Wallflower [open also]

[napalmblood]

Characters: Leon, Manuela, and anyone who wants to say hi to the shy new kid
Location: Roundabouts the school
Time: Afternoon sometime
Content: Recent Brohood escapee Manuela returns from the hospital into something even scarier. School.
Format: Proseity
Warning: Cute.

Comments

I am so sorry this is so late. T_T;

[redcrystalflies]

Getting punished by the staff for sneaking off campus and risking life and limb in a daring rescue mission? Hardly fun, but Nakuru wasn't alone, so it was bearable. Dealing with her parents finding out? Eep.

As she was wandering the halls and trying to figure out a way to spin this before the time zones matched up and she got the inevitable phone call, she spotted a girl sitting quietly outside of Mr. Kennedy's office. The poor thing looked so skittish just sitting there, Nakuru decided to do her a favor and take her mind off of whatever was making her so nervous.

"Hi there!" she said brightly, crouching down a little so they were at eye level with each other. "I don't believe I've seen you around here before. What's your name?"

((OOC: Potentially causing time paradoxes by alluding to events that haven't yet fully played out? Sounds like fun to me! XD))

No problem!

[napalmblood]

Manuela just about jumped out of her seat with somebody suddenly talking to her. She stared at the other girl for a few moments, as though processing what she had said.

"Ah..." Then she quickly snapped to attention. "My name is Manuela."

Thanks!

[redcrystalflies]

"Manuela, huh? That's a pretty name!" Nakuru laughed softly, trying to get Manuela to relax a little. "My name's Nakuru. And don't worry, I don't bite, hard or otherwise."

She glanced toward the nameplate on the door, then looked back at the other girl. "So what are you doing waiting outside Mr. Kennedy's office? You don't look like the kind of girl to get in trouble with him... Are you hiding a wild side?" she teased.

[napalmblood]

Well, this girl seemed friendly enough. The sudden someone-to-talk-to had still caught her off guard, to Manuela was scrambling to try and sound natural.

"It's very nice to meet you," she said. "Leon is actually someone I know. Ah, a friend of mine. He has been helping me get used to this school."

[redcrystalflies]

Aww, it was kind of cute how nervous this poor girl still seemed. Nakuru held back a giggle and made a mental note to get Manuela to tag along on one of her trips into town sometime soon. She could probably use some time out and about for fun.

"That's very nice of him," she said. "Would you like me to help out with that, too? No offense to Mr. Kennedy, but there are some things a student can teach you that a member of the staff can't."

[napalmblood]

"I have never been to a real school before," Manuela admitted, shrugging her shoulders a little awkwardly and trying to smile. "I think I can use all of the help that I can get."

Well, what kind of things could a student show her that an adult couldn't? Maybe things like the best tables to sit at in the lunchroom, or where to find the good books in the library. Certainly nothing that -gasp- broke the rules.

[redcrystalflies]

"Oh, you were home-schooled?" Nakuru asked, trying not to visibly wince. She always pitied those kids for missing out on the social aspects of school that made sitting through class worthwhile. "That's okay! I'll help you out!"

No, of course it wouldn't be anything like that. Nakuru was always perfectly well-behaved. Really. Honest. Cross her heart (and her fingers) and hope to die.

[napalmblood]

"Yes. Father paid tutors to come and teach me," Manuela explained, nodding her head solemnly. There was a schoolhouse in Mixcoatl, but Javier wouldn't have been caught dead sending his beloved daughter to learn with the village children. Not to mention there were no school buses that were willing to brave the mansion compound populated by armed mercenaries and trucks making black market deliveries at all hours.

"Thank you so much!" she said at the offer of help. "I just got here yesterday. It is such a big place, I don't know how I will learn my way around in time to get to class."

[redcrystalflies]

"Well, don't you worry about a thing! I'll make sure you get the grand tour!" Nakuru promised cheerfully. "What classes are you taking? I can show you where they all are, to start with. The fun parts can come after that."

She offered Manuela her hand. "Wanna start now, or should I come back later?"

[napalmblood]

Manuela drew a big list out of her pocket when she was asked about her classes and surrendered it over to Nakuru for her to look at. Pretty typical stuff-- math, science, English, Spanish, history, and a few electives.

"We can go now," she said. "I do not want to be an inconvenience to Leon and, ah... I have been to see him a few times now."

[redcrystalflies]

Nakuru made a few thoughtful sounds as she looked over the list, perking up as she noticed a few entries. "Hey, looks like we've got math and cooking together!" she said brightly. "That's great! We can start with those."

She nodded and stepped back to give Manuela space to get up. "Aw, I'm sure he doesn't think of you like that! But okay, let's get going!"

[napalmblood]

"Okay!" Manuela stood up and very gently set her stack of books down on the chair she was sitting on. She fiddled a bit with the sleeves of the pink jacket she was wearing-- New York's climate was a far cry from that of the Amazon's, and Manuela had been shivering from cold since she got here.

Not to mention her arm was a little itchy. Nervousness?

"I know how to get to my room from here... and to here from my room," she said, turning a little red.

[redcrystalflies]

"That's okay. I've got plenty of free time right now, anyway." Free time that would hopefully last long enough to miss a lecture from her parents, anyway. "I'll make sure to show you everything in that case. Well, everything except the boy's dorms," Nakuru added with a playful wink.

"You okay?" she asked, noticing Manuela playing with her sleeves. It didn't seem that chilly to her, but then again, she was from England, so she didn't have to make as big an adjustment to the climate as Manuela did.

[napalmblood]

"Ah, yes, I'm okay," Manuela assured her, scratching her right arm a little bit. "It's very cold here. I am from Amparo, and it is never this cold there." They had provided her with some donated clothing to wear when she came here, since everything she had wasn't quite suited for a high school.

"Can you show me where the library is?" she asked. "I think I will go there a lot."

[redcrystalflies]

"Oh, I see," Nakuru said. "We had a lot of dreary cold days back home in England, so I'm used to this." She perked up a moment later as an idea struck her. "Hey, we should go clothes shopping sometime soon!"

She nodded, adding the library to her mental checklist of places to visit. "Right, off we go then!" With that, she turned on her heel and started off down the hall, expecting Manuela to follow her.

[napalmblood]

Manuela followed her quickly, keeping close on the way down the hall. It would be utterly embarrassing to get lost when she was supposed to be learning her way around. Nakuru would probably think she was totally useless.

"So, if you go here, are you..." Manuela asked quietly as she caught up with the other girl, "... special, too?"