Bodhi Linch's Story

It hadn't even been a full year since Isaac transferred to Harrison High School and he was already resorting to using the showers to change. It wasn't that he was the only one doing that-- there were a handful of boys that preferred the semi-privacy of the stalls over the open rows of lockers, but most of his classmates just didn't want to parade their partially, if not fully, naked bodies around the sweaty locker room. It wasn't like Isaac's, who did it because he had partially naked boys taunting him wherever he went.

The whole idea of getting a "fresh" start at Harrison had been shattered as soon as Isaac realized that his wholehearted attempts to stay out of people's radar were futile. For some damned reason. So, it was as if he had never left Boston, except this was much worse. His previous school wasn't filled with jocks that pushed him around; it was filled with competitive kids hungry for success, extracurriculars, and A's-- anything that would make them look good on their college applications, even if it meant they had to run over someone else to get the positions. They were even more verbal, but never physical with their manner of bullying. Sure, their words stung but the bruises... God, it was a daily battle to make sure that his parents didn't see them.

Isaac wasn't one to linger in the locker room for any amount longer than needed so he was quick change and head towards the door, hoping to escape the musky place and make his way into the cool-air of the gym. Unfortunately, Rui, who was still shirtless, caught sight of him. Stepping in front of Isaac with crossed arms, Rui obstructed Isaac's beeline to the door.

Isaac was stopped dead in his tracks and his eyes shot down to the gray floor.

"Where you going, Cassie?"

The question itself was actually stupid, considering that it was PE, but Rui was obviously not one to excel in subjects that didn't involve physical activity. And that nickname... despite the obvious fact that it stemmed from his last name, it was also a jab how Rui saw Isaac. It wasn't the first time that Isaac's soft and reserved demeanor was connected to the idea of him being feminine, and it certainly wasn't the first time that rumors of him being homosexual circulated a group. But it still bothered Isaac for more than personal reasons.

"I heard that we'll be fighting each other in class," The bully said, smirking. By now, two of his other friends had joined him. "Can you believe it? An actual opportunity for me to kick your ass and not get in trouble."

The boys that had tuned in chuckled, while a few others lingered a bit away, not saying anything but not looking at the group with approving eyes either.

Isaac didn't show it in his expression, but a feeling of dread washed over him. Considering that he didn't have a lot of friends to notify him of this sort of thing, the news came as a shock to Isaac. Fighting? That would be impossible. Perhaps Rui saw the flag football unit as an opportunity to physically attack him without much repercussion.

The thought made his heart pound against his chest, and it was painful. It felt as if his rib cage was compressing so, with clumsy steps, Isaac moved around the group of boys and towards the exit. Instead of looking up, his arms reached out using them as guidance while he hoped to find the cold metal doors quickly.

Behind him, Rui hustled to put his shirt on and follow the trail of the skinny boy. "It'll be fun, I promise. At least for me," Rui called after him, the door slamming behind the posse of boys that followed the bully. Seeing that Isaac wasn't stopping or turning around, Rui added, "Aw, come on, Cassie," before shoving the boy.

A gasp escaped his lips as the air in his lungs was pushed out of him from the force. His body stumbled forward and he fell on an unexpecting girl, who also shoved him away. "S-sorry," he stuttered, his eyes looking down and already brimmed with tears, but the girl either didn't hear him or didn't care.

It was then when he heard Chris's voice. He was surprised that she would say anything --that anyone would say anything, actually, since most people preferred to turn their eyes away.

From the place he where he stood, hunched over, which was about two meters away from where Chris and Rui stood, Isaac watched as the short girl spoke back to the boy who had decided to make Isaac his punching bag. Well, actually Isaac looked up every so often because he could only glance up for a couple of seconds before having to look down. Then, she looked turned to Isaac and his eyes widened. "I freak people out like that all the time."

His mouth opened, ready to say a shaky "thanks," but Chris turned around and moved towards the rest of the class before Isaac could say anything. Or rather, before Isaac dared to say anything. Gulping, Isaac walked over to the bleachers and sat on the edge of the and as far away from Rui and his group as possible.

---

So it was worse than flag football. God, why hadn't he just made up the excuse of feeling sick again? Coach Hase knew of Isaac's lower immune system, and although he wasn't that much more lenient with the blue-eyed boy than with the other students, it did get him out of activities every so often. Isaac tried to use the excuse sparingly so it wouldn't feel like a habit to Hase and Isaac was feeling like he should definitely cash in that card when he saw Rui walking towards him. He could already feel the bruises.

Isaac's eyes flashed in alarm, looking for someone else who he could work him. Someone smaller and with less muscle-- someone who would be more gentle. Then, Chris approached him instead and he saw Rui go over and team up with one of his buddies.

"I'm good at this thing."

Was it reasonable to say that those words scared Isaac? Sure, Chris was smaller than him but he also didn't doubt that a good punch could be packed with those fists. But then again, hadn't she just stood up for him back there? While Chris was intimidating and scared at least half the class with just her presence, Isaac had never seen her bothering anyone the way Rui went about bullying people like him. And wasn't she actually part of Bernadette's family or something?

Isaac nodded slightly in recognition. He didn't have a choice anyway; better her than Rui. Probably. "Hi there, Chris," he said, his voice almost inaudible against the background noise of the gym and his left hand already starting to fidget with his shirt. But at least it was something.

Clearing his throat, Isaac added, not realizing how sad his words could actually sound: "I, uh, took a year of Tae Kwan Do when I was seven... but as you can imagine, I'm not very good at this."

Ettie had made a small mistake in judgement.

She had arrived at the classroom less than two minutes into the passing period and, making a choice that very few would willingly make, the teen had placed her heart-shaped backpack besides a desk that sat on the first row. Getting to the teacher's good side had been the last things on her mind-- rather, Ettie had been lured by the single window whose blinds Mrs. Schmidt had uncharacteristically left open from where, if Ettie sat straight enough, she could gaze out into the courtyard and look down at all of the students walking to their next classes. From a second-floor classroom, Ettie could barely see their faces but it didn't matter. Seeing them laugh, talk, and some even kiss was enough for her.

In fact, Ettie had forgotten what it felt like to be so close to humans.

Feeling a tap on her shoulder, Ettie's attention was drawn away from the scenery and towards the curly-haired girl that sat behind her. Elena, a classmate from art class who always had paint splashed on her jeans and tainted fingers, looked at her with a bright smile. She felt the girl's hand brush warmly against her arm as Elena began to speak about the latest art assignment.

It was actually hard for Ettie to concentrate on what the girl was saying while she admired the way Elena's laugh lines appeared so easily and the way her hair fell into a new position with the slightest movement. For Ettie, it was easy to forget that she was here as a form of punishment for her catastrophic flaws-- she couldn't help it, high school, despite its negative sides, was brimmed with love and hormones, with the radiance that was so often lost in adulthood and with minds that still yearned to dream. In a way, it made her feel right at home.

But her human wasn't overflowing with love or happiness like the girl in front of her.

Amongst the sea of students taking advantage of the few minutes of passing time to talk and fool around, a figure walked in that caught her attention immediately. Bodhi. Ettie knew who her human was, all of the emotions did, but there was a specific tug in her human heart the moment he stepped inside. Ettie's gaze lingered as she watched Bodhi take a seat on the opposite side of the classroom from her, and Elena followed her gaze, grimacing as she saw who had caught her friend's attention.

"What's wrong, babe?" Elena asked, chuckling, "Are us tormented artists not dark enough for you?"

Ettie's eyes turned back to her friend, blinking a few times, her expression serious before a warm laugh escaped her lips. Ettie shook her head, "Elena, you are like a ray of sunshine."

With that, Ettie turned around, her smile faltering as soon as she was looking straight ahead. How could she have been such an idiot? She couldn't even look at the guy from where she was sitting, dammit.

---

Throughout the class, Ettie couldn't help but look over her shoulder at the other extreme of the classroom where her human sat -or, rather slept- whenever Mrs. Schmidt looked another way. Of course, this had actually earned her some disapproving glances her way from the woman -and a few questioning looks from Elena- since Ettie didn't have any experience with this sort of thing but she didn't care either way. She actually cursed the fact that Bodhi didn't even look her way but, in reality, it was probably good that he didn't spot the brown-eyed girl looking at him with wide eyes. It would've probably made him avoid her like the plague. If he didn't already.

In fact, Ettie couldn't get enough glances. The clock above the board ticked away and, despite this being her first class with Bodhi, she was getting desperate with the lack of quick progress.

It was probably this constant glancing that finally drew Mrs. Schmidt over the edge and caused her to storm over to Bodhi. The whole class turned to watch the spectacle and, taking advantage of this excuse, Ettie fully turned in her chair, ignoring how the arm rest dug into her side.

Ettie heard Elena and the rest of the class chuckle, but it was hard for the emotion to find this situation amusing at all. A frown formed on her face -sure, the teacher was within reason but she didn't like her human being treated like that anyways- and it remained until Ettie heard the teacher start talking about a project. How lucky of them.

As the class dispersed, Ettie could already feel hopeful eyes burning the back of her head. Ettie stood up and looked down at Elena. She couldn't waste this opportunity to approach Bodhi so she very unsubtly motioned towards another classmate. "Don't look at me with that face, dear. Mr. Adari over there looks like he's dying to do this project with you."

Her friend's eyes widened at the comment but Ettie didn't waste another minute and, throwing her backpack over her right shoulder, she moved over to the back of the room, her movement light and almost in a dancing manner. People were standing and finding their partners, mostly just choosing their closest friend in said class, but a few had already sat down and taken a seat on the desks around Bodhi since they were the farthest from the front.

But Ettie needed to sit beside him so she rested her hand on the shoulder of the boy who had taken her seat, squeezing slightly. "May I, dear?" she asked, sitting down almost immediately after. Ettie would've blown the boy a kiss but at least she knew slightly better, which was probably something not very common for her, and contained herself.

"Hi Bodhi," Ettie said, smiling brightly. She actually wasn't sure what to say-- she really didn't know much about her human and hadn't thought to think of something before sitting down. But it was too late to not say anything.

"So my friend kind of bailed on me and everyone else already has a partner." This was obviously false, considering that some people still looked slightly lost. "So, partners-- you and me? I know the Constitution basically by heart so I promise this won't be hard at all." A lie. She had no idea what the heck it was. Or rather, she had never cared. Now, ask her about a Renoir painting and that would be a different story.

Ettie had to deal with people very similar to Bodhi countless of times over the years. Yes, here were more bitter than loving people in this world. But she always kept a distance from humans, allowing her to feel more detached and less moved by anything they did. If anything did go terrible wrong,anyways, she could always use stronger doses of her power. But this was a completely different experience.

Never before had she been directly spoken to that way. Well, he wasn't even looking at her. So, to no surprise, Ettie was initially taken back by Bodhi's sharp tone-- the words themselves were nothing to her, but the bitterness in them made her physically move back as if a few centimeters more of distance could shield her from the cold, initial effect they had on her.

You knew he'd be like that, Ettie reminded herself. And it's not his fault. You can't let him get to you. The effect wasn't long-lasting, thankfully, and she quickly recovered, ready to say something else.

Ettie's eyes turned to Bodhi's fingers, which had started moving. Despite being proficient in the arts, it was hard to say that anyone, including Ettie, would've guessed that the tapping was meant to match what would hopefully become a song, so her eyes quickly flashed over to Elena, who appeared to be a little more red on the cheeks than usual. She and Raj Adari seemed unable to stop smiling and, seeing this made Ettie smile slightly. "She made her decision and look at her, she's having a great time. I see nothing wrong--"

She stopped when she heard and saw Bodhi's fist slam down on the desk, her body jumping a little at the unexpected movement. This made a few heads turn, but Ettie ignored them. Instead, the words that followed made her bite her lip.

And not in the way he intended, probably. Instead, she was trying to hold back a laugh and it was clear from her expression. Bad boys? L'Oreal? What was this boy talking about? The laugh finally escaped once he mentioned the second amendment. It was nothing out of the ordinary, but there was certainly a natural warmth to the sing-song laughter that was contagious to most people. The only thing that bothered her out of those sentences was Bodhi mentioning Travis, a boy who used love as a weapon against so many girls. It was hard to be fond of that boy and a bit insulting for anyone to think that she would enjoy being around him at all.

As she watched Bodhi stand up, obviously desperate to get away from her, Ettie managed to stop laughing and call after him, "Bodhi, come on--"

There was some tenderness in her tone, but she didn't bother saying anything else because she saw Mrs. Schimdt stop Bodhi before he could get too far. Ettie, to be honest, wasn't the scholar student but she was certainly loved, or at least liked, by all teachers. She was glad of it because the teacher gave her a small smile before turning to the escapee. Ettie would've made sure that Bodhi was her partner no matter what, but Mrs. Schmidt had just made it easier for her.

A bright smile appeared on Ettie's red lips as she watched Bodhi sit down back down. "Isn't this wonderful?"

"Now, let's get one thing clear, sweetie," Ettie said, brushing aside his question and mentally telling herself that she would have to remember that thing, not that it would be a problem for her.

It was common for her to address people like that, with dears and sweeties and loves, so it didn't even come to mind to take it out of her speech with Bodhi. Ettie leaned over the railing of the desk so that she could cut the space between them and speak in a lower voice. Her tone was more serious this time, but her voice was naturally on the softer and sweeter side, so there was still warmth in it. "If I wanted to roll in bed with you I would've already told you-- directly. But it's cute for you to think that I do."

She was Love, so it was easy for her to find something in Bodhi that she liked. But what he had said had not been Ettie's first thought when she saw him since, to people's surprise, sex was not the first thing Love thought of. Not that she spoke against it, but if it was going to scare Bodhi away, she needed to address it.

With that said, she raised her voice to her normal volume and sat straight up again and shrugged her shoulders, "Bodhi, you probably deserve a break from Mrs. Schmidt constantly breathing down your back. If we work together, she'll be one less thing for you to worry about. I'm not going to do all the work for you, but it will be easier if we work together."

Anyways," she added with a small sigh, "I'm sure my dads have old newspapers that we can use, and I don't think we will take too long. Where do you want to meet? I don't care where, but if you want, we can do it at my house."

Dark abysses met her own and, for the first time, Ettie felt the hairs on her arms rise. How odd.

Even though Bodhi wasn't any more pleased than he had been before she approached him, Ettie considered this as progress. She could tell that he was even more annoyed than when they had begun talking, but this wasn't going to make her leave, even if it was a little disheartening for her.

From this short interaction, Ettie could tell that, in that way, Bodhi was used to getting what he wanted. One bad word or cold gaze and everyone around him would learn to stay away. It didn't cross Ettie's mind that maybe Bodhi stayed away from people because it was easier than letting them into his life. There were a lot of people like that but, being Love, Ettie believed that humans sought love and company unconditionally.

Bodhi's mention of parole came as a surprise, but she tried her best not to show it in her expression. She didn't know anything about her human so this was new information that could be useful since understanding what led Bodhi to this point in his life was important. As for his quotation marks... she noticed he used them a lot. She had paid enough attention to this culture to understand what they meant, even if she didn't know their Constitution.

"It's not out of pity," Ettie corrected him in a soft tone. Of course, nothing she did was meant to belittle people -unless she was mad at them-, but it wasn't in her nature to stay quiet either when she had something to say.

With that, she reached over to her backpack and took out two heart-shaped sticky notes from her pencil pouch, listening as Bodhi mentioned that damn Constitution again. It seemed like he didn't like to leave things said in the past either. On one sticky note, Ettie wrote her name and phone number. Without thinking about it, she drew a small heart at the end of her number.

Realizing this, she glanced over at the boy before scribbling it out, although a few lines couldn't completely hide it, and instead put a smiley face. "That's my number," she said, placing the sticky notes and purple pen on his desk, "And just give me the address and name of the bar. I'll be there at whatever time is best for you."

"Ass parked on that stool for you and everything," she ended with a joking tone. It was unusual for Ettie to use those kinds of words -it was usually under very different circumstances- and to joke, really, but she hoped it would lighten things up.

Something at the back of her head told Ettie to drop the topic but she couldn't help to quickly add: "It's not lying, it's selection of diction-- I'll learn it by tonight, don't worry."

Second Amendment-- Right to bear arms. She wouldn't forget.

Isaac had started to roll up his fingers into a fist but he immediately lowered his hand as he heard Chris's first words, a wave of relief washing through him as he realized that she didn't want to get physical just yet, even though he wasn't sure how they could do this unit without fighting. His eyes glanced all around, seeing that people had already begun practicing. At the corner of his eye, he saw Ivy and a blonde fighting it out fiercely with a flinch before turning back to Chris, hearing the next wave of words that came from the shorter peer.

Doormat? The fact that he was passive didn't mean that words didn't hurt and Isaac frowned in response, taking a step back. She was making sense, but his heart was already pounding. He thought he could do this unit and learn to fight, but his breaking sweat was telling him otherwise. Her words sped by in his mind, "Courage... confidence... after school..."

Her words seemed enticing, but he just... couldn't. Why did he think for a second that he could? Suddenly, he felt a pain in his abdomen and the sweat falling down the side of his temple.

The young boy gulped hard, his hand starting to pull on the edge of his gym shirt. "I-I don't feel good," he suddenly said after a moment, "Sorry." He turned around and ran for the door, cutting in between the pairs practicing the work. Maybe he could at least wait out until the end of the period in the locker room or something.

Ettie's poke at a joke fell flat and she did a mental sigh. She wasn't exactly pleased with the dirty look Bodhi gave her post-it notes either, but it was a detail she could brush aside. He didn't appreciate them. Yet.

Ettie only smiled at the dry question. The parents she had chosen for her human form weren't exactly strict, thankfully, they just asked to know where she was if it was late at night, in case anything happened. The mention that he didn't have a phone made Ettie's smile falter a little. Not because she thought it would be a problem, although not having his number to for easier contact was a problem. She just didn't think about that way. Ettie was fascinated with those little devices. All those dating apps and romance novels accessed with a few clicks? Ettie had quickly become a little... obsessed with them, even though she knew she couldn't actually talk to anyone, as tempted as she was, since it would be a distraction from her real duty.

"I'll find you," Ettie said, nodding her head. She didn't know where the place was, but that's what GPS was for. "And keep my number," she added, "If you ever need a lift or a favor, just ask.

Ettie turned her eyes back to her desk for a moment before looking back at Bodhi. They only had like ten minutes left until class ended and she didn't know if she would have any more classes with him. She hoped so. "Bodhi, why don't you have a phone?" she asked after a second. Her tone wasn't rude or demeaning, she obviously didn't know his situation, but she couldn't get her mind out of how great those apps were-- so many people to meet... Maybe if he had them, Bodhi wouldn't be so... cold. The idea made her eyes widen and she blurted out, "I actually just got this new app and it's so cool. Wanna see it?"

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.