April strolled down the fiction section. "Hmm... O'hara... Oldfield... Oppel," she muttered, scanning through the bottom shelf. Not finding the author there, she moved to the next row. Looking up, she saw what she was looking for on the top shelf. "Here we go. Orwell," she said to herself. Her dad had recommended Orwell's book, 1984, for her to read. Something about how it would be bad for everyone to be the same.

Having only recently arrived, she was still getting used to the new place, and the new people. Not to mention, she was still not used to being in a place where others could see her. Her appearance was a rather sore subject, and she was worried about what others would say. After all, there was bound to be no shortage of "green" jokes around.

She continued to look up at the top shelf. There it was, a hardcover version of1984. But, unfortunately, it was out of her reach. Even standing on her toes, she was unable to grab hold of the book. It did not take long for her to think of using one of her vines to grab at the book. Standing close to the shelf, she reached towards the book with her right hand, and extended her reach further with one of her vines. She fumbled at the book a bit. She finally pulled it loose. She attempted to wrap the vine around it, but with it lacking the dexterity of the hand, she instead accidentally dropped it on her head.

"Ouch," she said, not loudly, but still with a startled tone.

OOC: Jumping in!

Sam was back in the library with a pile of books in front of him. This was one of his free periods and he had decided that he should probably be serious and do some studying. Because he knew fool well that if he went to his room he would just sit and play on the computer. He pursed his lips being lazy came too easily, he had always just scrapped by in school and his grades had been only slightly above average. Which meant that coming to Xavier’s was like a second chance, now he was in private education and he hadn’t needed perfect grades to be accepted into the university course. So all in all, he better not screw this up.

He had been here for a little over an hour now and the words were starting to blur into one another. He was having to re-read the same sentence over and over again because the words did not mean anything anymore, so he decided to have a bit of a break. So he just put his head down on the book in front of him and closed his eyes. The pressure that had been building in his head started to ease a bit so he decided to stay there a while longer.

A few moments must have turned into quite a long time because Sam woke with a start, because of a sudden sound. As his eyes adjusted to the light again, he stretched and checked that he had not drooled on the book. Falling asleep was one thing destroying school property with drool was quite a different matter. Once he was sure that everything was as it should be, he decided to get up and stretch his legs a bit. That would surely help wake him up properly.

As he walked away from his stack of books he wondered what or who had made that sound that had woken him. Out of curiosity he started searching the rows of shelves for the culprit, there were not that many people here today so whoever he found was bound to be the person that had made the sound. When he finally found her in the fiction section, if Sam had not known that Xavier’s was a mutant school he would have wondered if he was still dreaming. She was distinctly green. He did not know if it was because he was surprised or just because he did not want to disturb her but he just stood at the entrance to the row and watched her.

The novel ended up on the floor, and, fortunately, it had landed closed. April bent over to pick 1984 up. She then straightend back up and rubbed the spot on her forehead where the book had hit. It did not hurt nearly as much as it had startled her. She looked both ways along the aisle. No one. She was glad to think that nobody had seen her pull off that embarrassing stunt.

She moved a little further down the aisle. She might as well pick up some additional reading while she was in the library. The books in the next bookcase were mostly "P" named authors. She scanned through them, not looking for anything in particular.

"Hmm... they have Poe here... but his stuff's a bit dark," she muttered to herself. "Still, I could really scare Sis with this stuff." Reading one of Edger Allen Poe's short stories to her younger sister to scare her would be fun. Besides, it would also be payback for being called "Kermit" over the phone. She pulled the book off the shelf, thankfully, one that was well within her reach.

She was starting to scan the shelves again when she spotted someone out of the corner of her eye. She quickly turned to see a taller Asian man watching her from the end of the row. Quite startled, she froze in her tracks for a moment, like a deer in the headlights. She had not heard anyone come up. How long had he been watching her? Had he standing been there the whole time?

Embarrassed by not only the situation but also her appearance, April knew she had to try doing something to make the situation less awkward. "Uhh... hi," she said, sheepishly raising her hand a bit in an incomplete wave.

Sam watched the girl browse for books in silence. He wasn’t really spying on her, it was more along the lines of he just had nothing to say. He did however note that as she looked through the shelves she talked to herself which he found slightly amusing. It appeared that she was more attracted to the classics rather than to the newer volumes. Sam had read plenty of fiction books but they all fell in the science fantasy section. He had never had the patience to read the classics even though his mother berated him about it on a regular basis.

The girl certainly looked like she was fond of reading considering the fact that she was already holding two hefty books and had turned to look for more. Sam had to admit that if you liked reading the academy certainly provided you with enough free time to get a lot done. He did not really have a social life here and seeing as everything he needed; food, school, sports, was located only a couple of minutes from his room Sam had picked up books again.

He must have made a slight noise for the girl suddenly turned to look at him and the expression on her face told him that she really had not noticed his arrival. He wondered for a second what she must think of him, just standing there staring at her. Well the first thing that would come into his mind would: stalker. The though almost made him smile but he held back, adding a stupid grin to this kind of situation would only reinforce the creepiness. Instead he waited to see what she would do.

"Uhh... hi,"

Alright, awkward. Well what had he expected? Honestly some part of him had expected her to turn and run, so this greeting was a step up from that at least. He took a breath and pushed himself off the book case he had been leaning against. Now he had to think of something to say that would not freak her out further. He wasn’t really one for making friends but he at least did not want this girl starting rumors about him being a crazy stalker.

“Sorry to startle you. I heard a noise and came looking… Then I just didn’t want to disturb you.”

He knew it sounded lame but it was the best he could come up with.

April continued to stand, frozen in place. Why was this guy looking at her like that? She quickly concluded that he was staring at her because of the way she looked. It was to be expected, even at this place. She nervously waited for what he had to say, if he had anything to say. She hoped he was not the type that poked fun at appearances. He then started to say something.

>>"Sorry to startle you. I heard a noise and came looking… Then I just didn’t want to disturb you.”

April relaxed. He did not make any remarks about the way she looked, but rather, he had politely apologized for startling her. In fact, the guy seemed about as startled about being caught as she was about suddenly seeing a person watching her. Still, he had continued to watch her after he found the source of the sound. Maybe he isn't used to seeing a freak like me, she thought. She could not blame him. After all, her own parents took quite some time to get used to seeing the plant-like mutant after her powers came about. Perhaps this man had not been at the Mansion as long.

She had gone few moments without saying anything. "It's okay. I just didn't... I didn't see you coming, that's all," she finally replied with a stammer. She paused for a moment. She considered asking him why he was really watching her, but then decided it would be a bad idea. He had been so apologetic about the whole situation. Then, she said, "I take it you haven't been here that long, either."

"It's okay. I just didn't... I didn't see you coming, that's all,"

Okay the awkwardness was not really getting any better, which only made Sam feel more nervous. Why had he been staring like an idiot? This horrible situation was all his own fault and he was going to have to deal with it now. Now she was watching him with an upraising gaze that in Sam’s paranoid mind looked very much like her deciding whether to ask him if he was a stalker or not. Without realizing the illusion mutant was holding his breath waiting to see if the accusation would fall or not.

"I take it you haven't been here that long, either."

Relief swept over him and he could finally breathe again. She had not said anything about his inappropriate behavior and now the subject had been safely changed. Although he had to admit that the question she asked him was a bit strange. Well it was strange in so far as it was more of a statement of fact than a question. How did she know, or think she knows, how long he had been living here? A small frown line formed across his brow as he thought about it. After a few seconds reflection he still had no explanation for the statement, so he decided he might as well answer it.

“I’ve been here about a month and a half. But you must be pretty new as I’ve never seen you around.”

That was the one thing about Xavier’s everyone pretty much knew everyone at least by sight. He was not very sociable by nature so he had not gone out of his way to make friends but you soon got to know who’s who. It was one of the things that could not be avoided in a closed community. Besides so many here had remarkable physical attributes so it was pretty hard to miss them.

“Oh, I’m Sam by the way. Nice to meet you.”

The man seemed to relax a bit when April tried to change the subject. There was no doubt that they both felt awkward in the situation. She certainly hoped that she was not scaring him.

>>"I’ve been here about a month and a half. But you must be pretty new as I’ve never seen you around.”

Just as she thought. This guy had not been at the Mansion very long. April suspected that those who had been at the place longer would know better than to stare, even if she was a freak. Still, maybe her last sentence had come out a bit weird. For a second, he seemed to be giving her a funny look. The look was saying, "How did you know? You don't know me!" This was a bit awkward.

>>“Oh, I’m Sam by the way. Nice to meet you.”

April relaxed, then looked up at Sam for a second before responding. "I-I'm April," she replied, smiling faintly. "Nice to meet you, too." Best thing was to be polite. Though, she hoped that being friendly, combined with looking the way she did with her mutation, did not make him uncomfortable. She was all too aware that many people would see her appearance and nothing else.

To her, the awkwardness seemed to subside a bit. Still, she continued to wonder why she had not heard Sam approach. Was he just that quiet? Or did his mutation help him sneak up on people? Out of curiousity, she decided to ask discretely. "If you don't mind me asking, I guess if you're here, that means you can do... umm.. something strange, right?" She hoped that that was not an odd question to ask, even for this place. She also hoped Sam would take no offense to her question.

"I-I'm April, Nice to meet you, too."

April? That was quite a nice name and not a common one either. When he had moved to England Sam had found out just how many Sam’s there were out there. It had got to the point when he was happy just being the only Sam in his class. So an unusual name made a nice change and it seemed to suit her. After thinking on it, Sam decided that it suited her because the month of April was a month full of greenery and sunshine. He was also glad to see that the mutual introductions had seemed to ease the tension a bit. It was always better to know who was spying on you, was it not.

"If you don't mind me asking, I guess if you're here, that means you can do... umm.. something strange, right?"

The way she asked the question was hesitant, which was a mark of someone who really had not been here long. In this school everyone was dying to know what your mutant ability was. So in your first few weeks you got very good and coming up with a short and to the point explanation. But still the question brought a sad smile to Sam’s lips. He couldn’t help but wonder why he was still so bitter when he had seen so many other kids that had it worse than he did. It was probably because the discovery of his mutation had finished off his already collapsing life. It had been the perfect excuse for his mother to ship him abroad and no longer have to deal with him. So yes he was bitter.

It was strange now how every time he started feeling sorry for himself he could hear Noel’s voice in his head telling to get a grip. They had parted on strained terms and as time went on he was slowly deciding that he was going to go back there and prove to her that he wasn’t completely useless. But coming back to the here and now, April was looking at him with a curious and expectant gaze. He was going to have to come up with an answer for her.

“That’s right, I got lucky and it’s something I can turn on and off. However it’s neither interesting nor useful.”

There that was the truth and he hoped that he sounded sympathetic with regards to her outer appearance without sounding like he found her weird looking or anything. God it was so hard in this school sometimes. Some kids loved the way they looked horns and all and others would cry if you so much as let your gaze rest on them for more than three seconds.

April looked at Sam, waiting for a response. Maybe that was out of line, she thought. He had paused for a short while. Finally, he responded to her question.

>>"That’s right, I got lucky and it’s something I can turn on and off. However it’s neither interesting nor useful.”

April felt relieved when Sam did not give an angry response to her question. Still, she felt that she should not press him further, as he seemed rather reluctant to talk about his powers. She understood comepletely. After all, she was green and had leaves for hair. Having heard stories about people with all sorts of mutations, about anything was possible. She figured that Sam might have an ability that he somehow found embarrassing. Maybe it was time to change the subject.

"That's all right," she said, responding to his statement, attempting to give her response an understanding tone. "So, what does everyone do around here?" she asked, trying to steer the conversation in a better direction.

She had to admit it to herself. She had no clue what she had gotten herself into by agreeing to come to this place. Was is just a place for mutants to find refuge and acceptance? Or was the govenment present, studying all of the mutants who took up residence? The latter thought did not actually concern April. It was the worst that could happen, and situations rarely went to the worst possible outcome. That thought pushed aside, she wondered what everyone did with their free time. Might as well have an enjoyable time at the Mansion.

"That's all right,"

Her reply struck him as a bit odd, as if she was forgiving him for not having an interesting power. He found it somehow both reassuring, in as far as she didn’t seem to care what his ability was, and slightly offensive. Which must mean that although he did not like his powers he still felt some kind of attachment to them. He brushed the feelings aside, locking them in a small box so that he could study them later.

"So, what does everyone do around here?"

The fact that she changed the subject made him smile. She seemed to have a reasonably good sense for the atmosphere of the conversation and he was relieved that she had turned away from that uncomfortable topic. As for the topic of entertainment Sam was possibly not the best person to ask. He was a bit of a recluse and did not do much with others. But he could at least tell her about the things he usually liked to do. However the first thing he needed to know was whether or not she was taking classes. She looked old enough to have finished school so she could have opted out of taking further classes.

“Well most people spend a lot of their time in classes; I’ve just started a sociology major.”

He smiled again at that, thinking back to the pile of abandoned books lying on the table somewhere behind him. He should probably get back to them but he knew that it would be rude to just up and leave the conversation. So the next best thing was to invite her to join him. They would be a lot more comfortable sat down anyway.

“I’m embarrassed to admit that I’d fallen asleep studying and that noise from earlier woke me, which is why I came looking… Anyway how about we go back to my table then at least we can sit down.”

>> “Well most people spend a lot of their time in classes; I’ve just started a sociology major.”

Definitely another college student, April thought. She had suspected that he was old enough to be one. It looked like he was interested in studying human behavior. It was somehow fitting for a mutant to take interest in this sort of thing. After all, the so-called "mutant menace" was likely a major aspect of the field.

By his response, it seemed classes were a major part of the life at the Mansion. April herself had barely begun taking classes online. But, sometimes she wondered what the point was. Not too many employers would hire someone who looked the way she did.

>> “I’m embarrassed to admit that I’d fallen asleep studying and that noise from earlier woke me, which is why I came looking… Anyway how about we go back to my table then at least we can sit down.”

Crap, she thought. The ruckus she made from that embarrassing stunt earlier must have woken him up. She sure did not mean to disturb anyone. Fortunately, Sam did not seem upset about the situation.

"Oh, sorry about waking you up," she replied. "But sure, I'm fine with sitting down." She tried to show a kind smile, hoping that it did not offend. There was know doubt on her part that socializing with and talking to other people besides her own family was still going to take some getting used to.

"Oh, sorry about waking you up,"

The fact that April was apologizing for waking him sent a fresh wave of shame through Sam. He couldn’t believe that he had fallen asleep in the first place and because of all this he could feel a blush of shame creeping up his face. There was however one good thing about being asian and that was that when you blushed the only place that showed it was your ears, and Sam was pretty sure that April was far enough away not to notice. Which made him wonder what it would be like to blush when you were green… would it be noticeable or not?

He looked at the girl that had just accepted his offer of a seat and wondered how hard it would be to make her blush. For a moment he was tempted to try it, just to see if he could spot a difference in colour or not. But then the words “nappeun namja » popped into his head, which when translated literally meant “bad guy” in Korean. It was one of those expression used frequently in the dramas he watched and he felt that if he played this trick on April it would probably be a good term for him as well.

Besides Noel would probably flay the skin off him for even daring to think such things. So he resigned himself to being good and headed back towards the place he had been sitting. He trusted that April would follow or if she didn’t want to this would give her a good escape opportunity. When he finally reached his table he stared at the disorganized pile of books, god he really had made a mess of the place. Hurriedly he started to organize the books in neat piles and clear some room so that the two of them could at least sit down comfortably.

Sam had lead April to his "work station," which was set up on a table in the library. There were books and papers piled everywhere! She watched him start to clear the area. He had mentioned that he had been studying, but, nonetheless, she was a tad suprised. Dang, he must be really busy, she thought. Perhaps this was not a good time to sit and talk. He definately needed to get back to work if he had really fallen asleep.

"You look like you're kinda busy," April said, with slight hesitation. She tried to sound understanding. "Maybe I should let you get back to studying. It was nice meeting you." She stayed there a bit to wait for his response, figuring that she had bothered him enough.

Come to think of it, she had her own schoolwork to get to, too. She needed a novel for the assignment. Maybe that 1984 book she was holding would work. Though it was not due for another week, she would get to work on the essay, unless Sam still wanted to chat, which at this point she highly doubted that he would. It was not because she thought Sam hated her. After all, he had been polite about the whole situation. But, she could not help but have the feeling that she made him uneasy.

Just as he managed to make some sense of the mess that was the table, Sam caught a glimpse of the expression on April’s face. She suddenly seemed hesitant… The fact that he was not only a creep but a messy creep had probably made her decide that he was not someone she wanted to be around. He could understand that but he felt a bit saddened by it anyway. The idea of having someone around to take the edge off the endless studying would have been nice.

"You look like you're kinda busy, maybe I should let you get back to studying.”

Well she had the truth of it, technically he was busy. It didn’t mean he had to stay busy, this interlude could have been considered a study break or something. Weren’t those supposed to be good? To help you digest the information you had just been learning? Oh he didn’t know anymore and honestly it was not like it mattered. If she stayed he would study more a bit later and if she left he would get back to it now.

“It was nice meeting you."

That was the killing blow; it read “nice to meet you but I really must be going somewhere… anywhere but here”. Well he was not going to hold onto her if she did not want to stay but he was determined to try and make a good impression through to the end. So he decided to extend one last invitation, this time it did not even involve a conversation, just a seat.

“You don’t have to go… I mean even if we both have to study that seat is still free.”

God how was this conversation so hard? He seemed so tongue tied; when he took a minute to think about it the middle of the day nap had probably scrambled his wits; which would explain why he was being such an idiot, yes that must be it.

“Or if you have to go, don’t let me keep you. I’ve been pretty poor company so far anyway.”

Okay, maybe saying goodbye all of a sudden wasn't the best thing, thought April. She was not certain, but Sam seemed a bit sad about it. Had she accidentally made him feel that he was a bad person? She did not want him to think that she disliked him. The dynamics of the situation were confusing. It was hard to tell how exactly Sam would react towards what she said.

>> “You don’t have to go… I mean even if we both have to study that seat is still free.”

I guess I could use a place to study, April thought. Maybe by sitting down near him to study, she could speak with him, and perhaps sort the confusion out. As she started toward the empty chair, he started to speak again.

>> “Or if you have to go, don’t let me keep you. I’ve been pretty poor company so far anyway.”

Talking with Sam was like walking on eggshells. One had to be very careful of what one said. So far, he seemed like he thought that there was something bad about him. It was hard to say anything without receiving a self-degrading response. She did not know if he was just uncomfortable around her, or if he acted that way around everyone. Or, maybe he still felt bad about staring at her. She felt she should say something to try to ease his tension.

"N-no, you haven't," she replied, trying to sound reassuring. "I just thought... you know... thought that I might of been making you... nervous. It's just that... that most people would be."

Placing her books on the table, she slowly took the vacant seat. Dang, the tablespace was scarce. Exactly how busy was he? Surely, she did not want to distract him from work he needed to get to.