It was clear that Ettie didn't know about Bodhi's past. No one had told her when she took her human form, even though it might have been good information to know, and the group she had met wasn't... involved enough in gossip that transpired beyond their immediate social groups. Plus, they would have never thought that someone like Ettie would've ever taken the initiative to approach someone like Bodhi. Maybe the gossip would reach her later but, if not, it hadn't even crossed Ettie's mind to look him up in anything other than those new apps of hers. She just hadn't had a place where to start.

So, when she heard his response, there was a mix of surprise and sadness in her eyes. She quickly glanced down, not wanting him to take it as pity, which he had established he hated. Despite being saddened by the thought that Bodhi had lost people who he cared about, that response was golden for Ettie, who had a job to do. It had given her a better idea of what had shaped Bodhi into who he was and, for a lack of better words, a start into looking at how she could "fix" him.

Ettie wasn't surprised by Bodhi's immediate reluctance to look at the apps, although she would've loved to share it with him, and her eyes glanced over at the clock. Less than two minutes left. She wasn't going to start another conversation with him just so that he could cut her off rudely as soon as the bell rang, so she just quietly packed up her stuff and, as soon as the bell rang, she made sure to stand up before Bodhi.

"See you later, Bodhi," she said, flashing him a smile before turning to Elena, who had walked up to her. "Ready, darling?" she asked her friend and the two exited the room. Ettie wanted to look back badly, but she shook her head slightly. No, she would see him later. Maybe in another class.



Ettie didn't spot Bodhi for the rest of the day and, as frustrated as that had made her, she was reassured by the thought that the two would meet up later, even if it was basically against his will. After school, Ettie had driven home and worked on going over the Constitution, shoving any other work aside.

Her thoughts drifted back to Bodhi often, thinking of ways in which she could get more classes with him and how to find him in lunch, but she kept coming back to the amendments. It wasn't as dull as she had imagined; she was especially intrigued by any amendments that dealt with equality. She didn't know the extensive history of the United States, but she at least knew that without those foundations, people wouldn't be able to love as freely as they did today. There was still a long way to go, but humans were slowly getting there. After reading over it twice, she had memorized at least most of it considering that the Aequus had at least a somewhat good memory, save a few exact wordings here and there.

When the time finally came, Ettie had put her computer, a notebook, the newspapers, and some sweets in one of her large purses and gone to her car, a little powder blue Beetle that was probably way too fitting for her. Really, Ettie would've chosen the yellow one if it hadn't reminded her too much of Taxis.

It took her some time to drive to the place, but when she did, Ettie parked in the closest spot. She knew of bars, of course, but for some reason, Ettie didn't feel very comfortable as she walked in. Her eyes glanced around at the people who would think of hanging out at a bar so early on a weekday. For once, she wished she would've changed into pants or something. With a deep breath of the alcohol-infused air, Ettie walked towards the bar, now looking for Bodhi and putting a smile on her face. She didn't even think of her being underage as she took a seat, putting her purse on the empty stool beside her.

Isaac heard running feet behind him and he closed his eyes. Wasn't she just going to let it go?

"Hold it!

He was almost where he wanted to be when the girl caught up with him and, seeing no other way to escape, Isaac came to a stop. The boy didn't turn around, however, for he was already feeling short of breath. Not because of the run, but because of what he feared would follow. Had she purposefully made it so that Isaac would run out and she could hit him without anyone else seeing her? The idea was a far shot, seeing how she had tried to help him, but Isaac wasn't exactly thinking rationally.

Isaac's eyes opened, even though he hadn't even realized when he closed them in the first place, when she heard Chris apologizing. His hand was fidgeting again, hiding the way it was actually shaking, as he turned around his eyes looking down at the polished school floor. He had come to know those floors personally. He managed to glance up for a second and catch her dark eyes, but his eyes shot back down in a split second.

Chris' words sounded sincere. It was the first time that someone had talked to him like that in a long time-- actually, no one had ever said anything like that before. He gulped and began, once again, to consider the idea of her helping him. As she concluded, Isaac nodded his head slightly and began walking back with her slowly. The last thing he needed was getting screamed at by the teacher, although it wouldn't be the first time Isaac walked out.

As he opened the gym door, Isaac froze, his hands on the bar. "I-I'll do it," he said in a soft tone, looking at Chris. There was obvious hesitation in his words; Isaac didn't want to do this, but something told him that he needed to. He could try it and stop if he didn't like it,
after all. "I only have a bike though, so I can't go too far."

Plus, his parents expected him back at a certain time. He could always say that he was working on a project with someone-- it would make them happy, for sure. "So, uh, where should we meet?"



There was a thin layer of perspiration on Isaac's skin. He had biked to where he was supposed to meet Chris for their after school "lessons". He had gone home right after school as he did every day, but today, he had told his mother that he would be meeting up with a partner, keeping the details vague. To her, it was enough to make her smile and let him go his way.

Parking his bike and putting a chain around it, Isaac hopped off. He felt a little nauseous as he walked to the door. Chris had talked about confidence and all that sort of thing in one of her mini rants and Isaac still wasn't fully convinced that this would be good for him. Only two more years until he could get out of this hole that is high school... surely he could make it without her lessons. He had survived before, even though the whole experience had not been too pleasant. At this point, Isaac just didn't think that there was a way to experience high school without the bullies breathing down his back.

Ettie spotted Bodhi coming out from the back shortly after sitting down. She was tempted to call out to him right away, but she saw him approach a customer and decided to wait. Her eyes followed him quietly, not caring if he glanced over and saw her staring, until a deep voice drew her attention away from the dark-haired human.

Her brown eyes turned and saw an older man. At first, Ettie was slightly taken back, surprised by the stranger who had approached her, but this initial reaction was quickly gone. Contrary to what she would've expected to find at a bar at this hour, this man radiated a level of... love, something that she had yet to feel around the high school. It was so inviting to her that it was like a small gravitational pull for the Aequus.

"Thank you, sir," she replied to the compliment. The words that followed confirmed why she was feeling the pull and she couldn't help but smile warmly at the older man. "It sounds like you loved her a lot," she said in a soft voice, always enamored by the way humans expressed her emotion, and glancing over at Bodhi for a moment. It was somewhat easy for Ettie to sense love down here on earth but she couldn't feel the pain and heartbreak associated with losing someone you love-- which was, in fact, the very reason she was here on earth.

It was then that Bodhi approached them, setting down a glass in front of her. Pleasantly surprised, Ettie looked up at Bodhi and thanked him.

"Don't worry, Bodhi," Ettie said with a small laugh, hearing his comment about being too young. He was right and if it hadn't been for the older man's aura, Ettie would've probably taken Harry's approaching the way Bodhi insinuated, "Harry here has been good company."

She watched the man walk away for a moment before turning her stool back so she could face Bodhi. Ettie nodded at his comment, "I did. And I learned the Constitution like I promised."

Ettie then reached into her back and pulled out two or three newspapers, only a fraction of what she had brought. The first title was already highlighted, with the constitution number written in pencil in the margins. She then reached inside again and pulled out a Tupperware container, putting it down on the counter and sliding it towards Bodhi, "I also brought you some cookies. I don't know if you eat before coming to work."

Taking a sip of her lemonade, Ettie smiled at him, "How has the rest of your day been, by the way?"

As soon as Isaac spotted Chris, he made a beeline towards the table, his blue eyes flashing down to the ground. He had never been to this coffee shop before, despite there being barely anything in Gulfport to begin with, but thankfully it was not buzzing with people. It gave way for a more quiet atmosphere for... well, whatever crazy plan Chris had come up with. As reluctant as he was, something told Isaac that it was better he had agreed to come. Chris didn't seem like one of those people to be happy when turned down.

He nodded slightly in greeting at Chris and took a seat in front of her, putting his backpack on the ground.

Under the table, he wiped his palms on his jeans. At the offer of food, Isaac felt his stomach grumble in protest of low food and he was thankful for the offer, although he would've probably gotten himself anything either way. He was opening his mouth to thank her, but she was already ordering. When the attention turned back to him, his eyes widened slightly as he looked up at the waitress. Reaching out for the menu on the table, he did a quick scan of the items, seeing most of the familiar things she would find at a coffee shop, from the coffees to teas to the bakery session.

"Can I have, uh... a banana bread and iced tea, please?" He said after a few seconds, closing the menu and putting it back down on the table.

The waitress wrote down the order and took the menus, leaving them for the meanwhile.

"Thanks for the food," he said softly, smiling a bit. He hadn't gone out with a friend in a really long time and, although he couldn't consider Chris a friend since he barely knew her, he couldn't help but admit that it felt kind of nice. He had very few friends as it was and for those rare times that they met, it was most likely to play video games or something like that. "So, uh, how long have you lived here in Gulport?" he asked after a moment, unsure of how this conversation should go about.

Ettie's dark eyes followed Bodhi, watching as he served and attended the customers in a very fluid and learned manner. She wondered how long he had been working here. By the casual and familiar way the costumers interacted with him, she figured he wasn't necessarily new. Even though his one-word response at the end didn't exactly please her, she didn't care because the way he interacted with the older men in the bar (you could even call it a pleasant interaction) showed her that there was perhaps a less angry, even happy, side of Bodhi for her to work with. And this was way better than starting from zero. Really, despite not talking a lot, Ettie was learning a lot from this little... session. She just needed to find a way to maximize their interactions over the next few weeks. Or months, since Ettie didn't know how long they would be here.

Taking a long sip of the served refresher, she took one of the newspapers, quickly skimming over the words.

After a few minutes, she looked back up and folded the newspaper. "School is kind of far, do you walk or drive here?" she asked, taking another drink from her cup. Looking outside, through the tinted windows, she could see that it would start getting dark soon. "Do you live around here?" She added, wondering if Bodhi had to walk in the dark. It wasn't that she thought he couldn't handle it, but she also thought perhaps how tired he could be after long shifts.

Isaac listened, his hands fumbling with a sugar packet he had taken from the middle of the table. When Bernadette was mentioned, his eyebrows raised ever so slightly. He had seen the older girl around, had even gotten a few of those smiles she gives out like gifts to those who needed it the most. Like most boys his age, it was hard to not be entranced by her entity and, like most of the student body, it was kind of hard to believe that someone like Chris and Bernadette were sisters at first. But, after some thought, it was reasonable. Siblings were never the same and it made even more sense if the two were adopted.

Unlike Chris, Isaac wasn't too fond of sharing his past so he shrugged, taking a longer sip of his cold drink than normal. "I moved here six months ago," he said, shrugging again and breaking off a piece of his banana bread. "But nothing special. So, uh, how are you liking it here? Where did you live before this?" He added, wanting to shift the attention away from himself.