Getting with the Program [Kayleigh]

[Kelly Thompson]

After another long day of dull classes Kelly didn't even car about, it was the blissful time to relax and forget about the homework that was just assigned. He, like a good many other students, found his refuge from academics in the student lounge. There were plenty of other kids hanging around there. Some were crowded around a few pool tables, others were just sitting around gossiping.

The bright orange haired boy flopped onto the sofa that sat facing the T.V. The screen was just playing whatever non-sense was on the channel the last kid left on. He grabbed the remote and started flipping through channels. He stopped at Fright Night. Not exactly his favorite movie around, but he didn't really care. It was better than whatever reality show was on a moment before. He sat watching for a little bit, the movie was already about twenty minutes or so into the plot. But catching up to it wasn't really his top priority.

Kelly pulled out his math worksheet all the same and stared at the problems. "Ok.... No way I'm doing this..." He started doodling over the numbers, making them part of little cartoony characters. The movie on the screen was no longer the focus of his attention, and he was only really listening to it at this point. He turned his torso to flop his legs up on the couch as well, but stopped when he noticed another student now settling in.

"Oh, sorry about that." The Canadian apologized as he sat back up again.

[Kayleigh Naughton]

Kayleigh had only been on campus for a few days. She spent the first 3 days or so settling in at her grandfather’s house. She got a whole room and a bathroom for herself, much to her delight. She needed to get away from her sister and it was a blessing to be without her mother too. Even though she was still sad that she had to leave, she knew her grandfather loved her so much and that she was going to go to a good school here.

After her last class ended, she decided to visit the student lounge. Walking around with all the older students made her more afraid than usual. She tried her best to not get in anybody’s way and every time an older student made his or her way to her, she walked a big bow around them or even ran away from them.

Dressed in a little, green dress and a pair of black ballerinas she popped her head in the lounge and saw a free seat in the sofa a little away from her. She made her way over without any trouble, but as she was about to sit down, another student raised his legs. Immediately she moved as far away as possible without falling off the couch.

”I‘m…I‘m sorry I.. I was not trying to take your seat“ she mumbled, completely terrified. She was not able to move, due to the fact that she was now shaking like a leaf. Her back was against the armrest, her feet on the seat as well and her arms wrapped around them. Her eyes were settled on him, just waiting for his reaction.

[Kelly Thompson]

Kelly was surprised by the students reaction. He looked over at the little girl who was now trembling against the arm of the sofa. He didn't quite understand why she was so startled by him. Maybe it was his freakishly dyed hair and the 'I don't give a rat's ass about geometry' attitude? Still he didn't want her scared of him for the rest of his senior year at Hammel. "No, it's alright. I shouldn't take up so much space anyways." He assured her, hoping it'd calm her down some.

There were a few young students running around the school, but Kelly was used to seeing older teens around his age wandering the hallways. But now there was a younger kid terrified of Kelly on the other end of the couch. It was no shock to say that Kelly hadn't seen her around. Most of the young students were new since they almost always arrived after puberty. The school was full of metas with raging hormones. Still, he continued to talk to her to show he wasn't a scary guy (or didn't try to be). "So, are you new at Hammel?" He asked even though expecting yes to be the answer.

"My name's Kelly Thompson, by the way." He offered his name with a polite smile. His dark eyes connected with her brilliant blue ones. He almost wished that, if she was telepathic, she was reading his intentions at the moment. He wanted to destroy the worksheet on his lap much more than scarring her mentally.

[Kayleigh Naughton]

Kayleigh pressed herself together like a little, protective ball, as her eyes lay on his every move. She was more than ready to jump off the couch and…. Yea what would she do? Right now she was not capable of doing anything, due to the fact that she was shaking like a leaf in the wind. She hated it. She hated being so god danm afraid all the time, but could you blame her? She was an 11 year old little girl in a school filled with teenagers. ”Okay” was the only thing she said, not the least bit calm.

She was a second from bursting into an adorable little laughter, as he asked the next question. She would have thought it was pretty obvious that she was a new student. ”Y-yes. I m…menifestied a month ago” she said, trying to pronounce manifested. It did not go well for her, but at least she tried to say it. When she needed to explain it to her grandfather, the words made no sense at all.

”My.. My name is Kayleigh” she answered, a bit more confident this time. If he wanted to be mean to her, he would have done it by now.. right? Her posture became a bit looser at this conclusion, but her hands were still around her legs as a protective barrier. Her blonde locks fell down in front of her face, but she was still in too much fear to move her hands and remove the hair from her left eye.