Standing Room Only

Ashes · Jan 24, 2017

thump, thump, thump.
Wow. So this was it. Dorm #... uhhh.... He couldn't remember the dorm number. Five-six-eight-two... wait no, maybe it was... nope, not that either. "Ah, nevermind - I'll ask someone later," he mused quietly to himself as he paced the length of the long corridor that connected the rooms to his wing. He knew for sure, the room started with a five... Which meant it was somewhere in that hall. Down this long, carpeted hall....
He was getting ahead of himself. Onwards.
Brushing his reddish hair over to one side of his face, he finally spotted a dorm that he thought could be his own. It looked like all the others. Except..
"526803. There we go. I knew it was some type of five number." Checking the time - man, he was late - the young man tried the lock. His key fit perfectly. So it must've been it.
He got about three steps into the room, stopped to look at his luggage and realized -
OH JEEZ.
"My, uh..... My luggage."
No black suitcase.
No big yellow bag with the name "Phoenix" written out in embarrassingly large pink letters.
No tiny green book resting on top, from the library he'd stopped by on the way over.
"Well, crap."

@Romi

Romi · Jan 25, 2017

Havoc had been lucky enough--or unlucky enough, depending on how you looked at it--to end up alone when he'd arrived. The room was simple enough, and significantly nicer than he was used to. He was used to barracks and bunk beds, but having his own room--with his own nice bed--was something else.

The room itself was a single shared space with two bedrooms, and for the duration of Havoc's first few weeks, the other bedroom had been empty. Even so, he had been warned that he might get a roommate, so he didn't panic too much when he heard the door clicking open. He simply flipped his book closed, tucked it into his place on the shelf above his desk, and then popped the door to his bedroom open, leaning out into the center area of the bedroom and cocking his head.

"A roommate?" He said, although it wasn't clear if he was talking to himself, or simply stating an observation.

@Ashes

Ashes · Jan 25, 2017

Suddenly Nix heard someone in his room - wait, he was... Oh. He had a roommate. Finally. He could see that the other bedroom was furnished, possibly for weeks? His, or the one he presumed was his, was empty. Figures. As it was, he turned around, trying to see who it was that had spoken.
Another guy, around Nix's age, was poking his head out from his bedroom. He looked... Really, really calm? Despite the fact that Nix had just barged in. He grinned awkwardly, trying to compose himself.
"Uhhh... Hey. Uhm. I'm Nix. I'm uh. I'm your new roommate. Haha. Well that's obvious, but uh. Yeah. It's good to meet you, man. What's your name?"
@Romi

Romi · Jan 25, 2017

Havoc's brain said civilian, and for the most part stopped there. He registered basic details--his roommate was what Havoc thought of as sporty athletic, a few inches shorter than Havoc himself--and then basically gave up. The fact that he had red hair didn't really matter, nor did anything else about his appearance. Havoc registered things primarily in terms of how will this change a fight and then ignored the rest.

"James Havoc," he introduced, deciding that since his roommate hadn't offered his hand, there was no need for it. "Are you American, then?"

A safe guess--a lot of his fellow students were, and Nix-with-bright-red-hair seemed fairly stereotypically American.

@Ashes

Ashes · Jan 26, 2017

Nix nodded, forgetting about the luggage for now. He could just get it later, he supposed. Although, wasn't he supposed to - ah, never mind. Back on track. He took another look at the guy. Blond hair... But he was Chinese? It didn't matter. The guy - or, Havoc, he corrected himself - asked him something. If he was American. Right.
"Right," he replied, grinning. "Yeah, I'm American. Right out of Cali. Anyway. Where you from?" He asked the blond.

Romi · Jan 26, 2017

Havoc tilted his head slightly, surprised at hte coincidence. Or perhaps not coincidence, now that he thought about it. Maybe they'd been placed together specifically because they were both from the same place.

"From California as well," he said. "The central valley."

He suspected that Nix was from the city, but that was mostly based on stereotypes. Unusual names tended to pop up more in urban areas in his experience, and all the members of his team with names he'd have considered unusual were from larger cities.

"Are you new to the island?"

Normally that would have been a safe guess, but Nix didn't appear to have any luggage, so it was possible he was just being moved from elsewhere in the dorms.

@Ashes

Ashes · Jan 26, 2017

@Romi

"Yeah, I'm new. You're from Cali too?" Wow. What a coincidence - unless it wasn't. Was it always that they placed students with others from the same place? Either way, it was pretty cool, that they both came from the same place. "That's honestly really cool. Uh. right. So, um. I should be moving in - shoot, right." His hand flew to his forehead, making a smacking sound. "I forgot my luggage downstairs. So that's why it's not here. Haha. Anywho, uhm. I'm gonna go pick it up from the lobby." He chuckled awkwardly. "Sorry about all the awkward, by the way - I uh, have a tendency to do that. And I just walked right in. I'll be right back, I'll move in, and uh yeah. Back in five minutes. Or ten, if that's not the 'case'." And a subtle pun to finish it off. Perfect.

Romi · Jan 26, 2017

Havoc was almost entirely unphased by awkwardness. He was sure it was possible that he might be bothered by it one day, but really, he'd gotten used to so much worse. Someone stumbling over their words didn't even make him blink, and Havoc gave only a small nod, completely failing to laugh--or even acknowledge--Nix's pun.

"Alright," he said simply, waiting for Nix to leave on his own.

By the time Nix got back--whether that was five minutes or ten minutes later--Havoc would be sitting on the little couch in their shared space, a thick manual that could have been mistaken for a book in his hands.

@Ashes

Ashes · Jan 26, 2017

Not even a reaction. Did Nix expect one? That was subtle. Very subtle. Nix, you are THE man today, he thought to himself as he retrieved his luggage from the receptionist. He apologized quickly, making small talk with the lady there - "Ah god, I'm sorry, don't worry about it, yeah it's mine, thanks!" - and came back. He was still missing that green book though.... Damnit. Even his awkward didn't seem to faze the guy. Which was good, but still. When he got back, in five minutes as he'd predicted, Havoc was still there, reading a book - wait, no. A magazine, maybe? Or - he could see the word 'manual' on the cover. Huh. "Back," Nix announced, carrying the things inside.

Romi · Jan 26, 2017

It was a weapon's manual, which was standard reading for almost no one but Havoc. But that was what you had to read if you wanted to read the nitty gritty details on how you were supposed to recalibrate your scope if it ever experienced mechanical failure in the field.

Havoc didn't look up from his reading, but obviously focused on it, but he did simply resume the conversation where he felt it had left off: With introductions.

"I assume you are a human who possesses powers, then?" He asked any sort of change of tone or expression. It was a safe assumption--people who weren't human tended to come from more remote locations.

@Ashes

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