Just One of Those Days (open)

[Alexia Flynn]

Alexia Flynn walked down the path, hand-in-hand with her eight-year-old daughter, Kierra. It'd been a very long day at work, and Alex's wings were practically dragging on the ground behind her. She and Kierra were walking in the back part of the park, the part that 'normal' people never went to. There was a small playground there, and that was where Alex and her daughter were heading.

As soon as the playground came into sight, Kierra squealed in delight and broke away from her mother, running at full speed to get to the swingset, as though someone might steal her swing. That wouldn't happen, though, seeing as there was no one else there to steal it. Alex smiled wryly as Kierra planted herself on the seat and thrust off with a flap of her wings. Kierra squeaked in delight as the extra thrust from her wings pushed her up much higher than she ought to have gone on her first swing.

Alex sat on the park bench nearby. Kierra didn't like to be pushed on the swing unless she asked to be pushed, a lesson Alex had learned early on. So the headmistress slumped down on her seat, thankful for its support. It had been one of 'those' days, the ones where nothing ever seemed to work out right.

[K:anode]

Rolling over, K:anode looked a little surprised to see a blue sky over his head, along with some leaves and branches to decorate. Thinking, he remembered wandering the school grounds before sitting down by a tree with a book, in a (vain) attempt to remind himself of some formulas and such. The book lay on the grass, half open, clearly he dropped it when he dozed off.

Rubbing his eyes he got to his feet and gazed about lazily. There weren't any people around and the area was quiet but for the sound of birds and the gentle breeze. Picking up the book, he proceeded to wander some more. He had yet to see all the grounds of the Academy and the area off campus. Reaching into his trouser pocket, he pulled out the map he'd been given, which was already quiet crippled and a little frayed. Apparently he had wandered into Nixer Park and up ahead should be a playground.

Looking up, he did indeed see the said ground. It looked almost deserted, but for two figures, one smaller then the other. It didn't take him long to guess who, even from this distance. He doubted there were many children here. Reaching the grounds, he stood at the edge, giving a casual wave as way of greeting. His guess had been right, t'was Headmistress Flynn and her daughter Keirra.

[Alexia Flynn]

Motion from the edge of the playground caught Alex's attention. Looking over to see who it was, she spotted K:anode, the Chemistry and Physics professor she'd hired earlier. He had waved at her, and that was the motion that had caught her eye. Kierra, who had already taken a liking to the man, most likely because he'd given her candy that her mother had okayed her to take, launched herself off the swing and ran over to him, waving enthusiastically and squealing in delight.

"Hi, Mr. K:anode!" she said happily, coming to a stop a few feet from him. She turned back to look at her mother, who was now walking towards them, thumbs hooked in her jean pockets. Alex's school attire had been replaced by a simple red t-shirt and dark colored jeans, both of which were much more comfortable than the suit she wore for her job.

"Mommy, look, it's Mr. K:anode!" Kierra told her delightedly, as if this were a great discovery. Alex couldn't help but laugh.

"That it is, sweetie, that it is," she laughed, then turned to K:anode. "Mr. K:anode, pleasure seeing you again. I see you've been studying," she mused, pointing to the book he had in his hand. It clearly wasn't pleasure reading, although with this strange man Alex wouldn't put it past him to read textbooks for fun.

[K:anode]

"Heh.. Hey Keirra."K:anode couldn't help but half laugh seeing her running over and at her fine assessment of the person she'd found. "High five?"He offered, holding out a hand to her, though he wasn't sure if she was acquainted with the concept. He guessed she was though, by TV if nothing else.

As Alexia walked over he noticed her change in clothes. It made her look like a slightly different person. Before she looked like someone who was strict, but nice. Now she looked like someone who was nice, but strict. He himself hadn't bothered to change, his clothes were casual enough already.
"Huh? Oh.. Yeah, suppose so."He replied, momentarily forgetting her had the book at all. The idea of a teacher 'studying' amused him for a second, but it made sense. "Nothing too heavy or interesting though.."He added, holding it up so she could see the title. 'Interactions of Acids'. He shrugged. He'd have to find some more interesting books later.

[Alexia Flynn]

Kierra happily gave K:anode the high five he asked for, grinning at him as she did so. Though her mother had not exposed her to many men, she was around a lot of teenagers, who did the 'high-five thing' a lot. Alex smiled at her daughter's silly antics. Few things made the headmistress happier than her daughter did.

She laughed at K:anode's distracted reply to her observation. She knew that a teacher studying their subject was rather strange, but for someone who didn't learn their subject in a 'structured' way, it was probably best that he did.

"Ah, the Interations of Acids," she read, "That sounds immensely facinating." She laughed softly as Kierra wrinkled her nose at the thought of reading a book all about acids.

"That sounds boring," she said matter-of-factly. One thing was for sure- the little girl had no problem sharing her opinion. "Why would you want to read about acids, Mr. K:anode?"

[K:anode]

Before K:anode could reply to Alexia's clearly sarcastic comment, Keirra cut in. He frowned for but a second, then smirked.
"Well, it's either because I'm immensely boring or very strange."He replied, then looked thoughtful. "I think it might be a bit of both." He tried to think of an example of something that would interest someone her age, only one thing coming to mind. "It doesn't have acids, but I could show you some.. "magic" with colours sometime."He said, adding an undertone of mystery to his voice. Of course, it was the simple experiment of Chromatography he was referring to. A simple experiment in which colours were separated. Nothing in it that could hurt her in any way.
He'd almost forgotten how blunt children were. If they didn't like something, they had no issues with saying so. Then, if they liked something they had no issues with pointing that out either.

[Alexia Flynn]

Kierra studied the man before her for a while, then shook her head. "It must be just 'cuz you're strange," she said finally, "because your hair is too brightly colored for you to be immensely boring." Alex's eyes widened in horror.

"Kierra!" she exclaimed, face going red in embarrassment. Kierra just shrugged.

"It's true, Mommy. It's bright red; there's no way that could be boring!" Alex covered her eyes with her hand, but didn't say anything more. If she'd tried, she probably would've started babbling, and no one wanted to listen to that.

Kierra's eyes grew wide with wonder at K:anode's offer. "You know magic?" she squealed delightedly. She turned to her mother, hands clasped before her. "Oh, please, Mommy, can he?" she asked, trying to sound as polite as possible. Alex sighed.

"We'll see, dear. We don't want to impose ourselves on Mr. K:anode, do we?" she said as an answer, still embarrassed about what Kierra had said about the man's hair earlier.

[K:anode]

Again, K:anode simply grinned at Keirra's response. He wasn't sure if he appreciated that reply or not. It was nice to know she didn't think he was really boring, but he wasn't very keen on her basing that decision on his hair.. which is didn't particularly like himself. Still, Alexia seemed pretty embarrassed about it, not that he would have said anything anyway.

For a second K:anode forgot what she meant by 'magic', a flash of surprise passing his face. There was no way...
"It wouldn't be a problem. I haven't the stuff on me right now of course though."He replied, as he remembered what she meant. "Pop by the lab sometime and I'll show you. Shouldn't take more then... twenty minuets?"

[Alexia Flynn]

"Please please please?" Kierra was begging now, and finally Alex sighed in defeat.

"Oh, alright. As long as Mr. K:anode doesn't mind, then I suppose it's okay," she relented, causing Kierra to squeeze her around the waist.

"Thank you, Mommy!" she beamed. Alex laughed as best she could, with her stomach constricted as it was by her daughter's arms. She ruffled Kierra's hair with a smile and said, "Kierra, dear, you're squishing Mommy." Kierra laughed and let go of her mother's waist, but grabbed her hand instead, swinging her arm back and forth.

"So, Mr. K:anode," Alex said, realizing that the man was just standing there watching the whole scene play out, "are you familiarizing yourself with the wonderful city of Glatox?" The 'wonderful' practically dripped with sarcasm; Alex was not a fan of the town or the majority of its inhabitants, and it showed. The only reason her school was near it was because the building was perfect for her uses and it had been affordable, only needing a few renovations to make it usable as a school.

[K:anode]

K:anode could only smile as Keirra hugged her mom. Though, somehow, he found himself missing his own mother a moment. Before he could think about it though, Alexia spoke.
"Huh? Oh... not really."He replied shortly. He hadn't really picked up on the sarcasm in her voice. "I was going to... but... well... meh."He explained. What he really meant was that going into the city would ineitably mean getting strange looks from others in the streets. It was always the way when he moved somewhere new. It was quite understandable really, normal people just didn't expect to see a winged counter-part along the street. It wasn't so much the people who looked, or even starred who bugged him, but the people who shouted or pushed him about. Thugs assuming him to be a weak kid and such. After a moment of reflection, he spoke again, "Why? Anything in particular worth seeing?"

[Alexia Flynn]

Alex shrugged as Kierra let go of her hand and ran off back to the swings. Kierra hated to stick around while adults talked, and for the most part, Alex really couldn't blame her. Alex usually thought it was boring, too.

The headmistress shook her head when K:anode asked if anything in town was worth seeing. "Well, not really in town, anyway," she started, thinking that perhaps there was one place K:anode might like. "If you're planning on going there, I'd wear a trench coat to cover up your wings. The people who live there might know that there's a school for winged humans nearby, but they really don't like being reminded of the fact."

Alex let out a sigh as she remembered the first time she and Kierra had gone into town without covering their wings. Some people had pretended not to look, while some blatantly stared at them. Others had yelled rude things at them. She hadn't taken Kierra back there ever since.

"No, in town is not a place to be, really," she continued, "but you might like to check out the Avenging Angels Bar and Grill. It's a favorite hangout spot for the students, and is actually owned by a former student of mine. If you tell Lexi that Alex sent you, she'll give you a prime deal."

[K:anode]

"Hm, thanks for the tip."He'd almost forgotten about that. He probably had one stuffed into the suitcase he hadn't cared to unpack yet. Judging by the look on Alexia's face, as she continued, the place wasn't somewhere to be too excited about visiting. For him though, that was fine. He was sick of the city -it'd be nice to live in a country-like place, away from all the city noise and fumes.

"A bar?"K:anode mused. He was a little surprised she'd recommend one, she didn't seem the sort. "I might check it out some time. I'm not much into those kinds of places though.."He replied, looking apologetic. "Is there anything else to see on campus?"

[aaagh, fail. I can't think!]

[Alexia Flynn]

Alex nodded, shrugging her shoulders a little bit. "Yeah, well, I mainly go there for the 'grill' part of it. Lexi makes a pretty mean burger." She laughed a little as she remembered Lexi as a student. The rough-and-tumble tomboy was always in the kitchens, helping out the lunch ladies. It was the strangest place to find the girl, but there she stayed, usually manning the grill. The girl had a likable personality, and Alex was sure that K:anode would like her if he met her.

Alex thought for a moment as she considered his question. Now that she thought about it, there really wasn't much to see around Glatox. There was the park, which he had clearly already seen, the bar and grill, and the town. Well, and the beach. Maybe he would find that interesting...

"Well, I suppose you could check out the beach, if that's your kind of thing," Alex mentioned. "The north half is basically only used by Galaxium people, so you won't find quite so many rude folks there."

[Haha, I know what you mean. My muse is practically nonexistant]