embarkation | first day {au teen verse for ahintofapple}

Myka dropped her backpack off her shoulder, sliding into the safety of her desk. The bell wasn't due to ring for another few minutes, and she was the first in the classroom which wasn't an oddity by any means.

So far, the first day of her junior year was passing the same as the rest of her high school career had. Uneventful, uninteresting, unnoticed. The only high point of her day had been wolfing down lunch so she could slip into the library and check out her first three books of the year.

Her brand new backpack bulging with her new book acquisitions - both of the academic and fictional variety - and wrestled out her English notebook. The warning bell rang, tinny in the small almost empty room and that was when the other students started to pour in. The jocks, tossing a football over the length of the room and nearly knocking over a globe perched on a shelf. The cheerleaders came in next, flirting with the jocks and making faces at the band geeks and weird theatre kids that wandered in soon after.

Myka's eyes scanned the door, waiting for the appearance of Kurt Smoller - the dreamboat captain of the football team. She already received his name in the tutor pool for math and she knew they had English together. Spotting him coming through the door, she tried to smooth her unruly curls in case his gaze crossed hers. His eyes seemed to move in her direction and her breath caught in her through - until he turned to the brunette who came into the door behind him.

The girl must have been new and she was gorgeous. Dark hair that wasn't unlike Myka's, except for how silky it was, falling in glorious waves over her shoulders. Kurt said something to her and laughed in that hearty, jock kind of way he did that usually made Myka's heart do strange things in her chest, but she was so completely distracted by the new girl that she didn't even notice.

The final bell rang through the classroom and Myka's jumped, dropping her eyes down to her notebook on her desk.

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Myka. [She smiles, quickly scribbling the address into her notebook. It was exciting not only that the clearly popular new student was talking to her, but she was acting like she actually wanted to be friends.

Plus, she didn't ask if she had any brothers which meant Myka didn't have to go into that embarrassing story. Having a dad who wanted a son and not what he ended up with wasn't the greatest ice breaker. Tracy was pretty and popular so at least she had that going for her, but Myka was a shy bookworm and had a hard enough time making friends as it is.]

I'm usually there after school, helping my dad stock the books and stuff. So I can show you around.

That is the best thing that I've heard all day. [ And the lightness that appears in her eyes, stemming from a more genuine smile than the friendly face that she's been all day shows it - and it's certainly a more pleasant prospect than watching the football team practice (sport was never something that had interested her)

And, even though they'd already been quietly speaking, Helena drops her voice a little more for her next words - it doesn't quite have the same effect without it being whispered ]

I'll try not to pull out too many books. [ It was a definite dangerous habit, and packing her books for travel had certainly been difficult. She may have read a lot but she owned far more than she read, and if she could she'd no doubt own far more than she could ever read ]

[Myka's doing her best not to smile any wider than she already is, because she utterly thrilled by how well they've seemed to have hit it off. Even though they aren't talking about the poem - which Myka isn't worried about anyway, considering they both are obviously familiar with Shakespeare - she's made a new friend that's rare enough as it is, especially on the first day of school.]

Don't worry about it. I know where everything goes. I, uh, I have a photographic memory basically so my dad always has me to the restocking because I don't have to look anything up.

[She grins, a little pleased with herself for getting to brag about her hidden talent. Most of the kids she went to school with didn't even know that about her, and even if they did they probably wouldn't care. Photographic memory or not, they all still tried to pay her to do their homework.]

So why did your parents move all the way out to Colorado anyway?

My mother was transferred out here. [ Something that Helena was far less interested in than the new piece of information that Myka had given her, but she would finish up the story first ] My brother's still complaining about it. Apparently it 'ruined his opportunity'. [ Not that Helena believed in that one bit ]

Can you remember every book that is in the shop? [ Helena liked to think that she had a good memory but an actual photographic memory? It would be fantastic, and she might try to test it a little - just a first, and just from sheer amazement ]

Nearly, yeah. It's not like in the movies where you can remember every thing ever but... I remember most things. Especially if it's something I looked at recently.

[Most of the time, Myka didn't like telling anyone about her photographic memory. It left too much room for teasing or - worse - more people begging her to do their homework for them. Tracy made comments sometimes, like Myka was faking it for attention but Myka knew it was legitimate.

The comment about her brother interested her, though, and Myka tilted her head.]

What opportunity?

That sounds as if it would be rather useful.

[ It could help a lot for exams, or if you didn't have anything to hand to write something down with. Or for an actress. It left Myka all of the opportunities.

But as for her brother's? ]

One that he made up. [ Helena certainly doesn't believe that it was real, anyway, and she hasn't seen or heard anything that would tell her otherwise ] He claims that he's going to become a writer. [ It's taking her everything not to roll her eyes at that ]

It is to Kurt Smoller. [She pouted. Myka had had a crush on him for ages and it annoyed her that he didn't seem to realize she existed outside of her academic knowledge.] I tutor him.

[She's a little surprised at how unimpressed Helena looked. Myka thought being a writer would be cool, but she didn't have enough imagination for it.] You don't think he's any good?

I was thinking more for you, than him.

[ Because for all the crush that Myka had on him Helena's interest was zero. Zip ]

He can write. [ Helena has to concede that, at least. It isn't that he lacks talent but that he doesn't have as much as he would believe ] But he lacks- [ There's a pause, trying to find the perfect description ] -enough imagination.

It's just... Who I am. I don't really think about it, honestly.

[Myka, in turn, was much more interest in this brother of Helena's now. Knowing a writer - well, knowing the sister of an inspiring writer - was pretty exciting.]

So he's got the mechanics down but he can't come up with a good story?

first day {au teen verse for ahintofapple}

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