Monroe High School: Library A place of silence, the school's library is typically used by students to either research and study for their papers or use the school's provided computers for their own leisurely use. The librarian's desk faces the library's entrance, enabling her with the ability to monitor and watch students as they enter and leave in order to keep them from, for some reason or another, stealing library books. The library itself is made up of a large selection of books, all of which categorized and placed within chest-high bookshelves. Complimentary tables are set up in a 'clearing' near the librarian's desk, allowing students to sit and copy research materials. Near the clearing is a long table with a variety of computers, allowing students with access to the school's online research information. Contents: Savoi Obvious exits: OUT Mmm. Silence. It's refreshing in a place like this, even though you have the occasional student dropping a book on a table or making a little noise, a few others giggling and sharing stories while they read. Savoi-- or at least, Michelle Ryan-- is there to do work, for once. Plunked down at one of the tables set up in the library, her laptop set out and opened, a few books sit in front of her and spiral notebook opened to what looks like the English report that was due yesterday. Of course, there was a reason she didn't hand it in, and why she's spending her study period here-- she was mysteriously absent yesterday. Those who paid attention could see her limping. Tip-tapping away at the keys while occasionally referring to her notebook for guidance, she continues to work. Add in the turning the pages of the paperback book around here and there and setting it down upside-down and open, much to the librarian's aggrivation (backbent spines, such disrespect!), and you have someone scrambling to catch up... and trying not to remember how badly she goofed up the night before last. What a funny coincidence! Because Ask is there to frantically finish up some homework, too--though in her case, not overdue so much as 'due the next period.' Thank god for study periods; being a senior, she actually had some free periods to work with, otherwise she'd likely be screwed. APs are no fun at all. She rushes into the library, books clutched to her narrow chest and bag flung behind her, and comes to such an abrupt stop that the bag bangs into her, nearly sending her stumbling and flailing forward. The librarian gives her a wide-eyed look, which narrows into a stern one as Ask recovers without undue harm. Bobbing her head apologetically at the librarian, she looks almost immediately toward Michelle again, before biting her lip hesitantly and moving forward again, although more slowly this time. She has to get this done, after all, and the other girl looks busy, too. Besides, she's not exactly sure what she's wary of. Given the place at which Michelle is seated, Ask has to squeeze by her in order to reach an empty table, which she does with sucked-in breath and thinking thin, before hurrying over to the table and dumping her stuff there. Michelle's head ... lifts, momentarily. Oh-- great. The person that nearly spilled her secret for all the world. She's still amazed the DFA hasn't come calling to her apartment at this point, especially with the way rumors fly in high school. Calm, quiet school life-- that's allllll she wants. So when Ask attempts to scoot by, she plants her feet and scoots her chair in a little bit. Grunting, of course, as her leg twitches rather involuntarily. No, she wasn't participating in phys. ed. today, lounging around on the bleachers and reading a book and having to copy a passage from it or something else to pass the time and prove to the coach she's good for something in that space of 40-some minutes. Once Ask is at her table and her stuff dumped, a crumpled-up paper is tossed lightly at her head, torn from a notebook and thrown from the direction of the mute girl working on her English paper: 'You could've asked me to move' is scrawled hastily in pen. "Ah!" Ask squeaks involuntarily as the crumpled paper hits her on the side of her head, and tips over slightly in surprise. She recovers almost immediately, bending down to scrabble for the paper and giving Michelle a surprised look. What was that for? Prompted by a jerk of the chin, Ask looks down at the paper again and smooths it out. It takes but a moment to read the message, and Ask responds aloud without thinking about it, "You looked busy, though, I didn't want--" "Shh," the librarian says sternly, glaring at Ask, and the girl ducks her head again. Rooting around in her bag, she pulls out a pencil and writes on the note, finishing her sentence, 'Didn't want to bother you.' Her writing is rather round and loopy, very girly in its formation. She snickers a little as her classmate is reprimanded, eyes shifting back to her laptop for a few moments. Silly girl, she was. Still amazing to see her all the way out on the east side of town like that-- she'll have to ask about that later. Arching her eyebrow, however, she turns her notebook to a different page and scrawls out a note of her own in the notebook. 'I don't care. Would've saved you the embarassment.' A pause, her head tilting, and it seems like she gets right down to brass tacks. 'Did you tell anyone about what you saw, that time?' She has to know, see. Her handwriting is rather clean, and rather precise. Very easy to read, smooth strokes of the pen. A little more mature than you'd expect from a high school student, maybe. 'Wasn't that embarrassing,' Ask 'responds,' and somehow even the note manages to sound wry--though this is no doubt helped by the slightly wry grin she directs at the other girl. The smile hesitates as she sees the next note, and for a moment she doesn't answer, either with gesture or with note. Then, slowly, she writes, 'Just my brother.' Because she doesn't keep anything from him--and she had to tell /someone/ before she burst with the knowing. 'But no one else at all!!' she scrawls hastily after. This, she emphasizes with a vigorous shake of her head, before passing the note back. Her brother... well, better one person than spinning the school's rumor mill. Though she seems to tense a little, contemplating a reply. She starts to write something-- then quickly scribbles over it in that hurried fashion that kids are famous for. Savoi sighs, rubbing the back of her neck, and then finally scrawls in, 'Please, make sure he doesn't tell anyone.' And on the next line of the paper, she adds, 'I had a tough enough time explaining to my father why I lost my helmet.' For all of Ask's ditziness, she does know how to keep a secret. Mostly. It comes of having a family secret, one supposes, and having such a large family-- if you want any privacy at all, you have to learn how to keep things quiet. 'He wouldn't,' Ask writes back, with the easy assurance of one who either has no idea what she's talking about or knows it to the bone. She pauses then, biting the end of her pencil, before writing hurriedly before she can change her mind, 'What were you doing anyway? And why did you shoot that man?' Damn-- she was there for that much? Savoi bites her lip, contemplating her options. She could be as silly and honest as Sion had been and bought into that story immediately? Sighing, it takes her a second to get it written out. 'I didn't want to. I didn't think I would, honest. I just turned my hand around to shoot randomly and get his attention.' Her expression grows almost disappoited-- ashamed, in a sense-- and she adds, 'The flute guy has tried this once before. I don't know why.' Savoi writes, hand still steady and ready. 'I was worried for awhile he may have been a rapist or killer or something.' Actually, no, but after she demanded information from Sion enough, he told her who had shot the guy. It hadn't been exactly hard to say, either, just a jerk of the head and a few words. The situation had changed only when the helmet had fallen off of "Michelle Ryan"'s head. Given the information Michelle's writing down right now, that, too, changes the situation--at least in Ask's head. Her lips and eyes forming three perfect 'o's, Ask asks, forgetting to write, "So are you like, some kind of superhero? Taking on a guy like that?" It doesn't actually occur to her that Savoi could be lying--the girl looks so honest and serious about it all! Savoi smiles-- not just one as Michelle Ryan, but genuine. Her, a superhero? Maybe in some kind of rather demented way-- she knows doing things like shooting people at random on the street are wrong-- Not that she cares, either-- but she has a greater ulterior purpose by doing this. Does she understand the Bureau's mission? No, not really. She's just a soldier in a war, or some shit. She just hopes her partner won't end up being a total flake. After a moment, Savoi continues to write. 'Not really. I was just defending myself. The guy I jumped with I talked to later, he understands what happened. Apologized to me, too.' Flicking the pen against the paper, Savoi adds, 'Just don't go blabbing about how high I can jump? I get it bad enough from the coach as-is.' Well, that would make her either a superhero's minion or a supervillain's minion--maybe 'super' either way, as ordinary day-to-day people would think of it. Certainly, that seems to be how Ask thinks of it, given her rather starry look--never mind that she's not exactly ordinary in some ways herself. But those aren't /important/ ways, really--she doesn't actually do anything with them, so to speak. Oh, sometimes she helps lay ghosts to rest or tries to solve some spirit's problems, but no cause that she could be said to fight for (unless it's the cause of Love and Peace and Shiny Happy People). "Of course not," she agrees vigorously, shaking her head. "I can keep a secret." That, with a jab of her thumb at herself. "That's really amazing, though! I've never met an honest-to- goodness fighter!" She nearly adds 'crime' to the beginning of 'fighter,' but stops at the last minute. Michelle looks up and around as Ask continues to talk. Is anyone paying attention? Is the librarian shooting her dirty looks? Nobody else trying to read over her shoulder, right? Shaking her head, the student continues to write. 'Being a fighter is nothing special. Having to fight two people at the same time is a hell of a lot different. Take a judo class or something.' The paper creaks and scrapes against the spiral of the notebook as she flips the paper over to a clean and crisp page to continue their conversation. The girl tucks a few errant bangs behind her ear before adding, 'Can you turn the volume down, btw? I don't need the extra attention floating around me in here, either.' "Ah! Sorry," Ask whispers, very low--it's probably difficult for Michelle to hear, even not very far away as she is. Even so," Ask says, and at least this time she remembers to whisper. She'd say more, except that the ring of the bell signalign the end of the period cuts her off. Her eyes widen, and she jumps. "Crap crap crap! I didn't manage to finish my homework, either!" Somehow, she pulls herself together in what seems like mere seconds and flees the library, a steady stream of worried mumbles trailing after her. She does spare the time to offer a "Bye! Talk to you later, Michelle!" before ducking out of the library entirely, earning her a look of disgust from the librarian.