Brandon "Bysshe" Shelley-Godwin ☇ The Scientist (darkendeavor) wrote in monsterheartic, @ 2017-03-28 21:46:00 |
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Entry tags: | npc: izzy mcdaniel |
wreaking anatomical havoc
Who: Bysshe & Izzy.
What: Izzy interrupts Bysshe while he's attempting to gather some research subjects.
Where: The Wells High School biology classroom.
When: Shortly after school.
Warnings: Some attempted theft.
Status: Gdoc, completed.
Brandon knew he needed to be quick; final bell had rung, and the few studious stragglers lingering behind in halls and classrooms might se`e him, but this was faster and easier than attempting to continuously break into the school after hours. Besides, if this didn't work, he could always corral Jackie later when he needed a doorway opened. That said, he glanced in both directions up and down the hall, waiting for it to clear before he hefted his backpack over one shoulder and ducked into the biology lab.
The room was dark, though motion sensor lights were startled alive by his presence. Brandon quickly tapped the button to recall the darkness, not wanting to alert any stray passersby to his presence. He moved to the back of the room, heading for a closet where he knew faculty kept specimens for various class dissections. Sheep's hearts, frogs, some rats; he weaved through desks, touching nothing that would leave a sign that he'd been there. He was dressed in dark, military green, which could've looked to an outsider like black; with his long hair and generally unwelcoming expression, anyone who peeked into the classroom would've immediately thought he was up to no good.
Thankfully, though, the distance between the front entrance of the classroom and the closet was relatively short, and the closet door yet unlocked. As he pulled it wide, the chemical smell of formaldehyde struck him, but it was not an unusual or even bad smell to his mind. Working with blunt, sure movements, he put his backpack down and started to sort through various containers for what he wanted. With his back to the door, it was easy to miss any new movement, any sign that a second intruder was making their way into the fray.
Izzy had been in such a hurry to leave, she forgot her notebook. The one with all the notes she’d need to finish her homework. Her grandmother saw her last report card and put her foot down on the grades. Izzy also entertained the idea of auditioning for the cheerleading squad the next year. She needed passable grades to participate, if she ever wanted that to happen. Appeasing her grandmother alone wasn’t enough to bring Izzy back to the school almost as quickly as she had left.
She retraced her steps and realized she would have left it in the science lab. Izzy started in the direction, and then came to a halt when she heard movement from within the room. Maybe the teacher was still in there? No, she just passed the teacher who was talking to another teacher. Stepping closer, she nudged the door open and peered in to see someone there. Only one person, and she immediately noticed the backpack and the fact that the boy was looking through the containers.
Izzy took steps forward, watching the boy from behind to see what he would do and then finally decided after a few moments to let him know he wasn’t alone.
“What are you doing?”
Brandon paused, feeling foolish for getting caught. Another reason why he should have brought Jackie -- a lookout. He turned, glancing sidelong at the girl who'd interrupted him. His mind whirled through a million excuses, each more ridiculous than the last. He finally settled for something that, if she chose to double check her facts, would leave him in very hot water.
"Mr. Stephenson asked me to check the labeling after school. There's a frog dissection lab coming up in a few weeks, and he wanted an inventory to make sure we had enough." He turned the rest of the way around, eyeing the girl in return as though she were the one breaking the rules. "Why are you here? It's after hours, students aren't supposed to be in the classrooms without permission."
Izzy was naturally suspicious. It came with the job of being the Chosen One, which sucked because this guy wasn’t bad looking. And here she had to play innocent and junior detective at the same time. The excuse about Mr. Stephenson sounded plausible, but why let a student do it alone? Wasn’t that his job as a teacher? She didn’t let that question show on her face though and instead gave her own reasons for being there.
“I forgot my notebook,” she said casually, “Can’t do my homework with my notes.” She didn’t see it anywhere, so it might’ve been dropped on the floor or Mr. Stephenson took it into his possession, which meant she’d have to track him down or wait for him to find his way back there. She glanced at the cabinet, “We’re gonna dissect frogs, huh? Spoilers.” She only paid attention so much in her classes. Enough to do mediocre on her tests at the best of times.
Brandon eyed her for a long moment, believing she'd taken his excuse at face value. He nodded slowly.
"That's what he said." He let silence lapse between them for a moment, until he gestured vaguely to the desks. "Did you purposefully hide your notebook? Where do you sit? I can't do this and monitor you at the same time." He didn't say it, but it was obviously implied that he thought she might steal something. A hypocritical implication at best, but it went along with the story he'd made up. It was not difficult to continue the long, unwelcoming stare he hoped would have her walking back out the classroom door in short order.
“Uh, why would I hide it?” Izzy asked with a “durr” look on her face and yeet the judgment of her additional question ‘why would you even say that?’ there too. Izzy and schoolwork hardly got along before, and nowadays it took a lot of effort to get done. She didn’t exactly have tons of time and there wasn’t a scholarship program for people like her. She wandered away a bit, “Somewhere over here.” Her eyes searched the black surfaces of the lab and her fingers trailed over the tops.
“I didn’t know Mr. Stephenson had someone to do that for him though. Are you paid or anything for it?” she asked as a means of making conversation while she now “looked” for her notebook. She was actually searching for it, but it was on the side of something else. Izzy didn’t immediately think this guy responsible for doing anything supernaturally mischievous, but she could be a good person and figure out what he was doing there.
"No," he replied shortly. He followed her, trailing away from the open closet, subtly glancing toward the classroom door. Brandon had wanted to be in and out, quickly, because the more time he spent there, the sooner he was going to get caught. There weren't all that many places where her notebook could be; the lab tables were empty, wiped clean from the last class of the day; books and binders lined one wall opposite the classroom's large windows that faced the quad. Brandon's brows drew together over his forehead, clearly growing annoyed with the girl. "Mr. Stephenson probably has your notebook. He's left for the day, but you could get it tomorrow." He needed her out, and he needed her out now.
Izzy was getting the impression the boy wanted her to go. He was practically following her (no, he was pretty much following her) on her search for her notebook. She glanced at him and saw his growing impatience. Izzy knew she knew how to push buttons. Ezra had attacked her in broad daylight because she’d pushed them pretty hard. If this kid was some sort of demon-possessed person…
“Saw him on the way in,” Izzy informed, “He’ll be back because he wasn’t wearing his jacket or anything. Besides, he’s the one with the keys to lock up, right? If I can’t find it now, I can always just wait for him to get back.” She put on an innocent smile and then ducked down as if to search for a cubby.
Izzy was back up, “Which may be the case. Maybe Des grabbed it for me.” She pulled her phone from her back pocket and pressed the Home button to see if she had any alerts. Nope, nothing.
“You ever dissect a frog before?” she tangented.
Brandon stopped dead in the middle of the classroom, his expression going slack for a moment. He had no true idea as to the location of the biology lab teacher; if Mr. Stephenson were on his way back, all his carefully constructed lies would fall apart with the slight movement of a classroom door. He clenched his jaw.
"I have," he replied, not understanding why she was headed away from the topic at hand. "Are you lingering for some reason other than your notebook? Because I have other things to do, and I need to get this sorting done before he returns." He had a good bit of height over her, but having to manhandle a teenage girl into the hallway was the last thing he wanted to do; it worked in direct opposition of his desire to not draw attention.
Height didn’t intimidate Izzy. Not much, at least, and she seemed completely unbothered by his following her. However, she had to react naturally to the implication of his question, “What else would bring me here?” Her head cocked to the side and she pressed her hands flat onto the countertop, “I’m not stopping you from doing what you need to do. I’m just looking for my notebook” She then moved around the counter, walking toward him.
“Can you only organize when you’re on your own?” she asked, rapping her fingers over the counter, “Or do I make you nervous?” Her eyes squinted at him, now looking him over carefully. If this resulted in a fight, she could take him. Easy. Unless he was like Cooper or Ezra. More so Ezra than Cooper.
Brandon clenched his jaw; he didn't understand why this girl was making things so difficult. His mind filtered back through his options, and he decided it was better to retreat for now and attempt to get the frogs another day. He was already going to be in hot water if she so much as made mention of his presence in the classroom to Stephenson.
"There're volatile chemicals in the closet," he replied, his voice brushing close to anger. "I need to concentrate without distraction, which you're amply providing. But I'll come back later and finish up what I need to do." He turned away from her and grabbed his backpack, closing the closet door full of specimens. Glancing to the side, he found a red, spiraled notebook underneath a desk; he crouched, collecting it.
"This what you're looking for?"
He was clearing out, and it only seemed to confirm to Izzy that this boy wasn’t doing what he said he was. Or maybe she was just extra paranoid. She hated this. Having to question everyone’s motives, but there was a hotbed of supernatural activity in the area, and she had to be vigilant. Ms. Price would’ve been proud of her in that moment, and Ms. Price would’ve known what was going on around more than Izzy ever would.
The boy lifted the red spiral notebook from the floor, “Well, shit, there it is!” She hadn’t noticed it but she wasn’t really looking for it anymore when the subtle interrogation started. Sure, a little to be convincing enough, but she probably would’ve spotted it sooner. She walked over and then smiled, “Thanks a bunch. You’re a lifesaver. Without these? I’d fail.” And that was true, though her notes weren’t exactly all that well done. There were numerous doodles of questionable quality in the margins. Stephenson wasn’t known to be the most fascinating teacher.
"Mhm," was all Bysshe replied as he started herding the girl toward the door. Next time, he was bringing Jackie as lookout; at the very least, he could have kept the girl busy at the door, leaving Bysshe to collect his required specimens. He still had some from the last time he'd visited the biology lab after school, but they would only keep for so long. And frogs were nowhere near the level he needed, but alas. Entrepreneurial scientists had to make due.