Logs:Cool Kids

Cool Kids
Dramatis Personae Harm, Kieow
In Absentia	2020-01-13 "Oh. Old people. That's great."
Location <XAV> Rec Room - Xs Second Floor
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. More days than not, there's some variety of snacks to be found on a table beside the gaming cabinet -- quite often in the form of fresh-baked desserts. Settled in one of the window seats, pressed gently against the glass is a student sized bonsai plant. She rests with one leg curled up underneath her and the other stretched out on the cushioned surface, stocking clad toes flexing periodically. Despite the chill that sweeps in after yesterday's spring like temperatures, Kieow is opting more for photosynthesis than heat preservation. All around her head, flat branches of pointed greenery drape across her papery, mottled skin. Reds, tans, and grays follow the pattern of peeled off fiber, aging from new warm shades to dying grays. Her face is smooth and more reddish while, curling layers of bark adorn her scalp and creases by joints, worn to fraying by movement. There are bits green tipped goose flesh, approximately where a hirsute human might have hair, growing so very quickly (in plant terms, at least) where the overcast dimmed sunlight falls. She's sporting a sleeveless tunic of raw bamboo silk, in a soft green, with a golden brocade fabric wrapped around her chest and over one shoulder like a sash. Sitting like a puddle around her waist are all of the layers she removed to get down to that one bare arm that is attempting to soak in some light. There's all manner of patterns and colors woven into the warm layers, with no truly apparent theme. Atop them, she has her math text book open and a pad for scratching out formulas and doodles, but her attention currently is focused on searching for the eraser that has managed to disappear into those folds. Mild swearing follows the removal of the texts as she stands and displaces the hidden utensil, bending to pick it up when it falls to the floor with a thud. Harmony pads into the rec room, wearing a loosely knitted sweater in variegated green, rainbow tie-dye armwarmers, brown linen wrap pants whose flowing drape occasionally reveals flashes of bright tie-dye rainbow socks as they walk, and soft hunter green boots startlingly quiet on the old mansion's floors. Over one shoulder they carry a satchel made from upcycled bike inner tubes, and they don't seem not notice Kieow at first. At the loud thump of the falling textbook though, they jump back, eyes wide, frozen in place for a moment. "Oh! Hi, sorry..." They wince. "Not that I made you drop the book or anything, I just meant --" Frowning, they shake their head. "Sorry. Um. You're new, right?" Kieow glances from the eraser in her fingers to the discarded book and note pad, scrunching up her nose in dismay. She looks up to Harmony when they speak - or rather, continue to speak. She blinks rapidly before smiling softly and nodding. "Yes, it was not your fault and yes, I am new here. Newish. Been here all winter term, but that feels short." She extends a hand forward, arm held stiffly in front of her, an awkward attempt at a hand shake, before pausing and studying their face. "Uh. Do you shake? I am still learning who does what in America. I mostly just wish to..." She pulls her hand back and presses her palms together to give a little bow. "I'm Kieow. Nice to formally meet you." Harmony approaches hesitantly when Kieow offers her hand, but looks relieved when the girl lowers it. "Not really, but thank you for asking." They bow, as well, though without folding their hands together. "I think only old people shake hands anymore, but I'm probably not the best source of information on what's normal in America. I'm Harmony, or just Harm. Kieow?" They repeat the name experimentally. "Are you liking it here so far?" "Yes. Kieow," she repeats, only correcting the tone slightly. "Oh. Old people. That's great. I just don't like that there's not really something... that fills the gap. Many people seem... kind of insecure or giggly when I bow and I'm not a fan." She sets her eraser down and pulls her layers back into place now that she's not just photosynthesizing. "Anyway, you're good because you have knowledge of normal in America, where I'm just going off tv and my brother and friends. Are you also not from here?" "Kieow," Harm says again, carefully. "I don't know, I bow if it seems like the person I'm meeting is being formal about it? But a lot of people just don't do a nice-to-meet-you gesture." They frown thoughtfully. "Um. Thanks? I think. I'm from California, but where I grew up...it's not like most places in America. I think I also do a lot of things that don't seem normal to most kids." The sit down on the nearby arm of the couch and start to open the flap of their satchel, but then hesitate, blushing just a touch. "So, where are you from? I've heard like three different places second-hand. Probably like third- or fourth hand, honestly." "Who has four hands?" Kieow looks intently at Harm, hopeful. "Or is that a saying? I'm not as good with the phrases yet, but also, it's possible someone here has four hands." She flattens her layers in place and rearranges her 'hair' down around her shoulders. "I'm from Bangkok. I kind of wish I waited until spring to move here, but I really couldn't really stay." She pulls her phone out of her pocket and checks her appearance in the reflection of the unlit screen. "Not normal to most kids? Most kid at home or most kids here?" Harm's dark eyes blink rapidly. "It depends what you mean by 'hands.' But 'second hand' means like, I heard it from someone else, and third and fourth hand aren't real sayings. I just mean like...I heard it from someone who heard it from someone else. That happens a lot here." They shrug, slender fingers fidgeting at the clasp of their bag. "I guess it doesn't get so cold there, huh?" They frown slightly, and when they continue their voice cracks painfully. "...Or maybe it does? I don't know that much about Thailand." The question doesn't receive an immediate answer, as Harm chews on their lower lip, thinking. "I think...it's both at home and here, just for different reasons. I'm not complaining or anything. Just...warning you, I guess. I'm not a 'cool kid'." "Oh Oh. I thought you were talking about the thing where someone says 'on one hand' and then the other and so forth. Hearing from someone else. Good to know. Thank you!" Kieow gives a quick nodding bow before her gaze travels to the window "It doesn't get cold in Bangkok. I suppose Chiang Mai is colder because it is up north, but I haven't been there and... honestly, I have not heard of it freezing there." She pauses taking a moment to look Harm over. "You will need to tell me what is 'not cool kid' about you because I have no idea. Do you not have followers? I can probably help with that. IG is my favorite thing right now." Harm blushes deeply. "I think it kind of depends on who you ask. I have a wide range of uncoolness to offer, and not having a lot of followers is probably the least of my problems." They pause a beat. "Although it's true I don't. Have a lot of followers. On anything. I can follow you, though!" They open their bag and dig out a smartphone in a wooden case carved with intricate plant designs twined around a pentagram inside a circle. The bag seems to be filled mostly with thick, puffy pink yarn. "I occasionally remember that Instagram is a thing." "I have been using instagram to keep in touch with my friends for a while now. My profile hints wildly that I am a nature and costume enthusiast, just so you know. Please play along with that." Kieow winks as she loads up instagram on her phone, swiping to her profile to show her name @kieowsnaturefashion and picture, before turning the phone to face Harm. "I was... not allowed to see my friends for a long time, so we made secret contact with each other like this. But it's also so much fun, I can't stop." The images below her profile show her in Thailand, posing with different flowers in brightly colored outfits, generally around the same house/home, but sometimes in public - then a catalog of her trip to the US, from what to pack, the number of suitcases and boxes she wants to bring -- then noting it was a joke and showing the single one she is actually bringing. Some mournful photos of the place she is leaving behind break up her usual cheerfulness, but they are quickly replaced with images of an Asian man and a white guy she calls Bua and Fon -- indicating they are brothers. In the end, she has a couple about her being a Christmas tree (with decorations) and how cedar smells so much better. Harmony studies the screen of Kieow's phone carefully and enters the Instagram profile name into their own, then follows it. "Play along?" They look up from their own screen. "Oh! So like, you're not 'out' on Instagram -- as a mutant." The structure of their sentence may suggest a question, but there's little uncertainty in their tone, at least. "Is that also why you weren't allowed to see your friends?" They put the phone away again. "I'm sorry, you don't have to tell me, if that's too personal." Kieow turns her phone back to face her, waiting for Harm's follow to appear. "Yes and no, I guess. One of my brothers was concerned that if I made it a searchable feature on my profile or in the comments, it would draw attention from hateful people. So it intentionally doesn't come up until i'm ready to face down the denizens of the internet." The other question does require more thought - following Harm back when the notification finally arrives. "My friends's parents didn't want them hanging around me anymore - like I was some sort of idiot child that they needed to grow up and get away from so they could focus on their futures." "My account is mostly pictures of plants and yarn, not that interesting." Harm doesn't actually sound all that self-conscious about it, though. Nods, their brows furrowing deeper, though there's no questioning tone in their "oh" when it comes. "That seems...reasonable! I don't know how it's like when you -- look like a mutant. I mean, when other people..." They shake their head. "I'm sorry, though. I...kind of went through something similar, at home. I hope you have better luck with friends here." They look at the textbook dubiously. "Sorry, am I distracting you...? I really just came in here to knit." "Oh yeah. Seriously. Plants are a terribly boring subject." Kieow grins mischievously at Harm, eyebrows darting up to emphasize the 'terribly.' "I mean, really. How could anyone like all that green and colorful flower petals and vines - those things get tangled so quickly. And really, they are all assholes, stealing nutrients from each other and choking each other out -- hell, some are even parasites! My favorite parasite is the corpse lily. Have you ever seen one of those? They're so terribly fascinating. Of course, regular humans really don't like the smell, but I don't mind it so much. -- I mean, wait, I used to know a guy who knew a guy who knew all about corpse lilies." Feigned innocence ends on a high note as she slips her phone back into her pocket. She pauses when they pause and she studies them as they study her book. "Math is boring. Distractions are better -- unless I'm holding you up from your knitting..." Harmony's cheeks darken and they dip their head, although they're snickering, too. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean that -- I mean, I like plants, but --" They ruffle a hand through their fall of shaggy black hair. "Okay, I didn't even actually think of it that way, but if I had I wouldn't want to assume that you liked plants just because you're um...planty." They're still smiling, though. "Oh, no, I can knit and chat. Or knit and watch a show, or whatever. I'm with you on the math, though." They open their bag again and pull out the cylindrical loop of fluffy yarn. "But yeah, I'm curious about this corpse lily, can you tell me more..."