It felt strange. Like the sunlight burning away a dense fog. And there certainly was no shortage of sunlight that day, Allison smiling as she stood out on the campus lawn, not too far from the gym and sports field. For far too long she'd been going through the motions of life at the school...classes, practice, studying...all of it on autopilot. And for what reason, she couldn't say. The months had passed by, and things blurred together under the monotony of the daily grind. But somehow today felt different.

Idly, she adjusted the gym bag thrown over her shoulder. She was out of uniform, of course. It was hard to do much at the gym in a skirt, her rather snug running shorts and equally snug top serving her much better. Her long hair, dyed a deep blue mostly out of habit now, was tied back in a loose ponytail, and she had on her favorite pair of sneakers.

Of course, she had a choice before her now, as she glanced toward the gym. Running, swimming, a bit of gymnastics practice...all seemed rather enjoyable at the moment, so the question remained...which?

I hadn't changed into gym attire yet, so was still in pale blue top and matching skirt. I had a bag over my shoulder and smiled seeing a student in a tight outfit sitting in the grass. "Hey, you," I called out warmly, waving happily and winking out of almost instinct.

Allie blinks, turning to look as someone called out. To her? It seemed so, the other girl looking right at her as she spotted her. She waves, then, catching the wink and arching a brow, rising to her feet and brushing off her shorts and legs. "Hey!" She calls back, adjusting the strap of her bag and walking toward the girl who'd called out, offering her a friendly smile.

"Lovely day, isn't it?" She asks, grinning and stopping just in front of the girl.

"It is, isn't it? I sometimes don't notice... I've been in my head a lot recently," I admitted almost sheepishly before taking a good look around, affirming what she said was actually true. Then my gaze wandered back to her and a bright smile shone on it, "I wanted to compliment your hair color." And then I noticed my faux pas. I had failed to introduce myself. So, I in turn extended a hand for her to claps and shake, and keeping my obnoxiously upbeat smile, I said "I'm Linny Van Ryan, by the way."

Allie blushes a bit, reaching up to slide fingers through her hair, dyed a deep blue that went well with the color of her eyes. "Really? thanks..." She says with a soft laugh. "I'm Allison Kurin, but all my friends call me Allie. It's a pleasure, Linny." She grins, taking Linny's hand in her own and shaking it, her hand slim and soft.

"The pleasure's mine." It usually was, anyway. I had to fight a laugh at my own little mental joke as I shook her hand. Then I tilted my head as I watched her with a little curiosity. She was cute. I mean, she wasn't my normal picture of cute, but she had charm, she had something alluring about her. It was a little hard to place exactly why I fancied her, but I did fancy her. "So, what are you up to, or what do you plan to be up to?"

"Oh, maybe work out a bit...go for a swim. Anything, really...the day is young!" She laughs softly, smiling, her expression warm and honest. "I love to swim, actually...swimming and gymnastics were my two big sports of choice, back in high school. I love them." She rolls her shoulders a bit, looking a tad wistful. "I even did them for a while after coming here, and hope to get back into the swing of things. I took a little...breather...for a while, to focus on my studies."

"I know how that is, it's hard to focus on things here. Hard to..." I smiled a little too warmly at her, "Hard to do what's really important." I decided that I was in the mood for a dip in the pool myself. Something cool and relaxing... before a little idle flirtation and learning more about the girl who I seemed to be befriending rather well. She was rather nice, and from the sound of it had been around enough to know the nasty side of things. That was something I always found beneficial in my friends.

Allison grins, a wicked little sparkle in those blue eyes as she turns toward the gym. "Oh, I know what you mean..." She'd picked up a bit on the slightly too-friendly manner, and seemed to be throwing a bit of flirting back, hips giving a little sway as she moves away from Linnis, those tight shorts rather lovely. "Care to join me, Linnis? I'm always happy to have company."

"A swim, perhaps?" I laughed lightly and put her hands behind her back. I felt good. Happy. It was helpful to her to have someone like this to focus on. I smiled and looked back as I walked. This was the happiness that I was looking for.

Allison claps her hands together, grinning and nodding quickly at the proposal for a swim. "Of course! Oh, I love to swim!" She exclaims, moving a bit more quickly into the Gym and heading for the locker room. "I even brought my suit...it's not school issue, but it's my favorite..."

"Same here. The school one is so unimaginative, and someone like me, well, I have plenty of showing off to do and a one-piece just doesn't do that well enough," I chuckled to myself lightly. I wondered what she'd think of that? People who didn't know me by reputation or encounter tended to be surprised by my orientation, and so I wondered if she would understand that I meant I was showing off for her.