Down the hill

[Tomas Vega]

You know what was harder than walking with webbed feet? Walking with webbed feet while wearing shoes! The entire uniform was uncomfortable. Sure, Tom's skin was smooth and his body was still humanoid enough to be wearing clothing, but the neck was just a little too stuffy, especially with his gills getting tickled and scratched by the fabric. Yet here he was! Wearing shoes and wearing a stuffy uniform because he'd fooled himself into thinking that would make him stand out less than he already did. Well, at least it was quiet in the library, even though he still got glances here and there. 

Tom sighed sadly, grabbing yet another book and placing it on top of his pile. Carrying these was still difficult since the pile was getting so tall he could barely see above it, but he wanted to get started in choosing his books for the summer. Once again, he would be spending the free time at school instead of at home. He disliked winter in Chile anyway, since the water got too cold for him to swim. No, it was far better to spend summer here, enjoying the warm lake for once. Besides, the school was going to get semi-deserted, right? That would be a good time to walk around, stop hiding in his room, and stretch his limbs without anyone staring or, at least, not as many people staring. 

He stood with the pile, making an effort not to lose his balance on his webbed feet. Good. There. The problem was he could barely see now. Okay, slow. Go slow. Go- Of course he crashed. What else was going to happen? Down he went along with his pile of books, his feet bending under him. Not only that but he'd managed to crash against someone else. Excellent! Perfect way to start his life at Bellefonte.

Tom was left groaning on the floor, wincing at the pain in his ankles. Could life give him a break? Just once? Please? Wait- hadn't he crashed against someone? He looked up in panic, staring at said person. "Are you okay?!"

[Jaylin Spencer]

Jaylin was minding her own business, that's exactly how all her stories start. Anyways this time she actually was minding her own business. She was trying to find a book to help her with her science project. Obviously the universe held some grudge with her because one moment she was on her way to find the book, and next minute she was on the ground....with some guy's books on top of her. She probably had picked the wrong to day to wear heels, like a really bad day. She wasn't even sure how she didn't see it coming, maybe because she was more focused on the stupid Call number.

She quickly stood up once she was sure she was free from whatever had fallen on her...books. She turned to yell at the guy when she saw him and frowned. He was weird looking, and had this really panicky look on his face like he had ran over her dog. Not that she would ever have such an animal because they were all evil with little beady eyes. "Yeah, dude...I'm fine but we really have to work on your balance."


She tilted her head and the shook the question from it as she started to pick up his books. Balancing them she walked over and put them on the closet table and then jogged over to help the guy up. "So dude, why are you so weird looking, if you don't mind me asking. Not that there's anything wrong with that...just curious."

[Tomas Vega]

Work on his balance. He winced at that bit. "Sorry..." He added in a small voice, already pulling his books into a pile again and avoiding her eyes. Oh, he could feel her eyes on him. He almost frowned, still staring down at his books. Why did this always happen to him? Always the freak show. "I- uh... I know i do." We though? He blinked at her curiously. What an odd way to speak. And then she asked another question. He winced again and looked up at her, almost smiling. Why did people say things like that? 'Nothing wrong with it'? It's like when people asked about someone else's sexuality. 'Are you gay? Not that I have a problem with it'.

"It's my mutation." He said shortly, standing up as well as he could, using a table for support as he held his books with the other one, and placed there the ones he'd managed to collect, and then resumed crawling on the floor to get the others. "It's- uh- it's underwater breathing and stuff." He tried to explain, "It just- uh, it shows like this." He shrugged, "It's not a big deal." He hoped it wasn't. He really hated it when people judged him for how he looked. Would she ask about someone's home country if the other person was, say, black? He didn't think so.

[Jaylin Spencer]

Jaylin wasn't trying to be rude, she just said what was on her mind and she shrugged "Nope, we because you probably need to work on keeping those feet level. What better way than through...training?" She was obviously thinking about how to work on his balance and everything else. he was just clumsy and she knew that she could help him out. Lest he knock over the wrong person and into a fight.

"Oh, that makes sense, I'm jaylin by the way" She said holding out her hadn't once he all the books. "Sorry if my question came out rude" She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly. She had no idea how to deal with this kind of a problem. Like he was a giant fish and while she had no room to judge, she kinda didn't really prepare for something.