Skullbent

Jake English Age 17 Junior Closed rp for Alternia Academy

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One Odd Trinket

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The little gesture just kind of made Aradia smile. It was cute, and it kind of lightened the mood a bit. To her, at least. She did really think that he was a cool guy. Every one has their faults and she really has no reason to judge him for his, what ever he considers them to be. Though she wasn’t the best either, Aradia didn’t want to make him uncomfortable and the awkward smile was kind of giving off a sense of uncomfortable. She could be wrong, who knows. 

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God damn you Aradia with your puns and playing with words and just no. Though he responded to it in a sort of positive way, so that was good. Jake English, that was a nice name.  ”Well, sometimes it’s easy to forget to do things. Even something as simple as telling someone your name. It’s nice to meet you too, Jake.” She replied softly, giggling a bit. 

 She looked over and saw that his cheeks were a little pink. God, was she making him uncomfortable? She was, wasn’t she. Of course she was. Dammit. She didn’t want to make things awkward, nor did she want to make him think that she was some kind of weirdo that he would never want to talk to again after this. Great. Just, great. 

At least Aradia smiled. That had to be a sign she wasn't going to go all Colonel Miles Quaritch on him. Offering new legs but really just taking the hometree of the Na'vi. The kind gesture in place of Mr. Sully's legs being a friendship or something with Jake and the the hometree possibly being any sort of positive reputation he could have there. Of course Jake was going to let his mind drift to such a great tale, Avatar was simply another great adventure. When was Jake not thinking about adventure? He could easily point out how it was filled with adventure, just nothing as exciting as his favorite stories.

 "I didn't mean. When I say awkward." With a sigh, Jake didn't even know what he was going to say going into that. There was no way she could understand what he meant, he was too weird. He wanted to explain it wasn't her fault for the awkwardness...most likely. However, the words just couldn't roll off his tongue. His brain was having difficulties picking out just the right words to send down to his mouth. If only he could hurry up the process. Though if he tried, odds were he'd end up with some combination of sounds and utterances that made next to no sense like uh, um, and, so on and so forth.

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Book Buddy Notes

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Aradia looked down and then was at eye level with him as she sat down next to him. Geez, is it just her or does it almost seem like time has just gone out the window?  It was probably her. Though, it was really kind of odd since she had a bit of an affinity for time anyway. So it kind of didn’t make much sense at all. Al right, don’t panic. This is your best friend, there’s no need to be embarrassed or nervous or anything of that nature. Though… It was still nerve racking. What if he said no? She would feel like a complete idiot and that would be a thing that would most likely haunt her for the remainder of their friendship. Yep, she was definitely positive about all of this. 

All of these thoughts would bounce around her head until she realised that he had slid the book on her desk. Oh yeah, right. This is happening. She should probably do the same instead of blankly staring out while she was thinking about all the things that could possibly go wrong in this particular situation and then also thinking of ways she may or may not be able to counteract those consequences whether they be good or bad. Wait, focus! She had her own book under her arm, which she swiftly put onto the desk and respectively slid it on over to his desk. This was around the time when she noticed that the book he had slid over was very light, and by light she meant it didn’t have many notes in it at all. It looked like just one, actually. 

What did this mean? Was he going to tell her something bad? Good? What would the little note read? Such suspense. Maybe the same thing was going on in his head since she had essentially done the same thing. Wow, now she felt kind of bad because she may or may not have been putting possible negative thoughts into his head and she didn’t really want to do that. Not only was it rude, but she didn’t want to put even more negative thoughts into his head because it seemed that he had quite a lot of them. Maybe she was over thinking things. Maybe she should just calm the fuck down and opened this book to see what he had written. Yeah. Aradia focused her attention on the book and then opened it, skimming through it a bit before it came to the page that held the note on it.

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Taking the book into his grasp, Jake stared at it. It took him a few moments before being able to open the book. Even when he did, English just found himself staring at the bookmark. Her words not processing in his mind as he wished they could have. The ease in letting words torment him just would not come. Then, in a sort of blurry haze, he could start to make out what the note said, and he even cracked a small smile as it peered from the corner of his mouth.So she had essentially had the same idea as he. That actually, that was quite reassuring.

Looking over, Jake waited to see Aradia's reaction to his own note. Of course he would go to the dance with her, after all he had asked her, in the same manner no less. No adventurer in their right mind would back down from such an exploration, especially when there was already support saying they should go. A crucial tool explorers also need to have is patience. The ability to wait out whatever it is they are waiting on. However, sometimes it seemed that there could be certain exceptions to this explorers guidebook.

Waiting only until she reached around where the bookmark happened to be, Jake smiled and spoke quietly. "It would be my pleasure to attend the dance with you." Friends. The best way to attend such an event. It would be a blast for certain with Aradia at one side, and a bundle of books at his other.

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One Odd Trinket

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Aradia just kind of looked on at him as he kind of laid in the mess of books that had fallen and then him in turn falling over the fallen books. Fall-ception, as one might say it could possibly be Was this an awkward silence? It probably was, though she wasn’t to sure, and she didn’t want to do anything if it was indeed not being considered an awkward silence because then it would in a chain of events therefore causing the moment to become an awkward silence. So for the sake of not having that outcome, she would wait for him to talk because that seemed like the best idea for one, she isn’t the best at conversation, and two because of the outcomes that were mentioned.

Though all of that was basically her babbling about in her mind about something that didn’t really need to be dissected like that, but she was a woman that like the great Indiana Jones, had to see every detail before going into something. Though, unlike the great adventurer, she wasn’t nearly as brave. But was she? She had never really been put into a situation where she had to be brave, but maybe someday she could rise to a particularly challenging challenge that is set by a challenger who is challenging the chanllengee, or in a very less complicated and more understandable way, a conflict.

She looked as he gestured to the floor, sitting there because that seemed like the best route since he was kind of sort of in a way telling her she could sit down if she wanted to. “I see, well this is a very nice club, despite it being a little.. Trashy." God DAMMIT Aradia stop making crappy puns. Though she didn’t actually mean it was trashy, it was a pretty nice room with pretty great books and he seemed like a pretty nice person. By the way, what was his name again? Jesus you barge into someone’s room and strike up some sort of conversation not even knowing what the person’s name is, good job Aradia you social butterfly. Then she heard him speak once more. "Oh, well my name’s Aradia. Come to think of it, I don’t think we ever actually introduced ourselves. So, because of that fact, I don’t really know your name either."

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Making a traditional gesture of two pistols and a wink with his hands and one of his eyes, Jake offered a sheepish smile. Why did he do that? Because Jake was trying to think positively to no avail. It may have even just caused a major decline in his way of thinking. Instead of thinking that perhaps she was in here because maybe she thought Jake was actually cool, he thought otherwise. He instead thought that perhaps she was staying in there to mock him. Or perhaps to think to herself of all the ways he was failing in this situation. Of how she could rehash this later to friends making him a charity case of some sort. Nevertheless, he still dealt with her using an awkward smile.

That pun tried to ease the mood, responded to on Jake's behalf namely on the aforementioned awkward action. "You'll have to pardon our member's manners. The trash doesn't even bother to mention it's moniker, sorry. English, Err, Jake. Jake English. Yes i'm quite aware of the irony in my structured words and how it correlates to my name." On several occasions others made mention of how his name was English but he couldn't English. Yes it was quite the ripsnorter of a tale folks, one he hadn't heard many, many times before, now let's just mosey along past the poorly choosen name. Well, maybe not poorly choosen. In certain regards his title fit Jake fairly well, thought others...not so much. That was just one way in which it didn't fit so well. "It is an awkward pleasure to be meeting you miss Aradia." 

With heated cheeks a pinkish tint Jake realized what he just said. Yes he was painfully aware of how awkward the situation was, though it probably wasn't a good idea publicly announcing that. Either she would find it funny and perhaps laugh, or be horribly offended, Jake was more or less thinking she would react with the latter. Hoo boy did he just mess things up royally...again. Way to go English, can't even make it out of a situation with your dignity. Something of which you didn't even have to begin with, but oh well.

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Book Buddy Notes

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Aradia, unfortunately, was running late. She had forgot to set her alarm the night before. God dammit Aradia you have been going to school for twelve years now you should know that you need to set your alarm before binge reading a book that you were desperately wanting to know the ending of. This particular book was one she was going to trade with a good friend of hers known by the name of Jake. You could say they met on very… Odd terms, it really was an odd meet up. It won’t be gone into detail, but there was a lot of falling and him being dubbed trash because of aforementioned falling. Today she was going to be trading with him was actually what was supposed to be a humorous version that was called Idina Menzel: Indiana Jones Style. 

One thing both of them enjoyed doing to the books when they read them they would make notes on little sticky notes. His signature style being green pumpkins while hers was usually white coloured ghosts written on with burgundy coloured pens. She had made tons and tons of them for this particular book, all of them filled with her small, sort of messy handwriting. Though, today was different. All of those notes were tucked in the safety of her bag that she carried in with her to class. There was only one note in the book now, and it was stuck on the very first page so he would notice it quickly. Valentine’s Day was coming up and, she didn’t want to be the person who sat in their dorm room while everyone else had fun that night, and she wasn’t in a relationship with any one so… Why not him? It wouldn’t be like everyone else going there. She would keep it strictly platonic because who wants to date their best friend? Not her, she didn’t have feelings for him in that way, and she hoped that he felt the same or else this would become awkward really fast and she didn’t want that to happen.

She quickly came into the room and then took her usual place next to him, looking over to him slightly as she did so and then took out the aforementioned book and set it on the table so she could put the bag she had down. Okay, this is your best friend, it shouldn’t be that hard, right? It shouldn’t, it wouldn’t be. All they would do is talk in the back of the room while everybody else made out with each other. She recited the words of the note in her head one last time to make sure it didn’t sound really idiotic. 

Hey, so.. I was wondering, Since the Valentine’s Day thing is coming up and we don’t really have anything else to do on that day.. Would you maybe want to go with each other and maybe just watch movies or read books together? 

-Aradia

Yeah, that didn’t sound too creepy, or needy, or anything bad. 

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A smile quickly spreading across his face, Jake looked up and over towards Aradia. Hard to believe they had come so far in such a short amount of time. Granted he still had trouble managing to push the words beyond his mouth, but with the slight ease that came to their friendship, he gripped the book. There was still the chance of her making fun of him for this notion. Still the chance of just about anything going wrong. Still the chance of her spreading a rumor about him being a hopeless loser. Wow, way to think positive with such an event just around the corner English, way to keep your head held high.

Sliding the book right on over onto Aradia's desk without trying to give it much thought more, he stared down at his own. Thumbs twiddling, his cheeks actually heated a bit in embarrassment. Not because he liked her, no, most every tale was ruined by bringing romance into a relationship. No, Jake liked her platonically, in a friend way. Despite his negative nelly way of thinking, he still held his head high in hopes this all didn't come crashing down on him. She did insist he wasn't trash. A lot of others would have just agreed with him rather than help Jake out of a pile of books.

Only briefly did he even chance a glance at her book. Finding a lack of post-its in her own was a little discomforting, as well as reassuring in its own way. What could possibly have her keeping thoughts on such a novel from him? Oh no. Lacing his hands together, he squeezed them tight. Was she done with him? Did he just go out on a limb to ask her to a dance when she clearly no longer wished to be friends? Come on Jake! Pull it together! Surely such a little ghost wouldn't convey a message like that. Was it too much to think she may have had the same idea as him? Probably. She probably even had a date that was to accompany her in a romantic sense to the dance. Bollocks! Well, there went his chances at a normal social life. If his friendship with her counted as normal that was.

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Book Buddy Notes

It had been a while since Jake had first begun attending the rather esteemed Alternia Academy. Not much less time since he had first met his friend Aradia. While talking to the average person hadn't gotten much better since, he could speak to her with a slight bit more ease. At least his conversations stopped denoting himself to to trash all the time by this point. Heck, they even shared books with each other now.

Sitting down in his seat just beside where he awaited her to take her own seat, Jake placed a book that had been hand down on his desk. Thumbing over the pages a few times, he looked over the book with a certain fondness. It wasn't that bad. Indina Josh, a parody of Indiana Jones where every character's gender was switched around and it was written by another author. Admittedly, he had a bunch of sticky notes of his thoughts and ideas on the story for Aradia to read, but now they all just lay at the bottom of his bag.

Fingers drumming on the cover, making quiet sounds, he admired how their relationship grew. No, not romantic as those around him began showing more and more public displays of affection with Valentine's day just around the corner. However, their relationship had grown from him on the floor calling himself trash to them exchanging, and even reading books together. They would make personal notes throughout their books for the other to read. Normally Jake's little green pumpkins could be found filling the book to the extent it would let him with annotations. This time was different however.

This time, instead of countless sticky-notes, there was only one right in the dead center of the book. So what if he didn't have a date in mind in the romantic sense, he could still ask her on a friend date. So that was what the note was for. In his nicest handwriting, Jake was inviting Aradia to the school's dance. Just to see what it was like, that was all, hopefully she wouldn't get the wrong idea.

"Aradia, would you do me the swell pleasure of accompanying me to the celebration this Valentine's day? Perhaps marathon Indiana Jones movies on a rented laptop in the back of the room? -Jake"

Nothing too extravagant or out of the reasonable ballpark. He could definitely see the two of them doing just that, laughing while others danced and making their own fun. She wasn't his girlfriend, no, Aradia is moreover Jake's best friend. If there was anyone out of the typical public that was easier to talk to then it would be her. 

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One Odd Trinket

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Aradia was terrible at this and she knew it, making friends and being social and doing things that didn’t include her being cooped up in a room without any type of contact from the outside world. So when his eyes widened she was a bit confused as to why they were widening. Was she supposed to take the book? Probably, and because she didn’t there was probably going to be something wrong to happen. Okay, she was probably exaggerating and taking this to a whole other level that it shouldn’t have been taken to. Her head was kind of tilted now as she looked and saw him rubbing his eyes underneath his glasses. It looked like something maybe was wrong, that was usually some type of signal that something was wrong or someone was stressed out about something, though this is also from her point of view, so she probably shouldn’t take it as she sees it.

Then there was silence. Oh geez, she did do something wrong didn’t she? God dammit Aradia when will you ever learn to stop doing stupid things and just, do what you’re supposed to do? Well, she really tried, a lot. One of the reasons that she was in this school was because of how hard she had worked to get in here despite the problems and obstacles she had faced and is still facing in every day life, no matter what she does. From the look in the boy’s eyes she could kind of tell that he himself has been through hardships and things as well, probably not ones quite like hers, but every one comes in all different shapes and sizes with all different types of quirks and things that just made them shine brighter as a person, or at least that’s how Aradia saw it. 

"You aren’t trash, it’s really interesting listening to you speak, really. I for one, have never heard or seen a trash get up on two legs and start babbling about people throwing it away in weird places, because that would probably be something trash would rant about." Maybe, who knows. Just to kind of make it sort of equal she just kind of sat down on the floor as well. Now they were both trash, technically speaking. This probably was some kind of gesture of kindness maybe? Hopefully, geez get your head in the game Aradia or you will just go through your last year of high school alone just like all of the other years, and that would not be good.

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Laying there a few moments more, he still was without the words. She just, and he just. Argh, what were the words? Jake felt like for a normal person this would be worlds easier, hell, it probably was in fact. No, he knew that for sure, Indiana Jones definitely didn't have these problems. The great adventurer, Jake hoped one day maybe he could match his level. Jake was an adventurer, why not? Perhaps this school working with the disabled, he would be able to improve and one day. One day possibly even hold a normal conversation without worry for people judging him.

At this point in time though that seemed like but a pipe dream. The odds of Jake being anywhere near normal, in his opinion, was impossible. There was some hope being at the school but uh. Well he was laying on the floor among a bunch of books calling himself trash. Granted he was indeed trash, but that wasn't the present point he was making right now. Right now the point was that he just wanted to be able to talk to. What a second...had she even told him her name yet? For that matter, had he introduced himself? If they had then he would feel embarrassed asking by this point.

Gesturing to the floor, Jake offered it up for him to sit down. "Welcome to the trash club, not that you are trash, but this is where we meet. By we I mean myself being the only member currently." Okay, he was going for it, regardless of whether or not it would make her dislike him even more than she probably already did, Jake has to ask. "Due to several recent blows to the head, I may have forgotten your name. Sorry miss, that would be...?"

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A Raggedy Old Duffle

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Jade sat in the passenger’s seat of her grandpa’s car and wondered, as she began to feel shaky and she began to feel sick, why she’d wanted to go here in the first place. Surely social interaction wasn’t worth the pounding in her chest, the shortness of her breath, and intense fear she was feeling. She’d very rarely been somewhere with so many people in years. The pulled up to the school and Jade clung to the large Squiddle doll that sat in her lap. It was so BIG- and she’d known it was going to be, after all, she’d picked this school herself, but somehow it’s hugeness still surprised her. Grandpa asked her for the millionth if she was sure she wanted to do this, and Jade had to fight for enough air to tell him that, yes, she wanted to go. It wasn’t a lie. She wanted so BADLY to be go here, to make friends, to have people to talk to and schoolwork that actually challenged her. That didn’t mean she wasn’t terrified. The teen breathed in and out, slowly, trying to calm herself down. She’d been working really hard for the last couple of months in order to get here, and now, as Grandpa parked the car, Jade wasn’t sure if it was going to be enough. Nevertheless, she slowly, shakily, shoved her squiddle doll back into a bag and climbed out of the car. She walked around to the trunk, and, trying to pretend she wasn’t about to be surrounded by a bunch of strangers for the rest of the school year, she pulled out her bags. Grandpa offered to help her, but she wasn’t about to let her elderly guardian take her bags for her. Besides, she was trying to prove she could be independent. She gave him a heartfelt goodbye instead, and then she marched towards the front gates, carrying two big bags and dragging a suitcase behind her as she tried her darndest not to cry. However, just as she was out of her grandfather’s eyesight, she realized, with a sinking feeling, that she wasn’t sure exactly where she was supposed to be headed. She looked around, panicking, saw someone dressed in the school uniform, and walked up to them, trying to look like she wasn’t five seconds away from either exploding or freaking out. ” Hi uh.. excuse me, do you kn-know where i’m supposed to be going to sign in?” She asked, trying to make eye contact, like she’d practiced, and failing.

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Oh for frigs flipping sake, it just had to be someone in need. Of all the people to ask for his help, it wasn't an asshole Jake figured he could just deal with, it wasn't a teacher to direct him, it was a seemingly nice girl. Wanting nothing more than to just find his room and to read until class started. What was he even supposed to say to her? She tried making eye contact, of which he tried to reciprocate only to fail miserably. Gaze mostly on the ground, Jake rubbed at the back of his neck.

Tell her that it is his his first day here too? Tell her he was just trying to get by? Tell her...Fuck why was this so hard? Rhetorical question English, don't answer something your own question you already know the answer to.Unable to decide on what to stay Jake stood there stewing in his own thoughts for several moments. By this time she was probably wondering what was wrong with him, gosh golly English, at least say something. Something is better than blankly staring and having her potentially think he is ignoring her.

"The sun is out." That is a fact. It is words filled with vowels, consonants, a subject, and so on. It is a pointless fact that anyone with eyes can see. Well hey now, there was something. This school catered to the disabled, what if she was blind and didn't know the sun was out? Though the odds were unlikely. Even if by some odd chance she was in fact blind, the odds of her not knowing the sun was out would be fairly low because of the warmth the light gave. 

With a warm, light pink growing across the mid of Jake's face, he look down and grabbed his two duffle bags. Gesturing with his head towards a building, he took a few steps in that direction. Gave locked in on the ground, he headed that way while gesturing for her to follow. His feet dragged a little as he walked, but apart from that he was fairly quiet.

There was no way that he wanted to know what she was thinking of him. Probably wondering why he wasn't speaking, or why he was just walking away. Jake felt like the biggest idiot as he continued on. Of all the people for her to ask for help, it just had to be English.

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One Odd Trinket

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She tilted her head a little as she peeked into the room, she wasn't exactly all the way into it yet, but she was about to burst in when she saw the 'book' cover. Aradia, control yourself you are basically an adult don't act like a little kid when you a relic of your memories that aren't really your memories because you still fucking adore Indiana Jones you piece of   t r a s h . Anyway, it didn't look like the normal copy of Young Indiana Jones, it looked as if it was made to look like a dvd case sort of. She also noticed that he was on the floor, kind of what she expected from all the thuds and things.

Aradia took a step or two more into the room to get a bit of a closer look at the piece of literature.  "That is awesome! She did a really great job on it." She said softly, kind of leaning down a bit to see it a little more since of course he was still on the ground and all of that good stuff. Looking at the 'book' kind of made her realise that she hasn't actually read Indiana Jones in a while, you know what that means. Gotta break out the stash again. She may or may not be in her dorm for a while, maybe a couple of days. 

Then she noticed that he kind of sort of offered the book to her, kind of. God she was horrible with social cues. The reason being? Well it was a little something called a non-verbal learning disorder. So everything was harder, especially social interactions. Which of course added on to her social anxiety issues. But those probelms should probably just stay to herself and only to herself, don't want any sadness... Just yet, at least.

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Mind finally catching up to what his body was doing, Jake's eyes widened a moment. She hadn't taken the 'book' yet, and so he placed it on the ground closer beside himself. Jake you dolt, probably the worst mistake since arriving at this school. No wait, the worst mistake was thinking he could actually fit into this school. With a sigh, Jake closed his eyes and rubbed his eyes beneath his glasses. She probably he was a worthless excuse for a student, wondering why he was here. Well no, she could probably tell Jake had a disability. If only it was easier for others to tell he was also here in the accelerated program. If only he had less difficulties conversing with them.

Not saying a word more, he only hoped that the first person for him to have made contact with, the one actually in his room at the moment, didn't completely hate him yet. Though the odds were not stacked in English's favor, it was still a wish held in his...heart? No, head. Had to be head, that was where all logical thoughts were kept. The heart wasn't good for much apart from alerting the host body when it was freaking out. At least, that was the only function Jake could think of apart from the actual biological uses of pumping blood and so on.

"Friggin... I only continue to confirm that I am trash. Henceforth, that I belong on the floor. Though that doesn't say much for my trusty companions here with me on this level. Just some paradoxical bloke with a moniker. One that doesn't even fit as I prattle on without meaning." Trash club, party of English. All those rapscallions and adventures in his stories he was not worthy of, the trash club did not accept such great novels. All alone in a world filled with people to dislike him. This was going to be a long year.

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The imperfect perfectionist.

Something is amiss about the picture that sets itself. Perhaps it’s the way the chairs are organised, shifted slightly to the left. Perhaps it was the way some students lingered for no apparent reason, fingers tucked into the straps of their bags as if they contemplated seating themselves. It could have rested on the barren walls in the classroom, signifying it’s use as a recreational room, of sorts.

Instead, it’s the boy seated in the back, his hands splayed across his desk, fingers brushing over spare pages with robotic garble that made almost no sense to anyone but him. Little diagrams were practically carved into the margins, and his pencil lay directly between his two thumbs, as if he were concentrating on making it disappear. Unfortunately for Hal, however, with his pink hair poking out in different directions, magic doesn’t exist in this world, else the utensil would have travelled to the moon and back.

Letting out a soft sound of frustration, Hal grabs the pencil, twirling it between his fingers with annoyance practically radiating off of him. Some of the equations were starting to look like scribes from an old, dead language, skittered about without a second glance at the lines with the sole purpose of keeping everything organised and orderly. He liked the lined paper for the reinforced side and the holes that kept it securely tucked into his binder, and for no other reason.

With a rush of dark fingers running through soft pink hair — he’d just redone it and, for some odd reason, his roots were already beginning to show — Hal turns the page over, gripping the pencil in his left hand and furiously doodling some hella cool cartoons on the page. His music wasn’t assisting in any way, so he changed the song via the button on the cord itself. Something about constant upbeat vibe from Neko Neko Super Fever Night kept his mind focussed on his slightly stress-relieving actions, and he didn’t stop until the next assortment of songs had come to completion.

By that time, the page was full of nonsensical doodles surrounding the one that looked semi-decent taking up the centre of the page like an idol surrounded by oddly shaped followers. The frantic scribbles had been dimmed down to a few languid strokes of grey against the paper, etching shadow marks out and emphasising certain things within the picture.

After his pent up annoyance had been released, Hal noted — finally, as if the person had been standing there for five or six songs — the shadow that darkened the page as well as the desk it lay on. With a soft groan, he turns the paper over, once more revealing his stress-inducing machinations and possibly hiding the drawings that were, embarrasingly enough, almost entirely all different variations of himself. With a soft tug on an earbud and a press of the button once to pause his music, Hal finds himself slowly looking up, brows furrowing and etching lines only into his forehead.

"Is there something I can help you with?"

[skullbent-blog]

There wasn't much to do, seeing as Jake had already finished his homework for the day. Probably an assignment or two to be done, he would finish those later. No need to stress over such a project now when he could easily finish it without a watchful eye over him. With "Indiana Jones and the Peril at Delphi" help in one hand, and the other grasping the strap of his pack, he looked around. Instead of doing homework, he planned to use this free time reading, and thus began his search for a place to sit.

The first of twelve Indiana Jones books, it had been a while since Jake had re-read this book yet again. This series was his comfort, a crutch to rely on when stressed, nervous, anxious. Not that he was any of those particular things at this point in time any more so than another time, but uh. Basically he was reading it all the damn time. It helped that he enjoyed the books so much.

Now it wasn't so much that he couldn't find a seat but Jake couldn't find a seat. There was Aradia, but Jake found it much easier to sit on his own and read. Besides, reading? Who wanted to sit beside someone so intent on being off on their own with their nose stuck in a book? Not to mention the fact of he may feel socially obligated to say something. We all know saying something would then lead to worrying about saying the wrong thing. Then Jake would start worrying about being judged and, well, then there goes his whole day lost with worry.

As Jake looked around the rather nice sized room, he realized a common theme. Teens sitting beside their friends with chatter arising all around. The only open spots were alongside those so intent on making conversation and being inclusive. Not idealistic. Perhaps checking outside may provide more, better, options for Jake? Not that he loathed the situation or anything, but Jake really didn't want to be surrounded by so many strangers.

While contemplating leaving for the outside, Jake realized how long he'd been standing there by the other's question. Must have been a while, he wanted to apologize but. How to, no, what to say to lessen what judgement this peer should pass on Jake for having disturbed him. At the same time, he noticed something else. There was hardly anyone over in this area, Jake could occupy the seat beside him perhaps. The other boy even seemed content sitting quietly, this may just work out.

"Sorry chap, didn't mean to bother you. I was, I, uh." Taking a deep breath, Jake tried to calm down. Stop freaking out English, it will only lead to this guy thinking even worse than he probably already does."Just looking for a place to sit, mind if I uh...?" Gesturing to the seat beside him, Jake looked hopeful. 

[skullbent-blog]

One Odd Trinket

[corpse-parties0u0]

After her fifteenth light bang against the wall she heard laughing. Was it because of the pun? Well what else would it be genius, you and him are the only people here. Well as far as she knew, wouldn't it just be weird to just be awkwardly talking to someone in a room with another person that you didn't know was in there was just there doing stupid stuff like performing the death waltz or something. Does he even have a room mate? Probably not, she would've most likely heard from them by now. There was more laughing, it kind of made her smile actually, giggling a little at the pun herself, and a bit more as he spoke again. He wasn't really trash, but that was a good one even if it sounded slightly painful to fall on what sounded like books. 

She thought about it, should she go help him? It really sounded like he was in some type of pickle with these devious things making him fall over and over again. But she didn't want to intrude either... He sounded a little more relaxed now though than he was before, maybe he wouldn't think much of it if she did peek in to check on him? This was racking her brain, even more than the wall was. Maybe she should stop that, yeah. There was another thud, and then more words. So it was books, God she loved books. This sparked her curiosity, what book was he talking about? Hmmm... Oh fuck it. She sighed a little and took a few steps towards the door, peeking into it. "What book is it?"

[skullbent-blog]

Back now resting on the ground, he looked up at Aradia from a more upside down point of view. Since when was the world so tipsy-turvy? Wait, right, Jake, he's looking upside down, he just laid on the floor, and had already forgotten all about that, great going English. Well, now that he had caught sight of her, Jake held up the book what he hoped to be not too catawampus for her line of sight for to see. It looked like an unusual copy of The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones. Normally it was in disc form, or a comic, not an actual book, which is one reason why Jake held this book dear. So maybe he wasn't quite the movie fanatic, but there were some that really made his head spin round thinking about how great they were. 

"The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones. My grandmother pressed the copy of the movie cover to a plain book and did the secret hideaway book trick." Why he was telling her all of this, Jake hadn't the foggiest clue, perhaps the fondness towards his loving guardian brought it out in him. "It has the series inside." It sure has been a while since he watched all of the show, at first he watched it with wrapped attention, and then eventually he just let it play in the background while reading tales of the older Jones. Perhaps someday soon he'd watch it, in moderation of course, slack off too much and the school may reject him for not doing well.

At what point Jake decided to offer the 'book' to her to take a closer look, he found that moment virtually nonexistent. With his Grandmother's name etched into the cover, he reminisced if for but a moment on the adventures she said to have done. That time she stole a window, how she made mention of needing five computing devices at all times, the silly woman. Still, it made him a bit sad remembering her; a good kind of sad, he didn't cry, he just had old, fond, feelings. 

[skullbent-blog]

One Odd Trinket

[corpse-parties0u0]

"Gravity is one of those things that knocks you down pretty hard." Here come the puns, God dammit Aradia when will you get a grip on your life and stop making the shitty things. It’s not like you knead to or have to make them. Okay that pun back there was very much intended, forgive me for I have sinned.  Anyway, she heard him speak again. "You aren’t trash! Or well… You don’t seem like trash."  That’s right Megido be comforting yet extremely awkward about it at the same time. Was that even awkward? It probably was, she doesn’t know him, but he seemed like he was nice. NOT just because he liked Indiana Jones either. 

Aradia at this point was softly rapping her head against the wall behind her. She felt pretty idiotic for staying here this long. She didn’t want to be rude as it has been stated, what was even keeping her here? Even he wanted her to leave, or at least that was the message she was currently getting. Ugh… Why can’t she just be chased by Nazis while she attempts to protect the Ark of the Covenant? That would be a hell of a life to live.

[skullbent-blog]

"I suppose that is how gravity works. Hey!" After a moment, he realized her subtle joke and even chuckled at it a little, seemingly loosening up a bit. A rather odd sight indeed, perhaps he was finally warming up to someone for once? Or perhaps it was just a fluke as Jake was still feeling a little uncomfortable at the fact he was just lying among a large gaggle of books on the floor. It actually took longer for him to stop laughing then even Jake expected, but once he did, he even smiled. "Trash can't get off the floor, and sure enough," making an attempt to get up, Jake only fell once again, even laughing, "I cannot."

Why was he as loose as a goose right now one might ask? Well, that was a tale only for time to tell, one that Jake didn't even have the story to among his books. Letting out a sigh as he calmed down a little bit, he made an attempt to at least sit up and noticing the books surrounding himself. Well then, the books seemed to make a formation around the Jake booty when he fell, minus one stack that didn't fall, victory! With a nerdy fist pump in the air, Jake spoke too soon as another thudding sound could then be heard alongside his next sigh. Though his discontent didn't last for long, and his enthusiasm could once again be heard as he picked up another quote on quote 'book'. "Hey! I've been looking everywhere for this book!"

[skullbent-blog]

One Odd Trinket

[corpse-parties0u0]

Aradia didn't really know if he was still there or not, all she knew was that there was the sound of books being picked up and put down upon other books now. Should she leave? I... Guess she should? She didn't want to be rude and she kind of felt like she was intruding because she was still there... She sighed to herself. God what the hell Aradia why can't you be a normal person and just get the message? This is probably the part where someone starts slamming their faces against a flat surface until the point of unconsciousness. That would be something Aradia would gladly take part in right about now.

But then, there was yet another loud noise. That's basically the theme today, loud noises caused by something. Something in this case being a boy. There was a thud. Should Aradia check if he was al right? That would be the considerate thing to do, but then again, she was supposed to leave a long time ago.... Geez. Let's see.. Aradia, be considerate instead of apathetic. "Um, are you al right in there?" 

[skullbent-blog]

"Peachy keen chap. I just seem to have run into my fatal foe, gravity." Rolling his eyes, Jake looked at the number of books that now spread themselves across himself.  Oh hey, there was his original copy of the first Indiana Jones, and he had just tripped over it, great, maybe he should give it another read sometime soon. "I have found the great adventurer himself on my floor where trash belongs. I am on the floor, henceforth, I am trash." Really, English was having troubles finding a reason to get up other than just to close the door, but that seemed like it could potentially come across as rude. Wait a second, why did it matter if he was rude when Jake didn't care for conversation in the first place? Oh right, fear of judgement in social situations, curse you mental disabilities.

Lying on the floor there, Jake wondered just how much he set himself apart from others, why he craved fitting in. It was hard to gain approval, and odds were that people were going to make fun of him regardless, so why bother really when there are all these books? Staring at the cover to Indiana Jones, he wished he could be the charismatic adventurer who probably didn't have to deal with situations like this. 

[skullbent-blog]

Books Books and More Books

[misslondonrain]

Rose took no time in finding the school’s library. It was amazing, and even had a book sale from their old and abused books. Rose was glad she had brought her purse (within it, her wallet) to the building. She barely got to look at the actual stock when she saw that she could buy the books for something awfully cheap. 

She must have scavenged through half the sales shelf. Still, she didn’t want to spend all day at the library. So, with at least ten books of various genres, she headed to the counters. The young Lalonde paid for them without breaking her pocket, and was soon on her way.

Having been too excited for one of her new horror/thriller novels, she began to read while walking the Academy’s campus, arms full of even more books. And then, they weren’t. They were on the ground. Too many books were on the lawn to belong to only her. Someone else was in this cacophony. “Oh sorry. Sorry. I should have been paying attention. Here, let me help,” she bent down and handed him his glasses. She began to also sort between the books, looking for hers and setting them aside. “Really, I am sorry.”

[skullbent-blog]

There was no way Jake could afford this many books, well, no no no English, don't even think about that! His money was to be saved for food and clothing, and any other necessities, only check books out from the library, silly boy. Still, as he began picking up books, he noticed not all of these were the ones he choose.  Perhaps they belonged to...Looking up he noticed a distinguished female was the character he had bumped into. Oh what to say, if only he was one of the characters in his stories, they would surely have something clever to say to her in this situation. "I should have been watching the blooming path I was on, really, I am sorry."

Remembering back, Jake tried to think of how many books he had checked out again... It was more than ten, he already had five, oh right, fifteen books, ten more to go. Honestly he was a bit surprised that the books fell out of the bag from bumping into a girl before first compromising its strength under their weight. But oh well, the time to question gravity wasn't now, but later, and so he reached for another book that looked like his, but he really couldn't tell. "Is this one...yours or..." Wow did he feel ever the fool at the fact he couldn't even remember his own books. Good going English, really living up to the name.

[skullbent-blog]

Books Books and More Books

Having already spent the day at school, and marking all of his personal books by name, Jake was on his way back to his room...with more books. Hey, don't make fun of him, Jake already read all of his books and needed new ones to wrap his attention. There was probably about 1...2...3...15 books in his carrying bag of which he just carried oh so casually. Heading along the way towards the forest, Jake was ready to spend the rest of the day in a tree reading. Adventure couldn't explore itself. Wait. Standing still, Jake thought to himself. That was wrong...wasn't it? But...How exactly was wrong though? Nevermind, shaking his head Jake realised this would be one if those self-arguments that lasted for hours. With his button up undone on the first few buttons, and his green tie hanging loose, Jake could see the woods in the distance and smiled. Of course, having distracted himself, Jake didn't watch where he was going and accidentally bumped into someone. His accursed specks falling on the ground, and bag falling, books spreading, Jake stumbled. "I'm so sorry mate, I promise to be out of your hair in a jiffy. Really, sorry." Bending down, he aimlessly felt around for his glasses, feeling the utter fool.

[skullbent-blog]

One Odd Trinket

[corpse-parties0u0]

Aradia listened as the boy spoke of one of the greatest and most daring adventurers of all time. She kind of felt bad because she knew he wanted her to leave… But, maybe it was good that she was making friends with him?.. She didn’t have that many, to be honest. She collected many books, of all kinds. Mostly about adventure and history, however. Those were her two main interests most of the time, other than the whole medical student thing. Apparently this boy had very good taste in literature, and she didn’t even know his name. 

She was very… Amazed, would be the word to describe it. She didn’t think anyone liked the same things that she liked, she hadn’t met one person here that did. But, now he was here. Snap out of your train of mental narration Megido, someone’s talking to you. Aradia blinked a few times, replaying what he just said in her head before actually responding. “You’re not distracting me at all, It’s just.. I didn’t know other people here liked stuff like that, I thought I was alone.” She spoke a little quieter near the end, the words seemingly bringing up some past things that she couldn’t help but think about when that word came up. Alone. She sighed softly to herself, but quickly tried to shake it off. This boy seemed interesting, maybe if he was willing, they could talk a little more. 

[skullbent-blog]

At that, Jake was already in the other room, picking up his things, realizing his mistake in leaving the door open. Bully, she could potentially view the gesture as a invitation to enter, definitely not English's intentions. Organizing the books into a number of more, smaller, piles, Jake was dumbfounded at just how many books he had. With them all in about piles of five, the books stretched on the floor from his bed to the next wall, blasted. Well, there went his part of the room, only a bad roommate would take up more room than intended, what with unnecessary nonsense of gizmos and doodads. But he didn't know anyone here who did that, Jake just arrived, he was still getting comfortable in the space.

Of course, nothing says getting comfortable like tripping over one, two, three...four stacks piled with five books each when trying to get out. "Oh for frigs flipping sake." Timmmberrrrrr. Landing on the ground with another loud thud, Jake just wondered how much more would Jake have to endure from this room before finally settling in. With a sigh as he closed his eyes, Jake just lay atop his books on the floor, almost looking around to see if that girl was still there for whatever reason.

[skullbent-blog]

One Odd Trinket

[corpse-parties0u0]

Aradia probably would've responded to what he was saying, but it seemed like he was more speaking to himself on the matter of his door being slightly off for whatever reason it was. She didn't know much about that subject to be honest, she stayed more in the medical field. When she looked to him he seemed to be smiling, that was good I suppose. At least he didn't look like he was stuck between two sweaty marshmallows on in a subway cart that had technical difficulties. Goodness gracious that would be uncomfortable, but that may be because Aradia is a bit claustrophobic. Even though one of her hobbies was to literally dig holes and find stuff that looked cool. Anyway, maybe we should stop going off on completely different things and focus on the person talking to you, you dumb goof. "Oh uh, yeah. Sure!"

Had to add the little cheerful ending because that is just Aradia, and Aradia is an extremely happy person that doesn't take shit from anybody! But, what does this have to do with the dark matter of our insides? Nothing, that's what. Stay FOCUSED. How many times does that have to be typed? One too fucking many. She stepped back a little more as he kind of almost closed the door, deciding that now that they have both said their mutual good byes or whatever the fuck that transaction of words was, she should probably leave... Yeah.  She started to walk away, then there was a thud!

THUD THUD THUD THUD

sliiiiiide~

THUD

She stopped in her tracks, mostly because it startled her quite a bit, but also she heard him speaking. She had only taken like, three or four steps, so she could still hear him pretty clearly.... Did.... Was... Was he.... Was he talking about Indiana Jones? HOLY FRICKEN CRAP INDIANA JONES WAS THE SHIZ NIZZLE FOR REAL. Okay, okay. Calm down you goof. She backed up a little, and spoke up a bit. "Are you talking about Indiana Jones?"

[skullbent-blog]

"Of all the great adventurers, yes I suppose." Great, she was still here, it lessened his smile a little bit, at least they were talking about one of his interests? Still, he felt so uncomfortable in this situation, having to talk to someone, well, okay, that wasn't really the problem. He was more concerned with her judging him, or doing something wrong, who knows, she could spread a rumor about him around the school before he even truly started, he didn't know much about her. Only that she had the makings of a impeccable taste in books/movies. Yes, he found the Indiana Jones books. Unfortunately he couldn't bring every book he started collecting, some where back in the cabin, some in England. He kept a couple of them at least.Just the ones with notes in them written by grandma.

"Books are like the real life treasures he finds deep in adventures I should think. Sorry for distracting you while you were on your way, it wasn't my intention." Not shutting the door, because what would be the point when he had to fix it anyway, Jake moved on to the bedroom to start picking up his books. Odds were that she would just leave...right? Sure they both loved an amazing adventurer, but deep down, everyone just had one goal in mind when it came to Jake English, and that was tearing him down. Best not to feed fodder to the trough. 

[skullbent-blog]

One Odd Trinket

[corpse-parties0u0]

Aradia blinked a few times, not really knowing what exactly to do in this situation. Its not everyday that you see guys just sitting on floors and hitting things and whatever this fellow was doing before she reached the scene. He looked al right, she guessed. But she didn't want him to be hurt. She kind of waved back a little? The situation seemed idiosyncratic,  but who was she to judge? She was as abnormal as any person at this school. She watched as the boy stood up, beginning to step forward a little but then stepping back as he caught his balance.

Then she heard him begin to speak, she tilted her head patiently as he kind of paused in the middle of his sentence for a bit. He looked... Nervous almost. Why was he nervous? Geez, she really hoped she hadn't caused that. Come to think of it, it was kind of weird of her to just up and stop at his door and start asking questions about his health. But,  even so she just wanted to help, that was Aradia's thing, and she felt bad when people were in pain and liked to see people happy. As she thought this, she began to hear him talk again. Okay, focus. She didn't really know exactly how to respond to him, though. But, she will attempt.

Before she could really do so, however, she noticed him smiling in what looked like an extremely nervous way, slowly moving towards the door and kind of getting the idea that he didn't really want her to be there. . God, did she do something wrong already? Sheesh. "Oh well um...  I wasn't busy actually, I just heard the bang and was a little concerned about whoever made such a noise. But, I was just checking in, so... Yeah." Wow, this felt pretty awkward. She didn't want it to be, but she also didn't want to intrude on his personal space either. So, she should go then? Yeah, that was kind of the indirect message she was getting on the matter.

[skullbent-blog]

"I was just. I found the problem. It doesn't go back all the way it seems for whatever reason. The screws probably need to be changed or oiled. Inspection two I'd say." Speaking more to himself, rather than to her, Jake started looking over at the hinges the door was held by. They both looked fine from a distance, however, he knew better by now, and he also knew not to swing on a door that he didn't know what the problem was. Jake was at least smiling a little, she seemed to understand he wanted her to leave. "Appreciate the gesture miss, perhaps i'll see you around?" Jake mainly only posed that as a question because he was unsure as to that was a statement truly said all that often. It was said in his books quite a bit between two characters, so Jake just hoped that he used that correctly.

Now back to the door, kneeling with the door most of the way, but not all the way, shut, he was about to examine the hinges. About to. He would have, but there was a thud, coupled with a sliding sound, a couple more thuds, more sliding, and finally one last big thud. Sighing, he could only imagine that being his two piles of books falling over, Jake knew the towers should have been smaller. They were even organized too! He'd have to fix all of them now, that's just great. 

"Books follow the laws of gravity just like everything else. If only they were from an ancient ruin and blessed by a great adventurer to just levitate everywhere." Of course Jake was talking about Indiana Jones who he thought would be spiffy to have magical powers. He may have predominately read, but even he had to do something after reading all of those books in the cabin. Jake may have watched a movie or two in that time.