History or Future? (Appoline)

[Nick Tseng]

Nick had been pretty busy these last few months. Between his school work and trying to be assigned a new dorm, he'd not really had much free time. However, his load was finally light enough for him to start doing a bit of reading in his free time, and he found himself at the library for the third day in a row, reading a book he'd checked out called Shinto. Nick loved history, and he especially loved European and Eurasian history, but the more he read, the more he found himself drawn to other religions. Recently, he'd studied Buddhism and early Islam, and now he'd moved on to Shintoism. The Japanese cultural style, Shinto, was more of an identity than a faith per se, but Nick couldn't draw himself away from it.

He looked for an open table in the library, but found that each had at least one student sitting at them. Nick wasn't really much for striking up casual conversation if he didn't have to, especially with some of the people sitting around the library, but he needed a place to park his behind so he could start delving into the book again. One of the tables just had a young Asian girl sitting at it, and if anything, Nick found that it would probably be best to sit at that table, though not so close that she would notice him or that he would make her uncomfortable. With a sigh, he walked over slowly, still hoping someone would get up. What if she talked to him?

Alas, nobody did and Nick found himself pulling a chair out at the end of the table she was sitting at. He set the book down and took a seat, immediately opening it and shoving his nose into it. He didn't want to admit it, but the page he'd opened to he had already read. However, if he flipped the pages, it would look like he had intentionally tried to open the book, and that would have been awkward if the girl noticed. So, he just read the same page he had the night before, and he pretended he'd never read it before. Quietly, he reached into the pocket of his sweatshirt and pulled out an animal cracker, popping it into his mouth. Eating in the library was usually frowned upon, but Nick found that he couldn't resist the temptation.

Unfortunately, the animal cracker crunched loudly in the silence of the library. Almost immediately, he looked up, his eyes landing on the cute girl at the end of his table. The look on his face was a mixture of sheepish and apologetic, and he hoped she wouldn't notice. Of course, that would be incredibly optimistic of him.

[Appoline Meian]

The library was someplace Appoline rarely went, but it was certainly a place she enjoyed. It was a place where you could be surrounded by people while being secluded, and it was always so quiet that she had no trouble sitting by herself without people bothering her, even when they sat at the same table. She studied in here occasionally, usually whenever her parents were having long days, but today she'd simply come in here to read. A couple of art books lay open before her, as well as a nature book full of animal photographs, and she idly flipped the pages as she sketched out a few basic shapes into her notepad.

She hadn't really intended to devolve back into drawing, especially since she'd initially picked up the books to idly learn about something that was talked about in her art class, but the Japanese girl had just found inspiration and needed to doodle something, even if it wasn't her usual standard of realism. The animal shapes were direct from the pages of the nature book, but done in a more simplified way; bolder lines, sharper contrast between light and shadow, less detail without missing important pieces. Tattoo-like art was something she'd been working with for almost a year, and she was beginning to enjoy it a little more. It was a change of pace from her usual skill set.

She glanced up as someone pulled a chair out at the end of the table, but merely gave the older student a slightly shy smile and a glance at his book before turning back to her artwork. He was a couple of chairs away, but it still felt like he was right next to her. Still, the gymnast wouldn't complain - she didn't own the library, after all.

She didn't hear the crinkle of whatever bag he'd pulled his snack from (as even with her hearing aids, her perceptions of sounds was a little off), but the sudden crunch made her jump a little, startled. Biting her lip a little to keep from squeaking in surprise, she looked back to the boy in time to catch his eye and the sheepish smile. Her face turned slightly crimson from the eye contact, and she struggled to find some way to play it of without looking more nervous than she felt (though that would be a trick in of itself).

Settling on the book, she cleared her throat quietly and asked as she pointed at its back cover, "Research project?" Her dad was the major mythology buff that she knew of, but Appoline had read a lot of the books he kept. Interesting stuff, Shintoism.

[Nick Tseng]

Nick looked down at the book, his face still red from the eye contact. It only took a millisecond, but Nick noticed her different coloured eyes. He looked back up at her and smiled, again sheepishly.

"Actually, it's just a bit of light reading." He chuckled and looked back down, still not daring to flip the few pages ahead to get to where he was when he started. However, he found that he didn't really want to read anymore.

"Unfortunately, I don't have any classes that require reading ancient historical cultures for research projects." He smiled again, this time looking down at her drawings. His eyes widened as he saw them. They were beautifully drawn, artistic and abstract. Nick had met a few artists in his time at Hammel, but not one of them drew like this girl did. He moved over a chair to get a better look, then realized what he had done. He blushed, not making eye contact with the younger girl. He decided not to move back to his original position because he didn't want to offend her, but he felt incredibly awkward.

He sat silence for just a second. His face was a bright red and he didn't know what to say. He just popped another animal cracker into his mouth and chewed slowly, which just seemed to elongate the loudness of the crunch. Without looking at Appoline, he spoke once more.

"Did you draw those?" He motioned towards the drawings, still not making eye contact with her.

[Appoline Meian]

Chewing on her lip thoughtfully, the younger student nodded sheepishly herself. She hadn't really expected him to answer so thoroughly, considering that he was blushing just as much as she probably was. "O-oh," she answered softly. "Right... there's no mythology class here, is there?" She gave a weak little laugh and bowed her head, embarrassed.

She also had to resist the very strong urge to pull her notebook to her chest and hide the pencil sketches from his view as he gaped at the drawings, even going so far as to move closer. Her hand twitched, as if the gymnast wanted desperately to pull it to her pale blue blouse and shield it from his gaze, but she restrained herself and simply pulled the appendage into her lap, hiding behind a waterfall of dark hair. Why did people always do that? Her art wasn't that special...

The crunching of the older boy eating something drew her attention back up, and she realized the noise was him eating some sort of cracker; he hand another one in his hand, and he gestured with it at her notebook before asking the question with an obvious answer. "W-well," she stammered, bringing a hand up to her warm face shyly, "y-yes. They... um, well, they're not... they aren't done yet, and... th-they're really not..."

Being shy had its downsides. Pretty much all the time.

[Nick Tseng]

Nick's eyes finally met her again, and he could see the hesitance in her eyes. Heterochromia. Nick had a childhood friend who had it, and she was always ridiculed. She hated talking about her eyes. Maybe it was because of Laura that Nick found it so attractive. Granted, Laura wore colored contacts, always. Nick smiled.

"They are good, even if they're not finished. I can't draw... I can only... uh..." He paused. What was he good at? He was a decent actor, but that's not really something to brag about. He could eat anything, but again... It wasn't something he often bragged about. Finally, he just trailed off and looked down, subconsciously popping another animal cracker into his mouth. He looked down and something seemed to hit him.

"Do you want a cracker?" He held one out to her, and when he met her eyes again, he blushed. He dropped his eyes back down to his book, but he didn't read a single word.

She had beautiful eyes. Too bad he was far too shy to tell her that.

[Appoline Meian]

When his eyes caught hers again, the blush in her face deepened. Why did he keep looking at her eyes like that? She knew they were strange and unnatural, but if that was why he was staring, why didn't he look more repulsed? He was even smiling at her - was she just that weird? Was it pity? She wouldn't be surprised, but he honestly seemed too.... nice for that.

The compliment was as well-received as it could be; it silenced the girl and she slouched timidly into herself. At least she didn't try to argue this time; people had been saying recently that the Meian girl's art had some great potential, including her art teacher, and a few of her sketches had been featured in the school paper thanks to Amos. So, she didn't argue about it anymore. She was content to let people think what they like about it.

The sudden offering made Appoline look up in surprise, staring at the boy and then his hand dumbly before taking the proffered treat gingerly. She looked back to him, noticing that he wasn't looking at her but his book, and glanced away as she passed the sweet cracker between her lips. It was pretty tasty - sweet, with a little cinnamon, and not too heavy. After swallowing the tiny morsel, she glanced back up shyly and stammered, "Th-thank you very m-much. Um... I don't have anything to... to share, but... um..."

She didn't know where she was going with that. Appoline was never very good at inviting people to stay around for any reason; it'd taken her four months to gather the courage to give the first friend she made here a present. But, hey, at least she was trying.

[Nick Tseng]

Nick smiled shyly, his dark eyes once again meeting her multicolored ones. Nick hadn't realized it yet, but he knew that she was just as shy and withdrawn as he was, and he had never met a girl like that. Usually, all the girls he knew were stuck up, high-end prisses with Camrys and their daddy's credit cards. But this one, she was special. Cute, shy... She was a female Nick.

She... Why did he keep thinking of her like that? His whole face changed when he realized that he hadn't even asked her what her name is.

"Oh... I'm Nick, by the way." He smiled again, this time directing his gaze slightly above her eyes. His blush was so bad that he was starting to feel itchy around his neck and face. He didn't know why, but she was really making him feel extra shy. Like, hide his face behind a book and eat animal crackers shy. But he resisted the urge. However, he couldn't resist the temptation to scratch at what was obviously growing into a rash forming on his neck.

He literally worried himself itchy around this girl. How uncool could he possibly be?

[Appoline Meian]

Aaah, here we had a name. For some reason, this relaxed the girl a little more, and her own nervousness faded a little. Exchanging names meant that you weren't complete strangers anymore - more like acquaintances, and that made a conversation less nerve-wracking. She was a little ashamed that she hadn't introduced herself either, but it was something she was used to. Most people asked if they wanted her name right away. "It's... it's good to meet you, Nick,"she answered softly. "I'm... My name's Appoline."

She thought about giving her hand to shake, but instead twined her fingers nervously together in front of her heart. She didn't look at him, thus didn't notice his slightly awry gaze, and nibbled at her lip as she glanced back over the books in front of her. She was sure she could take some of these home if she wanted to, but... she really didn't want to leave yet. Even id she was super skittish.

Determined not to let the conversation fall into awkward silence, she flicked her eyes back to his and asked as her cheeks flared into pink again, "So... do you, um... do you live in the dorms? Or... or is your family nearby?"

Family was a safe enough subject, right?

[Nick Tseng]

Appoline? That was a beautiful name. Nick smiled when she told him, because it meant that she didn't think he was some annoying creeper who just bothered her in the library. So far, so good. Unless... Unless she was just telling him that her name Appoline, and it wasn't, and he was going to look stupid in front of her friends if he approaches her and tries to call her Appoline. All of a sudden, Nick had a mini panic attack. However, it seemed to subside a bit when Nick looked at her and he saw the sincere shyness that he recognized in himself.

And then she asked him about his family. His face was wistful, and for a moment, his eyes were far away. But finally, he put on a forced smile. "My parents live in Michigan, so I don't see them very often. Which is alright. I never really saw them much as a kid. So I have a dorm here on campus." He shrugged. He didn't talk about his parents often.

"What about you? Do your parents live around here? Or do you have a dorm too?" Nick really wondered if he would see Appoline around campus, or if he'd have to drive to see her again.

See her again? He hadn't even thought about it until just then. But he realized... He wanted to see her again. He knew they couldn't sit in the library forever. Nick blushed fiercely once more.

[Appoline Meian]

Appoline had never really understood her name. It was not Japanese (despite her parentage and place of birth), nor was it easily pronounced by anyone in Japan save her family. The only real thing that made any sort of sense was that her father named her because he was a Mythology major in college and wanted to reflect that in his daughters. (Half true, but not entirely accurate.) Sure, it was unique; but "unique" wasn't always good.

She'd missed the miniature panic attack amidst her blushing and muttering, but looked back up when he answered her question. He really seemed like he missed his folks; that he was putting on a brave face because he had to, and that he would give anything to see them again. It was... kind of nice. The younger student didn't know what she'd do if she'd been the only one here at this school.

"O-oh... I see..." she answered, suddenly guilty. She didn't know about that part. "I... well, my parents and sister... we all live in town. B-but it's close, so we walk here every morning." Walking was something that was common in Japan, so even though most would think of the distance on a weekend as "not a walking distance", the Meian house was within three kilometers of just about everything in Pilot Ridge (save the lake). It made not having a family vehicle much less of a problem and more of a family outing excuse.

[Nick Tseng]

Nick looked up, his face still red. She walked to school? Nick was a fan of being outside and exercising as long as people weren't around, but it was over a mile between town and the school, and Nick wasn't sure he'd like to walk that every day. Although, that would explain a lot.

"That explains why you're so... fit..." As he said it, he realized how it sounded and he trailed off when he got to "fit", his face blossoming once again with red. He immediately gazed down at the table again, this time staring at it as if it were the most interesting thing in the world. His jaw clenched a few times, and he could feel his neck getting itchy again.

Trying to circumvent the fiery feeling in his cheeks, Nick looked away but still continued talking.

"So what do you like to do? Do you spend much time with your family?" Slowly, he turned his head back. He scratched his neck and tried to smile, but it looked more like a forced grimace.

[Appoline Meian]

Despite the inherent weirdness of the comment (fit? really?), the statement made the shy girl giggle just a little. It seemed like this guy was just as shy as she was, and not terribly well-spoken. But... he was nice. And he seemed to actually be interested in her. Strange, given the Asian predisposition against that which looks different or abnormal, but from the way he spoke and his name... he was probably American born. Vaguely, she wondered if that really mattered toward the perception of what was normal and what was not.

"W-well, ah..." Appoline paused for a moment, thinking about it. She didn't really do much that involved others. "I... I like to... well, I draw pretty often," she started, nibbling at her lip. "Um... I like to watch movies and cartoons... m-mostly with my family, but sometimes with friends. And... um... I was a gymnast back in Japan..."

She shook her head, sighing. "I-I'm sorry - it's not very interesting. What... um, what do you like to do?"