"Well..", Pia said. "Unless American school yards work quite differently from Norwegian ones, I guess if they decide that you are the short tempered troublemaker, it is hard to something else, right? Not that I know anything about how things was for you, but once word gets out, someone is bound to go yanking your chain until you snap back, thus 'proving' your reputation."

It was probably not accurate, but Pia had made a few observations as a full time wallflower at school, an outsider looking in. Not that it had helped her a lot, she had always found dealing with groups of people rather difficult. "I was the quiet nerd. I could probably have used being a bit more of a troublemaker."

The wind carried the salty scent of seawater. Pia inhaled through her nostrils. Her eyes scanned the blue horizon. The ocen was intensely blue, the way only deep waters can be on a brilliantly sunny day.

Pia's assessment was reasonably accurate. "Yeah, that's pretty much the way it went. It started out with me as the kid who barely spoke English, and spoke it funny as well. Then they found out about the short temper..." She smiled slightly before continuing, "The hard way, for a couple of them. It seemed to be a game for some of them after that; see who could get me in trouble with the teachers without getting a noticeable injury. To be fair, most of them grew up over time, but there were always a couple..." Her voice trailed off before she continued, changing the subject slightly. "I take it you had your own problems with being 'typed'?"

Pia confirmed Susan's suspicions. "I was the quiet nerd. I could probably have used being a bit more of a troublemaker."

Susan laughed slightly. "Trust me, 'troublemaker' is vastly over-rated. Having the teachers more likely to believe you is a big advantage at times." Another pause before she continued, "Still, that's one of the things about going away to college. Gives you a chance to meet people who don't know about your old reputation."

"Yeah.. That was kind of what I was hoping for when I came here. Meeting new people from across the world, maybe making a few new friendships.. and maybe figure out what I want to with my life."

Pia idly kicked a little pebble that lay on the path. "That and the sea. I was hoping to get a chance to learn body surfing, or maybe scuba diving too. Haven't really had the opportunity so far, though."

"Yeah... I really needed a new start myself. I'd managed to burn most of my bridges in high school." She looked off towards the horizon as she reminisced. "The first year was at a... difficult time for me, and I just didn't want to deal with people more than I had to. This... didn't really help the few friendships I had."

"And I know what you mean about the sea. I haven't had anything like the time I'd expected to get to the beach. When I chose to go here, I'd planned to get in some sightseeing there." The last was said with a wink, hinting at the 'sights' she'd intended to look at.

"Sightseeing?", Pia said, her mind not getting it right away. "Oh yeah..", she laughed. "I guess on a sunny afternoon, there are quite a few sights to see. Lots of interesting landscape, I hear. Hills and such things.."

Pia sometimes thought of how things would have been for her if she had not been exposed to what was behind the beautiful surface, if she had seen this place such as the majority of the student did. She would probably have had a lot more time, for starters. Time spent at the beach. Maybe she would have been happy, known friendships, even love, untainted by all the hidden terrors.
She felt that was how she should have been. Carefree, laughing, on her way to the beach with her friends..

"You know, I am kind of bad at the finding friends things.." Pia moved a little closer to Susan. "But last night I think I found one though."
Pia grinned a bit. "I even got to see some sights too.."

Susan laughed at that. "We both managed some sightseeing... Not to mention exploration." She sobered up quickly, though, and put an arm around Pia's shoulder. "I don't have much luck making friends, either, and I seem to lose contact with too many that I do make. But I think... I hope... that last night was the start of a new one." More than even the other friends she'd made here, she wanted to protect Pia from the worst of this place. She knew it wasn't possible; she couldn't even protect herself very well, but that didn't change her desires.

"Yeah.. so do I."

Pia slipped and arm around Susan's waist, and used the opportunity to rest he cheek against the other girl's shoulder. Susan made her feel a bit safer. She knew that that was an illusion, that this was a dangerous place, but right now, she felt like she gained some strength from the other.
Susan felt a bit stronger than herself, somewhat. In Pia's mind, she really was the shining knight, even if she was probably as unprotected as herself.

Susan held Pia a little tighter as they continued along the beach. Neither said anything for a while, as if they both felt words were unnecessary. They'd have to part eventually and go to their first classes, but there was no hurry to do so; the path looped back to the dorms, giving them plenty of time yet.

Eventually, Susan broke the silence with a sigh. "I just wish things could be like this more often."

"Yeah.." Pia murmured. "Me too.. me too.."

Pia wished she had no classes to go to. She wished this morning would last forever, and that all morning were like this. But she knew that wasn't the case. Maybe that made such few moments of peace so much better. Maybe that, in its own little way, made even the terrors have a small purpose?

"I will be thinking of this morning through classes today", Pia said, voice soft. "If I won't be thinking of last night, that is".

The last was added with a brief flash of a naughty smile.

"Oh, you...," Susan said with a laugh. "I will be, too. Just don't let it distract you too much in class. I'd hate to think of you getting in trouble because of me." From what I know about this place, I'd hate to think of you getting in trouble at all. A shadow flickered across her face as she had that thought, but was gone before she continued. "Besides, hopefully we'll have time to make more memories like these. Or," she added with a wink, "like those."

Pia made a little half step, half jump. She barely prevented herself from shouting a loud 'Yay!', but could not hide her excitement completely. Those two sentences made her so happy. The reason was pretty banal, but Pia was terribly afraid of rejection. She had made so few friends here, not to mention the bitter loneliness she had felt when she realized she and Cala, her first lover, would be separated, possibly forever.

Pia had a deep, terrible fear of rejection and loneliness. She was almost afraid of speaking to people sometimes, afraid that she might like them, and then they would go away, taken away by this horrible place, or just deciding she was not good enough.

Pia did not demand that Susan, or anyone else, should fall down on here knees and love and adore her just because of one night of passion. But that they could be friends, maybe lend each other some much needed support.. oh, that was more than enough for Pia. That Susan had hinted at a replay of last night..

Pia felt all tingly and hot all of a sudden. Susan was, quite frankly, hot. To be able to once more..

"Are you.. err.. thanks.. uh I mean.. cool!", she said, "Err.. I mean. I would like to too.."

Though Pia had tried to hide her excitement, Susan still noticed it and, while it made her happy that the other girl was so enthusiastic, there was a small corner of her mind that was depressed by what it revealed about her past. Not about anything that the school may have done to her, but the fact that she'd apparently been rejected enough that she reacted so strongly to the possibility of simply continuing a relationship the way it was developing. Susan had seen similar before— hell, she'd been on the other side of this herself— but there'd always been a small core of friends to fall back on. Pia didn't seem to even have that much, and that just puzzled Susan. How could someone like her do worse than a difficult person like me in making friends?

She managed to keep all of that out of her expression, though, simply smiling back at the other girl. "Well, since we both want the same thing, this should go pretty well," she said with a slight laugh, "as long as things don't interfere too much." She leaned over and gave the blonde a quick kiss on the cheek; any more of a kiss and she'd have to resist the strong temptation to go further than they had time for right now.

As if to emphasize how little time they had right now, the school clock chimed the hour. They still had enough time to get to class without rushing, but they really did need to start back to the campus.

The kiss made Pia look a bit surprised and flustered, more so because she found herself imagining a few ways she could kiss her back, were they somewhere private.
Pia was about to say something, but the ringing sound cut her short.

"Aww.. I guess every morning comes to an end.. I guess we better head back, right?"

Susan smiled gently. "Yeah, we'd better. I'd rather have time to talk while we return than have to run to get to class." She turned to start down the path towards the campus. "Still, it's not like we won't be able to see each other again." I hope. I've had too many people vanish on me here. She managed to keep almost all traces of that last thought out of her expression.

(Yay for you being back )

"So..", said Pia. Suddenly she felt all kinds of things. Sad she would have to go to class, happy she had met Susan, exited to be seeing her again, and afraid she would appear all clingy and such. Without wanting to, she was suddenly looking down on her shoes, dragging one feet across the ground like she was making an invisible line. "..later then?", she added with a smile.

"I guess I really got to go now.."