The Air Smells Weird (open; limit of 3)

Los Angeles. It was lights, sunshine, the coast, crowded with people, rich, beautiful, and, most importantly, it was home. Kyle couldn't imagine a better place to live. There was never a dull moment, he never had the time to be bored, and he had never gone without seeing the ocean at least three times in a week. He absolutely loved it. So as he drove up to this special academy in the mountains of North Dakota, his heart fell, and he was tempted to immediately turn back around and find a way to convince his parents he was really seeking the help he needed.

With a slight squeal of his tires, he pulled up against the fence and put his car in park, listening to the motor rumble for a few more seconds before pulling the key out. The boy sighed deeply, his hands gripping the wheel, as he stared at this place. It looked like something off of one of the many sets he saw in Hollywood, only this one was realer, it had actual people and not actors milling around, and it was most definitely not nearly as exciting. After staring for a few more moments, he finally pushed open his door and stepped out, shutting the door softly behind him, the crisp paint job glinting in the bright sunlight. Even the sun felt different here, and the air smelled weird. He scrunched his nose up in disgust as he looked to the gate for the man that was supposed to come and take his things to his dorm. That was how this place worked, wasn't it?

Maisie Meyers lay, head propped under a bookbag, on a shallow brick wall, one bordering the garden whose bloom reached especially towards the sky. It was summer, real summer, true summer. The hot son brought many outdoors, the kids of Beata Academy laying on the lawn to complete homework, playing with an old frisbee and trying not to step on others having a picnic. Maisie wasn't that complex. She just lay on a brick wall, diagonal on it with a book pressed against her bare knees. Every once in a while she would turn the place, her maltempered stare flitting across pages. Every once in a while, these teal, flitting irises would look up. They would connect with a passerby in a sort of paranoid glance. It was like she expected everyone to be approaching her, whether it be a friend or an enemy, whether she knew a difference in either. She didn't seem to want it either way. When she'd look up to see if anyone was coming to her, her mouth would open with an interrogative, delicate hang, an ajar innocence that would make one think of her a simple girl. She'd look like a girl unburdened by the trials of complicated feelings, a girl who did not dwell in anger and bitterness as something she preferred. Her suspicions would vanish, however, her eyes fading darkly to the page once more, and her mouth would close to the concentrated frown it was before. This silent, waverless read would go for five to ten more minutes, then it would repeat once more.

When she looked up at a particular point in time, however, it was for reasons other than her wariness. No, it was a noise, something she did not hear much of that caught her attention. A motor cruised up to the sparse parking lot of the campus entrance, followed by the soft pop of a car door closing. She brushed her bangs from her forehead, hair that seemed softer than the sun in brightness, and strained her glare to get a better look. Who would be cruising up in a car like that? Only a few faculty had vehicles, because they were unnecessary in the small town, and she had never seen that car before. Who was that? Was that a student?

He had to be rich.

Maisie was never poor herself. She was well off for her entire life, at least a little bit. She was never as well of as this boy appeared however, and she was convinced that this appearance was reality. This kid was spoiled. There was something that brought a pinch of annoyance in her bones, like salt to a soup. She didn't know who would roll up like that, or why they thought they'd be received well. The school was filled with a bunch of losers.

Perhaps that's why they did it. The school was filled with a bunch of losers.

Maisie closed her book on her knees and put it beside her, turning her body as to face the gate and narrowing her eyes, curiously. She watched him, watched the people around him. Would it work? She reckoned it could. The boy did have an air of confidence with him, though if confidence was a mouse pompousness was a lion. She watched him screw up his nose toward the air, and curled her lip. What an asshole this guy looked like. He was not her kind of person at all. No sooner that she turned did she turn back, and grabbing her book once more, got back to reading. She never regained a focus to the page, however, albeit entirely. Her center of focus was glued to the side; if she wasn't staring, she was listening.

Adalene was bored. Not 'there's nothing to do today' bored, but a deep set boredom that followed her everywhere she went and prevented her from enjoying anything at this stupid school. Sure, there was good drama. Much more interesting stuff than her posh private school she went to in France. Here, it was a mixing pot of excessively strong powers and hormones, a good combination for interesting gossip. But she had yet to really be involved, instead just staking out the playing field and waiting it all out. For now, she'd play nice.

Still, Valerie was the only person she knew, and the only company she actually seemed to enjoy. It was getting to be a bit lonesome. In France, everyone knew her and either loved her or feared her. Hear, she was on equal playing field with the rest of the damned school, and that didn't sit well with her. She was an Amell. She was better than them.

To reiterate, Adalene was bored. Bored enough to aimlessly wander around in a desperate attempt for something to capture her attention and occupy her time. So when she heard the over zealous engine and saw an obviously expensive car pull up to the school, she knew that this was her time. Head high, she sauntered over to the gate and watched as the admittedly attractive young man get out. He examined the building with an unimpressed look that Adalene knew well enough, as she had done the same thing when she first got here. She knew his type. Too rich for his own good, never had to work a day in his life, probably arrogant and smug.

Her kind of company.

"If you're waiting for someone to take your things off your hands, you'll be waiting quite a while. You'll have to make your own way around here." She spoke up, leaning against the gate and studying him. "But I can show you around, if you'd like." Addie practically purred.

As he looked around, hoping for someone to step forward before he had to go looking himself, he saw a blonde girl reading a book beyond the fence. She seemed to be watching him, studying him, making me uncomfortable, Kyle thought with a strange feeling. He was used to people watching him, but not like that. For a brief moment, he wondered if perhaps he'd done something wrong. Was he not supposed to park here? Or was she the valet that was trying to decide if she would do her job? Raising his hand, he opened his mouth to call to her and was interrupted by a different girl.

She was beautiful, there was no doubt about that, and instantly, he felt his face brighten, his mouth pull up into a smile, and his hand returned to his side. Just like the other girl, she was studying him, but this wasn't a strange look. This was something he was used to. And eagerly, he returned the favor, his eyes giving her a slow once-over as she spoke. "You're joking, right? There's no way I'm going to carry all my bags to. . .wherever it is they need to go." He laughed, shaking his head and jingling the keys in his hand. He paused for a moment, considering his options, before asking, "Since you're here, wanna help a guy out? I won't make you carry the heavy stuff."

Adalene was sure that he had plenty of bags. After all, she had brought a plethora of her own, though Valerie's servants had ended up doing the manual labor there. But to ask her to carry them... Well, Adalene was fairly certain she hadn't helped someone carry their bags in her life. It was not a lady's place to help with things like that. At first, a look of surprise passed her face. Then she did her best to keep from frowning, but couldn't help narrowing her eyes. "You should know I'm not one to do a favor without receiving something in return, Kyle." She flashed him a wink, preparing for the whole blahblah, how do you know my name? "Regardless, I suppose I have nothing better to do." It wasn't like her to do something nice like this, but she had a feeling this boy could be useful to her, even though she wasn't sure how yet.

The smile on his face dropped at one corner, slipping off his face as she said his name. He wracked his brain, looking for the moment she'd asked it or he'd told her without prompting, memories being a place he specialized, but when he couldn't find it, his eyes narrowed much like hers had done, confused about her being able to call him by name. In an attempt to play it off like he had simply missed it, Kyle said, "Well, feel free to drop by any time and ask for that favor, Miss..?" He hoped she'd give her name as he walked back to his car and around the back, lifting the trunk.

It was deeper than it had looked from the outside-- a pro of the luxury model it was-- and held two large suitcases, a smaller suitcase, and a backpack that looked stuffed to the teeth. He reached inside and pulled the backpack out, slinging it over his back before glancing over at the girl. Behind her, he could see the girl that had been watching him, staring hard at her book, but even as he stared, she didn't turn any pages, apparently disinterested in it. Still curious about her ranking at the school, the boy decided to risk it and called over, "Hey, Blondie, with the book! Wanna help us out?"

The call to her cut through the air like a razor blade, and her glare cut back. She almost didn't want to believe he barked at her like that. She lowered the book, the blonde haired girl tilting her head back lazily, her mouth hanging ajar for a moment as she looked at him through unamused eyes. Her tongue rolled over the inside of her lower lip inspectively. "Wanna go fuck yourself?" she responded, almost absentmindedly like she didn't find him worth it, putting her attention back to her book.

"Adalene Amell." She answered when prompted, forgetting that most people didn't actually know or give a shit about her here. "And be careful, I might take you up on that offer." She flirted back, before grabbing the smaller suitcase. Why was she doing this again? Sure, helping people out meant they owed her, and this guy seemed like he might be of use to her in the future, but it was really quite degrading, in her opinion.

Adalene looked back, blonde hair flipping gracefully as she looked over at the other person in the entrance she had yet to notice. Maisie Meyers. This Maisie girl looked like an absolute bitch, and Adalene could respect that. She found it more interesting than anything, and she idly wondered if she could raise the conflict between the two. Now that would be entertaining. A break from the dull life she'd led thus far at Beata Academy.

With a smirk, she set the suitcase down and crossed her arms over her chest. "I believe that's her oh so kind way of saying no." The look on her face said 'so what are you going to do about it?', and she hoped Kyle would take the bait and bark back at the other blonde girl.

His nose wrinkled at the response he received from the blonde. It wasn't exactly what Kyle had expected, but he had figured it wouldn't be long before he met someone who hated his guts. Of course, it was still early, and he was sure he could turn it around. Sparing half a glance for Adalene, he smirked before calling back, "Yeah, I bet you'd love to watch, wouldn't you?"

Sighing heavily, he looked down at the two larger suitcases. Making sure the backpack was on his shoulder properly, he reached down and tugged up one, prying it apart from the other, and heaving it from the trunk.

Maisie stopped reading as soon as she began. She didn't look at him, at least at first. Rather, she sort of dawdled there, eyes forward to the stones by her feet with a thoughtful tilt of her head, the book in her hands half closed save for the finger that kept the pages from meeting. On her face was something of a smirk, her mouth slimly ajar and almost straight. It was the curve at her dimple, though, something that hinted at amusement, and she looked up to watch him strutting away, bleach hair falling lightly over her shoulders as she rolled her tongue over her cheek. Her mouth grew further agape. She lingered once more in a comfortable silence, and shook her head, almost impressed by his courage towards her. Maisie returned to her book with a wordless grin, a quiet sardonicism.

Adalene had been watching Maisie, hoping the girl would retort, but instead she just smirked and turned back to her book. "How disappointing." She murmured under her breath. Just when things were starting to get interesting, the other girl had to back down from the obviously brewing argument. Turning back to to Kyle's car, she waited for him to get situated and prepared to head to the dorms. She studied her cuticles, contemplating the last time she had a manicure. A week? Two?