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Topic: Timid {Nichol} (Read 121 times) |
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Maddie Wright
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A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
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Timid {Nichol}
« Thread started on: Jun 24th, 2008, 02:13am » |
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Never in her life had Maddie been more quiet than now. Hell, she was louder when she slept than at the present moment. If it werent for the bustling of students around her, one might have heard a pin drop.
Maddie was anxious. After her break up with Kris, the small girl hardly wanted anything to do with life. Her grades had started failing, she never left the house or did anything she loved any more. Her parents solution was to send her here, and here she was, standing just inside the front gate, with several overflowing bags at her feet.
This was her new school, so far away from home, from her friends. And though she was supposed to be heading to the Main office now to check in for her first day, Maddie could only bring herself to tap her foot on the ground, pink Converse covered with a light dusting of grime as she did so.
Fingers fidgeted with the edge of of her skirt, hand sown by the girl herself, made out of a variation of colorful ties. If someone were to look close enough, they might have seen the bright green fingernails, bitten to stubs. The color on her nail matched that which adorned her eyelids, hiding the blue orbs that constantly shifted from person to person.
Searching for a kind soul that might help her around this place. It was out of place for Maddie to be shy, but here, she felt so terribly out of place.
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Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies,
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers,
That grow so incredibly high.
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Nichol Fyfe
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Re: Timid {Nichol}
« Reply #1 on: Jun 24th, 2008, 02:45am » |
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The air in the academy suffocated Nicholas sometimes. Everyone had people to walk with, hold hands with, and breathe each other’s air. Had this been a school made to wind people together within their differences, a true place of acceptance? There was no possible way because Nicholas witnessed a fight, but then again he did not know the result of the two that argued. All he knew was his mind was starting to become cluttered. He had to retreat from the school’s ground for a few hours, to clear his head. Since he was still new here, he didn’t know if there was another way out of the grounds - he took to the familiar entrance/exit: the front gates.
An obstacle stood in his way. There was a group blocking the complete entrance, causing Nicholas’ strides to stop short. A group like this in his old school, indicated a gang, ready to pick at their next victim. This group was different, they stood in their crowd innocently, as though oblivious to the obstruction they caused. Nicholas didn’t bowl through them, but he took his steps to move around the seemingly harmless group. When he did, one of the boys in the group stepped into their circle, out of Nicholas’ way. At least one person in the crowd was aware of the way they plugged traffic.
With his attention intently focused on the bodies, he hardly noticed the girl standing awkwardly alone.
Turning his head toward the angle of the gates, rather than the moving boy, he came to a halt suddenly. There was a foot between the newcomer and Nicholas. She was shorter than he was, causing his chin to curve down to get a better look at the bright figure. Boy, wasn’t he lucky! This was the second female he had come to find himself wanting to talk to.
He had intended to shield his eyes from the bright canvas in front of him, but his pupils protested for him. The brown of his irises only existed. Before he could catch his breath, the fingers of his left hand grasped the support of his book bag, surprised that the harness was digging into his shoulder. “Wow,” he whisked out, clenching his teeth at the slip up.
“I - well, excuse me,” Nicholas’ response was quieter this time, filled with suppressed sorrow. If he had looked further down, his eyes would have met the bags; he would have offered his help. Right now he couldn’t tear his eyes away from the hair, and ... the eyes.
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| « Last Edit: Jun 24th, 2008, 02:52am by Nichol Fyfe » |
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Maddie Wright
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A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
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Posts: 9
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Re: Timid {Nichol}
« Reply #2 on: Jun 24th, 2008, 03:07am » |
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The group of students had caught her attention for a brief moment, and in that moment Maddie thought that she might approach one of them, and asking for help. Yet she could not bring herself to lift one foot and put it in front of the other to move. So instead, she remained frozen in place, eyes still wandering timidly over the students.
Her head shifted downward, looking to the rainbow of bulging bags that cluttered around her feet. She had known all the same people all her life, and though the girl was good at making friends, she found herself feeling utterly alone.
When the head shifted again, this time to look back at one student with some semblance of courage, she found herself instead staring at a wall. No, not a wall, a boys chest, alarmingly close all of a sudden. "Oh!" Where had he come from?
With her head craned back so that she could get a clear look at his face (and it was an awkward position considering her short stature) a small smile began to form on her face.
"I'm sorry." Unwillingly, her voice had climbed several notches from its usual volume, the effect being a quite high-pitched and squeaky tone. A bright flush began to fill her cheeks, and clearing her throat, she continued, in a voice that was more her own.
"I-- I'm terribly sorry to bother you, but could you maybe help me find my way? I just arrived here from California, new and all..." Even for someone who didn't know Maddie, the rushed words that trailed off were a sure sign of her feeling out of place, embarrassed even. She gestured to the bags at her feet feebly, as if to show proof of her recent arrival.
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Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies,
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers,
That grow so incredibly high.
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Nichol Fyfe
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Posts: 20
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Re: Timid {Nichol}
« Reply #3 on: Jun 24th, 2008, 03:41am » |
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Perhaps running into the girl was like experiencing his first kiss all over again. For once, it wasn’t Nicholas who was the blushing, nervous one. Right in front of him was a defenseless female, requesting for help. His jaw almost dropped, but because he was still recovering from shock, his lips stayed pursed together. But there was something else stirring in him, and that was the desire to move his hand out and slowly caress the girl’s hair. The wanted touch had not warranted any physical attraction, but because he wanted to calm the girl’s mild embarrassment. Touching her now would certainly cause more, maybe even fear. Nicholas didn’t want that.
Maddie’s gesturing hand caught his attention and his eyes fell pointedly to the bags. Out of no where, as though a truck had just ran into the two, he gave a dumbfounded expression. He thought everyone in the academy was about the rule, ‘Hands in, hands out’. No one had helped the girl. How long had she been standing here, alone and lost?
“You’re not bothering me,” said Nicholas, motioning his figure to stand next to her. The hand holding the strap of his bag dropped, and he immediately bent down to pick up the girl’s bags. Of course, he couldn’t get all of them, but he had at least helped himself to the heaviest of the pile. They really weren’t that heavy at all, he was expecting the bags to strain him. Then again, she did drag them this far by herself, didn’t she?
Nicholas chuckled nervously at himself. “I am sorry. I guess I got a little excited to help - I am new, too, though not as new as you. But I at least can help you get to your destination,” speaking like this was a mouthful, and for a second he wondered if there was someone in his brain controlling him. He usually wasn’t this forthcoming about anything. But she was cute and he couldn’t say no to that shy gloss of the girl’s face.
He could stand here and wait for her to speak; in fact, he encouraged to hear her voice. “My name is Nicholas Fyfe,” he introduced, eyes slanted to her in curiosity, drinking all of her colors in. Really, he was harmless with females. Like a dog, so to speak. She had the leash to Nicholas now, and he stood still, cradling the bags in his hands. If she had looked, maybe she could see the slight embarrassment Nicholas was experiencing, too.
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Maddie Wright
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A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
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Posts: 9
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Re: Timid {Nichol}
« Reply #4 on: Jun 24th, 2008, 04:01am » |
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The girl didn't realize she had been holding her breath since the last words had been spared from her lips, but as she exhaled now, at his words, she felt nothing but relief, the underlying awkwardness that had been present before dissapearing . I have only been standing here for 15 minutes now... The heat in her cheeks was felt easily too, as Nichol bent down to retrieve a few of her bags. She followed suit, her feet shuffling back a bit for the first time since her apparently unannounced arrival.
As her small hands wrapped around the remainder of the luggage, she chance a glance back to the boy, face crinkling into a warm and appreciative smile as she listened to his words. "Oh, my knight in shining armor!" Her tone was joking, but her words meant to be kind. "I thought I would never figure out where I was going. I would have been the new school mascot, standing there like a statue for the rest of forever."
Standing upright, the brightly covered head canted to the side, as if its owner were studying the boy before her. Whatever it may have been, Maddie seemed pleased, and with a little reshuffling of her bags, was able to offer her hand. "Pleased to meetcha Nicholas! I'm Maddie Wright... and I can't seem to find my way to the office."
The lifting of her shoulders was a shy shrug. The electric blue optics roamed over the group of students once again, but they could not keep her attention long before they returned to her savior. "I think it might turn out to be a good day after all."
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Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies,
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers,
That grow so incredibly high.
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Nichol Fyfe
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Posts: 20
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Re: Timid {Nichol}
« Reply #5 on: Jun 24th, 2008, 8:34pm » |
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Maybe years ago he would puff out his chest and take great pride in helping a maiden in distress. But now, even being called a Knight, he couldn’t fathom his own generosity. Nicholas wasn’t dense about the joke. Instead of frowning at himself, he lifted his own shoulders the best he could before slumping them back down - an attempted shrug, one that said he didn’t really agree. “I’m surprised,” Nicholas admitted, eyes stealing a glance to the group ahead of them, “When I got here, there was at least one person to tell me where I am going. I suppose females don’t get that much credit these days.”
Even if his words indicated sexism, he made his views clear: he had respected females greatly so, and prided that he was here to help one out. Especially when no one else would. Nicholas refused to elaborate on statues and mascots, because her standing there for an eternity, watching everyone else while she remained helpless, made him slightly depressed.
Maddie moved on for the both them, offering her hand out in introduction. He paused, hesitant to make friendly in front of watching eyes (they probably weren’t, though). Politely, Nicholas removed the girl’s bag from his hand, setting it upon the ground. Using his now empty hand, he touched his fingers around the girl’s palm. For a platonic gesture, this felt different from holding a girl’s waist to help her climb the gates. Feeling guilty of that, after he gave the girl’s hand a firm shake; he returned his hand to the bag and lifted it from the ground again.
“I’ll get you to the office,” assured Nicholas, holding the bags steady as he started to move forward to what felt like his death sentence. But Maddie’s voice was dragging him down, holding him to not move forward. She possibly couldn’t have suggested that Nicholas’ presence was going to make anyone’s day good? Ah, but they were strangers. Of course she would expect better out of a kind stranger.
He had to change the subject.
“You’re from California, right? Is the weather different from the two?” Nicholas didn’t know, this was the first time he ever left Savannah and he could already feel the change, New York was ten times cooler than Georgia.
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Maddie Wright
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A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
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Re: Timid {Nichol}
« Reply #6 on: Jun 25th, 2008, 03:38am » |
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His words didn't truly do more than leave the smallest of indentions in the bright girl's happy complexion. Instead of frowning at them, as another might have, Maddie jerked her head to the side, the purpose in being to sweep the long pink bangs from her face. "How did I get so lucky, being born female and all then?" It might have seemed for a second that her left lid closed, in a slight wink, but there was no certainty of the gesture. Maybe it was simply a trick of the eyes.
When their hands touched, the rosy hue returned to her cheeks. Uncertain of why, the girl allowed her hand to drop as quickly as his, eyes shying away. The baggage was properly recollected in her arms before she took a step forward, eyes trained on the ground beneath her.
Nicholas' question did the trick in distracting her from what could soon be wandering thoughts. She liked questions. "Oh yes. Its cooler, not by too much yet I suppose. The air smells too... clean. Not salty enough." The girl's nose wrinkled, showing the distaste for fresher air. "I miss being away from the ocean already."
Again the head would tilt to the side, cerulean optics watching the boy's face for a moment, ablaze with curiosity. "Are you from around here?" Maddie's attention didn't again stray to the small group of students, or anything else around her as she was easily absorbed in the conversation. She acted as if Nicholas was the single most interesting person the girl had run across in her lifetime.
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Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies,
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers,
That grow so incredibly high.
|
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Nichol Fyfe
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Gender:
Posts: 20
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Re: Timid {Nichol}
« Reply #7 on: Jun 26th, 2008, 6:29pm » |
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Nicholas didn’t know if he should be flattered that Maddie was giving him all this attention. The split-personality feeling started to draw up again, one wanting to shove the bags off to someone and go back to his solitude - the other wanted to stay unhealthily close to the girl. When he got to the crowd of people ahead, he did not give the bags up. Instead, he mumbled a slight “excuse me” and smiled when the circle started to break up, making a line for the two to walk in. That had gone better than he expected, but what were they discussing to make them glare at Nicholas when he went through? Or maybe he had mistaken that glare because Maddie’s eyes were so intent on him.
Because he could not ignore Maddie for long, Nicholas turned his head to glance in the girl’s direction. She was easy to find with her bright pink hair. He didn’t have a knack for the color, but when his eyes always went lower - to the haze of blue - he found himself comforted. To Nicholas, Maddie had those naturally kind eyes, a look that was starting to go extinct. People were far too selfish these days, and the irritation would show, even if they were smiling.
Maybe he had made a mistake: it wasn’t her gender that they shied from, but her face. No one wanted to aid a person who stood out, a type of learned helplessness. People always figured that if there were other people around, someone else would help, it would repeat until there was no one left. Then that person alone would begrudgingly have to help. There was some pride in doing what he did, despite his ignorance.
“No,” Nicholas answered the question, “I’m from Georgia. It was dreadfully hot down there, I believe I like the weather here better, but the atmosphere is a bit foreboding at first, don’t you agree?”
The gates were small in the distance, leading the girl into the building.
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Maddie Wright
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A girl with kaleidoscope eyes.
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Re: Timid {Nichol}
« Reply #8 on: Jul 2nd, 2008, 01:27am » |
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So preoccupied with watching Nicholas, Maddie hardly noticed passing through the throng of students that had crowded around... until she felt their eyes burning holes in the back of her brightly colored head. Her body waited until that moment to send a rough shudder down her spine. Of course the girl was used to the spotlight, but this feeling was different, not at all pleasant.
The hands that held her bags gripped onto the straps tighter, the white of her knuckles proof enough for anyone else to see the action. Maddie, on the other hand, would turn her attention to the ground on which she was walking. The smile had vanished from her face.
Sent here to be more accepted, and the girl already felt like some sort of outsider. Could be first day jitters. The reasoning sounded better in her head than if felt. Only when Nicholas spoke would she look up again, resisting the urge to take a peek back at the group. "Oh, I agree."
A twitch of her lips would bring the smile back little by little, her gaze switching from the view of her dusty sneakers back to the tall, dark haired boy. My though, isn't he handsome. A slight red tint colored her cheeks at the thought, but she shoved it violently to the edge of her mind. They were already approaching what must have been the office, at least, to her little knowledge of the school, thats what Maddie was guessing it to be. No more words came from her. The bright girl had pulled herself back into the shy shell that was so rarely used.
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Logged
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Follow her down to a bridge by a fountain
Where rocking horse people eat marshmallow pies,
Everyone smiles as you drift past the flowers,
That grow so incredibly high.
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