[color=darkgray]Alexandria was setting the table for dinner when she heard the front door open. She waited for a beat to hear the sound of it closing. If she heard a soft click, it was a good day. If she heard it slam, well....

[i]SLAM[/i]

Bad day it was.

She rounded the corner of their dining room to see her husband, Garcia, sitting on the bench next to their front door and taking off his shoes. She could tell my the furrowed brow that the talk did not go well. She expected it wouldn't. If she were being honest with herself, she had some hard questions for her husband also. 

It was interesting when she thought about it. Growing up she had always dreamed of having children of her own. She wanted four total, two boys and two girls. As she got older and news reports on how parents were disowning their children for coming out as gay or trans or not following a certain religion made her cement her desire to love her children no matter what. They could come into the world purple for all she cared, she would not love them any less. 

And then there were hyperhumans. What person wasn't mildly curious about them? It was the stuff of fiction to think a person could have a gene that granted them extraordinary abilities.

And she was one of them.

No one knew. Not her parents (though she suspected one or both of them kept that secret also), not her siblings, not her husband, not her children. She felt guilt and shame at hiding it, especially given what happened to her daughter. A mother should be there for her child through any issue. Instead, she let her husband take charge. Essentially hide their daughter like she was something to be ashamed of. And Calliope felt that brunt. She could tell. She remembered Calliope at age 5, running around in her pigtails, playing with anyone who would listen, annoying her older brother. As she got older and more and more demands were put on her, she could see Calliope's smile dim and dim to the point she no longer recognized the same little girl. The first night she noticed Calliope's change she sat in the bathroom and cried. What could she do? She loved her daughter but she also loved her husband. She wanted to go to her daughter and encourage her to be open and loving. When the incident happened she wanted to hold her daughter and proclaim "I get it. I am like you. There is nothing wrong with you." Instead, she stood behind her husband who all but called their daughter a freak. Sure, he didn't say the words, but the insult lay behind his eyes.

Calliope was not the same after that.

And now she was at some school in Canada and they were here, pretending like that didn't happen while her husband mounts an attack on hyperhumans.

Garcia glanced up after removing his left shoe and caught her eye. She loved him. Truly. Deeply.

But right now she hated him.

"Dinner is almost done." She let that comment rest a second before she returned to setting the table. She would let him stew a bit. Then they would eat dinner like a family. Then she would bring up her desire to spend some time with her sister. For a week. Maybe two. Until the press died down some. She would deny him sex tonight to drive home the point. Perhaps she would call Trevor from work. Feel desired and wanted by someone who wasn't a jackass.

The thought gave her pause. If someone saw her, that would ruin Garcia's career even more.

And that sealed the deal for her.

[hr][sup][h1][center][img]https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1070187379547176990/1079854995761008752/Calliope_Banner.png[/img][/center][b][center][color=black] C A L L I O P E[/color]
[color=F796A9]C A L L I O P E[/color]
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[/b][/h1][/sup][indent][sub][COLOR=SILVER][B]Location:[/B][/COLOR] [I]Pacific Royal Collegiate & University - Dundas Islands, Pacific Ocean[/I][/sub][sup][right][COLOR=SILVER][b]The Homecoming Trials #1.27: [/b][/COLOR] [I]Team Bonding Anyone?[/I][/right][/sup][/indent][sub][hr][/sub][sub][color=SILVER][B]Interaction(s):[/B][/COLOR] [I]Cassander, Banjo[/I][/sub][SUP][RIGHT][COLOR=SILVER][b]Previously:[/b][/COLOR] [I]The Rising Storm[/I][/right][/SUP]

Calliope had left the two guys to their own devices. She had put her own foot in her mouth, but she stood firm on her belief that a statue was a silly thing to waste money on, donated or not. Hell, she came from a country where people fought tooth and nail to keep statues of Confederate soldiers up despite all the evidence to the contrary.

She got dressed in her uniform and made her way to where everyone else was headed. Her mind went back to a few things. The Blackjacks. The team she was now a part of. It was full of wild personalities from what she saw and heard. Perhaps that was why the team was called that. She didn't expect much from them, but perhaps she would be surprised. Cassander surprised her a bit. She enjoyed talking to him. Axel seemed...intense. And then there were the others. She tried to recall names, but she was coming up blank. Oh wait, there was the guy she saw exiting Lehrer's office. The one with the nice ass. Banjo. He was an interesting figure. She suspected he intended to cause chaos wherever he went. And, she had to admit, he was rather cute.

Calliope made her way to the gathered crowd, seeing others on her team all come up and get ready. She was introduced to Jim and Tad. [color=F796A9][i]"Was there a requirement you needed to have a one-syllable name?[/i][/color] she thought to herself as Jim rambled on. Soon, they met face-to-face with another team. Calliope scanned the other students as their respective faculty advisor and student representative spoke. Ryna made a jibe toward them. For some reason, and she would have to check herself later, she wanted to punch Ryan then and there. No one had seen anything they had done and they were already being judged? 

Calliope shook it off. She would prove herself in the field. Perhaps so much so that she would be transferred to a different team. One that would vibe with her better.

But still, the comment irked her. 

She mentally checked each of the students on team 18. Calliope prided herself on her ability to read other people. Not so much in what they said, but in what they showed. Body language often told others far more information than words could. As she watched as each student made their way to the car, she read nervousness, excitement, and uncertainty. But under it all there also was a healthy dose of competitiveness. It seemed team 18 wasn't as gun-ho as their staff was. 

That didn't help her much, but at least it calmed some nerves that she was trying to hide. She made her own way to the vehicle meant to transport them and took one of the seats in the cab. All the while, she thought about how she was going to get through this and excel.

[hr]

The drive was long and she all but ignored everyone else in the vehicle. She needed to think. She didn't expect to be staying at a 5-star hotel before the trials, but to camp outside? She hated camping. Calliope felt a sense of connection though to Jim's story about the elemental who helped shape the canyons. She was an elemental, after all. She felt a sense of pride in that. Elements shaped the world, after all.

Soon, they were tasked with setting up camp. [color=F796A9][i]"That's what we need. A staff member subtly hinting at us having sex with each other.[/i][/color] she thought. She had joked before about singing kumbaya together and now they would have to team bond? She drew the line at doing trust falls. They all literally met a few hours ago and now they were expected to work together?

Calliope glanced around. She supposed she would have to find someone to bunk with for the night. There was Cassander possibly, though she was still unsure about him. Axel? The girl in the wheelchair? The muscle woman? The one who suggested they all come together before? God that would grate on her if she heard him all night.

Calliope made a snap decision. She walked over to Banjo. [color=F796A9]"Hey, name's Calliope. I don't suppose you would be up to sharing a tent tonight?"[/color] He seemed like her best bet at some enjoyment tonight. Plus, maybe he knew how to pitch a tent. The literal way. She was sure the other way ha been mastered long before the two of them met.

While she waited a response, she wondered what everyone's abilities were. And would they gel? Or was this all going to end in their little house of cards falling down?


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