Say Hell to my Little Friend [Open]

[Caden Cameron]

Thank God its Friday. This week had possibly been one of the most trying in all of Caden's life. People just didn't like to listen to student teachers, she supposed, especially since she was so young, and she was running a classroom all by herself. These kids were driving her up a wall! Just because there wasn't anyone to monitor their behavior, they felt that it was perfectly acceptable to treat her like crap, acting all indignant and arrogant all the time. Either they weren't engaged in the subject at all, or they were rolling their eyes or giving her sass. What was their problem? How old were they anyways, because they were acting more like toddlers than anything.

Gosh, whatever. She did not need to dwell on that tonight. For tonight, she had already planned out that she would attempt to have some sort of fun. And fun at her age and state of mind would mean some liquid luck, and loud music. The closest place in town where she knew would offer at least one of the two was the famous Kali's Kafe, a local and popular cafe during the day, bar during the night. Although not particularly healthy for her to drown her problems with alcohol, she didn't really care at this point. She wasn't an alcoholic, nor were any of her family members, so alcoholism was unlikely. Tonight would just be dedicated to drinking too much, acting rashly, and waking up with a killer headache. She was ready.

Heading out in her evening apparel, Caden strutted down to the bar. Beware all, this was as dressed up as you'd see her...ever. That was, unless she was required to wear something that aged her twenty years or more to some sort of teacher meeting. Gosh, the thought of that make her want to vomit. No, she'd work her way around that rule, and wear some sort of 'compromise', like a nice white blouse with fishnets and a leather skirt...yeah..that was a compromise in her mind.

Laughing the idea off, she stopped short and swung open the door to the rather noisy bar. Good. This is just what she was looking for. Lots of noise and alcohol. Perhaps she'd even hear a band of quality play...maybe they'd be cute too..Suddenly the night was looking a whole lot better already. Now, to the bar!

[Rhys Rockwood]

The week had been quite the opposite for Rhys. His work load had been surprisingly light, and he didn't have to fool around with trying to teach kids about a subject they had no interest in learning. As a recruiter, his time with current students was pretty much just passing them in hallways when he was going to see someone or on his way to or from his office. He didn't even know how much contact with the general student populace he was allowed as a recruiter in general. This week had mostly only required little interaction with a few other recruiters, other adults. None of the kids and their sarcastic replies had anything to do with him.

After what felt like a short week flew by him, Rhys took care of his regular after work routine including his extended work out to keep in shape followed by home, food, shower, food, nice clothes, food, and the jog to the bar. Rhys hadn't dressed up too much for the night, just some nice black pants, black leather belt, and dark red shirt. His shoes were the least nice part of his attire, but they were like a second skin to him. The only times he wasn't wearing his Vibrams were sleeping, showering, and specific work functions that required more formal shoes. He carefully rolled the sleeves up before grabbing his wallet and phone on his way out the door.

The light jog did nothing to bother him. No heat, no sweat, and the wind did little to his hair. At worst, it was like racing down a flight of stairs for him. As Rhys was coming up to the bar, he saw a dark haired woman who looked vaguely familiar opening the door. The blast of music that came out made him smile - loud music was always a good thing to him. He came up to the door and caught it before it started to close behind her.

Sliding in behind her, he reached forward and tapped her on the shoulder. "Hey, do we know each other from somewhere?" he asked, trying to get a good look at her in light of the club. It probably wasn't the best place to try to recognize someone, but it would have to do under the circumstances. 'Maybe I know her from school? That's really the only place I can think of,' he wondered, trying to picture in his mind where he'd seen or met her before.

[Caden Cameron]

About to sit down at the bar, a close voice from behind her kind of startled her. It certainly didn't sound high or squeaky enough to be a student's, so that was one less worry, and quite a relief as that was the last kind of person she wanted to see. Still, she managed not to completely jerk around, but instead slowly looked behind her shoulder at the rather tall and husky gentleman that was standing right behind her. She gave him a once-over with her eyes, trying to place him. This was her first week here, and as she had been much more concerned with her students and trying to get the faces to the names, the guy didn't seem altogether familiar.

But instead of ignoring him, as any adult company was good company, she gave him a sly smile and answered, "Probably not. I'm just your lonely girl at the bar. Speaking of.." she grabbed a seat at the bar and slid onto the seat, waving at the barman to order a drink. "An aviation cocktail, if you please...and..whatever this gentleman is having." She smiled at him, figuring he would order whatever he wanted as well. Hopefully he wouldn't turn this offer down, it was most likely a one-timer for her, unless things ended well. And hopefully he wasn't too much of a gentleman to reject the request either.

She swiveled in her chair towards him, trying to place him once more, but still, with no luck. "So where do you think you know me from, as I'm pretty new to this area, relatively speaking. Give me your best guess." If she was going to buy him a drink, the least she could was attempt to start conversation with him. "But let me see..I'm guessing by your stance..and shoes, you're a handyman who enjoys an occasional sport of slacklining. Am I anywhere near close?"

[Rhys Rockwood]

He gave her a smile as she turned around, trying to at least look like a nice guy if it turned out they had no prior connection at all. Knowing he'd taken a risk already, he was just going to go with the flow of things and see where that ended up. His week had been lucky so far, maybe that would continue into the night? Faced with this young woman, he was hoping it would continue at least for a while more. Even in the dark lighting of the bar, her face did look familiar at least. Rhys was beginning to doubt he'd met her, though he was fairly certain he'd seen her.

Her smile and careful answer made something stir inside him. This girl was fun. Even though he couldn't place it, he could just feel that any interaction could easily lead to something memorable. When she offered to pay for a drink for him, he pushed himself into a seat next to her. "Beer, black and tan." Normally having a girl buy him his first drink of the night would bother him at least a little, he got the feeling he'd be paying her back if she wanted him to. He was just unsure how he'd be paying her back.

"Hammel. I've seen you in the halls or on the grounds. Somewhere on campus at least. And I think I remember someone who looked a bit like you when I was going through school there. She was a year, maybe two behind me. I can't remember what she could do, but I think she was talented with foreign languages. Had a knack for them or something. Or maybe I'm completely remembering something incorrectly." He shrugged, reaching for his beer when the bartender came back with their drinks. "I haven't the slightest clue what slacklining is, but it sounds fun. As for a job, I'm a recruiter for the Institute."

[Caden Cameron]

Caden readjusted herself in her seat as he clearly remembered who she was, and although it was marvelous that he knew who she was, she still didn't really remember him. Then again, that was to be expected considering who she was in her younger years at the institution. Caden, although her interesting style might lead others astray, was quite the studious little country bumkin, shooting for straight A's throughout her entire stay at Hammel. She didn't make that many friends, but instead found love in the books more than she did in people. Luckily, as college started, and she decided to go into something she was naturally talented at, Caden was able to open up and create friendships and join clubs and such. Those 'high school' years at the Institute were some she would prefer to skim over and leave behind. But he had remembered her from that time..which hopefully wouldn't effect what he thought of her now.

But then he mentioned that also worked at Hammel, she tried to really scan her mind for how she'd have seen him. He mentioned that he was a recruiter for the institute, and that in and of itself might explain why she hadn't really seen him around. How often were those guys parading around the hallways anyways? That certain aspect of Hammel had always been a bit of a mystery to Caden. She understood that they were the ones who fished out the kids that belonged in Hammel, herself included, but how often did they interact with the general populous at Hammel, well, other than with the other recruiters? Not to mention, Caden hadn't specifically sought out any other professors at Hammel, figuring there was only one other person that would be able to help her with the classroom, and still, Caden hadn't been able to touch base with the other foreign language teacher. "A recruiter, eh? That always seemed to be the most elusive of occupations at Hammel to me. But I suppose that you do know me after all. I just so happen to be the only student teacher at Hammel, in -you guessed it- languages."

Caden took a nice, long sip of her cocktail, placing all of the different variants in the beverage, and then put the glass down. The rapid thump of the bass was ringing in her ears, the guitar just finishing up its solo, with a response of loud clapping from the group gathered around the band stage behind her. From what she could see, the last bit of purplish hue in the sky was now setting below the horizon, the sun already put to rest and soon to be replaced by the moon. The night would be soon upon them, and finally, the nightlife would come to play. Content with the fine and rather polite gentleman sitting next to her, Caden relaxed her posture again and looked over to him. "So what exactly do recruiters do in their idle time anyways? I never really figured that one out."

[Rhys Rockwood]

He didn't so much remember who she was as much as he remembered a girl who resembled her from high school. Until she confirmed it, there was still plenty of room for her to be someone else entirely. As it was, Rhys wasn't terribly certain the person he was remembering was real or a possible conglomeration of people he knew. Further, he didn't think her power had anything to do with foreign languages, he just thought she was good at learning them and likely all she did. He couldn't remember much else about her. Now felt like as good a time as any to learn a bit about her though, and Rhys fully intended on doing so. It would be sort of a project for the evening to him.

"A student teacher? Mmm...hard job. I hope the kids aren't being too rough on you, and in foreign language, you're bound to run into a bunch of cases of kids who just don't want to learn, right?" he asked. Rhys could remember from his later years at Hammel that he had been far from the model student, giving more than a fair number of teachers a headache over nothing important. At the time, he just saw his behavior as the typical way of things for a junior or senior guy in high school. Looking back, he could tell he had just been an unnecessary problem in their lives when they were just trying to help him. It hadn't exactly an appropriate trade which made him feel a little guilty now.

Rhys took a drink from his beer before answering her question, taking the moment to think about it. He swirled it around a few times then answered. "When I'm not doing paperwork or being sent out on assignment, I'm usually exercising. There are plenty of spots on campus during work hours, and after hours, there's a gym in town and a wonderful forest with trails in it. I get a lot of idle time, I exercise. Busy weeks, I get less." He shrugged and drank more of his beer, slowly enjoying the taste. The pounding music was very much in his taste, and the growing darkness outside was bringing some life to him. "So what about you? How does Hammel's only student teacher fill her spare time, little as she may get?"

[Caden Cameron]

Ah, so this robust gent was into all the stereotypical working out that guys like to pride themselves in. Being the fittest, the best, the most toned, etc. she'd heard it all before. But unlike those other guys, he seemed to have something better to talk about other than his muscles or his rippling abdominal muscles. Thank god for that one, she'd keep her eyes on this one. In response to his question as to what she actually enjoyed doing with the little to no spare time she had, she was pleased to answer, "Spare time? What's that?" With a chuckle, she continued, "Well I love to skateboard, its been a hobby of mine since I was a youngin'. But I do have a secret passion for music. I play and write, but probably not what you'd think." She wasn't necessarily going to let on to what kind of music she wrote, or what instruments she played. It was one of those 'artistic' liberal skills she had decided to learn even though it was generally pretty trying on her for quite some time before she got the hang of it. Once you learn one instrument in and out, it was easy to pick up on others, to memorize music, to make music, etc. In fact, the only people that knew of her musical ability were her father and her step-mom...at least the whole composition and one certain instrument that she started off on.

She took another swig of her cocktail, which was now two-thirds empty, the rum starting to kick in. He asked her about the current state of her student's behavior, and honestly, she didn't even want to think about them. "Well, lets just say they're not the most cooperative bunch I was planning on having. Then again, I can see why they wouldn't want to take a class with a teacher that was only years older than them. That's understandable, I just didn't figure they'd be so rude about it. Lets just say I have my work cut out for me." She smiled at the notion of sealing off that subject, and moving on to something else entirely.

"So I know a bit about you already, but I'm missing one vital thing, as you are from me. Your name. I'm Caden, Caden Cameron, but you seem to vaguely remember me, still you don't ring a bell from my crummy memory. So, may I be so brave as to ask for your name?" Interesting how she would get in a full-on conversation without getting to know the absolute basic of all of the little facts she would hope to gain over the night. Still, she'd be able to make up for that now.

[Rhys Rockwood]

He laughed at her joke about not knowing what spare time was, liking her sense of humor so far, and he was pleased that she seemed to at least be interested in continuing some sort of conversation when she started talking about herself. The genuine information made him smile a little bit, and of course he was naturally curious what kind of music she played and wrote. She'd bated that conversation, and finding it difficult for him to resist, he cracked nearly immediately. "So, I have to ask, what kind of music do you write? You sort of left me hanging on that little piece of information." Rhys was nowhere near asking to hear something of hers sometime even though his curiosity would eventually lead there if they kept talking after this little trip through the bar.

Picking up on her intention of leaving the subject of work, he nodded and replied, "Well, good luck with them. I'm sure you'll get them in good shape soon enough." She seemed like the kind of person who wouldn't be satisfied with her job if things were only going mediocre. Rhys felt confident she'd get things done the right way, or at least in a manner she felt was good enough. 'Of course, she might think good enough is a pretty high standard. Hope she doesn't work herself to death. Would be a pity,' he thought as he took a drink of his beer.

"I'm Rhys Rockwood, and I'm not surprised I'm not ringing any bells. I don't think I ever knew your name, and I'm rather surprised I recognized you at all, let alone remember things about you accurately." He was thinking it was rather odd how she'd manage to stick out in his memory from back then. "Glad to have your name though, Ms. Cameron." He gave her a playful wink before drinking a little more.

[Caden Cameron]

Caden threaded her hand through her hair and gave a coy smile, "Now if I told you that, Mr. Rockwood, it would take all the mystery and allure out of such an interest. You'll just have to get to know me better before I reveal all of my secrets." She took the last swig of her cocktail and placed the glass down on the wooden bar top gently. She slid it over towards the opposite edge of the bar signifying she'd like another, and sure enough the bartender came around swiftly, picked up her glass, and went to make another cocktail.

He mentioned some soothing words about the whole 'teacher-student' thing, but she really didn't want to think of that, as it would most likely damper her mood, and the good time she was having. Instead, Caden turned her head and interest over to the band. They were playing a rocking beat, and many people were dancing. Maybe after another cocktail, she might have the guts to ask the guy to go mess around and act like a fool on the dance floor. As long as they were still playing and her head was still buzzing, she had much more cojones then many people would give her credit for. Tonight she was on a roll already, why stop now? After receiving her second cocktail, she took a nice, long sip, and then with satisfaction, asked Rhys, "So any secrets you have down your sleeve that you're willing to share with me?" If he'd been willing to ask her about it, then surely he'd be fine with her asking the same thing in return.

Her body was buzzing with the electric guitar, her heart beating with the bass and the drums. She found herself almost humming along with the music, but stopped herself, and tried to focus on what he would have to say. She couldn't lose a guy like this after things had been going so smoothly. Plus, if all went well, Caden might find herself out on the dance floor having a grand old time with this lovely man who had only seen her on brief occasions.

[Rhys Rockwood]

Rhys was nursing his beer, taking his with it rather than drinking it quickly and moving on to another. He didn't mind alcohol, but he wasn't interested in getting wasted and forgetting everything he learned tonight, especially since he was getting information on one of the his attractive 'co-workers' if he could call her that. They worked at the same place, but their professional interaction would be next to none at most.

"Secrets? Not really. I tend to be pretty open about things, so feel free to ask about whatever comes to mind. The odds I'll tell you about whatever you asked are better than otherwise." He shrugged and took another drink from his beer. His head was starting to bob slightly with the music an almost imperceptible amount, but he could still feel it. He thought the music had a good beat to it.

Turning around on the stool, Rhys looked toward the band playing and leaned back against the bar with the beer in his hand. "Although, for some reason, I don't think the kind of music you play and write is one of the bigger mysteries about you. Still, I think that's one I'll work toward learning. Subconsciously, he started tapping his fingers against his knees with the rhythm of the band's music. Rhys was really beginning to enjoy his decision to follow the woman into the bar.

[Caden Cameron]

Caden picked up on his beat-tapping, and smiled. She had an idea, although she didn't want to seem too fast in any aspect. Usually she wasn't the one that rushed things. Still, it was just getting to know him wasn't it? And he could always say no... What a decision to make..and a tough one at that. She certainly didn't want to sever the only inkling of adult human contact she'd received upon coming back to Hammel. In that case...maybe it was better that she dropped the idea entirely.

"Well being honest is always a good thing, its good to see that there's a little bit of that left in this big, bad world." It was so true, the words she was uttering. Sure, Caden could go on and on with her rant on how crummy the world was becoming, and how honesty and real, raw truth was becoming an endangered species, but that too, perhaps, would be better for a different time or place. But with all this dodging of subjects, it was hard for her to come up with something new to talk about. Perhaps a subject change was in good measure at this time and place.

"So Rhys, what made you choose to work at Hammel?" She wondered if he had started right after graduating at Hammel, or if he had chosen to do something else first, and then loop around and end up coming back after figuring out his 'destiny' or something along those lines. Unfortunately, Caden didn't have a special and epic story of her own, but only followed the traditional college route to set up her future. Parts of her wished that she had made some mistakes in the past that had brought her to her future choices differently, but then again, if that had happened, perhaps she wouldn't be where she was right now, talking to this very interesting gentleman.

[Rhys Rockwood]

Rhys nodded a little as he started throwing together an answer in his head. Her pursuance of conversation made him think she was at least slightly interested in him, and he didn't particularly feel like ruining that with a casual slip of the tongue. "For the most part, I feel like I grew up at Hammel. The Institute has been my home for the better length of my life, and it still feels more like home than with my parents. I mostly didn't feel like leaving, so I stuck around as an unofficial aid until I got the position in recruiting."

Perhaps not going to college had been a mistake, but there was always time for more schooling if he wanted to go through that. He wouldn't even necessarily have to go anywhere; online schools were abundant enough. At the time though, he was more than content living how and where he was. He really didn't see the point in changing his lifestyle just for the sake of changing it, particularly since he was enjoying the way things were going in his life, both professionally and personally.

"I enjoy it enough. The school helps kids deal with their differences, and I help get them there. Makes me feel like I'm doing my part for other metas." Comfortable with the current direction of the conversation, Rhys smiled at Caden. "What about you? Why did you come back to Hammel for your student teaching?" he asked, thinking there had to be better places to go through that kind of experience. High schools were rough enough without meta powers throwing things in even crazier directions.

[Caden Cameron]

"Actually," Caden smiled and sighed as she was about to tell half of her life story, particularly the more interesting bit of it, "Hammel wasn't the only offer I had. In fact, it wasn't on the official list of options altogether, seeing that normal non-'gifted' students wouldn't normally know about this place, much less it be placed on a list of options for student teaching curriculum. I had to go to an old friend to seek out the position, if there were any available. Luckily enough, I was able to retrieve it, and successfully landed a language teaching position as the only student teacher at Hammel, and the only one at my school to actually know what Hammel was." She chuckled at the idea, considering that her entire 'high school' experience at the Institute had been quite a bit different than a lot of other college students and her fellow peers. But would she ever go back on her history? Never. In fact, she was happy that she was granted the opportunity to teach and work with this bunch of kids, no matter how cruel they could be to her. Still, the chance to teach others something that she herself loved, and to have them remember that, especially the special bunch of teens that they were, that could potentially alter the world around them (in a number of ways) was enough to send chills down her spine, but leave her with a glowering smile in the end.

"This teaching part is my last bit of college I've got to go through, minus the final senior exam and such. I've got enough credits to graduate, granted I successfully fulfill my position here at Hammel. After that, I'm free to explore the world, or teach wherever my heart desires, but I have a pretty solid idea of where I'll end up." Caden smiled and knew in her heart that the only place she belonged was at Hammel. There was too much of it in her to give it up and move on to another totally different school with 'normal' run-of-the-mill kids. There were thousands of other aspiring teachers for that position. As for Caden, she'd stick with being with the different color of class. That's who she was, and who she'd always be.

"Hmm. Well on a different topic, do you enjoy travel? Have you done much yourself?"

[Rhys Rockwood]

"Travel is pretty fun," he started, thinking about the places he'd gone. Most of it was around the U.S., out on recruiting trips to pull in more students. Rhys always wondered why they were called 'recruiting' trips. The kids had less choice in the issue than it seemed. The trips might as well have been called acquisition trips. It was just fortunate that more often than not, parents were decently accepting of the situation and sending their kids to the school.

"My job gets me around the country a bit, picking up new students. It's kind of cool to see new places. I think I've only repeated a single city, but mostly it's new sights every time I go out." That much was true. The travel involved was one of the perks of the recruiting job. Rhys got to see a lot of places he never would if he didn't have the position, and he certainly wasn't going to complain about it. "I'd still like to take some time off and go over seas for a week or two, more if I can. North America isn't bad, but there's so much more out there."

Rhys adjusted one of his sleeves as he spoke, feeling a bit warm in the bar. "Have you been fortunate to do much traveling? I'm sure with your multi-lingual talents you'd be almost the perfect partner for traveling world. Knock down the language barrier and things should be pretty simple after that, and you don't even have a language barrier."