Welcome to Gaia! ::

English class was perhaps one of the few classes that Howl was willing to let his creative juices flow publicly. At least, in these surroundings. Casually leaning against his hand and glancing towards a wall where a window should have been, the transfer student couldn't help but feel a bit stifled in this facility.

It was here that Howl seemed to have a different feel. Certainly, the structure still seemed the same as most of the other classes (though everything was much more lax than P.E.). Yet, what was written on paper was typically between himself and the teacher. Unless they needed to do peer editing or anything, but he'd get over that hurdle when the time came. It was in this class that his creativity could flow.

When it came to writing, Howl found it rather enjoyable. Returning his eyes back to his paper, he thoughtfully finished off his last written thoughts for the assignment, seeming to etch the letters skillfully in a rather elegant script. It wasn't quite calligraphy, but it was a much fancier version of cursive. Now that he was finished, he sat back in his chair, his posture still upright and proper. One of those advantages with finishing his work early meant he could indulge himself slightly in one of his other hobbies: People-watching.

The first stop his eyes took was on their teacher. However, there seemed to be little to nothing interesting going on there. Making certain to flip his paper over for now, he then began to look at the other students in front of him. Unknown to Alexis, Howl noticed the strange posture which this other boy seemed to be taking. And such was intriguing. Someone who shifted posture in such a fashion usually was hiding something and hoping the change in posture would serve as a shield. Silently, the feminine lad continued to watch Alexis, curious as to what would happen next from his current viewpoint.

If only Howl could see the front side of this other student, then he could have seen more exact emotions. From where he sat, the new transfer student could only hypothesize what sorts of emotions were running through this boy's mind as his body moved. For a while, the boy remained slightly huddled over his work. Then the boy's posture suddenly rose and straightened up, the faint popping sounds of the boy's spine reaching his ears. The sound of paper ripping soon followed, which the teal-haired lad found extremely strange. Even stranger, Howl could see from where he sat that the boy set the paper to the side of the desk where Howl's teal eyes could see.

Initially, the temptation to attempt looking at this boy's paper didn't even phase Howl. Instead, he raised a hand to smooth out the earrings that usually would be dangling from his ears. His fingers were greeted by air, which momentarily puzzled him.

Oh, it is so hard to break such simple habits he mentally mused, remembering why his dangling earrings were no longer in their proper spots. Silly school dress codes reducing him to wearing mere clear studs. He brushed his hair back slightly with the backside of his hand. Returning to his only sense of entertainment for the hour, the lad seemed to think deeply about the possibilities. The other student was writing again, but seemed to move his head back and forth. It seemed like he was rewriting whatever it was on the previous piece of paper.

Most certainly, he must have wrote something on the paper which would not be appropriate to turn in. Or perhaps he drew a picture, and was afraid that the drawings were not good or would earn the scorn of his fellow classmates. Once more Howl's hand went up to reach for the non-existant gems that were supposed to be hanging from his ears, and once more he grabbed onto nothing. Mentally debating between the two possibilities, the lad's eyes casually attempted to take a glance at the paper, but found he was just too far to actually see the content. It didn't seem like there were any pictures, but he couldn't be 100% certain at this distance.

Though Howl did enjoy observing people, he was not necessarily an extremely nosy person. It was not in his nature. However, his curiosity snagged along the smooth edges of the other student's paper.

And then fate struck. The poor boy's paper seemed to have a mind of its own, for it just up and found its way to Howl's feet. At first, the long-haired lad looked at the paper. He had finished his work, so there would be no problem in picking up the paper and handing it back to the boy with a smile, right? Leaning over in a graceful motion, he picked up the paper between his fingers, casually glancing and noticing the whole reason for this boy's uncertain mannerisms.

Even though this "Alexis" seemed to find his use of script to be an embarrassment, Howl could not help but smile and appreciate the penciled in elegance. He held out this boy's paper.

"Here you go, Alexis." was all he'd dare to whisper at the moment. This would not be the end of the situation for Howl though. Already in his mind, he was planning to approach this boy about his lettering. Howl smiled kindly to the other student, but his smile also seemed to contain a small bit of excitement to it as well.

When the bell rang, Howl rather promptly placed a hand on the other boy's shoulder.

"Alexis, was it? I could not help but notice the script you wrote on that paper you just put in your pocket." He was up front and rather polite about the situation. He slowed down slightly and eventually stopped just outside of the classroom.

"Do you practice calligraphy in your spare time?" he asked calmly, but with a voice that still seemed completely interested.

Before the lad had accused Howl of bad intents, the long haired boy kindly stated "It shows that you have spent much time practicing your letters."

And then came the accusation.

"Torture?" Having no ulterior motive or plans of teasing, Howl couldn't help but sound surprised. "Oh no, my dear lad, I just wanted to know how much time you spent practicing. I know I practice each evening about an hour with my lettering." He smiled quite kindly again, hoping the boy understood he was in the presence of a fellow calligraphy-goer.

All of the screaming had managed to get some saliva spattered on his face. Howl sighed and wiped it away with a single gesture. So it would seem this school was filled with either improper young men who found delight in the harassment of others, or improper young men who were too timid to stand up for themselves. And though this boy did speak up, at the same time he was classified as the second grouping in Howl's mind.

To answer the boy's question, he said in a clear voice "I practice in my dorm each evening. Though I suppose my writing in a class like this could be considered extra practice." He never really considered it such, but one could technically consider any use of script to be practice for calligraphy.

He did notice the strange color that Alexis' face had turned and commented "Are you feeling okay, sir? Your face is all flushed." Without permission, the effeminate lad placed a hand on the boy's forehead as well as his own.

Of course, a couple boys in the hallway couldn't help but cough out rather loudly "FAGS!" Howl didn't even dignify their remark with a reaction of any sort.

Withdrawing his hand as a few more spatters of spit managed to find their way to his face, Howl couldn't help but sigh slightly. This boy needed to learn about volume control. Using the hand that had been feeling Alexis' forehead for a temperature, he wiped away the saliva.

"I suppose you speak the truth, my friend. I could not feel a temperature..."

And that was when the boy backed up into the lockers. Shaking his head slightly, he stepped up to where the boy tumbled and stood there. He was concerned, but at the same time wanted to maintain his refined air. So instead of kneeling over like a worried mother and fawning over the dear, he simply asked "Are you okay?"

For some reason, this boy reminded him a lot of Simon from his P.E. class, with how flustered he seemed to get over the slightest things. Spines apparently did not grow on trees in this place. When the boy offered his hand for a shake, Howl gripped onto it firmly, but still light enough to be considered polite.

"Yes, I know, Alexis. I did pick up your paper." He offered a polite chuckle before continuing on. "My name is Howl Wickham, and like you, I am also new to this school. I do practice my calligraphy in front of my roommate, if he happens to be around when I practice. However, Franz is so busy doing different activities all over the school, I sometimes won't see him until just before lights out." He nodded his head and smiled at the boy.