You Have My Attention[Nell]

[RACHAEL MARIE CALLAHAN]

OUTFIT

Rainy days were usually cause for celebration for Rachael, or as much of a jovial mood as she would allow creeping into her usual demeanour. Rainy days meant bad omens for most, an unforeseen darkness that dampened spirits and ruined plans. Everything Rachael wished for on others. Normally those rules didn’t apply to the particularly macabre girl, but as Rachael watched the storm beat against the wide window of the small coffee shop, her thoughts were genuinely foul.

For the majority of her time at the establishment she had ignored the nagging and desperate attempts the crowded café made to get her to open up. None of them were in her good graces since they had broken her concentration and peaceful bliss of enjoying a cup of coffee by herself. Rachael stole a glance towards the rear corner of the shop at the very pair that held her current contempt. To the outside world they were a loving couple that would have appeared to be untouched by age, but to the astute senior at the Academy she noticed the subtle changes that had appeared over time. Gray threaten to break through the man’s naturally dark hair and the woman tried to hide the new lines developing around her eyes. They had probably slowed down considerably with the arrival of their youngest child.

They younger boy sat between them, restlessly jittering in his seat after the few moments of remaining still as his parents enjoyed the break. He had inherited his father’s looks, but also had his own sense of boundless youthful energy and curiosity. Rachael assumed he was at least five years old and must have caused constant chaos in the married couples home without proper supervision. They had probably done away with the services of nannies, and he was doted on by all the adult figures in the household. Even the moody looking brother must have had a soft spot for the cheeky looking boy when he was in a good enough mood. Rachael outwardly feigned indifference to the boy while secretly jealous of how carefree he was.

The teenage boy currently had his fat cheek pressed against a window as his breath fogged up the glass. He was staring blankly out of his window as the people rushed by. If it wasn’t for his strong gaze directed towards the strangers walking by Rachael would have assumed the older brother was a complete moron. He looked like he still held onto his childhood weight, but his arms looked like that of a gorilla. With the lack of common sense and maybe even possible borderline anger issues he resembled a brute animal rather than civilized human being. Puberty must have caused the two siblings to grow apart. All of these assumptions rushed through Rachael’s mind as she tried to distract herself from what she was really feeling. As a sociology major, she made it her mission to be good at reading people.

Rachael clenched her jaw as the younger boy caught her gaze. His smile irked her more than she had thought it would. In a childish attempt to avoid her rush of memories she stare remained steady as the rest of the world scurried out of their cars and under the safety of their umbrellas. The game of chicken ended when the boy’s mother tore the boy away from the little staring contest. The mother shot Rachael a reprimanding look before returning her attention to her family. Another make-shift mother figure trying to put the raven haired women in her place. It was like all the foster 'moms' and 'dads' who thought they could ‘fix’ the aloof Rachael. The foster care system had proved to be filled with people Rachael placed herself above of. Why couldn’t she stay where she felt comfortable and not be forced to interact with the outside world? Society wanted nothing to do with the little lost boys and misfits of the world and Rachael felt the same way towards conventional society. Had she dress appropriately for the sudden rain, she would have long left the establishment. Rachael cast a quick look down at her white shirt and sighed at her own stupidity. How was she suppose to predict the sudden summer shower?

The sound of Tim Horton’s door being opened caused Rachael to break away from her thoughts. The little boy was saved from any further stare downs from the moody student. Rachael couldn’t be mad at him for all of this. The boy simply did as he was told, no questions asked, in a fairy tale land his parents tried to keep him in. When she was a younger girl she got rid of those delusions rather quickly. Trying to explain that to others was like talking to a wall. Rachael hated the younger boy the least out of all the other family members she had the unfortunate of staring down.

Scattered around Rachael’s table were a few beat up looking books and a notepad waiting to be filled with her thoughts on her current research. The powers that be of the Academy had held back Rachael in her final year for college, giving her another year to bulk up her senior thesis. This time around though she would finally get out of this God forsaken town and start to live her own life. Growing up most schools were too afraid to house Rachael and since she was viewed as an endangerment to both the student body and the faculty. Private school was another matter. The state of New York had exhausted their resources looking for a place that would let Rachael in with her colourful past to finish up her education at. Enter the Academy of the Elements, advertised as the only school to cater to her unique talents. Trouble was it was a boarding school. A wholesome campus environment, roommates, and the whole nine yards. She was in college though and only a few more months left of this place.

This was Rachael’s personal form of Hell. Worse off, the state was actually excited about dumping her off at this place. Before taking a vow of silence towards almost all adult figures she made a personal promise to herself. No longer would she ruffle feathers through physical means and meaningful playground threats. The rebellious punk stage of her teenage life was over, even if she still had some her less than conventional pieces of wardrobe tucked away in the back of her closet. For some reason she enjoyed taking her natural beauty and hiding it behind darker makeup and dangerous looking styles. If the foster care system was going to force her to attend this place she was going to give them a hard time in her own personal way. Rachael would show them how much better she was than them by outwardly cleaning herself up and become what they always would hate, a success story. Then she would expose them with the degree from the school they so gladly tossed her away into.

As a trio group of teenage girls entered Rachael keenly stared down the group. They may have varied in appearances, but they were all the same to the shrewd girl; girls trying to awkwardly deal with the strange transition between young girls and women. Some overcompensated by feverishly belittling others just so they could hide their own insecurities. They covered up by attaching themselves to boys and stepping over each other to reach the top of the social pyramid. Rachael didn’t need any of that in her life and she refused to play the little games. She needed no assistance and she sure as hell wasn’t going to bend a knee to the will of others. Even as someone approached her table. With a controlled look Rachael looked up at the person who interrupted her judgemental musings.

Sorry it's a big lengthy. I may have been a bit over zealous with coming back. I usually post anywhere from 300-600 words. Whatever anyone is comfortable with

[NELL DOE DALE]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: transparent, width: 400px; height: 300px;] all hail the queen my mom had been a rather crazy queen. but not at all like a sex machine. she liked to keep her body clean, clean. thought the world to be quite obscene but she'd retired to her chambers, and we remained quite strangers. and to see me made her awful sad, and to touch me made her awful sad. and to see me made her awful, and to touch me made her awful. [/style][style=width: 400px; height: 3px; background-color: #669966; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 10px;] Nell couldn't have chosen a worse day to shop. In her rush to replenish the fridge and pick up some craft supplies, she hadn't bothered to check the weather. Only when she stepped out of the supermarket did she feel the rain drops pelting against her head. The rain didn't bother her, however. In fact, summer rain always felt the best, the warm kind with fat droplets. However, she didn't want to get too wet and be uncomfortable for the rest of the time she was out, so she hurried to her car and placed the bags she had in the passenger seat. She still needed to pick up some superglue and ribbon from the craft store. In the meantime, she headed to Timmies, thinking that it might be a good place to wait out the rain. Besides, a cup of coffee was always nice. She always made sure to get proper rest since health was a top priority, but no one could escape the midday flat line. She opened the door, and immediately realized how packed it was, though she didn't mind all too much. Unfortunately, a group of girls stood in her path to the cash register and she tried to weave around them to no avail. "Oh...uhm...excuse me," Nell said meekly, not wanting to be rude even though they could be considered the rude ones. She was much too polite for that kind of thinking. Luckily they moved out of her way -- as a group, no less -- and she went up to order her coffee black. She couldn't say she had ever enjoyed it, just grown used to it. Her father had always drank his black and let her try it once, and so she had gone the rest of her life thinking that was how it was meant to be. Turning away from the counter, she realized she needed to go on the hunt for a place to sit. This was before she saw a familiar face, or rather a dark head of hair. She approached with a smile on her face. "Hey Rach," she said, holding the cup between both hands. "It's good to see you." As if they were the best of friends, and Rachael looked to be in the best of moods. "Gosh, it's packed isn't it? May I sit?" tag: rachael! | notes: nell = does not understand meaning of "ice queen"

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[RACHAEL MARIE CALLAHAN]

OUTFIT

”It’s Rachael,” she said curtly. Turning to face the familiar voice, Rachael stopped suddenly, heart lurching in her chest. For a spilt second the person she had caught sight of actually made her skip a beat. Her eyes lingered over the Earth graduate that had been standing at her table, the smile on her face just as blinding brilliant…and stupid as ever. There was no need to check the surrounding area to find another seat for Nell, so Rachael merely nodded to the free seat across from her. More out of secrecy rather than proper etiquette, Rachael tidied up her spread out work and made room on the table for Nell. Curse the rain for trapping her in this situation, Rachael recrossed her legs and took a sip of her drink to regain some focus. Somewhere deep down Rachael was looking for something different about the Earth girl, something that might have gone unnoticed the last time the two had been together.

It wasn't enough that Nell had violated her personal space. She'd also violated the tenuous relationship Rachael had with the Earth’s now husband. Trusting someone beyond the telling of it and receiving nothing in return had pierced Rachael's resolve with the sharpness of a poisoned thorn. Seeing Josh love Nell so easily and with such fervor had only served to spread the poison of distrust throughout Rachael's whole body, it seemed. Her judge of character with Josh must have been wrong from the get-go. Not Nell’s fault, but Rachael’s hate was typical blind and directed at anything and everything. Though a traitor always got his just rewards in the end. Nell’s time at the Academy was colorful, something Rachael had recently learned made her even more interesting, and yet, the school had allowed Nell to remain at the Academy. Allowed the woman to roam freely, take up residence, make friends and allies.

Blinking, Rachael realized she'd been staring down Nell for several minutes. Tearing her gaze away from the cheerful, foolish Nell, she drew in a breath, straightening her back and assuming the confident, authoritarian posture that came as second nature to her. It wouldn't do to let Nell know how she felt. Uncertainty was a weakness that could be exploited to terrible ends. ”No doubt I can thank the rain for this unexpected reunion,” The mention of the weather flickered in Regina's eyes: frustration surged in her chest. Folding her arms over her chest, she turned to face window, fixing the outside scene with a steady, dark gaze. ”I read somewhere that people prayed for rain, to wash away their sins and lock the devils indoors,” Rachael said in a silken tone “, someone must have prayed very hard to get me locked away in a coffee shop,” Rachael lifted her eyes, pointing them towards Nell and smirked. She was well aware of her general reputation and knew it was less than shining. ”You shouldn’t make it a habit of keeping company with me. Someone might think you’re turning coat,” she joked.

Rachael didn’t make a habit out of teasing people she didn’t particularly like, but right now it almost felt like a game of cat and mouse. Nell hadn’t picked up any of Rachael’s stand offish vibes in the past, so why should she waste all of her energy trying to ice out the girl? Sure, she wasn’t going to warm up to Nell ever, but while she was stuck with her, unpleasant conversation was better than silence, because Nell was far too polite to ever have silence between two people. ”Are you and Mr. Dale running errands today?” Rachael went back to idly writing in her notebook, her eyes trained down at the paper as she went on with her notes, while her mind was elsewhere. Heaven forbid and irate Joshua Dale came busting in. Their last get together was rather heated even if no physical blows were thrown.

”Or are you trapped in the belly of the beast all on your own?” she mused. There was no doubt in Rachael's mind that Nell was naive enough to think Rachael would perhaps warm up to the idea of a friendship-no that was stretching it- even as an acquaintance in her life. Treaties were a fine line to walk even as a college student. Sometimes it was hard to stay true though. Teachers assigned projects blindly or things such as this happen. Eventually everyone had to interact with someone they didn’t want to. Rachael bite her tongue a bit holding back what she really wanted to say, "I promise I won't bite."Much.

[NELL DOE DALE]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=style, background-color: transparent, width: 400px; height: 300px;] all hail the queen my mom had been a rather crazy queen. but not at all like a sex machine. she liked to keep her body clean, clean. thought the world to be quite obscene but she'd retired to her chambers, and we remained quite strangers. and to see me made her awful sad, and to touch me made her awful sad. and to see me made her awful, and to touch me made her awful. [/style][style=width: 400px; height: 3px; background-color: #669966; margin-bottom: 5px; margin-top: 10px;] At the sharp reply, Nell quickly followed up with a, "Sorry." Though not afraid of Rachael because of her ridiculous inability to rightfully fear a person, she regarded her with great respect. Unfortunately, the naive tendency to use nicknames got the better of her and she didn't take into account that not everyone appreciated them. Especially not the Fire graduate because they were not friends. Only friends give nicknames. It was something she had to keep in mind; the little things still escaped her notice sometimes, making her rather self-conscious. The woman began to clear her area, only then drawing Nell's attention to the papers, catching just a few words before they disappeared from view. She still wore the friendly smile on her face, even though Rachael could be described as anything but. The woman did not have to fear, there was no miss-communication on that front. Nell saw the signals, she simply thought it best to be as friendly as possible at all times. Rachael clearly did not share that view, as she gazed at her. Patient as ever, she remained completely still. When the woman spoke again, mentioning that the weather would be to blame (though Nell didn't like such a negative word) for them meeting, she nodded her head in affirmation. She was wary of catching something, so she didn't like to risk her chances outside if she could help it. Turned out to be a good decision as well, though Rachael thought otherwise, her words turning rather dark. "In that case, be careful," she said lightly. Apparently Rachael had some enemies, or at least people who thought she was a demon. When her gaze found hers again, Nell simply blinked before saying, "Or maybe they'll think I'm making a deal with the devil. Either way, I hope people don't think simply speaking with another elemental means betrayal." Though she said this, she knew better. It's exactly what they would think. People liked to gossip, especially about someone who already had a husband in the enemy alliance. In truth, Nell couldn't wait until she graduated for a few reasons, one of them being that people seemed to cool it on the elemental hate. Not all of them, of course, she had past experience with that. But she didn't like feeling targeted because of her element, couldn't imagine who did. Even though she wished to be graduated, she really had no idea what she would do after she finished school. In choosing her major, she was considering getting her PhD. She wanted to make a difference in the field of psychology, she just didn't know exactly what yet. Assuming that the 'belly of the beast' meant the weather, Nell shook her head. "Just me today," she said, and she didn't mind even though it was nice to have Josh around to get things off the high shelves. "I was thinking of making paella tonight." It was a staple of Spanish food and a meal she enjoyed making and that she could make for her husband as well now that he had warmed up to meat. "Did you just come here when it started raining?" The heat of her coffee warmed her hand, but she still felt the dampness in her clothes from the downpour. That's why she hoped that her partner had only come to Timmies when the deluge began; that meant there would be less a chance of her getting sick! Taking her next words as invitation, Nell sat down and shrugged off her jacket, brushing loose strands of hair away from her face. She didn't feel nervous as she should have, didn't think anything wrong with talking to someone like Rachael outside of their project meetings. It didn't occur to her that it was very improper. "I'm sorry for this, by the way, it's just so packed..." she ducked her head, and scratched the back of her head, every movement sheepish. At least she knew Rachael. No one else here looked familiar, and though she was one to easily gravitate toward others, she didn't see anything particularly wrong with sitting with Rachael instead of someone she had just met. "You're graduating this year, aren't you?" she asked for small talk. "Are you excited?" tag: rachael! | notes: sorry for the wait bb! <3

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