if i could read your mind [open]

A dainty finger slide over the smooth cup anxiously. Back and forth. Back and forth. With each staggered pause in her finger, the cup moved towards her lips, fogging her eyesight with warm steam. The girl always retracted the mug seconds later, a scrunched nose and squinted eyes left on her face. With a sigh, she blew away a few strands of hair from her face.

American tea was always so poorly made.

Genny sat gingerly, her eyes flitting between the various customers around the quaint café. They all reeked of small town life. Even their thoughts were so... small. As small as this town. Simple things passed through everyone's minds, such as when the stores close, what food or drink they should order, their own interpersonal struggles, and various other mundane thoughts. A few more exclusive thoughts did pop out. Specifically, those belonging to the students of Beata that sat at a booth not far from the red-headed Brit. Although there were those of grades and other rather 'normal' notions, more supernatural ones stuck in their minds than that of a regular student. Practising their gifts, admiring others, detesting others.

Despite the idea of people accepting each other's 'gifts', the girl couldn't help but feel queasy. Firebreathing or super speed were one thing. Mind reading was another. It was disgusting. How intrusive could one be? Unconscious and unwelcomed invasion of one's own privacy. No person would ever trust someone who could easily break down all of their walls and spill all of their secrets.

Swiftly raising her drink, Genevieve downed her tea, embracing the slight burn as it coated her throat. It was time for her to leave before she could depress herself even further. Just as she grabbed her bag and pushed her chair out from under her, a stranger bumped right into her.

As soon as Roderick turned away from the counter, carefully cupping a mug of black tea rivaling the height of the Eiffel Tower in one hand, he collided with an unfamiliar figure.

At least a quarter of the tea he was sporting instantly shot up into the air, and searing hot water dashed across his features. He cursed incoherently and recoiled, trying frantically to swipe the burning liquid off of his face. Just what he had needed on this particular morning. As the result of an unfortunate baseball accident and the concussion that'd followed it, the Winter had been confined to his room for the past three days by the infirmary staff. No sunlight, no going out to get food or cigarettes, no anything.

This was the first time since his injury that Roderick had left his dormitory. He'd been very much looking forward to a proper breakfast, and now his morning tea was everywhere but in his mouth.. And oh, shit, had it gotten all over whoever he'd knocked into as well?

"God, I-I--" Roderick squinted up at the person he'd ran into, rigorously rubbing one his his eyes to sate the burning itch that the tea had left behind. "--I'm sorry, I wasn't.. Wasn't looking."

The girl squealed as something hot hit her back. The liquid seeped into her shirt, sending shivers through her spine as she straightened up and turned around to see the perpetrator.

With one glance, and perhaps a sneak peek into his mind, Genny loosened her stance and let the surprise drip from her face. She could feel the pity swell in her chest as she brushed her hand across her wet back. This boy didn't deserve an aggravated encounter. Not after what he had just been through. Though the cigarettes did concern her.

"D-Don't worry, I'm perfectly alright," the red-head spoke, her voice trembling from the shock the tea had given her body. "Are you well? I do hope your eyes and head are not too hurt."

As soon as the girl turned around to face him, something felt off.

Rod tensed visibly and gawked at her, his incessant eye-rubbing slowing to a halt. He couldn't adequately put it into words, but just then, he felt.. Exposed, somehow. Vulnerable. Like someone had torn his jacket off in the middle of a snowstorm, leaving him open to the elements, or.. Or.. Like a door somewhere in the depths of his mind had been kicked down, leaving his worries ripe for unwanted investigation. Suddenly, his secrets didn't feel like secrets, and he couldn't explain why.

What was that this girl had said about his head..?

The Winter's bottom lip quivered slightly, as if forming the beginnings of a sentence. "I'm.." After another few seconds of silently processing the strange sensation, Roderick managed an abrupt, unnerved smile, eyes still wide with alarm. A thoroughly unsuccessful attempt at hiding his discomfort. "I'm alright, thanks. G'dday."

Cutting the initiate off before she could respond again, he made a beeline for the empty booth at the other end of the room.

It occurred to Genny after watching his nervous and cold reaction that she had once again overstepped her boundaries. Every time she met someone new, the same situation would occur. What she spoke as a passing comment was always a deep secret of someone's mind. She was an invader, disturbing their privacy with or without their knowledge. And yet, despite the constant scolding and cursing she gave herself, there was no way of stopping these violations.

The only thing she could do was shut her mouth and walk away.

Yet the sight of his spilt tea and an underlaying need to apologise for her disturbing and disgusting gift turned her around. With a few swift steps, she approached Roderick, her red brows furrowed with remorse. The girl quietly fumbled with the buttons of her blouse, a lump forming in her throat. "I feel terrible about your tea. May I buy you a replacement?" Genevieve queried, her voice cracking slightly. Continuing a finished conversation was not her forté. Especially when she knew the other participant was feeling uncomfortable with her presence.

Roderick, who had been in the middle of gathering an unnecessary amount of tissues out of the dispenser to tidy up his mess, winced at the sound of Genny's voice, not having noticed her approach.

His head snapped up to her perhaps a little more sharply than it should have. "Tea? My tea?" He glanced back at the tissues he'd been pulling a second ago, which had formed somewhat of a mountain, half soaked through with spilt tea. He shoved the pile further down the table, out of his way, peered into his half-empty cup, and then back up at Genny. "No need to feel bad, I mean.. It was bound to be empty at some point, hey?" He waved dismissively, a stiff, awkward grin returning to his face - totally oblivious to how little sense he was making.

"Well... I suppose so." With a soft yet graceless chuckle, she rubbed her hands together, fingers intertwined tightly. Her eyes drifted to the side, glancing around the shop. While she understood the situation was rather awkward, she was determined to make up for it.

"I do still feel terrible," she began, her brows turned upwards with concern. "Tea isn't something I can easily overlook, unfortunately... Please let me apologise for this clumsy mistake. I assure you, I will be out of your hair shortly after."

The Winter's eyes jumped down to his cup, and then back at the initiate, and then down to his cup again. His fingers closed around it, sloshing it gently. "It ju.. L -- It is a bit sad.. Isn't it?" A dry chuckle escaped him - sounding quite a bit more like a light cough than a laugh - and he shuffled his cup off to the side with the tissue dispenser. "Bit of a waste of the floor with on--Bit of a waste feeding the floor with.. Thanks, hey?" Roderick gave a nod of gratitude, trying his best not to look like he'd just bitten into a lemon.

Words. Words weren't working they way they were supposed to.