Time Warp: You'll see (Alice and Ann)

[Event !]

Like a light at the end of the tunnel. The day of anticipation. Of Graduation. But are you ready to be out in the real world?

[Alice Perette-Johnston]

A few years in the future. June. Nervous.

Alessandra knotted her spindly in her graduation gown, smiling widely at the excited, buzzing crowd of her peers. It had been a long four years studying, training and (believe it or not) socializing, and Alessandra felt like she’d come a long way. She was fully conscious of her powers now, and was capable of project mass walking dreams to at least thirty people. The best part about it though, was knowing what was real and what wasn’t. If she saw something she knew didn’t belong, she could just employ her training, and reality would settle back into what it was. All in all, it had truly helped Alessandra a lot, and while she regressed on occasion, she had made leaps and bounds that she never would have made without Hammel.

Oh. And I bet you’ve noticed…”Alice” doesn’t live here anymore.

Thanks to the help of her trainer and of Dr. Neville, Alice had reconciled with the traumas of her past and recalled enough to remember her true identity. While the scar on her chest and the existence of her brother were still fuzzy (after all this time, she’d been related to her pen pal ?! Now that seemed surreal), Alessandra new that Alice had been a cover; the best way for her cope with her own twisted reality. Sighing slightly, Alessandra looked to her left and right. Both were graduates she did not recognize. After her revelation of her identity, Alessandra had taken to training very quickly, able to graduate proper in four years, which was fine for the waifish blonde. At the age of eighteen, Alessandra was finally sitting in commencement. Unfortunately there was really no one to share her excitement with. Most of the people she had met had yet to graduate, or had abandoned her after the dramatic change in her personality.

She looked in front of her and blinked, squinting at the set of shoulders belonging to the graduate in front of her. They appeared to be moving. Alessandra experienced a moment onslaught of panic. Was this a regression? Would she slip back into Alice’s world? She leaned forward slightly, examining the other’s robe more closely. She chuckled a bit to herself and laid a thin hand on her chest in relief. No. There were actually a few insects that had alighted on the other girl’s robe. Good.

Alessandra reached out to brush them off, laying her hands gently on her peer’s shoulders. “Don’t freak out. There were some bugs on you, sorry.” Alessandra explained sweetly, smiling. She was still as gentle and approachable as ever she just wasn’t quite Alice anymore. More docile and shy, Alessandra occasionally felt that the world had lost some of its wonder.

While she had been hurt by losing some of her friends, Alessandra still felt that remembering her true self had been the key to her success. She hung on to that, lest she lose the hope that she’d managed to build up when Alice was who she was. “Hope you can’t hear them cussing at me.” She joked playfully (mostly to distract herself from the oddly depressing though of losing her previous life) as the bugs were knocked gently into the grass.

[Ann Hudgins]

Ok, so 'graduating' two years after one was supposed to wasn't so bad. Especially with the technicality that she had actually graduated on her scheduled time, but had remained behind to complete her power training. She had finished up with her actual school work and had since then been taking college level courses since then, though she kept to her title 'senior.' So, now that her training had been finished, finally, she was allowed to actually walk in the ceremony. It wasn't that big of a deal, for Ann herself, because her family wasn't in the crowd watching her. As far as they were concerned, their twenty year old daughter was a genetic failure who couldn't even manage to graduate high school on time. Ann didn't care about them, anymore. She had changed a lot over the last two years and was now in complete control of her powers. She didn't think it was a big deal to walk in the first place, so she hadn't really argued for her right to walk, but she had been allowed to and had gone along with it for her trainers. They deserved to see that their extra invested time in her had actually paid off.

She was endlessly grateful to all of them for their extra practice, their words of encouragement, and for their love, especially. She smiled, a bit overcome by a wave of affection for them and wiped away a quick tear that threatened to ruin her makeup. Yes, she had even worn concealer and blush for this. She felt something on the back of her shoulder, then, but wrote it off as her hair brushing her shoulders. She then felt someone actually touching her. Something that had once plagued her and was a constant fear was nothing but a minor nuisance now. She felt all of the girl that was touching her's emotions, but as if she was looking at them on a really big sheet of paper. They were all there, but didn't swamp her mind like a hurricane. She pushed the girl's own excited emotions away and turned to look at her, she still didn't know why the girl was touching her. Ann held in her surprised laughter. Bugs? B-bugs?! What sort of bugs? Flying ones, beetle ones, ones with pincers? Ones with fangs?

Or a flying beetle with pincers and fangs?! God she hoped not, this things were so creepy looking. She looked at the girl and smiled brightly. Alice was about the only real friend she had in this place, but not because she was the only person Ann could stand to be around. No one bothered her anymore, but Alice was about the only girl she naturally got along with. Their personalities complimented each other, and she was also about the only girl that didn't mind she was actually twenty years old and 'considered' to be a sophomore in college--or she would be, if she was enrolled in college. Which she was going to start in the fall. She was excited about that, though she still had no idea what she was going to be. A therapist was her long-term, but she didn't want to spend her young years fighting her way through college. She needed an in-between to do.

"I hope they aren't being too hateful." Ann commented at the girl's comment about the cussing bugs. Well, in her mind, it was rude of them to be on her without asking her permission. Not like she seriously expected a bug to be civil towards her, or anything. She smiled a bit wider at Alice. "This is it, isn't it?" She asked, her tone a lot chipper than she would have thought. She cleared her throat and tried again.

[Alice Perette-Johnston]

Alessandra didn’t recognize Ann until the other girl had turned around. Shock registered on her face and she withdrew her hands immediately. She didn’t snatch them back in worry, but simply let them float back to her lap. No use making Ann any more excited! “Anna-banana!” Alessandra exclaimed with surprise. Her fellow student had looked so remarkably different from behind, swimming in that graduation gown, that Alessandra had failed to recognize her. “I didn’t even know it was you.” She said with a giggle, lowering her voice a bit. “Some friend I am, yeah?” Alessandra said with a goofy snort.

Though she hadn’t gone by Alice in a long time, Ann was one of the few people Alessandra allowed to use the old moniker. If not because it was way shorter than saying “Alessandra,” but because Ann had managed to stick around as Alice’s dear friend even after her world had changed so drastically. Alessandra chalked it up to the fact that Ann must have gone through something very similar, only to a different degree. Both girls had undergone dramatic reshaping of their realities. For Ann it seemed to have changed for the better. Alessandra had yet to be sure.

Giggling again, Alice shrugged her shoulders. “Oh man. Hope so too. You know those little things could rise up and take over at any moment. Like their own little army just swarming over the school.” She said, teasingly running her fingers over Ann’s shoulders to mimic the creeping, squiggly sensation of being overrun by bugs. She drew back again and wiggled excitedly in her chair.

Ann sounded just as excited as Alice felt. “Yeah…finally. It’s been a long road, hasn’t it?” Alessandra questioned, looking out over the sea of other graduates. “It seems so unreal.” She said, nodding her head. For Alice to say something unreal…now that was a statement.

[Ann Hudgins]

She grinned at the girl's constant nickname for her, and while it was completely adorable, it was still an odd for her to have a nickname. She smiled and waved her hand as she said she didn't recognize her. "No one looks the same in these ridiculous things." She wasn't even sure why people wore them in the first place. The cube hats and shapeless gowns were just...silly.

"I know I wouldn't put up a fight. I'd never be able to not panic if a bunch of bugs started crawling over me." Ann wasn't necessairly afraid of bugs, she just didn't one them on her, near her face, or in her eye sight. She had gotten pretty with not freaking out over the things over time, but she still twitched and shuddered. She was glad she hadn't actually seen the bugs on her shoulders or she probably would have started screaming. Which would be so embarrassing.

Ann looked nostalgically around. Having been here for six years, instead of the traditional four, she had a lot more to remember than others, though she really only counted the past two years, since she had actually acquired a friend and did some real teenaged things. "It is pretty unrealy." Ann agreed and then grinned a little. For once it seemed Alice was thinking along the same track as every one else around her. She was at least marginally sure, however, because everyone else was feeling the same way. Nostalgic, dazed, surprised, and a little hestitant about the future. Ann was in the same boat. She wasn't sure she wanted to try a real college environment, yet, but her trainers thought she was ready, and she knew better than to doubt them. "We'll be fine though, right?" She asked with a half smile.

[Alice Perette-Johnston]

Picking at her own gown, Alice nodded. “I suppose that’s true. They have to look good on everyone, and since that’s impossible they just make them look awful on everyone.” She reached up and tipped her mortarboard down over her eyes. “They only give you the hate to hide your face in shame.” She joked, making a goofy face under her hat.

Though Alice had always been quirky, it wasn’t until she rediscovered herself that she had truly found how truly comical she liked to be. Seeing other people laugh was nice, especially people like Ann, of whose company she actually enjoyed on a regular basis. Alice never made a jackass herself, but silly certainly covered it.

Rolling her eyes and shivering a bit, Alice nodded emphatically. “Hell no. I’ve seen you around bugs.” She leaned forward a bit and giggled. “You scream like a girl~!” She teased, quietly cackling. It was funny. Alice didn’t have many fears (though necklaces still made her anxious. Absently she rubbed her scar), and bugs certainly didn’t top that list. She used to see tiny green and yellow kittens for Christ’s sake! What were a few bugs?

Alice paused for a bit and looked uncertain. Would they be fine? Ann had a power that could do some real good in the world. Alice? Alice sometimes wondered where she would fit in. The arts could probably do with a soul like her…but was that what she wanted. Smiling with a bit of a falter, she nodded. “Yeah we’ll be fine.” She agreed hesitantly.

[Ann Hudgins]

Ann wasn't a huge person for fashion; she wore what was comfortable and made sense. She was contemporary and all her clothes came from the half-off section of the store. In the instance of a coordinated event like this, she didn't see the need to have everyone dress in shapeless tarps with landing strips on their heads. The sun beat down on her and she didn't like not being able to move. Why couldn't they all just dress nicely in the school colors? Ann certainly was one to 'follow the crowd' so dressing identical to everyone else made her severely question her individuality.

But all was ok, because after she got her diploma she'd rip off the gown and use it to clean the windows of her college dorm room. And she would use her cap to relay any tiles in the bathroom that didn't wanna stay down, or perhaps fix a hole in drywall. She smiled at Alice, knowing full well that being friends with the girl had effected her train of thought. "Whatever the reason they have, I really don't like it." She looked down at her own gown, dusting the imaginary things off of her lap. She shifted in the chair and looked down at her feet, the high heels made her feet look very small even though she was a size nine in women's. She hated high heels more than bugs and having to wear them now was absolute torture..

"At least I don't scream and laugh at the same time. That's just crazy." She leveled a wry smile to Alice and glanced around to make sure their conversation had yet to be noticed by the people blabbering. Nope, though the boy next to her gave her a small glare. She paid him no mind. She felt her friends hesitance before she spoke and she turned sideways in her seat to look at her better.

"'Lesha, we'll be fine. You especially. You are good at like...everything you try. You'll find your little niche, and if not you'll make one." She smiled encouragingly at her with a small nod. She looked back at the history of her own power. It was nothing but a curse until she hit the bottom and finally started asking people for help. She still felt like an idiot when she thought back on it; what possessed her to think she didn't need help? She didn't understand her line of reasoning anymore. Nowadays her power was really helpful to those she called friends, because she could help them through basically anything. Especially stress. Ann was a master at melting stress away. She gave Alicea confident grin. They'd definitely be fine--more than fine, even.

[Alice Perette-Johnston]

Shapeless polyester tarps. Alice despised the majority of synthetic fabrics, and the over sized robes were practically their own convection ovens. The dark colors and non-breathing fabric kept the body heat of the wearer as well as the easy summer sun close to the body, making Alice incredibly uncomfortable. She’d always hated pants, and even after her revelation she had continued wearing floaty dresses (though she wore shoes way more often when she went out of doors). The infernal robes were no better, in Alice’s opinion, and she would have burned it if she didn’t think the whole thing would go up so fast in a burst of chemicals that she’d hurt someone in the fire.

Alice rolled her eyes. “Girl, you don’t know half of crazy.” She accused playfully. Generally Alice was good-natured about throwing around the word crazy. Long ago she’d simply accepted that she way she saw things technically did make her crazy, but she was fine with that. Being crazy was way more fun than being as sane as everyone else around her.

IN addition, Alice had never truly cared about interrupting the lives of others. If life went on un-interrupted, then new people could never come along! Interruptions were like the exclamation points of life’s story, and Alice had made plans to make and to be as many exclamation points as she could. Alice considered Ann and exclamation point, but figured that’d be weird to say at a moment like this. She stowed it away for later, to tell Ann when they cried and gushed over their diplomas.

She smiled softly at Ann. Though she had no plans for post-Hammel life, Ann was reassuring in stroking Alice’s ego. “yeah yeah. Brown-noser.” She said light-heartedly after a moment, reaching out and squeezing Ann’s shoulder. “Maybe I’ll even go to some college and freak everyone out there instead.” Alice said with a laugh. Dreamily she wondered if she could ever make it into a conservatory for her Cello. Strange looking skinny girls who never slept were common in Arts colleges, right?

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