Oceanic Company {Mexico}

[soraeya]

With classes done, Lukas went against the river of students, like fish swimming up river, all rushing to converge in the usually social places while he headed for solitude. People brushed against him, bumped into him, and shouted out over his head, causing his brows to furrow and for him to frown. He didn’t enjoy being touched and crows were uncomfortable so as quick as he could, he slipped out of the nearest exit, escaping to outside. The doors shut automatically behind him and he was visibly able to relax, take a deep breath, and smooth out his uniform and hair. It was a fair enough day, some overcast, but this was fine for him; the cooler the day the more he enjoyed it. Walking down the steps, he strode off down the path a ways before diverting to the left suddenly through the trees. The further he walked, the more faded the voices and sounds of school life dissipated behind him and the symphony of birdsong and the ocean took over his senses.

Slipping his hands into his pockets, the Norwegian kept on walking until he could no longer hear people and passing a throng of trees, the boy exited the forest and found himself on a small ridge overlooking the expanse of beach on either of his sides and the ocean far and beyond his sight in front of him. Stepping away from the shadows of the woods, Lukas stopped and simply stared out at the ocean, relishing in the salty sea breeze and the dark encroaching clouds hovering over the horizon, threatening a sea storm. He had always felt drawn to the ocean, to the wilderness, away form people and to be just by himself and this is where he was most happy. Being in such a strange place so far away from Norway didn’t sit the best within his chest but he knew that it was for the best; his grandfather had told him to continue his training and this was the best place to do that.

Sitting down on the grass, he brought up his knees to his chin and wrapped his arms around his legs, leaning his chin down to stare out at the endless water. He had been on the island for a couple of weeks now and still hadn’t really found what people would define as “ a friend,” but this didn’t come as a surprise to him. He had never had friends really and to be honest, he didn’t know how to get one, how to treat them, or where to start looking. He liked being alone so that’s how it would be during his time here; it wouldn’t be for long anyways. Still, Lukas sighed just as the wind picked up, stirring up a few eaves from the trees and as they sailed past him headed for the ocean, they stopped. Frozen in time, Lukas gazed intently at the intricate veins of a leaf nearest to his face, reaching up a finger to touch it, making it spin it’s temporal suspension. Time…. What did his time here mean when he was his own personal master of time? He thought about this as he continued to twirl the leaf, denying it further decomposition until he released it.

[ANA MARÍA CAMPOS HERNÁNDEZ]

Class had been a long, endless anthem of numbers and words that had no basis in the young girl's mind whatsoever. Over the course of the hour, she had written down what the teacher had urged as extremely important and then continued to do little drawings of tiny Alebrijes, all sharing a nice bottle of Tequila and talking about life. Ah, Tequila, she missed the drink so dearly. Back in her country she could buy a nice bottle and take it home to share it with her dad. She came from a family of drinkers, but none of them so deep in the habit that one would consider an alcoholic. Well, that's what her father had told her when she had first asked at the age of eight.
It was a shame that she couldn't find a drink of such quality here. It was funny as hell to watch some of her friends try to drink it without any of the resistance she had built over the years. Very funny indeed. Ana María was suddenly very excited about organizing a party. She figured everyone would need a stress relief. But it shouldn't be one in the dorms like they all were accustomed to, it should be in the woods, some place where it added an air of mystery as well as excitement. It should scream young and inexperienced.

Then the bell rang and she was among the first ones to rush out of the classroom, attempting to shove her notebook inside of her bag without a care as if she had done it properly. This was probably one of the most torturous moments of the day. People pushing each other to try to get to where they were going on time, books falling and feet stepping on your precious pieces of paper. It was hazardous environment, totally hardcore, but the girl was used to it. Besides, no one pushed a pretty girl without taking notice and apologizing. Hehe.

Ana María stood in the middle of the hallways for a second, as something particular caught her attention. It was a blonde, no joke, over a whole sea of blondes, but this one had a really weird hair twirl that she swore was separated from the rest of his head but didn't trust her eyesight enough to confirm it. Maybe she would pick a random stranger and ask to be proven right, she wasn't right that often. It was a nice feeling.
Pushing her way, she followed him, curious to know what that particular person did when he was alone. Ana María knew that Lukas was not sociable person, and she needed to know why. She wanted to be able to figure him out, because in all honesty, there seem to be a torrid inner nature that could potentially fascinate him.

The girl stood a few feet behind him, making sure he wouldn't notice her presence and ask her to leave him alone. It would end badly because she wasn't the type of person to follow anyone's command or do what they asked, even if they asked nicely.
They went through the woods, and which each step Ana María grew more impatient as to ask the boy where they were going. This was a far place to go to. Completely isolated from the rest of the school. It seemed to be a place to go to be stay away from people. A place to grow bored over nothing to do. This enlightened Ana María curiosity a bit more. What was there to the blonde boy that needed to be away and lonely?

She watched him sit, the grass around him rustling as he set his weight on it. The water in front of him had a crystal outline from where she was standing. The girl leaned on a tree and folded her arms. She wondered what he might be seeing in that reflection. Probably his ever present emotionless face. She sighed and rolled her eyes. He just needed a mirror and then he'll see what he walked all this way through to see. But there had to be more, doesn't it? Ana María wanted to get closer but knew that it was too risky, but staying here gave her no insight. If just a little step forward and- Dammit, she tripped over some branches.

[soraeya]

Lukas enjoyed coming out here, away from the other students and their noise and ridiculous nonsense, and in a way it was his own space. This was a place where he could come to unwind, not hide, and actually enjoy himself in this hot, foreign environment. On other occasions he usually brought a large stack of books to read or did his homework, or wrote letters to his parents from this spot with the comfort that it was, in a way, his private spot. There was one such time where he had spent the entire day where he sat, even after it had begun to rain, to which he had created a time bubble and had laid for hours watched thousands of droplets freeze in time and accumulate over him until he was surrounded in a dome of diamonds. Of course, when he had finally released the bubble he had been doused in a cascade of water but it had been worth it

Upon releasing his current bubble and watching his leaves float away on the sea breeze, a sound behind him caused him to take a small intake in breath and his eyes narrowed. He knew that one day this would happen, that one of the annoying, moronic students would be stupid enough to stalk him all the way here; his previous assumption that brains among the student population were short in supply appeared to be correct. A thus followed the sound of a branch snapping and Lukas turned to see a girl looking like a fool with her hair all tangled up in leave and on the ground The boy just blinked at her, unmoved and unfazed by her predicament, and after a moment, he regrettably recognized the girl and his scowl narrowed.

“Serves you right for following me, and blinding me…. And, stalking is not the most appealing quality for any person”.

Did he care that he sounded like an ass? Not at all of course but he felt he had every right to. This girl had humiliated him, attacked him, and she was luck he hadn’t reported her to the principle for assault of a power on another student. He still could…. But being a so-called “tattle-tale” had never really appealed to Lukas’ “don’t-give-a-damn” nature and he firmly believed that people got what they deserved. So, he figured that her falling on her face was a good start. He did know, or at least could guess from the appearance of this particular girl and his brief though unfortunate interactions with her, that she seemed like the type of person to tell anyone who was dumb enough to listen of his little place here and probably how weird he was. His personal reputation didn’t much matter to him but his privacy and solitude did.

Ah, hell…. And just when he was starting to tolerate this place, this random Spanish chick had to come and ruin it. “Didn’t your parents ever tell you that it was rude to be nosy”?

[ANA MARÍA CAMPOS HERNÁNDEZ]

Well that was smart. She thought as she spit a bit of dirt into the ground. It was disgusting but it brought her small pieces of memories of her rather adventurous childhood. When she was little she mostly spent her time at the park climbing trees, making mud pies, or simply finding ways to scare the nanny in duty. The latter probably explained why no one ever liked to take her anywhere. It was true she wasn't the best behaved child. Her father knew that, but he took no interest in really guiding her through her wrong doings. The only thing that seemed to satisfy him was the overly rehearsed speech of being good. But what exactly did good mean? In the creative mind of any six year-old, it probably meant doing whatever she wanted without getting caught. If she didn't get caught then no one was there to regulate her behavior and classify it into one of the two characteristics. If no one said it was wrong then it must be good, right?

Oh such an innocent mind.

Ana María stood up, fixing the ends of her skirt and brushing the grass and dirt stains that were probably going to be hell of a lot of work to get out. It wasn't really a problem. Her grandmother had taught her how to clean clothes and work on the most difficult stains ever. Actually, she had taught her how to do most housework along with cooking recipes, all passed along through generations. And even though Ana María loved cooking and spending time with her family, she didn't really enjoy the whole housewife title. Why should she when there was other more important things to do? Sure, it was traditional a woman's job, and she had to know it, but there was other stuff she wanted to do. But no one really got that, did they?

"Serves you right for following me, and blinding me…. And, stalking is not the most appealing quality for any person."

The girl turned her attention to the blonde boy, whom she had almost forgot was the reason she was there. Oh right, he didn't like her very much. Ana María remembered their first meeting and how interesting, for not saying amusing, that had ended up being. Was it her fault that Lukas was such a nonchalant character? No, it wasn't and that boyish face of his would probably look better if he smiled a little. It would certainly draw some color into his dull dark blue eyes. She shrugged as she moved closer to the Norwegian. She was tempted to make her steps sound louder than they actually where, just to annoy him a little. It was clear the last thing he wanted, by the way he addressed her, was to be within a fifty mile radius of her, but the girl didn't care. She wasn't there to bully, despite his rush to pass judgement. She was there to get him. How and why he acted the way he did.

"Oh well, I guess el karma does really exist. I supposed I'd be encountering more of that some time soon. Who knows, maybe you'll help a little."[/color] Did she really care what he thought? Well it was obvious she didn't. She didn't think much about falling on her face other than it had been fairly silly of her and couldn't help but chuckle. But his actions, as if her mere existence was designed to irritate him, and blind him, and stalking him- Please, he shouldn't flatter himself. Now that she thought about it, maybe she should give him another demonstration. Give him a real reason for him to dislike her. Something worthy changing the expression in that pretty little indifferent face of his. She walked over to where he was sitting but she didn't sit. She merely stood at his side, making it quite clear she wasn't leaving any time soon.

"Didn't your parents ever tell you that it was rude to be nosy?"

Now that made Ana María laugh. Aww he was so adorable. Next thing he would be shoving down good morals down her throat and force her to behave.
"No, not really. My mom died when I was a baby and my dad never really taught me much. Oh well, I guess I am rude."[/color] She said innocently. Ana María didn't have a hard time talking about her family to strangers. She was pretty much over the fact that she had grown up without the unlimited and unconditional love that a mother was supposed to give to her children. The sort of love that was always there, ready to wrap you in its arms after a long and tiring day out in the real world. Okay, so maybe she wasn't completely over it, but she didn't sweat about it either. It was a fact. There was nothing that could change it. And she grew bored to quickly to drag on about the problems of her life.

"So this is what Lukas does when he's not around people or in class. You come out here to read or think or maybe even gaze at the crystal water in front of you contemplating about the joys of life and how annoying it is to have people like me ruin it every time."[/color] She looked at him with a sweet smile on her face. She didn't mean to say it in a manner that would mock him. It was simply what was on her mind and well, she lacked a filter.

[soraeya]

The Norwegian’s irritation was turning quickly into straight up anger. This chick couldn’t be serious; how stupid was she? When a person is told that obviously that they aren’t wanted or should leave, then they should leave, end of story, but no. This girl was obviously too airheaded to never mind read between the lines, but she didn’t understand plain English. Then again, she was some Spanish or whatever but unfortunately Lukas didn’t know any of the language. Shame. Frowning and his eyes narrowed, turned his gaze back towards the water to pointedly not look at her but he found that the pleasant view no on held any interest in him, because all he could hear was an annoying, high-pitched babble in his left ear.

He physically shuddered when she laughed and swallowed thickly. All he had wanted was some peace and quiet but clearly he wasn’t allowed that on this stupid island. Lukas knew he was being rather pessimistic but, she had followed him here and now was talking, and talking, and he hadn’t asked for any of it and she wasn’t exactly high on his list of people he wouldn’t mind being around. He lifted up his hand to run his hand over his face before following through and running through his bangs; she still was talking. He had made one comment, a rhetorical question, though it was more of a statement because she actually was being quite nosy but now she was giving him her whole life story. Leaning his hand on his knee with his chin on his hand, Lukas suddenly felt really tired, so much that he didn’t even want to make some sort of retort to the girl her tell her off.

He could see her somewhat from the corner of his eye but wasn’t paying her any attention at all, instead, he continue to look out across the beach at the rich blue waters of the Hawaiian coast. The blonde didn’t see why this place was such a popular vacation destination. It was too hot for starters, and his stay so far hadn’t been good at all so that probably helped his opinion of the place. He stayed like this, keeping silent and paying her no heed whatsoever, thinking that hoping the fool would grow so bored that she simply go away; she seemed like the type of person who thrived on attention and she wasn’t going to get any from this Norwegian. If she felt prompted to touch him however, in anyway, Lukas was already visualizing the longest time bubble he could create that would freeze her in time and give him the chance to leave without her even knowing it. Lukas wasn’t anti-social, and he actually didn’t like to be thought of as mean, but people really ought to learn to respect other people’s personal spaces.

[ANA MARÍA CAMPOS HERNÁNDEZ]

Ana María looked intently at Lukas, who was seemingly wanting to avoid her or so he let on. She wondered how easy, if it would be easy at all, it would be to get inside of his head. The girl had done this few times before. Usually the object of her fascination would stand unconscious or relatively distracted, it was hard to do it when they had their attention on her. She remembered the first time she ever got inside someone's head. It was was an accident. She was probably around twelve years old and some of her classmates were making fun of the new girl because she spoke with a northern accent. While the accent was funny, because she sounded like such a country girl, the teasing reached such levels of pure cruelty to the point where they would throw the girl into the ground and say all sort of mean stuff. Ana María had never been one for bullying. She didn't see the point in making someone else's life miserable. They were all going through the same stuff. They had the same sort of feelings. They were at the point where hormones were developing and no one knew what was going on and everyone wanted to scream. But no one did.

So if it was hard to begin with, why make it worst? By that time Ana María was fully aware of her powers, but their extent still remained unknown. She had only shared her secret with her closest friend. No one else could know because her father urged her to keep quiet. What were the repercussions of saying it out loud? Would they be consequences? It was too much thinking for a twelve year-old girl. One day, however, the bullying had gone too far and Ana María stood on the crowd watching, without knowing what to do, how the poor girl was being tormented. She had looked into her eyes, they were so dark you couldn't even distinguish the pupils. That stare was so profound, so intimate, that she swore she could feel what the girl at her feet was feeling. It was all so confusing, because all that Ana María could perceive was darkness. Foul emotions, sad thoughts, it was too painful and she wondered why she was feeling it. She seemed to browse through the other's secrets like flashcards, one after the other, she was vulnerable.

Ana María had to break away to not feel that anymore. It was something that felt empty, perhaps because it wasn't hers. She was too scared to try out again. Too confused as to why she could only sense the bad parts and not the whole. The girl looked at the Norwegian and his dull blue eyes that never seemed to have any emotion within them. Why was he so bland? Why did he not smile? That question made Ana María twitch and turn and want to shake him into giving her an answer. Maybe it was something that had happened before. Maybe it was a childhood trauma. Maybe he was simply born unhappy. Whatever the case, Ana María wanted to know. She needed to know because the suspense was killing her. And in all honesty, she didn't like it when people didn't like her. He had to have a better motive than simply her blinding him.

So she looked into his eyes, the same profound way all those years ago. He wasn't staring at her and that helped. He wasn't focusing on her and that way she would hopefully get passed unnoticed. Because she was pretty sure that if the boy noticed that she was inside him, inside his mind, he would go blazing mad and probably find another reason to dislike her. Well, he already did, so what was in there to lose really? Ana María concentrated as an aura of sour hopes and bad dreams began to compel against Lukas' energy. It was at an energy level that they couldn't see, but it was there. Her powers began to reach inside his mind looking for something that may help her understand him. Only what he wanted her to see would she be able to see. It was true that she had access if she endured long enough, but there were just small pieces of what she could gather. The whole picture was up for him to share.

She wasn't completely oblivious. She knew he didn't want her there. But she wasn't going anywhere. Not now. Ana María was determined to know what went on inside his head. Only when her curiosity was fulfilled would she leave him alone. If he never desired to see her again she wouldn't go looking for him. If they accidentally bumped into each other she would greet him, but no more, because he had made clear that he didn't want anything to do with her. Such a pity. She never had a Norwegian friend before.

[soraeya]

Lukas was becoming more and more uncomfortable, which was an increasingly bad situation for the girl that is. He was seriously trying to ignore her, willing to even put up with her existence if she moved away or something, but no... instead she had resorted to shift somewhat into his line of vision and stare. He wasn't looking at her but he could see her eyes in his peripheral and there was something about them that was making his stomach twist into knots. It wasn't that she was being creepy or anything, well... actually she was creepy but there was just a voice in the back of his head that was telling him that either something was wrong or she was doing something.

The feeling in his stomach was increasing and he was starting to feel sick, just out of the blue. His eyes twitched with unease and he tensed his fingers. Why was he feeling this way all of a sudden? Sure he was annoyed but now, now he felt like a rabbit being stared down by a fox or something; he felt like he wanted to run. But he didn't, in fact he didn't move as his back muscles tensed as did the muscles of his arms. When the hairs on the back of his neck began to stand up on end, he wet his lips and took a somewhat deep breath.

Then he recalled once more how she had blinded him and with that, Lukas frowned and shot his eyes in her direction; he was mad and had had enough. It was a good thing that he had already been planning the large time bubble in his head for when he looked at her, he instantly projected his powers and the girl froze, along with a good hundred or so feet back towards school. Safe within his time barrier, immediately he felt better. The headache that had suddenly begun to itch at the back of his eyes lessened and his stomach calmed down, so he dared now to look at her. He flinched at what he saw. Her stare looked... unnatural and it sent chills down his spine. Giving her a look of pure disgust he shook his head and took out his phone, selected the video option, pressed play and faced it towards himself.

"Good day, Principle Silanus. My name is Lukas Bondevik, it is currently 4:03 p.m. and I am documenting this to give record as to why I must request if not restraining order against this girl, but at least for yourself to have a strict talking to her". Lukas directed his phone to give the camera a good look at the girl, still completely frozen within his time bubble, before he directed back at himself. "As you can see, and I'm sure you will read my file, I have frozen her in using my power to create temporal barriers because I must report that she has been harassing. Not only did she follow and stalk me all the way out here in the beach, but on a previous date she did with all knowledge use her powers and blinded me for no valid reason, and I have reason to believe that she was currently ion the process of doing something similar before I stopped her as you saw".

He couldn't hold back the scowl that crossed his face and the camera caught it before he said, "I did not come all the way to this island from Norway to be harassed. I shall be seeing you shortly". With that, he pressed Stop, saving the video, and shut his phone and stood with his books in hand. He looked down at the girl, not able to move and completely unaware of what was happening, uttered a curse in Norwegian and started down the path. He managed to walk quite a way before he finally passed through the perimeter of his time bubble, thus popping it. Behind him cascading the released sounds of the forest, once more allowed to continue in this sense of time, but the boy was already almost was school when Ana Maria would realize that she was no longer staring creepily at him. He directed his course, once he was back on school grounds, for the principal's office. Enough was enough of this crazy Spanish chick with a weird obsession over him. He had not been shipped over to this gods forsaken island to deal with people like her.

[ANA MARÍA CAMPOS HERNÁNDEZ]

The gentle waves of dark energy were moving in slow, graceful circles around the atmosphere that surrounded them. They were invisible to the naked eye but anyone close enough could feel them. Ana María, herself, had never felt them. They were something that belonged to her but that didn't make her feel depressed, or sad, or nauseated, as it may make others feel. It was as though she was immune to it. Or maybe she did feel it but didn't realize it. Ana María didn't use this side of her powers very often. She tried to talk to people, use words instead of a manipulative mean to get what she wanted. It made her feel as though she was invading their privacy, something she wouldn't want for herself. But desperate times required desperate measures. She just wanted to understand him. In all honesty all she wanted to do was get to know him. That was more than what others did and Lukas should feel honored. Not many people stand the endless scowls and glares and nasty little words and still decide to stick around.

Inside his head she browsed through what was fresh and opened. The things that had recently happened that weren't yet buried in the deepest parts of his soul. It was a mind that was quite different from anything else she had encountered. But just like fingerprints, people's patterns of thought are never the same. They are unique. It was hard to find someone who thought the same way others did. It was also amazingly surprising how much a person neglected to say. As time went by it became more and more difficult to stay inside his head and that's when Ana María wondered if he had caught her. If he had realized that she was "invading" him, for lack of a better word. She frowned, tried harder, and then... Then he turned to look at her.

The next thing she knew, Ana María found herself alone in that place that wasn't her own. She looked around for that certain blond with the dull blue eyes and realized he was no where to be seen. What the hell? She was alone. How had that happened? One minute she was looking at him and the next- Oh. Ana María sighed as she placed a hand over her face. Right. Well that was nice of him. Him and his stupid time bubbles. Ana María groaned as she stood up from the ground. Honestly, why did she bother to make sense of a person who clearly didn't want to be understood? Selfish motives aside, she just wanted to help him. What for? She really didn't know. Maybe she just pitied the way he was alone and how his attitude didn't help him much in the friend department. How rude of him to simply leave like that. Fine then. Ana María had given up. Not even a greeting he would get if she ever saw him. As long as he stayed away everything was fine. She wasn't about to deal with people who clearly didn't want her. She had too much of that already and far better things to do.

Brushing the dirt of her skirt, the girl made her way back from where she had came from. Back to the people who cared and who mattered. There was no word in neither the Spanish nor the English language to describe how pissed off she was.