Post by andiee on Mar 1, 2011 8:08:02 GMT -5
By the time Nora Harper hurried back to the red brick building that housed the high school classes during the daytime, it had already begun to turn dark outside. Winter was on fast approach, and a cold wind tugged at the edges of the dark grey coat she had grabbed from the hallway of her sparsely furnished room before leaving the staff quarters. A light drizzle made the air feel even colder, as if tiny droplets of ice were falling from the skies, stinging her skin like needles, and the dark clouds that were gathering somewhere off in the distance made a promise of more bad weather to come. Drawing the coat closer to her body Nora hurried in between the houses, using the walls as cover from the wind.
The terrible weather had driven most of the Power residents back to their respective quarters, and the Academy campus lay abandoned and deserted for once. It felt strangely unfamiliar without the usual bustle of the hectic day time activity taking place. An old tabby cat had found shelter in the bushes of the front yard, peering out at the world with its attentive feline eyes. She could feel the animal´s wariness like a small bundle of flaming emotions in front of her, but it didn´t read as a human´s fear would, and she couldn´t distinguish the mixture of instincts and impressions moving inside it as it cautiously scanned its surroundings.
Pausing for a second, she considered stopping for a smoke but eventually decided against it. Even though the weather would have guaranteed discretion from the students for once, she could already feel the first few rain drops trickling down her neck. Sighing she hurried the last few meters over to the main entrance and slipped inside. The light had been left on in the hallways and were sharp enough to make her squint slightly as her eyes slowly adjusted to the change from the twilight outside.
She found her way to the theater easily. Although she was nearly never there during the days, she had spent quite a few afternoon and evenings inside the spacious room. There was something about the atmosphere in there she liked. Most of all she liked the old grand piano, however. If it was one thing Nora regretted with never having lived responsibly and put aside some sparings it was that she couldn´t afford one herself. Instead she would use the one in the school theater during the evenings after the drama group were done.
As a child she had always hated her mother´s strict attempts to make her act like the daughter she had hoped for. The only thing she had been able to stand was the frequent piano lessons she had been signed up for. Where the rest of her life had seemed unstable and forever changing as her small family moved from one city to the next, the fixed lessons of the instrument had been safe and predictable. Even up to this day playing would always calm her nerves. Moving her fingers lightly across the black and white keys she worked her way into the slow rhythm of one of Yann Tiersen compositions. The melancholic tones suited her current mood and for a while her full focus was on playing alone, everything else gone and forgotten.
She had nearly finished the first piece when she became aware of a presence behind her. Nora was almost always able to sense when another person was close to her, even if they weren´t feeling particularly frightened. Fear was always present in people to some degree, even when they weren´t aware of it. Worry and nervousness would simmered under the surface of their conscious mind and her ability picked up on it.
"It´s not very polite to sneak up on people," she said, suddenly stopping her playing abruptly and turning around so that she could see whoever it was who had entered.
The terrible weather had driven most of the Power residents back to their respective quarters, and the Academy campus lay abandoned and deserted for once. It felt strangely unfamiliar without the usual bustle of the hectic day time activity taking place. An old tabby cat had found shelter in the bushes of the front yard, peering out at the world with its attentive feline eyes. She could feel the animal´s wariness like a small bundle of flaming emotions in front of her, but it didn´t read as a human´s fear would, and she couldn´t distinguish the mixture of instincts and impressions moving inside it as it cautiously scanned its surroundings.
Pausing for a second, she considered stopping for a smoke but eventually decided against it. Even though the weather would have guaranteed discretion from the students for once, she could already feel the first few rain drops trickling down her neck. Sighing she hurried the last few meters over to the main entrance and slipped inside. The light had been left on in the hallways and were sharp enough to make her squint slightly as her eyes slowly adjusted to the change from the twilight outside.
She found her way to the theater easily. Although she was nearly never there during the days, she had spent quite a few afternoon and evenings inside the spacious room. There was something about the atmosphere in there she liked. Most of all she liked the old grand piano, however. If it was one thing Nora regretted with never having lived responsibly and put aside some sparings it was that she couldn´t afford one herself. Instead she would use the one in the school theater during the evenings after the drama group were done.
As a child she had always hated her mother´s strict attempts to make her act like the daughter she had hoped for. The only thing she had been able to stand was the frequent piano lessons she had been signed up for. Where the rest of her life had seemed unstable and forever changing as her small family moved from one city to the next, the fixed lessons of the instrument had been safe and predictable. Even up to this day playing would always calm her nerves. Moving her fingers lightly across the black and white keys she worked her way into the slow rhythm of one of Yann Tiersen compositions. The melancholic tones suited her current mood and for a while her full focus was on playing alone, everything else gone and forgotten.
She had nearly finished the first piece when she became aware of a presence behind her. Nora was almost always able to sense when another person was close to her, even if they weren´t feeling particularly frightened. Fear was always present in people to some degree, even when they weren´t aware of it. Worry and nervousness would simmered under the surface of their conscious mind and her ability picked up on it.
"It´s not very polite to sneak up on people," she said, suddenly stopping her playing abruptly and turning around so that she could see whoever it was who had entered.
