Video; un: ilikehorses

[shoplifter]

[Laura's been trying to adjust. Part of her wonders if coming here wasn't a grave mistake — she'd come thinking there are more like her, people who would accept her more willingly, and in a way, that's true. However... There are a few... annoyances. Grievances. Her rather overworked case worker Linda has been making sure she goes to school. Today isn't the best day for school, though. She's quiet and 'weird' and the other children usually aren't fond of her and her quiet but present danger.

And for Laura, well. She doesn't do well with anyone 'teaching' her. She's had too much of 'teaching' the last eleven years of her... eleven years.

She may or may not have punched another kid in the eye.

She may or may not have ditched school.

And now she sits on the top of a rather tall and dangerous brick-ish wall in the city, her feet hanging precariously off the edge. Close by, the shadow of a tram wooshes by, and somewhere out there, Linda the Case Worker is having a heart attack. Laura, however, seems more puzzled and annoyed than anything. She sits with a potentially stolen bag of mini-donuts, her favorite glasses pressed up on her forehead and her lovely albeit mildly damaged unicorn shirt clear and vibrant.]


Why do children have to go to classes? 

I can learn outside of school.


[There are mean children that exist. She's never ran into children who are so exclusionary; after all, mutants had to stick together.

And teachers aren't bad, but something about the set-up bothers her, in ways she's not sure how to explain.

Maybe it's harder to blend in than you'd think. Not that she had gone into this with any high hopes.] 

Comments

[ action ]

[supersweet]

[ Oh boy. Jon had seen her punch the kid and vanish. Normally, he wouldn't skip school but . . . it's not like his dad would say anything. He briefly considers suiting up and dismisses it. That's not what she needs, most likely. Jon easily slips by next to her, though he keeps his distance. He could weather any kind of punch she might give, but Jon isn't here to criticize or judge. ]

Are you okay?

[ action ]

[shoplifter]

[She whips her gaze in his direction, eyes still dark and stormy and fists still clenched. The green backpack she wears is a bit tattered; it looks like it's been through quite an adventure. She'd had her hair in a ponytail when she went in, but it seems she's disliked it enough to remove that hair band post-haste.

It's not the kid she hit, so her hands relax. She looks away from him.]

Estoy bien.

[supersweet]

[ He blinks before managing to parse that. Jon lacks the ability to learn languages at the pace his father does. But he's heard enough spanish to get the meaning, plus he's not too shabby at reading the tells of others. ]

It didn't sound good.

Did you find it hard at school?

[ Fitting in is difficult. Jon manages it but he's also had his off days. He kind of misses Terra. ]

[shoplifter]

[She doesn't like admitting when things are hard; that much is certain. She's used to having to be the best of what she can do, and even if she and the others rebelled against it every step of the way, it doesn't change her frustration. They were never taught how to cope in the world. Los mutantes eran armas, and weapons didn't need to know how to be children.

But she's not want they wanted her to be. None of them are.

She looks at her shoes for a moment, pensive and - for a moment - unlikely to respond.]

People are hard.

[supersweet]

[ Jon's expression softens slightly. He leans back, crossing his legs. There's no fear of heights in his eyes and posture. ]

Yeah, they definitely are. But I guess — if you can get used to school and people, it's easier to be out there. In the world. Because if you close yourself off, it just makes the world . . . smaller.

[shoplifter]

[Her brow furrows, as she looks at him from behind unkempt hair.]

People can make the world smaller.

They lock things up.

["things"

There are good people, she knows. But how does she tell the difference?]

[supersweet]

Sure.

[ Jon is no stranger to that. So he doesn't wave it off. He's certainly been locked up and worse. ]

But you can't just know one kind of person. Or just one way of life. You have to experience it all even when things suck.

[ Eventually Jon brightens. ]

Besides, school has fun stuff too. We went to the zoo a few weeks ago. And we're starting our physics unit, so we get to build our own miniature rockets.

[shoplifter]

[She seems so very cautious and skeptical of everything he says... but she is listening, of course. She does listen well, when it's something important. She holds her totally stolen bag of donuts close, thoughtful.]

Zoo? It's where animals live, sí?

[supersweet]

Yeah. We got to see all the different kinds of animals, some from different worlds too. They had a petting zoo too.

[ He misses Noctis as well. So many people Jon knew have left. It makes for a surreal experience for a child who never had much to begin with. ]

[shoplifter]

[She is suddenly too eager to run off and find this zoo.]

Are the animals happy? Are they safe?

[supersweet]

It's all good.

[ He swings his legs absently. ]

We can go now if you want. They have a student discount.

[shoplifter]

[Oh, boy, eagerness is x2 now. She looks at him more intensely.]

What is that? Discount?

[supersweet]

[ Hmm. Jon looks a little crafty. ]

It means you pay less because you go to school. A lot of places make things cheaper for students. Food, attractions, books . . .

[ This might actually be the best way to get Laura to go to school. ]

[shoplifter]

[....... Oh man, that does sound nice. But.]

Why not sneak in?

[laura no]

[supersweet]

[ Jon shrugs. ]

Because these places need money to run and the animals need a home. So while sneaking in is cool and all, it's important to make sure they've still got a place to stay.

[shoplifter]

[Damn you.]

... It's good to have a home for them.

[Spoken in defeat, as she dusts her pants off. She's precariously close to the ledge, but like Jon, she doesn't seem very worried about the height.]

[supersweet]

[ Jon isn't completely hopeless. ]

Yeah. So you wanna go?

[shoplifter]

[She stands quiet in her thoughts. Zoo.

Well... She can't lie to herself; it sounds great. Standing straighter with her half-eaten bag of mini donuts, she nods.]

[supersweet]

Sweet! Let's get going.

[ Jon glances at a suitable place to jump off before he does and waits until Laura does the same. ]

It's not too far from here.

[shoplifter]

[... Alright, alright, you win. She follows quickly, effortlessly jumping down as well. When they're on the path and starting on their new little adventure, she gives pause before offering the open donut bag toward Jon.

Do you want one, man? They're really good.]

[supersweet]

Thanks!

[ Jon beams, taking it politely and having a bite. He eats heavily, though he doesn't burn as much energy as his father. ]

Which animals do you wanna see first?

[shoplifter]

I don't know.

[It's a genuine uncertainty, certainly.]

I haven't seen any before. Only horses.

[supersweet]

Oh! Well, they have lions, tigers . . . a few alien-ish animals. Reptiles and sometimes a few fish tanks. We can see all of them, I'm sure.

[ Hopefully. The zoo tends to be a all day thing, but Jon is sure they can make it work. ]

[shoplifter]

[She tries to match these names up with creatures she's heard in passing.]

Like snakes and lizards.

[The nurses had mentioned reptiles. Snakes, lizards, things like that. It was mostly because of Gideon. Poor Gideon. He was a mutant like the rest of them, but worse, the world would know it by looking at him; he'd have a hard life with humans.]

[supersweet]

Yeah, like that! See, you know some stuff already.

[ He gestures with his hands, trying to show how big and wide some animals are as he rambles on. ]

I kind of like big animals because they always move so slowly.