>>"Mine?"

Shin nodded.

>>"They're orange, like an... orange." Scratching the back of her head sheepishly, she blew a few more stray strands of hair from her vision and gave him a goofy smile.

Orange, like an... orange. Well, oranges were very pretty, he supposed. And round. Like eyes. Which was good, because if eyes were square or prickly like a pineapple, they'd be an awful lot less mobile. And who'd want to say their eyes were yellow like a pineapple, anyways? Pineapples were too acidic, and hard. And prickly. And they didn't travel well. Also, Shin hated them.

His mind drifted back to that leftover pizza in the fridge. Some people had red eyes like pepperoni. Others had yellow eyes like pineapple slices (which he was thankful the leftover pizza lacked). Still, others had eyes in shades of green, or eyes the color of jellyfish. Darn, eyes came in a crazy array of colors. If only Shin had a mirror, he'd stare at his some more. He wondered if they looked tired...

Shin nursed his tea as he quashed the random ramblings of a caffeine buzz. Be saner, Shin.

>>"I'm... kind of a mix of a lot of different things, Not a lot about me is normal anymore, what about you? What brought you here?"

"The bus."

Yes, because that's sane.

"Actually, it was more that I was scared, uncertain. I didn't know about my powers, or why I had them... still don't know why I have them... but... this place seemed like somewhere I could fit in, with people who'd understand what I was going through, and that was enough. And I do fit in here... these people are like family. When my real parents disowned me, these people were here..." Shin's eyes were serious as he looked at her, as if he was working through the details as he spoke. He smiled. "This school is good people."

"The bus."

For a moment, she was worried that she had upset him somehow, and felt herself reverting back into the unsocial creature she had been for the past few years.. But, she reminded herself that people weren't always what they outwardly seemed. She fought down the urge to slip back into her coat, and let her skin crawl.

She listened, refraining from nodding while he spoke. His story touched her, she connected with it in a couple of ways- but she would keep that to herself. Andrea glanced down at her hands as he finished, unsure of what to say exactly in response. She didn't know him well enough to hug him, nor did she think a hug would help. She contented herself with frowning a bit and muttering , "people can be such fickle creatures."

It was good, however, to hear that at least the people who dwelled within this place were what he considered to be 'good people'. The kind worthy of being considered family. The portrait she had spotted popped into her mind at that moment. "What are your abilities?" She was fairly curious about what others like her could do, seeing as she had never met another mutant until today.

"I can create these triangular barriers with my mind," Shin replied casually. He made a claw with his right hand, thoughtfully stretching his fingers in and out. "Want a demonstration?"

Well, okay then. Just as she'd shown him her ability, he'd show his. Shin sprung from his seat, and moved to stand in the very center of the kitchen. "Stay back," he stated, stretching his arms out in preparation. Eyes fixated on the floorboards, concentrated on the task.

Red triangles appeared in the air around him. They connected to form a triangular platform. With a subtle hop, Shin landed atop the platform, two feet above the kitchen floor. He struck a pose like a surfer, and levitated back a foot, then set himself down again and dismissed the shards.

"And that's one of the many things I can do with my shards." Shin bowed. It certainly was good for shows.

Andrea watched the spectacle that was being played out before her, her jaw agape. When he landed, bowing before her, she clapped and turned a ruefully gaze upon her hands, inwardly demanding them to tell her why she had been given such a burden of a gift instead of something more useful, or at keast mildly entertaining!

"That was.. Amazing!" She leaned forward, plopping her chin in her in her hands as she leaned on her elbows, the very picture of childlike fascination. If they had helped him figure out how to do something like that, what could they teach her to do with her ability? She thought about it briefly, before cringing mentally. Hopefully it wouldn't have anything to do with paving roads, or making statues to go in peoples gardens... Oh, what a nightmare that would be!

A whole string of questions flooded her head- from quesions about what else he cold do, to weather or not he could actually surf on that thing-, before the portrait from the hallway popped back into her mind again.

"Oh! i was meaning to ask you about that painting out in the hall, the one with the man in it? Who is it of?" She recognized the man from somewhere, very faintly, but she couldn't put her finger on it...

Basking is good for lizards, who could not control their own body temperature. They sit on rocks and take in sunlight, letting their blood heat up to the point of movement, then they slink around. In the cold, they're reclusive. In direct sunlight, they shine. Shin was basking in praise. Now, for humans, basking is a bad thing.

The corners of Shin's mouth rose in a prideful grin as he snapped up out of his bow. "Thank you, thank you~ I'll be here all week."

That trick was getting more effective. He was starting to get a handle on the balance issues. It was good. She asked another question.

>>"Oh! i was meaning to ask you about that painting out in the hall, the one with the man in it? Who is it of?"

Shin paused, mind flickering back to the picture in question. Picture, picture. "You mean Charles Xavier? He's the person who inspired this sister school. He helps support it from time to time. Very nice guy. Inspirational, some might say. Why do you ask?" He smiled as he asked this. Shin really didn't know much about Xavier beyond what he'd said. He'd fill her in on whatever he did know, however.

A light bulb clicked on somewhere in the back of her mind. She dusted off a few old memories that had been filed away long ago, and low and behold, There was the picture with a name to match. Now she knew where she had seen him before, a long time ago when she had first been looking for places that would help her over the internet. She felt a tiny bit ashamed for forgetting.

"I was just curious, i remembered seeing him from somewhere before." With her mind still on the painting, she found herself wondering about what the rest of the mansion had to see. Currently she was in the kitchen, and she had come in through the front hall... Was there a library? Maybe a large dining room where everyone ate together an chatted about their day? Bathrooms with more than one sink?! Andrea felt herself getting overly excited, the continuous bouncing of her feet under the table was a clear warning that she was on the verge of tumbling into a full blow day dream. She took a deep breath to calm herself and asked the question most prominent in her mind.

"Thank you for offering me a place to stay by the way, i hate to say it but your offer has excellent timing." She paused, shifting her gaze away from him to study her cup some more. "Would you happen to know if there is a library located close to here?... and perhaps a music store?"

"

"We have a library right here at the mansion," Shin replied, matter-of-factly. "And our school wouldn't be complete without a music classroom... unless, of course, you were searching for compact discs and vinyl recordings. In which case... no idea."

Had he ever been to a music store? Where they sold instruments, or perhaps music? No... Shin didn't think he had. He'd never been much for musical instruments (barring the triangle, of course. And the humor there did not escape him.) His Walkman had been handed down. His music had been store-bought, and purchased online. He hadn't had reason or time to scour the city of New York for music stores. Looking back on the fact, it was all really very sad.

"I could show you around, if you wanted. Were you planning on taking any classes here? The mansion... teaches kindergarten, all the way up to 12th grade levels. High school." He corrected himself needlessly. "We have an outdoor swimming pool, a recreation room, a library that extends for three whole floors, classrooms, a garden, basketball courts out back, and... lots and lots of stuff beyond that. Good selection in the library, too. Though I'd probably be able to find more interesting titles at Full Circle..."

The bouncing feet returned when she heard the the mansion had both a library and a music room, she could search the city later for a place to buy a violin. When he elaborated on exactly how big this library was, Andrea felt the bottom of her stomach drop away. Three floors of library?! one book was never enough, and when you had three whole floors all to yourself... by god, she'd never leave! "Oh, a tour would be wonderful! Thank you Tetsuya!"

Andrea clapped her hands together, entwining her fingers together as she beamed at him. Could her day get any better? She didn't think so. Her imagination shot off, dragging up all of the titles of the books she had been forced to leave behind at home.

Shin finished off his tea in one long chug, then wiped his mouth with the side of his arm, emitting a faint 'pah!' sound of satisfaction. He wheeled the tea cup all the way back to the sink, and rinsed it out with a bit of soap, and set it in the rack to dry. "Alright, where do you want to see first on the tour? We're in the kitchen now. The living room is close by." Shin smiled. He walked back to the table, and handled the tray, and put it away. He slid it in its place, and turned back towards Andrea. Everything was neat and in order. Ready for his departure! ...Though... he noticed Andrea had yet to finish her tea. It had been stooping quite long enough. She'd been neglecting it.

"You can finish your tea on the way, if you'd like." He noted politely as he motioned towards the kitchen door with a half-bow. "Shall we go?"

He waited for her reply, then... With a skip and a hop, Shin led them both out the door.

As they walked through the hallway, towards the living room, Shin turned to Andrea. "So," he started weakly. "You like books? What kinds?"

"You like books? What kinds?"

She had a moment to stew on that question, seeing as her cup was currently pressed to her lips for a quick si[p of tea. She followed him casually, her eyes drifting around to take in all of the things she found interesting as they passed, before answering. "I suppose i am more into books of a more, scientific nature. The big ones, ones that take weeks to read." She smiled to herself, "I'm currently reading a book online, its called 'Genome'. I must admit, that while i don't fully understand all of the thinks talked about within it, i find it a very interesting read."

She thought about the question for a moment longer, before adding to her reply. "I must admit, I'm also a hopeless addict to fantasy novels." Taking another small sip from her tea, she eyed him for a moment, then added- "What about you?"

Science! Shin hid a grin at the comment. He did so love learning about the world, and how each being within it worked. In answer to her question, he turned and noted. "Biology. Also, science fiction. ... I'm a sucker for dystopian futures, cyberpunk thrillers, and the 'what if' stories. 'What if' robots gained sentience. 'What if' we lived in a world where the government ran every facet of our lives, from scheduled recreation down to procreation. 'What if' a man fell in love with a machine. What social ramifications would that incur? I like SF. It's not quite as wild as a fantasy novel could be, what with their dragons and the 'dealing with' that soon would follow. Though I do like stuff by Pratchett. His fantasy novels are hilarious." Shin shut his mouth. Just in time for them to reach their destination, actually.

"This is the living room," he noted, gesturing around. The room was simple and friendly, with furniture in warm colors. It had a poofy couch or two, some recliners with throw pillows, a bean bag chair or three, and a TV. The setup for media playing was impressive. VCR, DVD, Xbox 360, Wii. Shin gestured at it all, and let her take it in. "Pretty great. It's a good place for movie night, good place for video game tournaments. Oh! And we just got that 360 over there. Fun times."

Another who shared her love for reading! She could faint, really, she could. Far to much had happened in just one day- and it was all really starting to sink in now. In one day she had found a place that would help her, accept her for what she was, treat her like a normal person, and let her delve into the vast library that they had! If she had less control over herself, she would have thrown her hands in the air and done a little dance of happiness.

"My favorite fantasy author Piers Anthony, i cant get enough of his books. Something about the way he mixes his own sense of humor into the character and the story line makes it very enjoyable to me."

After injecting a bit of her opinion in, she pulled back on her reigns to listen as he stopped and showed her the living room. She nodded along, her mind drifting back to what he had said about Men marrying robots and mechanical objects enslaving the human race.... What if a man fell in love with say, his toaster... what would happen them?

Andrea supposed he'd get a lot of Love filled toast. She was jerked away from her thoughts when he motioned towards the gaming station. Something about an x-box? She had heard about it before... a lot of people online were obsessed with the thing, but she had no idea what exactly it did. Was it like the only gaming platform her father had? The one that let you run around as a small yellow dot that ate all of the other dots?... such a violent game if you really sat down and thought about it. She shook herself from her thoughts and tilted her head at him. "What does the X-box do?... is it like that other gaming thing, the um... what was it?... oh! Nintendo 64?"

>>"My favorite fantasy author Piers Anthony, i cant get enough of his books. Something about the way he mixes his own sense of humor into the character and the story line makes it very enjoyable to me."

"Ah, I haven't read much by him. I'll have to check him out some time while I'm shelving at Full Circle." Shin replied casually. It was always nice to get recommendations of good authors. Even if they weren't good, it was an excellent habit, keeping an open mind. One might not know if they will or won't like a certain title until they try it. And even then, it's a tricky balancing act.

He clasped his hands behind his back as Andrea asked him a question.

>>"What does the X-box do?... is it like that other gaming thing, the um... what was it?... oh! Nintendo 64?"

Shin paused and thought this over. What exactly did an X-box do? "Play games," He noted offhand, "And get red rings." No further explanation there. It got red rings. You know? The kind you wore on your finger? Awesome."It's pretty cool, though. You can play Rock Band or Guitar Hero, or you can run around in Halo. There's a whole mess of games on the X-box. Not quite as many awesome ones at the Nintendo 4, though. Man. I played the heck out of that system back in the day."

Shin made a wrist snapping motion, like tossing a boomerang. In his head, he was imagining Ocarina of Time, with himself in a green cap. It... might not have looked that way to others, though. Curious.

Like an owl, Andrea found herself tilting her head at an odd angle in order to try and comprehend what exactly he was going. After a moment of racking her brain in order to figure out what the motions could possibly mean, she found herself in the midst of a short giggling fit. It was amazing how much she had smiled and laughed- all in the span of one measly day!

"I'll have to look into those later, I'm afraid i don't have much experience with games of this sort." Her mind wandered back to her laptop- still locked away within the safety of her motel room... if one could consider that a safe place.

She took another sip of her tea, savoring the flavor for a moment, before she turned an excited gaze his way, "Is the library our next stop?" She felt like bouncing excitedly on her heels, like a wee little school girl, something that would have been a funny sight... seeing as she was green and had Medusa hair...

Andrea laughed, and Shin laughed with her. Good! Either she'd gotten the joke, or he'd made a big enough fool of himself with his antics that he'd garnered a laugh Either way, it was worth it. Shin didn't mind looking foolish if it made someone smile.

>>"I'll have to look into those later, I'm afraid i don't have much experience with games of this sort."

He nodded. "I'm sure someone here can teach you the basics. If all else fails, this room's good for sitting around with a good book, or watching television. I even tried a movie night once," Shin held his chin, contemplating. That had been a fun night. They'd watched GARO. Ghost had been there, Arielle, others... "... Just watch out for popcorn and soda spillers... those people are dangerous." Shin finished slowly, as an afterthought.

>>"Is the library our next stop?"

It seemed like Andrea was ever so excited by the prospect of books. She mentioned it before any other room. Not classrooms, or dormitories, or the garden... "I was thinking we'd stop by the dormitories first... so you could see where you were sleeping after you moved in. So off we go," Shin grinned, and they were off! Just like that. He led them from the living room, into the main hall, and up the stairs.

"Left hallway is for boys, right hallway is for girls, and middle... is for older adults, like me..." He stopped at the end of the flight, and gestured towards each area. The hallway was divided. Down each hall, doors to rooms were visible. "There's a curfew, of course. After the curfew, kiddos have to stay in their own rooms, or those on their side of the hall."