Lowell Livingston's Story

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Alanna liked the idea of snow; she liked to watch snowflakes falling quietly to earth, but only from the safety of a warm room. The library was one such room. It was in fact its own separate building and several stories high. Books lined its walls from floor to ceiling and there were many alcoves and partially hidden rooms in its depths. It was the kind of library where one could spend all day and never see another person. During the winter months the fire was constantly stoked and you were always guaranteed warmth. Alanna had been here for some time, reading in one of the many window seats. Snow always made her more irritable and she had woken earlier that morning to see the school sheeted in the stuff. Not being able to return to sleep she had showered, dressed and made her way to the library.

Now, with half an hour until class started she decided that it was time for a warm breakfast. Alanna replaced her book in the shelf and made her way through the large library doors. As she stepped outside the cold immediately hit her and the girl drew her clothes tighter around her. Alanna made her way along covered paths, aiming for the old dining hall. She thrust her hands into her pockets to keep them warm.

She reached the end of the covered walkways. Across a courtyard of undisturbed snow stood the dining hall. Smoke could be seen coming out of the large chimney and the windows were misted, further indicating the warmth that awaited inside. But first Alanna would have to make her way across the courtyard. Pursing her lips she took the first step, her foot sinking ankle deep into the snow. By the time she had made it to the dining hall door her toes were going numb and her irritation had reached new levels, still she hesitated before entering the hall. She had caught sight of the notice pinned to the door.
The only good thing she could say about winter was the annual Winter Feast. The food was always excellent, the decorations were fantastic and the atmosphere was something to look forward to. Not to mention the student after-party. It was just as much a tradition as the Feast, even if not entirely within the Academy's rules. While drinking for over 18s was legal in England, drinking on campus wasn't something that the teachers allowed without supervision. Still, every year the after-party went ahead and every year the majority of the student body attended.

Having finished reading the notice Alanna pushed through the doors and into the warmth of the dining hall. She grabbed a plate, served herself breakfast and then chose a table close to the fire. She sat down with the fire to her back, happy to let the fire warm her.

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Buzz! Buzz! BUZZ! BUZZ!

The insistent ringing of Lockie's alarm was what woke the young man. His eyes fluttered open as the noise pierced through his dreams. His hand reached out to snooze the alarm only to find the device not on his bedside table. He let his eyes close for a moment. A cool breeze was playing around his room, streaming in through his open window.

In one swift movement the boy collected the breeze to him, using it to fling the blankets off him. His hands gave another twirl and the winds returned, this time he set them on the pile of clothes that littered his floor. It was from this pile that the incessant ringing was coming. With a blast of his collected air Lockie sent the clothes flying around his room, landing across his desk, bed and other portions of his floor. And there sat his alarm cloak. Lockie stood, tapped the alarm with his hand and gave a satisfied smile as the noise finally stopped.

Lockie grabbed his towel and left his room, wondering down the Air elemental's portion of the dormitories. He entered the male bathrooms a moment later, flicking on the lights and a shower as he entered. The water was blissfully warm. He stepped out a good deal later once the water had began to run cold. Lockie was prone to day-dreaming and his mind had wondered, only being brought back to reality by the shock of the cold water.

Back in his room he quickly got dressed in the only clothes that didn't seem to decorate his floor. His stomach rumbled a moment later, indicating that it was time for breakfast. So he left his room and began to make his way down to the dining hall.

Most times the quick trip to the dining hall would take longer than anticipated as Lockie's attention was usually drawn to whatever caught his fancy. Today was no different. Now he stopped short of the hall, watching as a tree branch slowly caved under the pressure of the snow. The day had a moderate amount of wind, enough for him to collect a small ball and send it flying towards the tree. The snow was blown up in a flurry of wind before crunching down onto the tree branch and then onto the ground.

Lowell had been awake for nearly two hours before he decided that the rumbling in his stomach was too much. The twenty-one year old had always been an early riser and he found that the older he got the earlier he woke up. Of course this probably didn’t help his habit of taking catnaps wherever and whenever he could. This morning he’d woken before even the sun had risen, his sleep full of dreams that he barely remembered and he’d begun to write. It wasn’t really a story, definitely not a poem. More like a stream of consciousness, it was something Lowell did to ground himself, to keep him on an even keel. Well as even as he could get.

Lowell was a lightning elemental and by nature his ability was quite volatile, as was his temperament occasionally though he’d been trying his best to not come off quite as abrasive as he did when he was a teenager. He’d be graduating soon and moving on the grad school, it was probably about time to start learning how to work with others without throwing balls of lightning at them accidentally.

Running a lean hand through his shaggy blond hair before topping it with his hat, he grabbed his messenger bag full of papers, books and random assortments of candies and paper clips and slipped on his plain black overcoat before heading out to the dining hall. He’d watched the snow fall early this morning and had seen many a student participate in making snow angels or throwing snowballs and had even mulled over the idea of joining in before deciding to remain in his warm room. Yet now he was heading directly into the fray and he only hoped that he’d make it through unscathed.

Tugging his hat further onto his head Lowell braced for the cold and was not disappointed as the cold wind bit through his coat and went straight through his bones. At least that’s what it felt like. He wasn’t particularly fond of cold weather, preferring spring or summer to winter, but he didn't share the commonly held belief that the lightning students were adversely affected by the cold. At least he wasn’t.

Quietly he made his way towards the smell of breakfast wafting through the air, and idly watched the group of students who’d congregated for a snowball fight. Tucking his glove-less hands into his pockets he kept his gaze towards the ground on the lookout for patches of ice when he was startled by the sound of someone smacking the ground. Looking up he vaguely recognized Sable and quickly, but carefully made his way over to her.

“Damn, that sounded brutal. Are you okay…anything broken.” The scruffy blond student asked as he knelt down by her side, concern evident in his voice as he held out his hands in offer of helping her to her feet.

“This ice is crazy treacherous. Surprised no one’s salted anything…not even sand. Hell, I’d take kitty litter at this point.” He remarked, as he stood back up and rearranged the hat precariously sitting atop his head. “You probably want to get warm I imagine.” Lo, finished as he grabbed the door they were both headed for and held it open for Sable.

Arianna had no time to feel embarrassed for shortly after her fall she felt an arm helping her back up. "Oh, Thanks." Already colour began to race to her face as she started blushing due to her clumsiness. She quickly tried to brush some of the snow off of her body but a lot of it had already started to melt into her pants leaving a few wet areas. "Well. Now that I have already made a fool of myself, I better try and get a table in the back far away from anyone who may want to laugh." She said the sentence quietly so Lowell couldn't hear her. Then she turned to him, since he was already opening the door for her and she slipped past him. "Thank you again for helping me up, and for opening the door." She gave him a polite smile but figured he'd be in a hurry to go eat just like the rest of the student body and so she hurried in and headed over to what she figured was the furthest table away.
Once Arianna sat down she began to rub her arms, she was only wearing a thin plaid shirt over a tank top and so her arms were starting to feel a bit numb and she wanted to warm them up. As she rubbed her arms her head instinctively fell forward and she stared at the empty table in front of her. The table seemed a bit different this year to her, she had seen it several times but for some reason it just seemed different. Her eyes followed every crevice or marking, some were even from her when she first got here.
A small tree carving that she had carved into the table with her key still looked as though she had carved it yesterday, with its trees blowing in what seemed like wind but had meant to be sun light, however rays of light and wind look awfully a like especially when in a carving and so she just stated that it was wind. What made the table seem different though is there was a new carving in the corner a little spiral of some sort. Who knows who put it there but while Arianna warmed up, it was at least something for her to look at.

”No worries, you’re welcome. Just hope you’re okay.” Lowell replied as Sable excused herself and quickly bee lined away from him. He couldn't blame her he guessed, she probably felt embarrassed and he’d been the only witness so of course she’d rather not stick around. Shrugging slightly to himself he made his way through the breakfast line, picking out eggs, bacon and toast before grabbing a carton of milk and heading out to the tables. This was the place where very student’s nightmare existed. Where to sit?

For someone with Lowell’s particular personality quirks it wasn’t exactly easy to make friends and considering the amount of time he’d been here it bordered on kind of sad if he didn’t enjoy his own company so much. Though there were times when even he didn't want to eat breakfast on his own. Spying Alanna and Kara he tilted his head back and forth as if trying to come to a decision, the arrival of Lockie and his subsequent pelting of the girls and his retreat helped sway him in their favor. "Looks like it was a good thing I was late for breakfast." The tall, rangy blond said in greeting to the girls as he walked over.

Finding a spot at their table he put his tray down and began to eat his breakfast. "Lockie and I are the same age and you don't see me going around pelting people with lightning.Though think of the possibilities." He remarked dryly to Alanna, gracing the table with an infrequent smile before pulling out his notebook. Beginning to scribble in it distractedly as he ate his breakfast. His thoughts wandering to tonight's feast and the thought of having to wear a suit and probably shave. Though the alcohol and after party usually made up for that but he tended to get pretty wasted and not remember much anyway.

Kara smiled a little, thinking about what she would wear until she had heard Alanna. "I'm not certain yet." Alanna had admitted with a shrug, "I guess I'll have to search through my wardrobe after classes." Kara nodded, smiling at her friend. "Oh! You better tell me what you are wearing! I so want to know before almost anyone else." She told her before scooping the last bit of food that was on her plate into her mouth.

Suddenly Rachel had gotten up, excusing herself with a social studies book in her hand. She rose an eyebrow, not to upset that she was leaving, but wondering why on earth she had suddenly decided to go. "Was it something we said?" Her gaze turned from Rachel's back to Alanna who had just spoken. She shrugged, knowing as much as she did. "I have no idea. She just randomly gets up and walks off a lot." She said, crossing her arms over her chest. "Can you tell she doesn't like me? I don't know why though I haven't really done anything to her. Do you think it might have been me who made her leave, even though I didn't do anything?" She asked, looking at her best friend for a few moments.

Seeing Alanna glance over in the direction of a few kids walking in, one of which she noticed as Lockie she smiled a little, shaking her head once. She glanced away only for a few moments to mess with her make-up a bit. Upon putting away her make-up she suddenly felt Lockie greet them. Keep her back to him she bit her lip, holding back a grin that was trying to break it way onto her face. "Morning Lockie," She greeted him kindly. She flinched, surprised by the sensation of cold water hitting her. She smirked a little, glancing her shoulder at Lockie who got a bad reaction from Alanna. "Gosh Alanna chill out a bit, it's just water you know." She said with a grin then she gently nudged her with her hand. She stood up as Lockie fled, "I'm not too fond of cold water Lockie!" She exclaimed to him before waving to him. Slowly she returned back to the seat position in her seat. "He knows I hate being cold." Alanna muttered to her Kara, then moving closer to the fire to help dry herself off, "Which is exactly why he did that. You wouldn't think that he's one of the oldest students here by the way he acts." Kara nodded in agreement. "Understandable that you hate being cold, even though he hit us with cold water I don't like getting cold either." She told her then nodded once again in agreement. "True that, though, some people are just immature like that."

When she saw Lowell approach the table before sitting down she offered him a small smile. "Looks like it was a good thing I was late for breakfast." He said as a greeting. "Hey Lowell," She greeted him with a small wave after he had sat down at their table. After he had found a spot her start to eat and that was when she looked away then stretched her arms over her head for a few seconds. "Lockie and I are the same age and you don't see me going around pelting people with lightning. Though think of the possibilities." He remarked and Kara nodded. "Well possibly because you act more mature than Lockie does some times." She pointed out. His smile made her smile a little until he pulled out a notebook she tilted her head to the side slightly. Seeing him scribble in his notebook made her slightly curious what was in it. "Whatcha scribbling?" She asked curiously. "I mean you don't have to tell me if you don't want to. I'm just curious." She added afterwards.

---

Harmony sighed softly, feeling terrible that she kept dazing off often it was just that lately she hasn't been able to get much sleep so lately she hasn't been able to pay attention as much as she usually does. Now she felt bad for Mark because of her constant dazing, and day dreaming. She blinked a few times then looked at him in time to hear him say, "The early bird catches the worm," He told her, "so what worms are you catching?" Mark had questioned her rising so early, not from suspension, but from curiosity. "I mean I'm up that early, but I never see you," he squinted his eyes at her, "I guess I'll just have to come by your room every morning and see if you're awake!" She smiled, shaking her head at him a little. It wasn't that she woke up early in the morning just so she could go out for exercise or something because that wasn't the case. Silently debating whether or not it would be a good idea to tell him why she was up so early. It was also then that she realized what he had just last said about coming to her room every morning to see if she was awake. Okay so the last few discussions they had were a little weird and a bit creepy, but this was actually really creepy to her. She ran a hand through her hair, unsure of how to respond. "I, uh, I have trouble sleeping sometimes." She finally admitted with a shrug. "Also you don't have to come by my room every morning. Most likely I will be up, so don't worry about it." She told him in an attempt to be nice and show that he was kind of being creepy without her saying it and sounding rude.

She really hoped that just then didn't sound rude because she was trying her hardest not to at all rude. She didn't want to make him feel bad or anything like that so she just tried to keep it light. "And due to it being winter it will be cold tomorrow," Oh wow he had really just stated the obvious right there. "So don't forget the wear something warm and cozy. It'll probably be snowing like it is today, which I have no problem with." He had added and she nodded. Obviously because why would it just snow day and not snow another? She shrugged, "No worries there. I'm not too worried about how cold it is, but sometimes if I am outside for a long period of time I would wear a jacket or something like that." She told him simply. "We could even build a snow man or woman." He had said to her at one point an time. A small grin came to her face as she remembered the last time she had made a snowman. "I love making snowmen and women. They are hard to make some times, but they are pretty cool if you do them right." She said, twirling a strand of her hair between her fingers.

Upon finally getting on the topic about the feast again she sighed softly. She had thought about it and suddenly part of her didn't want to be there while the other part of her wanted to dress up and feel like a princess! Of course she had to go and she didn't really want to look virtually flawless. "As long as you don't start swinging from chandeliers and start a fire I think I can handle you." He told her and she rolled her eyes at him playfully. "Who does that anyways? What kind of after parties do you go to?" She asked with a small laugh. She shook her head, smiling lightly as she slowly began to drift off again. Dang it! There she went again, dazing off once again! She snapped herself from her daze and looked at him a little tiredly. After singing about how he was a flirt he had responded simply with, "I am not a flirt! I just state what I think is true!" She wasn't going to say anything about that just because she didn't want to argue with him. She had no reason to argue with him about it even though she knew he was flirting with her even if he was just flirting with her a little. You would have thought she did some kind of crazy dance move right where she sat because after what she had said about him looking better than she did his jaw had dropped. Unsure of what to do she just watched him and listened to what he had to say to that. "You're beautiful and you will be the best looking girl in the room and you will be my date and it will be perfect." She shook her head slightly, sighing softly then rubbing her eyes. "I am?" She asked when he mentioned that she was going to be his date. When did that come up until now? She didn't really mind... well okay maybe she did mind a little, but he had never really said anything about her being his date until now. If he did then she never noticed until now. "I'll just have to start giving you thousands of more compliments until you feel as beautiful as you are." Soon enough he had said that and she shook her head again. She looked at him, having more of a neutral face than any other expression. "You don't have to. I don't mind, I am at least comfortable with myself unlike a few other girls who aren't too comfortable with themselves." She told him with a single shrug. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to say. She wasn't used to people calling her beautiful or anything like that so she was still just trying to get use to this. She has talked to Mark a lot of times and knows he's a sweet boy, but gosh... he came off a little strong for her at times.

"Oh! You better tell me what you are wearing! I so want to know before almost anyone else." Kara's enthusiasm was infectious and Alanna would herself nodding happily,
"Of course I'll let you know." Alanna told her with a grin.

After Rachel had left, Kara responded to Alanna's question with a shrug. She didn't know why Rachel had left either, but she did seem to pick up on the fact that Rachel hadn't liked her. Alanna could understand the dislike. Rachel was fire while Kara was water. They were opposing elements. Before Alanna could suggest the idea to Kara, Lockie arrived and pranked the girls.

---

Kara, also hit with the spray of half-melted snow, took it a lot better than Alanna. Well, she was a Water student after all.
"Gosh Alanna chill out a bit, it's just water you know." Kara said, grinning at her. Alanna could only shrug in reply. She couldn't help it if her temper flared easily. Luckily it had only been Lockie pranking her, anyone else and she wouldn't have been able to take it as easily.

The fire was warm, thankfully, and was quickly drying the girl off. Alanna stood with her back to the fire and was therefore able to see Lowell, a fellow Lightning student, as he joined Alanna and Kara at their table.

"Looks like it was a good thing I was late for breakfast." He said by way of greeting. Lowell sat down, his tray of food sliding onto the table in front of him. He glanced up at Alanna and commented dryly,
"Lockie and I are the same age and you don't see me going around pelting people with lightning.Though think of the possibilities." Alanna's smile mimicked Lowell's as she imagined pulling Lockie's little prank with lightning.

"Entertaining for us," Alanna replied to Lowell, "Although potentially life threatening for the others." Of course Alanna would never dream of using her powers the way Lockie had just used his. Lightning was, at times, a hard element to control. It liked to jump through the air and had to be held back from following its own path. Lowell's particular gifts with Lightning were slightly different to Alanna's so she couldn't say how well he could control his gift, but Alanna knew for her that the larger the lightning bolt the harder it was to control.

"Well possibly because you act more mature than Lockie does some times." Kara's point brought another small smile to Alanna's lips. Lockie sometimes acted a lot younger than his years. Alanna had always just assumed that it was because he was an Air elemental. They all seemed a bit more light hearted than the other students.
Relatively dry now Alanna moved forward to retake her seat. She nibbled at the remainder of her food, listening as Kara questioned Lowell about what he was writing in his notebook.

Half of her attention stayed at the table with Lowell while the other half drifted to plans for the night. She would have to see what Blue was wearing to the feast and the after party. Hopefully the two could sit together. It wasn't the end of the world if Alanna couldn't sit with one of her friends, but it always made the night so much more enjoyable.

“I've only tried it once Alanna, didn't go as well as I’d hoped.” The scruffy boy said in way of an official greeting to his fellow lightning elemental, not letting on if he was being quite serious or not. When in fact he had done just that, of course it had been an accident and very frightening, definitely not something he planned on partaking of again. At least if he could help it. Glancing over at Kara he shook his head lightly and laughed.

“You mean all the time?” Lowell asked rhetorically with a smirk to the girl sitting across from him, his and Lockie’s levels of maturity were so far apart it wasn’t even funny. As he began to tap his pen against the table he took the opportunity to answer her question, although he wasn't one to go into too much detail. “I’m not writing much, just finishing something up I started this morning before the sunrise and right after it began snowing. Kinda got the creative juices flowing I suppose.” He finished, looking up to notice Blue joining them.

“Let’s see…you missed Lockie and his amazing flights of fancy. So nothing too out of the ordinary.” Lowell answered lazily, favoring her with a welcoming grin before he shut his tattered notebook, stuck his pen behind his ear and began eating his breakfast post haste. He’d just realized that classes were going to start soon and he didn't exactly have time for a nice leisurely breakfast. His ears pricking slightly at the mention of the girls meeting in Alanna’s room.

Lowell briefly wondered what it would be like to have a close set of friends. People that you hung out with on a regular basis and you’d know they’d always have your back. Lowell figured it all had to do with own particular set of personality flaws and no one else’s. At least he had that bit right.

Brent Tanner

With his breakfast happily digesting and his head slightly less aching than earlier, Brent pushed back his seat and took his tray of food up to the kitchens.
"Stunning as always Mel." Brent said with a wink to the cafeteria worker who took his plates. The older woman chuckled, used to Brent.

With his hands buried in his pockets and whistling a tune he left the dining room. Brent stepped out into the crisp morning, the cool air helping further to wake him up. As he walked towards the physics laboratory he let his mind go over the lesson. He could never remember who he had in each class, he'd have to check his roll when he got to the classroom. He entered the building a moment later, cringing slightly as the door slammed after him.

He took a deep breath, the science department always had a particular smell to it that Brent loved. Part chemicals, part metal and part inspiration... or so Brent thought. His physics room was on the third floor. Brent happily took the elevator, a relatively modern addition to the old building. He stepped out, turned left and then opened the door to his lab.

Desks stood empty across the room. They were high tables with stools instead of chairs. You average student would be the height sitting or standing when in the room. Brent went to work immediately, setting out the equipment. Each table, capable of sitting a pair of students, received one set of each. He loved experiment days. He could write out the instructions and let the students do the rest of the work, leaving him to rest at his desk.

Equipment out Brent returned to his desk, sat down in his comfortable chair and swung his feet up to rest on his desk. His hands went behind his head to act as a pillow and he let his eyes close as he waited for his students to arrive.

---

“I've only tried it once Alanna, didn't go as well as I’d hoped.” Lowell replied. Alanna wasn't entirely sure if he was serious or not. She cocked her head slightly, trying to imagine the outcome. She gave up with the arrival of Blue.

"So, did I miss anything?" Blue asked as she sat down with the group and began eating. Alanna, thinking about Lockie's little joke screwed up her nose and let Lowell answer,
“Let’s see…you missed Lockie and his amazing flights of fancy. So nothing too out of the ordinary.”

"Are we meeting up in your room tonight?" Blue's question immediately took Alanna's mind off of Lockie's prank and she nodded happily to Blue.
"Sure are. Kara, you're coming too right?" Alanna replied. Alanna hoped that Kara would come, but she would understand if she had other plans. Alanna was looking forward to the feast and was pleased that she and Blue would be going together. It was always fun when the two of them did things together. Take for example drinking. The last party they had gone to together had been a bit of a blur for Alanna, but her and Blue had had a blast.

Alanna's eyes flicked to Lowell and a thought struck her as she glanced back to Blue. "Lowell, why don't you come with us? We're going to go as a group of friends." Alanna gave him a friendly smile before adding, "It'll be fun."
While he wasn't one of Alanna's best friends she always enjoyed having Lowell around. Perhaps it was because he was another lightning elemental and there weren't many of them at the Academy. Whatever the reason Alanna thought that he'd make a good addition to the party. Plus, it was always funny watching Blue around Lowell.

Alanna glanced up from the table, her attention drawn to Mr Tanner as he left the dining room. His departure reminded Alanna that classes would be starting soon enough. She'd finished her breakfast but she would wait for her friends before leaving for class. She had physics anyway, Mr Tanner never seemed to mind if you turned up a minute or two late.

---

"Its not just some ordinary snowball fight, Lockie. Marion, imagine this. Imagine a snowball fight entirely composed of air elementalists. Think of the chaos! The insanity! The random hits on innocent bystanders! Tell me that's not amazing."
Lockie had to smile as Alex described the snowball fight.
"Ya know, that does sounds pretty amazing" Lockie said through a mouthful of cereal. He could picture whirlwinds of flying snow, running students and flying snowballs.

Lockie, lost in his imagination, barely noticed that Theia wasn't eating. In fact he only realised when Alex pushed a portion of his breakfast onto Theia's plate and said, "So your just going to skip breakfast then, Theia? That's the most important meal of the day. It's psychological... Here, eat this. Before you turn it down, bacon is the food of GOD! Turning it down is blasphemy! Come on, eat it. I promise I didn't poison it... That much."
Lockie, oblivious to the actual reason for Theia not eating grabbed his own plate and helpfully shovelled a portion of his eggs and fruit salad onto Theia's plate.
"Did you forget to grab your food?" Lockie asked, completely forgetting the fact that Theia had just given away her food. Lockie was like that. His mind seemed to wonder at times and he would often missed portions of conversations.

"Are we all sitting at the same table? The air group has to stick together, you know." Alex's question was an obvious. Lockie nodded,
"You bet." He told Alex. He'd finished his cereal, engulfed it really and now his hands were ideally blowing small gusts of wind down the table. The winds caught on to odd pieces of dust and paper, swirling them around and off the table. "We should make sure to get the table furthest from the teachers." He added, thinking of last year when he'd been right next to the teachers. Being right under the watchful eyes of the teachers meant that you couldn't enjoy the mulled wine provided by the Academy.

With a jolt Lockie sat up straight, his winds ceasing abruptly.
"Is it time for classes yet?" He asked, pulling back his sleeve to check his watch. Only he wasn't wearing his watch. For that matter he didn't seem to have any of his books or bags with him either.
"What do I have first?" he mumbled to himself a moment later, racking his mind for a reminder of his scheduale. If it was a physical subject he wouldn't need to get his books, but he had a feeling that his first class was likely to be something else.

Kara was a little nosy, she admitted that much. She sighed, shifting in her seat when Lowell responded to her. “I’m not writing much, just finishing something up I started this morning before the sunrise and right after it began snowing. Kinda got the creative juices flowing I suppose.”He finished which made her nod. "That's good, so do you draw or write stuff if that note book?" She asked curiously. Right afterwards she sighed, looking over at Blue who had just sat down. She offered the girl a gentle smile. "Are we meeting up in your room tonight?" Blue had asked Alanna. She glanced down at her lap for a minute, waiting for Alanna's response. "Sure are. Kara, you're coming too right?" Alanna had replied to Blue's question. "Of course I am!" She replied with a bright smile. There was no doubt that she would be there. Running a hand through her hair she sighed softly. "Do you guys know what you’re wearing to the after party?" She asked suddenly since they were on the topic of the Feast and After Party. She glanced at Alanna then at Blue and finally at Lowell.

"Lowell, why don't you come with us? We're going to go as a group of friends." Alanna had gave him a friendly smile before adding, "It'll be fun." Kara looked to Lowell, quirking an eyebrow at him as if wondering what his response would be. She kind of hope he would be there just because she thought the more the merrier. Plus she thought Lowell was a pretty cool person. She hesitated slightly before taking her phone out and playing angry birds while thinking of how Lowell would even respond to that question that came from Alanna. Lifting her head momentarily from her game after losing a round she noticed Brent Tanner making his way out of the Dining room and probably to his class. This reminded her that there was only a small time left before class was supposed to begin. Great... she was never really the one who enjoyed school or tried very hard in it either.

---

Beau slowly tore his eyes away from his book, and dispensed it back into his bag where it was supposed to be. After seeing several people stand up and leave the dining room where he assumed most were going to class. By checking his watch that confirmed his thoughts. Not at all did he notice Marion looking at him at any point in time because he was too focused on the book To Kill a Mockingbird at the time. He glanced around the room just in time to see the Marion leaving with a few of her friend's. He grumbled a little angrily as he remembered what class he had next... stupid Professor Tanner. He didn't even deserve the Professor part really all he deserved was Brent. He mumbled something under his breath about Metal's before he spun placed his bag onto his shoulders and left the dining room.

Upon walking from the dining room he went outside, buying himself some time before having to get to the class he disliked probably the most out of all of them. He stopped outside, scooping a cold ball of ice into his hand. Pushing it from hand to hand he debated whether or not he should throw it up into the air. Suddenly a grin took to his face this happened when he got the best idea he could think about. Of course like any other person would he second guessed himself when he knew he would probably get in trouble along with making Brent Tanner disliking him even more than he already did. He chuckled at the thought, it was a good one, but today he wasn't really in the mood for it. He hesitated before throwing it at the school then he went back into school.

Finally after wasting some time he went to class, looking around for maybe a fellow Wood student to be in the hallway. Shaking his head he hated the fact that there weren't that many Wood students. He crossed his arms over his chest, sighing softly. He passed by a flyer which said that there was a Feast tonight. Oh great, a feast tonight. When there was a Feast there was going to be an after party and that was pretty much the only thing that he actually looked forward to. Mostly because he didn't have to wear a tux while watching other's stuff their faces and dance. Plus he didn't really enjoy it because most years it was just him and a few other friend's. It was nothing that really interested him to be honest he kind of really just preferred to sit under a tree while other's danced and spent their time at the feast. He sighed softly, thinking more about it as he began to near the one class he didn't want to go to but had to go to.

---

Harmony sighed softly, shaking her head at Mark. She then noticed a few people rising from their seat, obviously class was about to start. She slid her phone from her pocket, checking the time before stuffing it back into her back pocket. "I better get to class Mark, it was nice talking to you. I'll see you in class later, okay?" She told him before getting up, slinging her bag over her shoulder then smiling at Mark a moment before walking away from the table. She thought about which class she had and soon enough she remembered that it was Professor Tanner that she had at the beginning of the day. Sighing softly she began to make her way over there, wondering if she had left anything in her room that she may have needed for the class, though, she doubted it.

Alanna waited long enough for Lowell's answer before picking up her plate and standing up from the table.

"I've gotta get to class." She said to the small group, glancing quickly at the number of students leaving the dining hall, "But I'll see you guys in class." Alanna couldn't remember if she shared physics class with any of the three, but second period was Professor Janvier's compulsory class so she would see them then anyway.

Alanna quickly took her plates up to be cleaned before leaving through the main doors. Immediately the cold hit her and Alanna hugged her clothes tighter around her. Not wanting to slip on any of the ice she took care with her steps. She managed to make it across the snow filled yard with no problem, reaching the relative safety of the covered walkway without mishap. Then it was only a short walk to the science building and her physics class.

Pushing the door open she saw that only half the room was full, the other half of its students still on their way. Professor Tanner sat at his desk at the head of the classroom, feet resting lazily on his desk. Alanna skirted around his desk and took a seat beside the window at an empty table. She placed her bag down beside her, drew out her physics book and then waited for the lesson to begin.

Alanna could see that they would be working in pairs and hoped that someone wouldn't leave Alanna working alone. A moment later the door opened and Anastasia Palmer walked in. The girl was an ice elemental and not someone that Alanna considered a friend. Anastasia took a seat at the back of the classroom, she too was alone. Alanna hoped that Mr Tanner wouldn't force any pair-less students together, Alanna would rather work alone than with an ice student. Instead of worry about who she would work with Alanna turned her attention to the instruments set up on the table, wondering what they would be doing today.



Lockie was still unsure what he had first period. He stood up, collecting his plate and gave a distracted wave to his friends,
"I'll see you all period two" He told them, referring to one of their compulsory classes. Honestly it was a wonder that he had remembered that... if only he could remember what he had first period.
He listed the teachers and classes as he took his dishes up, striking off classes he was certain he didn't have.

In the end, having reached no definite answer, Lockie was forced to return to his room. There, stuck above his desk, was a large class schedule. Lockie ran a finger across and let out a sigh of relief.
"Study Period" He said to himself, a loop-sided grin spreading across his face. He realised that he probably could have slept in later since his study periods meant he had the whole period to do whatever he wanted. He could sleep through it all if he wanted. But he knew that he would have to use it to catch up on assignments.

Lockie collected his books, stuffed them into his backpack and then proceeded to leave his room. The library was his destination and the walk to the library shouldn't have taken all that long. Only Lockie, as most students know, was easily distracted. A stray thought made him change direction, the drifting sound of music caught his attention a moment later and before he knew it he was on the opposite side of the school from the library, wondering through quiet corridors with little purpose.

It was as he was wondering down one such corridor that he caught sight of a figure quietly sketching in a window seat. As he came closer he recognised Xanthia. Or at least that's what he thought her name was. He hadn't really seen the younger girl around that much.
"Hi, what are you sketching?" He asked. His natural curiousity and friendliness meant he rarely suffered from shyness.

Kara sighed, watching as Alanna rose from her seat and excused herself since she did have class. This was when she remembered that the two didn't have the same period this period, so it was probably a good idea that Kara started to class too. She had no interest in being late to class and getting into trouble because she was busy talking to people. After a while of thinking about which class she had to go to she finally stood up. "I got to get to class too, but I'll see you two around." She announced before making her way over to where she threw away her plate. Once she finished getting rid of her plate she left the dinning hall and slung her bag over her shoulder carelessly. She was now on her way to Professor Heart's class whom of which taught Mathematics, one of the classes that she didn't particularly mind too much.

---

Beau finally made it to Professor Tanner's room, and suddenly he wished that he had brought that snowball to throw on the Professor. Too late now though, sighing softly he smirked a little as he walked into the room. "Hey, Hey! Mr. Tanner! Nice to see you this lovely snowy morning right?!" He said to his Professor loudly. He was obviously being both obnoxious and sarcastic on purpose just to get a rise out of the Professor and maybe even a few kids in his class room at the moment. He chuckled softly, shaking his head. "So, want to give us a little preview of what we are going to do today? Or no?" He asked, lowering his voice slightly as he sat right up in the front seat in front of Professor Tanner's desk. He grinned a little while setting his bag on the ground and began to lean way back in his seat.

---

Harmony slowly entered the room, gently fixing the book that she was holding in her hand. On the way to Professor Tanner's room she had stopped by her dorm room quickly so that she could get her text book for his class, and now here she was standing in his room and making her way over to a desk that in the middle of the room. She looked at Beau, raising an eyebrow slightly at him as he spoke to Professor Tanner. She had remembered that Beau was a Wood and Professor Tanner was a Metal so obviously they never really got along. It didn't help that Beau was always trying to get Professor Tanner mad or was always trying to annoy him. She bit her lip, opening her book and examining her work silently as she waited for further instructions on what they were going to do today.

Lowell was slightly taken by surprise when Alanna extended the invitation to meet up with them later. Smiling at the thought of becoming a social butterfly for the evening he nodded and agreed. “I’ll be there then, thanks.” He replied, his gaze lingering on Blue for longer than was probably necessary. He admitted to himself that he was quite attracted to the girl and any chance to spend more time around her was a blessing in disguise.

As the small group began to break up he gathered his things, tucked his notebook into the pocket of his coat and saluted those who remained. “See you lovely ladies later, math calls.” Lowell said to Blue before he tossed the remains of his breakfast in the trash and stacked his tray along with the others. Bundling himself back up he placed his hat back on top of his thoroughly tousled head and once again braved the cold.

He watched as students in groups or pairs made their way along the snowy sidewalks to the building which held their classes. He himself was on his way to math, not to as a student but as a teacher’s assistant. Ms. Heart had asked Lowell to help her out with her high school classes seeing as how he was quite the mathematician and it was his major after all. He didn’t figure that he’d probably go into teaching, he’d much rather be a statician, but those kind of jobs didn’t just pop out of nowhere. Especially when you were only twenty-one years old and had no sort of work history, so as a fall back he decided why not see what it takes to be a teacher or a professor.

Funnily enough he actually found himself liking it. Helping someone understand a formula, or how something works was amazing. The look on a person’s face when they finally got it was completely worth it. Pushing open the door of the classroom he walked inside and immediately began to take off his outer layers. If it was freezing outside it was more than warm enough in the classroom. Looking around he noticed the absence of Ms. Heart and wondered what he would do if kids started showing up and she didn’t. While he liked helping out he wasn’t exactly qualified.




Niall couldn’t help the grin spreading across his face as Caterina lopped her arm through his and very matter of factly asked him if he was asking her on a date. The young Irish man was thoroughly intrigued by her direct manner and was even more pleased by the fact that she apparently liked his brash personality. Now that he knew she wasn’t the kind of girl you had to hide your personality with it would definitely make things a lot smoother.

“It’s a date then, shall I pick you up from your hallway. I promise I’ll not piss on anything or anyone or piss anyone off for that matter. Well I’ll do my best on that last one, don’t make promises you can’t keep right?” He replied playfully, as he began to escort her to her class. He had a free study period currently and there wasn’t anyone to mark him tardy so it wouldn’t matter if he was running a bit behind or not.

Looking down at the very lovely girl on his arm his mind wandered to the feast later that evening and even better than that, the after party. Not to mention he actually had a date this time. Niall usually went stag and hooked up with girls at the after party after everyone was nice and wasted including himself which was fine but this year had the makings to be quite epic.

Tossing his head back and laughing at the fact Cat was a fan of his so called cocky attitude, he ran a free hand through his snow dampened curly hair. He’d refrained from absorbing any more water knowing that if he did he’d be stuck in a bathroom at the urinal the rest of the day and he’d just promised about the whole pissing thing besides.

“Me, nervous? Ha. I laugh in the face of nerves. Either way, no worries, Love. I couldn’t stop being a cocky asshole if I tried and I have tried. It was quite painful.” Niall finished, his blue eyes dancing as he let Caterina try and get a word in edgewise. She had no idea what she was getting herself into and he’d be more than happy to show her.