Many A Thousand Gone, or The Haul of Fame

[Matthew Rowland]

Matthew didn't really feel like going outside. It was cold, as it had been for some time now. He had planned on staying in bed for as long as possible on this Sunday in January, but he had something he had to do. He slept in a little, of course, but was up by nine. The letter on his desk needed to be finished and put in the mailbox today; he wasn't going to have time to do it tomorrow. So, after getting himself some food from the kitchen and watching a bit of the news, he was working on the letter to his parents that he had to send out.

Most students just called home. And in this day and age, the ones who didn't get calls got emails. Now Matthew's parents. He had made it a point after arriving at Hammel to write them a physical letter every chance he got. He wasn't computer illiterate, he just preferred it on paper with an actual pen (a good one, too. Matt was surprised at how good it wrote). And his parents did, too. After all, Matt hadn't been able to speak since birth, so they were all used to him writing things down. That handwriting of his? Impeccable. It had to be since it was one of his main forms of communication.

So, finally finishing up around one, the meta made his way outside, bundled up to keep himself from catching a cold, heading to the mailbox to send off his letter. It didn't take long and soon he was back inside. After a quick stop into his room to gather a few things and change into a more comfortable workout shirt and basketball shorts, he was in the gym, a pair of red Beats earbuds in his ears.

[Bobby Castellano]

Still not fully trusting the weather, Bobby was still bundled up in several layers even in the compound. The gymnasium should have been much warmer than it was but Bobby braved the climate simply because he needed the space to train himself.

With his laptop cradled in his arms, Bobby looked around the pretty spacious gym to find a spot for him to watch How To videos and act on them.

He hadn't realised he wasn't alone as he watched through the first dance video and let his body move. It hurt a little because the movements were not voluntary but he tried his best to control it.

"Fuck!" He yelled out when his hand cramped up but the rest of his body was still in motion. "Can somebody help me please?" he yelled even louder.

[Matthew Rowland]

Matthew was working hard. He had been to about three stations, and his playlist was keeping him pumped. Lucky for Bobby, in the break in between songs he managed to hear his cry for help. Stopping his chin ups mid-rep, Matt wiped his hands on his black basketball shorts and headed to the source of the plea.

He wasn't surprised when he saw a younger male asking for help, though what he actually seemed to need help with was still lost on him. Upon arriving, he looked around him, thinking maybe he dropped a weight or failed to ask for help spotting, but... nope, none of that. He took out his phone and paused the music, typing a quick message which he presented to Bobby when he was done: "whats wrong"

[Bobby Castellano]

As he moved, not knowing how exactly to stop, Bobby looked on at the newcomer hopelessly. It didn't help that the boy didn't speak. Instead, he...texted?

It was better than nothing, he said as he dropped on the floor just as the boy in the video. With one leg, he kicked up and stood back up again. "Augh." Bobby groaned. "Switch the fucking laptop off please!" The Australian pleaded as his shoulder started jerking involuntarily.

How he thought this ability was cool in the first place, Bobby didn't know. Right then, he wanted it gone. "Just stop the fucking video." He hissed. It was the only way he knew how to stop moving.

[Matthew Rowland]

He was hopelessly lost. The other wanted to stop dancing? It took him a few seconds to process his request, as he didn’t fully understand how stopping the video was going to help him. Looking from the video to the boy and back, he was wondering what the problem was. He was dancing really well. Like, extremely well. Isn’t that what he was trying to do?

And then it clicked. The other boy wasn’t trying… at all. His eyes got big when everything made sense and he closed -- damn near slammed -- the laptop shut. As opposed to trying to fiddle with the mouse and it possibly lagging, or that this being the one time the browser didn’t want to close down, or any other technical problem, he went with the easier.

After the source of the problem was dealt with, Matthew crossed his arms, looking to the boy and shaking his head, typing another sentence onto his phone to show him: ”im guessing you cant turn it off yet”

[Bobby Castellano]

Bobby was torn between feeling guilty for swearing at a complete stranger, being angry at said stranger for just slamming his precious laptop shut and being completely grateful he did. He ended up sprawled on the floor, involuntarily twitching and sobbing dryly at how exhausted he was.

The stranger showed him another text and he shook his head. "I've been here for a grand total of two weeks." He responded and tried calming himself down. "I'm so sore." He whined as he tried to move his hand but to no avail. Every bit of him was aching.

"Thank you. So much for helping." He looked at him with an embarrassed smile.

[Matthew Rowland]

Matthew smiled a bit; it was a little funny. Having been at Hammel more than just a few years, he’d seen a lot of kids come through and have very similar experiences. It was a right of passage, honestly, especially for the metas with those really uncontrollable powers. Matthew got off a bit easy, though there was that one time in training where he exhausted himself and he developed some kind of dyslexia afterwards. It was really, really weird, and something he never wanted to go through again.

Typing and showing a quick ”no prob” on his phone, he looked him over and typed another message, holding his phone with the message showing and holding out his right hand: ”im Matthew”

He was going to have to do something about the constant need to type or write messages for others; in the moments he waited for the other’s response, he looked around the gym for something to use...

[Bobby Castellano]

Bobby sheepishly grinned at the other boy's amusement. He would have been a little grumpy if the other meta hadn't stepped in to save him from a lot worse than muscle cramps.

The screen showed the other boy's name and Bobby nodded, reaching his own hand out to shake his. "I'm Bobby." The Australian replied before sitting up and wincing at the pain in his...well...everywhere. He butt shuffled over to where his computer was and pulled it down to his chest, sighing at his own stupidity. He should have had someone else there with him.

"Uh...are you mute?" He asked, not at all considering the consequences of asking such a sensitive question.