[IC] Return of a Princess (Nydie & Vena)

[Nydie]

“Jocelyn!”

Said girl jumped in her seat, eyes widening in surprise as her name was called. The young woman blushed faintly and straightened herself in her desk, her blue gaze lifting to meet her teacher’s stern glare. “Yes, Miss Nichols?” She asked quietly, wishing that she could shrink in her chair to avoid her teacher’s eyes, but luck was not on Jocelyn's side, the woman continuing to glare steadily down at her from her post at the front of the room. It was only first period and already her day was already taking a turn for the worse, Jocelyn a firm believer that her first class was always a predictor for how her day would go. So far, it wasn't looking good for her, and the redhead had to do everything in her power not to groan in misery. 'I can get through this, just smile and pretend that her head's going to explode at any second. That'll work.' The girl mused to herself, a ghost of a grin flickering over her lips, fading before the teach could notice.

“I asked if you could come up here and solve the equation on the board. If you had been paying attention and not day dreaming, you would have known that.” Her teacher snapped, causing the classroom to fill with the sound of laughter from her classmates.

Jocelyn’s eyes narrowed at the class’s amusement, but she sullenly rose from her chair and went to the whiteboard in front of the room. In a few seconds she had solved the equation, turning back to her teacher with a smirk. “There, happy?” Jocelyn replied, her narrowed eyes now directed at the woman who had caused her embarrassment.

“Very well, go back to your seat, and try to keep your head out of the clouds.” Her teacher commanded with a nod of her head in the direction of Jocelyn’s desk.

As the girl walked through the aisle to return to her seat, she mimicked the woman silently, causing the kids she passed to suppress a laugh. When she finally returned to her desk, she dropped down into her seat, flashing the woman an innocent smile.

In the seat beside Jocelyn sat her closest friend, Tony. His dark brown eyes were glued to Jocelyn, and he could not keep himself from snickering quietly, disguising the sound as a cough behind a closed fist. Ms. Nichols shot the two another stent gaze, but quickly turned back to the whiteboard to begin explaining the next equation she had written.

Jocelyn was trying to pay attention, at least give the appearance that she was paying attention, but a light swat to her arm pulled her attention away from the lecture and back to Tony. Arching a brow at the boy, she shrugged in a gesture meant to ask him what he wanted. Class always went the same way it felt. Jocelyn would try to pay attention to the teacher, but her friend would forever pull her away from the lesson being taught and onto some piece of gossip he had overheard that morning, wanting to share some tidbit with her that she honestly could care less about. She didn’t like most of the people that she went to school with, and they did not like her in return. The shared animosity should have made her life easier, but it did the complete opposite. She was willing to live and let live, her peers however, were not.

Tony simply grinned and gave her a thumbs up, clearly amused by her antics. Jocelyn rolled her eyes in response and tried to turn her attention back to the teacher, but Tony was not finished with her yet. Swatting her arm again, he leaned over the side of his desk and whispered to her. “Hey, there’s a rumor going around that there’s a new guy in school.”

Again Jocelyn rolled her eyes at him and shrugged her shoulders. “So? What’s that got to do with anything?” She whispered back, casting a sidelong glance toward the front of the room to make sure that their teacher wasn’t looking at them. Taking note that their teacher was still busy writing on the whiteboard with her back to the class, she reached over and gave Tony a punch in the arm. “Stop bugging me about new people and let me pay attention! I already got in trouble once.”

Tony grimaced and rubbed the spot where Jocelyn had punched him. “Oww!” He hissed out, shooting a glare in her direction. “I just heard, I thought I’d share some gossip.”

“Who cares about gossip?” Jocelyn retorted. “And who cares if there’s a new guy? There are too many guys at this school as it is.”

“Well, excuse me for being nice. Next time I’ll keep my big mouth shut.” Tony responded, sitting back in his chair and turning his attention back to their teacher.

Jocelyn shook her head and sighed quietly, her blue gaze returning back to the front of the room. Now that Tony had brought it up, she was curious if the rumors were true, and if there really was a new guy in school. It seemed kind of dumb to her, the school year was already halfway over, and graduation was right around the corner. What was the point in transferring schools so late in the game? It didn’t matter to her, but now she was curious what this person was like, and why they had transferred. Curiosity becoming fodder for more thoughts, the redhead began to let her mind drift to see if she had come across any unfamiliar faces that morning. She came to the conclusion that she had not, but that did not stop her from continuing to think over the matter in more detail.

Narrowing her eyes into a glare, she glanced over at Tony, annoyed with the fact that now she was distracted by the thought of some guy who would probably join the rest of the popular kids and make every last day of her senior year a nightmare. Resting her head on her upturned hand, she sulked, hoping that the rumors weren’t true and that she could continue the rest of the school year with no increased amount of torment.

Just as Jocelyn was about to doze off, the bell sounded, and she was startled out of her weariness. Blinking her eyes, she glanced over at Tony only to see him dashing out of the classroom without her. She frowned faintly and slid out of her chair, slinging her backpack over her shoulder as she rushed after him. “Tony! Wait up!” She called, but he either ignored her or didn’t hear her, because he continued on his way down the hall without slowing down.

With a sigh and a frown, Jocelyn slowed down her rushed pace and walked steadily to her next class. She would worry about Tony at lunch, for now she was going to go to class and try to keep out of trouble for the rest of the day. Walking into her English class, she went to her assigned seat and sat down, yanking the straps of her backpack from off her shoulder to let it fall to the ground beside her seat. By the time the bell rang signaling the start of class, she was sitting with her notebook open and her eyes focused on the whiteboard, waiting patiently for the teacher to begin talking.

[Vena Sera]

So this was what high school was like... Tora had to be honest, he wasn't thrilled with it. Noisy, clustered, messy and smelly were words that came to mind immediately. Cigarette smoke seemed to cling to half the student body here, and apparently 'quiet' wasn't a word in these kids' repertoire. Maybe it was just the culture shock giving him a hard time adjusting, it was certainly a different place here after all. Hoping to avoid being caught up in the chaos of it all he was doing his best to keep his head low and keep on moving. He had very little desire to become involved anyways, so avoiding contact with everyone was fairly simplistic. Already he was being labelled as the weird, anti-social new kid, and that was just fine by him. So long as that tag stuck he figured he'd be left alone, and what's more he could operate with relative impunity. At least from classmates that is. From first period he learned that teachers here, while rather lax were still quick to pick out your doing something wrong and punish you for it. Apparently snooping school grounds while on a "bathroom break" was a breach of their rules, and he had been unceremoniously marched back to his classroom by the vice-principal, retuning to a chorus of laughter. If he wasn't the one in the situation he'd probably be laughing too.

History in this school was turning out to be rather fascinating, if only because it was abridged. Reading through the text as the instructor droned on Tora almost couldn't believe half of the stuff he was reading. There were so many holes in what was written here, and so many falsities that he almost burst out laughing. It was all he could do not to raise his hand and correct the teacher, having to remind himself of his place. He wasn't the instructor here, he was a student, and a new one at that. Besides being that alone garnered him plenty of attention already, the last thing he had to do was act like a know it all, even if he certainly did know more than these kids. This was quickly turning into the most painstaking fifty-five minutes of his life. The last twenty or so were easily spent staring out the window, silently praying for the class to end. Such a bore, and he had to do this until he'd accomplished what had been asked of him, what a drag.

Mercifully the bell sounded not too long after, signaling the end to this torturous lesson. Homework was assigned right at the end, and was likely something that could be completed in five minutes tops. Work here was so simplistic it was a wonder that all of these kids were seeming to struggle with the concept. The sheer degree of shock that their stupidity induced made him feel sorry for them, almost. They were too annoying to sympathize with properly, no matter how hard he tried. With all the other students walking to their next class he had to stop for a moment, standing up along the wall to check his schedule. He'd not gotten down their peculiar class schedule yet, finding these "block" bits rather confusing. It took him a second to figure out what day in the schedule it was, and from there he found his next class.

"English, huh...?" he mumbled, frowning slightly. "Wonderful..."

Hopefully this wasn't going to be as painstakingly droll as History had been. Reading wasn't something that he was particularly averted to, but if this school's reading level was as basic as he worried it to be then it'd be every bit as a toil as the last class. Tucking away his schedule back in his bag he slung it over his shoulder, adjusting his glasses before stepping into the stream of students heading down the hall. Room 203... That ought to be in the next hall over. At least the building itself wasn't that difficult to navigate, as everything was laid out in an easy to follow order. There were about a dozen rooms down each wing, and depending on the wing they were 110, 210 or 310. There was another floor above as well, presumably they went up further to 410, but he hadn't bothered to check yet. Giving a dismissive shake of his head he stopped outside of his class, double checking the numbers on the plaque to make sure it was right before he stepped in.

The room at the moment was pretty empty, perhaps only half a dozen students being inside. The teacher was nowhere to be seen yet, so he had a moment to relax then. Smiling to himself Tora walked inside and looked around the room, trying to decide on a seat to take. He wanted to avoid sitting near anyone if at all possible, but realistically that was going to be nigh impossible. Finally he opted for a seat towards the back, dropping his bag with a thud on the tiled floor before slipping himself in between the back of the chair and the desk. He had very little intention of paying any mind to what was being discussed, and being back here now was going to make it easier to zone out. Slowly but surely students then began to file into the room, taking up the other seats and much to his chagrin those around him as well. Just to keep his facade up Tora took out his book and notebook, opening the latter to an empty page to take notes if needed. When the teacher finally came in he looked ahead dully, crossing one leg over the other and resting his head in an outstretched hand, trying to get comfortable. Let the dullness begin...

[Nydie]

To say Jocelyn was going to have a difficult time focusing in class would have been an understatement. Between the fact that her seat was stationed near the three windows that lined the walls off the classroom, and the fact that the topic for the day was a continued discussion about Romeo and Juliet, there was little hope that the teacher would be able to gain Jocelyn’s attention for more than a few seconds. Her face was already turned to stare out the window, an upturned hand holding her head up, preventing it from dropping onto the desk in complete boredom. Inside her head she was calculating the hours she needed to remain inside, each minute torture for her restless mind. She wanted to be outside, or at least have the windows open for some fresh air, but neither would be happening until she was ready to head out for lunch, so she was doomed to sit and day dream until she was able to get her freedom.

The shrill sound of the bell startled her out of her thoughts for a moment, sleepy eyes turned to glance at the doorway, watching as the last of her classmates shoved each other out of the hall and into the classroom in their rush not to be late. The teacher finally rose from her seat, a surly, stocky, middle aged woman with puffy black hair and a permanent scowl on her face. Mrs. Sinclair was the type of woman who looked like she belonged in a classroom, her dark grey skirt and white blouse, along with her demeanor screamed ‘English Teacher’; at least to Jocelyn it did. Surprisingly, the voice that came out of the woman’s mouth was not as curt as her appearance would lead one to believe, the soft tone sounding more like that of a mother reading a bedtime story than a high school teacher stuck dealing with arrogant teenagers all day. When she spoke, the room fell silent, only the sounds of books dropping onto desks and the soft ruffle of pages turning heard beneath the soft drone of the teacher. “Alright class, we’ll be continuing on from yesterday, and I can see from the unfamiliar face that we have a new student. Would anyone like to share what our discussion was about?” The woman inquired, casting an accessing glance around the room for a raised hand. “No one?” Again she cast a glance around the room, but still there were no volunteers. Huffing a breathy sigh, she finally abandoned all hope of having someone volunteer and selected the one person she had the most problems with in class. “Jocelyn, would you care to enlighten our new addition to what we discussed yesterday?”

Jocelyn’s eyes had been steadily creeping toward the window, but instantly snapped back to the front of the room when her name was called. One heavy sigh, and a flick of her hair over her shoulders later, she finally began to give her version of the class’s discussion. “We were talking about how Romeo and Juliet were two moronic teenagers who confused lust for love and ended up doing the world a favor by offing themselves before they could reproduce.” Mrs. Sinclair’s face paled as she listened to Jocelyn’s summary, while a few other kids in the class snickered loudly. “Jocelyn, that’s not quite the explanation I was looking for, but at least you got it right for the most part.” The woman stated with an exasperated tone, her head shaking slowly from side to side and her expression showing her disappointment. “Perhaps you would like to reread the story and give a better explanation tomorrow.”

Snorting out a laugh, Jocelyn’s eyes finally turned to their original destination, her gaze lingering over the woods behind the school. “I can read it a million times and that’s still going to be my summary for it. It’s not my fault Shakespeare wrote a stupid story about teen love.”

Jocelyn was overlooked as the teacher moved on to another topic, asking the class to share their views on the significance of Romeo and Juliet’s relationship, and why they thought the two killed themselves. Jocelyn took the shift in discussion as her cue to tune out the teacher and class, and focus on what was going on outside the window, her mind blissfully blank. If it weren’t for the fact she was already on thin ice with her aunt, she would have skipped school to spend the day hanging out at the park, but she could not afford to get caught ditching again. ‘You only have a few months to go till you graduate Jocelyn, stop acting like every day you have to go to school is the end of the world.’ Her aunt would lecture, giving the same speech every time she got caught missing class. It might not have been the end of the world, but it sure felt like it.

She could hear the class talking in the background, but she wasn’t paying them any mind. Time eventually dwindled down leaving only five minutes remaining until the bell would ring and it would be off to Chemistry, which next to Algebra was Jocelyn least favorite class and the one she struggled with the most. The teacher signaled that it was time to start packing everything up, and Jocelyn quickly shoved her belonging back into her bag and waited for the bell to free her from the room. Jocelyn cast one final look out the window, her eyes straining against the glare of the lights inside the room. Out of the corner of her eyes she caught a flash of light, just a flicker lasting only a second before it faded. By the time her head turned to figure out where it had come from and what had caused it, it was gone and Jocelyn brushed it off as a figment of her imagination. She didn’t have any more time to dwell on it, the bell rang and she was distracted by the sounds of chairs scrapping against the floor and her classmates chattering away. With a sigh, she rose from her seat and dashed to the doorway, eager to get the next class over and done with so that she’d be closer to lunchtime. Her pace slowed once she was out in the hallway, her body weaving through the crowd to avoid the rest of the other students that were crowding the hall. She paid no attention to anyone, wanting nothing more than to get to her classroom and get it done and over with.

[Vena Sera]

Tora was hardly enamored with the prospect of going over literature, especially basic stories like this. Romeo and Juliet, to them it was a classic. To him a lonely man's lost love transcribed throughout the ages and wrongly heralded as a work of art. There were plenty of works of literature that were good, like Homer's Iliad, or Joan of Arc. Those were sincerely intriguing stories. Or Greek mythology, that was something that he could really be invested into. But this... It was a classic adaptation of an every day interaction, taken to an extreme for some unnecessary reason. Really, if you wanted to see the same thing nowadays you only had to go as far as the hallway, or even the television. Hell, near everything he had seen on the television thus far had been some hormonally driven, angst teenager show. Not to mention some deplorable, sparkly vampire movie. Admittedly that might be worse than Shakespeare, actually it definitely was. Point being though there was no reason to waste time reading an outdated, depression driven, prepubescent tale of two star struck lovers. These students would never use it anyways, of that Tora was utterly certain. Some nonsense about "becoming rounded" as his instructor had told him when he'd taken it. After the fact he had never needed the story, and certainly hadn't learned any lessons from the tale. Just a waste of time.

There was one girl that sounded to share his opinion, rather openly too. The answer she gave to the instructor made him smirk a bit, watching the girl with amusement as she kept on going. Definitely a trouble student, no doubt. Tora had seen plenty of people like her too in his own classes, and they hadn't really ended up going anywhere. Sure they graduated, but the things they did now were hardly worth writing home about. In the end all they amounted to was another laborer, or whatever they might call people here. Deadbeats, that might fit them too. So yeah, the girl might get some laughs here and there, but that wasn't going to do anything for you in life. Not in a position to say anything on the matter or even care about her future really he kept his trap shut, letting the little show carry on. Unfortunately her snappy attitude eventually came to an end as the conversation moved on, and the lesson was carried on with. The remainder of the class was spent going over key points of the story, and painfully obvious questions were asked and muddled up by the idiotic class. Thankfully because it was assumed that he had little to no knowledge of Romeo and Shakespeare Tora was never called on, left to dawdle and think the entirety of the lesson. That was a welcome relief, as he had to start to seriously think about just where he'd be finding the person he was looking for. There was no appearance given, all he had was a name, and that was even questionable. Sooner or later he'd locate the girl, he was sure of that. Hopefully sooner rather than later though, he loathed this place already. He had to find Jocelyn, whoever she was. She was in the school, somewhere, just waiting for him to stumble across her. If only he had a clue.

Saved by the bell, literally. Tora had felt himself becoming restless as the class had drawn on, lacking the patience to listen to the droll lecture any longer. Dropping his textbook back into his messenger bag he quickly got to his feet, being among the first to get to the door in a hasty walk, glad to be through with that. He wasn't even entirely certain where he was supposed to go next, so as he walked through the throngs of students he had to fish his schedule back out again, digging through the clutter to get it out. After English was... Chemistry? Well... Honestly it was hard to find any issue with that. While he never really used any of this it was a bit interesting, at least where had come from. Chemistry afforded those who were proficient in it with all sorts of gifts, which compared to dated stories it was much more rewarding. Tora had a basic knowledge of how it worked here, and a bit more proficiency back home, but he was by far not an expert. Still, ought to be enough to get him through this pathetically easy course of theirs. Graciously the next classroom wasn't far off, in room 308, just one wing over. To his surprise as he approached the door he spotted a familiar face standing at the door, waiting for the other students to exit the room. The mouthy girl from English, and the only one that had made the lesson interesting, even if so briefly. Maybe there would be another repeat of her attitude this time around, he could use a good laugh.

"No teen love in this class, still going to bash it?" Tora joked, smirking as he walked up behind the girl. "Nice job in English, the teacher looked like she shat herself. That's one hell of a mouth you've got." His tone was decidedly teasing, and the accent he spoke in certainly different from what was usual here. If anything it might be a bit more comparative to a Scottish accent, slightly anyways. Not that he really knew what that was.

He wasn't here to make friends, and certainly didn't care to. While it may make his task easier overall he couldn't be bothered, it'd only ultimately make things take longer than they already were. Perhaps he'd ask around for Jocelyn after this period, as he knew lunch was coming up. There wasn't any better time to question other students, as it was clearly difficult to hold any kind of conversation during class thanks to these stick-in-the-ass teachers. Right as the final student from the period before had filed out the next class began to pour in, and Tora slipped around the girl to get in first. The classroom was different in that there were lab tables as opposed to individual desks, each with two stools placed at them. Each table had a sink to it, and a few beakers and containers were already placed at each one. Apparently they'd be doing some sort of experiment today, wonderful. Watching as students began to file in and take their seats something dawned on him, a fact that made him die a little inside. They were all lab partners, and therefore already had someone to work with. Assuming he wouldn't be allowed to work alone then who was he going to be partnered with? He was about to find out, as the instructor was approaching him. It was an older man, with a mess of thinning black hair on the top of his head and a matching goatee sprouting around his mouth. He was a bit thin and wore glasses, definitely a science guy. Going by how he spoke he was eccentric too, wonderful.

"Ah... You must be the new student!" the teacher said, smiling as he placed an arm around Tora's shoulders, blissfully unaware of the boy's angry glance. "I'm Mr. Gervais, the chemistry instructor. I bet you could figure that much out, you seem like a bright young man. I trust you've been given all the material that you need for our studies, yes?"

"Yes sir, I've got everything." Tora answered, straining a smile. "Um... Where am I to sit? I'd like to get settled in before class begins, if it's all the same."

"Of course Tora! See that desk over there? Yes, the third one on the left, by the windows. You're welcome to sit there. The young lady that sits there doesn't have a partner, so I figured I'd pair the two of you up. Perhaps you can encourage our... Difficult student to start to embrace the studies, yes? Feel free to take a seat, I'll begin the lesson shortly."

Sure, whatever you say weirdo. Shrugging off the teacher's arm Tora took the offer eagerly, cutting across the room to his desk. Opting between a view of outside and a quicker route out of the class at the end he opted for the latter, taking the outside seat. Since it all their necessary materials were already laid out for them he had no need to take anything from his bag, and he gladly placed it on the tiled floor, right beneath his seat. Just one more class, then he could begin looking in earnest. At least Chemistry promised to be interesting. He hoped so anyways, it could turn out to be an utter bore too. Smirking faintly he leaned forward on his seat, lifting a hand and using his middle finger to push the frame of his glasses back up the bridge of his nose. Maybe he could have a little fun with his partner once the lesson started. Have them combined the incorrect ingredients and see what would happen. It was doubtful they were given anything with any potential to be seriously dangerous. Considering the average intelligence of his new classmates it was a safe bet someone would try something stupid, and hopefully the instructor had the foresight to prevent any mishaps. If not, well, it could be just as funny.

[Nydie]

A scowl formed on Jocelyn’s expression at the sound of an unfamiliar voice, her head turned to cast a glance at the boy behind her. Glaring at him, she let out a soft ‘hmph’ her nose turning up at him. “Don’t worry yourself about my mouth. It’s not your concern.” She chided coarsely, her tone sharper than she had intended it to be. She got enough flak from teachers, the last thing that she needed was to get it from her classmates as well. Letting the boy pass by her, Jocelyn moved to the opposite side of the hallway to put some distance between the two of them. He took off to his next class, and she remained where she was, pausing to increase the distance between them even further.

Jocelyn was in no rush at all to get to her next class, in fact, the soles of her shoes drug against the tiled floor of the hallway as she moved from one section of the school to the next to reach the chemistry lab. Science was definitely not a subject that she was interested in, not that there were many subjects in school that she could claim to be a fan of other than art class. School was nothing more than a social club, one that Jocelyn did not fit into, nor did she care to. The girls all dressed as if they were trying to be featured on Playboy magazine, while the boys were either jocks, or sci-fi nerds who could talk about little else besides Star Wars and the latest superhero film. She considered them all to be idiots, and like anything she believed was unworthy of her time, she avoided forming any type of attachments to them. She was in school only because her aunt would stress herself senseless if she did not attend, and it unfortunately was the law.

Entering the classroom, the redhead glanced around the room, taking note of where the new boy was seated. Shooting her teacher an annoyed glare, she heaved a heavy sigh of annoyance but made no sarcastic statement that would just get ignored anyway. She made her way to her seat, weaving through the tables to get to her usual seat in the class. Dropping her bag down onto the floor, she kicked it closer to the table with the toe of her shoe and sat down, intentionally ignoring the new addition to her lab table. She would have grumbled under her breath about him if she wasn’t positive he would have some sarcastic comment to make about her mouth, or even better, her attitude. She already knew what the drill, it had been the same way all year. Her teacher would force someone to sit beside her in hopes that she’d play nice, and eventually they’d get tired when she would do her own thing and avoid interacting with them at all. They’d request a new lab partner, and Jocelyn would smirk behind the back of her hand while they would move across the room to a new station.

“Don’t get too comfortable. You won’t last long.” Jocelyn chirped with false cheerfulness, earning herself a sharp glare from the teacher that she responded to with a smirk. She gave him two, three days tops before he’d go the same route as everyone else and find another person in the class who actually cared about their grades to pair up with. All she needed to do was pass, and that was the bare minimum for her, and all the effort she would bother to put into the class and her work. Science was not her forte, and forcing her to learn the subject was pointless, but as with everything, she had no control on the matter. She was bothered by the fact that she was once more assigned a lab partner, which she honestly did not need. There was not much about Chemistry that she needed to know once she was outside of school, and the complexities of high school Chemistry weren’t all that complicated. It wasn’t like she was making complex solutions, or trying to create something complex. She worked well enough on her own, and wanted to keep it that way for the remainder of the year.

The bell rang and Jocelyn was forced to remain silent rather than continuing on with her taunts to her new lab partner. She didn’t bother pulling out her books, and the moment the teacher began to speak, her attention was already on the windows and the world outside where she wished she was rather than sitting in a classroom listening to her teacher drone on as if they were doing something that would impact the world. If there was one thing that bothered Jocelyn about school, it was the fact that each teacher acted as if they were teaching something that would help them in their adult lives. She’d never need algebra if she had her way, and she doubted any real job would require her to know off the top of her head when the War of 1812 ended, or who the fifteenth president was. The whole high school thing was overrated, and other than getting into college, she saw she could easily learn everything the teachers were trying to teach online if she wanted to.

Sighing softly to herself as the teacher continued to speak about the different elements, Jocelyn let her mind drift away from the classroom and onto more pleasant thoughts, mostly going home to relax outside on her back porch with her book. ‘Only 4 more classes to go, that’s all I need to get through, and then I can get the hell out of here.'

[Vena Sera]

This girl was definitely amusing, if nothing else. Tora found himself smirking while she spoke to him, not exactly finding her behavior to be off putting or threatening. She was like a Chihuahua, all bark and no bite. It was all he could do then to not burst out in laughter as he was given a snappy reply in turn, walking off towards the next class. Science, perhaps the only subject that had any degree of interest for him in this entire school. Of course it wasn't quite the science he had in mind, that was called alchemy after all. Nonetheless it was the same concept, and it gave him a little bit of hope that perhaps this school wasn't going to be as dreadfully dull as he had initially thought. After a rather awkward meet and greet with the teacher of the class he was shown to his seat, the only available lab table. With no partner apparent and class not having yet started he got a moment to become acquainted with the room, and the students therein. A bunch of louts, every one of them. Most of the class were on their cell phones, and the rest were busy talking to one of their neighbors about goodness knows what. No one was invested in this class by the looks of it, and most probably not in their futures either. Seriously, at their ages how could they not be concerned about that? Idiots, the lot of them.

Tora almost couldn't believe who he saw come into the classroom that moment. Again he was grinning in triumph, as it was vividly clear that he bothered this girl for some inexplicable reason. Just as well, he needed some amusement while he was here, otherwise he'd go mental. Watching as she took the seat beside him at the window he propped an elbow on the table, resting his head upon his hand and giving the girl a curious look. She was kind of cute, he was noticing, but then again so were most of the girls here. It was a fair safe bet he'd not want to touch most of the girls here either, they were probably as filthy as a restroom in most cases. Plus, looks aside this one definitely had an attitude to her, one that was actually moderately similar to his. Both sarcastic, both not truly wanting to be here. Oh yes, this class was going to be just grand.

"Oh is that right?" Tora asked, smirking at his partner amused. Shaking his head he sat upright, reaching down over his side and grabbing his book from his back, setting it down on the tabletop. "I hate to break it to you, but you're really not intimidating. It takes a lot more than some snappy behavior to get me running."

Chuckling to himself as the teacher asked for them to be quiet, Tora looked ahead, listening in to the lecture being given. As expected it was going to be a fairly simplistic experiment, combining an acid and a base to see the results. He'd hoped for something a little more in depth, this was child's play comparatively. Still, better than reading some recycled stories, he supposed. Not long after the lecture had begun did the teacher begin to hand out sheets for the students to record their findings. A cursory glance told him that they'd be combining various different acids with a standard base to test the results, and thus record what each one was. Really? He could do this with some kitchen supplies if he really wanted to, it was such a simple-minded test. Rather quickly his hopes of having an enjoyable Chemistry class were dashed, not being faced with a tiresome game of a lesson. Well... Perhaps it was not entirely lost. Tora glanced out of the corner of his eyes at the girl, his lips curling into a mischievous smirk. There was still here to contend with, and annoy, if it befit him. Considering he couldn't care less for this assignment it most definitely fit his needs.

"Do you plan on helping me...? Or are you going to daydream all day?" Tora chuckled under his breath, adjusting the frame of his glasses carefully before grabbing himself a beaker and two of the liquids. "You can just let me do all the work too, of course. I would imagine that you'll only serve to slow me down if you try to help." Hopefully that sparked some sort of flame in the girl, he needed a bit of real enjoyment right about now. With how dreadfully plain this town was proving to be his usual pastimes were well out of the question, as there was simply nowhere to do them. He could always slip off to the woods if he truly wanted to, he supposed. Then again what was there to toy with out here? Squirrels? Perhaps a stray dog? Nothing worth his time, most certainly. That was another fact of this place he was quickly beginning to loathe; unable to fight or even practice, he had to find other means of entertaining himself. What was there though? Television? Video games? He'd tried both since arriving, neither held much of a fascination for him. In hindsight he may indeed be able to fight here, albeit not in the way he hoped. Perhaps he'd have a little fun during lunch.

Regardless of whether his partner opted to help or not, or even acknowledge him, he began to work on the assignment. First the base, then the acid, a bit of each was dumped into the beaker. The process was so menial he could do it without looking, if not for the fact he had to observe what was happening. With a keen eye on the beaker he watched, halfheartedly, as a bit of a reaction occurred and the liquids fizzed, creating bubbles before gradually dying down. Mocking this with a soft gasp and a lackluster "jazz hands" he grabbed a pencil, shaking his head while scrawling down his notes in a practiced, neat script. 'Bubbling, crackling sound, boring'. A very astute observation, if he had to say so himself. With a self-satisfied smile he tucked the pencil behind his ear, again resting his head on his hand as he idly dumped out the beaker's contents into the sink, shaking it to get every last drop out before handing it over to his partner. Lazily gesturing to his paper for her to copy it down he smiled, opting for her to do the next bit.

[Nydie]

“I never said I was intimidating.” Jocelyn growled out quietly, shooting a glare for what felt like the hundredth time that day. She was used to people rubbing her the wrong way, but the problem was, he actually didn’t really bother her. When other people spoke, she could hear her spine wanting to cringe at the sound of their voices, and her mind automatically shutting off any words that left their mouth. She would be annoyed instantly, and did not bother hiding it from them, but with Tora it wasn’t quite that way. His voice didn’t grate on her nerves, and it didn’t hurt her ears the way most people did. It had been a constant complaint ever since she was a small child. Most sounds affected her negatively, either by causing a headache, or making her inner ear throb in agony. When she was smaller she’d been prone to ear aches constantly, and the doctors had told her aunt she would eventually grow out of it, along with her sensitive hearing, but she had yet to hit the age where they were no longer a nuisance. She’d opted out of physical education to avoid the sound of the coach’s whistle, because each time it sounded she would have a migraine immediately after. The bell too was bothersome, but most teachers kept their doors shut, which kept the sound down to a more tolerable level.

Jocelyn was perfectly content to sit around and daydream, especially when the alternative meant dealing with her partner, who to her dismay, did not annoy her as much as she tried to let on. She couldn’t even say the same thing about Tony, and he was considered her best friend. However, he had other plans for her, and she was pulled back to the class. Turning her head to glare back at her unwanted partner, Jocelyn turned her nose up at his work before returning her attention back to her side of the table. “Who said that I wanted to work with you? I do better on my own, thank you very much.” She hadn’t even taken notice that their teacher had given them something to work on, and she was absolutely clueless what they were supposed to be doing, and honestly didn’t even care.

She wanted to ignore the boy sitting next to her, but his constant movements continued to draw the attention of her eyes which would dart off to the side to watch what he was doing. Unfortunately for her, she was stuck waiting for him to finish up since the teacher only supplied them with enough materials for them to work in pairs. Jocelyn would have continued to daydream until her partner finished up his experiment so that she could do her own, but as the teacher began to circle around the class, he made a point of stopping by her table. Knuckles tapped lightly on the surface directly in front of her, and she was forced to stare up at her teacher. “Miss Turner, do you plan on helping your partner out?” She shrugged in response, her arms folding across the top of the table. “Not really. I thought I’d sit here and look pretty since he stated I’d just slow him down. Wouldn’t want to get in his way.”

“Get to work, Miss Turner.” He barked out, strolling away from the table to move on to the next one. Huffing, Jocelyn snatched the beaker away from her partner and growling softly under her breath. “Give me that, and just sit there and be quiet. I don’t need you slowing me down.” Carefully she began to mix things together, watching the reaction with a look of utter boredom. Setting the beaker down she leaned over to grab a pen and her notebook from within the confines of her backpack, dropping them both down on the surface of the table. Opening up to the first blank page that she could find, she scribbled down the reaction in with furious strokes of her pen before turning to the boy sitting beside her. “Did you get that, or do you need me to hold your hand and explain it all to you?”

[Vena Sera]

Tora was finding more delight in this partnership than he perhaps should be. The reason for his jabs was purely to incite a reaction, and they seemed to be doing just that. Even by not speaking to him he could tell he was having some effect on her. What a joy it was, being able to tease people like this. He couldn't quite wait to see if they had another class, if she was so easily bothered by a measly few words. Granted they weren't likely going to be so close next time, but maybe he could still find a means to toy with her. His antics were going to be necessary this class anyways now that he had found out how tear-jerkingly dull the lesson truly was. Basic, basic chemistry, something you could test in a kitchen if you really wanted to. Nothing worth getting excited over, he lamented, half-heartedly carrying out his assigned task. Solution A into Solution B made this happen, and then you wrote down what this was, it didn't get much more straightforward than that. Tora had initially no problems with doing the work on his own, figuring that he'd have it done in no time. The actual work was proving to be so menial that he couldn't be bothered to do it all, and eventually had to relent and push it onto his partner. Whether she wanted to do it or not she was going to, thanks to some help from the instructor.

Holding the beaker out to the girl he smirked as she snatched it from his hand, letting out a breathy chuckle. How cute, she even recycled his little snip from earlier too. Poor girl didn't realize just how frequently he did this, he loved getting under people's skins. Seeing their reactions was the best thing in the world, it brought him quite a bit of joy. Of course, the opposite could be said as well when it came to how he behaved when provoked. Tora was all smiles and games when he was pushing buttons and calling the shots, he'd be on a high then. As soon as tables were turned and he was the one being targeted he quickly became hostile, and not in a mildly annoyed way either. It took a fair amount to get him there though, and this girl was most certainly not capable of doing it to him. At most she was amusing, and at her very worst just boring. With no other means of entertainment right now though he'd take what he could get.

"Oh would you hold my hand...?" Tora asked, grinning as he cocked his head to the side a bit. "A pretty girl like you holding my hand, why, that would just be the best thing ever. Gosh darn, you make me feel special." Smiling as the beaker was shoved into his chest he grabbed it with one hand, lifting it like a glass and making a toasting gesture cheekily. "Cheers?"

After copying down his partner's notes Tora went about doing the next step, grabbing the two ingredients on the list he needed. What a painfully repetitive task this was, just pour, write, rinse and repeat. At least he was having some fun doing it. The girl he was with was proving to be all sorts of delightful, and not just in how she behaved. Really she wasn't bad looking, as he'd thought already, and her attitude kind of made her even more attractive. Plus, she had a nice voice, even if a little bitchy. He almost wanted to prompt her to argue with him just to hear it, though it was hard to do much of anything in the middle of the class. Humming softly under his breath some indistinct tune he began to pour the two liquids in again, creating the oh so underwhelming reaction that they were looking for. It bubbled and hissed again, and to no one's intrigue the contents turned an off-brass color from the reaction. Resisting the urge to write down fecal water in his notes he did it as was expected, carefully dumping the contents into the sink before giving the beaker a good rinsing.

"Nice chicken scratch handwriting, by the way," Tora teased, placing the beaker before his partner again. "Gotta say, this school kind of sucks. I didn't know what to expect coming here, but I had definitely hoped for a little more than this. I mean seriously, half the students seem borderline retarded, and the teachers are incapable of doing anything but talking out their asses." This was all said under his breath as Mr. Gervais was only three tables over, though he made no effort to hide the smirk he was wearing. "I can see why you're so damn bitter being here. Then again, you could just have a stick up your butt too, I don't know."

Tora was already finding it difficult to play the good little student as was intended. There was absolutely no investment on his part to be a good student anyways, he didn't need this education. Frankly he'd sooner do away with this absurd ruse, if it wasn't the only means of completing his job. Getting into the school not as a student and searching through everyone inside for his target may be a tad difficult otherwise, and would most certainly attract unwanted attention. This was the safest bet, albeit the most mind-numbing and painstaking way of going about it. Not even a full day in and already he was beginning to second guess the plan, but he'd not deviate from it. Not unless he wanted his rear handed to him on a platter when he went back home. His own teacher, the only teacher he actually respected to a degree, would go ballistic if he messed this up. Not to mention how bad it would be for everyone if he screwed up. It was a fair bit of pressure on him, with that in mind, and being a dick and joking around had a certain way of alleviating some of that concern. Until he was actually done however it would be constantly nagging him.

[Nydie]

Jocelyn’s hand balled up into a fist as her quip was thrown back at her, her eyes widening minutely at the mention of holding his hand. “Ewww. I don’t know where that thing’s been. Hold your own damn hand, freak.” Her chest heaved with an annoyed breath, her eyes rolling in their sockets as he tipped the beaker in her direction. “Do me a favor and drink it all.” Inwardly she was throwing a hissy fit, cussing him out with every possible word she could come up with, and some she made up along the way. She had thought he wasn’t annoying, but he had gone and changed her opinion in a span of a few seconds, simply by opening his mouth. She wasn’t used to anyone talking back to her in the same manner she pretty much talked to everyone, and now that it was happening, she wished she wasn’t so entertained by it. The rest of her classmates would roll their eyes and stomp away each time they attempted to talk to her, but he gave as good as he got, which was unusual. She hated him for it.

“Keep running your mouth and my chicken scratch will be all over your face.” Jocelyn threatened, snatching the beaker back to slide across to her section of the table. “And so help me, if you talk about my butt again, and they’ll be throwing you in the burn shower.” Grabbing up one of the tubes she was supposed to be mixing, she held it out in front of her, her fingers tipping the glass container from side to side. “You really want to piss off a girl with acid in her reach?” She hissed under her breath, adding a growl into the mix so that he got the point. She wasn’t amused at all this time around; annoyed that he had even gone in any direction that could have been construed as flirting had anyone else overheard him. She didn’t need people thinking that she had some interest in the new boy, or any boy at all for that matter. She’d spent the past two years that she’d been enrolled at this school avoiding appearing even slightly interested in being pursued by the opposite sex, she wasn’t about to let some guy she just met ruin the reputation she’d worked so hard to create.

Repeating the process with a new set of components, Jocelyn watched the reaction with the same expression of boredom. Scribbling down the reaction, she intentionally made her handwriting as sloppy as possible, the pen flying across the page with the same brisk strokes as before. If he was going to be a smart ass about everything that she did, Jocelyn would go out of her way to give him something to complain about; it beat the hell out of sitting quietly. She tried her hardest not to be entertained by the constant banter with her new partner, but it did honestly beat sitting there alone and pretending to pay attention. Sure, it cut into her daydreaming time, and her view of the outside was obscured by his head, but it really did beat having someone sit there in silence and watch as she did all the work. Jocelyn hoped that this would be their last class together though, if only to spare herself the risk of getting in trouble; her aunt would never let her hear the end of it.

Once the reaction was jotted down, Jocelyn emptied out the contents and shoved the glass container back onto Tora’s side. “Be careful you don’t inhale too deeply. You may kill the last few remaining brain cells you’ve got working.” She cooed in a sweet voice, her lips curving into a smile that did not reach her eyes, which had darkened with a mischievous gleam. “Wouldn’t want to have to explain to the teacher why you’re sitting there drooling all over yourself.” Her hand rose, index finger extending in a gesture telling him to wait. “That’s right, that’s pretty much all you’re doing now.” Jocelyn returned to stare back out the window, wishing that she could have asked him if he would at least switch seats with her, although she doubted that he would without giving her a hard time about it. He was already proving that he wasn’t going to let her get away with her usual behavior, no matter how much she might try to.

It was his turn to do the next reaction, and Jocelyn realized that she hadn’t even bothered asking what his name was. She probably wouldn’t bother to ask, still only giving him a few days until he became far too annoyed with her constant snippy tone and bad attitude. She wasn’t about to soften up simply because she did not mind the fact that his retorts amused her, and it beat listening to the drabble of other kids in her class. She only really had to deal with him for this class, at least she hoped so, and the rest of the day had to play out before she would learn if they shared any other classes together. There was one class she knew she wouldn’t have to worry about him, even if he was in the same room with her. She could tune him out completely during art class, and that was the one class that she actually enjoyed. Even if he did talk to her, she could ignore him and focus on her work. She hoped that this would be the last class she had to deal with him in, but if not, she’d figure out a way to annoy him until he stopped talking to her all together.

[Vena Sera]

Tora mocked Jocelyn with a pout, acting hurt when she told him off before getting his sarcastic grin back. Probably for the best she didn't hold his hand, goodness knows where that thing had been. Judging by her attitude it hadn't been used for anything dirty, probably just punching puppies and babies if he had to guess. When told to drink the contents he lifted the glass halfway, opening his mouth before turning his head and sticking his tongue out at her childishly. This was just too grand, he didn't think he'd be enjoying himself nearly this much. It was a little immature, sure, but a hell of a lot of fun too. After handing it back over to her he gave a soft chuckle, continuing to pester her as best he could. Once more she took the bait and bit back, rather hard at that. She had to realize he was baiting her by now, so why was she still going for it? Maybe she was just really stupid and didn't notice what was going on, though she didn't seem all that dim. In response to his comment about her butt Jocelyn threatened him with a vial of acid, making the boy put his hands up defensively with a shit eating grin. She wouldn't do it, he knew, but all the same best to avoid that mess. Acid would burn like hell regardless, he'd really rather not have any of that on his person anywhere. Perhaps to his good fortune she went back to the assignment at hand, sparing him a rather nasty experience of a chemical burn. That little threat wasn't going to make him back off completely though.

Finally getting the beaker back from Jocelyn he promptly emptied it out, a bit put off by the nasty smell coming from it as a result of the reaction. Again she was quick to fire at him, and she was having fun with it. Good, it was a wasted effort if the other party just took it the entire time. Rare was it that Tora could find someone to have a conversation like this with, it was both refreshing and intoxicating, in a way. She was a catalyst to his behavior, and he in turn to hers. Oh he really hoped they had more classes together, this girl was turning out to be a blast.

"I can't help but drool, I'm hungry thinking about lunch. My mommy and daddy don't feed me at home, so I'm always hungry," Tora whined, using a childish tone as he spoke.

Back to the old grind then, he'd let those words sink in for a moment. Tora copied down Jocelyn's notes before doing his own part of the experiment, and mercifully the last one that was required of them. Taking a cursory glance around the room he was astonished at how many people were still busy plugging away, most still on the first and second set. Seriously, how did something this simple take so long to do? Either they were very good or the rest were horrendously bad, he couldn't figure out which. Part of him almost wished he was actually working for a grade now, just to show these other kids up. There was enough satisfaction in knowing that the collective intelligence of this class was that of a moldy piece of cheese. Actually no, that was an insult to the cheese. Maybe they were about as bright as the mold growing on it. With the exception of Jocelyn, the only one that actually showed any slight degree of intelligence. After all, you couldn't be drool-bucket stupid and come up with witty comebacks like that, it just didn't work.

With the final recordings done and out of the way Tora meticulously cleaned out the beaker, being sure to get every trace of the acid that he could clean. As much as he might want to torment these kids he was rather averted to causing any real physical harm. Fact of the matter was he could really hurt them if he wanted to, he didn't need acid or something to do the job for him. Truth be told he'd sooner protect these kids than harm them, not that they needed protection from anything. No, he'd sit on the sidelines and send jeers and taunts there way, but he'd keep his hands clean. There was bound to be enough bullies and clique warfare going on here to do his fighting for him anyways. Maybe if he played his cards right he could get two students to fight, just for some fun. It'd cause little to no damage really and it'd be a hell of a show to watch two meat heads go at it. Before he could go cause trouble anywhere else though he wanted to finish up here. Setting the water filled beaker down Tora looked over at Jocelyn, smiling tenderly at her.

"Or... Maybe I'm drooling because of you..." Tora whispered, using a soft tone as he spoke. Reaching over under the table he placed a hand on hers, giving it a gentle squeeze before she could pull it away. Fighting back the strong urge to burst out laughing he only broke a smile, forcing himself to go on. "I was captivated by your beauty the moment I saw you, and I haven't been able to look away for a second. You're all I can think about, and you bring me to my knees. And believe me..." He paused, leaning in and trying to use as sensual a tone as he could muster. "There is a LOT I can do for you on my knees..." Not a second after finishing did he break out laughing, instantly having to cover his mouth to stifle it. That didn't stop a few students from hearing him though, they all looking over in his and Jocelyn's direction in surprise.

[Nydie]

“Awww, poor baby. Tell it to someone who gives a rat’s ass.” She blurted out, masking the smirk that she could feel tugging against her lips with a uninterested expression. By this point she would be lying to herself if she tried to say she wasn’t having fun, although it was only a small amount. Her knew partner seemed to know how to attempt to get a rise out of her, and she dutifully gave him what he wanted to see what he would come up with next. Her only complaint was that she still had to find a way to ditch him over the next few days, if only to keep her rep intact and to keep people from thinking there was anything going on between them other than harassment. She almost considered it a shame that he hadn’t started off the school year with the rest of the class, she might have actually paid a bit more attention to what was going on rather than stare out the window counting the minutes away. She doubted he would have stuck around for long, but it still would have been far more interesting than her class had been to date.

Their assignment was dwindling down, and Jocelyn had mixed emotions over the end of class. On one hand, she could go back to daydreaming and spending her time doing more productive things such as planning what she would do once she got home. On the other, she’d have to go back to being bored out of her mind and waiting for one of her other classmates to do something stupid that would amuse her to no end. She always found amusement when one of the jocks got in trouble for strolling into class late, or the primped out princesses, as she liked to refer to them, cried out over breaking a nail, or their hair getting messed up. There were a few times when she’d stir things up herself, kicking her backpack out into the aisle as they were walking in hopes they’d fall on their faces. It didn’t happen too often, but she’d managed to trip them up a few times. She’d play off as innocent, and the teachers would give her a stern, disbelieving look but let the matter drop, while her victim would shoot heated glares at her which she returned with sweet smiles and winks. If there was one thing she definitely would not miss at school, it would be her shallow classmates who cared more about what was going on in entertainment than the world around them.

Tora caught her off guard with his next set of statements, Jocelyn’s cheeks flaring a shade of red that would rival her hair. She knew he was trying to rile her up, and the words had left his mouth did the trick perfectly, actually rendering her completely speechless and struggling to come up with a reply. What made matters worse was that she could feel the eyes of the others in the class peering back at the two of them, and she did not need to look in their direction to know that his words had been overheard. ‘Perfect….exactly what I need. Now I’ll be hearing my name linked up with his for the rest of the day. Guess I’ll have to punch him in the face at some point so people will figure out I’m not interested in him.’ She mused, sighing obnoxiously loud at her own thoughts.

Other than the sigh, Jocelyn gave no other response that would show how bothered she was by his words, instead, she turned in her seat to face him, lips forming a smile but her eyes darkening with anger. “Now, now. I know you can’t take your eyes off me, but I should tell you now that you’re not my type. I’m not interested in cross-species relationships, and as far as I can tell, you’re a pig.” Her words were spoken loud enough that everyone around could hear her, and she made no attempts at all to hide the venom lacing her voice. “You may want to learn to keep your eyes to yourself, before I turn your glasses into contacts.”

Her voice dropped in tone, the words now spoken in a heated whisper. “And the next time you put your hands on me, I’ll rip your arm off and beat you with it.” Her brows lifted threateningly, her smile transforming into a cynical smirk. “You’re lucky I have to play nice, or I’d have poured every single vial of acid over your big head.”

The teacher clapped his hands and announced that it was time for everyone to clean up and prepare to head off to their next class. Jocelyn didn’t need to be told twice. Sweeping her pen and notebook into her backpack, she turned back to look at her partner, the smile back in place. “Do you need me to explain how to clean all this up? Or are you too distracted by my beauty and need me to take over?” Jocelyn’s luck had run out, for it was at that moment that the teacher decided to pass by their table again, his throat clearing as he stood directly beside her. “Jocelyn, stop flirting and finish cleaning up. The bell will be ringing in a minute.” Tensing, she began to sputter helplessly, wanting to explain to the man that she wasn’t flirting, but before she got the chance to he was walking back to the front of the class. “As if I’d willingly flirt with him….maybe if my water bottle had been spiked with roofies.” She grumbled, her hands busy cleaning up the mess that had been left behind by the experiment, and returning the beaker back to its proper place. “Really, has everyone started doing drugs today?” She continued to mutter, growling quietly in frustration. It had all been fun and games until it had been assumed she was flirting, and that was when her attitude began to change. She wasn’t given long to dwell on her anger before the bell rang and she was on her feet racing out of the room to head to her next class, her pace near a jog as she rushed out into the hallway. She wasn’t in a rush to get to her classroom, but she wanted to put as much distance between herself and Tora, before the rumor mill began to go wild with assumptions.

[Vena Sera]

Tora really had to try to not bowl over laughing after his comments, doing everything in his power to suppress his laughter. He'd basically just sexually harassed Jocelyn, and he couldn't find it in him to care. Maybe he'd said it a little too loud to boot, as a few of their neighbors were now sending shocked looks their way. He didn't get why they were so astonished, it was like talking to this girl was some taboo act or something with them. But it was so much fun to do! And the look on her face right now alone sold it and made all of his little quips totally worth it. With her face beet red from what he had said he worried for a second she might have a stroke or something, yet he still continued laughing into his hand. Oh they were center stage now, and with all eyes on them it was Jocelyn's move. Tora reveled in this fact, having clearly won this little exchange of theirs in his mind. She on the other hand was most definitely not thrilled with him, or the few dozen eyes trained on them at the moment. Your move, girlie, Tora mused, smiling toothily at his partner. Surprisingly she fired right back at him, sounding quite a bit more heated than she had before. So that was one way to get under her skin, and so long as she didn't complain about him he could keep doing it, oh how wonderful.

At her comment about being a pig Tora chuckled before imitating a swine, snorting softly and quickly covering his mouth again to stifle a laugh. This was all a big joke to him as of right now, and nothing Jocelyn was going to say would make him think otherwise. Her earnest hidden threats only served to amuse him even further, mostly because he knew damn well she was absolutely of no threat to him. Such raw anger and annoyance, it was almost intoxicating that he'd agitated her so badly. Almost giggling he finally managed to suppress his laughter enough to move his hands, holding them up defensively as she threatened him with acid. There had best be another class with her now, he wouldn't be able to stomach another lesson if she wasn't there to make things interesting. Perhaps for the sake of her sanity Mr. Gervais announced the class was coming to an end, and his partner wasted little time in collecting her things. Doing the same himself Tora lifted up his bag and slung it over his shoulder, turning to leave the room but stopping as the girl had a few more choice words for him. He turned about to give her one final snippy comment before leaving, but the teacher interjected and told the girl to knock it off explicitly. Right then and there though he heard something he couldn't believe, staring at the teacher as he walked back to the front of the room. Had he just said the name he thought he'd said?

"Jocelyn...? You're Jocelyn...?" Tora mumbled, looking at his partner with disbelief. There could be another one here, this didn't necessarily have to be his Jocelyn. Then again he'd seen the student list before coming here, there had most definitely been only one there. The chances of another having moved in between then and now was near slim to none, it had to be her. So this was her then, the girl he was looking for. Watching as she made a beeline out of the room he couldn't help but grin again, shaking his head in disbelief. So the Princess was kind of a bitch, he could dig that. Better than being a softie or some damsel in distress, that was for damn sure. Chuckling happily he lifted a hand up, adjusting his glasses with his middle finger again before walking out of the room. She couldn't know what was going on, not just yet, but he now had his target. For her own sake then he'd need to keep an eye on her, and do it in the most inconspicuous way possible. He already was known to be a thorn in her side and annoy her, so he'd just keep doing that. It'd serve its purpose, plus it was fun. It was bound to be a bit tricky as they probably didn't have every single class together. Ah well, he liked a challenge. Hopefully he could watch over her even with their being separated.

The following class, Pre-Calculus, literally had him bored to the point of tears. Tora knew math plenty well enough to get through the class, but that didn't change the fact it was the most depressing class on the planet. The teacher had absolutely no excitement in the way she talked, droning on and on about numbers and variables and other things he couldn't be bothered to remember. The rest of the class somehow was staying awake, a testament to either their desire to learn or more likely how single mindlessly they were following the lecture. Seriously, unless you were going to be a fricken astrophysicist or something did you really need to know this crap? His only saving grace was when he fell asleep, and being awoken by the bell signaled his release from this eternal hellhole. Lunch was up next, and while not terribly hungry he figured it was better than another boring lesson. Besides, Tora mused, he may be able to find Jocelyn again. A chance to bother her further and an opportunity to see to his job, it was a win win. Thankfully finding the cafe wasn't terribly hard, he only needed to follow the swarms of his classmates heading in that direction to get there. Time to get to work. Following en suite of the others he went through the process of getting his food, absentmindedly gesturing for what he wanted from the lunch ladies. Some gooey mess and mashed potatoes, not really all that appealing. Now that he had food he just had to locate his little friend, and that in of itself wasn't terribly hard.

Jocelyn and some other boy were sat at the far end of the cafe, being the only two at their table. Oh, so she did have friends then, how curious. Her little companion seemed to be a ton more enigmatic than she was, and it was a bit surprising she was stomaching it. Judging by how she behaved earlier he didn't think she'd befriend someone so lively, it didn't seem like her. Hopefully they weren't discussing anything important because he was about to butt right on in. With a snide smirk on his lips Tora cut right across the spacious room, making no effort to hide where he was going. Whether Jocelyn saw him or not he couldn't care, he wasn't going to be deterred. Arriving then at the table he dropped his tray down a few seats from her, giving both his classmates a smile as he dropped himself in the open chair.

"Hey there Jocelyn, long time no see." Tora joked, immediately pushing his tray to the side and folding his arms across the table. Looking to the boy she was with curiously he raised an eyebrow, wondering just who he was. "This your boyfriend? Gotta say, you could do better."

[Nydie]

“Of course my name is Jocelyn. Who else do you think he was talking to? A little slow on the uptake, aren’t you.” She snapped, her annoyance over being the center of attention displayed clearly on her face in a deep scowl. Having everyone staring at her wasn’t something that she was interested in repeating, and if she was going to have to endure the looks of her classmates in the future, she would stop talking to Tora all together to save herself the hassle of rumors that were completely untrue. She doubted that he would care about having her name paired with his, especially since he was the new kid and didn’t know many other people, and from what she had seen, he hadn’t attempted to try and meet anyone else. He spent their entire class time harassing her, and not even bothering to interact with anyone else. If she had been a normal, teenage girl, she might have been flattered over it, but being who she was, Jocelyn was nothing but weary about it. She had to watch herself, and keep an appropriate amount of distance between herself and Tora.

She didn’t linger long enough for the conversation to continue past confirming her name was Jocelyn. The moment the bell rang she was off to her keyboarding class which she sat through in a daze. The other kids in the class could type away like they were experts, probably because they spent most of their time online or on a computer, while Jocelyn only used her laptop whenever she had an assignment. She still had to hunt and peck through the keys in order to type out a sentence. She was the slowest person in her class, but considering the other electives she had to choose from, this had seemed like the less invasive and the one with the least amount of work. She didn’t score very well, but her teacher always passed her for at least putting forth some effort, which she did. In this class she didn’t have to deal with other people. She could sit behind her computer, and not say a word to anyone all period and they wouldn’t even notice her. Once the class was over it was lunchtime, which meant a forty five minute time period where she only had to deal with Tony, who was the only person outside her aunt and brother that she could tolerate.

As usual, her friend was waiting at the entrance of the cafeteria for her, his fingers hooked around the straps of his backpack as he fidgeted anxiously in the doorway. Once she approached he wheeled on her, bombarding her with a half dozen questions in a single breath. “Is it true? Were you really flirting with the new kid? How come I’ve never seen you flirt with anyone before? Do you like him? I honestly thought you were a lesbian.” Tony blurted out breathlessly, his eyes wind and observing as he stared down at her. “Hold the hell up! Can I at least get some food first before you start overwhelming me with questions?” He shrugged, but led the way to inside the cafeteria, only pausing to grab a tray, which Jocelyn mimicked immediately afterwards. She didn’t go for any of the slop they served, instead she grabbed an apple, an orange, and a bowl of red jello. “Are you ever going to eat normal food?” Tony inquired, filling his own tray up with a cheeseburger and fries, along with a bag of chips. “This is normal food. Are you ever going to stop clogging your arteries with enough cholesterol to kill an elephant?” Tony smirked, and shrugged his shoulder. “I need the calories.” Rolling her eyes she shoved her tray forward to pay for her food and move off to go find a table for them to sit at.

They were seated, Jocelyn digging into her jello while Tony began to smother his hamburger roll with ketchup and mustard. “Are you ever going to answer my questions?” Pausing mid-bite, she peered over at her friend, but before she could answer, Tora made his appearance, drawing both of their attention onto him. She watched as Tony eyed the other boy up curiously, tensing at the mention of him being her boyfriend. Before he could respond, she was quick to answer in her usual, snippy tone. “What’s the matter? Jealous?”

Tony glanced between her and Tora, a grin stretching across his lips as he took in Jocelyn’s demeanor and responses. She didn’t give anyone the chance to interrupt, starting in on Tora again. “Who said you could sit here? I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing you again. Why are you here anyway? Afraid you might embarrass yourself if you open your mouth around anyone else?” She would have enjoyed lunch a lot more if she wasn’t forced to deal with Tora, and now that he was sitting at her lunch table, he was only going to keep the rumors going. Tony on the other hand wasn’t about to let Jocelyn scare him off, his curiosity sparked by the offhanded way his friend was talking to the new kid. “Don’t mind her. She gets edgy when she’s not allowed to go outside at lunch time.” Her mouth snapped open, eyes widening and swiveling over to glare at her friend, who looked smug as he took a bite of his burger. She would have huffed and began to argue that she was not annoyed because she wasn’t outside, but that she did not want Tora to sit with them, but the more she argued against his placement at their table, the more it would draw attention. Instead she began to eat her jello, her shoulder shrugging with indifference. “Sit wherever you want. I’m out of here in five minutes anyway.”

[Vena Sera]

For what it was worth Tora had gotten himself some food, not that he intended to eat it. Preferably he'd hold out until he went home for the evening, cook up some instant noodles or something. Ramen, if he remembered rightly, that stuff was delicious. There was nothing like it back home, and since getting here he had bought every flavor that he could imagine or find. A few fruits and vegetables sat in his refrigerator, but otherwise the pantry in his kitchen looked not unlike the shelves that he had bought his food from. Frankly since eating that there was very little that he enjoyed in the way of food. Well, maybe save for some burger joint he'd stumbled across, called Wendy's or some such. He got a sandwich from there once with bacon on it and thought he was in heaven. The food was utterly terrible for you, easily a week's worth of crap in a single serving, but it tasted amazing. If he kept thinking of better food, Tora reckoned, he'd finally become hungry and be able to find what he had now at least a little appealing. If not, well, he really didn't need to go to class. Maybe he could just skip and go home to make himself a real meal.

Tora wouldn't get to his food for a while yet whether he'd decide to eat or not. It didn't take long for him to stumble across Jocelyn again, and immediately he went over to her table. To his surprise she had a friend with her, and of course he had to instantly accuse her of having a boyfriend. Really, it was like they were two school children bickering back and forth like this, not that he gave a damn. Paying little heed to the nasty glance he was getting he put his tray down on the table, sitting just a few seats down from Jocelyn. The Princess of Elawein, daughter to the Queen, here beside him. Damn it was hard to believe, and he'd call bluff if it wasn't so obvious that this was the proper girl. Just as he'd been told she seemed to be utterly clueless as to who he might be, not that he'd identified himself as of yet. Even if he showed her his tattoo it was highly doubtful that she'd be able to put it together. Well damn, so he'd have to explain it all to her then. Not just yet, it was too soon to spring that bombshell on her. For now he'd just play the pest and observe, and keep an eye on her of course. His whole task was to keep her safe, after all.

"I'm here because I wanted to see you again, that's all. I felt like we really connected during science," Tora said cheekily, grinning as he folded his arms on the table. "Or maybe the new kid just wants somewhere to sit. Have a little heart, you're not going to throw me to the wolves, are you? I know you're not that much of a meanie."

Jocelyn may not be terribly agreeable, but her friend was definitely willing to talk. Funnily enough he even went as far to agitate her further, making Tora snicker in amusement. If her friend took jabs at her all the time then why was she so damn sensitive to his teasing? He figured it would turn out like Chemistry and she'd sit there, taking his taunts and returning them in kind for the duration of lunch. When she said she'd be leaving soon though his smile wavered noticeably and he gave Jocelyn a funny look. Why in the hell did she have to go wandering off now? It was already going to be tricky enough watching her as it was without her traipsing about the school unattended. Damn it all, and he couldn't well demand that she stay here and talk to him, she'd never buy into it. He'd either have to try his luck on getting her to stay for some reason, or maybe get her friend to lend him a hand. Hopefully that moron was more useful than he looked, otherwise she'd be walking soon.

"Where do you plan on going anyways? Class doesn't start for another twenty minutes," Tora pointed out, grabbing his drink and taking a swig from it. "Sit down, eat something, relax for heaven's sake. I mean crap, look at you, you could stand to put on a few pounds." If he could piss her off to a point where she'd argue with him then surely she'd stay around. Somehow he didn't picture her as someone to walk off steaming, not if it could be helped. Then again she had just brushed him off after Chemistry, so there was that. Propping up his head like before he played with the cup in his hand idly, swishing the liquid around inside as he stared down at it. "So seriously though, this your boyfriend? Because, and this might just be me talking out of my ass, I SO do not see you two banging. Just my opinion."

[Nydie]

Tony, for his part, sat and listened to the exchange, watching as Jocelyn tried to focus on her food, but he could notice the small signs that she was bothered by Tora, but not in the way she was trying to let on. She wasn’t in his face, and she had yet to jump out of her seat and get physical the way that she would when other people got on her nerves. Most times when someone bothered her, she shoved them out of the way, or made threats to scare them off. The only thing she did was blow a lot of hot air around and toss taunts back and forth with the other boy at the table. He cringed when once again Tora commented about her being his girlfriend, and this time he decided to answer rather than let Jocelyn come up with another comment. “Nah, she’s not my girlfriend. Feel free to move on in if you want. Seems you two have a little something going on, although I might be reading into things wrong.” Jocelyn wasn’t answering, but the look on her face told him that she was seconds away from exploding, and he definitely didn’t want to be around when she did.

Jocelyn tried to ignore Tora’s question, and would have continued to pretend that he was not around, at least until his final words which set her off. It was one thing to have him leading everyone into believing she was flirting with him, but a completely different thing to insinuate that she and Tony were a thing. Dropping her spoon into the empty bowl that had held her jello, Jocelyn grabbed up her apple and orange from her tray, shooting a scathing glare over at Tora. “Listen here, pal. You’re not my father, or my brother, and you’re certainly not my keeper. If I want to go somewhere, you’re the last person I need to tell, and trust me, I’m not telling you because I don’t want you following me.” She wanted to grab up her tray and slap him across the face with it, but she held herself in check, her hands gripping onto the remainder of her food tightly to keep herself from lashing out.

“And as far as who I’m ‘banging’, that is definitely none of your damn business, even if I was banging someone, which I’m not. Maybe where you come from, and every other girl in this school is willing to sleep with the first guy who looks their way, but I have standards.” Implying that she was sleeping with her best friend wasn’t that big of a deal, people did that all the time. What pissed her off was that Tora had taken it upon himself to judge her without knowing a thing about her. She wasn’t like the rest of the girls in her school who were only interested in jumping from one bed to the next without any respect for themselves. She considered herself above them, not that she was better than them, but she certainly had more sense than any of them. She might not be a straight A student, she might not even be perfectly innocent, but at least she had standards high enough that it took more than a look and a smile to get her to take her clothes off. As a matter of fact, it took so much that it had never happened, and it never would.

Jocelyn grabbed up her backpack, tossing her fruit into it before grabbing a hold of her tray. Rising from her seat, she lifted the tray up from the table top and shoved her chair beneath the table with her foot. “This conversation has been enlightening. You really are a pig.” Pulling in a deep breath, she lowered her voice, but the usual condescending smile was absent from her expression. “Now if you’ll excuse me. I’m getting the hell out of here where the air isn’t quite as fouled up with the stench of pork.” Jocelyn didn’t allow either of the boys to protest her departure, not that she really expected either one of them to do so. Tony knew where to find her if he needed to, and Tora could kiss her butt for all she cared. She needed some fresh air, and to get out of the confines of the building before she completely freaked out and really did punch Tora in the face. Heading off to the baseball diamonds where she spent most of her lunch period, she dropped herself down onto one of the benches outside the diamond, pulling in a deep breath of fresh air, and completely ignoring the weird feeling she got once she was settled. Jocelyn was too concerned with absorbing as much sunshine as she could, that she didn’t feel eyes on her, and she would have been perfectly content to sit there for the rest of the day if it hadn’t been for the sound of her name blowing on the wind. At first she thought it was Tony messing with her, but a quick scan around the baseball diamond and the area behind her showed no signs of anyone at all. Brushing it off as her imagination, she kicked her feet up onto the chain linked fence in front of her, relaxing until the bell sounded and it was time for her to return back to class.

Tony watched Jocelyn storm off without concern, shrugging his shoulders at Tora once she disappeared from view. “She likes you. Anyone else, she would have punched in the face.” Tony proclaimed between bites of his burger, grinning broadly over at the new kid. “She’s a little rough around the edges, but she’s not bad once you get to know her. Considering that her mother attempted to kill her, it’s kind of understandable how she is.” He had only learned about the incident through Jocelyn’s brother, since she never brought it up, but he thought that Tora might take it easier on his friend if he understood a bit of her history. “But honestly, I don’t think I’ve ever seen her let someone talk to her that way without smacking them upside the head. That’s gotta count for something, don’t you think?”

[Vena Sera]

Tora shook his head at Tony's offer, giving him a 'No thank you' look before grinning amused. He had never really been one for relationships before, usually too busy or not caring enough to find a partner. Add on to that the fact that Jocelyn was quite literally a princess and there was just no way the two of them could work. They were basically of different social classes, not that either of these two knew that. He was really a glorified soldier and she was royalty, those didn't mix at all. In the event that he was successful, as he hoped he would be, there would be little time for a relationship to develop anyways as they would need to hurry back home. Once home there was even less of a chance of their being anything too. At most he might be assigned to her as her bodyguard, but that would be the extent of their partnership. If they were ever to become romantically involved and be found out he'd be stripped of his post and most likely his title, and she would be taken away from him in a heartbeat. Nope, not worth the trouble. This was all not even counting the fact that she was really kind of a sucky person. Sure, she was fun to argue with, but as for dating her? Nope, a thousand times nope.

Turning his attention then onto Jocelyn he did his utmost to let her rant. It was funny to watch this little girl fume at him, and he wondered if she might lash out at him. For a second there it looked like she was seriously contemplating it, priming to smack him with her food tray or something. For everyone's benefit she calmed herself enough not to do that, still giving him a few choice words in place of a smack. She was right about nearly everything there, save for being her keeper. Now that he was aware of who she was he most certainly would be keeping an eye on her, he had to. Sooner or later too he'd need to confront her about everything as well, fill her in about the life she was supposed to be leading as opposed to this. If she hated him now then just wait until he uprooted her entire existence. Her life was literally about to be flipped upside down and the poor girl had no idea. Tora almost felt sorry for her then, not that he could empathize with her. He'd always been the same person, always lived the same kind of life. He knew who he was, and there was no question about it. This life of hers though, the one Jocelyn had been brought up in, it was all a facade. Man, her life was going to get really lousy soon.

In spite of his efforts to keep her there for the duration of lunch Jocelyn was on her way out, not even bothering to glance back as she stalked out of the room. Well crap, should he go chase her down? If it were any other place maybe he would, but this was school. A bunch of teenagers, nothing that would require his assistance. At worst she might be approached by some bozo with an over-active libido looking for a quickie, and he was sure she could handle that on her own. Nah, he'd let her go sulk, it was a waste of breath to try getting her to settle down anyways. If nothing else he'd see her again tomorrow for Chemistry, if not before then. Maybe he should have checked her schedule again, or thought to bother to remember it. Then he'd know for certain where she was going next.

"She likes me...? Not quite what I was going for with all of that." It couldn't be like like, and it was hard to believe she didn't hate him by now. This kid seemed to think she didn't loathe him though, which made Tora confused. The other kid had more to say by the sounds of it, and he almost couldn't believe what he was hearing. So allegedly her mother had tried to kill her? He must be referring to her adoptive mother then, though as far as they knew that was her biological one. Still, that bit of information had been kept from him, he was completely unaware of that. Suddenly her attitude seemed a bit justified, though he didn't intend to take mercy on her for that. Frankly it was probably best he acted as though he didn't know, otherwise she'd find out that he knew.

"I didn't know any of that... Huh..." Perhaps he should go look into her story a bit more, maybe he could use some of it. Pushing himself up from the table Tora adjusted his glasses, smirking down at Tony as he slung his back over his shoulder. "Maybe it is good news for me, how should I know though? I'd go make sure your girlfriend is okay though dude, she seemed kinda pissed for some reason." Chuckling to himself he slipped his hands into his pockets, leaving his tray where it was as he left the cafe. Three more classes, then off to do who knows what. With the princess' identity now known he'd probably follow her home, just to know where she lived. Provided he had nothing else to do that evening he may well hang around for a little while too, to get an idea of what she was like and maybe just to keep an eye on her as well. Things were going to become a little more difficult from hereon out, but at least he didn't have to keep searching anymore.

[Nydie]

Lunch period ended with no further events, Jocelyn having convinced herself that her over active imagination was responsible for the sound that she thought she heard. Her time spent outside had been used to settle down her annoyance and find her calm in order to be able to return back to class without losing her cool on everyone around. She was one suspension away from getting kicked out of school, and that was the last thing she needed on her plate at that point in time. She, her aunt, and her brother had been living in Rhode Island for two years; the longest they had managed to live in any one area. Her aunt Alicia was happy for a change, having finally been able to unpack and keep things out rather than packing back up within a few months of moving, and she had been encouraging Jocelyn to keep up her efforts in succeeding in school and attempting to make friends. She was actually managing a C average in all of her classes, but as far as making friends though, that was completely out of the question. She’d never fit in anywhere, and she certainly didn’t fit in where she was, not when she was stuck going to school with a bunch of preppy kids who cared more about how much someone’s shoes cost rather than how they treated people.

Gathering up her belongings, Jocelyn rose up from the bench, the sound of her name lingering in her mind, but she would not allow herself to focus on it too much. She was stressed, although she couldn’t explain why, at least not at first. It hit her though, once she reentered the school exactly why she was feeling tense, the thought going off inside her mind like a bomb as she walked to her next class. ‘I really, really hope that jerk isn’t in this class.’ Tora had gotten under her skin, although it had not started out that way. She could have handled his continued teasing if he had kept it limited to simple insults against her; he didn’t know her well enough to have any true insight into her personality. No one really knew her well enough to accurately assess how she was, outside her family that was. She knew that people had heard about her past, her brother often made it a point to warn the people he encountered about the attack from her mother when she was younger, believing they would understand her brash behavior if they knew her background.

Art was her next class, one that Jocelyn did surprisingly well at. She was one of the most talented students in her class, which was probably due to the fact that she had been drawing since the moment she could first hold a pencil. She would lose herself the minute she began to draw, sometimes even losing hours of time without even being aware of it. Anyone that attempted to talk to her during one of her drawing sessions would often times be tuned out completely, and there had been a few times when her aunt, brother, or even some of her teachers would attempt to snap her out of it and she would continue to ignore them, her hand flying across the page until the image she was working on was completed. Some of her drawings made no sense to her, and those few were placed in a drawer in her desk at home to be hidden away from view. Others were equally as puzzling, picturing events that made no sense at the time she drew them, but would later become a reality. She kept those secret as well, only sharing them with her brother and aunt on a few occasions. Not everything that she drew came to life, but more often than not, it did.

Jocelyn made it to her art class before the bell rang, and without waiting around, she entered the room and began her work, barely taking notice of the other students as they filed into the room after the sound of the second bell. The image that she was working on was one she had consciously selected, which did not happen all the time. Usually, something would get stuck inside her head, a single frame of a scene that would remain inside her head until it was captured completely on paper. Once it was done, she would forget all about it, along with the context of the image. It was strange, and her aunt had taken her to a psychologist to see if there was something wrong with her. After MRI’s and dozens of tests they had ruled out everything and brushed it off as nothing to be concerned about. Jocelyn had grown used to being rushed to the doctors for some odd behavior, or strange occurrence with her health that would never be explained; she just assumed it was part of her mental trauma that was playing out in strange ways.

The drawing she was working on was another one of the odd, unexplainable urges, but not one that put her in a trance when she began to work on it. The woman in the picture was a familiar figure that occurred in most of her drawings, one that she had nicknamed her ‘Fairy godmother’ but was not a fairy at all; but she wasn’t human either. Her aunt had explained the reoccurrence of the woman as Jocelyn’s need for a mother figure in her life, but she didn’t buy that at all. She thought the woman was simply her overactive imagination at play, which happened far too often for her to even count. She was creative, and a part of her creativity also caused her to imagine things that were far beyond reality, at least that was what she believed.

The forty five minutes of class was spent finishing up her drawing without any interruptions from the teacher or her other classmates, no one even looking in her direction knowing it was useless to try and get her attention. When the teacher clapped her hands and told everyone it was time to pack up to head to the next class, Jocelyn reluctantly closed her sketchbook and placed it back into her bag. The bell rang and it was off to P.E class, or as Jocelyn referred to it, forty five minutes of hellish torture. The only bright side was that Tora could not possibly be in her class, which meant she would have a small reprieve from the constant back and forth that was both draining and entertaining at the same time. There was still one last class after P.E, a stupid social studies class that was full of goof offs and losers, but she could spend the whole time daydreaming and the teacher wouldn’t even notice; as long as the new pest in her life was not there. With a heavy sigh and dragging footsteps, Jocelyn made her way to the girl’s locker room to change into her gym uniform, hoping that she’d fall and sprain her ankle at some point between changing and heading to the fields outside.

[Vena Sera]

Tora was earnestly lost as what to do for the remainder of the day. He had to keep up appearances for the time being, even now that he knew who Jocelyn was. That meant attending every class as though he had some interest in them, and participating as a student would. He'd do it, albeit as minimally as possible. In his short time on campus he was liable to no doubt leave a mark on it, thanks in part to his snippy attitude. After lunch ended his next class was computer sciences, an elective. There was absolutely no use in this course, of that he was certain upon entering. The actual lecture as it turned out would be on basic coding for a website, and each student was required to put one together before the class was dismissed. For some strange reason Tora just couldn't the motivation to do such a thing. After throwing together the sloppiest excuse for a site he could in just under fifteen minutes he began to browse the internet. There was something that warranted his attention, certainly more than this bothersome class. With knowledge of Jocelyn's supposedly rocky past he had to find some evidence of it, something to support the story. What he had been told just didn't sit well with him, it seemed off. The woman that had been taking care of her had been picked not by random, but because she seemed like a good candidate. The chances of Jocelyn being left in the care of a homicidal guardian were slim to none, which begged the question of what really happened. Did the woman just snap and try to kill her, or was there more to it?

Unfortunately by the time the bell finally sounded off Tora's search had been unsuccessful. Without knowing where she had lived before it was impossible to pinpoint any news articles on the subject. A broad, more generalized search had produced plenty of results, but as many as he had checked not a single one had proven fruitful. There had been numerous accounts of that kind of thing happening, and just to be safe he went through articles as far back as 20 years. Either this database simply didn't have it or there was no report, which seemed terribly unlikely. In all the investigation had been an utter waste, and a rather frustrated Tora sulked out of the room. That scenario was still bothering him, he had to find out exactly what had gone on. Somehow he figured asking Jocelyn directly was a no go, and her brother most likely wouldn't want to recount it. She lived with her aunt now, maybe that woman would be his best bet then. To get close enough to her to ask was going to be an issue in of itself. Not only that, but earning the right to hear such a story was another matter entirely. Damn it all, this was a bigger headache than it had to be. For once he really wouldn't mind having a sheet in front of him with the word 'Answers' in bold print, it'd make his life a hell of a lot easier. When he got home later he'd keep reading up on it. If someone happened to know where she had lived when it happened he could narrow his search significantly and go from there. Maybe he'd ask someone before leaving today, and then his work would be loads easier. As of now though Tora couldn't bother with that, he had another class to see to.

Now gym was his sort of class. Nothing but physical activity, and a chance to perhaps show some other students up. There weren't a ton of people he was personally familiar with yet, but he had already placed most of the kids into their little cliques. Instantly his least favorite of said groups had become the jocks, namely the boys. They were arrogant, snooty, rude and self-centered. Sure he might be an ass from time to time, but Tora didn't consider himself to be selfish or even arrogant. Confident sure, not arrogant. To him they were just a bunch of muscled brats that needed a good spanking to get their ass in line, and he was just courteous enough to help them with that. It all would depend on what they were actually doing during gym too, since it'd be awfully hard to hit anyone if they were playing, say, soccer. He'd find out soon enough, but first he had to change. The school had been nice enough to let him know about getting some athletic clothes beforehand, so he'd taken the liberty of stuffing them in his bag. Once inside the locker room he casually undressed to his boxers, nearly laughing at how awkward some of the other boys were laughing. Homophobes, or just really insecure? Hard to tell, but when he saw one jock slap his friend's backside he almost pegged them as more than just friends. Whereas everyone else had uniforms he only had some self-bought clothes. Presumably he'd get a set before the year was over, provided he was around then and if he bothered to stay in class that long. Instead of the standard uniform then he first slipped on a simple pair of black running shorts, a blue and white stripe running down the side of each leg. Fastening the ties around his waist he then put a sleeveless gray shirt over his head, instantly frowning once it was on. It was a little tight, grabbing him despite being made of relatively loose fabric. Well, it showed off his physique, so maybe he could mess with some girls too. If he could get a girl looking and piss off one of the guys then all the better.

Out into the field with the class everyone began to loosely gather together. The P.E. teacher was still inside, so everyone had a moment to mingle and laugh it up, or act like idiots. Tora watched as kids quickly grouped together with friends, instantly ignoring the others that were around them. The way that this school worked was so damned stupid, it annoyed him so much. They were all classmates, did they really have to do this 'social order' bullshit? Then again these classes were just a tad different than his own, and by no means as important as his were. Since they were likely never going to do anything with their lives he supposed they could afford to be about cohesive as a town drunk after his sixth beer. Ah well, sort of a shame really. It did beg the question though as to where precisely would he fit in? He had the build of a jock, but the knowledge of sports comparable to someone in the chess club. Not to mention his glasses, which for some indescribable reason had earned him the pet-name of 'geek' several times already that day. It had been tempting to show those kids precisely what this 'geek' could do, but the school code expressly forbid shoving your food up their rear end, or probably something close enough to that. Tora just smiled and shrugged it off, not really getting upset over it anyways. He knew full well that he'd have them apologizing in seconds if he could have it his way, and that was sweet enough.

While waiting for the teacher to come out he casually looked about the class, hoping to stir up some trouble. Did he go and just pick a fight, or sort of instigate one in a more passive and fun manner? Tora opted for the latter, it was time to get creative. If there was one thing that would definitely tick off these muscle bound bozos it was having someone looking at their girl. And so he went about sending glances in each pretty girl's direction, hoping eventually one of them would return his gaze. Eventually he found one that did, a brunette who was really just average at best. She clung to one of the 'popular' guys like a fly on crap though, albeit her grip seemed to lessen slightly when their eyes met. Smiling suavely at her he gave a little wink, blowing her a kiss before beginning to casually stretch. She took a glance at her boyfriend before looking back at him, giving him a small wave and a smile in turn. Someone in the group must have said something just then, because the boy she was with looked back at him, and after a few exchanged words he didn't look happy at all. Oops.

[Nydie]

The shrill sound of a whistle pierced the air, and even from her place on the pitcher’s mound, Jocelyn flinched as the noise rang inside her ear. “Damn that’s loud.” She muttered under her breath, stopping to look up at the coach expectantly. Today’s torture was a game of softball, and as always, Jocelyn had been drafted as the pitcher, although she never figured out how the airheads in her class had discovered it was a position she had a knack for. The coach, a rather butchy looking woman with short cropped hair, and a masculine face was glaring over at her from home plate, her hands on her hips. “Jocelyn, you’re not supposed to be trying to hit the batter with the ball.” Smoothing her expression to one of complete innocence, Jocelyn blinked owlishly at the woman. “I’m not? This isn’t dodge ball? Oops, my mistake.” The disgruntled teacher shook her head, her thumb jerking over her shoulder in a silent order for her to sit down on the bench. “Candice, you’re pitcher.” The rest of Jocelyn’s team groaned, but she happily ripped the glove off her hand and made her way over to the bench she was forced to sit on for the remainder of the class.

It really hadn’t been her fault, she had not started class with the intention of hurting anyone, but little Miss Homecoming Queen had decided to open her mouth and act like a complete bitch about things she did not know about. Things had been going fine, Jocelyn having struck out two of the other team when Jenna Linden came up to bat. The plan started out as simply striking the girl out, but the girl had to start opening her mouth. “Come on, freak. Let’s see what you got.” Jocelyn could have easily ignored the mild insult, and had been about to when Jenna decided to open her mouth once again. “You might want to use your left side. Wouldn’t want you to rip your scar open. What did you do? Try to stab yourself in the heart and you were too stupid to realize you didn’t have one?” Jocelyn growled loudly at that insult, knowing that her scar had been because of an attempt to stab her in the heart, but it had not been her own doing. The one thing she was grateful for was that no one knew the full story about what had happened to her when she was five, and if they had learned, she didn’t doubt she’d be taunted for it every day.

Jocelyn had thrown the ball, by all appearances aiming it down the center of the plate, but she’d added enough of a curve to it that it had ended up hitting Jenna square in the stomach. The gasp for air and the sight of the girl doubling over in pain had been enough to satisfy Jocelyn’s urge for revenge, but watching as she dropped the bat on her toe in her rush to double over only added to it. Jocelyn all but rolled around on the ground laughing as Jenna was half carried off the field, the two other girls shooting her glares as she continued to find amusement from the girl’s pain. It was then the coach decided to end Jocelyn’s fun and send her off to the bench to sit out the rest of the class, which really wasn’t much of a punishment since Jocelyn hated the class. She could sit around and do absolutely nothing, and she wouldn’t even get in trouble for hitting Jenna with the ball, because there was no way to prove it had been intentional. For Jocelyn, it was a win-win outcome, and as she sat down on the bench, she smirked darkly at the glaring faces looking in her direction, completely proud of herself for what she had done. ‘Serves her right. She’s lucky I didn’t hit her in the face.’

Jocelyn was content to sit and do nothing at all, taking no joy in watching the game as her team lost the lead that she had gained them and began to lose. Her eyes were drawn to the woods behind the baseball diamond, searching for the same flash that she had seen earlier in English class. She did not see it, but she did hear her name again, this time whisperer in an ominous tone that sent chills down her spine. She glanced around the area, looking at her coach, and then at the other girls in her class, waiting for one of them to smirk at her, or show some signs that they had heard it. No one looked as if they were responsible, and they showed no signs at all that they heard the sound, which only further confused her. The voice was male, she could tell that much, but she could not determine the distance it had been spoken, or even who might have been responsible for it. She tried to push it aside, but it repeated again, this time followed with a laugh that did little to put her at ease. Again, no one around seemed to hear it, and Jocelyn began to question her own sanity.

By the time class was over and the coach had sent everyone back into the school to change for their last class, Jocelyn was convinced she was losing her mind and hearing voices. Her entire demeanor changed, her face pale and her eyes wide with shock. She was silent as she went through the motions of changing out of her gym uniform, ignoring the jeers and taunts from Jenna and her cronies more than she usually did. She couldn’t have told anyone what the obnoxious girls had said to her, paying them absolutely no mind at all while she went over the voice that had been calling her name. When Jenna moved o stand in front of Jocelyn as she made her way out of the locker room, the redhead had shoved the other girl out of the way and walked out, leaving the petite blonde sputtering and huffing angrily behind her. She walked to her Civics class in a daze, still confused over who would waste their time toying with her in such a way. She knew most of her classmates disliked her, but it seemed like a complete waste of time and effort to play that type of joke on her. When she reached her classroom, Jocelyn sat down at her desk and silently placed her belongings on the table to wait for class to start, still completely disoriented and unable to understand what was going on.

[Vena Sera]

"Trying to be cute, new kid? Flirting with my girlfriend?" The boy confronting him was definitely one of the school jocks, no doubt about it. While only about Tora's height he was a fair bit bigger, his muscles definitely dwarfing the other boy's. "I know you're new and all, so I'll cut you some slack this once. But just get this through your skull, that doesn't fly around here. Do it again and I'll kick your ass."

"Why should I stop, she seemed to be liking it?" Tora retorted, smiling amused. The other student who had been walking off turned right back around, giving him a death glare as he clenched his fists. "You know... If you want to be mad at someone, be mad at her. I don't know any better after all, I'm just the new kid." That looked to be just the ticket to aggravate his classmate. Smirking as his shirt was grabbed he made no effort to resist, hoping that he'd pushed the student more than enough to hit him. All he needed was to be smacked first and he could go to town, it would be self defense. A little fight was just the kind of thing he needed right about now.

"Brandon, put him down!" The gym teacher shouted, or rather the assistant-teacher. He was a shorter, stocky man with a busy beard and short cropped black hair nestled beneath a ball cap. He wore a gray sweatshirt and slacks to match, with bright red shoes on his feet. The man really didn't look the part of a PE teacher and was liable to pass out after four or five steps. Regardless the student listened, dropping Tora and giving him an angry look before skulking off, snatching up his girlfriend's hand and dragging her off to the side. Well, so much for that, maybe later though.

When class began the students were split up into two different groups, namely boys and girls. While the girls were to play softball Tora and the others were going to play a game of soccer, whatever that was. Since it was assumed that everyone was familiar with the game no rules were ever explained, leaving him in the dark on how the game worked. What's more, his team thought it a fun idea to opt for Tora to play the position of goalie. All that he was told was to stand in the net and not let any balls get passed him, which sounded easy enough. They moved across the school's field to get to their own spot, two smaller goals having been set up in preparation for the game. Still utterly lost as to what was going on he took his position in the farther goal, standing there with his hands in his pockets, looking around the field clueless. So there was the one ball and everyone was fighting over it? That was how it looked to him anyways, this whole mess just seemed goofy. When the whistle was blown everyone went from a standstill to running about, chasing the ball in a laughably uncoordinated manner. It was odd standing down here by himself, it didn't even seem like he was playing. Two other students stood not far off from him, apparently there to help him with keeping their goal safe or some such. Did they really think he needed help with something like this? His own team was doing okay on their own, keeping the ball at least at mid-field, though not really making it all that far onto the other side.

Thanks to ineptness on their part Tora watched his team lose the ball rather quickly, and soon enough three other students were racing down at himself and the other two. With a three on two the others had their work cut out for them, and they were easily enough circumvented, leaving Tora to deal with the three. As they got closer he kept where he was, smiling slightly as he watched them pass the ball back and forth to throw him off of what they were doing. A bunch of wasted effort really, they weren't getting anywhere by doing that. Eyes trained solely on the soccer ball he followed it as it was kicked to the right-most player, and then kicked at the net hard. No effort was made on his part to stop it, he remained standing there with his hands in his pockets, smiling as it whizzed by him and slapped into the netting. A chorus of groans sounded from his teammates, to which he only smiled and lifted his shoulders in a passive shrug. Hoping the game was over then it was Tora's turn to let out a groan, watching as the ball was retrieved and placed back in center field to begin another round or something. That's right, it was an hour long class, and that had barely taken five minutes. Regardless of whether anyone scored or not the class was going to drag on for some time yet, and he was stuck in the goal for the duration of that period.

Boredom soon prompted Tora to actually play his post, making a conscious effort to stop any soccer balls kicked his way. It was more interesting than just standing by idly, and admittedly he was having a little bit of fun in doing it. Even while making an effort though he couldn't stop every single one sent his way, he was simply too unfamiliar with how the game worked. By the time the whistle blew at the end of the period they had lost, the score being 7-5. It might have been 6-5 if he'd actually cared, and they might have won if he had any clue how the game worked. Either way, he was just glad the class had finally come to its end. If they were made to play soccer again Tora would do it a little more willingly, albeit he wanted to be out on the field himself. Goal tending was okay, you got a little bit of action while doing that, but it seemed so dull compared to what everyone else was doing. Plus, so long as he could control the ball he'd easily run circles around the other students. With the exception of the jocks everyone was so out of breath it was laughably pathetic. Seeing as the girls were already heading inside they all followed suit, splitting off in the hall to go to their own locker room. To his surprise and chagrin even Tora received a few words of encouragement from those who he had been playing with. Of course, there were plenty of taunts as well, though he brushed those off just as he had with the praise. He couldn't give a damn how others thought he played, and really he didn't care how he himself played. It had been fun, sure, but it's not as if it mattered really.

The final class had gotten here at last; law and government. It was in part something Tora wanted to take, and in part something he had to take. For some weird reason it was one of those courses that the school required its students to take at least one year. While he could pass off as knowing the material for the other classes he was utterly clueless as to how this country worked behind the scenes. With only a few months left to go it was unlikely he'd learn a whole lot anyways. The teacher seemed to agree with him to a degree, not even bothering to include him in the lesson. He was given a sheet with the material covered up until that point and essentially told to catch up, which meant doing a lot of reading on his own time. Tora could scarcely be bothered to read during class, let alone after hours. During the conversation he'd wholeheartedly agreed to do as he was asked, but as soon as he got to his desk he just sort of went off into a daze. Last period, then I go home, he told himself repeatedly. He wouldn't even think about the fact he had to do this tomorrow as well, or for an unknown amount of time even until he could get Jocelyn to go back with him. Thinking about it in the long term made him groan dejectedly, and he spent the better part of his last class with his head on his desk, thinking of ways to possibly get out of school.