Players:
Summary: Rough lunch in the cafeteria, Jakob, Sabina and Travis meet. Caleb plays a prank.
Date: May 24, 2010
Log Title Haunted
Rating: PG-13 (LV)
Barnes Academy - Cafeteria
A large open space with dozens of tables is attached to a kitchen module and a few freezer bays. Trained chefs prepare nutritionally balanced meals for staff and students here that is usually actually pretty tasty and after hours, there is an a la carte fridge with glass doors open to all. The cafeteria is even equipped to handle non-traditional metabolisms and there is even a small private dining module towards the back for staff dinners, guests of the teachers or for use by students with dietary requirements that might disturb others. The entire ceiling is a dome of transparent material and full-spectrum lighting gives the whole space a pleasant, sunny atmosphere, bolstered by the video monitors on the walls showing various live land and sea scapes.
It's lunchtime at Barnes and Travis has just gotten done with a training session, one that has been very taxing on him physically. He's had time to take a shower and head to the cafeteria, his hair is still wet and a bit mussed and he's in the standard Barnes clothing of a pair of navy blue cargo pants and a gray t-shirt with BARNES over the chest. The one thing about his shirt is that's it's specially made to fit his six arms. He's currently got a tray in two of his hands with the lunch special of meatloaf? and potatoes with corn and in another hand he has a small bottle of milk. He runs a fourth hand through his hair to look around the cafeteria, finally finding a place to sit.
It was a little known fact Sabina was not a morning person. She slept through wake up and broke the tight enforced schedule. She still took her time despite the fact of possible disciplinary issues arising, not daring to at least break her own morning routine. Long dark hair, still wet, was gathered and tied into a tucked bun at the back of her head that still had loose ends spiking out in an array and the bun hanging limply to between her shoulder blades, darkening the uniform fabric where the wet strands hung - around her neck the pouch was secured. Boots were not yet even put on, she held them with her socks tucked inside, walking down the corridors barefoot to come to the cafeteria scanning it in silence with a low groan and a hand smearing over her face. Lunch? Oh hell, she really over did it. Moving towards the line without the pep in her step stride, more a shuffle to simply wait her turn in getting her grub on. In all reality she just wanted caffeine, the food was not yet something she desired in her [late] waking hours.
Travis is slowly picking at his mystery meatloaf, it's really not that bad but he's still exhausted, and a bit bruised in the chest and arms area from the crazy stuff they do here to make you use your powers. After a few bites Travis looks around the cafeteria as if he's looking for someone but there's a disappointed as he doesn't see who he's looking for in the crowded room. Travis lets out a yawn and stretches out all six arms, accidentally banging two of them into someone walking by, knocking a whole tray of food on the ground. With a sheepish, embarrassed apology to said person, Travis goes to help them clean up.
Tray in one hand and boots still int he other she scanned over the tables. None were lone, they all seemed full of people…Creatures? Some of them she had to not just blatantly stare at and diverted her gaze down to her tray instead, trying to decipher what was on her plate instead. Milk? No tea, no coke, no coffee, no caffeine? There better be some offered somewhere and the thought had brows furrowing. Glancing back up quickly she sought a table again and at least one seemed somewhat vacant, but go figure on her arrival perhaps the purpose was laid out. Travis needed arm[s] room and when it was not had someone lost their lunch. Before an empty seat she just stood, watching wide eyed in a frozen pose.
Uniform's were not something unfamiliar or in the least uncomfortable to Jakob, he fit into his nicely enough even his gig-line was straight, the lean well-built young man seemed as if he was cut to fill one out. He always tended to walk a tad more 'stiff' as well, back straightened shoulders squared, one can imagine the entire composure, he had even taken extra time to make sure his boots were polished. Looking the cafeteria over he releases a sigh, from the beginning of the day he'd been getting introduced into courses full of academic bull$h#t, school, he despised the actual learning portion of it growing up but here didn't have much of a choice. His lips curl up in disdain as he fell into the train-line of other students, meatloaf? It just got better, unsure how he overlooked it but reflex had his hand suddenly pulling backwards as movement caught his attention his tray swept back but not quick enough for the lip of it to get lifted upwards food scattering. His face contorting. Quiet rage broiled in him as he seen the 'offender' fully at this point.
"Shit, I'm really sorry about that, I didn't notice you there." Travis says as he quickly tries to clean up the mess that he can, but there's only so much a few small napkins can pick up. "You okay man?" Travis asks sounding apologetic and if he notices the quiet rage in Jakob's face, well he's trying to keep it in. Then he sees Sabina standing there, great, he had to be a total klutz in front of a girl. "Really, I'm sorry, sometimes I just forget to compensate for the extra space they take up." They being his arms.
Apparently it did just get better and better. Once she managed to peel her deer-in-headlights gaze from Travis Jakob was noted as the one with the try that was no more. Her hand clutching the tray tightened on the edge, knuckles whitening in her own indecision. This was not going to end well, the look of normal rage birthing on Jakob's face confirmed that and Travis was another unsuspecting victim of what storm was about to come. Her tray was set down then and fingers flexed to work out the stiffness that had come from the harsh grip now released. "Here Jakob, have mine, just…" She didn't finish the sentence, instead she leaned forward and pushed her tray towards Jakob and Travis, gathering the few napkins she had on her tray and handing them towards Travis, dropping them by his tray. "I'll go get something to clean that." And hopefully in the process find caffeine, that's all she really wanted anyway.
Jakob's lower jaw was almost quivering. " I look okay to you moron? You just covered me in slop. " He looked himself over reaching up a hand to scrape away the coleslaw that clung in a clump to his chest wiping the large star off almost proudly if one observed it close enough, Sabina's voice had him looking over at her dark brown eyes locked a moment before he looks at Travis again, " I don't want yours, I want the one-man-circus here to get me another tray. " His fists were tightened up as he had that obvious over testosterone posturing stance so typical of a situation like this.
Travis is about to apologize to Jakob and his face tightens back in frustration and his whole body tenses. Bottom two hands forming fists. "I'm not some one-man circus, but if you want me to get you another tray, I'll only do it so we don't end up fighting." Travis says in a quiet, monotone voice, as if he's trying to control a bit of his own temper. "But remember, I did apologize." He says to Travis before looking to Sabina and giving her a kind of grateful expression before heading over to get Jakob some another tray of food. Not like it's that big of a deal but he's trying not to get into a fight.
Sabina's blue eyes returned the locked look that was tossed her way from Jakob. When his insulting words began towards Travis her jaw rocked on its hinges, tightening the muscles on razor cut features. It did her no good to talk to Jakob, so instead she leaned down, slapping a napkin dispenser from its place to grind across the tables surface to pause near enough to Jakob. She left her tray there, the offer stood and she only cast a sweeping glance to Travis in response before she went to find a custodial closet for cleaning. Sometimes retreat was the best answer.
" Looks like dad was wrong, they can be trained. " He said smugly, his head tipping up to make his features look that much more proud and arrogant, high cheekbones framed by bright cafeteria ceiling light. Some part of him, some inner voice said he was being an ass but this was drowned out by the sadistic shadow of ignorance and upbringing, this was like school all over again. Where he fit in nicely as a bully. He was almost heady with the building adrenaline right now even spurring it on subconsciously.
Travis doesn't fully understand what Jakob means by 'they' but all he knows is that it's meant in an insulting way towards him. He just turns around and goes to catch Jakob in the jaw with a fist, his top right arm moving in to attack. Travis is a teen male, where as he doesn't have a lot of anger issues, he is just learning to deal with being a mutant among many other things. Frustration just gets the best of him.
Returning she pushed the mop bucket up on its wheels as well as clutched a broom and dustpan in her other hand. Her feet were still bare as the boots had been left on the seat where she was going to claim. Over her shoulder was another gray shirt that was part of the uniform code for the Academy. Pausing just beside Jakob she set the broom aside and released the mop handle to snap the shirt from her shoulder briskly and…take a step back. Travis was on the move. "Oh for fu—" Stepping to the side one foot came up and caught the edge of a chair, trying to kick it between them and falter the impending fight. "Stop!" Was it just her or did this tend to happen in her..No it was Jakob, who else?
Then he was being swung at, so many ways that could have came at him but it was only one limb one bony set of knuckles and he was moving his head back tipping it evading the attack, happily of course, he was getting what he wanted a fight. The *fwip* of air passes his features and he was already moving in a jab of his own coming in at Travis' nose from his left fist while he was bringing up his right hand to grab at the six-armed youth's shirt, not at all realizing though he was about to step on a pile of sludge like mash-potatoes. If anything Jakob was a great bully, the dangerous kind that knew how to throw a punch and unlike 90% of them, he could even take them, but this bit of lovely kitchen variety land mine…
The punch doesn't connect but the chair being shoved in between Travis and Jakob doesn't do much to help the situation as it puts some distance between the two. But a chair isn't the same length of an arm and Travis takes a jab in the face, just moving his head so it clips his cheek instead of his nose. It still hurts and still is probably gonna leave a bruise. Then his shirt is grabbed and Travis uses that to move both bottom hands forward to try to jab into Jakob's stomach while a third hand is moving to try to punch Jakob in the face. Though if Jakob slips while holding onto Travis's shirt, it seems like both might be going down.
Sabina was too late, and altercations were not her forte. Any time kids back home tried to spur one on with her she walked. The students surrounding all had mixed feelings on what was going on. Some cheered, others stared wide eyed like she had when she first came in, the ones near moved out of the way and began the typical circle that surrounded the two fighting men and the one lost girl who had back stepped until the side fo her leg came in contact with the table. At her sides her hands hung, but fingers curled and uncurled into fists, working like her mind and her eyes over the melee breaking out. For whatever reason though it seemed as if her eyes were hunting, looking for an opening, a way to make it stop - somewhere inside of her a fool was being born. Leave it to New York.
Some bit of satisfaction came with that fist to face connection, not fully the intended but it would suffice, fortunate for Travis he wasn't the freeze up sort, he reacted and was actually now grappling Jakob, this was a new sensation accompanied by the lose of footing he was now suffering in startle his right foot sweeping up behind himself wildly as he came crashing downwards the sprawl was no doubt next, " What the fu… " He exclaims while scrambling to untangle and get back up, thrusting his arms out violently at Travis to knock him away from him as much as could be manageable, so apparently disgusted by being in such close quarters his actions would almost look frantic, almost to be described a shoving flail, entirely intent upon separation. " Get the hell off of me! "
Travis doesn't get off of Jakob, instead he tries to restrain him, trying to grab Jakob's arms, and eventually trying to get six arms on each of Jakob's forearms to pin them to the floor to try to get him to stop flailing. Sure he knows that a foot could come up and kick him, but he's also pissed and anger doesn't lead to sensibility. "What the fuck is your problem you ass?" He spits out at Jakob, maybe trying to end the physical part of the fight? Or is it the calm before the storm.
Was there even an opening? If there was one that even remotely looked akin to an opening she was going to jump. It was apparent somewhere a part of her wanted to just stay back. one hand held the edge of the table she was pressed against harshly, but her feet made all the intent and purpose of the grip null and void. The table wasn't coming with when her when she stepped forward. The frantic flailing and the pin Travis had on Jakob was not going to blow over well and the fool hearty part had her coming forward, uncaring if she got the brunt of a flailing blow from one of the eight arms involved in this. One hand gripped Jakobs shirt at the shoulder and used the sludge beneath him to try and slide him back with that pull while her other hand tried to press to Travis' chest and push him in the opposite direction and off of Jakob. "Separate damn it!" Perhaps if the shoving and pulling didn't help the words would snap something into them. Here's hoping.
That inborn Friends of Humanity upbringing had a taught fear for the inhuman powers, these arms were entirely that visible symbols of what was hated, hypocritically enough this spurred on Jakob's own natural defenses his strength 'amplifying' to overcome or at least try, doubling in a burst of rippling tendon and sinew only to begin pressing on to that triple factor. Internal warnings that he was pushing into his limit threshold being ignored, fear was starting to topple into anger and that easily grasped rage emotion. He pushes against the six forearms with all the strength he can muster, one of his knees trying to ram into Travis as well an attempt to aid in the attempted toss. If possible he would try to hurl or flip Travis into the nearest set of tables or chairs. Sabina's grip and presence lost to him, maybe she as well wanted to go for the ride. " I said get the f$#k off of me! "
One thing that Travis has is decent arm strength, which came from years of playing baseball, though it's not enough to counter Jakob's powers and Travis is thrown off of him. It hurts but nothing he won't be able to get over. "You're the prick who started this." He growls at Jakob as he gets up and goes to straighten his clothes out, he doesn't go to attack Jakob again though.
Did she really have a choice? She was going somewhere with that outward burst of strength and shift in Jakob's body, sending her back and sliding across the small aisle between tables, the fallen food adding traction to the slide back and rolling with the mop bucket, thankfully on wheels only splashing water over the sides in its rolling retreat to the line of watchers. Whether it bruised or hurt she did not seem to notice as she rolled back to her feet and squish-slid-walked as quickly as she could to stand back between the two. One glance went to Travis as he appeared okay, stepping to face her sides to both of them and keep her eyes easily there as well. Travis may seem at pause for now but that did not speak for Jakob nor his mouth that could set it all off again. She did not say anything now, she just stood in the way and readied to move to keep it that way.
Jakob was freed of the multi-limbed mutant which had him calming, even visibly. He shoved upright his fists brought up flexing and unflexing as he looked on the verge of lunging, that ring of bodies around them was now doing the typical crowd close in and separate, " You're going to get in trouble. " Some faceless Jakob didn't bother to look at spoke up, turning his head to look around at all those gathered then the mess at their feet he forces himself to relax as best he could, a finger thrusting up and pointing at Travis, " Just remember you swung first this time p$#k@5s." Wiping himself off he goes to get back in line for more food, cussing under his breath. On his way he'd cast Sabina a glare for her own to cherish.
Oh Travis knows he's gonna get in trouble, he doesn't respond to Jakob, just glares at him. "Fuck off." He says as he turns to leave the cafeteria, leaving his food behind and not caring about it or what his 'image' in regards to this fight is. Though he's probably gonna blow off his next class to go hide in the gym for a bit so that he can work out his frustration. Man his Mom is gonna be pissed at him tonight.
Sabina didn't acknowledge the glare with a return look of her own. In fact all she did was clasp her hands in front of her and lower her head slightly. The clasp was a tight one, one that had her hands stilling from the slight tremors that came with the contained burst of adrenaline. She was definitely not hungry now and caffeine was forgotten, she was wide awake and had not one clue what to do with herself. The faceless prod from the crowd had her head snapping up and searching for a face. Once the nameless was found her eyes dropped again and bare feet squished through the mess towards the mop bucket. Grabbing the handle she pulled the mop free and began to clean it up, the look on her face now veiled by the loose fall of hair that had come free. A small pause came as Travis spoke and then left, looking up to watch him go, and then look back down to focus on cleaning it all up.
" Pussy. " Was Jakob's rude and simple retort to Travis. Jakob turns away ignoring the whispering and commentary from the other students around him staring forward he began pointing out what food he wanted again before he was moving away from the chow line, his appetite was now even larger unlike the other two he was almost starving. The use of his mutant ability even intensified it abit. Sitting down, he dips his head low and begins to eat quietly maintaining his glare but not making eye contact with anyone, keeping to himself while Travis stormed off and Sabina cleaned up their mess.
The end of the cleaning looked more like she was just idly pushing the mop around with no purpose. Her thoughts had her elsewhere but at least the floor was cleaner than what it was 10 minutes ago. Dropping the mop back within the bucket she leaned over the table that still had her untouched tray and the replacement t-shirt for Jakob grabbing her boots, the milk, and heading for a table that was more solitary now that the fight had turned the tide on how many were present. Dropping down she uncapped the milk and took a a long drink of it.
Jakob looked up as he watched Sabina toy around with the mop, chewing the bit of an apple he had sliced off. " Shouldn't stick you nose into shit that doesn't involve you by the way. " Voice carrying as he waved the knife he was using around in a circle at the air before he resumed munching at another wedge of fruit he was gutting.
Stupid fecking teachers, apparently he's not trying hard enough in class, well screw them, he left his class earlier to get something to eat, he's dressed in navy blue cargo pants, a long sleeved gray shirt with BARNES written on the chest, his white hair is gelled in a casual bedhead look and his violet eyes are glowing faintly as is the yellow stone on the silver wristband on his right wrist, he enters the room muttering under his breath.
One foot was pulled up onto the chair and tucked before her, pressed close to her chest while the other rested out in a sprawl, her posture slumping into a [false] relaxed state. She didn't bother looking at him as he spoke, she just stared at the wall and lowered her chin down in a motion akin to a nod but there it rested, turning the milk jug in her hand. "Yeah..Not my place." It was a low utterance and whether he heard it or not she really did not care. Caleb was not noticed, her milk had her affixed glare now.
He seems utterly focused on the apple he was carving up while Caleb comes in, tongue picking out a piece from behind his teeth as he regarded the glowing violet eyes a 'hrmph' escaping him before he crams more apple into his mouth. " So, any dead boyfriends tell that you'd end up here? " Not sure why he was even bothering in talking to her, maybe some part of him was seeking connection or maybe he was jut fishing for ammo.
Caleb doesn't pay any attention to the other two, he goes to get a trey and as he's pissed off, he accidentally blasts it across the room, "Oh for fecks sake!"
Sabina's jaw worked, the muscles visibly tensing against pale flesh at his words to her, a serpentine flex as she slowly exhaled through her nostrils to pace herself and bite back the venom she wanted to spit at him in her words. "Never had a boyfriend." Weak come back to that, but it was none of his business about who she had spoken with. The blast of the tray did not draw her eyes up, they remained focused on the milk even as shoulders visibly tensed at the commotion and drew upward. "I don't belong here." Parroting back what she had been told by him on entry.
Jakob's knife clinked into his tray as it severed harshly through his remaining apple surprised but not jumping or going into over-reactive at Caleb's display, he was starting to realize he was in the snake pit here and it made his insides knot up. ~you are a mutant~ danced through his mind in a wash of memory, scowling at Caleb his head shook before he heard Sabina, trying to peel his gaze away from the other student he'd met in the park and already tousled with, still surprised a sixteen year old kid took his punch. Probably some more freak power in there, but then they all seemed on the side of tougher around here - expected of muties, he told himself. " That's pretty sad. " He says to Sabina, " Not surprised though. At all. " There came that smugness again, it looked like he was recovering from his clash with Travis.
Ok, Caleb heard that, Sabina may annoy him but that was RUDE, "Dude you are not exactly a prime catch yourself, i guess thats to be expected from a self-hating mutant", he winks at Sabina, then gets another trey and starts putting food on it.
"No, actually - It's a relief." She was relaxing again, her shoulders dropped back down and her milk was brought back up and finished in a few quick swallows. Hearing Caleb come to her defense her head only tilted slightly to cast a flash of azure gaze upon him. That was it for gratitude. "No Jakob, you wouldn't be surprised would you?" There was no inflection in her tone, monotone was where it leveled. Her one foot dropped back to the ground and shoved, screeching the chair across the floor and back to give her space to stand, grab her boots and head for the exit. She had played slip and slide in some of that mess and she needed to change again, it would give her the needed space to regroup.
Jakob " Who says I'm a mutant? " He asks Caleb, nowhere having said he was, maybe the guy could read minds or smell it on him, no, he wasn't a mutant, he told himself this over and over again before speaking. " I'm not. " His smile re-appeared, forced there as he was caught off guard by the statement, " At least maybe Sabina you can have yourself a girlfriend in Caleb here. Where you going, we were starting to have such a fun time? " Amused or at least appearing to be he chuckled, waving that knife off towards the tray Caleb had blasted off, " Go play fetch or something junior, I was already told I'm not allowed to beat on you. "
Caleb looks round at Jakob, "You don't end up here by being normal, jackass", he rolls his eyes at the "Girlfriend" comment then, disappears, ok, if he wants him to lay fetch, then he will.
Sabina did not pause at Jakob's statement but she did respond. "Good time? Guess I just can't keep up, find someone else, I'm not up your alley." Turning the corner she was gone, just a momentary lapse being suffered in her normal attitude, but she was here to learn, and learning she was.
They'd all left and he was still there eating, another tray and he'd feel like he was almost full. Once done Jakob is walking down the hall exiting the cafeteria, pulling out a piece of paper he tucked away detailing where his next class would be, which, he'd head towards once he swapped clothing.
Barnes Academy - Jakob's Room (#1839)
//A small room, containing a full sized bed, a dresser, and a sink and bathroom. //
Jakob inside of his room he quickly removed the uniform's outer layer and his shirt to toss into the laundry bin, turning on the focet he dashed water over his face and neck to get the rest of the 'food' off of him that he had been unintentionally been wearing. " Stupid F#@ks… this place is so messed up. " He mumbles under his breath before pulling on a new undershirt.
Invisible Caleb has followed Jakob to his room and is going to play "Fetch" with his clothing, when Jakob pulls on a new shirt, he grabs the collor and phases it off him.
Frowning Jakob reaches his hand up to his chest pressing it flat, " Uh… " He manages out loud before looking back at the mirror then at himself, his head shook as he reaches out to grab up another shirt. " Must be losing my mind. "
As Jakob reaches for the other shirt, Caleb does the same thing, grabbing the shirt and phasing it out of his reach, he internally thanks his twin for giving him the idea for this a while back.
This time Jakob witnessed it happen, the shirt just up and vanishes as he is grabbing for it. Quickly he snares up another one jerking it violently trying to see if he moved faster than whatever it was or whatever the hell was occurring if he could maintain his shirt or his sanity. Testing it now, his suspicions up.
Caleb waits this time, he's gonna let Jakob put the shirt on this time and when he reaches for another piece of clothing he'll phase the shirt again.
Jakob managing to get his shirt on he began to figure this was just some sort of trick of the mind, maybe… he'd not been sleeping a lot his body warned him of this in it's bizarre overly obvious alert signals. Drawing the shirt on and down he adjusts his belt, staring for what could be a minute before he grabs for a clean outer jacket having gotten the shirt on he figures hes in the clear and was done with well, yeah, he wasn't sure what just happened.
Caleb grins, and takes a third shirt off Jakob's back, enjoying the confusion on the mans face, he winces a little when he grins due to the bruise on his jaw where Jakob hit him yesterday.
That sealed his suspicions and had him spinning quickly on his heel slamming his fist at the air as if someone was there, his voice would rise up with it. " ALL RIGHT who the f#@k is messing with my $%!t!? Come out you coward. Let me curb stomp your face allover my wall… " Snarling he moves to his door throwing it open as if expecting someone to be there as well. Instantly he thought of Sabina and her talk of ghosts, glaring he mumbles under his breath, " That b!t%h. "
Caleb can't help but laugh now, "Ha ha!", man this guy has a dirty mouth, maybe this will teach him some manners.
Un-nerved at this point. " Ain't got time for this… " He snapped out almost in a growl, walking off without a shirt wondering if Sabina really could conjure up ghosts, he'd find out when he seen her next, her sick sense of humor was going to get an earful. His footfalls clicking in rebound off the walls with the audible sound of his nicely shined boots as he strode off for his next course he was already running late for. The laughter had him irritated, since when do ghosts laugh? Bastards.
Caleb bursts out laughing when Jakob leaves the room, then proceeds to hide the rest of Jakob's clothes.
