ArchivedLogs:A Helping Hand

A Helping Hand
Dramatis Personae Holly, Kai
In Absentia	2013-05-24 Holly gets a drive-by Fooming. (Not really, but 'Kai'ing doesn't have the same ring.)
Location <XS> Rec Room
School this may be, but life for Xavier's students certainly isn't all studying. Outside classes, this is a popular spot to find students in their downtime. An enormous tribute to slacking off, this room is a wealth of fun and relaxation. Comfortable armchairs, couches, and beanbags offer plentiful seating scattered throughout the room, and the cushioned windowseats by the high windows offer a cozy nook to curl up and look out on the grounds. The room is often filled with the noises of gaming -- whether it comes from the big-screen television (tall racks of DVDs beside it, if nothing can be found on the multitude of cable channels), tricked out with consoles from retro to the latest releases, or the less electronic clatter and thump of the pool table, air hockey, or foosball. For those a little more subdued in their gaming, the cabinets hold stacks and stacks of board and card games, ranging as classic as chess and go to as esoteric as Dixit, Catan, and Gloom. Ahh, the glory that is study period. It takes a long day of school and gives a teeny bit of sanity tucked away in the middle. And that lets one of the newer students in school come into the quiet of the rec room and curl up. Holly has wrapped herself up in a comfortable chair, with a bowl of strawberries in her lap, reading from a book. It's not a study period for Kai. Not following the high school cirriculum just yet, he's experiencing a lovely half-day on a Friday. Still, he doesn't look very relaxed as he enters the rec room. His brow is furrowed as he pads in on bare feet, clad in jeans and a blue t-shirt with a white X across the chest. He has a sketchpad under his arm that he sets down upon arriving at the couch. Then he begins systematically pulling the cushions from it, one by one, and digging his fingers into the crack along the spine. He's very focused -- he hasn't even noticed the girl in the chair as he searches. It takes a few moments before Holly has dragged her attention out of her book long enough to realize that someone else is there. She glances over, and then back to her book. It's only a moment before she's looked back over to where Kai is taking apart the couch and she just watches, curiously. Silently, and curiously. Kai continues his search, effectively removing /all/ the cushions before he's finished. Whatever he was searching for remains elusive, though, as he straightens back up with a deeper furrow of his brow. "I thought it would be here," he murmurs to the air, as if someone were speaking to him. Then he's turning to put the cushions back, and he catches sight of Holly. He blushes deeply, and ducks his head. "I did not know anyone was here," he says in a not-much-louder voice, although it's apologetically. "I did not mean to disturb you." "What are you looking for?" Holly asks, as she watches the furrow of his brow, echo'd in her own expression. "Can I help you look for it?" She gives a little shake of her head, a half little smile. "It's alright. It's a common space, right?" Kai waves a hand at the couch. "I am looking for a pencil I have lost," he says. "I borrowed it from the art room. I do not wish to make Mister Jackson angry with me for not returning it." He begins putting the cushions back, pushing them into place carefully. Then he's turning back to stare blankly at the girl, his brow slowly furrowing again in confusion for the term. "This is the nicest place I have ever been," he says. "It is not common at all. It is wonderful." Holly closes her book, setting it and the strawberries down on the floor and rolling her way off the chair to come to her feet. "It might have fallen right through to end up under it. Was the couch the last place you had it?" She clearly is well familiar with how to look for lost things. "I.. Oh! Oh.. this is a different way to use that word. Common, as in all of us can use it, shared. I.. I'm glad you think its wonderful. That's really reassuring." "I think it was here," Kai says. "This is the last place I was before bed." He frowns, and taps his scarred chin thoughtfully at the suggestion. "It can go all the way through?" he asks, eyebrows lifting suddenly. "Perhaps it has done this!" He quickly returns the last of the cushions, then falls to his knees hard enough to make an actual noise. A knobby, knobby noise. Then he's bending to peer into the small crack between floor and couch. "It is dark under there," he says without lifting his head. "I do not see anything." Holly's statement about the school bring him back up, though, and he tilts his head slowly to one side as he regards the girl. "Why do you find comfort in what I say to you?" "I think I can lift it.. or at least shove it or lean it enough to let you look underneath. The one at home was terrible for things falling right though. A lot of pens, pencils, markers and everything ended up under the couch." Holly explains as she comes over to stand next to where Kai is attempting to become one with the couch. She mmms softly, considering the boy and then answers just as softly. "I find it pretty intimidating yet, and somewhat scary. Hearing it called 'the nicest place you've ever been' gives me hope." Kai seems impressed with Holly's ability to assist with the couch, and he nods. "That will work, I think." He begins to bend back down, only her comment catches his attention and he straightens back up to regard her a long moment with a small, patient smile. "I do not think you have seen many places that are truly intimidating," he says slowly, and it comes without censure. "Or you would know this place is confusing, but it is a place of warmth and safety. They have done much to help me in the time I have been here." Then his smile turns encouraging. "If you are scared, you should speak to the Professor. He can make you feel better. Doctor McCoy is also good to speak with." "Or I am easily intimidated." Holly offers as an alternative. "It is getting better. It is very confusing, and .. I am learning quickly that it is a place of warmth. People have, generally, been very patient with me while I get myself settled." She takes a breath and sets her attention to working on the couch. She crouches down to be able to attempt to pick it up and quickly determines it to be too heavy. "Right, if I tip it, you can peek under it, okay?" "Are you?" Kai asks, tilting his head again. "Easily intimidated?" He doesn't wait for the answer, instead bending down to get ready to look. "There are many nice people here," he says. "Some are not as nice as others, but even they are not so bad. You will see." He nods as she suggests the plan, flattening himself on the floor. You know, for MAXIMUM VIEWING. "I don't know." Holly decides on as she braces herself and then pushes on the top of the couch to be able to rock it back on its back legs. Not so easy, any furniture for a school full of teens has got to be sturdy, but she manages it. "Do you see it?" "That is a thing that should be determined," Kai offers helpfully from the floor. "It seems very important to know." He doesn't offer anything else, though as the couch tips back. "Oh, there it is!" he says, scooting forward to grab the elusive pencil and extract it. "Yes, this is the one," he says, and scoots back out quickly, raising to his knees. "Thank you for helping me find it." "I.. I don't think I really wish to think about how one would determine how well they can intimdate me." Holly muses as she holds the couch such that it doesn't land on Kai's head. "You found it? Oh /good/. I'm glad. You're welcome. Good to know this couch eats things too. Heavy though." She lets it tip back down once Kai is safely out from under it. "If they wish to intimidate you, then it is a thing that they are considering already," is Kai's sage wisdom, and there's a small flicker of yellow around the edges of his irises. "Would it not benefit you to know what your borders are, so that you might know when one is approaching on them?" He smiles as he continues to his feet, dusting off his knees. "I am sure that it is heavy," he says. "It can withstand many students on it at one time, and some of them are very heavy." He waggles his pencil at the girl, and picks up his sketchbook. "I must go and return this," he says apologetically. "Thank you again for helping me. I hope I will see you again soon." He stops, and turns to furrow his brow at the girl. "I am Kai. What is your name?" "If they wish to intimidate me, then I will learn quickly without adding to my anxiety before hand." Holly notes in return. "I'm Holly. I'm glad I could help, Kai. It was nice to meet you." Kai smiles. "It was pleasant meeting you, Holly. I hope you will be comfortable here, soon." He waggles his pencil again, and heads for the door. "Thank you again!" And then he's gone, scooting out the door and hanging a sharp right for the Art room, leaving Holly to her previous peace and quiet. And berries.