A walk to remember... (Ramona)

[brokenfiction]

It was a dark and stormy Saturday afternoon. It had been raining nonstop since sunrise and any glimpses of sunlight had been during the blinding flash of lightning, tearing through air and coalescing with it's mate thunder in a mighty crescendo of noise and vibration... and Connor was bored out of his mind. He had finished; with his typical minimalistic effort, all the homework he had been assigned, cleaned his meager studio apartment twice,and did what little laundry he had built up since the trip. It was so convenient being able to make his own clothes all he ever took out of the house was a pair of boxers, his shoes, and his wallet, anything else he just formed himself. He was at a loss though, being new to both the country and the school he had no friends or social networking within feasible access.

"That's the kind of thing that happens when your only friends live an ocean away. I know Mother and Father said they would pay me way back anytime, but that's not the best spur of the moment trip." he mused aloud. Especially since he had just gotten used to the time difference. He could always continue his exploration of the town, there was a mall not too far from here and he could always use some new... well something he supposed. Connor was a voracious reader in his spare time and had simply devoured his book supply. "That settles it! I'll give this mall a once-over and see if a decent bookstore can be found in this town." With that in mind he threw on his shoes, grabbed an umbrella and took of at a brisk pace from his home, a leather jacket taking shape as he stepped outside.

The walk to the mall was uneventful, the foul weather had kept most of the town's inhabitants to staying indoors rather than brave nature's ire. A few cars passed here and there, and a few people were walking about, equipped with slick raincoats and shiny umbrellas. As he passed the park he saw several children in similar gear, but with sturdy pairs of rubber boots splashing in puddles and frolicking in the mud. Connor couldn't help but smile, he could imagine his own mother's look of disapproval if he were to cavort around like an animal and get so filthy, but he knew she smiled when she thought he couldn't see. After stopping for a moment to observe the kids, he continued on to reach his destination... The mall.

Well to call it a mall seemed rather generous... It had 20-25 stores at best, but it did offer some shelter from the rain and he could see some people his own age there, and it even had a bookstore. Connor made a beeline for the peddler of texts and avoided or brushed past the general populace. The store was small, but cozy with several bookcases lining the walls and a small area set aside to sit and peruse materials before purchase. Connor quickly located the science fiction section and began to scan the shelves for any titles that might catch his eye. "I wonder if they have any Asimov here..." he said to himself, his fingers brushing over spine after spine of leather-bound tomes. He thought he might have heard the shop door open but he was too engrossed with his search to look.

[remedy]

Ramona entered the quint little book store furiously texting on her phone, muttering under her breath. People were so unreliable. She'd made plans to meet a friend in the mall, but the girl had since bailed, having received a better offer from her boyfriend. Which Ramona wouldn't have minded so much. What had got the teen so riled up was the fact that her friend hadn't bothered to mention she wouldn't be showing up, and Ram had sat in a coffee shop for an hour waiting for her.

The bright side to the situation was that being alone meant Ramona could spend as long as she wanted to in the store, without anyone moaning that they were bored and wanted to leave, tired of her tendancy to look at loads of books over and over again as she attempted to decide which sounded the best. Once her inability to choose had left her with two options: buy no books, or buy all ten that she'd been considering. She chose the latter option, and then had to cart a very heavy bag around the rest of the mall for the day. It had been worth it.

Stuffing her phone into her pocket after hitting the send button, Ramona sighed and made her way towards the far end of the store, where the mystery novels were kept; adjusting her hat as she moved past the shelves and tables around her. By far her favourite thing to read for the past few years, Ramona loved how they could so easily pull you in and keep you guessing until the end. So far, her track record for figuring out the conclusion before she finished the novel, or failing to do so, was about fifty-fifty. She aimed to improve that.

Brushing past the science fiction section, she slowed for a moment. There was someone scanning the shelves, looking for something; someone she thought she recognised from somewhere. It hit her after a moment of thought. "You again?" she blurted, suprised. Really, what were the chances of running into this guy again? St. Michael's wasn't a big town, it was true, but it still seemed unlikely. Still, she smiled at the other teen, laughing a little.

:: outfit !

[brokenfiction]

Connor was blissfully unaware anyone had entered the shop, he was in his own little world while looking for a book. He scanned the shelves with great speed, checking book by book for something interesting. He quickly exhausted the science fiction section.... aaaand the fantasy,how-to,self-help, and cooking sections. He was starting in on mystery novels when he felt a presence behind him, he hadn't given it much though when a girl's voice broke the silence present in the small store.

He turned around to see the source of the voice, it was girl. She seemed awfully familiar.... and was very cute. Where had he seen her before.Damn he wished he had a better memory for faces. The silence was beginning to become awkward when it hit him! This was the girl from the pool the other day! Ram, or Ramona, or something. How could he forget that hair? Connor was a sucker for redheads, it was the Irish in him. 'Hmm I should probably say something? What do I say? Damn I'm not good at this one-on-one thing.' He thought, almost frantically. 'Maybe I could just walk away... No she is between me and the door.. Oh well let's give this talking thing a shot. You can do it Connor, it's just a conversation.'

He cleared his throat quietly and reached for his words. "Aye, I am indeed me, who else would I be?" He asked, mystery novel in hand."I remember you from the pool. You helped me find this. I still owe you one for that." Connor reached inside his t-shirt, willing his necklace to form. When it did, he hooked it with his thumb and pulled it outside his t-shirt. He suddenly wondered if he looked okay and gave himself a once-over. Connor was wearing his favorite pair of skate shoes, a black pair with gear like silver designs inlaid in the fabric, a pair of comfortable faded jeans, a green t-shirt with a very distinctive pattern. It looked at first glance to be a jumble of wire, but it wasn't, not really. It was in fact a single wire that looped almost endlessly through itself, it never looped the same way twice, and never tangled, it started at the top right of his shirt and made it's way to the bottom left. He had the same necklace he had made at the pool, it was silverish and made in a traditional Gaelic pattern. To top of his ensemble he had a leather jacket and his trusty gray umbrella.

[remedy]

The silence between the two of them was awkward, and Ramona found herself playing with a strand of hair absentmindedly, something to keep her distracted. Maybe she shouldn't have said anything and just carried on walking, avoided the entire situation. Right now, she was focusing on not blurting out a load of random drabble, as she tended to do when situations turned this way. She really needed to try and learn to control her mouth.

When he answered, she nodded, rolling her eyes a little. "Good question." the teen answered. That was what she deserved for starting out a conversation in such a poor manner. When he mentioned his necklace, she laughed. "Yeah, you'd be the boy who wears jewellery when he swims." she replied with sarcasm. It was asking for trouble, really. Ramona was just glad the boy's necklace had not fallen into a filter or something. If he was wearing it all the time, which so far it seemed true, it must have been important, she guessed.

"It was nothing." she said passively, waving her hand a little. "You don't owe me anything... Just maybe reconsider the accessories next time you swim, yeah?" Ramona raised an eyebrow. "I'm guessing you don't want to lose it permanently." she added, moving to the side a little so that she was partially facing the other teen, and partially scanning the rows of books.

[brokenfiction]

Ramona had made a point, he shouldn't have been wearing the necklace to the pool, but luckily for him, she hadn't picked up on it's original purpose. Now it was just a harmless piece of jewelery and quite fetching if he said so himself. Connor was glad that the awkward silence was over.... now it was just awkward. He should say something, but what... The necklace! He could talk about that, it might start a conversation or something....

"Yeah... I'd be in big trouble if I lost this. It belonged to my grandfather. I always keep it close." Which was technically true, he was wearing it when his powers activated and he assumed it was now a part of him. It certainly felt that way, and he enjoyed that he felt close to his departed grandfather when he willed it forth. "Enough about the necklace though, I don't want to bore you with my life's story. Suffice it to say that I DO owe you something, and I always repay my debts." He smiled at Ramona. "But what brings a nice girl like you out in such deadly weather? It's fierce out there, I was almost blown away on the way here."

[remedy]

Ramona smiled at his account; it was sweet that he had something like that and wanted to keep it close to him. "I think I stick by the plan of you not wearing that thing when you swim." she grinned, motioning loosely to his pendant with her free hand, whilst the other rested in her pocket. "All I did was reach the bottom of the pool. Not exactly a big deal." she added. The boy didn't owe her anything, of that much she was determined.

"I was meant to be meeting someone here, but they bailed." she said simply, shrugging her shoulders. "And anyway, I like the rain." Ramona added with another grin. "Got nothing to read at the moment, either." Mysteries weren't really the same once you'd read them once, and knew what was coming. She could re-read her favourites, or anything that didn't involve a shocker ending you weren't supposed to see coming, but the ones that didn't fall into those categories generally ended up in a charity store once she was done with them.

"What about you?" she returned his question, causually glancing back to the shelves and running her hand along the spines of the books, selecting one at random and pulling it out, scanning the blurb.

[brokenfiction]

Connor smiled when Ramona mentioned the rain. It was one of his favorite things, to sit by a window and watch it all come down. The more thunder and lightning the better! Thunderstorms were like the soundtrack to Nature's most attractive function. He could watch the rain for hours... A few moments passed as Connor lost himself in the rain.... It took a particularly bright bolt of lightning and the resounding CRASH! of nearby thunder to shake him from his reverie. He blinked a few times, trying to get back to reality when he realized the Ramona was still there and had been talking to him while he was off in Storm Land. 'Damn! I can't believe I spaced like that... Stupid weather distracting... He was starting to slip back into a dream-like state but managed to get a grip.

"Sorry about that I love this kind of weather too. It stormed often back home..." There was a hint of sadness as he talked about home, he missed it terribly... He'd never been away from his family for this long and it was starting to take a bit of a toll on him. Connor was getting that far away look in his eyes again, and he shook himself out of it, literally. "Sorry again, I'm not normally this poor a conversationalist. It's unfortunate that your plans fell through, but it is fortunate for me that I get to enjoy your company as a result." He gave her a wide smile, "I'm here because I ran out of anything to do at home, and I don't really know anyone in this town... or this country really. I figured a mall would be a place to meet people my age and I needed a new book." He gestured to the novel he had in his hand. It was a collection of Sherlock Holmes mysteries, classic.

[remedy]

She knew there was a reason she liked this kid. Ramona herself had never understood why people claimed to hate thunderstorms. She herself wasn't a fan of loud noises, but somehow thunder had never bothered her so much. Maybe it was because the lightning served as a warning; she wasn't sure.

"Because spending time with me like this is thrilling, of course." Ramona answered Connor sarcastically. "And, I'm not the best at small talk either." she admitted, placing the book she'd picked up back onto the shelf and taking out the one next to it, still listening to Connor's voice as she did so, and then turning back to face him again. "I thought you weren't from around here with that accent." she smiled. She was having a little trouble placing the accent in question, though. "School's a pretty decent place to meet people too." the teen mused. Unless they were one of the well-to-do kids off in Power's, St. Michael's teens had only one high school nearby.

She didn't think she'd seen Connor around, though, and assumed he'd recently transferred from somewhere else- this accent being an indicator that he hadn't been here long. "Needing a new book, though, I obviously get." she grinned, motioning to the shelves around them and noticing the Holmes book in his hand, which lead her to laugh a little. "I bought that one a few months back, but my cats decided it was their new toy..." Her voice trailed off, and she sighed a little, smiling. As much as she loved them, they could be devils when they wanted to be. She'd been enjoying it too- they were some of the Sherlocks she hadn't read yet- but never gotten around to buying it again.

[brokenfiction]

Connor liked this girl, she had some spirit in her. "Don't sell yourself short, you more than fun to talk too. Besides small talk is most generally overrated.... I don't often talk much to new people, especially one on one. I do best in crowds so I don't have to volunteer much of myself to the conversation." Connor was surprised at himself, he very rarely felt like he could legitimately talk to someone. It had been forever since he had actually opened up. It was to this girl no less, a near complete stranger from another land. He smiled as he listened to her talk. She was kind enough, and more than attractive. Connor started to wonder if this budding friendship might ever turn into something more... 'Whoa...whoa.. whoa there Connor. You just meet her. Don't be getting too far ahead of yourself. Take it slow and just enjoy the ride.'

"That school thing might not be a bad idea, but I don't think there are many people like you there. I go to Powers and everybody there seems kinda... I don't know, off I guess. Like they have secrets or something....' His voice kind of trailed off... He didn't want to give away that he was one of the students with a secret... not just yet. He didn't know how Ramona might react and he did not want to jeopardize what was happening. She had just mention something about her cats destroying some books and he perked right back up. "I love cats, I used to have one be she passed before I moved here though. She was an odd one, but we loved her. How many cats do you have?"

[remedy]

Hearing him talk about Power's Academy, the books lost Ramona's attention and she turned to face him, suprised. She'd been told Power's kids weren't even meant to go off-campus, yet here Connor was. The questions started piling up in her head, and she had to restrain herself, trying to play it cool as best she could, and keep silent.

He had quickly picked up on the topic of cats, which Ramona knew was something a little safer. "Four, all toms." she answered with a quick nod, counting on her fingers as she read their names off. "Connor, Reese, Miles and Cameron. Terminator-related names. We're kind of a nerdy family sometimes." She was rambling a little, and stopped herself, biting her lip.

After a moment of silence, she couldn't help herself. "So, Power's... The kids have secrets, huh?" the girl asked cautiously. If she was careful, she might actually be able to get somewhere here, after months of finding nothing but dead ends on just what was going down at Power's Academy.

[brokenfiction]

Wow... four cats was a lot, even for a cat lover. Connor loved that the cats all had geeky names, from one of his favorite movie franchises as well. "Four toms, that must be a handful sometimes. My cat was a girl, we named her Nel. She waaaas Nelson but then we learned she did not in fact, have girl parts. She was an adorable little calico. I'd get another one but my apartment doesn't allow for pets so I'll have to wait." Connor was approaching ecstatic, he had just met someone who loves the rain, reading, cats, and robots from the future. What were the odds? Then school was mentioned... and his mood sank with great speed. He probably should not have said anything that specific about Powers, especially when he has a secret to keep...

Connor sighed, this was going to be grade 9 all over again. [clolor=lightblue]"About Powers.... Look I shouldn't have said anything, it's not my place to talk about the other students. Suffice it to say that there are things there that most people wouldn't want you to know about. It's for your safety, and theirs. I can't say anything more about the school. I'm sorry."[/color] Connor was starting to close up again, there was a tightness in his shoulders and his hands were crammed deep into his pockets, the Sherlock Holmes book lay forgotten on the shelf. He suddenly felt like he was going to regret this encounter... 'And it was going so well...' He lamented. "I... I should probably get going. I'm sorry." He turned and took a step towards the door.

[remedy]

Watching Connor's reaction, it was clear she'd hit a nerve somewhere, and Ramona frowned. That wasn't how this was supposed to go. He'd brought it up and her journalistic instinct had kicked in, wanting the details and answers to all of the questions she had. But he wasn't telling, obviously. The problem was, that only made her all the more concerned as to what might be happening over at Power's. Connor had been talkative, up until now that the subject had shifted from cats to schools. She could plainly see that she'd said the wrong thing.

When he turned to walk away, Ramona sighed. "Hey, I- uh... I didn't mean..." Fumbling for the right way to say what she meant, she groaned, rubbing her temple. "Y'know people have a filter between their brain and mouth, to stop a load of crap coming out? Mine kind of stopped working about twelve years ago and I say whatever." She frowned. That hadn't exactly come out as she thought it would.

"I mean, um... I'm sorry." she said simply. "The whole Power's thing, it's kind of a big deal lately, y'know? People are going to ask questions, Connor." That was as basic and blunt as she could put it, because the people around here spent enough time gossiping and spreading rumours about Power's that she had little doubt people wouldn't ask.

His reaction had taught her one thing. Something was definitely happening there, and she was going to find out what that something was if it killed her.

[brokenfiction]

"Connor you are being a right bastard." That's what his father would say... Leading this girl on with information and then ditching her as soon as the hook was set. He didn't expect for this to happen when snuck out of the school today, he was just going to look around and maybe grab a coffee. Now he had said a lot of things that would raise questions... 'Stupid Connor real bloody stupid... Now she's just going to be hounding you about that school and why someone as seemingly normal as you goes there.. Damn!' He was about to take another step towards the door when he heard Ramona tell him to wait. Connor hesitated, it was possible to salvage this mess. He stopped and listened to what she had to say before turning back to face her.

"Yea me mother always said I never knew when tae shut me mouth..." Connor said nervously. Whenever he is flustered, his accent makes itself more prominent and he forgot most of what the vocal coach had taught him about speaking properly. He took a moment to center himself with a few deep breaths. After a few perilously long seconds, and after clearing his throat, Connor thought he could speak again. "Sorry about the accent and what I said earlier. The Power's Academy has pretty strict rules and I'm breaking a lot of them just by being here. I can understand your curiosity, but I can't tell you anything about the school or it's other students. Some secrets need to be kept. I need to go... It was nice talking to you Ramona..." He turned and walked out into the rain, secretly hoping she would follow...

[remedy]

Now he was apologising for his accent as well as keeping secrets about the goings on in Power's (which she was now certain did exist, and already trying to piece together)? Ramona was amazed. What was wrong with having an Irish accent? It was better than some of the others she'd come across, where every word was impossible to understand or sounded similar. She shook her head, realising that she was completely missing the point here. 'Power's, not accents, Ramona.'

When Connor turned and left the book store, walking out into the rain again, Ramona frowned and stormed after him, opening her umbrella as she went through the door. "Hey! We're not finished!" she shouted after him, increasing her pace until she overtook him and stood in his way, blocking his path and folding her arms across her chest. "I'm sorry if I said something I shouldn't have," she said sincerely, "but I'm going to find out the truth about Power's, whether you say it's risky or not." Her voice was firm and unwavering, the teen determined to stick to her word on this. "And why the hell are you apologising for your accent?!" she added, apparently unable to help herself.

[brokenfiction]

Connor was torn, he was glad that Ramona had followed him but he couldn't tell her about Power's.... could he? What is the worst that could happen... that dame thing that happened in high school only bigger. He had decided, he was not going to tell Ramona his secret but how could her get rid of her? He could always tell her that he fancied her, that drives off girls you just met right?. If not it should at least distract her from the Power's issue. "I apologized about me accent because I like you alright? You're a very pretty girl and you hair reminds me of what it's like to be back home.. Now please let me be."

Connor turned away to storm off from the stubborn who blocked his path... and found he was having trouble moving. A quick sniff revealed ozone in the air, lightning was going to strike and it was going to hit now... but Ramona was right next to him she would get hit too. What could he do to keep her from harm? He quickly snatched the umbrella from her hands and pushed her as hard as he could, hoping she would fall away from him. Connor then held the umbrella high above his head to make for a better conductor, his steely eyes locked with Ramona's as heaven's wrath fell upon him.

First came the light, the impossibly bright, pure light. It was as if everything around him was illuminated from within. Ramona's hair shone with a fiery intensity within that light, Connor thought it was though it were made of flame itself. Then the lightning came and he was sent flying from the combination of electrical energy and the shock wave created by the indescribably loud thunder. He hit the dirt a few feet away and slide through what was now a soupy mess after all the rain. A quick mental checklist revealed that he was still in mostly one piece, the section for his necklace had flown off and landed near Ramona. Connor tried to stand and was able to, though his joints were stiff and he'd probably feel like that for some time. 'I'm going to be tasting ozone for a week...' he groaned, but he didn't need to eat much if at all so it wasn't the worst thing. He wobbled his way over to where Ramona fell. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT!?" Connor did not mean to yell but his hearing was affected by the blast, he held out one mud-drenched hand to help Ramona up.