[Melody Newton]

[attr="class","nikki98"]

[attr="class","nikki99"]

I NEED TO COME DOWN

[attr="class","nikki100"]

[attr="class","nikki101"]SEEMS LIKE THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD WENT AND LOST ITS MIND

[attr="class","nikki102"]AND ALL MY CHILDHOOD HEROES HAVE FALLEN OFF OR DIED

[attr="class","nikki109"]So that had been a waste of time. Melody had never been to a ballet class before, and she wasn't exactly sold on the idea of going to one again. She wasn't sure what the school would do though if she cut classes, and it wasn't as if there was anywhere more fun to go instead. At least there was built in entertainment in ballet, and the teacher couldn't force her to dance.

She didn't have to change, so she was one of the first out of the door when they were dismissed. It helped that she had been lurking at the back of the classroom, close to her possible escape route, for the entire hour that it had lasted. She was surprised as she left to nearly collide with another girl, one she had noticed and sniggered at. Not as much as she'd enjoyed the view of the other students who were taking it more seriously, but she had looked ridiculous trying to do ballet poses in Doc Martens.

"Ugh, so glad that's over, I can believe we have to do this every week? What kind of hell school are we in?"

She pointed at the boots on the other girl's feet. "I thought she was going to have a fit when she saw you wearing them. Can you imagine a ballet dancer in those during Nutcracker?"

She laughed at the thought, then introduced herself. "I'm Melody."

She didn't want to be here, but she had no intention of making enemies of all her classmates. Only the ones who sucked up to the teachers. After all, she wasn't going to let her father have the satisfaction of depriving her of her friends and making her miserable out here all at once.

The bell rang again and she realised that unconsciously she was heading for the canteen. It was lunchtime, and as if on cue, her stomach growled to announce its hunger. "You getting lunch?"

[attr="class","nikki103"]325

[attr="class","nikki103"]Keaira Matthews

[attr="class","nikki103"]Ed Reynolds

NOTES

Troublesome trio

PHARAOH LEAP.

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[Keaira Matthews]

❝ There's a hope that's waiting for you in the dark ❞

---

---

Well, that was utterly humiliating Keaira thought to herself as the instructor dismissed the class. While Keke would like to revel in the fact that for the moment, her torment had come to an end, the knowledge that she would have to endure for the remainder of the year had admnittedly dampened her spirit somewhat. Perhaps had the brunette not been so consumed with formulating a plan to get out of subsequent classes, she might have noticed that another girl had moved into her path or vice versa. However, it had come to pass there hadn't been nearly enough time to avoid the ensuing collision.

The teen had just parted her lips to apologize as she suspected that her natural clumsiness had surely played a significant part in their run in when the other girl spoke up first. Nodding her head in agreement, the teenager replied " Yeah, me too. That was the absolute worst. There truly is a special place in hell for ballet teachers." As her classmate pointed to her shoes, instinctively the sixteen year old's gaze dropped down to her footwear. With a casual shrug, Keaira responded " Can say I am sorry if my shoes offended her. The fact that I had to attend the class at all deeply offends me. " 

Keaira took a moment to contemplate the absurdity of performing in a traditional ballet like The Nutcracker in shoes like hers. Shaking her head, Keke giggled as she added " Well, if you don't watch your leaps in these it might just bring a whole new meaning to the title."

Offering a friendly smile to the brunette, Keke continued " Nice to meet you Melody. I'm Keaira. "

As the bell sounded and students began to file out of their classrooms, Keaira realized that all that exercise had left her famished. Nodding in response, Keke said " Yeah, I'm starving. You?"

 Tag

 Word Count

Notes: 
credit to Laura of Adox

[Ed Reynolds]

| Melody Newton | Keaira Matthews | 464 words |

[attr="class","edreynolds"]Having swiftly left the ballet studio without so much as another word to his fellow classmates for fear of mockery, Ed had made a beeline for the canteen to comfort-eat his ballet troubles away. He couldn’t figure out if the classes would be made better or worse once their uniforms arrived; he supposed at least he’d be able to move more freely in whatever atrocity they ended up with. Or maybe it wouldn’t even be that bad… he was just being dramatic.

One of the first to arrive at the canteen, Ed managed to pleadingly extract an extra generous helping of chicken nuggets from the dinner lady, despite her apparent lack of sympathy that he’d just been subjected to one whole ballet lesson. It was probably just to shut him up and keep the queue moving – it’s not like the nuggets actually contained any chicken anyway, right? He tried not to think about it.

Parking himself at one of the smaller tables by the windows, Ed began happily eating his lunch alone. It wasn’t that he was feeling particularly anti-social – and people were welcome to join him – but he was also quite happy just overloading on chicken nuggets and staring out of the window at the rain that was starting to fall. As usual.

Although Ed had initially been concerned about running into Melody, certain that she’d have something dry and witty to say about his dancing feet, he still smiled up at her when he saw her enter the canteen. They’d bonded somewhat since Melody’s antics in science had landed them both in trouble and it could certainly never hurt to be friends with someone who could do your homework for you with their eyes closed. Not that Ed was going to suggest such a thing… Yet.

His smile broadened considerably, subconsciously, when he noticed who she was standing with in the queue. Ivy’s roommate just had this friendly vibe about her, he thought. And she really was quite cute – not that Ed was thinking about that at all, obviously. Just an observation.

He caught Melody’s eye and waved them over as they collected their dinners. “Well, that was torture,” he said with a laugh as they approached, safe in the assumption that neither of them had exactly enjoyed their ballet class either. “I can’t believe we have to do it all over again, too.” What kind of school made ballet compulsory? Were all American schools like this?

“Oh – and it’s Keke, yeah?” he added with a very happy grin. “Ivy’s roommate? Hi, I’m Ed.”

If Ed wasn’t so naturally cheery with his peers, one might accuse him of being overeager. They wouldn’t, of course. He was just being friendly to an admittedly very pretty girl, but that didn’t mean anything. So there.

[newclass=.edreynolds]font:11px;color:#e4e4e4;[/newclass][newclass=.edreynolds b]color:#EA960C;[/newclass]

[Melody Newton]

[attr="class","nikki98"]

[attr="class","nikki99"]

I NEED TO COME DOWN

[attr="class","nikki100"]

[attr="class","nikki101"]SEEMS LIKE THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD WENT AND LOST ITS MIND

[attr="class","nikki102"]AND ALL MY CHILDHOOD HEROES HAVE FALLEN OFF OR DIED

[attr="class","nikki109"]Melody joined in on Keaira's giggle at the thought of her prancing about in her boots on stage and making the performance rather unfortunately literal. "Right? Why should we have to get involved in ballet? It's not like my power actually has anything to do with my body."

She glanced down at her stomach at the question. "You mean you didn't hear that? If she wasn't careful I was going to start eating one of the dancers."

Melody carefully didn't say other dancers. She certainly had no interest in becoming one herself and would likely engage in as many hi-jinks as was necessary to get out of actually performing in the show. She'd be damned if her father was invited to watch her tiptoe around the stage in a pink skirt.

Despite their hunger, they wandered relatively slowly to the canteen, it was big, and the school had yet to hit it's limit of students, so the queue wasn't insane. The selection today, as every day, was poor. She simply pointed wordlessly at the chicken nuggets, fries and mixed veg that apparently comprised today's gourmet meal. Once she'd acquired that and a drink, she turned, spotting a familiar gangly figure over by the window.

"Hey come on, this guy's pretty cool. He's British."

She led Keaira over to the table, dropping her plastic tray unceremoniously and sliding it over so that the other girl could take a seat beside her.

"Oh my god, there is no way they're getting me to dress up in a tutu. I will actually fight anyone who tries to put me in one." Her eyes flashed, though there was no flare of heat from them this time.

She turned in confusion, "Wait, Keke?"

Then, with a teasing smirk on her face, she turned back to Ed "How is it that you know so much more about a girl that you've never met?"

[attr="class","nikki103"]317

[attr="class","nikki103"]Keaira Matthews

[attr="class","nikki103"]Ed Reynolds

NOTES

Stalker

PHARAOH LEAP.

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[Keaira Matthews]

❝ There's a hope that's waiting for you in the dark ❞

---

---

As they imagined the chaos that prancing about the stage in boots would wreak, for somehow, Keaira found herself actually wanting to do so just for the reaction that it was sure to illicit. "To be honest, I am pretty baffled as to why it is a mandatory class in the first place. It seems much more like an elective. Especially for students whose abilities aren't eveb physical which incidentally mine isn't either for that matter," Keke replied. A soft chuckle erupted from the brunettes throat as she responded "No, it was actually pretty difficult to hear anything over the growling of my own stomach. While I can certainly understand how you could be driven to such a state of hunger, I wouldn't waste my energy on the dancers. They are far too bony to satiate a truly ravenous appetite."

Even as she spoke the words, the teen was vaguely aware of the fact that her statement could be construed as an insult but she certainly hadn't meant it as such, but more a statement of fact. Any ballet dancer that she'd ever seen had always been exceptionally thin. As wrong as it felt, the ballet world was simply unwelcoming of women with curves. For some strange reason, it seemed to take forever for the pair to reach the canteen, however much to the teen's relief  the lunch line wasn't too long. The lunch offering wasn't quite as green as the teenager would have preferred, however Keaira's stomach simply wouldn't allow for her to be too fussy.

Mimicking Melody's order, the sixteen year old turned as Melody apparently caught sight of someone she recognized whom appeared to be waving them over. Keaira couldn't help but to snicker a little as Melody attributed the validity of the boy's coolness to something as simple as being British. As Melody scooted over to make room for her, Keke plopped down in the empty seat beside her setting her tray down gingerly as she did so. In response to the boy's assessment of the ballet class, Keaira commented "It was pretty brutal. Not only will we have to do it all over again, but I expect the difficulty will gradually increase. To be honest, I am keen to take my failing mark now and just sit out the rest of the year because I refuse to wear such skin tight and revealing attire. How can one be expected to dance when they can scarcely breathe"

The look of perplexity on Melody's face mirrored her own as the British boy seemed somewhat familiar with her already. "Yes, Keke is my nickname. My fulk name is Keaira. It is nice to met you Ed and yes Ivy is my roommate. Am I to take it that you and Ivy are well acquainted?"

The question that Melody posed to Ed was a rather intriguing one prompting her to add " The lady does make a fair point. I am afraid it seems that you have me at a slight disadvantage."

 Tag

 Word Count

Notes: 
credit to Laura of Adox

[Ed Reynolds]

| Melody Newton | Keaira Matthews | 541 words |

[attr="class","edreynolds"]He could believe entirely that Melody would indeed try to fight the poor sod who tried to put her in a tutu. Ed couldn’t even imagine her acquiescing to a leotard and tights. “I reckon the first tutu that has the misfortune of getting anywhere near you is getting burnt to a crisp before you can even finish saying ‘laser eyes.’” Ed grinned – he’d pay money to see the look on Madam Kia’s face after that.

Keke was less aggressive in her dislike for the class but she also seemed to have a bone to pick with the clothing they were going to be required to wear. It seemed that she didn’t share her roommate’s enthusiasm for skin-tight dancing attire – the white, heavy-looking Doc Marten’s were a far cry from Ivy’s leotard and leg warmers combo.

“I get the impression sitting out isn’t much of an option at this school…” Ed said sadly. He would also have loved to just take a fail rather than have to prance around a ballet studio, but there wasn’t really anywhere you could hide when it came to bunking off lessons unless you ran away to get lost in the woods somewhere. Which, tempting, but no. “She should at least let us wear our own clothes – it’s not like we’re training to be professionals. And you looked great in those boots!”

He thought a ballerina in Docs had a certain charm to it… though he was sure Madam Kia wasn’t exactly in agreement with him on that one. She seemed to have her own ideas on how things should be done and was not about to budge on it.

Melody’s surprise had Ed flushing in embarrassment, worried he’d gotten the name wrong. He was sure that’s what Ivy had said after he’d inquired about how meeting the new roomie had gone. It had been a quick conversation though, maybe he’d misheard. The horror! Keke – or Keaira, rather – quickly cleared it up however. “Keaira, huh, nice,” he echoed, smiling around the name.

Was he well acquainted with Ivy? “Oh, er, not hugely. I just made a rather fantastic first impression on her by turning her into a mermaid in the middle of the canteen. Spilled her drink,” he explained hastily.

The look on Melody’s face was concerning in a way he couldn’t quite place – it was definitely pretty mischievous. It didn’t help that Keke decided to join her, leaving Ed feeling like he was being accused of stalking the poor girl.

“What!? No, allow it! I… ‘So much’ is definitely an exaggeration,” he protested. “I caught Ivy in the corridor and she said she’d finally met Keke and that she was really nice, that’s all. I just know your name and face, I promise.” Ed ran his fingers through his hair, feeling on the spot until inspiration hit. “Oh… and all your deepest darkest secrets, obviously, but only what came up from a quick trawl through the dark web.”

He grinned.

“It’s not me you have to worry about anyway. It’s her – she’s already landed me in one detention so far.” He pointed at Melody accusingly, his tone highly suggestive that it would not be the last. Which, in all honesty, was a pretty fair assessment.

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[Melody Newton]

[attr="class","nikki98"]

[attr="class","nikki99"]

I NEED TO COME DOWN

[attr="class","nikki100"]

[attr="class","nikki101"]SEEMS LIKE THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD WENT AND LOST ITS MIND

[attr="class","nikki102"]AND ALL MY CHILDHOOD HEROES HAVE FALLEN OFF OR DIED

[attr="class","nikki109"]Melody laughed in response to Keaira, "Oh don't worry, I'm pretty sure I'll be doing that anyway. There's no way I'm doing any of that stuff you guys did."

She sniggered again at the thought of Ed continuing to undertake ballet in the ridiculously tight jeans he was currently wearing. They hadn't exactly flattered him in the class, and the strange positions he had contorted himself into had only increased her amusement.

"I don't know, if you're not careful you might have to wear a tutu as well once those jeans are finished with you. Looked pretty painful if you ask me."

She chewed thoughtfully on her chicken nugget, grinning at her opportunity to tease Ed once more. "Yeah I remember you telling me. Here a week and already he's got girls ripping their panties off for him.

"Although," She brandished her half eaten chicken nugget, "That power would really suck. Turn into a mermaid as soon as you get wet…"

She waggled her eyebrows suggestively at the other two, then turned to Keke, "At least you won't need to worry about her inviting boys round."

Ed's concern was probably well placed, after all, Melody wasn't going to let such juicy ammunition go quite so easily. "See, I knew the moment I saw your pasty Brit face that you were some kind of stalker, holed up at your laptop and creepin…"

She dunked the nugget into the BBQ sauce she'd acquired a healthy dollop of, finally finishing the half-eaten item of food. Considering that it was cafeteria food, it actually wasn't that bad. Surprisingly better than the stuff she'd forced down at High School back in San Francisco, although not exactly the kind of stuff she'd want to eat every day. Not that she had much of a choice anymore. The cafeteria was the only option for breakfast, lunch and dinner, with the nearest town miles away it wasn't as if she could just grab a McDonalds. Maybe she could order pizza, although she'd have to rope in someone who's parents had not confiscated their debit card.

Melody realised that Ed was pointing at her in accusation. "Pffffft, it's not my fault you couldn't keep a straight face, you totally would have gotten out of it if you had."

Her words, though harsh, were in an amused tone, clearly, she hadn't taken his immediate betrayal to heart. It wasn't as though he'd grassed her up or anything.

[attr="class","nikki103"]417

[attr="class","nikki103"]Ed Reynolds

[attr="class","nikki103"]Keaira Matthews

NOTES

notes here, i guess?

PHARAOH LEAP.

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[Keaira Matthews]

❝ There's a hope that's waiting for you in the dark ❞

---

---

Having only met Melody a few minutes ago the pair hadn't really had enough time to discuss what manner of ability had landed them here. Perhaps it had been because the combined rumblings of their stomachs had been too overwhelming to think past satisfying their need for nourishment. Or maybe the walk to the canteen had simply been too short despite feeling like it had taken them days to get there. Whatever the reason, Ed's mention of 'laser eyes' piqued Keaira's attention as she plucked a French fry  from her tray and popped it into her mouth. Unable to tell whether he was speaking figuratively or literally, Keke inquired with curiosity evident in her tone "Can you really do that?"

How badass would it be to have a female Cyclops walking around school, the brunette thought to herself with amusement. Snatching two more fries from the tray, the teen chewed thoughtfully as she considered the likelihood of being allowed to sit out a compulsory course. "Honestly, they may not have a choice in my case unless they want a cast full of bruised and broken dancers. I have two left feet and virtually no rhythm. Madam Kiva will find that out the hard way that I am horribly ill suited for dance," the teenager replied.

With a casual shrug the sixteen year old replied"I suppose that they want us to look the part or she will make some ridiculous argument about our clothing being restrictive and hindering movement.A lthough I have to admit that she may have a point there when it comes to jeans. It did look pretty uncomfortable the way your jeans kept bunching up like that." At Melody's assertion that Ed might also be forced to wear a tutu, an image of the boy in front of her dressed in a tutu and tights crept into her mind forcing a series of giggles to erupt from her throat. Somehow, Keke knew that try as she may there was no chasing that image from her head anytime soon.

After taking a few minutes to pull herself together, the brunette continued "Whatever the case, I refuse to wear a tutu. Out of the question. I am glad that you like the Docs because I Don't do for shoes either. Have you seen what those monstrosities do to a person's feet? Ballerinas are masochists."

As Ed recalled his initial meeting with Ivy, a flicker of recognition lit Keke's eyes as she responded " Oh! You're THAT Ed! In that case perhaps you don't have me at that much of a disadvantage after all." Not being too familiar with the finer details of Ivy's transformation the revelation that her undies had been ripped off in the process was telling in so many ways. The fact that Ed confessed to not knowing Ivy hugely was even more intriguing to Keaira. Did he not know? The teen studied the boy's flustered expression before drawing the conclusion that he decidedly did not know which bought a mischievous glint to her own eyes. 

Smirking, Keke stated in a teasing manner, "Eh, it's probably the accent. American girls tend to go nuts over that kind of thing, you know." While she had never said so aloud, the teen had to admit that the ability to turn into a mermaid didn't seem particularly useful. Especially when you couldn't control the transformation. However, a soft rosiness crept into the teen's cheeks when Melody introduced a component to Ivy's plight that the sixteen year old hadn't considered. It was a wildly inappropriate topic to discuss and yet her curiosity was piqued. 

Casting a glance in Ed's direction as Melody suggested that boys coming into the room shouldn't be a problem, Keaira answered "I wouldn't be so sure about that. It is more a question of what they are going to do once they get there. I mean can she even..."

The pensive expression that had settled upon her face shifted to one of amusement when Ed implied he'd learned her darkest secrets from the dark web. Arching a brow she answered playfully "Oh, you did, did you? Well, we certainly can't have that now can we? There's no telling what kind of vicious lies the dark web has been spreading about me." As Ed desperately attempted to divert attention from himself back to his accuser, Keke shifted her gaze back to Melody asking "Bit of a troublemaker, are you?"

 Tag

 Word Count

Notes: 
credit to Laura of Adox

[Melody Newton]

[attr="class","nikki98"]

[attr="class","nikki99"]

I NEED TO COME DOWN

[attr="class","nikki100"]

[attr="class","nikki101"]SEEMS LIKE THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD WENT AND LOST ITS MIND

[attr="class","nikki102"]AND ALL MY CHILDHOOD HEROES HAVE FALLEN OFF OR DIED

[attr="class","nikki109"]With a nod, Melody answered Keke's question. "Yeah, it's part of my power, I can do a few other things as well. My eyes kind of… focus light in specific ways."

She picked idly at the food on her tray before selecting another nugget and dunking it into the BBQ sauce. "So what can you do?"

Melody had known before she came to the school that it was for teenagers with abilities, but some people here seemed less than eager to reveal what they could do. She didn't blame them, she knew there were some areas where metahumans were very much not welcome. Growing up there might mean you kept whatever you could do to yourself. Different from the almost casual power use Melody had herself indulged in.

She shrugged, finishing off the nugget and licking the traces of grease and BBQ sauce from her fingers. "I don't think the show being cancelled for injuries would be such a bad thing. Maybe I'll help you get it cancelled, there's no way I'm going in front of an audience, tutu or no tutu."

Melody waved a fry in agreement over the teacher's ridiculousness. "She can argue all she wants. Pink is not my colour, and if she tries to make me wear one, I'm setting fire to it."

The image of ballerina feet must have passed through Keke and Melody's mind at almost the same time. "Oh my god yeah, they are so gross when they get all scrunched up like that. There's no way I'd let them do that to me."

She shuddered visibly at the thought of her feet ending up in that state, not that they were likely to. There was a big difference between ballet twice a week and undertaking it for a living. Not that Melody was making that distinction, there was no way she was going to do any ballet. She couldn't believe her father had agreed to this. Well actually she could, but she couldn't believe he really thought it would make a difference. Then she realised what Keke had said.

"Wait, you mean you already know who he is?"

She turned a mockingly impressed gaze onto Ed. "Seems like you really get around. Should we be worried about you Ed?"

She raised a hand defensively once the topic moved on to Ivy, "Wow, too far, I don't want all the details. Jeez, you're the one who has her as a roommate not me."

Dismissing the next question with a wave of her hand, Melody crammed a handful of fries into her mouth, not answering until she had swallowed. "Please, I don't cause trouble. It's not my fault the teachers are always f*&king stupid."

[attr="class","nikki103"]WORDS

[attr="class","nikki103"]Keaira Matthews

[attr="class","nikki103"]Ed Reynolds

NOTES

Totally not my fault...

PHARAOH LEAP.

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[Ed Reynolds]

| Keaira Matthews | Melody Newton | 542 words |

[attr="class","edreynolds"]Ed’s laser eyes comment had certainly caught Keke’s attention and Melody quickly explained herself in a rather vague way. “They change colour too,” he said enthusiastically. “Never seen anything like it.”

Not that Ed had seen many powers of course because he was just an average metahuman boy who had also developed his powers as a result of the Event in a sudden shock twist at the revelation that metahumans did in fact exist. Nothing to see here… Just in case a telepath happened to be eavesdropping.

He tilted his head with interest as Melody directed the conversation towards Keke’s own powers. You could never really tell just from looking at somebody… unless it was a physiology-based ability, and even then it might be well hidden. He didn’t want to formulate a guess, just in case it was offensively wrong. Maybe it was something really gross, like snot manipulation. That could probably help him be less distracted by her cuteness.

Not that he was, anyway, obviously.

“Yeah the jeans are… not exactly purpose-built for ballet,” he said with a grin as Melody threatened him with the prospect of a tutu, causing Keke to burst into giggles. “What, you don’t think I could pull off a tutu?” He winked – inwardly picturing it and hoping to god that he’d never have to wear one. He joined the girls in disgust at the thought of the stereotypical ballerina’s bruised and bloody feet. “I bet Madam Kia’s got a well weird pair of feet,” he contributed with a snigger.

Apparently Keke had heard about him from Ivy after all. “Oh, good, glad I’m that Ed,” he said jovially. “I’m trying not to make a habit of being horrifically uncoordinated but between chucking Ivy’s drink all over her and that abysmal excuse for ballet… not working too well for me!” He chuckled good-humouredly.

All the talk about ripping off panties and bringing boys back to their rooms was making Ed feel a little warm, especially with Keke sat there. Not for any particular reason, but her presence in that context definitely made him feel more embarrassed about the subject than usual. Maybe it was because she seemed too sweet and nice to be discussing such things, causing a gentle blush in her cheeks. Or maybe it was the way she’d glanced at him when Melody had brought it up.

And the accent thing? Was Keke implying that Ivy liked it, or did she like it too? It felt awkward and desperate to question it, so he left it mostly unaddressed. “Ah, yeah, well we can’t all be Hugh Grant unfortunately.” He was pretty sure that was the British actor his mum liked.

He cast Melody a scornful look. “And no, I don’t get around – I’m saving myself for the day Beyonce leaves Jay-Z,” he added jokingly. Semi-jokingly.

He grinned happily at the playful arch of Keke’s brow, amused that there would even be anything at all about Keke on the dark web. Clearly she had a solid sense of humour – or some dark secrets. “Trust me – I’m Melody’s lab partner and she is definitely a trouble maker. But also, our science teacher is definitely an idiot. We didn’t have a Bunsen burner so… she had to improvise.”

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[Keaira Matthews]

❝ There's a hope that's waiting for you in the dark ❞

---

---

Holy hell, Keaira thought to herself as Melody affirmed Ed's assertion as to what would become of any tutu that should enter her vicinity to be more fact based than exaggeration. Shaking her head, Keke replied simply "Remind me never to get on your bad side." More so than the brief overview that she'd been given of Melody's power what had struck the brunette as most impressive was that Melody seemed to at least have a modicum of control over it. Otherwise, she'd likely be forced to wear some form of protective eyewear to prevent her from unintentionally incinerating people. Ed had chimed in with additional information as the physiology of Melody's power use prompting the teen to nod her head as she replied " Well, if her power use is rooted in the way that her eyes reflect light then that makes sense. Kind of how a person's eye color appear lighter or darker in certain lighting."

Despite the fact that metahumans were fairly common knowledge, Keaira had never been permitted to openly discuss her abilities and as such was always surprised when someone showed interest in her power. Not that she was shy or embarassed about them but merely had been conditioned to be as secretive as possible. To finally be among people like herself with whom she could truly be herself was quite liberating to say the least. Nibbling on her chicken nugget, the teen thought for a moment how to best explain her ability before saying 'Well, I guess you can say that I am something of a tech wiz. I have the ability to communicate with electronics and get them to do most anything that I want them to."

As Ed admitted that jeans weren't exactly custom made ballet attire, Keaira grinned cheekily commenting "Well, that's a bit of an understatement and I'm sorry but no I don't think you could pull it off, but feel free to prove me wrong. I would pay to see that in fact." The nugget proved to be greasier than expected forcing Keke to grab a napkin to rub the remaining grease residue from her fingers before addressing Melody's plans to derail the show. " Honestly, I don't think it would be such a bad thing either. My bruising and breaking the other dancers would be inevitable because I am a klutz. So, it wouldn't be intentional or malicious in nature. However, deliberately trying to get the show cancelled doesn't seem like it would be that hard."

Truthfully, the brunette had never given much thought to what was or wasn't her color. Whether she was an autumn or a spring. She had just always worn what she felt good or comfortable in. At her heart, the teen was all about self expression. Laughing a bit at Melody's determination not to wear a tutu, the teenager retorted "Well, that is a hell of a way to get your point across." The topic then turned to something the least appetizing thing to discuss over a meal, but the sixteen year old supposed that she'd eaten as much as she was going to in this sitting anyway. 

"You know, I always thought that all the talk about good feet was a bit ironic as I believe ballet destroys your feet. Isn't it possible that you actually had goid feet before you started taking ballet," Keke inquired. Offering a casual shrug in response to Melody's question, Keaira added " Well,I know of him through Ivy. I don't imagine that flying off with a mermaid in your arms goes without notice. Particularly, on your first day. The clumsiness, I can forgive. I know a bit about that myself."

A pensive expression crossed the technopath's face as she contemplated Melody's apparent disgust with her curiosity of Ivy's anatomical capabilities. It seemed a perfectly logical question to ask. Why were people so uptight about that kind of thing? The human body was a fascinating and wondrous thing. There was a freedom in celebrating one's form and the spiritual bind formed between two people when expressing their live physically was a thing of beauty. With a devilish twinkle in her eyes Keaira continued " You're not Hugh Grant? A pity, that. There are few things more adorable than Hugh Grant's dancing in Love Actually."

Waving her hand dismissively at Ed's commitment to Beyonce, Keaira commented " You and about a million other guys. Probably some girls too." As Melody defended her actions in science class and Ed at least consented to the teacher being an idiot, Keke replied "Well, that sounds more like ingenuity than troublemaking if you ask me."

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Notes: 
credit to Laura of Adox

[Melody Newton]

[attr="class","nikki98"]

[attr="class","nikki99"]

I NEED TO COME DOWN

[attr="class","nikki100"]

[attr="class","nikki101"]SEEMS LIKE THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD WENT AND LOST ITS MIND

[attr="class","nikki102"]AND ALL MY CHILDHOOD HEROES HAVE FALLEN OFF OR DIED

[attr="class","nikki109"]Then the topic of conversation came back around to horrifying ballet feet.

"Noooo." Melody screwed up her face in disgust at the thought of the twisted and grotesque feet she was sure ballet dancers would end up with after years of dancing and cramming their feet into those horribly tight shoes. "Don't give me that mental image, it's so gross."

She looked confused as the other two started talking about Hugh Grant, but quickly removed the expression from her face. She didn't know who he was, but that didn't mean she was about to reveal that ignorance to these two, cool though they seemed.

Melody raised a hand in response to Keke coming to her defense. "Thank you!" She punched Ed's arm at his comment. "I am so not a troublemaker, it was his own stupid fault for not having enough bunsen burners."

She gestured towards Keke with her head, then glared at Ed, "At least she understands."

She grinned to show there were no hard feelings. She didn't really mind what Ed was saying, mainly because she knew it was probably what the same teacher, and other teachers would be saying amongst themselves. It was what teachers usually said amongst themselves about her, or at least, what she imagined they said amongst themselves. Melody rarely, if ever, had positive relationships with her teachers.

She finally finished her meal, leaving only a few cold fries abandoned on the plastic tray. She moved them about a little, idly, then abandoned it and pushed the tray away from her. "Y'know I used to like school food, but it seems a lot less appetising now that it's all we get.

She looked out the window where, surprise surprise, it was raining. "I would kill for some real food. I wonder if there's like a pizza place nearby or something. Maybe we could order some in."

[attr="class","nikki103"]326

[attr="class","nikki103"]Ed Reynolds

[attr="class","nikki103"]Keaira Matthews

NOTES

Pizza?

PHARAOH LEAP.

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[Ed Reynolds]

| Keaira Matthews | Melody Newton | 444 words |

[attr="class","edreynolds"]There was a brief pause for thought as Keke considered Melody’s question about her power, buying time with her chicken nugget. When she finally spoke, she revealed it to be something Ed hadn’t remotely expected. Not snot manipulation but the ability to communicate with electronics! The scope of the power was vast and exciting, and Ed didn’t even try to hide his enthusiasm.

“That sounds great fun! You’re like a walking console command box,” he added with wide eyes, wondering if she could help him unlock achievements. “What… what exactly have you made electronics do?” There were so many possibilities that his imagination couldn’t even start to hone in on anything.

He looked away with a rather bashful grin as she announced that’d pay to see him in a tutu. “That can be arranged,” Ed declared quietly, still rather sure that he’d beg Melody to burn the thing off him the second it was in place.

No, he couldn’t imagine flying off with a mermaid in the middle of a crowded canteen escaped people’s notice, especially once the clatter of the fully-loaded tray against the ground had successfully drawn everyone’s attention. “Let’s try not to pair up in ballet then,” he said to Keke with a laugh. “We’d trip each other up instantly and Melody would kill herself laughing so hard.”

He cast Keke an apologetic look for not being Hugh Grant, hoping that Ed Reynolds would suffice.

“I know, troublemaker,” Ed chuckled, not quite managing to dodge Melody’s punch. “That’s what I said – no Bunsen burner, so you had to improvise or we’d have been stuck watching the others. And you’d have hated that ’cause they’d have probably done it wrong,” he pointed out. He didn’t know Melody too well just yet, but he’d definitely figured out that she was a smart, smart cookie.

Melody had a point about the school food. While it was definitely better than the canteen grub he was used to, it still wasn’t anything special (except the pizza, that was pretty nice) and he could definitely get behind her longings for a takeaway. “Order some out here?” he queried, following her gaze to the rainy scene outside. “I had the impression that we were in the middle of nowhere, but I guess civilisation – and pizza – has got to be out there somewhere…”

He pondered, mouthful of chips. “Midnight snack? I guess I could try and fly out to the nearest place somewhere’ll deliver to and see if we can get some cheesy goodness…” The plan was half-formed in his head, and not a particularly good one, but it was the best he could come up with at present.

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[Keaira Matthews]

❝ There's a hope that's waiting for you in the dark ❞

---

---

While Keke was by no stretch of the imagination, a dancer, it didn't mean that her mother hadn't tried to turn her into one. If for no other reason than a desperate attempt to redirect her indomitable energy. During that time, Keaira had seen the feet of many a ballerina whom had been dancing since early childhood and it wasn't pretty,  to say the least. Still, the brunette thought it best not to gross out, traumatize, or torment potential new friends. Lifting her hands in the air in an expression of mock surrender, the teen conceded " Alright, Alright. No more talk of ballerina feet. I promise. Not like it will affect any of us anyway since the general consensus here seems to be rather anti ballet."

As Ed seemingly took a vested interest in learning more about her ability, the sixteen year old beamed a smile in his direction saying " It actually is quite a bit of fun and though I never quite thought of it that way, I am essentially a console command box. I still haven't been able to fully explore the scope of my power so I feel like I may have only a scratched the surface but when my ability first manifested I experimented with it by removing my mom's parental controls, unlocking channels in our cable package, so that we got free on demand movies and bypassing web filters. Recently, I have been working on developing my power so that I can operate most electronics without physical manipulation."

As Melody thanked her for defending her while simultaneously punching Ed for bullying her reputation in the first place, the teenager laughed. The British boy had murmured something that the technopath hadn't quite been able to catch before moving on to suggest that they make a concentrated effort to avoid pairing with one another in class. Smirking, Keaira replied "Oh, yes I am sure that Melody would get a great laugh at our expense. Up until we crashed into her with our consolidated clumsiness."

Smiling softly at Melody as she indicated that Keke understood herplught, the brunette nodded adding " Of course, I do. You had to work with what you had. You can't expect a student to excel under incompetent tutelage."

While she'd been ravenous mere minutes ago, after picking over the nuggets and fries on her plate, Keaira realized that she wasn't nearly as hungry as she thought. Perhaps, it had to do with her current options, Keke mused as Melody asserted that there had to be real food ripe for the ordering somewhere out there. A sentiment soon echoed by Ed whom went as far as to volunteer to locate said eatery. Leaning over, Keke unzipped the front pocket of her duffle bag and dug out a gold credit card. Flashing it so that the others could see, the brunette added " Well, if you guys have the method, I've got the means."

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Notes: 
credit to Laura of Adox

[Melody Newton]

[attr="class","nikki98"]

[attr="class","nikki99"]

I NEED TO COME DOWN

[attr="class","nikki100"]

[attr="class","nikki101"]SEEMS LIKE THE WHOLE DAMN WORLD WENT AND LOST ITS MIND

[attr="class","nikki102"]AND ALL MY CHILDHOOD HEROES HAVE FALLEN OFF OR DIED

[attr="class","nikki109"]I was becoming more obvious to Melody that Ed had a crush on Keke. She wondered if Keke had noticed as well, or if she was oblivious thanks to being the target of it. Or maybe she was making it up, it wasn't as if she was any great expert on romance, with her total of zero real experience in it. She'd dated a few guys in school, and made out with a couple, but nothing more. She didn't pretend to know any more than that. She would also be mercilessly teasing him about it the moment Keke was out of sight.

She was glad to hear that their ordering in plan was coming together, especially considering that the school had probably been built out here to make precisely that difficult, among other reasons. There must be no pizza or Chinese place for twenty miles. Maybe there wasn't even a town for that long. It could be miles beyond that. Although at that point it became inconvenient for the school as much as the students.

Her eyes widened in surprise at the flash of the credit card from Keke. At least they'd be able to foot the bill of ordering in. Hell, they could probably just offer them an extra fifty bucks and have them come all the way here instead of having Ed fly out. "You've got a gold credit card? Jeez my Dad even took my debit off me when I got sent out here. I feel like he did everything to ground me short of locking me in my own bedroom, and I'm not totally convinced they can't lock us in our rooms if they really want to."

She sighed, "I totally wish I'd known all of this before I'd finished eating. Cause I don't think I'd be able to eat a full pizza now. Although we could totally just finish it for breakfast…"

[attr="class","nikki103"]317

[attr="class","nikki103"]Ed Reynolds

[attr="class","nikki103"]Keaira Matthews

NOTES

This could actually happen...

PHARAOH LEAP.

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