I Think I'll Stay Here (Open)

[Julien Duval]

Julien stared down at the map he'd picked up from the office. It was college exploration day at his high school in Pilot Ridge, which gave him the opportunity to tour colleges, or walk around aimlessly with his camera, as he preferred to call it. It was much better than sitting in classes all day, daydreaming about being a student at Hammel. It was so unfair.

So, here he was, trying to match some of the buildings to the ones on the map he'd been given, meandering behind the group that was touring as the tour guide went on and on about student hangouts. He was highly debating attending college here as well and he bet that there were tons of meta students at this college. There had to be! It wasn't Hammel, but there were probably people who had been to the meta school, and that was enough. Besides, he liked the seasons Vermont had. He wasn't sure what his parents would think, but he was hoping they'd be warmed up to the idea after letting him go there for his last two years of high school in a foreign exchange program.

Lost in his thoughts, he hadn't realized he'd lost the group and actually ended up on his own. That tour guide was boring anyway. It would be much better to explore on his own and talk to some students. 

He removed his video camera from his camera bag slung over his shoulder.

[Kristina Novak]

If Kristina had her wishes, she would be sitting on the lawn of the university campus with her camera or sketchbook. Instead, she was sitting underneath the shade of a tree with her English book, reading stories and analyzing the content without much success. English was her weakest subject, and also her last exam for the term. It was the Czech girl's second language, and rightfully so, struggled with understanding all the metaphors and hyperboles and writing structure. Ugh. Kristina had the book opened, a pen and notebook nearby to write down notes and reference different aspects of literature.

She'd be glad if she got the chance to go home and study abroad. Kristina sighed at the thought, taking an elastic band from her wrist to tie back her wavy brown hair. Another few minutes of studying, and she would reward herself with a break and possibly a cup of tea.

Looking up, Kristina noticed a group of younger looking students, possibly from high school, touring the campus. She wondered if they were from Hammel, the next generation of metas. Her own hands tingled at the possibility, becoming aware of the ability the Czech girl normally hid away. Kristina's eyes landed on a lone person who wandered away from the group. Wouldn't be a campus tour if nobody did that. She stared a little too long, and realized that he was taking out a video camera and was heading in her direction.

[Julien Duval]

Julien took the camera out of his bag and took the lens cap off of it, turning the thing on. As it came to life it made a clicking sound and the screen lit up. He'd always tended to wander off, head up in the clouds, but it wasn't like he couldn't get to know the campus on his own, right? He didn't need a tour guide to show him around.

Once his camera was up and running, he panned across campus, seeing everything through the screen on his camera, including a dark haired brunette sitting under a tree looking very displeased with a text book. It wasn't as if he'd decided that the first person who made eye contact with him was going to be the person he talked to, but he figured that was as good of a rule as any.

He began his walk over to her, trying to convince himself he wasn't as awkward as he felt.

[Kristina Novak]

Kristina turned her attention back towards her notebook and textbook, quickly scribbling down a few more terms and examples of English words she would forget after the exam. After her first year of university, the Czech girl quickly learned that it was mostly memorization, something she wasn't too terrible at.

When she glanced back up, the dark haired boy who had separated from the group was coming closer, the video camera poised in his hand. Kristina grimaced to herself, before forcing a somewhat pleasant and approachable smile on her face. Flipping the pages of her notebook shut, Kristina commented "Looks like you got separated from your tour group." That was an easy enough conversation starter, right?

[Julien Duval]

Julien would have pointed out that she'd stated the obvious, but it was the same way he'd approach a conversation with a stranger, especially one of the opposite sex, so he decided not to make a comment about it. "Yeah, well...it was sorta on purpose," he declared with a slight laugh, running his free hand through his hair. At least so far she didn't seem paranoid about him holding a camera.

[Kristina Novak]

Kristina's fingers interlocked with one another, resting them on top of her lap. She nodded in response, confused as to why the stranger wanted to be separated from his group. "Why? Boring?" She asked. There were always tours across campus, some from the nearby high school, other groups from Hammel. At least once a day the Czech girl would witness someone wandering off, their fascination drawn elsewhere. And she was curious why he had decided to.

[Julien Duval]

"You could say that," Julien said with a shrug. "I mean, they're showing me where things are, but you don't really get to know a place unless you look around yourself, you know?" It was the same as getting to know a person. You couldn't just hear about them from someone else and assume you knew them, you had to get to know them yourself.

[Kristina Novak]

"Fair enough." Kristina nodded, looking up at the stranger. "Sometimes it's better to be left alone to your own devices." She shifted, bringing her knees up to her chest. There was a hesitant pause between what she had said, and what Kristina was going to offer. "You're... you're more than welcome to sit down." More hesitation. "Or... I can walk around with you?" She phrased it as a question, unsure if he even wanted to be around Kristina for more than a few seconds of fleeting conversation.

"Then you can walk around and I can point out things if you're confused." She gestured to her books. "I'm tired of studying, anyway." It wasn't often that the serious girl offered such a thing... but she was trying.