Take Me Away (Open)

[Ariela Hayes]

Ariela wrinkled her nose as soon as she opened the door to the staff lounge. It always smelled the same. Like coffee. More specifically coffee that had been sitting there way too long. And Ari wasn't going to be the one to brew more, considering she hated the smell and the taste and hadn't become acclimated to it even though Zeb always smelled like it and so did his room. 

She had to say this wasn't what she planned on doing after college, but this is how things ended up and after all, it was kind of fun, shutting down teenagers and their ridiculous antics. It was something she was actually good at anyway, that and she had to admit that it was nice to be around her brother again. Although she had a feeling he needed her more than she needed him.

She really needed a break, although more specifically she wanted to get out of Hammel.

[Thomas Evans]

Tom wiped at his tired eyes as he walked over to the teacher's lounge, intent on vegging out on the couch until his next class. The Englishmen walked past a few of the other staff on the way to the lounge but none of whom he actually stopped to talk to, only giving them a half wave and a sleepy smile.

Going straight to the coffee pot, not even realising there was someone else in the room, Tom made a face when he realised the pot was not empty but it was not filled with the right amount and colour of coffee he was used to drinking.

It was only while he was rinsing the pot out that he realised he wasn't alone. "Oh...hello." He greeted the woman, pleasantly, as he was taught to. "I'll have the pot brewing in no time." He announced, not even asking if she had wanted it in the first place.

[Ariela Hayes]

Someone else had come into the room, a tall man with a british accent. She'd realized it as soon as he'd spoken. He was rinsing out the coffee pot and preparing more. God, was every staff member at Hammel a coffee drinker? "Oh, that's not why I'm in here," she replied. "Trust me, I really hate coffee." She opened the fridge to take out the sandwich she'd brought with her name written on it, along with her granola bar and iced tea, which were also labeled with her name. She didn't know much about Hammel staff members yet and if they just took someone else's food from the fridge, so she was glad when she saw her items were still in there.

She was trying to get some peace and eat her lunch, although she could definitely hear someone in their office on the phone and a student being reprimanded for running down the halls. She sat down at the table in the center of the room and began unwrapping her sandwich. "Do you people live off of coffee here?"

[Thomas Evans]

The admission that she wasn't there for coffee had Tom pursing his lips upward before nodding. "Fair enough." He replied as he scooped out some coffee powder into the freshly changed paper filter and slid the coffee pot into the machine.

Opening the fridge to get his own lunch, he popped it into the microwave and chuckled at the woman's question. "Ah...well, I personally don't." He answered with a shrug, leaning against the counter as he waited for his coffee and his lunch to be heated up.

"But it does keep me awake on a long day so I'm quite happy for it." He added before tilting his head to the side. "What do you do to keep yourself awake?"

[Ariela Hayes]

"Otherwise I would have brewed more. I'm not inconsiderate, I just really hate the smell," Ari rambled, wrinkling her nose. You would think after being around it so much that she would get used to it, but it was still so pungent and she would never understand the nuiance of waking up each morning to it being a good thing.

"Well, I'm glad," she said, nosily trying to peer at what he was putting in the microwave for lunch. "People who run on strictly coffee scare me sometimes. Especially my brother."

There were plenty of other ways to stay awake, plenty of other ways to get caffeine. For Ari, it was the amount of diet cokes she drank each day. The stuff was a lifesaver and if she didn't have even one each day, she got a headache. "Diet Coke." Speaking of, she took a bottle out of her messenger bag and set it on the table as she munched on her sandwich.

[Thomas Evans]

Tom couldn't help the small smile that came upon his lips at the woman's little nose wrinkle. "There are a lot of smells that I find unpleasant but not the smell of coffee." He responded with a shrug. To each their own, he thought to himself.

The news that she had a brother perked Tom's interest, always eager to find out about family. He was then reminded to call Lauren later for their weekly chats. "He must lead a hectic life." The Brit remarked, already taking in the aromatic coffee smell. "

Her response to his question had him chuckling just as his lunch was announced ready by the ding of the microwave. "Ah." He turned on his heel and took out the ratatouille he had prepared the night before. The container was a little hot so he let it air out as he waited for the coffee.

"Not quite a fan of that." He spoke, his abilities mixing up his words with English and Mandarin. Luckily enough, he actually caught the mistake. "Ah...I'm sorry. Try as I might, I'm still not completely in control of my abilities." He said slowly, making sure it was all in English before repeating his previous statement about the diet coke.

Once the coffee was done, he poured himself a mug and brought it over to where the woman was sitting, along with his lunch. "Excuse my manners, I'm Tom. I'm the Language teacher. I don't believe we've met." He offered his hand and a wide smile.

[Ariela Hayes]

"I guess there are worse smells, but coffee isn't among my favorite," Ari mused, nodding at Tom's speculation about her brother. "Hectic is an understatement." Even if hectic wasn't exactly the word for it. Still, she knew her brother went through a lot and always had been with the power he'd been given and that coffee was his solace.

"Someone's eating fancy," she commented with a mouthful of her sandwich, gesturing towards the ratatouille. The next thing he said confused her greatly as it didn't seem to be in English. And then she nodded slowly at his explanation. "Omnillingualism?" she guessed, although it was more of a statement. She liked to think she was right. "Caffeine without the calories," she replied with a shrug.

"Not surprising. I'm new. Tried to stay away from this place, but I somehow always end up where my brother is, regardless of my plans." She met his hand halfway. "I'm Ari. I'm a dorm monitor."

[Thomas Evans]

"Noted." Tom nodded even as he breathed in the fresh coffee smell. "Maybe we could invest in a diet coke air freshener in here." He teased with an open grin. "Ah. That must be awful." The Englishman winced slightly, even though he didn't know anything about her brother.

Looking down at the mess of zucchini, minced meat, peppers and beans, Tom grinned and shrugged. "I literally just dump everything into a pan and let the butter do the job for me." He chuckled, pushing it over to the woman. "You're welcome to have some." He offered, not having much of a problem with sharing a spoon.

"Ah, yes." He nodded sheepishly when she guessed his abilities. Not really a hard one to detect but it was still a surprise that she knew it. He chuckled lightly at her response to his remark.

"Oh? Oh! Your brother works here! I see." He grasped her hand firmly and gave it a small shake before letting go. "Well it's a pleasure to meet you, Ari. Welcome to Hammel." He smiled warmly.

[Ariela Hayes]

"I'm not so sure how they could get that to smell like Diet Coke and anyway, it's the taste I like. It doesn't really smell like much..." Ariela rambled, having to nit-pick at what he said. It was just in her personality. "Anyway, I deal," she added, taking another bite of her sandwich. "He's just...he's been through a lot. His power isn't like mine and yours." She just realized she hadn't told him her power. But that didn't matter. "It's had some traumatic effects on him and he has a hard time handling it." Why was she talking about Zeb's personal life here? She was still being vague about it, but still, she shouldn't be blabbering about his life to a teacher she'd just met. Was she really that desperate to talk to someone here?

"I hope you at least use margarine with an olive oil base or something. Tastes just as good and not as fatty as butter," she told him, having a thing about cooking and healthy eating. "I majored in exercise science. Needless to say I didn't really get a job that uses what I spent so much money on." She said it somewhat bitterly. "Thanks, although it's more like welcome back. I went here as well."

[Thomas Evans]

"Right, right." Tom politely nodded, digging his spoon into the bottom of his dish to pull it up to the top so he got the hotter bits in first. He liked the hotter bits.

Tom didn't quite see the problem with her divulging personal information, no matter how vague they were. He liked to believe that he had that air about him that made people feel comfortable around him. "That's quite unfortunate." He smiled apologetically. Although his powers had gotten him into a lot of unintended trouble, he imagined he had gotten lucky by getting a non-evasive ability.

Wincing at the woman's alternative to cooking, Tom shook his head. "I don't quite understand the concept of healthy eating." He chuckled. "I mean I justify it by going to the gym regularly but even then, I have my lazy days." He shrugged and spooned some into his mouth. The food burnt his tongue and the roof of his mouth but it was well worth it.

Hearing that she had also gone to Hammel surprised Tom. "Ah! We could have been schoolmates. Unless you just graduated. You look like you could have just graduated." Tom chuckled a little nervously.

[Ariela Hayes]

"Even I have lazy days, Thomas," Ariela whispered, like it was a secret. "Anyway, I think it has something to do with my friends in high school. I was on the track team and the rest of them ate healthy. Guess I sort of adapted it." She shrugged. "Well, if you're game, I wouldn't mind having a gym buddy. Can't say my brother will go with me." She might as well suggest it.

"I'm flattered..." Ariela said a bit flatly without meaning to. "But no...definitely not fresh out of high school. More like out of college and tack on a few years, then you have my age."