Saint Joseph School

Joni gives a confused look in the middle of pulling the earmuffs off. "Umm... would you need it in Braille? I can help, but I wouldn't even know where that section is."

Amy tried to stifle a giggle.

"Oh no, no, I have a reader supplied to me by the school if I need one, I just need to find the book that's all. I'm not real good at the Dewey Decimal system as you can see."

She shrugs with a smile.

"Goes with the territory I guess."

"Uh, sure then. What's the book?" She starts to get up, then glances over the size of the library and almost has second thoughts.

Violin sits in ponderous silence for a moment.

"Well." She trails off and then starts to snicker. "You know, I have no idea. Wanna get some lunch instead? Bailey knows his way to the cafeteria now."

Joni glances over her catalog one last time. She shrugs and smiles a little. "Yeah, I think I'm about done anyway. Just hope Bailey can find me wherever I'm supposed to turn in my schedule after we're done." She starts collecting her books. Someone thinks I look normal... She smiles wider.

Amy nods at no particular direction.

"Well, I think you need to turn it in to Gemini. She's in the front office. I like her, but she's kinda hard for me to keep up with." She laughs, "too much of the same voice I guess."

With one hand, she reaches down and grabs ahold of Bailey's leading handle, causing him to snuffle one more time into the carpet before obediently getting up with a responsive tail-wag.

"Let's get some of whatever Madame Lasinfore has cooked up for us today and then we can walk to the office, ok?"

'I've finally made a friend!' is all Amy can can think, barely able to keep her smiles contained.

________________________

Bryan entered the quiet room in the early afternoon. There were a few students milling about the shelves, hunting for the books that they needed. He made his ways through the tables in front of the doors. Moving down the aisle, he subtly waved to the few people he knew. The boy found a table that was relatively empty.

Sitting down at the oak table, he placed his bag on the floor beside him. Trying hard to unzip it as quietly as possible. Bryan removed his books and placed then on the wooden surface in front of him. He opened his geometry book and worked on the first few problems, but he was easily distracted, and frankly, couldn’t be less interested in the math homework that he had been assigned. Bryan rationalized to himself, “I can just finish later tonight.”

He sighed and leaned back in the hard chair. He looked about to the other students in the room; some scribbling in furious strokes in their notebooks and some quietly reading a variety of books, their eyes moving back and forth, devouring the words upon the page. In the distance he heard the barely audible clacking of someone typing on one of the computers, the sound was one of those that blended into the background but as soon as you were aware of it, it became impossible to ignore again.

Classes had started at St. Joe’s and things had seemed to become quiet since Summer’s article had caused an uproar, now things to be almost ominously still. Students were focused on their workloads, which had rapidly filled up.

Bryan rummaged around in his backpack again and this time retrieved a new paperback book. He reclined as best he could in the chair and opened the book. He placed his bookmark upon the table, the small slip of paper was the fortune we had received from the lunch he had with Nennya a few week ago. He smiled at the small print message on the slip of paper. Then he began reading.

Joni quietly enters and nervously takes a seat across from Bryan. "Okay... umm..." She seems unsure how to start.

He fidgeted in his seat as he looked at her. "Joni, I just wanted to know that I am sorry. I know I've siad that a lot now but, you know, it doesn't seem to be enough." He laughed nervously, trying to find the words to speak.

"I mean, you were the very of the first person I went on patrol with and I, well I thought we were friends and I'm tired of feeling awkward around you. I would like this to be behind us." He added. "Whatever it takes."

Voritex wandered into aimlessly into the study hall of the school, absent mindly reading a book, and being followed by three or four other ones. His spiked hair had once again managed to fight off every attempt he had tried to tame it, and his eyes glowed with a steady sky blue light. Sometimes, it feels nice to get out of that armor... To bad it just feels like I'm naked right now Winding through the various shelfs and sections that made up SJS' massive knowledge base, Voritex stopped suddenly when he noticed Byran and Joni sitting at a table engaged in a conversation. Should I join them? Maybe not, that looks pretty heated. Although... I should tell Byran about my little...discovery. Hesitating for a moment, Voritex slipped into a side section, and started to pretend to be focusing on a particular book on the shelfs. In reality, he was listening intently to the whispers that Byran and Joni where shooting back at one another.

Wait for the opening... Remeber, "The wisest warrior strikes at the most oppurtune time"

"Bryan, I got that already. I just..." Joni struggles for the words. "I kinda feel silly being so sensitive about it. Sometimes I'm not really sure I believe anyway. I was just..." She shrugs. "I know you weren't trying to be cruel, and I really don't want you to think of me as cruel either. I don't know in hindsight why I got so annoyed for something like that. Maybe... maybe God is the only thing I've never had to worry about being mocked before." The shrug is followed by a self-mocking smile. "'Welcome to the blue states, Joni'?"

He looked at her seriously, perparing to speak.

"I understand what you mean Joni, trust me I do." He smiled at her, hoping it came off as reassuring. "So, if you know I'm not intentionally a jerk and I know that you aren't burning effigies of me over in the girl's dorms." He laughed trying to ease the tension and show that he was joking. "Then I guess there is no good reason, why we can't just be friends again."

He stood from his seat and came around the table. "Deal?" he asked her as he smiled wide and placed his hand out to shake on it.

*walking down the hall Mana sees Amy, her Seeing eye dog (whos name he doesnt yet know) and Joni head towards the cafeteria* "Oh no!" *hiding behind a wall he watchs them walk away*

"Wow..." He says in a low whisper "I still cant get over her ears. Shes so amazing..." *his thoughts trail off as he suddenly remebers he was going to a class he is now late for*

"Slag!" he mutters "And here I thought I might actually be on time for something..." *sighing he hurries off but not before taking one last look at the amazing beauty he has once again passed*

"...sure. Deal." Joni starts to reach for his hand, then hesitates. "Umm... hold on a moment..." She roots around her pocket for a moment, then pulls out a glove and puts it on.

Then she shakes on it.

Bingo

Voritex walked out of the far side of the aisle, and made a quick roundabout and headed towards Joni and Byran, still being trailed by a line of floating books. When we was about 10 feet away, he used his powers to slide the chair next to Bryan out, and deftly plopped himself into it. The floating books, hovered over to the table, and loudly dropped onto it's scarred oak surface.

"Hey you two, mind if I take a seat? Got a bit of work to finish up, and I swear, if I try and do it in my dorm, I'll throw something through a wall."