The Top of the Tower

[Carson Andres]

Carson bounded up the steps of the tower. Training started back up again now, because if she let herself get lazy or too far out of shape, she'd probably never get her body back to the state she wanted it to be in. Plus, she had had the sudden urge to go skydiving, or perform some adrenaline-pumping stunt, and since she couldn't exactly do anything of the sort (thank God for that), she was going to do the next best thing - standing at the highest possible altitude available within school grounds. But when she got to the top, she noticed Cora and a stranger.
Carson groaned. "Aww man, people. People people, people..." She sighed, and flung herself against the railing when she hung herself over the bar, letting her arms dangle over it. Then she turned to Cora, still leaning against the railing. "So why is it that, of all people, I always run into my neat-freak roomie Cora, eh?" She chuckled. "How you been? Where'd ya go for the holidays? I'm guessin' you were on Santa's "nice" list?" Carson teased, grinning. Then she turned to Robyn. “Aw, sorry there, did I steal her from ya?” Carson frowned. “Well hey, I didn’t mean to interrupt anything…”

[Cora Hendricks]

Cora smiled at her carefree acquaintance. "Carson!" she exclaimed, watching her make a ruckus thereby hurling herself over the railing. Cora bit down upon her lip. "You're going to injure yourself, Carson. You aren't indestructible, despite your wish to be," she added wryly. Cora then turned to Robyn. "Excuse Carson, Robyn. She's rather...rambunctious, if you will. However, she isn't harmful." Cora paused. "Carson, I went home briefly, then returned because...well, you tire of your family at some point. Besides, I missed being here." Cora glanced at the two girls. She worried about Robyn. How would she feel? Including Carson in the conversation was inevitable.
"We were just discussing Robyn's powers, and how restrictions were good--they are here to protect us, while they are not pleasant."

[Carson Andres]

Carson grinned.
"Relax, pain is just a mind-state if you haven't been seriously injured. And I believe..." She stood up straight and brushed the flecks of dirt off her torso "...that I am 100% A-okay!" She folded her arms and contently leaned back against the railing once more. "I know exactly what you mean... family gets old. But being from Vermont and all, that must've been a long flight away, so wouldn't you want to stay longer? Y'know, to make it seem worth-while?" She inquired. "My fam is just up in Oregon, and it still feels like they're far away..." She sighed.
Carson listened intently to Cora. "Powers? Prohibitions? Count me in. I like hearing about other peep's gifts. Even Cora, the 'Love Guru'." Carson laughed, punching Cora playfully in the forearm.

[༺Robyn Dupont༻]

"Oh mon dieu!" Robyn exclaimed in unison with Cora's 'Carson!' as the girl flung herself over the railing. Robyn listened to the brief conversation between the two, who appeared to be roommates, and said to Cora, "Yes, maybe restrictions do have a bit of good in them." She looked the newcomer once over, and offered her hand, "I'm Robyn," she said, introducing herself. "And you're Carson?" It was a strange name, one she'd never heard of before. She could tell right from the start that Cora and her roommate were total opposites. Carson seemed to be a lot more... well, rambunctious, as Cora had said, while Cora seemed to be a lot calmer and focussed. She smiled slightly as she imagined their dorm room- completely clean and organized on one side, and not at all on the other.

[Carson Andres]

"Hey there, Robyn!" Carson hollered, grabbing Robyn's hand firmly and shaking her arm a bit harshly. After releasing her hand, Carson laid back against the railing and rested her chin on the palm of her hand. "Restrictions aren't fun at all! If it weren't for chemical reactions and all that yadda yadda, I'd be unstoppable!" She boasted, hoisting a fist into the air. "But I guess Laws of Physics are just the way the dice rolls, eh?" Carson puffed, looking as if she were exhausted.

[Cora Hendricks]

(Note: All uses of the French language is from translation2.paralink.com/. Therefore, it may not be completely accurate. Merci.)

Cora's ear perked at the sound of the French language. She turned after answering Carson to Robyn. She cleared her throat. Cora prayed that she wouldn't screw this up. "Sont vous de la France, Robyn?" she inquired. Her heart thudded. While she waited fro a response, she turned cordially to Carson. "I love my family ever so dearly, I assure, Carson. I talk to them daily and have received a stunning webcam in order to establish another link of communication. Robyn, by-the-by, is able to change the aspect of reality." Cora touched Carson's hand gently to address another topic. "How much sugar did you have, Carson?" she whispered in a low tone.

[Carson Andres]

Carson raised one eyebrow.
“Sugar? No sugar for me today except for this morning’s single cup of coffee. I suppose I’m just letting out all my pent-up energy from the flight back down here…” Carson sighed. "Sure, it wasn't that long, but still... I can't stand being in cramped vehicles for extended periods of time." She grunted. “And of course, my mother is so over-protective that she’d rather pay for an extra plane ticket than send me off alone. According to her, ‘fifteen-year-olds have no business flying alone’”

[Cora Hendricks]

Now it was Cora's turn to raise an eyebrow.
"Why would you be annoyed?" Cora cocked her head and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "If she went through the trouble of buying yet another ticket just to make sure you were safe, Carson, she was being considerate. My mother was strictly against the idea of flying cross-country to California. Except my father intervened and told me that I was old enough."

[༺Robyn Dupont༻]

"Yes," Robyn said, "I'm from france. Sometimes my french just slips out, when I'm surprised, for example," she said nodding towards Carson. She shook her arm out a bit after Carson shook it. She watched as the conversation continued between Carson and Cora. It appeared that Carson didn't like her family, while Cora did. Yet another thing that these two roommates were opposites about.

[Cora Hendricks]

Cora turned, intrigued by Robyn once more. "French is your native tongue, I believe," she mused vocally. "You came to America from France to go to the school? Or have you been here in the U.S. for some time?" Cora studied the girl. Robyn was unique, yes. Carson tottered restlessly over on the pavement, causing Cora to glance back. She shot her a look that was if to say, "Feel free to jump into the conversation, Carson."

[༺Robyn Dupont༻]

"Yes, French is my native tongue," she agreed with Cora,"I went to an International School up until last year. I went to a gifted school in France last year, but didn't like it that much, so I came over here. I have an aunt in Northern California, you see, and my parents thought it was a good idea for me to come here so I could stay with her over the Holidays." Robyn's story wasn't all that interesting to her, and she tried to avoid telling people that she was French from the start, because it seemed that it was all they wanted to talk about after that.

[Cora Hendricks]

Cora smiled, watching Robyn. She seemed to be uneasy. Usually people love talking about themselves, Cora thought, trying not to emit the confusing that she felt through her features. "That is quite interesting, Robyn," she acknowledged softly. Gradually, mentally, Cora recoiled from the topic. "Well, as long as you like it here..." Cora then bit down upon her lip: What could the talk about now? Oh, Carson, just start talking! Cora willed. She absolutely hated awkward silences.

[༺Robyn Dupont༻]

Robyn could tell that Cora was feeling a bit awkward. She assumed that it was because of her roommate, so she ignored it and simply tried to make conversation. "Yes, I do like it here. Quite a lot, actually. What about you?" she asked, "How do you like it here?" . Surely going to a gifted school was a big difference from home for anyone, whether your home be in France or an hour away.

[Cora Hendricks]

Cora upturned the corner of her lips. "Oh, of course! It's a wonderful place, really. It is really sort of like an ordinary school, for me, except modified to protect and help students feel comfortable with their powers. I enjoy connecting with those who have powers, maybe understanding them...to a far lesser degree than others here, I suppose. But, all in all, I enjoy it here. Very much so," she replied warmly, glancing at Robyn as she spoke.

[༺Robyn Dupont༻]

"I agree, it is pretty much like a normal school. Or a magnet school, maybe, where you focus on one thing, but instead of art or technology, its our abilities." She looked at Cora as a quesion popped into her head. "Do you mind me asking when you first discovered your powers?"