swimming

For the first time in a long time, Shirese was almost happy.

She was sitting on a large black boulder - five or six feet high, she guessed -, leaning back on her hands and staring at the ocean. It was the second time she'd been to the beach, and she loved it almost as much as the roof. But lately the roof had become almost popular, with students coming up to smoke or sit on the rail, thinking about jumping.

She hadn't had headaches in days, hadn't felt the need to kill in weeks, and she was beginning to feel - albeit guardedly - optimistic about her situation. It had been nearly two years - perhaps they'd forgotten about her by now, given up the search.

But there was no need to ruin her mood by thinking about that. She stood up, flipping off her sandals and throwing her arms up in the air in a dramatic yawn, enjoying the cool breeze on her skin. She was wearing her new swimsuit - what was it the store had called it? Bikayniy? Bikini, that was it - and she loved it. It was if it had suddenly become socially acceptable to wear underwear out; it was so nice to move without the constrictions of the odd jean pants everyone else seemed to love. She jumped gracefully off the huge boulder, turning a somersault in mid air just for fun, landing on her feet and half running the few feet to the water's edge.

The water was even more freezing then the air; she walked out until it lapped at her shoulders, letting the waves slosh over her head.

Someone was staring at her.

Shirese froze, staring back for what seemed like a lifetime; then a wave slapped her head, and she dove underwater. She swam to the left, hugging the bottom as best she could and trying to remember if she'd seen him before.

She stayed underwater as long as she could take it, finally propelling herself to the surface and gasping for breath. He didn't seem to see her at the moment; she took advantage of that, heading for shore as quickly as she could.

The air was so much colder now that she was wet, and she found herself longing for some jeans and a t-shirt. She hugged herself, staring suspiciously at the figure.
Now that she got a good look at the man, she could see he looked more like a student then someone threatening; still, she approached him carefully, stopping a good twenty feet away and turning invisible.

"Who are you?" She called out, immediately wishing she hadn't, as her mouth had appeared to shout the question. She quickly hid it again, waiting for an answer.

The wind was freezing, and tiny goosebumps broke out on her skin, revealing tiny dots of flesh to the bo - to Raphael. She shook herself, and the layer of transparent skin she'd created shattered. "A-are you going to-" She stopped, shook her head. 'Just a student. Rapheal D'Carteno.' She whispered, forcing herself to stop shaking and take a step closer. "You're a student, right?" A pause, and then, quieter; almost to herself: "please?"

She relaxed visibly, approaching him at an angle as if she were circling him. "I... Thank you." She dipped her head in thanks, taking her eyes off him for a split second to show that she trusted him not to attack.
"I am Shirese Odijiri. A student as well. I am sorry that I did not recognize you, but I am normally apart from the other students." She deftly climbed the rock her clothes were on, glancing back at him every few seconds. "I have a shirt... I heard you should bring one when you swim. But thank you." She picked it up, jumping back down again and pulling it on. If only she'd thought to bring pants as well... But no one had told her about that. She gave Raphael a lopsided smile, dropping down in the sand in relief. She knew she could have easily fought him if she had to, but she hadn't fought anyone in weeks, and she liked it.

Shirese shook her head. "They don't really like me being around students." She squinted up at him, not understanding why he was being nice to her. He didn't know her, so she didn't think he wanted anything... "People kept coming up to the roof, so I can't go there anymore."

She followed his gaze out to sea, chewing thoughtfully on her lip. "It is very... Beautiful." She wasn't used to using that word, and it came out sounding oddly stilted. "It's very easy to forget things here."