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 Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 2:46 pm
“Do you think you’re ready for the final exam, now, or are you going to be staying up later?” Christopher asked as he held the door open for the young woman with the long, dark hair, and equally long legs. The sun had already set, but that was to be expected, seeing as their study group had only started a few hours prior. It was now nearing ten p.m. and their group was only broken up due to the fact that some of them had other exams to study for, as well.
“I’m really hoping a lot of it is just short answer,” he shared, waiting until she crossed through the threshold of the library, leading outside, before following after her, his black backpack slung over his shoulder. “At least with short answer we’ll be able to get pretty close, if we’re not entirely sure.” He would prefer short answer and essay to multiple choice any day. Especially when the professors don’t know how to make good multiple choice questions, and then have answers such as “both a and b” “all of the above” “none of the above” and whatever combination they can think of, in between, to confuse students and turn a test into a guessing game.
“Are you taking the bus home, or do you have a ride tonight?” Chris asked her, not all that thrilled about letting her walk around the city on her own. Part of him liked to believe that people had good intentions, but there was at least a decent portion of him that thought rationally about situations and, sadly, knew that the city wasn’t always the safest place. Especially during poor economic times, such as it was, now.
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Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 11:33 pm
It was 9:43pm and Jada Chamberlyn felt like a washrag that had been wrung out to dry. It was the first study session she'd been able to rejoin for the last month, and between having missed the last four classes and life? She was sorely in need of help catching up with some of the things she had missed. She waved at the woman behind the desk, who had agreed to stay later than library hours for the former library volunteer and her friends, and called out a thank you. Unlike Chris and the other students, Jada didn't have a backpack. She had a notebook and her book in her arms, a pencil tucked behind her ears. She wasn't supposed to lift more than five pounds, so she'd had to share extra books with one of the other students. It had all worked out though.
"I'll probably be staying up later." she admitted. "You know I missed a lot of classes. I refuse to get a B in any of my classes this semester, so I have to study like a fiend. I have a GPA to maintain." she glanced around out of habit as they cleared the glass doors, eyes sweeping the roof-line and the alley entrances for loiterers. Chris was behind her, and she neatly stepped to the side to let him move up next to her. "You know Dr Alenzi. He never gives us simple 'fill in the blank' tests. So I am figuring you'll get your wish. I, on the other hand, am dreading it. He always gripes about my handwriting."
The night was quiet, and she could see the ligts of all-night diners here and there, and the lights of a few hotels. "I was thinking about walking home. I'm staying in a hotel downtown, so it wouldn't be too bad. Plus I could use the exercise." Frankly, though, Jada was peaked. There was a 90% chance she'd just henshin up and take the rooftops rather than the streets. Precious few Negaversers picked a fight with the Senshi of the Kraken. Youma, on the other hand, were uglier than they were smart.
The sound of a cat startled her, made her freeze defensively before she identified the 'threat' and relaxed a little. Shifting her books from one arm to the other, she asked at last, "Did you have any plans for tomorrow? I need to cram all I can on this, and you had a much better handle on it than some of the other people seemed to."
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Posted: Sat May 21, 2011 8:10 pm
He was fine with the night of the city. Sure, he had heard of things that had happened, talks of terrorists running around... even monsters... but had he actually seen any for himself...? Did he actually believe they existed without actual proof of seeing them with his own eyes...? Maybe his name should have been Thomas, rather than Christopher, since he doubted a lot of the things his classmates and friends had told him. Maybe if his father or his brother, with their connection to the military, told him otherwise, then he would definitely be on the look out for strange occurrences. But whether or not his father and/or brother knew anything about it, they had kept it a secret from him.
Until then, he doubted anyone would try to mug someone of his height and strength. No, he wasn't a fighter, but he figured if he could pitch over ninety miles-an-hour, he could probably throw a pretty good punch. Cockiness and inexperience talking...? Maybe. Probably. But he wasn't going to dwell on details like that.
"Are you okay...?" he couldn't help but wonder, frowning lightly in concern when she froze and tensed up, "It was just a cat..." There were a lot of people he knew that were acting strange lately, and he didn't seem to ever get a straight answer when he asked them what was wrong. Everyone these days seemed... spooked... But by what, he didn't know. Why, he didn't know... It did make him wonder what he was missing, though, and if he should know what was going on or if he was just an idiot who went through life blissfully unaware of everything around him.
"Yeah, I know you missed classes... Is everything okay...?" he asked, trying to pry as gently as possible, not wanting to put her on the defensive when a cat could do that as easily as it did. "Were you sick...? Are your other professors giving you any trouble about it?" Chris forced himself to shut his mouth, knowing he had a problem of fretting over things unnecessarily when it came to the people he knew, whether or not they were close friends.
"Don't worry too much about the exam. I hear you on the GPA, though." he agreed with a small grimace. "But no, I don't have many plans tomorrow. Just class and practice, and then I'm done by three, if you wanted to get together to study," he offered, wanting to be available to help if she needed it. "It's not as horrible to understand once you get the right patterns of information memorized," he explained, before joking lightly, "At least we're not in organic chemistry. I've heard horror stories about people not getting higher than a D their first attempt." It was times like this that he was glad he was more of a mathematician than science person.
His smile from joking around faded, though, as she talked about walking home. Yeah, and then he wouldn't sleep unless he had her text him or something when she actually got to where she was staying...
Did he have some kind of problem, needing people to text him that they're okay for him to be able to sleep?? He hadn't come across it in their psychology book yet...
"Mind if I walk you there...? I don't think you should be out alone at this time of night," he admitted, hoping she would take him up on the offer. Otherwise he would just have to deal with not sleeping...
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Posted: Sat May 21, 2011 10:25 pm
"Y- Yeah, I'm fine. Sorry, I'm just a little jumpy. It's late." It was a valid excuse for her to have been surprised by the sound of an animal, wasn't it? "I was a little under the weather." Understatement of the year: A little under the weather didn't keep someone out of classes for a month. Still, what was she supposed to say? I'm a sailor-suited defender of justice and I think someone stabbed me. "The professors are being very understanding, mostly due to the brown-nosing I gave them earlier in the semester." she winked at him, teasing. It had also helped that her father had given a generous donation to the university when she enrolled. It was always Alenzi that gave her trouble. Ugh.
Her heels clicked over the cement as they walked down the sidewalk. "Maybe we could meet back up at 4 in the afternoon? There is a Waffle Hut not too far from here. I've never eaten there, but one of the girls in Ethics said that their waffles are cheap and to die for. As for Organic Chem? Never." she shuddered. "It's useless to someone with my major, thank goodness." Economics and Business Management didn't need a class as specialized as that one. "A 'D' would kill me. See?" she clutched her chest dramatically. "I'm keeling over just thinking about it."
The other student's offer to walk her back to the hotel was very sweet. Jada smiled at him, heaving an inward sigh at the thought that tonight she'd have to take the long way back. "Isn't it out of the way for you though? I'd really rather not be an imposition, especially when it isn't that far away for me." she repositioned the books in her arms, skirt swishing as she shifted and tickling her leg. Chris was a gentleman when it came down to it, and she pretty much knew he would claim it was no imposition, even if it were. "What about your bus? Or were you going to walk home?" she didn't know if he had a car.
She'd certainly let him drive her to the hotel.
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Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 12:54 pm
Chris didn't say anything in response to her excuse about it being late, thinking that he should definitely make sure she got home safely, now. He did frown lightly in concern, though, glancing around to make sure he saw nothing out of the ordinary. Of course, he didn't really know what he should be looking for in the first place, but if he didn't see any suspicious looking people hanging around, then he figured it was okay. For now, at least.
He watched her out of the corner of his eye as she walked, trying to decide if she looked worn down because of school or if she was still getting over being sick. He only knew her from class, but he couldn't help but worry about her, especially if she was walking home by herself every night she stayed late to study.
"May I carry your books for you...?" he asked her, holding a hand out to take them from her if she wanted him to. If not, then he was fine with letting her carry them, but he figured he could at least ask. It wasn't as though it would cause him any trouble, anyway. And he wasn't sure if she didn't have a backpack because she was still weak from being sick or if she just didn't want to bring anything else with her.
"Four sounds good to me. I've never been to that one in particular, but I've been to a Waffle Hut once or twice before," he admitted, figuring it as a place to get pretty decent waffles. He liked waffles, so why not? "Yeah, no, I would never take organic chem," he said with a laugh, understanding how she felt about getting a D. "I would like to keep my academic record clean of 'D's..." And Cs... and although he was okay with Bs, he would really like to avoid them as well.
"Not at all," he told her, not minding walking her home, "No imposition here. My place is just a few blocks away from here, so it's not like I'll be wandering around in the middle of the night for hours," he joked, offering her a reassuring smile. "I'm walking, but I really don't mind." He had a car, sure, but he didn't bother driving it to campus most days. He lived close enough to walk, so he figured he might as well.
"So... what did you have...?" he couldn't help but wonder, hoping he wasn't asking her things she would rather not talk about. "Was it the flu...?"
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Posted: Sun May 22, 2011 7:00 pm
The streets were silent, but she kept sweeping her eyes around the few places a Negaverse was most likely to surprise someone from. It was unfortunate habit, by now. The few people who were walking the streets in this area were mostly fellow students, a few older people. She could hear the sounds of heavy bass, laughter, trashcans falling over as animals prowled through them.
She knew he was looking at her, but she didn't quite know what she could do to salve his concerns. "If you don't mind," was her response to his question. "They get a little heavy after a while." Then again, if she wanted to make sure he recognized that she didn't need protection, no matter how kindly meant, she shouldn't encourage his opinion of just how ill she was. She still set the books into his hand, backing away when she was certain that he had them.
"Only A's for me." Jada said it fiercely, and she meant it. All through High School she had managed to keep up that record, and her first semester in college? Senshidom had blown it. Her GPA was still fabulous, but that one 'B' was a smirch on her pride. She wasn't quite sure she could take another one. Jada was always looking for ways to keep her head up. She had to- it was what was expected, and Jada hated disappointing anyone, especially her family. It was why her decision was more painful than she'd expected. Her parents were used to defiance on little things, like arranged marriages. Not something like this. "I'm more of a literature girl, myself." Back at Crystal, Mrs Greene was a huge fan of Poe. Jada had spent almost three weeks memorizing Fairy-Land for extra credit- it was the teacher's favorite.
"If you're sure you don't mind, I'll accept your escort." she said finally, and gave Christopher a smile. "I really appreciate it. Thanks, Chris." There were a few gentlemen out there, but her companion definitely took some sort of prize for it. Always pleasant. Always courteous. And he wasn't too bad on the eyes, either.
"I had," Jada was torn between telling him the truth, or a lie. Finally, she leaned in, conspiratorially. "Are you really sure you want to know?"
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Posted: Mon May 23, 2011 10:52 am
"Not at all," he reassured her as he took the books and tucked them under his arm, his other hand still holding onto the strap of his backpack on his shoulder. "Maybe heavy for you... you're like a stick," he pointed out, though hoping that she knew he was just teasing. She might have some muscle, but he would be surprised if she worked out to build muscle every day. Hey, she might! But seeing that she was all curves, well... it would be shame for her to lose that due to the need to work out all the time.
Chris nodded again at her mention of all As, understanding how that was like. Anything short of an A made him feel like he was doing a disservice to himself. Why spend all that time studying and learning new things only to sell yourself short...? Of course, that was his own personal belief...
"Oh?" he blinked, curious at Jada's comment, "What kind of literature? Anything in particular, or just in general...?" Her teacher at Crystal sounded a lot like his mother — being a Poe fan. It was why his dog's name was Annabel Lee instead of something normal like... Spot. Chris, himself, was more of a visual person than one for reading. Making things with his hands, playing music, pitching, drafting... those were the things he loved to do, but he could respect someone who was dedicated to literature.
He smiled when she agreed to let him walk her home, shaking his head lightly, not wanting her to worry about it. "No, I don't mind at all," he said for the dozenth time in the last few minutes, though he was more amused by it than anything else. As long as she got home safely... that was all he cared about.
Of course, when she brought up what she had, he blinked curiously, not knowing if he should pull away from her when she leaned in. "Was it contagious...?" he joked, leaning back just slightly. "What was it...?"
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Posted: Tue May 31, 2011 5:54 pm
She scowled at the other student, a manicured hand going to one hip. "I am not a stick!" she protested. She worked hard to find a healthy balance between stick and tubby. Unfortunately, with all the time she'd spent in the hospital over the last 12 months? Jada was starting to lean towards stick. She was losing it in one of the few places a woman didn't want to lose weight too, regretfully.
"Literature in general, really. My literature tutor from when I was twelve, Geoffrey, he was... so passionate about it. Ms. Elise taught us almost everything else, but Geoffrey... he instilled passion for words. I can remember sitting in our library with my sisters while he read Le Fantôme to us." Men and women will betray you, Jada. he'd murmured in her ear. You'll fight with a living creature... But if you don't let a person close enough to take your heart away, and you remember that all you need is a book, then you'll never bleed. Oh, what a liar he'd been.
She shifted her attention back to Chris. "I couldn't imagine tossing a baseball around." she confessed at last. "I don't think I'd have the coordination for it. I just started trying to play the piano again and realized that the last year I've gone mostly unpracticed, and forgot everything. I can only imagine throwing a ball is something similar. In some ways it is like riding a bike? But on the other hand, you have to train those muscles up. I don't even think I could get the ball from the mound to the plate." Baseball would be fun to try sometime, though.
When he asked if her illness was contagious, she laughed, leaning in towards him. "I was suffering," she told him, "From a severe case of.... car-accident-itis." It sounded better than a Severe Case of the Stabbies.
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Posted: Wed Jun 01, 2011 8:06 am
Chris snorted at her claim, holding up his free hand in a half-hearted attempt to defend himself. "Sorry, sorry," he quickly apologized, though he was still grinning. Stick or not, she was still beautiful — no denying that, but he also didn't want to insult her or make her self-conscious about her weight. That would be a jerkish thing to do...
"Learning passion from passion...? I can understand that," he said softly as her attention seemed to slip away to something of the past. What it was he had no idea, and he couldn't decide if it was a good memory or a bad memory, but what she said still made sense to him. Although he'd been sent to baseball camps and such, he still hadn't really fallen in love with the sport until he learned from the experts why they were so passionate about it.
He blinked when she mentioned baseball, wondering for a split second if she could read his mind, before deciding it was just a coincidence. He offered her a smile and small laugh. "Sort of yes and no? I wouldn't say it's exactly like riding a bike... Probably more like playing the piano," he explained. "Not that I play the piano... but let's pretend the guitar is somewhat similar. For pitching, at least... we have to practice for accuracy and speed. Which reminds me... I need to work more on my changeup... " he trailed off, making a note in his head to focus on that particular pitch more. "But hey, you never know. Even if it turns out you can't pitch, you might be an awesome hitter, or outfielder," he grinned, knowing everyone had their strengths, so it wasn't really something she should fret about.
Of course, when she told him why she'd been out of class, he came to a complete stop on the sidewalk, staring at her in horror. "You were in a car accident?!" he sputtered, quickly looking her over to check for any signs that she might be more hurt than she was letting on. "Are you okay?! Are you in pain?? Jeez, Jada. That's a little worse than just being sick!" Okay, maybe he worried too much, but how the heck was he supposed to know she'd been in an accident??
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Posted: Fri Jun 03, 2011 12:25 am
"You're not sorry." she couldn't resist teasing him, just a little. "If you weren't carrying my books for me, I'd..." she waggled her finger at him playfully. It hit a sore spot, but not because of his words or what he'd said, but because she was losing the battle she was fighting with her body- and it wasn't her fault.
"I don't think you can learn to love something without being around people who love it." she said at last. As for baseball? It was a sport, involving running, and would be a fun way to get the Court working together. Maybe. They always worked on drills, and hand to hand combat, and while they were a small army- technically- they could use something to break up the tedium. (And Jada couldn't stand not being fabulous at everything she did.) Being near someone who played it had gotten her thinking about learning to play. Unfortunately, now was not the time.
A car went zooming by, the bass loud in the night, and a horn honked at them as it passed. "It happens to everyone." she said simply. Now that she knew his reaction to him being in a simple car accident, she was glad she had lied to him. Goodness knows what his reaction would have been to the truth. "I'm fine. Nothing broken. I just need to be careful with how much I lift. It's why I didn't bring my bag. As for pain, that's what my pills are for. I can have all the tylenol I can eat, and I have something stronger for bedtime if I need it."
Sometimes she needed it, but she didn't take it. She didn't like the feelings it gave her. She couldn't control herself very well. Like when you drank too much, except your body was just heavy, without the good feelings that alcohol brought. "I'm fine, Chris." she went back to where he was frozen on the sidewalk, laying her hand on his arm. "Come on, we aren't too far from the hotel now."
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Posted: Tue Jun 07, 2011 12:52 pm
He frowned at her, although it was more sad than anything else. He wish that he'd known she'd been in an accident. He would have been a lot more helpful than he had been... Especially since she was apparently still in pain. Chris didn't like not knowing if his friends were okay or not. And while he didn't know if she considered him a friend or just an acquaintance, he still enjoyed his time around her.
Chris let her lead him away from where he'd frozen, his head ducked down guiltily, still wishing he'd known, although... there probably wasn't much he could do about it, now. Well, he could understand that she wouldn't want to advertise something like that. She might have even more people harassing her about taking things easy and just... bothering her to death about things she probably really didn't want to be bothered about.
"If you ever need any help with anything, you can call me," he said, glancing down at her as they made their way towards her hotel. "Anything at all... A ride... furniture moving," he paused, hoping she knew he was at least half-joking. "Or just to study. That's fine, too. We'll get you through this exam, okay? Nothing lower than an A," he tried to reassure her, not wanting her to get too stressed about studying, but also wanting her to know that he'd at least help her if she wanted it.
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Posted: Sun Oct 09, 2011 10:54 pm
"Hey." she leaned in towards him, nudging him lightly. "Don't worry about it Chris. I'm fine. Promise. You don't need to look like I just kicked a puppy." Chris was a sweet guy. "I really appreciate you being so patient with me today on the study session. I'm really behind the times in some of these classes."
It wasn't too much further to the hotel, and when they reached the entrance she reached out and collected her books from his arms. "Be careful what you offer, too." she teased, shifting them around. "You never know when I'll take advantage of your kindness. Hopefully I'll need help moving soon. I'll get you to carry all the heavy stuff, and I'll just move my cat."
Inside she could see the night staff moving around. Her favorite night clerk was on duty, so she'd have to stop and talk to him. Maybe he'd even arrange to sneak her up some of that delicious mousse pie they had in the kitchens. "I appreciate your help, Chris. We'll do good on the test, I know it." she grinned, eyes mischievous. "And if I actually get an A, we'll swing by the diner, on me." No question in that one. "Goodnight. Be safe, okay?"
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