After Calley had helped her retreive all her forms and tracked down a greeter, Henrietta had finally found out where she was suppose to be staying. When she had first gotten into her new room, she had set all her bags on the bed. MY bed. I'll guess it'll take some time to get used to that. She unzipped her main suitcase, took out her clothes, and set them down infront of her. Glancing down at the few outfits she had brought with her, she sighed a little. Henrietta decided that doing laundry would have to become a pretty regular activity. She opened a few drawers on her new dresser and began to slip bottoms into the last one, shirts in the middle one, and undergarments into the very top drawer. With one of her suitcases empty, Henri slipped the empty suitcase beneath her bed.

The unpacking process was taking a little longer than expected. Looking at everything she had brought with her, it didn't seem like much. Deciding where to put everything was the problem. If Henrietta wasn't so odd about everything having a place, it would probably be a shorter activity. She liked being able to find things quickly and also liked that some things seemed to fit perfectly into places. At her apartment, she had always decided where to put something as soon as she got it. Unfortunately, all of this stuff was with her at once and the living quarters weren't familiar yet. After quite a bit of debate, Henrietta had finally decided where to put all her bathroom supplies. All done. She smiled with satisfaction and brushed her hands together.

When that was all finished, Henri sprawled onto her bed. She glanced out her bedroom door. Leaving it open, she thought, may make people feel welcome to come say "hi" or something. No one really had, but she figured people were busy with their own things and completely understood. She hadn't really gone around looking to talk to others yet either. Even if she wasn't so nervous about the idea, she still probably wouldn't have gotten up. Unpacking was hard work and she felt exhausted. Henrietta closed her eyes and hummed a song her mother used to sing to her when she was little. She had always enjoyed the song, but she stopped when she thought about her mother. This wasn't something she felt like thinking about anytime soon. Sitting up, Henri glanced out the door again and spoke to herself. "Hmm. Wonder what I should do now..."

Twyla had just spent the morning reading several books on jujitsu that she had procured from the library right after her first training session with Shin. Her brain was fried from memorizing random tips and facts about the style and she had to get out of her room before it exploded all over her Green Bay Packer pillow. This accounted for her being in the girl’s hallway just as someone in the room across from hers made a thunking noise, possibly the sound of someone landing on a bed. This made Twyla turn her head to the open door. Had that been open yesterday? She wasn’t sure, seeing as she rarely frequented anywhere these days but her room and the library. This would require some investigating.

Slowly the girl padded across the carpet in her stocking-feet. She was dressed in sweat pants and a tank top and her pink and blonde hair was piled atop her head in a precarious and messy bun. A quick and sneaky peek in the opening of the door showed the occupant to be Someone Twyla Didn’t Know. Not that it meant much, there were MANY Mansion residents that she didn’t know. This girl did have that especially new look about her, and her room wasn’t messy at all–meaning either she was a rare tidy teen or she had just put away all of her things, probably from suitcases recently unpacked.

Twyla jumped and almost screamed when the girl on the bed spoke."Hmm. Wonder what I should do now..." Without thinking about it, she pushed the door open and proclaimed with a smile: “Well, you could meet one of your awesome new neighbors.” This was the part that would tell twyla whether or not the girl was new–if she was she’d respond accordingly, if she wasn’t....well, that would just be awkward. She balanced with one hand on the door handle and one on the door frame as she waited for the girl’s response.

>> A girl had pushed against the door.“Well, you could meet one of your awesome new neighbors.”

When the girl with pink and blonde hair popped out from the hallway, Henrietta almost yelled and fell off her bed. She was in shock. Words, Henri. Words."Uh.." She blinked a few times. Realizing she must seem a little dumb or something, Henrietta smiled a little. Responding to the girl's question, she said, "Hey. Is it really that obvious that I'm new?" Henri laughed a little and stood up. "I'm Henrietta Braun. Some people call me Henri. Nice to meet you." Trying to decide what she should say next, Henrietta figured it'd be safe to ask her name. "What's your name?"

I guess I get to meet someone new now. I'm kind of glad I don't have to go out looking. While she waited for the girl's response, Henri rubbed her bare feet together and fidgeted a little. For some reason, it seemed easier when she talked to Calley. It was probably because he was wearing a funny outfit. It helped that his clothes didn't demand seriousness. Talking to someone who was a girl, wearing normal clothes, and looked similar in age was a little more intimidating. Henri felt herself wanting to revert back to her old ways that she developed while attending high school. Ignoring the urge, she stood up straighter and stopped fidgeting. Be brave, Henrietta. Stop freaking out before you even have a reason.

Oops. Scared her. Actually, Twyla scared herself a bit by the sudden movement too, she didn’treally remember making the decision to barge into the other girl’s room. Hopefully she wouldn’t take it too hard... It took a moment for the girl to recover and when she did she proved Twyla’s assumption true. She WAS new. Cue the Happy Dance and the flashing lights. Ding, ding, ding, we have a winner! (Even if it was just a lucky guess, she'd been right.) She returned the girl’s hesitant smile with the mega-watt version of her own. C’mon, you can do it, it’s okay, I won’t bite. She thought at the girl silently as she stood up and introduced herself. “Henri, I like it.” Was blurted without meaning to (much like the barging in thing). “Sorry.” She laughed and a slight blush crept up her cheeks.

One step was all it took and Twyla was inside the room with her hand outstretched, waiting to be shook. “Nice to meet you, Henri, I’m Twyla.” After a moment she added: “Ashby. The full name’s Twyla Ashby, I mean.” Awkward...You’d think she’d be better at the introductions thing by now seeing as she knew literally no one at the mansion when she first found herself there. Maybe if she practiced a bit more she’d get better?

“So how new is ‘new’?” She asked, flashing the girl a smile again after a moment in an attempt to detract from the fact that she'd just invaded Henrietta's privacy.

When the girl, Twyla, asked how new she was, Henri blushed a little. "Brand new, actually. I just got here a few hours ago." Looking at the girl, she noticed that they couldn't be too far apart in age. While trying to decide what to say next, she shifted her weight between her left and right legs. Henrietta grinned when she finally figured out something to ask. "What do you like to do in your freetime?" Ha! That should keep the conversation going.

Henrietta enjoyed doing many things in her spare time. She loved to dance and jump hurtles. The hurtles weren't always the best thing though, considering she had a tendency to not make it over. Dancing was something she had always loved. It had crossed her mind to join her school's dance team, but her friends always told her not to even bother. They said that the same girls would always be on the team and that trying to break up their beautiful, flexible force was pointless.

As she waited for Twyla's answer, she did a little dance. She moved her a feet in a small movement. It wasn't anything complicated, but she was trying to not do something big and noticable. When Henrietta didn't know what to do with herself, she would often do little dance steps she learned in jazz when she was younger. Jazz wasn't her favorite, but she could always remember the moves.

“That’s why you still have that ‘fresh out of the carton’ smell.” Twyla laughed in an attempt to cover up the awkwardness of that comment. “Welcome to Mutie High.” A pause. “But seriously, this place will be good for you, I promise.” It had been good for Twyla and as far as she could tell all the other students that attended the school. Hopefully anything negative pertaining to this new girl’s mutation could be mended at the school for gifted youngsters.

Awkward silence was the name of the game as each girl looked at the other blankly. Henri fidgeted before asking Twyla what she liked to do. It was neutral question, friendly, and it also meant that they were skipping some of the more uncomfortable questions in the ‘getting to know you’ stage. As Twyla collected her thoughts she watched the legs across from her move in a familiar pattern. “What’s that from?” She mimicked the pattern with her own feet. “I’ve seen it somewhere...” A memory that she couldn’t quite recall was tugging at the back of her mind. She’d seen the steps before, she knew she had.

It had to have something to do with dance...Twyla could only afford to take the beginner classes (having paid for all of them herself) but she remembered what she ordinally learned well due to long hours spent practicing alone in the milking parlor. What Henrietta was doing was so familiar, but what was it from?

Twyla had said that she had a "fresh, out of the carton smell". Henrietta couldn't help but laugh. It wasn't a nervous laugh this time, but the real kind. "THAT'S what that smell is! I couldn't figure it out for the life of me." Poking fun at herself had always been a normal thing for Henri. She learned at a young age that it could only help a situation. Mutie High. Huh, I guess it is depending on the age of the person. Smiling, she nodded and said, "I think it would be best to feel like I'm not alone and that everything is under control."

Henri grinned when Twyla repeated the dance steps. She did the moves again and explained as she did them. "I took jazz when I was younger. It was a routine I learned when I was about 9." She couldn't believe how lucky she was to meet another girl who seemed to enjoy dancing. I wonder if there's a dance team at her school. As soon as she thought it, Henrietta decided to ask. "Did you have a dance team at your school? I almost tried out at my school in Springfield, but my friends thought it would be stupid to bother. Those girls that were on already were absolutely amazing."

When she talked about dancing, Henrietta would get a dreamy look on her face. Speaking about the girls who were so talented at her school made Henrietta speak with a kind of awe. She'd always admired the girls who could bend their bodies this way and that. Henri blushed a little after realizing the dumb look she must've had on her face. "Sorry."

“The smell goes away after a while, I promise.” Twyla laughed when the girl laughed and went along with her joke. That was always good, it proved she hadn’t totally lost her social skills after all. Henrietta was the first female besides Maya (who was also boy) that Twyla had really interacted with since that summer, so this was a bit weird for her and she felt out of practice. “This places feels normal after a while too, it seems like a big change at first but you’ll get into the groove I’m sure.” A reassuring smile was thrown in there somewhere in the hope of making the new girl comfortably.

“HAH!” A victory punch in the air. “That’s why it looked so familiar! I took jazz the summer before my freshman year and I remember that step...even if I can’t remember the name...” A moment was dedicated to soul-searching through her Jazz memory banks but nothing useful was found. “We have a dance team at our school, I made it on my freshman and sophomore years in highschool...” She trailed off, not wanting to admit that she’d been AWOL for her junior season to this stranger. “High five for being from the Midwest!”Twyla flung her arm out and held it there expectantly. “You should have tried out, you never know what people will say till you try. Maybe you would have rocked it and your friends were just jealous.” Her arm was still held there, waiting to be fived as she spoke with her typical bright tone. Twyla’s friends were the main reason she had braved the try-outs freshman year and she couldn’t imagine being friends with people so unsupportive.

“It’s not big, my eyes go to the same place.” Another smile, this one understanding

"You were on a dance team? That's so cool! I bet you're really good." Henrietta smiled when the girl made a punching motion into the air after her suspisions about the the little dance were confirmed. When Twyla said that her friends may have just been jealous, Henri smiled. "Maybe. I was just so nervous." Twyla held her hand up as if expecting something when she said they were both from the Midwest. Realizing it was probably a high-five she was looking for, Henri hit her hand against the girl's. She was relieved to have met someone else who shared her passion, not only that, but they were both from the Midwest. She already felt more comfortable talking to the girl with blonde and pink hair."What state of the Midwest are you from?"

Now that she had been speaking to two people who were very kind and welcoming, Henri started to feel a little more confident. She didn't feel as if she'd be judged as much as she first thought. For some reason, it never occured to her that all of these people were different in some way and have probably been through a lot of hard times because of it. It was so hard for her to imagine other people like her, that she just tried not to. She didn't want to get her hopes up and then realize that all of the fellow residents were somehow less strange than her. It didn't make much sense in all honesty, but Henrietta wasn't sure what to think about being a mutant and how everyone else handled it. It really helped that the first people she talked to appeared to be about the same age as her.

Twyla blushed at the sudden praise. “No, I’m not crazy good or anything. I mean, I preformed with everyone else at the competitions but it takes me a while to get the moves down.” In truth Twyla Ashby was particularly good at the moves, regardless of how long it took her to get them down. She attributed it to her gymnastics training and from long hours spent in front of mirrors working on her form.

“Well, maybe you’ll get another chance at being on something like that.” Another smile. “At least you don’t have to be on a team to dance.”

Twyla held up her right hand in the shape of a mitten in front of the girl by way of answer to the question about what state she was from. It was the trusty way of letting people know that she was from Wisconsin. Well...besides her accent.

“So do you need any help unpacking or a tour or anything like that?” Twyla was still standing awkwardly in the doorframe and she searched for a way o be of use to the new girl named Henrietta.

When Twyla blushed, Henrietta smiled. "I'm sure you're awesome and I think that it should be something you have to work at. It may take a while, but the final outcome is all that matters. That's true for most things, actually." Henri was also quite skilled at dancing, but her fear of other people's perceptions was her downfall and weakness. No matter how good Henrietta really was, she would probably always be too nervous and care about how her peers viewed her.

"That's very true, Twyla. I can pretty much dance wherever I want as long as it's at an appropriate time." She laughed a little. She could just picture her getting up and dancing in a movie theater.

Looking at the girl's hand, Henrietta turned her head a little. Hm. What state does it look like... As soon as the thought hit her, she blurted out, "Wisconsin!". She'd never really realized how a hand does look Wisconsin until then. She held up her own hand and looked at it. "Huh. That's cool. I'm not sure how to make Illinois." Henri laughed and moved her hand in different ways to try to make it look like Illinois.

Twyla had asked if Henrietta she needed help unpacking or a tour. "A tour would be awesome. Maybe I won't smell as new if I pick up some of the mansion smells on my clothes."

“Ding! Ding! Ding! We have our winner! “ Twyla smiled when the other girl guessed her home state. “Illinois...Illinois...” She thought for a moment and then began to frame her face in a sort of impromptu vouge dance. “I think you have to freestyle Illinois. Being that's it isn't shaped like a cute mitten or anything like that.” A laughed escaped after this as she continued to ‘get down’ to the shape of the state.

“I think a tour is just the thing for that.” Was the reply after her tour offer was accepted. “Right this way miss and we can begin your tour of the loverly Mansion.” Twyla led the way into the hall and crossed to her own door. Swinging it open with a grand gesture she swept her arms across the doorframe. “This is my room and yes, it will always be this messy.” Her bed was unmade, there were clothes strewn about on her chair, and piles of books on various topics cluttered the floor in haphazard mountains of knowledge. “If you ever need anything, even if it’s like three in the morning and you’re freaking out, you can knock on my door and I’ll do what I can, okay?” A sincere smile made it’s way to the brown haired girl before Twyla closed and locked her door and padded her way towards the stairs.

It was kinda strange, leading someone around the place that she’d been given a tour of only a few months earlier.

“Shall we adjourn to the best room in the whole place?” She asked in an oh-so-posh accent.

Henrietta started to dance and vouge with Twyla. She made overly expressive faces everytime she moved her hands to a different position. She laughed and smiled at the girl. Twyla then began to lead her on the tour of the huge mansion.

As Twyla showed Henrietta her messy room, the blonde girl said it would probably always look like that. Henri could completely understand not having the time to clean her room. Her room would progressively get worse as time went on, she was sure. Eventually she'd be so busy with things that a clean room would seem less important. That's how it was when she was at the apartment, at least. Twyla told Henrietta that is she ever needed anything, she could come to her. Henri felt a huge grin spread across her face. "Thank you so much, Twyla." I can come to her. Like friends go to each other. My first friend here, well besides Calley, but he and I didn't really get to know each other.

Pulled out of here thoughts when the girl mentioned 'the best room', she tilted her head slightly."The best room? Which one is that?" Henietta couldn't imagine how many rooms there were, nor which could be the best. Seeing all the books on Twyla's floor, maybe it was the library. She loved to read as well, but she thought that she should wait to see the options before picking a favorite.

“It no big.” Twyla smiled when the other girl thanked her. “It’s always good to have someone, you know?” (intense Wisconsin accent shone through there) “And I figure you probably need someone here, I can totally be that someone.” She also shrugged off the intense thanks–it wasn’t forced modesty, what she had said had been the truth. The girl with the blonde hair was someone who knew first hand that having a mutation could make someone mighty lonely. After almost seven months of lonely Twyla wanted to protect other people from the same fate–thus offering her time to new girls she had only meant that day after barging into their rooms and invading their space.

“The best room is the best room, you shalt know it to be true once we get there. But first--”“ Twyla looked at the brunette with an excited look on her face. “There’s something I’ve always wanted to try in this hallway. Since you’re into dance you might appreciate it.” Turning away from the stairs, Twyla pulled her arms behind her and then took off, narrating her movements as she flew across the carpet. “Sashay, sashay, cross leap, cross leap.” A basic leap that was perfect for the hallway.

She turned to the girl behind her with a grin on her face. “We’ll take the back stairs, on second thought.”

Henrietta felt so grateful that the girl wanted to help her. There was nothing she could say that would show her appreciation. Knowing this, she smiled and hoped that Twyla would understand what she was trying to convey. If this girl was anything like her, she most likely felt like she was different and didn't belong. Henri imagined most of the mutants had felt this way. It was a great place for them, the mansion, that is. It was so much easier to get to know others who had the same 'disease', as her mother called it.

Thinking of her mother made Henrietta get a lump in her throat. She wasn't sure if she missed her mom or hated her. Either way, the feelings weren't wanted. The girl pushed all of them back as she watched the blonde sashaying and leaping. An applause came from her and then she repeated the graceful moves. She wasn't sure if she looked as good when she did them, but she was having fun. "How was that?" She grinned and held her arms in a high-v.

After the moves down the hall, Twyla grinned at her. "We'll take the back stairs, on second thought." Henri couldn't imagine how many flights of stairs the place needed. Figuring there were plenty of floors, why not get an elevator? She was sure it would be much faster.