Ordinary story [open]

[Lucas Blacke]

The time was closing in, his exam closer at hand with every breath. He needed to study right now more than ever, he didn't quite promise it to anyone, but this was a bit more important than any promise he could ever make, or so he thought. He really had put his all into this, even sought up help from outside of the school, met up with people he barely knew or even ones he didn't know at all while looking for what he would continue with. In a way, he was busy with his future.

Why had he taken the lounge for this? How did he think he would find peace and quiet there? Truth was, what he was reading about he would need to remember even in a tight space with other people, and while the student lounge wasn't a tight space persé he made do with it for the time being.

From time to time he looked away from his book to scribble something down, not that he would have time to track and trace when it came down to it but because he was really taking this serious. It wasn't everyday you were trying to make something out of yourself and go for a car. He'd taken up driving lessons and went out to go look for cars in his price range, and the few he found he asked to be held for him until he had his license.

But getting that meant knowing the rules of the road, and as such he had tracked down a book with all of them in it and had been reading it nearly non-stop. He had been taking lessons for a while noow and his next one would be his last one. Unlike people without assumed muscle memory he didn't spaz out unless caffeine was in play so he would have that under control. He and his teacher were both sure he was going to pass it and get his license, and they had said that if he got it they would take a small detour to one of the cars he had marked down for him to buy. This was the goal he set when he applied for a job, and it finally paid off.

But first, more jamming of the rules. He needed to be ready.

[Alex Vasilyevich]

Alex sauntered into the student lounge. He had taken to sauntering recently, and he was really enjoying it. In his hand he had an ipad. He was playing chess on it. Even though Alex was no longer striving towards being a professional player, he still played and studied often. Especially when he should be doing something else. Such as studying. Alex still had some tests to finish up. Technically he should put down the chess game, and hit the books. But Alex had already studied some, and there would be time to study later. He was confident that if he crammed some tonight he would pass...at least most of his tests.
If Alex had more experience with sauntering he would have been aware of the dangers of sauntering whilst distracted. He, also, would not have been surprised to find that the result of this multitasking was him tripping on the leg of a chair, and falling flat on the floor. As it was, however, Alex was taken by surprise when the chair impeded the motion of his foot, and he only had wherewithal to let out a small yelp as he made a nosedive for the carpet. His ipad flew out of his hands as he put his hands out to prevent his nose from being broken.
Alex, quite embarrassed, quickly got up and surveyed the room to see who had witnessed the incident. Alex made eye contact with one boy, who had evidently seen it all. Alex grinned a little. “There's a chair there.” he said. (often a little joke is enough to distract from an embarrassing moment.) Alex looked for his ipad, and his heart sank when he saw where it had landed. It had ended up under this boy's table. EMBARRASSING. “umm, do you mind getting my ipad?” asked Alex attempting a nonchalant tone.

[Lucas Blacke]

Well that hadn't taken long, not long at all. How long had he been sitting there before someone decided to come in and test his patience instead of his knowledge? If he was wearing a watch or was bothered to keep the time he could have answered that question. Right now he wasn't really all that interested in keeping time or anything, the times he did study anything and did decide to keep time he'd found himself bored quite fast.

So who had come in made the most awesome entrance ever. It was a guy as far as Luke could see and not one of the one or two he had hung around with before, this was a pretty new face to him. And it kind of reminded him of himself in the way in which he came in and fell all over random bits like he himself had done to impress certain people. The only porblem was that after this guy had corrected himself after having flung his Ipad across the room (which Luke didn't really follow in terms of trajectory) he joked about a chair being there, much like he would do himself to distract people and then turned to Luke with the question if he could get his Ipad.

He sighed and shrugged. ''Only 'cause yer joke amused me.'' He told him as he got up and looked around for the thing, actually wondering why he was looking for what he hadn't been following in the first place. Maybe he was just doing it because he needed a break, or maybe because it was beginning to bore him.

''An' yes, a room in a school is bound to have chairs. Good observation.'' He rolled his eyes, finding the Ipad underneath his own chair and squatted down to pick it up, handing it over to the guy in front of him. ''An' try not to fall over, we're avoidin' dents.'' He said with a laugh and a slight tap on the shoulder of the guy.

[Alex Vasilyevich]

Well the joke worked. Or at least it seemed to. That's nice, thought Alex. Alex was proud that he could, in such a short amount of time, come up with a decent joke in English. When Alex first moved to the states he could hold an intelligible conversation in English, but that was it. Now, after two years in the states, he could institutionally communicate a culturally appropriate joke. This was just another piece of evidence that Alex was becoming an American.
Despite two years in America, Alex still had a noticeable accent, but this did not stop him from having a prejudice against people who could not speak English properly. Such a prejudice was completely irrational, but that did not stop Alex from having it. After hearing the words “yer”, “an'” and “'cause” Alex assumed he was dealing with a southern idiot. In reaction to this conclusion, Alex made sure to speak (and act) as properly as possible. Alex stood up straight, smiled, and said, “Thank you” as he took the Ipad from the other boy.
Alex smiled politely at the other's joke. “Good advice” he responded. “I apologize for disturbing your,” Alex looked at the the books the other boy was reading and guessed, “auto-repair studies? I suppose I'll get out of your hair now.”
Alex settled down in a comfortable looking chair that was near, but not too near, the other boy. Within seconds Alex was engrossed in his Ipad again. Alex's tongue stuck out as he concentrated. His foot began tapping on the floor.

[Lucas Blacke]

''N-no problem..?'' He whispered hesitantly as the guy thanked him. He figured it was just being socially okay to thank someone, and he didn't trip over that fact but what got to him was the sudden change in posture and voice. Was it because of his accent? This would make sense as the guy only just started doing it after Luke had said something. It was odd at best though, it seemed like he shouldn't give it any more thought than he already had and shrugged off the idea as the dude said some things about what he was reading -auto repair, psh- and said he'd get out of his hair.

As he took a site quite a bit removed from Luke he raised his arms in a giant shrug. What the hell just happened? He was confused as balls and this guy just left him alone. Did he not know who he was? No matter if you had an accent or not, any student of Hammel, and even those who weren't, would rip on Lucas when given the chance. He felt like that was something that would happen anyway. But no, this guy just took some distance and let him continue his study only to keep to his own things, which apparently included an Ipad. Damn hipsters.

''Wha- okay now.'' Luke said as he shoved his arms over his chest in a fold and tilted his head. ''Yer new here ain'tcha?'' The assumption was made by this guy being polite and everything he didn't quite expect from anyone at Hammel. ''..'nyway, I already know how to repair cars.'' He boasted. ''I'm just polishin' up on my drivin' knowledge.''

''Oh and ya weren't in my hair to begin with.''