Times like these.

[Kaiser Reed]

"No ma'am...I really like it…I have enough clothes…no but…Mom…I promise…Im alright here…okay…I love you too."

Kaiser sighed and hung up the phone his mother had gotten him before he moved to Hammel. It wasn't anything fancy like an iPhone or anything. Just a simple phone that he could make calls and text from.

"She's really worried." He mumbled to himself before he shoved the device back into the pocket of his jeans. He couldn't really blame here. Her son had moved hundreds of miles away and was now at a school full of super powered teenagers, that was some pretty crazy stuff.

He did his best to reassure her that he was fine here, but he wasn't sure it was helping. The boy sighed as he pushed open the doors of the student lounge, deciding that he should just take it easy today and not do much exploring. The boy's mood had faltered a bit and he was sure it had something to do with the winter. It had always been a tough time fore Kaiser but with his new found powers his mood had been seemingly reliant on the sun. Texas was still sunny, albeit a little cool, but certainly nothing like this weather. Cloudy skies and snow on the ground might as well be little Kaiser's kryptonite.

The boy moved towards a nearby couch and plopped down on it. Man, what he wouldn't give to be back home right now. It wasn't that he didn't like Hammel, because he did…to an extent. It was just so much change all at once…he wasn't sure he could handle all of it.

Kaiser gave another sigh and pulled his knees up to his chest. "It's not that bad…" He said, reminding himself. "It's not that bad…"

[Karalie Heise]

Per her recent norm, Karalie was spending as little time in her dorm as possible.  She didn't like the idea of another run in with her roommate or the girls ruthless girlfriend.  Fighting wasn't her strong suit, physically or verbally, and her mind was still cloudy from touching, well, everything.  The memories were bogging her mind down, but at least she was learning some amount of control, which made it all worth it somehow.  Well, maybe not all worth it.  The headaches and occasional nosebleed weren't fun, but hey, it was just par for the course.  

Hanging in the lounge came with its own set of obstacles, though.  She'd seen Luke come in a time or two, which was excuse to quickly pack up and leave.  She had nothing left to say to her ex, but because she was so worried about him coming in, she tended to keep an eye on the door whenever anyone came or went.  He wasn't the only person she was avoiding these days.  It seemed there were more people to run from than to run to.

The door swung open again and her dark eyes popped up to see who it was.  Her vision followed a young boy as he came into the room, distracting her from the textbook she was reading.  He looked almost worried and somehow that drew her attention as he pushed something back into his pocket.  As he sat down near her she continued to watch him, catching wind of his soft murmering.  "What's not that bad?" She asked gently, cocking her head to the side.  It sounded like he was trying to convince himself that it wasn't that bad. which of course meant it probably was as bad as he thought.  She thought she caught a soft twang in his voice too, something that was always comforting to the Mississippi native.  "If yah don' mind my askin'." 

[Kaiser Reed]

The boy had completely missed the girl he had sat next to. He must have been off in his own little world and wasn't paying enough attention to his surroundings, a common occurrence for Kaiser.

"Oh...um..." He said, looking over at her. "Nothing." He shook his head and sighed. Kaiser knew he shouldn't worry people with his own problems. "I just needa get used to the change...that's it." The kid said with a shrug. "Doesn't help that my momma is super worried about me and I'm like a million miles away from her..."

Sure, Kaiser realized that he sounded like a 'momma's boy' but he was in fact one. He loved his mom with all his heart and just wanted her to be happy and proud of him.

"Sorry...I really shouldn't be botherin' you with my problems, like I said...it's not that bad. I'll get used to it."

[Karalie Heise]

She laughed lightly at the comment about his mother worrying.  Her mother still worried and called her all the time, and she'd been there for seven years.  Her parents were always concerned about the type of people she would run into, the riff raff and what not.  Rejects of society went to her school, and they refused to see she was one of them though they'd known for years.  For whatever reason Karalie was, and always would be, above the rest according to her parents.  

The fact that the kid called his mother momma delighter her, though.  She herself called her mother momma and probably always would.  The fact that's what he called his mother told her he was definitely a southern boy, that mixed with the twang in his voice of course.  But where?  He sounded more midwestern than she did, definitely not a 'sippi boy.  She wondered if what the kid needed to get used to was being there at Hammel.  He looked a bit old to just be starting there unless he was a transfer.  Were there transfers? Did he just get a late start in the meta world? Maybe he just hit puberty crazy early.  He had a baby face still, but she would still put him in around fifteenish.  


"Ain't no bother." She offered casually with a shrug.  "Trust me, ya'll are th'least uh my worries, but yah don' need tuh talk to me about nothin'."  She cocked her head to the side.  "Can I at least ask where yer from?  I always like runnin' intuh fellow southerners." She drawled.  Too bad the kid was young, he was cute..

[Kaiser Reed]

Kaiser nodded when she told him not to worry, though he still didn't like putting his problems on other people. That's not the way he was. He'd rather bottle everything up than mess up someone days because of his own problems.

The girl was definitely southern, much more than himself. Kaiser knew he had an accent, but hers was muuuuch more noticeable. Maybe it was because his dad had a really distinct accent and Kaiser didn't want to be like him. He was proud of his southern heritage though and liked to think of himself as a gentleman.

"I'm from Texas...a small town that you've prolly never heard of before. We've only got like six hundred people in the whole town." Kai said with a small laugh. "What about you? And I know what you mean...when I came here I didn't think I was gunna run into any southerners...cuz we're so far north now." The boy said, giving her a friendly smile. "How do you deal with the cold? That's one of my big issues, I'm not used to it and...well...it kinda sucks with all the snow and everything."

[Karalie Heise]

"Mississippi." She drawled, smiling in that sweet way only a properly trained southern bell could.  It was her pageant smile, and though it had been years since she'd been a pageant girl, some things just never leave you, like riding a bicycle.  She'd met a handful of southerners while there, and though the kid was from Texas she didn't hold it against him.  Just because the biggest asshole she'd met on campus was from Texas didn't mean everyone from there was going to be a waste of space.  Texas was the largest state, after all.

When he asked about the cold she looked down at the over sized sweater she was wearing, one of many she owned.  It had multi purposes, really.  It was a fashion statement of course, especially with the way it hung off her shoulder showing just a flash of skin.  Then there was the way it helped her hide her cursed little hands within its protective long sleeves which easily hung to her fingertips if she let it, and of course the final reason; the cold.  It was bulky and soft and kept a lot of the chill out.  "It definitely sucks, butcha learn right quick how tuh dress up here." She teased lightly, pulling her knees up and folding her arms across the top and giving the kid a quizzical look.  "This ain't yer first winter up here, now is it?"  She expected his answer to be no, but who knew.. maybe he was just a late bloomer. "An' I thought you Texans got snow!" Her smile came back, only the right side of her face quirking up into her smirk.

[Kaiser Reed]

"Yeah, I guess dressing warm is kinda the only option, huh?" He asked as he looked down at his own clothing. He didn't have many clothes so he was back to wearing what he did on his first day here. A large, puffy black jacket, yellow gloves, and a yellow scarf. "Even with all this on...I dunno...it's just cold." He sighed.

"Yeah...I just got here a few days ago. My first week here." The kid said with a small smile. "It's a huge change." He said shrugging. "But I can't really do nothing about it. Just gotta...go with the flow I guess."

When the girl mentioned something about Texas getting snow he chuckled a bit. "Some parts do...we normally don't. I mean, it gets cold where I'm from...but nothing like this. I feel like I'm just gunna freeze to death whenever I walk outside!"

The boy pushed a bit of hair out of his face and looked around the room. "It's nice in here though...could be warmer but it's better than out there." He then looked back to the girl. "Oh, where are my manners?" Kaiser asked himself before extending a hand towards her. "My name is Kaiser Reed, it's a pleasure to meet you."

[Karalie Heise]

Just got there? He must be such a baby! She suddenly felt so old, recalling when she'd arrived.  She'd been much smaller, though.  Much smaller than this boy, anyway.  "That never changes." She giggled when he noted he felt like he'd freeze every time he walked outside.  She was certain her nose hairs had frozen before.  It didn't help that she was always cold, sometimes even in the summer.  

"They don' ever keep these rooms warm enough." She agreed just before he introduced himself, extending his hand.  Handshakes.  Ugh, how she hated when people offered her their hands.  They had no idea what they were about to give away to her with just a simple touch, and though she had come to terms with the fact that she would receive memories, like it or not, she still preferred to respect others privacy.  This meant keeping her hands to herself at all costs.

"Karalie Heise, an' th'pleasures all mine."  She looked down at his hand but didn't take it.  "An' I'd keep my hands tuh m'self if I were you, Kaiser.  I'm uh memory snatcher."  She offered a wink as if this were some silly sort of game, though she was serious behind that kind Façade.  "How old are ya'll if yah don' mind my askin'?  Seem uh bit old just tuh be startin' now."  Her head did that cute little head tilt she often did when inquiring about something.  "I've been here since I was eleven."

[Kaiser Reed]

"A memory snatcher?" The boy asked before slowly withdrawing his hand. "Woah, that's really cool." He said with a smile. "And it's prolly for the best...you wouldn't want my memories. They...uh...aren't the happiest." Kaiser said with a shrug. "It's nice to meet you though."

"Um...I just turned fourteen." He said with a small nod. "I got my powers like a week ago or somethin' like that." Karalie had been here since she was eleven. Man, that was a long time to be at a school like this. She must know everything there is to know about it! "Your powers-" The boy started to ask but stopped and studied her for a moment. "-is it just people? Or is it...like everything you touch?"

[Karalie Heise]

She snorted when he commented how it was cool that she was a "memory snatcher".  He only thought it was cool because he didn't have it.  Cool was not the word she would ever use to explain what she had.  "Most people's memories ain't that happy." She commented, and it was the truth.  She got more bad memories than good.  People were assholes, she'd learned that over and over by touching, well, everything.  It was a wonder she wasn't more cynical.

Fourteen was pretty young.  He was such a baby.. had so much to learn still.  She almost felt bad for him, remembering how it was for her in those first few weeks.  Learning you had these powers, that you were different, your world turning upside down.  then you were whisked away from your family, friends, entire world and thrown in this school with a bunch of other kids who were just like you, only they weren't.  No one was like you at all. No one understood, no one got it..  She swallowed hard, wondering if she'd ever find another person who totally gets it.  Penelope had so much potential, but she was queer and a bitch to boot. 


Then Kaiser asked about her powers, something that felt so odd to her.  She didn't really talk about her retrocognition much.  It wasn't spoken of often, so it was sort of strange to have this conversation with someone.  She boiled it down to a learning experience for this kid who was just starting down his path there at Hammel.  "Everythin'."  She offered. "Ya'll'd be surprised how many memories uh doorknob's got." She grinned as if this were a joke, but it was true.  Doorknobs were her enemies.  She loved automatic doors, and felt they should be everywhere.  She nodded at him, more relaxed now that she was engaged with someone else.  "Whatchu in for?"

[Kaiser Reed]

"I guess that's true, bad things happen to everyone." He said with a nod. He needed to remember that, just because he had terrible things happen to him in his life...some people had it worse. Kaiser needed to remember to keep his thoughts in check.

"Oh man, I bet that's tough. You should like...wear gloves or something!" Kaiser said with a grin, showing off his yellow ones. "Or does it matter?" He asked with a tilt of his head. That would suck, no matter what you wear you see the memories of whatever you touch. Man, Kaiser could see how annoying that would be.

"Unmm...they called it Photokinetic constructs." The boy said with a shrug. "It basically means I can make stuff out of sunlight. Which is kind of a double edge sword im learning. If the sun isn't out I start feeling really crappy..."

[Karalie Heise]

She gave a light smile at his suggestion of gloves, as if she herself had never tried that or had it suggested to her.  She mentally forgave him, knowing he didn't any better.  He was attempting to be helpful, and he was young and simply didn't know her.  "I'd just get memories from th'gloves.  All day." She tried not to sound too condescending.  Though it would be easier, it was also a little distracting getting loaded with the stupid memories, and the gloves got new ones every day with everything she would touch with them.  It was an awesome idea in theory, but in practice it wasn't practical.

Karalie had never heard of photokinetic constructs and she tilted her head questioningly to the side, her eyes narrowing curiously as he explained.  What could he make out of sunlight?  She suddenly wished they were outside, though she didn't want to sit outside in the cold.  "What on earth can ya'll make outta sunshine?" This certainly sounded very interesting to her.