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Post by ADAM EVAN RIZZO on Aug 10, 2012 19:13:02 GMT -5
Backpack slung over his shoulder as carelessly as possible, Adam shouldered his way through the throng of students milling about the hallways of the Academy. He waved and nodded to a few of his fellow Fires and a couple of Thunders along the way, not really caring to say much of a word to any of them. No, today he was somewhat eager to find a little alone time. Strange for someone like Adam because he thrived off of the presence of others. If not for the reasoning behind his temporary seclusion he might not have minded having someone tag along or ask him where he was going. "Just going to the cliffs," He said with a gruff huff when one of his classmates asked what he was doing after school. "Meeting up with some hot chick from tenth grade." His friend wiggled his eyebrows and seemed understanding before leaving Adam be. Phew, close call.
Once clear of the doors, the young Fire steered off away from the sidewalk and onto the grounds. It was finally starting to warm up and he could not be happier. The trek up the cliffs was not too big of a hassle--at least there wasn't a layer of ice on the rocks--and when he reached the top Adam was glad to find that it was deserted. Perfect. With that, he dropped his bookbag on the ground and unzipped the top, pulling out a book that read "Shakespeare's Sonnets" on the front in decorative cursive writing. Adam smiled. It was the one thing he enjoyed that no one really knew about. A secret that he defended rather angrily if questioned. Glancing around a couple more times to ensure that he was truly alone, Adam flipped the book open and found the sonnet that the teacher assigned him.
"Is it thy will, thy image should keep open, my heavy eyelids to the weary night? Dost thou desire my slumbers should be broken, while shadows like to thee do mock my sight?" Adam paced as he spoke, only glancing down at the book once or twice to ensure that he was saying it properly. To some it might have seemed as though he were studying, doing his homework as he should, but it was evident by the content (but small) smile on his face and the way that he spoke revealed that he enjoyed the sonnet. Adam enjoyed Shakespeare in entirety, actually. Just as he glanced down at the page again, prepared to continue on, a noise caught his attention. Nothing could have fully prepared him to respond to another presence. Freezing mid-step, Adam turned to see a rather familiar face. His eyes narrowed. "The fuck? Do you enjoy just walking all up into people's space like that?" He accused with a grunt, now turning to face her. Subconsciously he shut the book and rested it at his side. If there was one thing the boy hated to reveal about himself, it was his love of English. "It woulda been nice if you had said something sooner. And why the hell are you up here anyway?" Defense. He felt the need to defend himself. The last thing he wanted was to deal with ridicule or the whole 'this is so not like you!' accusation.
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Post by SKYE JESSICA FORD on Aug 12, 2012 16:53:50 GMT -5
Though it was actually pretty true that Fires and Thunders tended to -- for whatever reason -- stick to the dungeons and what-not as hang-out places, this had never really appealed to Skye. It was cold down there, and not just cold (because as a Thunder she was pretty well-equipped to handle the cold) but just... dank, creepy, and that she wasn't a fan of. She had managed to sneak down to the Fire dorms on occasion too, and then that was just unreasonably hot, so either way the dungeons were just a lose/lose situation for her when she needed someplace to go for a while. Upstairs would probably better suit her, but it was always crowded and stupid and she didn't want to have to deal with Waters running around everywhere being so obnoxious. Just because there were a small handful of Waters that she had been alright with in her lifetime didn't mean that she was willing to put up with the bullshit on any kind of regular basis.
For the most part, she was still pretty sure that they were all stilll annoying... and she would bet that those kids from a couple months ago would still potentially want to make her life hell just for stopping them from beating on Adam a few months ago. Alright, maybe that had been a poor decision -- she still wasn't really sure why she'd done it considering how obnoxious the kid had been after the fact, but then again... It had reminded her way too much of her own friends -- a fair amount were Fires too, just as proud and arrogant and unwilling to accept help from other people. Skye was probably much the same, just less... fucking annoying about it. Whatever the case, however she felt about the kid, she'd already gone and made that conscious decision to help him out a while ago. Mostly Skye didn't want to have to brutally hurt some punk Water kids or anything, because she didn't think they would be of any harm to her. She didn't see the point of fighting all the goddamn time like so many people seemed to -- but Skye could hold her own. Her element was a pretty dangerous thing.
Since it seemed that nowhere in the castle was an option, Skye headed outside instead. She didn't often head up to the cliffs, but they were there, most everyone knew they were there and how to get up to them. Mostly at this point Skye just sat around in the dorms or wandered into town -- most anything was better than being stuck hanging around obnoxious kids all the time. She headed up the way, bag slung over a shoulder -- really Skye was just seeking out a quiet place to stop for a while, but she figured that if she could, it might be helpful to get some fucking homework done or something. Senior year was killer, and it was approaching exams -- killer. Approaching her destination she was kind of surprised to hear someone's voice, saying something... reciting Shakespeare? She got a little closer to see who it was. Speak of the devil, Adam Rizzo... She kept fairly quiet, not sure whether she should just turn around and head back to the castle or not, but stepped on a twig -- and it snapped in half with a cracking sound. Adam whirled around and she just stared at him, not looking particularly guilty, but she did feel just a little bad for interrupting, at least until he took up attitude with her. "Not usually, but today I'm making an exception. You act like I knew you were here," she said, rolling her eyes. "I'm here to do homework. And what are you doing?" She glanced down at the book that he had in his hands still. Was he really... reciting a sonnet, seriously? He'd looked pretty happy doing so too -- Skye didn't know what the appropriate reaction to this should be, but half of her was actually pretty impressed.
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Post by ADAM EVAN RIZZO on Aug 13, 2012 15:23:16 GMT -5
It should not have been as big of a deal as he made it out to be; it was just English. Just Shakespeare. Everyone had different likes and dislikes, and for Adam he enjoyed the language arts and literature. The reason he cussed so much? Well, his anger certainly aided in that quite a bit--he did tend to lose his functionality with speaking when his temper flared up--but it was also to avoid sounding too eloquent. The fancier the words, the easier it might be for someone to pick up on the fact that he enjoyed the English language more than average. Kids his age, from experience at least, always liked to poke fun at the 'nerds'. He used to pick on some of them himself when he was in middle school. A cover-up. A ruse. Skye just so happened to walk in on something he tried to keep a secret and so the boy naturally lashed out to protect it. Surprisingly she was as calm and level-headed as ever. Are all Thunders like this? Mona and Skye both seemed unfazed by his attitude. Huh.
"Well, how do I know that you didn't know that I was here?" Adam retorted rather hotly, crossing his arms and leaving the book hanging limp between his fingers. He had a feeling Skye was completely unaware of his presence, but even so there was no stopping whatever it was that came to mind. After a moment, he tapped the top of the book and locked his jaw before tearing his gaze away from the older girl. "Homework. Don't be so goddamn nosy, jeez." Although the words themselves were harsh, his tone did not quite match them. Now he sounded more like a child than anything else. Which he was, but Adam liked to believe that he had managed to reach adulthood at the ripe age of fourteen. Experience with life issues tended to make one feel older.
His dark eyes took in Skye's form for a second before relenting and dropping his arms, turning away from her and facing out over the cliffs and towards the lake. "Well, you do your homework then and act like you never saw a damn thing." There was no way in hell he could recite this now, not in front of her. He never did this in front of anyone, and now Skye was witness. "Because if you tell anyone you'll fucking regret it." An empty threat to be sure, considering the age difference and the fact that he had no control over his elemental powers. Skye could overpower him in two seconds flat. Would he admit to that? Of course not. Adam liked to think he had the upper hand in every situation. Arrogance did not really allow much room for anything else. He tapped the book in his open hand for a second before turning to look at the graduate, chin lifted up a little. "So, run into any dickish Waters lately? Or are you just waiting to step in on my fights again?" In all actuality, Adam was semi-grateful for the step-in. He wanted to prove he could defend himself but everyone had their limits in strength. Skye had done him a kindness, whether he wanted it to be done or not.
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Post by SKYE JESSICA FORD on Aug 15, 2012 22:33:22 GMT -5
Skye gave him a long, judgmental look. She guessed that this lack of logic wasn't really any new information about him, but even so, it wasn't going to stop her from thinking that he was being an absolute nutcase. "I think your common sense will help you out with that one," she told him flatly. How the hell could she possibly have known that he would be up here? Skye was pretty sure at this point that he was just making this up as some kind of defense mechanism, and the thing was that she didn't even know why. Though he'd been kind of rambunctious and nonsensical before, it was somehow worse now, like he had raised it about ten levels. "You asked first," she pointed out, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. "And I'd hardly consider that being nosy." If he did, though, he shouldn't have gone and asked her in the first place -- this only served to ensure that she was particularly interested in whatever it was he had to hide.
She didn't really know what to do when he turned away from her, but she figured that it was good at least that he wasn't screaming or biting her head off or something. It was always hard to tell with Fires. The temper was pretty much the same in all of them, but then everyone was diferent in some way. She didn't know what type of kid Adam really was to any kind of full extent, other than the things she'd picked up in their first meeting, but... She wasn't even really sure it mattered, either. Skye raised her eyebrows when he spoke. "But what did I see?" She wasn't even acting innocent -- this kid was just being ridiculous. "And I don't know how you'd make me regret it, but sure. Because I was totally just about to go tell everyone." She didn't sound sarcastic, but she was. None of this was actually making much sense to her, if she actually thought about it. She glanced at the book in his hand again -- not that she needed to, considering she recognized it well enough already from her own high school days... and a couple of classes in college, too, but she wasn't really much of an English fan.
Though there was no way he could have known that it was kind of touchy, she gave him an irritated look when he spoke next. That had been a while ago -- it was probably no big deal at this point anymore, but fuck it all, Skye was still more than a little annoyed at those Water kids. When she'd stepped into the fight, she hadn't actually considered that they might retaliate -- but they had, of course they had, Waters were relentless. It'd made her sprain her wrist, too -- and while that had been only a while ago and she was fine now, her hand went instinctively to the now healed wrist. That shit had cost her dearly, made it difficult to use her elemental powers for a while, and it was no joke -- Senior year was important and she couldn't afford to fuck everything up now because she had temporary difficulty with her powers. Luckily, her professors had been accommodating. She decided against telling Adam any of this unless he asked specifically. "There's dickish Waters everywhere, but not in recent memory, no." She wasn't asking for his pity. "And I didn't realize that it was your lifelong goal for you to be pummeled by a bunch of Waters, or I wouldn't have stepped in." No, she probably still would have, but Skye still wondered whether or not it'd been more trouble than it was worth.
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Post by ADAM EVAN RIZZO on Aug 20, 2012 1:01:32 GMT -5
Adam was young, temperamental, and had the tendency to lash out when he felt the need to protect himself. His words were harsh and often times bitter. The defenses were weak and confusing; even Adam himself did not understand sometimes. He felt like he was cornered and had nothing to use against her to try and divert the subject elsewhere. Skye was probably clueless as to why the response was so aggravated and while that was good, it was also bad because it made the young Fire look like a psychotic child. "I was here first," Adam countered with a sharp snap, "So I have the right to ask questions. Just...drop it. Whatever." He pushed his hand out towards her as a signal to stop, though it would not actually force the Thunder to go silent. He wished it would, and he wished that she would not ask questions. Answering was too hard.
At Skye's next question--after having told her to drop it--the boy rounded on her and glared daggers in her direction. He was not exactly the most formidable of opponents but if looks could kill... "You didn't see anything. Just me doing homework, and that's it." Which was actually the truth, but the fact that he was enjoying it was where he hit a bump in the road. Had it been science or history then Adam would have grudgingly admitted to the goings on and griped about how stupid it all was. The conversation would have been normal. Since it was English, however, the tables were turned. He really was being childish. No doubt about that. Adam scoffed and glared for a few more moments before pulling away, feeling that the initial hardened stare was enough to prove his point.
Part of him wanted to tell someone about what it was he was doing, but wondered if Skye was the appropriate person for such a thing. They had only met once before. She saved my ass from those Waters. And her actions spoke more volumes than words ever could. No matter how angry he was that Skye stepped in he appreciated her defense in a strange way.
His shoulders dropped. "Good." Then hardened his expression and tried to counter his temporary relief with anger. "Because if they ever show their fucking faces again--" Always with the threats. Adam would, without hesitation, act on his impulses and make an attempt to beat them down. The loss would probably be great and injuries severe but the boy had to prove a point. Two points, actually. One, that he was not going to back down from anyone, ever. Two, that if he were given the opportunity he could put up a good fight. Adam emitted a low growl as he turned his attention away from Skye and sat down on the large rock with a muffled thump. "How was I supposed to know they were going to gang up on me? The mother fucker threw the snowball at me first. Stupid..." He went on muttering about one thing or another before opening the book again, scanning the words with a blank look on his face. "But I'm not going to thank you," He pointed out after some silence. Adam's voice sounded lame. "Because you did it on your own. If I had asked it would be different."
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Post by SKYE JESSICA FORD on Aug 21, 2012 17:15:47 GMT -5
Skye was going to be honest -- she was a fairly judgmental person, and she was really not a fan of people and their bullshit attitudes. It was worst in people like Adam, convinced that they were right in absolutely everything. She didn't need or want to deal with that, but at the same time it made her feel a bit wistful. It was probably a stupid thing to feel wistful about, but he was just way too similar to her friends from high school for her to just totally hate the kid. That said... she wasn't friends with everyone she'd known in high school, especially not way back in ninth grade like Adam was in, so it was a weird loop to be in. God, Skye felt old sometimes, even though she knew otherwise. "Getting somewhere first gives you the exclusive right to ask questions?" The way he pushed out his hand at her didn't do much to phase her.
His glare would have been kind of frightening if she thought he was intimidating in the least, but the problem was that he wasn't... even a little, actually. He had a little bit of a baby face despite how tall he was, and the fact that she knew how young he actually was kind of wrecked it all. He might even have been physically stronger, she didn't know or care to know, but when elements were thrown into the mix it just became a big mess. She couldn't bring herself to be even a little nervous at the prospect of making him angry -- but then again, Skye wasn't easily bothered by that kind of thing anyway. Fires were temperamental and frightening, but for the most part they were endlessly loyal to the element and the alliance. She weighed her options a little and decided that she should just go ahead. "You wouldn't need to be so defensive if you were just doing homework," she pointed out, sounding more matter-of-fact than anything else. "What class is this anyway? I'd guess English?" The last part sounded just slightly more conversational.
Adam looked relieved for some reason. She wondered if it still bothered him, what had happened -- if he was worried about running back into them. It was probably a good thing they had targeted her in the first place, because any attempts on Adam would have probably landed the poor kid in the medical wing. That hadn't been a fight he was about to win, she was pretty sure. "No, don't think I've seen them in a while," she murmured. She would have remembered their faces. "Well." For some reason it seemed pertinent to tell him that she had seen them after the fact, but she couldn't think of a way to say so without making it seem like she was fishing for attention. Skye refused to look like she needed pity from a guy with attitude problems. "I did see them once, but not since then. They're just as obnoxious as before, though." That was safe enough. She listened to his miffed grumbling with mild amusement, but it didn't show on her face -- she really wasn't trying to mock the kid or anything. A brief frown appeared on her face before it disappeared again. She was pretty sure he knew just how stupid his words sounded just as much as she did. "I don't do things just to hear a thank you." If anything, she was annoyed that manners seemed to be lost on him, but it was nothing she wasn't used to.
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Post by ADAM EVAN RIZZO on Aug 22, 2012 3:46:02 GMT -5
"Yep, pretty much," Adam shot back hotly, jaw locked tightly. He hated being caught up in this. Now Skye--whether she knew what was really going on or not--did witness this all first hand and that irritated the hell out of him. People weren't supposed to find out. That's what secrets were all about. He knew for a fact that Skye had every right to ask what she wanted. Would he answer? Hell no. And if he did it would be with his childish retorts and a few glares in between. The basic defenses of a fourteen year old child with temper issues.
Obviously the older girl did not understand that there was a reason to be defensive; no one, not even his family was fully privy to this particular fact about Adam. Asher had nosed around a couple of times and Molly acted like she was probably oblivious. That was good for him, he thought. "Tch," Adam scoffed, not really able to come up with anything else to defend himself with that particular comment. It was true. Homework was homework and anyone in their right mind would not get legitimately angry at someone for showing up in a public place while they were doing work. Should've gone somewhere else. The bell tower might have been a good option, and he considered that for the next time. No where was exactly private, not even his own dorm room. His expression did not really falter this entire time. "Yeah, it's English. Don't play stupid, Skye. You were standing there long enough to know the fuckin' answer." Or was she? He did not know, but it felt like she had been watching him for longer than a few seconds. The hairs on the back of his neck stood up; he wondered if she would be able to figure it out without him having to say a word.
There was a split moment, a time when he allowed himself to fall into a short-lived sense of peace about the whole ordeal with the Waters. Skye had done a number on them and--despite that--there was always the chance that they would find him at some point or another. Fighter or not they were all in a grade higher than he was, not to mention he was weak against their element. He was fucked in more ways than one. Inexperience and his fire were both playing against him, mocking. When the girl caught herself, he passed her a split-second flash of anxiety. "Of course they fucking would be," Adam spat viciously, not towards Skye but the Waters. "Think they are the shit just because they are older than me." He awaited the day when he was at least in eleventh or twelfth grade. Things would be different. Just as Adam opened his mouth to argue with her next statement, he instantly shut it again. Huh. That was a bit unexpected. Skye just continued to surprise him with her responses. So nonchalant and seemingly indifferent. Almost annoying, really. "Well, you're weird as fuck then," He decided at last, figuring that was his only chance at saying 'thank you' in a sort of twisted way. Deciding that he had no plans on leaving the cliff, and she seemed intent on sticking around, the Fire flipped another page before saying, "And what sort of homework do college students have anyway? Or do you guys get it easy?" He heard mixed stories about the college life and had nothing to really base his assumptions on aside from random sources here and there.
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Post by SKYE JESSICA FORD on Aug 22, 2012 19:04:40 GMT -5
His logic was so faulty that it was actually a little bit painful -- Skye just raised her eyebrows a little bit at him. She wondered how long he'd been up here. For all she knew, it could have been hours, if he'd decided to skip all his classes or something. She didn't know if he was the type. Some people were bad-tempered and "rebellious teenagers" but were still sticklers for school -- the thought kind of reminded her vaguely of a younger Joshua. She couldn't yet know if that was Adam's deal, though, and frankly she didn't care enough to be ask. "That's news to me," she answered instead, but she didn't know whether or not to let it drop. Part of her was just too curious. "I was only there for a few seconds. I definitely don't want to spy on you." Was that what he was technically saying? She didn't really like the implication. It was always so hard for people to believe that not everything was intended as some kind of personal offense.
She took a second to consider the situation. It would have probably been smart to walk away from the whole thing in the first place, but she guessed that it was a bit late for that now -- like their first meeting. That hadn't ended well though, considering how he'd left, but it seemed that his attitude hadn't changed much since then. She'd just take that as a good thing, like he didn't hate her or anything, but at the same time Skye wasn't sure she really cared if he did or not. He was the teenager that needed the attitude adjustment here. "Well, you looked like you were kind of enjoying yourself, so don't let me stop you." This she said just to hopefully provoke some kind of more intelligent response from him. There was no way Adam was as much like... like this as he made himself look and sound. Well, he could be, but she didn't really want to think that lowly of him -- Skye wasn't such a fan of the whole attitude if there was nothing to back it up.
Honestly... she hadn't thought that the idiots would have bothered retaliating. It wasn't like she'd actually laid a hand on them -- not that she would have resorted to that, but it wasn't like she'd even made use of her element at all. If anything, they'd just gotten back at her because they were upset they hadn't gotten the chance to pummel Adam. That fact made her feel much more justified in stepping in, even if she knew that he'd probably been the one who started it in the first place. "It's easy to let age go to your head around here," she said evenly. Even Skye had used just her age to get those Waters to fuck off the other day. "You're the one who goes around starting fights you can't win. I'm not the weird one," she said, letting her small twinge of annoyance show, but she pushed it aside to answer his question. She smirked a little bit in amusement. "No, definitely don't get it easy." Some college students had it easier than others, but she doubted that it was actually, legitimately easy for anybody. She almost felt bad for Adam if that was going to be his outlook going into college, assuming that he did. It would be one hell of a shock for him. "Depends what you do, I guess. For me it's a lot of essays." That was kind of awful, because Skye hated essays -- but it came with the field.
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Post by ADAM EVAN RIZZO on Aug 23, 2012 16:21:23 GMT -5
That was exactly what Adam feared. Having someone notice the enjoyment was the last thing he wanted to deal with, and here Skye was pointing out her observations as though she were discussing the weather. Obviously the woman did not understand how strange this was for him, and it probably was infinitely infuriating to deal with his attitude, but he did not see any other way to handle this other than the way he was now. A brief moment of clarity caused him to feel bad for Skye. "Even if I were enjoying myself," He tried to come up with some sort of hot retort but nothing came. How enraging. His expression was hard. "It's not a big fucking deal." Adam stared at her for another long moment before turning his gaze elsewhere. She did not seem bothered by any of this in the least; she had yet to poke fun or make snide comments aside from the ones that were rightfully deserved. "People make fun of people who enjoy this shit, at least from my experience." At one point, in middle school, he did make fun of the 'nerds' to keep up his front. He refused to feel guilty.
"Yeah, so I noticed." Adam observed casually, allowing his expression and his tone to alter enough to show he was not angry at her, but angry in general. Since when could a temper ever be explained? Just as he let his guard down, her comment caused it to flare up again. His lips dipped into a deep frown, eyebrows knit together in frustration. "I told you," He seethed, shoulders tense, "That they were the mother fuckers who threw the snowball. They instigated it." He swiped his hand in front of him, growing agitated that he had to defend himself with this. Sure, he jumped the Water who threw the snow but it could have been avoided had that guy not made the comments he did. All of it felt like a ploy to piss Adam off and it worked. "Besides, how was I supposed to know he was going to be a weak-hearted pussy and have his whole posse gang up on me. Obviously he can't take me alone." Even if he could the image certainly portrayed otherwise. Why would the guy need to have two or three other Waters join in on the beating if he so clearly had the upper hand? Weak. This helped Adam feel a bit better, actually.
Being in ninth grade certainly had its drawbacks. He did not know much of the academic world beyond what he experienced, even if Asher and his friends did talk about some of his school work on occasion. That was not enough to give him an accurate image so the boy was ignorant of how anything past college actually functioned. "Well, I hear a lot of different stories," Adam replied. Asher's college friends always had varied outlooks on school so anything he heard was merely that. Maybe they considered it easy because they were lazy or their major was not as homework related as others. Hell if he knew. For a moment, Adam's expression changed and he seemed legitimately interested in what Skye had to say. Essays? Writing? Right up his alley. Despite his foul mouth he was very eloquent and hoped to one day become a journalist. Not that Skye knew this. "What are you going for? Writing essays aren't that bad." Depending on the subject Adam could actually enjoy most of them. Of course, his essays were going to be quite different from those in college.
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Post by SKYE JESSICA FORD on Aug 26, 2012 16:36:21 GMT -5
Skye didn't really know what his deal was, so it was hard for her to know how to gauge her responses. She liked to think that she was relatively observant, at least to the degree of any normal person, but she couldn't really tell what the hell was going on. The situation was a little bit weird. "But you're right," she said, keeping the confusion out of her voice. "It's not a big deal at all." She didn't really understand what it was that he wanted, seeing as they seemed to be on the same page, so it didn't really make sense to her that he seemed to expect her to argue with him. The kid was so angry, though -- he probably just expected arguments and fights all over the place. It was almost sad how used Skye was to that kind of attitude. Oh. That was what it was. "So it's about looking cool, then. So that you don't get made fun of." She had to admit that it probably wasn't fun at all, but... people could be such assholes. In the end everyone just had to learn to do the things they liked regardless of that.
She'd always thought it was really incredibly stupid to pick on the younger students, because all of them had been there, but that seemed to be the way people's brains worked. Older students had done it to them in the past -- and it was going to come all the way back around when they got away with doing it to more new kids... and repeat. It had to suck being in ninth grade and on the bottom of the food chain. She was sure that it didn't help when he seemed to have an awful temper in the first place. "Were they even aiming at you?" She hadn't even ever heard the story from him, she didn't think. It had just been either very good or bad luck that she'd passed by when the fighting had started. "Or did they just have really bad aim?" If it had been a mistake, then Adam had definitely gone and overreacted, which she for some reason wouldn't doubt. "They were just trying to mess with you, and obviously it worked out for them." She actually figured that, ages and sizes and all that weighed together, just one of the guys from earlier would have been able to take Adam easily, but she spared him this tiny bit of pride just once.
College was probably different for everyone. Skye didn't really care much to hear other people's experiences unless they were friends -- but she also knew that attending the Academy was sort of vastly different from going to any regular college or university. The entire aspect of elemental studies did change things a huge amount, more than she would have expected if someone had just told her so straight off the bat. "Yeah, I guess it depends. Not everyone's the same." She wondered if he was really just curious -- all the way back in ninth grade she hadn't cared very much for people's college stories. That had changed a little later on in high school, but Grade Nine? That was quite far back. "No, I guess they could be worse." It was probably unwise to decide to go into what she had, knowing that it would involve so much lengthy writing, but she didn't regret it -- though that wasn't what she'd say when actually assigned an essay. "Political Science. So if you thought people would make fun of you for English, well... It could be way worse." It was a joke and she hoped that he understood that.
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Post by ADAM EVAN RIZZO on Aug 26, 2012 18:24:10 GMT -5
Adam didn't quite grasp the fact that Skye was confused by his statements; to him, enjoying this was a big deal and to have someone find out about it was unnerving at best. Of course it wasn't a big deal. At least, if you were anyone other than Adam. "No, it's not." He replied, sounding a bit less sure of himself this time. The edge to his voice remained, the cold glare stuck in place, but it was obvious that he knew somewhere along the line of defending himself that he merely opened himself up for observation. Skye was catching on. It was when she voiced her conclusion that the young Fire retracted his head, giving her a very small and brief once over before looking at the rocks below his feet. Fuck my life, Adam thought bitterly, mad that he allowed himself to say anything at all. Walking away would have been so much easier but no, he had to argue. He glanced up at her, looking as petulant as ever. For once the mouthy Adam Rizzo had nothing to say. What he didn't realize was that this silence could only confirm Skye's suspicions, not deny. He did not quite think all of this through.
In the hasty effort to leave Skye's presence the last time they had an encounter, Adam did not even think to explain what had happened to start the fight in the first place. Should he have to? He didn't think so. Defending himself over something like that felt a bit stupid and whining about it would only make things worse. Not that he was immune from whining; he was still a kid and certainly had his moments. Adam finally managed to recover from the previous silent response and crossed his arms again. "Oh yeah, of course they were," He said with a snort and a growl. "The minute I turned around they were mocking me, the little cunts. Thought it was fucking hilarious." The anger rose up in his chest again, the thought of being humiliated only egging it on. Confident as he could be, Adam did have his limits like everyone else when it came to teasing. He had his triggers. The temper certainly didn't help. "Yeah, I guess so. But whatever. It'll all come back to bite them in the ass and I'll be dying laughing when it does."
College seemed...almost daunting. Not in the sense of freedom and age and element, because Adam was more than eager to be able to do his own thing and handle things on his own. It was more the fact that the schooling would change. The college world was an unknown. At least he could ask Asher about everything if he was curious enough. Writing essays did not seem like a very big deal to him, probably because he liked most of that stuff to begin with, and it was hard for him to comprehend why Skye would take up something that required it if she didn't like it. He did manage to snort a little in amusement. "I'm going to have to come up with all sorts of rude shit once you graduate, I hope you know that." Not that he was not really rude to begin with, but the political hits would definitely commence. He was only in ninth grade though so Adam knew he would have to find a way to look up some stuff, or maybe ask Molly for some good material.
"Why the fuck are you taking Political Science? And how the hell is that even a science?" He wrinkled his nose and looked genuinely confused. "It can't be that hard to just throw money around and make up a bunch of shit to get you elected." Well, Molly said that that's what they do, so Adam went off of that.
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Post by SKYE JESSICA FORD on Aug 27, 2012 18:55:04 GMT -5
It was kind of hard, but she tried to place herself in his shoes. There had been moments in everyone's life when they'd probably felt more or less the same, she figured. It was also probably a different thing for everyone, but really, Skye was at a fairly stable point in her life where there wasn't much that she could say she was ashamed of or embarrassed about liking or doing. It was hard to think back to early high school, which ws when she figured that she would have had things to be embarrassed about liking -- life was all about being cool at the time. By the end of high school, she'd more or less realized that no, that shit was unnecessary and ridiculous. "Yeah... not a big deal," she reaffirmed one more time, nodding just a little. "Though I really won't... tell anyone, if it makes you feel better. It's not worth hiding, though." People were really just happier the sooner they realized that it was stupid to hide shit like that, she figured.
Somehow it was a little more justified, even to Skye, that Adam had started trying to start shit after they had aimed the snowball directly at him. Alright, it was still a really stupid thing for him to do, considering that had not been a fight he was well-equipped to win, but it was never fun being mocked. She wasn't a particularly proud person in that sense but she did understand at least a little. Still, she tried to placate him a little. "No need to get angry all over again, they're not here right now," she pointed out. Unless they had also come up to the cliffs for whatever reason, she didn't think there was any need for concern. Then again, she hadn't expected that Adam would be there either and she had been in for quite a surprise, so maybe they'd just have to deal with it if the Waters did decide to show up. "You think so? What would happen to them, though?" She doubted that he was capable of actually doing any damage to a bunch of guys all older and bigger than him, but she didn't really want to be the one to tell him so, not when she was starting to grudgingly admit that the kid wasn't so bad as she'd otherwise thought.
Skye raised her eyebrows in amusement when he said that he'd have to start thinking of rude things to say about politics. You mean you're not being rude already? It was a kind of mean thought that she decided not to say aloud. Sometimes it was good to actually have a filter. "I'll be impressed if you can think of anything I haven't heard already, actually," she said, amused. Not only was she studying it now, but thanks to Josh she'd managed to secure an actual job working for Maple Hollow's Member of Parliament herself -- and all of this put together had definitely made Skye pretty jaded about politics. That was maybe why she found it a fascinating field of study, though -- because in practice it all went to shit, considering most politicians and the way the operated these days. "It's not a science like biology or something, it's... the study of government. And because I like it. It's not so bad if you actually like what you're learning." She could have gone on but decided that she would spare him, considering he probably didn't actually care that much. His words did make her actually laugh a little, though. "That's actually a pretty accurate summary. And where did you learn that from?" Actually, thinking back to her own priorities at the age of fourteen, she was kind of impressed that he had any kind of opinion on politics at all -- though there was a little more to it than throwing money around and making shit up, but for some politicians... it wasn't much more.
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Post by ADAM EVAN RIZZO on Aug 29, 2012 11:21:49 GMT -5
He eyed Skye with a narrowed expression, not quite sure what to make of her. She protected him from the Water students when they tried to beat him down, and now she was willing to keep his secret a secret? Strangers...well, almost complete strangers did not do that. Did they? He had to think back and try to remember if he had dealt with this before. Not that he could recall. Adam took another moment before shaking his head. "Maybe not to you," He replied, not even looking at her now. "But hey, so long as you keep it quiet that's all that matters at this point." Though Skye could not see it, the boy did wear a slightly grateful half smile before shaking it off and rolling his shoulders back. He was not good at saying thank you or being appreciative of much of anything so he allowed that to pass by for the moment.
Anger really was more of a burden than a blessing, even someone like Adam knew and understood that. He embraced it as best he could since there was no altering such a steadfast personality trait but there were a lot of cons. Adam clenched and unclenched his fists, flaring his nostrils to try and release the tension building up in his muscles. "Doesn't matter if they aren't here right now. It's bullshit to think that I'm always the one to start the fucking fights." It was true though; Adam did tend to start most of the scraps he found himself in. This time, though he did initiate the actual fight, the Water definitely egged it on in the beginning. He thought on her questions for a minute and then shrugged. "Hell if I know. Someone stronger than them will come along and show them up, probably." Well, show them up again. Skye could definitely do it but Adam was not the type of person to ask for any sort of help with his problems. Admitting he could not do something was as painful as pulling teeth.
He looked thoughtful. "I'll come up with something, you can be sure of that." Probably not, and the only way he could would be if he talked to Molly or someone else well versed in politics. A ninth grader obviously wouldn't know enough to make any sort of witty comment, at least one that did not really care much about the political aspects of the world. Adam tilted his head, seeming confused at first before nodding a little. "Weird. But okay. It's weird what they consider science but...whatever floats their boat I guess." He shrugged, still not understanding any of it but was not willing to further prove his lack of knowledge on the subject. Skye's question somewhat caught him off guard; he was not quite expecting her to ask where he had heard it from and kind of hoped that she would just take his semi-intelligent comment and leave it be. This time, Adam knew lying would be a bit pointless because everything worked against him. "My mom said it a while ago, actually. But I guess it makes sense. If you got the cash, people like to listen to you." People liked money, and there was no denying that. It did not take a genius to know that as a fact.
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Post by SKYE JESSICA FORD on Aug 30, 2012 21:49:00 GMT -5
She got the very distinct impression that Adam didn't really trust her, but... well, that was fine by Skye, quite frankly. She was much like other Thunders in how solitary she was most of the time, and it came pretty much hand in hand with not necessarily trusting most of the people around her. Whatever Adam's issues with her were, she could take them. "Don't worry," was all she said, shrugging her shoulders just a little to show that it was, indeed, not a problem to her either way. She didn't want to belittle his issues with this or anything, because that was a kind of awful feeling, for other people not to take things seriously. Still, Skye was at the point where she knew that it wasn't a big deal, and she was pretty positive he'd be fine once he accepted it too. At fourteen, however, she was sure she hadn't really figured it out yet either. Everyone was an idiot at fourteen... and eighteen... and probably even at her age, twenty-one, for that matter, though hopefully to a lesser extent.
Though she wasn't a Fire and didn't have the temper typical of one, not even close, she could understand that anger made people go pretty insane and do things that they really shouldn't. Adam probably shouldn't have gone picking fights with kids older and stronger than he was, but he had anyway, and right now he probably shouldn't be ranting the way he was at her for no reason, but he was doing that too. People with tempers didn't always make the greatest of decision-makers, though. "Technically you did start the fight, even if they goaded you into doing it," she said, not trying to antagonize him but she hoepd that it wasn't the way it came off. "Either way it doesn't matter, there's usually not a right side in this." She had learnt that this was true for war, too. Not everything was quite so black and white all the time. "I guess. Is that really your idea of getting back at them, though?" She was a Thunder. Vengeance was something she was pretty great at, even though she often tried to suppress it -- because it really wasn't worth it most of the time. Still, she hadn't forgotten those idiots' faces either.
It was kind of amusing to her, how much he seemed to really consider it. Many people were able to come up with a few fairly hilarious but very cynical things to say about politics in a matter of seconds (especially considering the state of Canadian politics as it was...) but she was for some reason interested in his. It was probably because he was so young and didn't seem to have anything yet -- anything he wound up saying would probably be brand new for him. Skye took interest in strange things. "Hey, I don't make the rules." She didn't enforce them, either. "I guess Political... Studies is more fitting but it doesn't sound quite as nice." It was politics, after all! It was all about sounding nice. There was so much having to do with it. "Yeah, well... most politicians -- the leaders especially -- are pretty wealthy, actually. Higher education and everything, lots of them are like... lawyers and things like that before they get into politics." It didn't apply to all of them, and certainly not when it came to lesser known politicians, but that was what happened. "Plus people just care a lot about money. Even though it's usually their own they're worried about, but." She left it there, realizing she was going off on a tangent that he probably didn't care about.
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Post by ADAM EVAN RIZZO on Sept 3, 2012 22:53:08 GMT -5
There was another surge of frustration, a slight curling of his lip when Skye decided to pin the blame on him. Even Adam knew that it was his fault--for the most part--but he did not like it when others made this a verbal confirmation. "Yeah, whatever," He seethed, rolling his eyes and passing the girl a cold look. Obviously defending himself would not do much good in this situation, and normally the hot head would have made an attempt to argue but instead just let it drop. Somewhere beneath his efforts to try and display a general dislike for Skye he respected her and tried his best to hold his tongue this go around. Just this once. "It all depends on what side you're on," Adam replied gruffly, still looking as haughty as ever. Like a scolded child who was being punished for pulling his sister's hair or giving some kid a noogie on the playground. "They probably think they were in the right for being dick heads, and I think I'm in the right for defending myself." Because to him it felt more like self defense than a random outburst of anger and a split decision to attack. He had his moments but he felt justified.
"What else do you want me to do? Go looking for them and try to teach them a lesson?" He snorted loudly and turned his attention away from her, looking like he did not even support that idea. Despite how pissed off he was, Adam would only rush headlong into a fight with them if they decided to cross his path again. "I can do that but I'd rather see someone bigger than them kick their ass. It would be satisfying." Deep down he knew he couldn't stand a chance.
Adam inclined his head, not quite sure how to absorb all of this. The part of him that wanted to prove his intelligence said to speak out and come up with some sort of witty comment, while the other was more interested in listening to what Skye had to say so he could probably use it for the future. He was a bit torn, to say the least. Having no filter and hardly the tongue control to stop himself, he eventually broke down and responded. "That makes no sense," Adam pointed out rather quickly. "So if I had money...I could just walk onto the scene and say 'Hey, I'm gonna run for like...governor now because I have cash and I used to be a lawyer'?" That made no sense to him at all. He put his finger to his chin and looked out over the lake below before glancing back up at Skye. "I wonder if that's how the presidents of the U.S. were elected too." Molly always had something negative to say about the politics when they lived in Colorado. Always. Even fourteen year old Adam knew that most lawyers were pretty shady. Either that, or the shows he watched always portrayed them to be that way. "Yeah, I think I care more about my money than theirs. What are they gonna do? Win me over by buying me video games?" That would certainly be nice and wondered if he could ever get a benefit like that.
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