Her First Day

[color=878787](( /jumps into a week-old open thread ))[/color]
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"You're going to end up in trouble if you keep being a klutz here."

A voice spoke as a locker near Wind closed. Hal looked at the girl a few lockers away from him with his usual unimpressed gaze after seeing the girl carry the book back up into her grasp. Thinking she was a telepath, Hal simply looked at her with a raised brow as he saw the pinned-up photo. He was guessing she was new by the way she behaved — but why does everyone have to be taller than him, darn it.

"I don't get why you newbies have to put up dumb pictures on your locker. It's not a memorial." He spoke coldly as he slung his bagpack over his shoulder. "I take it I'm right that you're new here, hm?"

(( Thank you and no problem ^^
Ah, I made Hal a kind of character that's really conscious about height so he kind of links together height and his age estimate. Hal's sort of already guessing that Wind is younger than him so technically she's "taller", even though currently it's only an inch of a difference ^^;;
Oh and, his tail only shows in astral form;; I just have a thing about drawing him with it..! Sorry if that was misleading- ))
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Their eyes met — Hal didn't turn away. He knew she was thinking something but he couldn't tell. These were times he wished he could read minds at will — that would have been really easy and he could just make a smart retort or something.

He simply listened to her prattle on about the photo and the girls on it. So this girl had sisters; what about it? As much as he didn't want to admit it, he wanted to know what it was like to have siblings. She seemed to be very close to her's too, it was kind of envious. He only had his parents and while he'd thought they were so close, he feels like his parents practically kicked him out of the house when he got invited to Starlight. It was almost insulting, if it wasn't already painful.

While his thoughts wandered off, he almost didn't hear the girl introducing himself. He stared her extended hand for a second before snapping back to reality. That could have been embarrassing if he couldn't recover from spacing out.

"Hal Dionne." He reached for her hand, giving it a light shake before prying his hand away and stuffing it into his pocket. "Wind? That's a pretty weird name. What, are your sisters named after elements too?" he said, raising a brow.

Hal stared at the girl for a second, trying to figure her out before speaking again. "...It's actually Harper." a beat, "Frankly, I think Harper sounds dumb, but you can call me whatever you feel like between those." he added, shifting his weight to his other foot. He never really had a liking for his first name, and his parents actually called him with his second one, Daniel. Sometimes he forgets the point of having two names.

"So your name is literally 'Wind' then? Like, it's not even a nickname?" He snickered, "Your parents must have been something to get a name like that for their kid. 'Stars', I could understand. I'm not sure what to say about your name." he said, taking a few steps so he stood right next to her in the hallway.

His gaze turned to her, noticing she was holding on to her necklace. He couldn't see the pendant properly from his peripheral vision, but he didn't really care much to even know. "So, what room were you looking for, Windy?"

Hal looked towards her with disinterest, "I was going to call you 'Windy Day' but that would have been a mouthful." he said with a sneer. Obvious? Truthfully, he thought it would have sounded more of a name than her actual one. It felt more normal. Wind Ann would have been the same case. Ann would have been nice too though.

Hal caught himself before he let his thoughts wander again. Trying to play it cool, he turned his gaze to the hall.

Wait, did she say 7th grade? Ugh, seriously. Taller people.

He clicked his tongue. "It's right down the hall, then take a left on-" He paused. He remembered he doesn't actually remember unless he was on the path himself. The corridors of the academy were winding and could get pretty confusing because of the branching corridors. Or at least he thinks so. He was never really good at directions anyway. His body compass had always been his guide more than anything.

And it wasn't like he was going to be late for class or anything. Maybe he could walk her to her class?

He sighed, "Alright, new kid. This way." he said as he began his walk.

"By the way, you could just use your second name if you don't want people to pick at you for your name. Ann sounds really nice you know." he said, not even turning to the girl or even wondering if she was actually following.