A place of serenity an- OOOOOH BOOKS!

[Heather Sutherland]

Heather sat quietly in a corner nursing a headache she had from all the kids that had been past her work area the last day or two. It had just built up and up, frustrated or upset kids slowly wearing away at her mind, sometimes it tended to do that to her, unfortunately. 

She had decided that it was time to get a little break from it on her day off. She didn't really feel like bothering Trevor or Oneyka so she just decided to wander into the library instead. It was like her safe place. There weren't a huge number of places in the academy that you could get privacy, but the library was one which allowed for some such privacy. She found that most students in there were quiet or introverted, and there also weren't that many of them, so not too emotionally stressful. 

She sat on a beanie chair around a corner, her legs to one side, wearing a teal dress. The girl's eyes danced across the pages of a murder mystery her sister had recommended to her the last time the two of them had spoken, it did make her a little somber, she did miss her sister sometimes. She knew that her big sister was proud of her though, which made getting on with her job rather easy. 

She looked up whenever a kid got close enough to be possibly greeting her, able to tell from the distance of their emotions, a few of them recognised her from the admin area of the school, a few of them found her cute or attractive, some were just getting books. 

[Steinbeck Dunn]

Becky had missed the library at Bellefonte, which was pretty funny when she thought about it. She loved the bookstore that was her home and she’d always thought that she spent so much time in Bellefonte’s library because it reminded her of that. But, even while she was away at home, she’d found herself thinking about the library and missing the quiet, contemplative nature of the space. It had imprinted itself on her heart in its own right.

So of course, one of her first stops when she got back was to head right down to the library. With a small, content smile on her face, she headed towards the fiction section, planning on taking out a few books to keep her busy for the next couple of weeks. The library seemed pretty empty, which was honestly how Becky preferred it, so even once she’d grabbed the books she wanted to rent — Maze Runner, Moriarty, and Plague Dogs — she thought she might spend a bit of time enjoying the peace and quiet and starting one of the books she had tucked under her arm. Spotting a girl sitting alone in a corner, she thought that that might be a good place to look for some quiet company.

She stepped up a bit awkwardly and offered the other girl a smile. “Hello,” she greeted her quietly. Her voice was almost a whisper. The library was nearly silent and she hated to disrupt the peace. “Do you mind if I, um, sit here with you? It’s pretty quiet back here and I wanted to get some reading in.” She paused for a moment before hastily tacking on, “But if you’d rather sit alone, that’s fine too.”

[Heather Sutherland]

Heather found herself becoming quickly absorbed in her book. Thinking about how the character's reminded her of characters in other works of fiction. It was pretty well written all things considered. Her sister clearly still knew what her taste in books was like, which made her smile inwardly. No matter how much distance she drew from her home and her books, some things always stuck with her.

She peered up as she felt a presence moving right near her, it was a girl who looked to be near the same age as Heather, quite shy, yet friendly. If her emotions were any indication. It was quite refreshing, most students who saw her felt different emotions. Curiosity, confusion, sometimes even lust, which was extremely gross. 

Yet the girl just seemed to want to relax. Heather could appreciate that. She smiled very gently to the other girl, her lips parting to speak her soft British Accent. "Hello there, and no not all. I'd love some company. Just as long as it isn't a swarm of people." She meant that, she couldn't be dealing with a massive amount of people at the moment. But one, shy girl was actually quite soothing. 

[Steinbeck Dunn]

Steinbeck was a little worried the girl might tell her to bug off. Not because the girl looked like she was mad or annoyed, but because Becky always seemed to think the worst possible outcome of any social interaction would occur. However this time, like almost every other time, she was pleasantly surprised. She returned the girl’s smile and gathered her books up better so that she could sit down beside her in one of the other beanbag chairs.

“Thanks! And don’t worry, it’s just me, I think,” she promised. She didn’t think that she would attract a swarm of people, at least. She knew that some people have powers that were sensitive to the presence of other people. Maybe she was one of them. Or maybe she just preferred not to be crowded. Becky could respect both reasons. She placed her books on the ground beside her and picked up Moriarty — she was in the mood for a good mystery novel. 



Looking over at the girl, Becky remembered that she should probably introduce herself. “I’m Becky,” she blurted after a moment. “Um, what are you reading?”

[Heather Sutherland]

Heather felt a little bit of anxiety coming from the other girl, which struck her as a little odd. She didn't see why someone wanting to read should be anxious about Heather. Heather wasn't exactly an imposing person or anything, she had been told that she actually was quite the opposite. She was pleased when it seemed to just be a first impressions thing.

She smiled, again curiosity was quite a normal reaction, especially to Heather and her reasons for not liking being in crowds. She had nothing against people, she quite liked them to the contrary. It was just the side effects of her power that she disliked. 

She smiled gently to the other girl, holding her hand out to shake, it felt like the proper thing to do since they were sitting down, not standing up. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Becky." The girl smiled gently. "My sister's keeper" She then blushed lightly realising she had forgotten her own introduction. "I-I mean, I'm Heather." She squeaked.

[Steinbeck Dunn]

Becky noticed her hand a few seconds later than might have been best, but she shook it anyway. “It’s nice to meet you too, Heather,” she replied. She was probably the most awkward person on the planet, so Heather’s little mistake didn’t bother her at all. My Sister’s Keeper was a wonderful book (even thought it wasn’t exactly happy, light reading) and it made her smile to see someone enjoying one of her favorites.

Although it was hard to find a book that she didn’t like in some capacity. She was pretty easy to please in that regard.

“That’s a great one,” she said, giving Heather another awkward smile. “I’ve been meaning to reread it. But I always want to reread everything, so…” She realized she was babbling a little bit and blushed, looking down at the cover of her own book. "Sorry."

[Heather Sutherland]

Heather smiled to the other girl as their hands met, the close proximity allowed her to focus more fully on the other girl's emotions, blocking out a few more of the others that were nearby, making her head a decidedly quieter place to be. She felt a tiny bit of awkward seeping through and did her best to keep a confident, reassuring smile. The girl definitely seemed nice, not really any negative or bad emotions, that Heather picked up on in any case.

Heather, much to her recent dismay, had realised that she had barely been reading any fiction in the last few months, spending most of her time on her intern-ship and her college work, now that the intern-ship was done for now, she had more time to spend on herself, and after speaking to her sister, she decided to devote a large portion of that time, to books. 

Heather chuckled a little nervously at the other girl's comment. "My sister told me I'd probably love it, it seems pretty good so far. Been meaning to get ontop of my reading." She paused for a second, trying to shake off the awkward. "What about you?" She turned her head with a gentle smile.