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Tweak says, "I'm five-by-five."

Hugo Hatherley (hugohatherley) wrote in islingtonschool,
@ 2017-09-04 10:15:00

Entry tags:

hugo hatherley, kelly carlene buchanan

Who: Hugo Hatherley and KC Buchanan
What: The Grand Tour, whatever that means ;)
When: Sunday afternoon, between lunch and dinner?
Where: Islington School

Hugo liked an orderly life. He'd come back to school, carried his brand new sister's bags as far as her floor - further, he was not allowed to go - and left her with a few parting tips for an easy life, or as easy as life could get given their circumstances. He'd headed for his own room then, unpacked everything, made the room shipshape... and then he'd logged into the network.

Mr. Brooks' message was much as it had been the year before, and the year before that, actual new and updates mixed with his particular sense of humor. He grinned, but read it quickly and scrolled past. The first day was generally a bit sparse in terms of entries, but it tended to be the newest people who posted on move-in day, searching desperately for someone with some common ground in this "brave new world".

KC's post caught his eye. Well, okay, the display icon caught his eye, but her words kept his attention. She seemed sort of funny, sort of self-deprecating. Not at all dour or dismal like some new people could be. He wanted to know more about her, and before he knew what he was doing, he had replied to her post, offering her a tour, despite the fact that every new student was offered a tour before their parents paid their tuition.

Imagine his surprise when she accepted.

Now he was waiting outside her boarding house for her to put in an appearance, a single tulip clutched in his hand, purloined from the cook's garden. Propriety demanded some sort of gift, after all.

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dreamgirlkc
2017-09-09 02:50 pm UTC (link)

KC smiled upon the prospect of seeing Hugo again. The way he ran his hand through his hair mesmerized her, and she never knew something so mundane could make her feel that way. She wondered what it would feel like running her fingers through her hair like that. But before she got swept away by her daydream he asked about having lunch and though she barely understood what he meant she nodded with a smile. "I'd fancy that, yeah!" She answered.

"So, uh..." Now KC felt awkward. How does someone proceed to a normal conversation after an awkward kiss and an invitation to lunch? She had been locked out from the world her whole life and now she realized social interactions didn't come easy. "Aside from reading in this place, is there anything else you like to do? Sports? Hobbies?" She asked. She never thought of herself as someone who'd kiss a stranger and it still bugged her a bit so she wanted to get to know him better.

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hugohatherley
2017-09-11 09:50 pm UTC (link)

"Well, I swim," Hugo said, feeling his chest puff up a little when she agreed to have lunch with him. "I'm rather good at swimming, but I suspect that has a lot to do with my Gift - I'm Gifted in Water," he admitted. "In a way, I suppose it's cheating. But then people do use their Gifts all the time to make careers for themselves."

He gestured out of the little hidey hole, and toward the playing fields. "I'll show you the rest of the grounds," he said, beginning to walk. "And on the way, I can tell you how woefully inadequate I am at most sports involving hand-eye coordination and anything resembling ball skills." He laughed.

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dreamgirlkc
2017-09-16 05:44 pm UTC (link)

"Wow, well that's interesting..." KC commented when Hugo revealed he was a swimmer. She listened as he explained his gift and his views on enjoying swimming despite his gift. "I agree. My mom's Gifted too and she told me it helped a lot with her business." She said. She wasn't sure what having Spirit Gifts meant for anyone, she could barely understand how or why some people are born with Gifts in the first place. All she knows is that she wasn't born with any, and that she was all the ore lucky for it—at least according to her family. "I'm a Mundane so it'll be interesting to see people use their Gifts here."

KC walked along with Hugo, excited to see the rest of the school. She laughed too when he explained that he's bad at sports involving balls and hand-eye coordination. She was finding him more and more adorable for his quirks and self-deprecating ways. "Oh no, it's okay, you're most definitely not the only one. I can't play anything other than equestrian, and even then I have to be really careful. I can't even run, for the life of me!" She said, giggling a little with a tiny skip in her step until she realized she needed to conserve her energy because she still didn't know how big the playing field is and how much longer they were going to walk. She kept her game face on though, because she didn't want to worry Hugo.

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hugohatherley
2017-09-29 09:48 pm UTC (link)

Hugo wasn't sure where to take her next. His special little spot aside, most of the places at Islington would have been included in the official tour she was likely taken on when her parents decided to send her to the school.

"Is there anything else you want to see? Any questions about the school you'd like to ask?" he asked. "I wouldn't like to bore you with things you've already seen. I know the tour they give you when you visit is extensive." He could still remember his own, three years ago.

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dreamgirlkc
2017-10-05 06:10 pm UTC (link)

The truth was that KC's tour was shorter than the regular tours new students and their parents get. Her mother had been very concerned about the tour taking a toll on her health that she insisted they be driven by a buggy or that KC be pushed around in a wheelchair, which she vehemently refused. So the official tour was cut short and she was a given a map of the school instead (both a printed and a digital version) so she could find her way around school. She didn't want to tell Hugo, of course, because it'll warrant a lengthy conversation about the complexities of her health so she just nodded when he spoke about not wanting to bore her with a tour she actually only partially got.

"Oh, uhm... I have a question but this might sound a bit weird so do bear with me here..." KC said, biting her lower lip. One of her worries about going into boarding school is the loss of privacy. She would be sharing her cubie with a roommate so she wouldn't be able to sing much, or do other things she enjoys doing on her own. "Would you know... Would you know when the auditorium is most likely empty?" She asked. She hoped Hugo wouldn't ask. There's not much she could tell other than the fact that she wanted to sing privately somewhere, so she hoped he wouldn't ask. "I mean, I'm just curious is all..."

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hugohatherley
2017-10-12 08:59 pm UTC (link)

"When the auditorium is empty?" Hugo had to think about that one. "I'm honestly not sure. The very nature of boarding school is that there's always something going on, but as the majority of my extracurricular activities take place either in the pool or in a classroom - or in the boarding house," he listed, "I can't speak to the availability of the auditorium. The person to ask would be Miss Jennings, the choir coordinator."

He glanced over at KC and smiled. "Uh... would it be all right if I told you that you are very pretty?" he asked shyly.

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dreamgirlkc
2017-10-28 03:00 pm UTC (link)

"Miss Jennings. Right. I should pay her a visit then, yeah?" KC said, smiling wide. Maybe the choir would be a good starting place for extracurricular activities. It probably wouldn't tire her like theatre would. "I reckon I could audition for the choir. You know, just for fun..." The truth is that KC had been dying to sing. Sing as loud as she could. She had visions of herself standing in the middle of the stage with a microphone, singing her heart out. But as soon as the idea of hundreds of eyes preying on her small figure sunk in, she'd feel her heartbeat racing--which isn't always a good thing in her book.

KC whipped her head towards Hugo when he spoke again, her eyebrows raised upwards in shock, or panic, she really couldn't tell. It was the first time a boy has ever told her those things and the unexpected compliment made her blush profusely. "I... Well... I... I guess it's all right... I just..." She placed her palms on her cheeks and giggled awkwardly. KC could feel the heat emanating from her face and it worried her a bit. "I'm so sorry, I'm just not used to hearing that. But thank you. I think you're pretty too. I mean, not pretty, pretty, just..." She looked over at Hugo and smiled shyly, noticing the way his hair curled nicely, an air of bashful handsomeness hung about him. "Attractive." She finished, biting her lower lip. She felt the ghost of his lips on hers again, remembering how he kissed her just a while ago. She wondered if they'll ever kiss again, and the thought made her blush all the more so she decided to just stare at her feet awkwardly.

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