Just another day in paradise! (Open)

[Deleted]

"Hahahaha!!!" Maria was about to role off the couch on how funny America's Funniest Home Videos was being right now. There was a squirrel twirling around on a bird feader. She looked at the show again and burst out laughing again. This time she fell off the couch and her face turned pink. "oh...my...gosh!!" She turned the tv off so she would not choke over how funny it was. These were the days! She sighed and stood up while staring at everyone at once. "Yeahhh...I cheated and had caramel yesterday." They seemed to understand and soon did what they were doing before she interrupted them.

She then sighed and skipped over to a pinball machine to play. "Hmmm Hmm Hmm.." She just hummed and played her game.  These were the days when her OCD wasn't as bad as it usually was. The days when she could just laugh with the air and everything. She still didn't have many friends, sure there were people around that she helped, but that was it. 

[Anita Wiley]

Anita had finally woken up from her headache-induced slumber and was feeling quite groggy. She didn't have any schoolwork to complete and didn't feel like going out so she headed for the student lounge with her laptop to watch a movie while eating vending machine food.

With her hair pulled back from her face clean of makeup, in her red hoodie, she walked in, set her laptop down and bought a candy bar from a vending machine. When she returned to her laptop though she found that there were no free outlets. However, instead of returning to her room, she decided to play some pinball. Of course, that machine was being used as well, so she walked over to the girl playing. She didn't want to be rude and disturb her game, but she didn't want to be alone either.

Annie didn't recognize the brunette so she decided to introduce herself. "Hi there. Nice, you're a good player." she praised. "I'm Annie. Have we met before?" she smiled.

[Deleted]

She laughed happily with a nice smile on her face as she kept playing the game. She was seeing the ball's every movement, although if Maria thought about it she was kind of cheating. Her gift helped her see the slightest movement and smell everything in a room, so far that she knew anyway.

She was still playing when she saw someone walk to her. She didn't look at her but she could still see her walk by and stop at the pinball machine. "Hey!!" She was still looking at the vending machine, her eyes focusing on the ball every time. "Thanks! I don't think we have met. I am Maria, pleasure to meet you!" She would have hugged the girl if she wasn't focusing on her game.

She smelled the air around her, the girl must have had chocolate or something because that was what Maria smelled the most. At least it wasn't as bad as leather or gasoline. "You may play if you like!" She stopped playing and smiled at the girl while looking at her finally. Then she walked to the side of the pinball machine so the girl could play. "Yeah, I think the only reason I am good at it is because of my gift. Can see even the slightest movement. What's your gift?" She smiled in curiosity. She always loved asking that question.

[Anita Wiley]

"Pleasure to meet you, too." Annie smiled in response. People's powers and their stories were always one of Annie's favourite topics. So, if Maria hadn't started talking about hers, she would've probably asked her. "Aw, that awareness thing?" she asked. She couldn't get all the powers' names straight, especially the rarer ones.

She placed herself in front of the machine and fired up a new game. She was never very good at this kind of games, the ones that require good reflexes. They were even slower now that she was sick and groggy, sometimes a side effect to her 'gift', as the brunette called it.

"I'm a healer." she replied. "Humans only, though. Wish I could heal animals, too. Most of the time they need it more." She continued, wrinkling her nose slightly in disapproval. "Cool thing about your awareness, though. No one can sneak up on you." She shot a quick glance at her. "What's its side effect?"

[Deleted]

She hummed to herself as she watched the girl play her game with a happy smile on her face. "Yep that's it! Love my gift." She giggled and kept watching. It seemed that the girl wasn't as good as Maria but she didn't mind, she just liked watching the ball bounce back and forth like a cat. It was strange how fun it could be.

"Side effects? Oh right! Obsessive compulsive disorder and sensitivity to light. One untidy thing and I have the nerve to fix it. I usually wear sunglasses but today my gift is being nice to me. What's your side effect. I also love that gift you have! Healing is amazing!" She smiled and clapped her hands as if the girl just did something incredible.

[Anita Wiley]

"Whoa. Aren't you full of life!" Annie exclaimed, amazed at how much energy Maria had. In her sickly state, she couldn't decide whether to be annoyed by the giggling and the clapping, or to let it cheer her up. She couldn't help but feeling slightly more upbeat herself though.

"OCD must be pretty tough. Mine? Well, sometimes the injuries I heal transfer on my own body and I get ill and feverish more often than others. Guess my immune system ain't as great when it's trying to protect others. And thanks!" she smiled. "I like it too. Makes me feel useful."

She kept losing so, annoyed, she quit playing before she got positively angry and moved out of the way, gesturing for the other girl to take her place. She should have stayed in bed - her temperature was rising again. Leaning on the wall, she reached into her back pocket and pulled out another candy bar. "So, what's your story? Where are you from? When did you get here?"

[Deleted]

She frowned as she finally noticed the condition the girl was in. How did she, of all people, not notice that the girl was sick. "Let me see." She looked at her in concentration as she tried to see how bad the girl was. Too bad she couldn't tell this. "Tried oh well." She sighed and put the palm of her hand to the girl's forehead. This caused her to frown even more. "You need to sleep. Eat some soup and crackers and drink plenty of fluids."

She let go of her forehead and put it at her side. She then smiled and thought about how to say it. She wasn't going to tell the girl about her parents, she doubted she would ever tell anyone that. "Let me think. I was almost born and raised in Texas. Can't remember where else I lived. After a while of not having parents I finally found a family who loved me. One day I was crossing a street, thinking it was deserted I crossed the road, ended up almost getting ran over. At the time I didn't think anything of it. The next day recruits came and well...here I am. Apparently my sight helped me dodge out of the way, only got a bruise. You?" She smiled and noticed how long of a story that must have been for a girl who was sick. "Sorry, long wasn't it?"

[Anita Wiley]

Annie winced when Maria put her hand on her forehead and tried to shy away from her touch, before she reminded herself to be nice and let her be. "Yeah, I know." she replied to Maria's advice. "Usually it goes away with sleep, hopefully I'll be fine in the morning." When the brunette took her hand away from her forehead, she unwrapped her chocolate bar and started eating it while she waited for the other girl to talk.

She let out a small sound when Maria mentioned Texas, but forced herself to be patient and not interrupt. She crossed her arms, leaned back and waited for her to finish talking. At the end of the story, the thought of Texas was rapidly erased from her mind. "No, it's fine. Whoa. That was really lucky. I would have pissed my pants." she laughed. "When did it happen? I was 12 when mine kicked in. I was born in Texas, too, but I lived my whole life there until it happened. I grew up with parents and a sister, a couple of cats.. I was bullied a lot, but I had a friend. She was the first person I have ever healed, after a dog attacked. Then, a recruiter came and took me away. Simple as that."

She sighed and took another bite of chocolate. Annie always felt lucky after hearing other people's stories, a lot of them were quite sad. However, she always felt a bit guilty for her easy pre-meta life and the target of other's resentment. She thought it best if she didn't push the subject of Maria's family. "What happened to your parents?" she found herself blurting out anyway. Stupid fever. She covered her mouth with her hand and grimaced. "Sorry, I didn't mean to ask, really. You don't have to answer it. Sorry." she repeated.

[Deleted]

(sorry for the delay!)

Maria almost interrupted her so many times. It was mainly because of how hyper she was though. When Anita said she was born in Texas she smiled wide and almost interrupted, she did the same thing when she heard that she had been bullied, about her gift, when it kicked in and about cats. When she finished she almost shrieked in pure joy at the life story. "Nice! I miss Texas badly. I actually was 11 or 12, can't remember the age really. How did your gift happen? I love cats! Also, I am so sorry you were bullied, I never have been but I don't like it. Poor friend, glad you healed her. Your gift is so nice and sweet." When she finally finished with that she watched the girl eat. This was nothing Maria could help, if she could look at something else at the moment she would have.

At the mention of her parents and the apology she shrugged it off before saying what happened. "I don't know, nothing probably. They could not afford me and so they took me to an adoption place. It's fine and stop covering your mouth." She giggled and almost hugged the poor girl. "I ask things like that all the time. It is mostly out of hyperness when I do it though."

[Anita Wiley]

(it's okay !)


Annie jumped a little at Maria's shriek and she gave a laugh. She couldn't believe how hyper this girl was. However, instead of it being tiring, she found it quite energizing. She was glad to have found another person from home, even if thinking about it saddened her a little. "I was twelve," she began. "Well, there's not much else to tell, except a dog bit my friend's leg and I panicked. Maybe that triggered it. I healed her right there on the street, it just poured out of me, I didn't even know what was happening," she rubbed her eyes and continued. "After that, we spent the next few days experimenting, she would inflict all kinds of small injuries on herself and I'd heal them. Of course, I had no idea how to prevent them from transferring on myself, so I still have her leg scar and a few others."

"Yeah, it was a pretty rough few years, being bullied. It wasn't serious, though it might have gotten worse had I stayed. You've seen how high school is, at least on TV," she shrugged. "Thanks," she smiled at Maria's compliment. "I can't take credit for that though."

Annie breathed a sigh of relief when Maria shrugged her mistake off, but she was still a bit uneasy. She was lucky to be in the company of a happy-go-lucky girl, though. She removed her hand from her mouth and laughed when Maria made her realize she was still cringing. "Sorry again, it almost never happens to me. It's just that my brain's not functioning very well right now, I'm sick and tired," she gave a halfhearted smile. She couldn't wait for the feeling to go away. She threw the wrapper away and rubbed the sickness-induced muscle soreness from her arms. "So, whaddya like to do for fun? Any hobbies? Oh, and did you find any cool people around? Cute guys?" she wiggled her eyebrows and grinned.

[Deleted]

She smiled wide and laughed with her. She was so happy she was cheering her up, or thought she was cheering her up. She listened to the rest of Anita's story with a polite smile on her face. She couldn't have handled injuries, the only one Maria really got was the one from that time she first discovered her gift. Then she nodded at her when it came to the topic of bullying. Maria didn't harm others so it was strange too her how someone could hurt another, especially children. She tried to remember a show about high school but she couldn't, she usually just watched movies.

She shrugged it off once again and this time hugged her. She found that it usually comforted people who were not feeling the best. Once she let go she smiled again and looked around. "Cute boys? Where? hahaha! Kidding! I have met a few cute boys, but some of them are mean, but that's nothing you can help." She smiled wide and thought about all the things she liked to do. "Shopping, make up, I mainly like helping others and strengthening my gift. I also like watching funny stuff, like on TV or even things not on TV like..well comedians!" It took her a while to find out the word but she finally got it. "What about you?"

[Anita Wiley]

At first, when Maria put her arms around Anita, she tensed up, but it wasn't long before she let go and sank into the hug. She wasn't getting many of them usually and it felt nice to be held. She had a few friends, but she wasn't really the touchy-feely type. However, she felt like part of the weight pressing on her heart lifted.

When they let go of each other and the atmosphere lightened, she felt lighter and a genuine smile crept up on her face. "Ooh, comedians! I love stand-up shows but I rarely get to watch them, I always miss them when they come up on TV." Now that she finished eating, she didn't know what to do with her hands, so she just tucked them in the pockets of her hoodie. She always had this problem. "Eh.." She began, unsure of what to say. She spent most of her time practicing healing and the rest of it she often spent it lying around, exhausted or sick, especially lately.

"Well, when I'm not healing people or wait for my body to catch up -" she continued with a roll of her eyes - "I like to watch TV shows online, or go out, or, especially, swim at the pool." She sighed dreamily. "I rarely go shopping, but then again, my best friend is a guy, so.." she laughed. "I'd love some retail therapy soon though." she hinted, raising her eyebrows questioningly.

[Deleted]

Maria was excited even more once she saw Anita smile after the hug. She was glad she was lifting the woman's spirit up. She even smiled at her smile and listened to her curiously as she answered the question. Waiting for her body to catch up? Maria pouted at the words, how many times did this girl get sick? That was not healthy at all. She smiled again thought at the thought of swimming, but it was WAY too cold outside.

Maria didn't get it at first when Anita seemed to be saying it in a question. It sounded strange, but once Maria backed her thoughts up and repeated the sentence she understood. She wants to go shopping with me!! Maria smiled wide and jumped up and down. "Yay! Okay." She slowly stopped what she was doing so she didn't seem so creepy. "Where would you like to emotion shop today?" She didn't like the words retail therapy, it sounded like going to a complete stranger and revealing all your shopping secrets, but maybe Maria was just paranoid.