Nicolas Mendoza (iheardthat) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2010-02-11 21:58:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-07-03 |
it is no science or miracle
Who: Nicolas and Tobias
Where: The Mudhouse
When: Early afternoon.
Nicolas never had done well with crowds. He stayed out of the city whenever possible, because bustling streets gave him migraines, and he always ended up overhearing something criminal or disgusting that made him feel vaguely dirty for hours afterward. But the smaller crowds of Scarlet Oak weren't bad, even when the cafe was packed to near-capacity this afternoon.
It helped to have someone to talk to, someone to distract him. Focusing on his conversation with Tobias helped him ignore the way the guy at the table behind them was wondering how one would go about buying cocaine, or the way the elderly woman next to them was thinking disapprovingly that men shouldn't wear eye makeup, especially at Nicolas' age.
"So I told him," he said, gesturing emphatically with his fork, "that we have this thing called Google now, and it doesn't take a psychic to tell when a paper is plagiarized. And this wasn't even a really clever ripoff, either. It still had a 'citation needed' tag from where he copied from Wikipedia. I don't know how this kid remembers to breathe."
It was yet another example of an outraged cheater claiming that Nicolas had to be telepathic, because he couldn't possibly have such superhuman intuition any other way. And...well, of course the student was right, but even so, teachers weren't stupid. He'd wondered, for a while, having nothing else to compare his experience to, if it really did take telepathy to notice more subtle examples of academic dishonesty--but no, his other colleagues usually managed to pick up on it as well. At least, the intelligent ones did.
There had always been rumors that Nicolas could read minds. For years, they had been jokes. Now, they were accusations. Still, nobody actually knew. But if there was anyone Nicolas was likely to be able to trust, it was Tobias, wasn't it? The subject of psychic ability had never actually come up between them, but over the years, all those little flashes of overheard thoughts had added up. He knew Tobias wasn't a stranger to the idea, in any way. And it only followed that he could probably keep a secret about it, too.
It didn't seem fair for Nicolas to know that much about his friend without Tobias even being aware. Nick was accustomed to feeling like an unintentional voyeur, but if nothing else, at least it was useful for knowing when and how to avoid causing distress--he'd never made the mistake of mentioning Tobias' wedding ring, or anything of the sort. If he had to be stuck hearing everyone else's every thought, he might as well occasionally use it for good.