Something New [Calen]

[Jersey]

“It’s been a year.” The thought had crossed her mind as she had opened her eyes that evening after the sun dipped over the horizon, his arm around her while the dogs lay sprawled across the bed and her kitten, who by accident had been named Mew after Jersey had suggested it playfully to irritate Peter, had claimed the top corner of her pillow. It had been a year since she’d arrived in Harper Rock with nothing but the memory of a bus accident and a few dollars to her name. In a few weeks, it would mark the anniversary that the two had met and then, the anniversary of their relationship and then, her death.

It was a morbid thought, but she didn’t mind it as she got out of bed and dressed for the evening in a long sleeved dark green turtle neck that brought out the color of her eyes, fitted blue jeans and a pair of boots that she was fond of. A note was left for Peter, letting him know that she would be at the University when he awoke – although, she knew he’d be awake any moment then, and collected her jacket before removing the tome from her messenger bag with the shelter’s logo on it. Speaking the words, she found herself in her sire’s apartment a moment later with no one in sight.

“Early bird gets the worm.” She chuckled to herself, chiming the words into Nakia’s mind afterwards before stepping through a fadeportal that would drop her off at transit. She didn’t mind the ride to Newsborough, sitting by herself and cheerfully humming a tune that had been stuck in her head since the evening before when she’d been at work. She found herself slightly nervous, the idea of enrolling into the college without any true documents being something that made her wary. Even if she did know her actual name, Marilee, thanks to her brother, it just felt wrong to use it. She also wouldn’t likely answer to it, making things difficult.

Removing a piece of paper from her pocket, Jersey’s green eyes hovered over the words Occult Studies. Most of her courses, for convenience to avoid the sun were online, but she had made the point to want to go and meet with her professors she’d have to meet in person. She was sure if she asked, Peter or Danton would have went with her, even her brother would have, but she was hoping it would spark something of her memory. That, and if she asked Peter, she was sure he would have likely mentally dived off the nearest building when she mentioned that vampires and fae were a topic she heard about while enrolling.

It didn’t take long for her to locate the class, standing outside rather than going inside to observe a nearby bulletin board that had different courses listed on it, different times. Occult Studies had been a decision made because of the rituals she watched Kallista do regularly. She knew how to translate some of the fae language, too, but after a while it just gave her a headache. The blonde turned after a few moments, moving to step back and swore softly under her breath as her heel caused her to stumble in her actions before straightening up afterwards. He was right, she really was clumsy.

[Calen (DELETED 5969)]

"Yes, Andrew, you are quite correct. Voodoo did originate in Haiti, however, it is not the sole location of devout practice," I swiftly replied to my student, his face forming into a wide smile of triumph as if I had granted him the highest of praise. I couldn't rightfully blame him, I was hardly the sort of professor to often let my students off with any praise at all. It was by no means a way to prove their lack of knowledge, but a means to test them. In order to succeed in any class, they needed to be able to think critically. I would see to it that they did.

I turned my back on the class in the direction of the lecture slides, moving on to the next one. It was a slide full of information that would require quite a few minutes to allow them to take notes. With an extra glance at the clock, I decided it was pointless to continue. I would be ended the class a little early, but to keep them would only end in being late. Rather than deal with their piss poor attitudes about staying late, I sighed.

"Alright, that looks like a good place to stop," I called out. My voice was quickly drowned out by the shuffling of papers and backpack zippers, but I pushed on anyway. "Read up on Chapter 3, and remember that your first paper is due on Wednesday!" There was no doubts that I had been ignored by the majority of the students, but there was little I could do about that now.

My bag quickly filled with my belongings, having only a few minutes before the next professor would arrive for use of the lecture hall. I slung the strap over my shoulder and moved toward the door. My fingers slid over the light switch as I slipped out into the hall, nearly knowing in a young blonde woman at the bulletin board.

After a quick glance around the hallway, I figured she was not waiting on anyone, as all of the students had long since filled out and on their way to other classes or places. It was not in my nature to reach out a helping hand very often, but her interest in the board led me to believe she was not a returning student. If she had been, there was little chance the board would prove to be of such interest. Vaguely, I had to wonder if any students even bothered to look at it, let alone take the time to read it.

"Can I help you, Miss? Find a classroom or office?" I finally offered, doing my best to store away my 'all-business' attitude to give off the impression of being helpful, naturally. Dhara would have been proud. She was so openly friendly, while I was not. In that way, we seemed to balance each other. Then again, she would probably tell me that my smile was a bit forced.

Oh, well. This woman didn't know me from Adam, and she looked lost. I was being nice.

[Jersey]

From inside the lecture hall, Jersey could hear the professor call out brief praise about someone answering correctly and frowned slightly in thought, wondering if she’d be joining late enough that she would have difficulty catching up – although, knowing Peter and Kallista, if she ever ran into issues, help was only a question away. Even Danton, who with his habit of enjoying dumbing down conversation at times, wouldn’t hesitate if asked, would help her at some point. These were comforting thoughts.

At least, she thought after the assignment was given, that they weren’t too far ahead?

She let her mind briefly wander to the internet, mentally tabbing things to read up on before her emerald green gaze dropped to the paper in hand. “Well, I have the right hall.” She thought, “for some of the lectures. Question is, where will the one I have be held?” Furrowing her eyebrows, Jersey ignored the sound of the heartbeats around her. Jersey looked up once more, taking in the words she read. Voodoo, Hoodoo. She’d read up on some of it beforehand in the cabin, and thanks to the factor that her boyfriend was as much of a bookworm as she was, she didn’t have to look very far in the least.

Distracted, she hadn’t noticed the students leave the classroom until she heard the door click shut and someone call out. As a telepath, she lost herself in her thoughts too often and Jersey turned around. She blinked once, glanced to the board behind her and then to the man in front of her. His voice, she gathered a quick second later, was the one that had been speaking mostly which told her he was the professor. She could almost hear Nakia’s voice telling her that she’d done a good job figuring that out in a teasing tone.

“That would be very much appreciated,” She smiled, stepping forward, “I was actually looking for the Occult Studies Professor, as I’m interested in the course he holds later on in the evening. I don’t get off work until this time, usually.”

[Calen (DELETED 5969)]

She looked confused after I spoke, and I had to bite back the urge to raise an eyebrow. The gesture seemed rude in a professional setting, as if I were impatient were her lack of quick response. The fact that I was impatient to back to my office was a moot point. If I were going to be a model character for the University, then I at least needed to keep myself in check and be as helpful as possible when I needed to be. Considering I was as new to the University as the freshman, my help could be limited, but I was always willing to take a shot.

When she finally answered, every muscle in my body relaxed. If she had been looking for me, then I could most definitely offer whatever assistance she required. If she was hoping to join in on the last class I had in the evenings, then she had made a good decision in coming today. The classes were not far ahead, and the information they had been given so far was the elementary concept. The basis on which the rest of the course would build on. Had she come any later, and it might have been too late. I would give her that.

I nodded my head and swung an arm in the direction of my office. "It seems you have come to the right place. I am the Occult Studies professor. Professor Phair. Why don't you come with me to my office, and we can discuss getting you enrolled in the class, if you are interested," I offer, managing to give her a smile that was no forced. It was a rare occurrence for anyone to find interested in my topics of study, and a new face was something I could find reason to enjoy.

Since my office was just down the hall, I lead her there while keeping a pace that didn't seem rushed. I noted the papers in her hands and wondered what other classes she had been interested in joining. "Can I ask what classes you are planning to take here?" That seemed like a fair enough question, and one that professor would ask. Why shouldn't I be interested in what she was pursuing? Wasn't that part of my job, or something?

When we came my office door, I unlocked it and swung it open, and then stepped back, "After you," I insisted, nodding my head toward the office.

[Jersey]

Her brother hadn’t been able to answer any of the questions that she had wanted to know after a little while, simple things to help her understand why she did certain things a certain way. Her enjoyment for creating lists, for example, or even why she’d chosen to be a vegetarian rather than eat meat as a human. What school had she gone to, but even though she knew that he knew some answers, he hadn’t had all of them. One of them, the most important to her, was her education.

The topic had briefly come up before, before she knew about vampires and everything unique about Harper Rock including the sorcerers and blood thieves, the paladin. She’d talked about it with Peter, who had suggested she take a few courses. Of course, it had been while her heart was still beating. Jersey noted when the man relaxed and she felt her curiosity begin to peak until she decided that some things were probably best be left unquestioned.

Folding up the piece of paper in her hand to lessen her chance of getting cut by it as he introduced himself, Jersey tucked it away into her purse briefly. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Professor Phair. I’m Jersey Sinclair.” She returned his smile with ease and followed after him. “And I would appreciate that, thank you.” At his question, her attention cutting away from the echoes of voices as classes begun, Jersey’s green eyes returned to the man and she nodded her head.

“I believe I’m already enrolled into Mythology as well as World Beliefs and Myths. I haven’t gotten to look much further into anything else.” She adjusted her jacket briefly and continued to speak, “It’s important for me to get a feel for things by speaking with the Professors beforehand rather than find myself in a course where I’m not interested in the subject.” Looking at the office door, she bowed her head briefly and stepped around the man, mindful to not bump into anything.

“How long have you been teaching here, Professor?” She asked, looking around his office to try and get a sense of the man with how it was.

[Calen (DELETED 5969)]

My office was a sanctuary of its own right. The shelves of books that took up two of the four walls were of my own prized collections. The care that I took to maintain the them, especially the older texts, could perhaps be seen a bit weird or obsessive. But, I enjoyed the chore and the books were a wealth of information that I had studied extensively in the past few years. There was a chance that I knew their contents better than the authors themselves, albeit most of them were now dead. Rest their souls.

I circled around her to reach my desk, dropping my bag gently onto the floor beside me. It was its usual cluttered mess, but I was the only one expected to navigate it, and in that sense, it was quite organized. I knew exactly where the papers were that I needed, when I needed them. That was all that mattered. Still, to appear professional, I stacked them and set them aside, only to gesture to the couple of chairs opposite me. Which she took was of little concern, but I vaguely noted that I had yet to answer her question.

I lowered myself down into my chair, leaning back against it with my fingers steepled together. "To be quite honest with you, this is my first semester. A professor passed away, and in a rush to fill the position...here I am," I explained, gesturing to the office that had once belonged to another. And from what I knew, I well respected individual around these parts. "I have been studying the course material for quite a long time, and despite my age, they felt I was best suited for the job." Whether or not that was what she wanted to hear was beside the point. She asked into my time, and I gave her the most honest one I could provide.

With a short moment of silence. I mentally recalled the list of other classes she had enrolled in. A lover of the supernatural, it would seem. While most could claim to have a fair enough respect for mythology and the paranormal, not many would take classes on the material. I had to admit I respected her choices, and it was no doubt, due to my bias. "You are taking quite the list of courses. Can I inquire as to your interest?" I asked with a raised eyebrow, my head falling to the side. The sun was beginning to sink low, casting an eerie orange glow from behind him and through the office.

[Jersey]

Before she begun to live with Peter, Jersey believed that the man’s office would have looked something similar to how her previous life could have been, although the thrall that told her what she wanted to know made it hard to believe sometimes because of the differences between then and now. While she wasn’t a messy individual, her rare messes while she was living in her motel room had been something she had been able to understand. Austin had once teased her because she’d become so neat, but living with her OCD boyfriend was something she liked and it didn’t hurt her to pick up after herself, really.

“Do you read a lot, sir?” She asked, trying to make conversation as she recalled seeing a few books in particular on the shelves in Peter’s office in the cabin. The question, however, was mostly based on that she had learned that certain people such as her biological brother, preferred to make the illusion be there while in reality, he preferred to listen to things on tape. Nakia, she assumed, was likely the same given her habits of dragging Jersey away from Danton’s long lectures.

Smiling politely as he gestured to one of the chairs, Jersey moved to take the offered seat and faced him. One ankle was tucked beneath the other and she sat up straight. At his answer, she gave a nod of her head. “Well, I wish you the best in success when it comes to your period teaching here.” Another smile was given as she lifted her green eyes once more to study the book titles slowly, returning her gaze to him once more. “Age is but a number when it comes to the wisdom of certain subjects, I believe. What would you say that you specialized in particular? And I’m sorry if the questions are too much. I’ve been told asking too many questions can be overwhelming.”

At his inquiry, Jersey paused and she almost gave a nervous laugh, mentally scolding herself as she lifted her hand to cover her mouth as she lightly cleared her throat when she felt it seem dry. “Excuse me.” And then afterwards, she lifted her shoulders in a soft shrug. “I enjoy having an open mind to what can be possible when it comes to lurking beneath the shadows, for lack of a better meaning. Mythology has interested me as far back as I can remember,” which was in truth for only a year back, “and it’s something that isn’t studied very often. The field itself can also help in writing.”