Gina would be so dead if Miss Quinn caught her up on top of the bookshelves. It wasn’t her fault that they were so appealing of a perch, nor was it the gargoyle’s fault that she had wings that allowed her to reach said-perch. Gina lay atop two bookshelves, which were pushed back-to-back, with a copy of Jane Eyre opened in front of her. It was a lazy day, which Gina fully intended to spend reading. For the most part, she was left alone—occasionally, an unsuspecting student would pass by one side or the other of her two shelves, perusing tomes. And, seeing as Gina knew most everyone, she let them pass. She was too absorbed with her reading to pester familiar faces.

That wasn’t to say that the gargoyle went totally unnoticed—the second floor, as it did open up onto the first, allowed for any students who went up there to see the gargoyle. Most of them laughed and waved quietly, some of them chastising Gina for her antics, and others complimenting her. No one turned her in to Miss Quinn, however, for which the gargoyle was grateful. It wasn’t as though Gina was being destructive or anything—she had just found a creative spot to read.

She saw a flicker of motion out of the corner of her eyes—a figure, milling around the corner and onto one of the aisles over which the gargoyle lingered. Gina leaned over to look, to see if she knew the person or not.

It was time for the search to begin. Vicente had no idea who he was. All he knew was that he was in New York, he had a first name (maybe) of Vicente, and he was a mutant. It was terrible to have to wake up in the morning and not realize exactly who he was, but Vicente was going to have to make do. He couldn’t lose hope. Sure, it was a bit unfortunate that the healer at this particular campus had no idea how to help him, but Vicente was going to have to strive on. If they couldn’t help him, he would have to help himself.

So, where was the best place to begin searching? That was right, the library. With access to books and computers, he should be able to start there. This was a school, after all, wasn’t it? What was it for if not to research?

Sadly, he still didn’t have many clothes to his name. Besides what he walked in with (black t-shirt, jeans, and pink shoes), all he had was a few gym clothes that the school provided him. Feeling like he didn’t want to wander around in a bloodstained shirt, Vicente opted for sweatpants and a black hoodie that the school provided for its students. He thought the large red “X” was a bit much, but he was not about to turn down free clothes right now.

Strolling into the library, his pink shoes glaring under the daylight that seeped in through the large windows, Vicente peeked around, trying to get his bearings inside. A couple of students glanced at him and, except for a few giggles from fellow teenage girls, he was not paid much attention. So, unheeded, he moved in and began to explore.

Now…if only he could find the computers…

The giggles grabbed Gina’s attention. She leaned over the bookshelf’s edge, peering down the narrow chasm formed by two, parallel bookshelves. Down below, a tall guy with short black hair stalked along the aisleway. From this angle, the pink shoes were something of an eyesore and quite apparent, but what was even more apparent than that was that this boy was not someone that Gina recognized. A new kid! Gina slid a bookmark into place and snapped the book shut. She didn’t know this person, and this had to be remedied right away!

She unfolded herself, scooting to the corner where the side of the bookshelf met the front. She paused, contemplating her descent, before she leapt—her wings caught air without beating, and the gargoyle descended with a loud Whooooosh!

“Little louder than I meant that to be,” the gargoyle soliloquized, straightening herself and looking at the guy she was ambushing. Whether or not he was looking, she grinned goofily, her wings fluttering as they closed.

“Gina Schuyler, that better not have been you on the bookshelf!” one of the library aides chastised, having heard the noise and spied the offender.

“It wasn't me, I'm innocent!” the gargoyle proclaimed, bolting down the aisle and catching-up with the new kid, “I’ve been, uh, with this guy the whole time. Giving him a tour of the library. Yeah.”

She shrugged her shoulders and winked at the guy, grinning mischeviously. From elsewhere in the library, the sentiment of “little imp” pursued her, but it was spoken kindly. The gargoyle just beamed.

“Hi,” she greeted, turning her attention to the new guy in question. He was... ridiculously tall, “I’m Gina.”

Vicente really was at a loss as to where to look. He had just started his search and was immediately a little intimidated by the height and silence in the library. Except for a glance here and there, maybe a giggle thrown in, nobody really seemed to acknowledge the larger teen as he began his exploration. It was a bit sad since he would have loved help from someone, anyone, that was more knowledgeable about the school. Sadly, he didn’t know which room Andrea lived in and Rebecca, well, he doubted she was in the mood to really be of assistance.

So, that left him floundering on her own. But, there had to be something, he couldn’t just sit around on his butt all day and hope that something would come up. No, he needed to be proactive. But, in order to do so, he needed to actually get started.

That was why, right now, he was here, standing in the “C” section of the library, looking for the computers. Instead all he found were books. Books, books, and more books. Psh, it was obvious that the computer would be in the “C” section! So why weren’t they here?

He turned and was about to grab someone’s attention when suddenly--

>> “I’ve been, uh, with this guy the whole time. Giving him a tour of the library. Yeah.”[/color]

Vicente blinked. Thanks to his introduction to Andrea, and meeting a variety of students at the school, he was not as startled when he met someone that was physically mutated. Though the girl was gray skinned, had wings, horns and talons, he had to admit that she was rather cute. He only had a second to give her a glance over before she caught her grin in that mischevious way.

Meekly he nodded to the aide that had decided to chase her down the aisle. Once the person vanished Vicente smiled as he turned back to the MUCH shorter female who greatly resembled a gargoyle of some kind.

>> “Hi, I’m Gina.”[/color]

He had to chuckle as he smiled back. “Vicente. I-It’s nice to meet you.”

Gina smiled, rocking on her feet as they exchanged introductions with one another.

>> “Vicente. I-It’s nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you as well,” Gina echoed, tilting a smile at him. Her gaze darted back towards the end of the aisle, from whence the aide had chased her, but she had seemed to move-on. Thus, the gargoyle returned her attention to the new kid.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around before,” the gargoyle commented, “Are you new here?”

Of course he was new. Gina knew everyone, and anyone who she didn’t know had to be new. It was simply how things worked. The girl was merely making conversation with the guy—and, possibly, a new friend out of him.

“The library’s a pretty impressive place,” Gina explained, “Lot’s of books, a lot of which is courtesy of Miss Quinn.”

>> “Nice to meet you as well. I don’t think I’ve seen you around before…Are you new here?”[/color]

“You could say that. I’m, heh, pretty much new everywhere,” he mumbled.

In all honesty it was the dead truth. He was not only new to this school, this city, this world, he was new to this form of existence. With no idea who he was, he might as well have been a blank spot on the universe. Everything was pretty much new to him and he was going to have to learn a lot to just get by again. At least he remember the basics, now it was just filling in all the personal stuff.

He blinked as the girl seemed to be taking a breath for another wave of questions and/or commentary. She was a bubbly one, cute, and just seemed so effervescent. It was like she was a living can of soda pop that was just ready to go bouncing about the room. She was a stark contrast to the other people he had met so far. Both were either very innocent or bitter. Gina looked like she had had some experiences but she didn’t let them get her down.

Maybe he could take a lesson from her.

>> “The library’s a pretty impressive place…Lot’s of books, a lot of which is courtesy of Miss Quinn.”[/color]

Vicente tilted his head. He really didn’t know who that was. Though he had been at the mansion for a few days, most of those had been spent in hiding or waiting to see if he would suddenly remember something about his old life. Unfortunately nothing was coming up.

He sighed he nodded in agreement.

“This place is pretty big,” he admitted. “I really don’t even know where to start. Um…” he looked down to her again. Wow she was short. “Do you know where the computers are? I looked in the “C” aisle but nothing was there.”

>> “You could say that. I’m, heh, pretty much new everywhere.”

“Everywhere?” Gina echoed. What was he, some kind or rapid-ager? How tragic. Was he born only recently, and going to die soon? Gina hoped-not, but that was the first reasonable answer that came to her mind. She gave pause, but as soon as Vicente began to answer her, she lit-up once again.

>> “This place is pretty big. I really don’t even know where to start. Um… Do you know where the computers are? I looked in the “C” aisle but nothing was there.”

Gina breathed a faint laugh, but then caught herself. She didn’t want to make the new guy uncomfortable by deriding him, but… who’d heard of something sillier? Computers, in the “C” section? For real? It was cute, but… ridiculous.

“Oh, computers!” Gina said with a nod, gesturing for Vicente to follow as she made her way down the aisle, “Ever since I’ve been here, they’ve been at some tables on the other side of the library, I’ll take you to ‘em.”

The gargoyle gave him the benefit of the doubt—maybe, before she came to the school, the librarian did keep the computers in the “C” section. Not now, though. The gargoyle sauntered along, humming to herself.

“Got any roomies?” Gina inquired conversationally, “Or are you in a single room?”

Vicente was beginning to realize that he had said something that must have made him look a little foolish. The young woman, Gina, looked as if he had said something that was completely ridiculous, but she was far too nice to say anything about it. In a way he had to thank her for that. Vicente was feeling sensitive enough about how alien he felt in his place; anything, even something so little as being allowed to save face felt good.

A small blush on his cheeks, he nodded as Gina began to take control of his hopeless misdirection.

>> “Oh, computers! Ever since I’ve been here, they’ve been at some tables on the other side of the library, I’ll take you to ‘em.”[/color]

“Thanks, I appreciate that,” he smiled earnestly and allowed her to take the lead.

Casually Vicente began to glance around the entire library, eyeing the massive collections, the décor, the number of students who were simply sitting around and studying for their classes. Some were very odd too! There was a table where he saw some students who clearly had physical mutations, and others that were more subtle (though occasionally he could have sworn to seeing glimpse of floating pencils, glowing eyes, smoking ears, etc.).

He had to admit that this school had a surprise around every corner.

>> “Got any roomies? Or are you in a single room?”[/color]

“Hmm?” he turned his attention back Gina and smiled a little at her humming song. She certainly was a cute bundle of energy. He shook his head as he refocused on the mission at hand. “Oh, no,” Vicente admitted. “Single room, I guess, in…the…girl’s wing…” he scratched the back of his head a little shyly. That was going to be fun to bring up. He hoped one of the boy’s rooms opened up soon…

>> “Thanks, I appreciate that.”

“No problem,” the gargoyle said lightly, “Always glad to help.”

Gina hummed to herself as she walked, and when she voiced her inquiry, she could see that she had pried Vicente from his thoughts. She chuckled. New students were so adorable, and so easy to pick-out. They were the ones who stared in amazement at the shows of mutations. Obviously, new kids weren’t used to people being so open about what they could do, or to see visibly-mutated kids acting so comfortable, and so normal. It was an amusing thing to behold.

>> “Hmm? “Oh, no. Single room, I guess, in…the…girl’s wing…”

Gina had nodded her head attentively as they walked, up until Vicente stated what wing he was in. Her tail twitched in disbelief, and she turned. They’d arrived at the computers, but Gina was too preoccupied with talking to announce that they were there just yet.

“Girl’s wing?” Gina echoed incredulously, “Now, that’s something. How odd… why’d they do that?”

If and when Vicente answered, she shrugged and smiled mildly, her tone reassuring as she said, “Well, look on the bright side… the girl’s wing smells a lot better, don’t you think?”

She chuckled and gestured towards the computers, “They usually require a username and password… if they haven’t given you one yet, however, you can use mine.”

>> “Girl’s wing? Now, that’s something. How odd… why’d they do that?”[/color]

Vicente smiled a little shyly. He was still a little embarrassed by having to stay in the girl’s wing (even if Rebecca was a pretty awesome neighbor) so saying it out loud was still a bit disarming. He knew he should be thankful that at least he had a home and a safe place to stay. It made him feel better to know that in his time of need, at least there was some people out in the world who could offer him help. Yes, he was thankful for that.

But the girl’s wing? Ah well, he was slowly getting used to it. It was just like any other room. The only thing that was irritated was having to explain his situation every time he ran into someone new.

>> “Well, look on the bright side… the girl’s wing smells a lot better, don’t you think?”[/color]

Her toothy grin. It was adorable. Vicente found himself grinning like a fool at her expression, nodding in agreement.

“Haha, yeah…I…I guess I can’t really argue with that.” he responded.

Still smiling, he averted his eyes to look around his surroundings. It really was a massive and beautiful library. Though he wished that whatever he was looking for was far easier to find.

It wasn’t long, though, that he got his wish. Gina, his personal tour guide had managed to find the computers and the young man was pleased. He had made his first steps toward starting his journey of self-discovery. He didn’t really know how he was going to proceed from here, but hey, he found the computers. Yaay.

>> “They usually require a username and password… if they haven’t given you one yet, however, you can use mine.”[/color]

He turned back to the young gargoyle with a winning smile.

“If it won’t be too much trouble, I appreciate your help,” he said with a nod. “I’ve mainly been in the room. I haven’t really started classes or received things like that. I promise I won’t look at any questionable.” he grinned and chuckled.

Vicente smiled back broadly at her, and Gina’s tail curled. There we go. Get the shy kid to smile some more, get him to loosen up and relax. Some shy kids, particularly guys, always felt so on-edge. The trick was trying to get them to loosen up.

>> “If it won’t be too much trouble, I appreciate your help. I’ve mainly been in the room. I haven’t really started classes or received things like that. I promise I won’t look at any questionable.”

Gina smiled and shrugged a shoulder, “No problem.”

She leaned over, taloned fingers dancing expertly over the keys, entering her student ID number and, after a brief interjection from the [tab] key, her password. She then hit enter, and stepped back. The cursor turned into an hourglass, to show that it was loading, and the screen also announced the transition.

“There you go,” Gina said, “The computer is all yours.”

Should she hang around, or go do something else? It’d be rude to hover, but it was her account. Perhaps she’d wait for a cue from Vicente before meandering elsewhere.

>> “No problem.”[/color]

Vicente really was thankful for this young woman’s help. She was such an asset right now that he couldn’t even begin to describe the help she was being. In truth, she didn’t have to do anything that she was doing, she could have easily sent of him off to find one of the library aides, but she decided to take it upon herself to be his guide. He was definitely happy for that, mainly because there was something about her that was so sweet he couldn’t help but want to keep her around.

She also wasn’t too hard on the eyes, either. But those were thoughts for another time.

She leaned over, casually typed in her ID and password (to which Vicente looked away since he didn’t want to pry), and waited for her to be done. By the time she straightened up again, the computer had logged him in and he was staring at a desktop that contained several icons. Success!

>> “There you go…The computer is all yours.”[/color]

He sighed a breath of relief.

“Thank you, so much,” Vicente said with a grin.

In all honesty he problem should have let her go off on her own since he was probably keeping her from something busy. But this was her account and he didn’t want her to think that he was going to be looking or doing things under her name that weren’t appropriate. Instead he just turned to face her. Maybe he really should come clean about what he was looking for. He could use her help still.

“Uh, Gina?” he started. “This may sound weird, but, do you know how to check for missing persons?”

>> “Thank you, so much.”

“No problem,” Gina chirped lightly, resting her hands on a short bookshelf and hopping up, sliding onto its top to sit casually. Now, she could hover without standing right over Vicente’s shoulder. Splendid. Gina leaned forward casually, her legs swinging back and for like absent pendulums. Vicente turned to look at her, and the gargoyle tilted a half-smile at him. He had a question in his eyes.

>> “Uh, Gina? This may sound weird, but, do you know how to check for missing persons?”

Gina inclined her head, her face scrunching in puzzlement. Missing persons…?

“Try Googling it?” the gargoyle proposed, “Or, hm, go to a police station. The X’s might be able to help you out, too… I'd give the first two a shot first, though.”

His guess was as good as hers.

Gina apologetically confessed, “Just hazarding guesses. I haven’t looked for a missing person before.”

It wasn't much her business who Vicente was looking for, but that didn't mean that the gargoyle couldn't wonder. And wonder, she did. It was a very odd question to be asking.

Vicente stared at the screen pretty dumbfoundedly. He really didn’t know where to start this whole search. He knew that he probably should have gone to the police or some type of authority figure but…for whatever reason he just couldn’t bring himself to do it. Though he liked to say that he didn’t know why, that wasn’t the truth. There was technically a reason, though one that he couldn’t explain. He really felt as if that wouldn’t be the best course of action. Whether it was because he feared who he really was, or he inherently didn’t trust cops, he didn’t know.

Either way, he didn’t want to involve the police yet. No, he could do this. There were only so many people in the world so how hard would it be to find out who he is?

The internet. That was the best way to start. But he needed a push. That was why he enlisted the help of the pretty gargoyle who was sitting on a bookshelf nearby. Maybe she was keeping an eye on him in case he used her account for bad things, or maybe she was just curious, but he was thankful for her presence. It was always good to have someone easy on the eyes nearby.

>> “Try Googling it? Or, hm, go to a police station. The X’s might be able to help you out, too… I'd give the first two a shot first, though.”[/color]

X’s? He wasn’t going to as to elaborate since he was not entirely sure what she meant by that. And the police, well, again, he didn’t feel comfortable. But Google seemed like a viable choice! He glanced at his computer and say a “Google” button right there! Maybe that was it…

>> “Just hazarding guesses. I haven’t looked for a missing person before.”[/color]

He smirked.

“Neither have I,” he chuckled lightly as he turned to watch Gina for half a second. It was just long enough for him to watch her, taking in her form, her expressions, her very beautiful and curiosity-filled eyes. But before he stared too long, and hopefully before she caught him, he turned his attention back to the screen.

Clicking on the button, he waited for the page to load before he typed in the word “VICENTE” into the search engine.

The pictures that came back were less than helpful. Especially since the majority of them showed a old, Mexican, mariachi singer. That was most definitely not him. Jeez, maybe this was going to be harder than he though.

He sighed a bit and mumbled a bit louder than he meant to…

“That’s not me…”

Gina was used to stares, and therefore, either highly sensitive to, or wholly unaware of them. She didn’t notice Vicente eyeing her at first. She was watching him rather closely, admittedly, but only because he was being a touch silly. It wasn’t until their eyes met, for only a moment, that Gina registered that—Hey, this guy has been looking me a while… why?

He turned around just as the gargoyle quirked a humored look, and was on the verge of asking Vicente why he was looking, but now that he was looking away. Gina watched as the guy keyed-in the word “Vicente” and waited for results to pop-up. Gina made an inquiring “hm?” and inclined her head.

Was he…? No…

>> “That’s not me…”

Oh, wow. He was. Vicente was looking for himself.

“Try Googling “missing persons” instead,” Gina suggested, “Then it’ll bring up databases where you can look-up names and such. I’m guessing.”

That seemed like something people would have. Or should have. She pretended not to hear that Vicente was looking for himself, so she gave a suggestion that wasn’t him-specific. That’s where she’d start, regardless, if she was on a computer. If that didn’t work… she didn’t know what Vicente would do. Hard to know where to start if you didn’t know who you were at all.