You Don't Belong Here

Uh... was it something she said? The girl was shaking like a leaf and stumbling over every word now. It was painful just to listen to. It had just been an innocent question, the same exact thing Grace had asked her two seconds before. Could anybody at this fucking Academy go two minutes in a conversation without turning into a weird freak, even when she tried to be friendly for once. "Hey, calm down," Kayla said, on the verge of snapping by the time Grace had managed to spit it all out. Shit, was that so hard? Umbrakinesis, umbrakinesis... Damn it, she could never remember the fancy scientific names. Why not just call it 'darkness manipulation' or something simple like that?

She put a hand on the back of her head with a sigh, glancing off to Beata's brick facade. "The front office?" Kayla repeated. "You're looking at it." Shit, she probably should've just left her there to fend for herself, but something pushed her to stay and speak instead. "Do you need a guide?"

Grace felt incredibly stupid by this point. How was Kayla supposed to know her powers were a bit of a sore spot? The fact that the girl was even still there surprised her, since she was at least sane enough to tell she'd been acting incredibly childish. She felt like she needed to prove that she could hang around other people and not lose it completely. Heck, Kayla was even offering to be her guide. Or maybe she was just asking it in a general sense. Well, only one way to find out...

"Y-... Yes, I could really use one." Grace forced herself to stop fidgeting nervously, and made her words come out as one complete thought, rather than a jumble of stuttering. She even gave the girl a smile, though it looked a bit forced, like she was trying too hard. Still, this was the first person Grace had met here, and she seemed like she really knew her way around the place. She didn't want to scare her - or anyone really - away immediately upon stepping foot on campus.

Back however many months ago, Kayla had come waltzing through those gates too. A tall girl with an Australian accent had offered her a tour around the school, and Kayla had responded by blowing up the fountain and getting into a fight with some guy who'd been sitting on the bench. Funny how that all turned around in the end. Now here she was, in the same position that girl had been in before, staring down some newbie who needed an escort.

"Well, come on then," Kayla muttered, frowning and turning to walk down the bricks, toward the school that had been her home. There was a slight limp to her walk. "I guess you really don't know anything about this place, huh? They never tell you much. Must be pretty intimidating." She gave a small snort. "Just stay out of trouble and it'll feel just like a normal school."

Out of trouble. Kayla's world was the definition of trouble. That meant no monster hunting, no fights, no mischief, no... well, 'no' to about everything Kayla went and did. Most other people seemed to get along fine though, more or less. Most.

With the knowledge that Kayla really was going to take her there, Grace fell in behind her, concerned over the clear limp, though the way the conversation had been going, she finally wised up and kept her mouth shut about it. Stay out of trouble… That wouldn't be that hard. She had never been in trouble. Spending all of her time in a single place tended to keep her from even thinking of acting out. She gave a slight nod, though the other girl wasn't looking anyway, and her mind slowly began to wander. Was Kayla her friend now? Probably not. This was probably like some kind of obligation, nothing more. But maybe…

She had to force her mind back into place in order to keep herself from bumping into Kayla's back. With the girl's limp, Grace walked faster, so she had to reign it in in order to keep a normal distance behind her. She would love to have actually made a friend on the very first day, but she sort of felt that Kayla didn't like her. That could be just some bad preconceptions though. She sure as heck wasn't going to ask, obviously. So she kept walking, step by step until they made it to the doors of the school. She didn't know if she should run forward and hold the door open for Kayla. Maybe she'd get pissed off. Or maybe she'd get pissed off that she didn't. The indecisiveness gnawed at Grace, though she chose to keep at her safe distance and hope for the best.

They reached the doors in relative silence, and Kayla flung them open without a word, stray sparks and ripples of electricity coursing down her arm. Even when she wasn't trying, little snakes and flickers of lightning would shoot out around her. Harmless, as long as you weren't touching her, but it drove her crazy sometimes. No matter what hour of night or day, she could always hear it—the ever present bzz and zaps of crackling sparks.

The doors opened up to a wide and spacious lobby room, with white tile and towering walls lined with trophy cases and old banners. To the left and right of them stretched long empty halls, ahead was an old wooden staircase. "Home sweet home," Kayla muttered, throwing a glance behind her. "The secretary's upstairs."

Grace looked around at the spacious, white room. It looked… sterile. An unintended shiver passed through her; the last place she wanted to be was one with white walls and flooring. It was too familiar. Semi-consciously she had stepped a bit away from Kayla, the sparks darting up and down her arms scaring the young girl. A thought ran through her mind of annoying the girl enough that she shocked her senseless, but that probably wouldn't happen… maybe.

"Th-thank you. I… I can go find them." She knew they'd have to part eventually, and she honestly felt embarrassed about her behavior. This way she could get a few minutes to calm herself and run through her anxiety before meeting the secretary. This really wasn't how she wanted to behave. She made her way to the stairs, giving Kayla a slightly nervous wave and another trying-too-hard smile before ascending the steps, to whatever future may lay before her there.