_ _ _ A Fresh Start _ _ _[open]

[Sara]

It was like one of those puzzles they made you do back in elementary school. You know - which one doesn't belong: an apple, an orange, a pear, or a car? Well, which one doesn't belong: happy families strolling along the boardwalk, ice cream trucks trailed by eager-looking kids, a little boy playing fetch with his big golden retriever, or a depressed-looking teenager slouched on a bench, talking angrily into his cell phone? Hmm, I wonder.
It was a sunny, beautiful Sunday afternoon. A strong wind blew orange and yellow leaves off the trees, swirling them around a bit before letting them drop. The bay, which was a bright, impossible blue, punctuated by the occasional whitecap, was dotted with yachts and windsurfers. It was like summer letting out its last hurrah before subsiding into fall - its last, and its best.
Trey Grant was on his cell phone, the battery of which was fast dwindling, trying to break up with his girlfriend. Unfortunately, she wasn't cooperating. "Why, Trey?" she was raging. "Why? Is it because you have a new love interest at your school for freaks?"
Yes, a school for freaks. A freak. That's what he was, wasn't he?? Samantha Wainsworth hadn't failed to work that dig into every single conversation they'd had since Trey had left for Solstice.
"Don't talk about what you don't understand, bitch," he retorted, through gritted teeth. A little girl chasing her hat, which had blown off, gave him a startled look before moving on quickly, looking afraid.
"A reason, Trey," Samantha said presently, her tone now plaintive. "That's all I need!"
Not true. That wasn't all she needed. She needed - everything. Samantha had always been a high-maintenance kind of girl, to say the least. She had been sulking ever since Trey had gone to Solstice (hence the random insults) and frankly, he was tired of it.
"But that's not all you need, Samantha," he said wearily. "And that's my reason. Happy?"
"No!"
"You see what I mean?" he taunted her. He knew he was being a diabolical jerk, but he was out of patience with her. There was a silence from the other end of the line. He shifted his position, crossing his arms and straightening a little. Then, with a sigh, he waited. As he waited, the wind, rustling his already tousled hair, and a delicious smell drifting over from a nearby hot dog stand, a girl walking by waved to him, saying hi. He didn't recognize her, but assumed she was from Solstice as well. "Hey," he said to her, friendly, but noncommittal, switching his phone from ear to ear.
"Who was that?" ranted Samantha suddenly. "Already replaced me, have you? Well, I've had enough!"
"Samantha - "
But all he heard was the phone beginning to beep, so he closed his phone and put it away, sighing with a mixture of sadness and relief. He knew that at his old school, he had a reputation for treating girls badly, and that that reputation was nothing but well-earned. Relationships were always the same story, he realized - or, with him they were, anyways. He felt a certain amount of self-disgust.
When Trey's parents had sent him to Solstice, he'd intended to make a fresh start of it. Erasing his reputation of the past, his present and future would be free and clear, with no strings of any kind attached. Samantha was a string he'd had to cut - plus, she was passive-aggressive and annoying. He still felt bad, though - another one to join the long line of girls who he'd treated badly and who now hated his guts. He wished he could be different. Well, he thought, that's what my fresh start is for.
Trey was good at fresh starts, he realized. His real problem being able to stick something out to the end.

[lady{Living Word}]

All you ever need....

...is a small show of affection...

How would a young woman who felt the world's emotion deal with a day that was so amazingly warm and beautiful before fall started the transition to winter? She went to the park for a private picnic. Well, not necessarily private, she just failed to drag her sister to the park with her without bodily harm to her person. Even though Jack would never purposely hurt her (seriously anyway) the crazy one always got so close it would put Jill off before she really began. Plus she felt her sister annoyance and need to be alone from a mile away.

So she packed a basket with different treats she baked herself, a smaller basket filled with just bonbons (also made by yours truly), and went about her way. She and her sister were lucky enough to have been able to get a car before they got there so she took that down to the big apple and made her way to coney island. It seemed like the perfect place, to be near the water and just enjoy the sight. It also helped that she felt everyone's lightened moods because of the weather so she was more bubbly than usual.

Needless to say, she got there and walked around, just watching and looking for a spot to sit when she got a huge wall of negative emotion from someone sitting on a bench. She saw him wave to someone else and thought he was friendly regardless, even by the time she got there. Sadness was thick around him and it was due to some...relationship trouble maybe? He hung up his phone rather dishearteningly so it seemed like a logical guess. He needed cheering up....

Opening her basket, she opened the bonbon basket and let a few pieces float up and out of the basket, making their way over to the boy. One tapped him on the shoulder before they all arranged themselves by kinds of chocolate: white, milk, dark, extra dark. And each had a yellow flower painted on them. "You look like you could use a bonbon," she said cheerfully as she walked up, unaware of the fact she should have made sure he was like her before doing that. Normal people always freaked out about things floating and she always forgot. Jack blamed her for the letter for Solstice in the first place (though she was just as much at fault...)

[Sara]

Trey was still sitting on the bench at the edge of the boardwalk, not really thinking about anything at all. In fact, he was thinking about not thinking about Samantha - hardly a valid subject in his opinion. He was still there when a he felt a light tap on his shoulder, and turned around, a bit curious. No one was there, however - what had hit him was in fact a bonbon. But it hadn't been thrown at him - if it had, it would have fallen by now. No - it was still floating there, in midair, joined quickly by several others of different flavors. Trey didn't know what to think. Either, number one, the world had gone crazy since he last checked. Number two, more likely, he had gone crazy. Number three, someone was there, suspending them in midair - with powers. Someone like him.

Just then, a girl emerged from behind a nearby tree, looking amused at his perplexed expression. She was tall, with long black hair, and dark skin. She looked cheerful and unconcerned. "You look like you could use a bonbon," was all she said, in a voice that matched her cheerful, amused expression, and the spring in her step.
"How did you do that?" he asked curiously. He wondered if she really did have powers - if she really was at Solstice, and if she really was one of their kind. One of his kind, he corrected himself inwardly. He always found it hard to count himself in with all the freaky kids with powers. But by now, it was about time he just accepted it as a fact and got on with life.

"Uh... are you from Solstice too?" he said a bit awkwardly, but curiously. "That's your... power?"
He wondered if speaking of her power would offend her. He thought not; she didn't seem like a touchy person, but who knew? He took a bonbon nonetheless, smiling at her in his open, friendly way.

[lady{Living Word}]

All you ever need....

...is a small show of affection...

"With my mind," she answered without a thought. She reached into her basket and took out another bonbon, one she knew was filled with cherry marmalade by the red rose painted on top. Jill popped it into her mouth and nearly squealed from how good it was. She was a candy-holic. On one of those twelve-step programs. She really needed to lay off on the sugar, she was far too hyper a person for all of it. And yet she was addicted to her candy treats. Too good for her.

"Solstice? Yep! Me and my sister, though you don't want to meet her. And I have two powers. That and empathy. What about you?" Jill always spoke a mile a minute, though she tried to call down for the guy to understand her. Never worked out really well, especially when she had candy, like just now when she popped another bonbon into her mouth and chewed it eagerly.

"I'm Jillian, but you can call me Jill. Everyone calls me Jill. What's your name?" she asked, sitting down next to him and placing her basket on the ground between her feet. Okay, if anyone was giving off the impression that they were crazy, it was Jill. But it was just her way of coping with the world and not letting it get her down. The way she was slightly swaying side to side like she was listening to music made her hair swing back and forth into her face. She'd rather it stayed that way too.

[Sara]

"With my mind," she replied, enthusiastically and casually at the same time. "Solstice?" she continued, taking a bonbon for herself. "Yep! Me and my sister, though you don't want to meet her. And I have two powers. That and empathy. What about you? I'm Jillian, but you can call me Jill. Everyone calls me Jill. What's your name?" She was talking fast, and quite a bit, too, but Trey didn't mind it - there was something about her friendliness, so open and complete and genuine, that made him smile.
Of course, he could picture Samantha's reaction to the fact that he was even just talking to another girl mere minutes after having broken up with her. He didn't want to picture it, but even as he felt himself letting go of his pent-up anger, he saw her and heard her voice in his mind, clear as a bell. He heard what she was saying... something about how he was incurable, and how he would never be able to have a fresh start. Or how yes, he did fresh starts regularly - a new one for each girl - but how they were just a passing phase, quick to be ruined, and how he'd move on with life, to another nearly identical scenario, without so much as a backward glance.

But he knew she was wrong. The fact that he was thinking about her at all proved that she was wrong.
Anyways.
"Uh... I'm Trey. I can mess with people's minds. You know... kind of, send them thoughts, without them knowing it's me that gave them the idea... I don't know. It's weird," he said apologetically, the way he always spoke when he was talking about his power. He saw a strange look pass over her face... could it be alarm? Maybe he'd misinterpreted it. Maybe he always misinterpreted people's reactions to his power. But, he still doubted it. He'd be worried if someone told him they could mess with minds. His reaction? "Sure, man, I'm happy for you... but leave my mind alone, thank you very much. I'm going to leave now..." But then again, this girl seemed much more brave, and undaunted then he'd been since his parents had sent him to Solstice.
"Don't worry," he added quickly. "I haven't messed with yours, and I don't plan on it. I only do it when it can get me out of some serious shit, or when I'm bored, and desperate for some entertainment." He chuckled slightly, remembering some funny incidents. Ah, good times, good times.

[lady{Living Word}]

All you ever need....

...is a small show of affection...

I can mess with people's minds. You know... kind of, send them thoughts, without them knowing it's me that gave them the idea... What passed across Jill's face was slight confusion and massive curiosity. She hadn't heard of such a power before and even with his little addition she thought it was actually a sweet power to have. She wished she could be unique like that. Perhaps she would be better looking and she could gain more friends. After giving herself a mental shrug, Jill just smiled at Trey, eating another bonbon from her basket.

"Huh? Oh that's fine. I think its actually kinda cool. Better than just telekinesis and empathy. It's unique." She opened her basket and took out the mini basket of bonbons. "Would you like some more? I also have other things. I was going to have a picnic but my sister bailed on me. Want to join me? Always could use more friends."

[Sara]

"Huh? Oh that's fine. I think its actually kinda cool. Better than just telekinesis and empathy. It's unique."
He smiled as she opened her basket, making herself comfortable.
"Would you like some more? I also have other things. I was going to have a picnic but my sister bailed on me. Want to join me? Always could use more friends."
"Sure," Trey said, relaxing. He felt thoughts of Samantha floating away in the strong autumn wind, and he decided he'd better start with getting to know people at this school. Jill was right. He could always use more friends, and so could she. Although judging by the friendly, confident way she spoke, she already had plenty of friends. She was a people person, that much was obvious. "I'll join you. So, uh, why'd you come to Solstice? If that's not too personal of a question... I'm personally glad I came to Solstice, though at first I wanted to run away - but I needed a fresh start anyways, and plus, I'd have been a bit of an idiot to have left, and missed..." He waved his hand around at the landscape surrounding him, the waves on the shore, the seagulls screeching at each other, the sun shining determinedly through the wind. "To have missed this," he concluded lamely. As he waved his hand at the panoramic view, the boy with the golden retriever and the frisbee waved back, thinking Trey was greeting him. His sister tugged at his arm, hissing something along the lines of "Don't talk to strangers." Trey laughed aloud.

[lady{Living Word}]

All you ever need....

...is a small show of affection...

Jill really wasn't that much of a people person, nor did she have any friends. The only reason she was so outgoing for the moment was because the day was so beautiful and there was so much happiness from the people around there. It definitely helped her mood so that she could make others happy. Usually she just kept in her room or in the kitchens in the cafeteria. Or followed behind Jack like a shadow. As much as she wanted friends, she was too busy making sure no one saw how ugly she was to talk to many people.

When he asked her about why she came to Solstice, she instantly started to fidget, looking down at her hands. That wasn't exactly a subject she liked to talk about. Too much sadness. "Jack and I got into some trouble where we're from. Had to come here instead. Pretty much all I can say about that really." One of her hands then reached up to comb her hair over the right side of her face, keeping it hidden. It was amazing how quickly she could go between happy and sad. But then again, as soon as her little moment was over, she was back to being the bubbly chick he had just met.

"Miss this beautiful world?" she asked, listening to the rest of what he said. "Oh it's not that hard to experience it. It's being able to be truly apart of it that's the problem at times. Like your power isn't really...a hindrance. It's easy to hide. Jack has to keep her hands covered at all times, and I, well, I just tend to stay away from people most of the time. It's weird, feeling what others feel. Even when I don't want to. And people always seem to freak out when something starts floating.

[Sara]

"Jack and I got into some trouble where we're from. Had to come here instead. Pretty much all I can say about that really."
Trey noted the change in her the moment he asked her about her past, and he felt instantly bad for bringing it up. She looked rather sad, her eyes downcast, kind of uncomfortable. She fidgeted, playing with her dark hair. Trey wanted to apologize, but he didn't know what to say, considering he had no idea what had happened in her past that brought her this much sadness. Trey wasn't good at being tactful, so usually when tact was called for, he just kept silent. As he did now. But his blue eyes were anxious.

He needn't have worried. The sadness was gone as soon as it came, a shadow flitting over her face, quick to pass by, leaving her the happy, bubbly person she'd been to begin with.
"Miss this beautiful world?" she said, in response to his second remark. "Oh, it's not that hard to experience it. It's being able to be truly apart of it that's the problem at times. Like your power isn't really...a hindrance. It's easy to hide. Jack has to keep her hands covered at all times, and I, well, I just tend to stay away from people most of the time. It's weird, feeling what others feel. Even when I don't want to. And people always seem to freak out when something starts floating." Trey smiled at this. He was quite open to people's powers, he thought, considering he had powers himself, so it took a lot to surprise him. But he took a moment to imagine his reaction if he'd been just an ordinary person, no powers whatsoever, and Jill had come up behind him, offering him floating bonbons. He considered himself lucky to have the power he did, a subtle one, and also to be able to control it so easily. He hardly wanted to freak the "normal people" out - as much fun as it sounded, the consequences would not be good.
"It's not really that," he replied thoughtfully. "I blend in well enough with... well, with ordinary people. No one will guess my power, or even guess there's something... unusual about me. It's just... most of the people I used to live with... and do sports with, and go to school with... they all know. My mother made a huge scene - she regrets it now more than anyone, but there's no stopping her when she's pissed. Now all my friends think I'm some sort of freak. Which, of course, I am." He laughed a bit bitterly. "So I can see the 'Beautiful world', as you said, all I want. Which is... great. But... I miss having none of my old friends know what I am."

[lady{Living Word}]

Jill visibly bristled when he said that he was a freak. It wasn't that she personally took offense to it, even though she did. But that if she believed everything everyone said, well, she would more than likely have stayed in a closet for the majority of her life and definitely wouldn't even have bothered coming outside today. She may think herself ugly but that doesn't stop her from really caring what people thought. "If they were really your friends, they wouldn't care that you had a gift. They'd accept you for you. Not take you for granted like that." She rubbed her arm slightly, wishing she had friends at least for a little while. That thought always saddened her, but today she wasn't going to let it. Instead she just reached into her basket and took out a sandwich, holding out one to him. "Hungry?"

[Sara]

Listening to what she said about his friends accepting him, he struggled to suppress a sigh. He wasn't sure if anyone he'd met at Solstice so far had actually been accepted without question with their power the same way as they had without. Personally, he thought it sounded a bit more like a Degrassi episode than real life, but then again, who was he to judge? After all, out of all those people he'd met, he'd not thought to ask about their parents' reaction to their power. It was too personal of a question, really. He didn't want to offend anyone. He felt bad for bringing up the past; like it ruined his and Jill's enjoyment of the present - what actually mattered.

He decided not to reply to Jill's comment about his friends. He didn't know what to say. He didn't want to say anything. He didn't know why he'd mentioned his ex-friends. Instead he said, "Yeah, food is something I definitely would not mind at the moment." He was quite hungry, actually, now that he thought of it. He took the sandwich gratefully. "Thanks."

[lady{Living Word}]

"No problem," she said cheerily, taking out of her own sandwiches and taking a bite out of it. The joy of how good her food was appeared on her face in the way that she smiled and closed her eyes, taking her time to chew and get as much enjoyment out of her sandwich as possible. She had already moved on from the past of their conversation, for she knows that dwelling on it only makes things worse. So already she's trying to figure out what else that she could ask about him, to get him to talk of happy things.

"So what do you like to do for fun? Anything interesting? Want some juice?" she asked in rapid-fire, getting her giddiness back. She also reached into her basket and pulled out a bottle of organic grape juice, offering it out to him. As much as she liked sugar, she tried to stay healthy at the same time.

[Sara]

Trey grinned at her questions, his energy coming back like it had been there all along. He watched in amusement as she smiled at the taste of the food, closing her eyes briefly. He took the juice she offered, thanking her. ”Well,” he said. ”Where to start? It would definitely be safe to say that I'm a sports kind of guy. My favorite? Sailing. I used to sail in an Albacore – that's a fifteen-foot dinghy – with my dad, but now I mostly sail in a laser. I was a part of a sailing club for the longest time, but now I just do it for pleasure. But that doesn't mean I don't do it often,” he said, getting really animated as he always did when discussing sailing. Why, he could go on like this for ages talking about a sailing race, going through it leg-by-leg, tack-by-tack, gybe-by-gybe. Usually only his sailing club friends actually wanted to hear it though, and sometimes not even them. He inwardly goaded himself to put a sock in it.

”I'm sorry, I could go on for hours. In the summer I'm out there twenty-four/seven. Hey, you should try it sometime,” he suggested. He scanned the horizon for a laser to point out to her, but all he saw were windsurfers. Oh, well. He'd show her sometime. ”So what about you?” He asked, wondering what she did for fun. He didn't really know what to make of her; so serious one moment, so chipper the next. She could make him feel so comfortable and open one moment, so uncomfortable the next. He wondered if knowing what she did in her spare time would help him get to know her any better. To subscribe her to the usual stereotype of jock, nerd, this, that, or the other thing. He didn't think so - he didn't want to judge her by the usual stereotypes. He had a feeling that they wouldn't even apply. He didn't want to judge anyone by the usual stereotypes anymore, if it made life so boring. Which it did, no doubt about it.

ooc; Ugh, so sorry, Lady, for the long delay, as well as the museless posts. ^^