chatting in the hall.

[Colette Kendrick]

Cole took the bag with a bit of a confused look and took a quick peek at what was inside. "Oh, wow. Thank you." She'd made her mother send her off with plenty of chocolates, knowing she'd need the comfort foods, but one could never have enough snacks, especially when there was a chance of having company, and whether Cole liked it or not, there was always the chance when living in a dorm.

A quick look around her room confirmed there was nothing she could do to really make it look any better in the next few seconds, so she gave a little shrug and move a bit away from the door, to allow Aliyah room to enter. "Do you wanna come in?" She placed the bag on the still unmade bed. "Haven't really finished unpacking, so it's still really messy..."

At Aliyah's question, she scratched her head a bit through her hair, she was quick to learn the trick of doing so without touching flesh to flesh, keeping her nails as the only thing that touched her scalp. She played with her hair too often to be able to stop altogether. She gave Aliyah a weak smile. "It's going, I guess. Not exactly happy to be away from home..."

[Aliyah Hayes]

"Of course," she said with a smile, waving off the gesture of handing out treats. It really wasn't anything special to Aliyah. She always kept snacks on hand and generally kept a fair stock in her personal suite. Most were for herself but she was always willing to share with whomever stopped by or anyone else she ran into around the dorms. Snacks were a staple of dorm-living, and Aliyah had spent more than her fair share of time in a dorm setting.

With a small "sure" she allowed herself to be invited in. Aliyah took a quick glance around the suite. So Colette hadn't finished moving in, huh? "Oh, don't worry about it, most of the rooms never really make it to 'clean'," Aliyah reassured the girl. Even if it was a little messy, she didn't care. Aliyah's room was only marginally better and she had moved in years ago.

Taking in Colette's reaction, Aliyah could tell the girl wasn't among the most enthused to be relocated to Hammel. "I don't take it you ever went away to school before, huh?" That was something she had gotten to realize at college. Going to Hammel necessitated going away to school for high school. However, most public school students didn't experience that until college. For students not from a 'private school' family culture it could be rather unsettling. Not to mention everything else that brought students to Hammel in the first place.

"I don't suppose it would help if I told you it gets easier, would it?" Aliyah offered a smile but it wasn't an enthusiastic one, more of a 'I know where you're coming from' one. "I know I certainly wasn't ready when I first came here, and that was before I even developed any powers. If it hadn't been for my brother, I don't know what I would have done." Aliyah raised her finger to her lips in a mock 'shhh' before giving the girl a conspiratorial smile.

[Colette Kendrick]

The only reason Cole felt the need to apologize for her mess was the fact that she was usually such a neat person, keeping everything in its proper place. It was just that she really didn't feel like herself, lately, and didn't feel like doing much of anything, including clean up or even studies. She knew, what with changing schools in the middle of term, she'd have some catching up to do, but she couldn't bring herself to crack a book. Everything just felt so pointless. "I'm just not usually so... messy."

Cole laughed a nervous laugh and shook her head. "No, I've never gone away to school, before. I've never even gone away to summer camp, before." She'd never wanted to be away from her family and home, from all that was familiar for more than a day or two.

She ran her fingers through her hair, careful to keep the flesh of her fingers from touching the flesh of her scalp. Already, she was learning these necessary cautions. Did she really need someone to instruct her? "It'd have to get easier. I can't imagine going through the rest of high school feeling this way." She intended to make no secret of the way she felt. She wouldn't brandy it about, but she wouldn't but a smile on her face that didn't belong there.

"You had a brother here?" There wasn't much enthusiasm in the question, but she wanted to be... friendly, and she felt that talking about herself for the entire visit wouldn't work out so well for making a friend of this stranger.

[Aliyah Hayes]

"I'm sure you'll get back to it," Aliyah offered. Some things just slid by in the period after a major change. The 'I just can't handle dealing with normal things' was a familiar feeling and there had certainly been plenty of times she had just thrown everything out the window. Both when things changed... And when she needed a change.

At the girl's response, she gave a knowing grin. It wasn't uncommon. "I guess it's a little weird when you're first getting used to living it. Especially if you're close to your family," Aliyah couldn't be sure, but she had a feeling the girl was. "However, there are breaks and various holiday opportunities to go home and your family can always come visit."

Feeling that she was starting to recite lines from a brochure, Aliyah shrugged and tried to redirect her train of though. "Plus, living in a dorm is a far more.... Social experience." Although, sometimes that wasn't so good. She could try to tell the girl that she was bound to make a friend or two, and that would make all the difference, but Aliyah didn't really see it that way herself, so she held back a moment before her thoughts came together. "To be honest, it's not really everyone's ideal situation, but there's ways of making it work for you. The trick is just figuring them out." If Colette ever wanted help with that, Aliyah was plenty willing to give her a hand or offer advice.

At the girl's question, she nodded. It was an old subject, but the question inevitably came up every time she met someone new and Aliyah never got tired of it. "Actually, yeah... We're twins." She smiled, then decided to go for the joke in the hopes of lifting Cole's mood. "He's cool and all, I'm just the better half." Normally she wouldn't joke this much, but Aliyah always found it easier with students.

[Colette Kendrick]

Cole shrugged, for the moment, she couldn't quite see herself caring enough about her room to fix things, at least beyond what was necessary to be comfortable. She'd likely make the bed, at least get the fitted sheet over the mattress, but that would probably be it. "Maybe." She wasn't entirely sure that she cared.

"I'm an only child, and they do so much for me and with me... Dad and I go camping every couple of months." She laughed and shook her head. "I'm fourteen and I still go camping with my daddy as much as I can."

"I had good friends back home, and it took me all year last year to feel like I was finally settled into high school. And now I have to start all over again from scratch." She didn't bother trying to keep the bitterness out of her voice. "I don't suppose you've got suggestions as to how that's supposed to work?" She felt so vulnerable, almost raw.

At Aliyah's little joke, Cole gave a weak but true laugh. "Nice."

[Aliyah Hayes]

"That's awesome. I wish I still spent time like that with my dad." There was nothing to be ashamed about being fourteen and being close to your parents. If anything, it was something to be treasured. Aliyah was sure she could tell the girl that there was a lot to be gained from being away but held back as she didn't want to push too many topics at once. Better to simplify and attack the problem in pieces.

Grabbing a mini-snickers bar from the plastic bag, Aliyah opened it and leaned against the desk. "Well, look at it this way, maybe it's not entirely from scratch. You already figured out one high school, how different can a second one be?" Sure the teachers and the students were different, and there was the added complication of metas, but there were the same types of personalities and groups of people here as there were in any school. "Try looking at it in pieces. School is school. Classes are classes. People are people. Do you have a favorite subject, or maybe an extracurricular activity?"

Aliyah realized that this whole situation could feel like the end of the world. Maybe Colette's feelings weren't that extreme, but they were still quite strong and undeniably very real to the girl. However, she  wasn't looking to undermine that but to circumvent it a little.

"If you're having trouble there is always the option of putting everything off to the side and focusing on that one thing you really connect to. The rest will be there when you're up to getting back to it."

It was a slightly unorthodox suggestion. Most people probably wouldnt suggest chosing to toss good grades and clean rooms out the window but those were little things that could be remedied further down the road. As hard as it was in the present, all of this trouble wouldn't mean anything later in life. Colette just had to get from here to there in one piece. And if she really, really needed help dealing with it emotionally, Aliyah could always recommend a couple of people to talk to.

[Colette Kendrick]

Cole shrugged. "I guess so. It's just, it's always seemed a little childish to me. Going camping with Daddy rather than trying to get a date or something." She'd felt childish when compared to her friends for years, and there had been a bully who'd somehow found and capitalized on those feelings.

"It's not about figuring things out, that'll be easy enough, just like it was at my public school. It's about finding people... I don't usually make friends all that quickly." And now she couldn't touch people without knocking them out. Would that make her strange, even in a place like this? How many students around here had similar issues? "Choir. Is there even a choir here, though?"

"Putting everything off... what, you mean like letting my GPA plummet and my room stay like this?" She shook her head, though there was a part of her that found that idea intensely appealing. "But... my grades're pretty much perfect. I've never gotten anything below a B." Her fingers moved as if to rub her shoulder, but she stopped herself, frustrated, before they did so.

[Aliyah Hayes]

“Eh, dating is overrated.” Although it did sometimes suck to be 27 and single. Aliyah could see where this conversation was going – friends, dating, and all of that emotional, drama stuff. She hadn’t been good at it when she was in Colette’s position and she wasn’t all that great at it now. Better to let the conversation shift than keep at it from this perspective.”You know, I think there was one when I was a student, but I don’t know if it’s active now. It would be easy enough to get it going again, though, and advertise for other members to join. That’d be a great way to get to know people.” And settle in to life at Hammel.

Seeing the girl shake her head, Aliyah could tell Collete wasn’t keen on the idea of letting her grades slip but she didn’t want her suggestion to be taken the wrong way. She wasn’t advocating turning into an apathetic student. ”You’re smart. Think of it as outsmarting the system.” Aliyah grinned. Now this was up her alley. “All you have to do is figure out what’s needed to achieve whatever it is you want to achieve. Then, if you know what you’re capable of, you can figure out where to let something slip a little and how to make it up later on or in something else. Or… if you’re really in good standing, you’re grades are already built up and can take a hit without dropping.”

“Think of it as ‘slack’. Like giving a horse slack in the reins so that it can reach its neck further and get a stronger stride going.” At least, Aliyah thought that’s the way it worked, but she was no expert on horses or riding. “Not to mention, if you make an effort to get to know your teachers, to talk to them and explain yourself, they can be pretty forgiving… at least, in most cases.”

[Colette Kendrick]

"Over rated? But everyone dates... even last year when I was just thirteen, Valentine's Day was practically torture. Seemed like everyone else had someone to give them candy of flowers or something..." She sighed a bit, remembering the day of feeling like a five year old surrounded by kissing adults.

She blinked at that suggestion. "Start a club? How would I even go about trying that? I've never even thought of starting something like that..." It would be a great way to settle into life here. That was how she'd managed to get friends back home, last year.

She chewed on her lip, thinking. She supposed that wouldn't be so bad, just doing the bare minimum. The thought still scared her a bit. It would be so easy to make a mistake. "Maybe."

[Aliyah Hayes]

Aliyah’s face furrowed in thought. It was pretty clear that she and Colette were on different pages at the moment. Aliyah made it a point not to subscribe to social standards. She didn’t have to date. She didn’t have to go out drinking. And, she certainly didn’t care what other people thought of her, at least… when she could help it. But, in spite of herself, Aliyah knew well what it was like to see everyone else happy together. To want what they had and feel left out.

“Well, if you’re alone again on Valentine’s Day this year, maybe we can get a group together and throw a Single’s Day party.” It was said with a degree of cynicism but there was a smile on her face and humor in her voice.

“Hmm… you’d need to find at least two other people. Then you just fill out a request. There’s a few rooms shared by various clubs. For the Choir, I suppose it would be the rehearsal room. For something else, I don’t know, but I’m sure there’s a room with space in the schedule.” Aliyah’s job was technically just within the residence hall but she could always try to help out elsewhere.

Seeing that Colette was unsure about giving her grades some slack, Aliyah held herself back from pressing the suggestion much more. She had to remember the girl was only 14. It wouldn’t be the end of the world if she messed up, but it would be intimidating to try to get the situation back under control if it got out of control. “Well, I could always give you a hand figuring it out if you’d like… just don’t forget that this is only high school... and high school's stupid.” She crinkled her nose like she smelt something rotten and broke into a smile. There was so much more to life than the stupid things that got people down.

Now, if only Aliyah could live by her own advice.

[Colette Kendrick]

Cole didn't really do things just because others did them, or wanted her to, but she often did things because she saw others doing those things and seeming to enjoy them. Also, she'd likely do just about anything right now, to fit in with the kids here at Hammel, just to make some new friends.

A Single's Day Party? Cole gave a little laugh at the thought. That could actually be fun. Maybe. "Sounds interesting."

Cole chewed her lip a bit, thinking. It couldn't hurt to try, not that she had any idea how to approach people to ask if they wanted to help her start the choir back up. She wasn't exactly one to go up to strangers and talk to them. "Worth a try, I suppose... have no idea how to get other students involved, though..."

"Stupid? How is high school stupid?" She couldn't imagine what could be more important in her life right now than school.