the exciting jaunt to the magical book land

who: eben and mira
where: mshs
when: mid day

Eben was wandering the halls at school, sort of half aware that he needed to be going to the whole meeting thing about the field trip--something he'd skipped yesterday. Really, it hadn't been his fault. He'd just forgotten. He'd been in the art room wrapped up in another sculpture, and he'd lost track of time. By the time he'd actually noticed he'd lost track, a good chunk of his day had been entirely eaten away and he'd had to scramble to get to other classes. Fortunately for the chaos elemental, his teachers were more than used to this.

Today, he was determined to show up! Which meant he was avoiding the art room, even if it was kind of bugging him to do so. To make up for it, he was wandering around with a camera, and snapping off shots of random people as he passed them. Pausing and focusing on a girl with gorgeous hair, he focused in, and snapped the shot, smiling over the camera at her afterwards. "Hello." he greeted.

After her first morning of classes, well, ever, Mira was exhausted. The map they'd given her in homeroom was completely useless, and it seemed like they'd put her classrooms as far from each other as physically possible. She'd ended up sprinting from one end of the building to the other three times already, the students staring at her all the while. In fact, they were still staring at her. Even though she had told herself to expect it, it was still strange being the new kid. None of the stories she'd heard about public school had quite prepared her for today, and she felt completely out of her depth. The teachers were crazy strict, most of the kids were either jerks or functionally retarded, and she had no idea how to talk to anyone. It was utterly bizarre.

Breathless and more than a little sore, Mira gave up trying to find the library and leaned against a wall, dropping her books and slipping her bag off of her shoulder. She leaned her head back against the wall, breathing slowly and doing her best to calm down. Mira tried to think about something peaceful, like the ocean or sunshine or some other meditation cliche, but the loud click of a camera broke her concentration. Blinking, she lifted her head and stared at the boy in front of her for a moment before realizing he had spoken to her. "Er, Hi?"

Eben continued smiling at her in his laid back, serene sort of manner. "Greetings." he said. "I hope you don't mind." he said, indicating the camera. "You just caught my interest. Are you new here? I'm certain I would have remembered a bone structure as pretty as yours." he told her, which he managed to say without sounding like he was hitting on her. More like he was actually stating a fact, that he would really recall such a thing. Which was true! But then Eben was like that, he tended to find things he liked about everyone, and wasn't shy about telling people that.

Mira was a little taken back by how utterly mellow this kid seemed to be, as well as the fact that he was the only person she'd ever heard use the phrase 'bone structure' without wearing a white lab coat and/or stethoscope. Not to mention that he was the first person to talk to her today, aside from teachers, or that he'd called her pretty. This combination made her blush in spite of herself and her words come haltingly. "Uh, yeah. Today's my first day. I was, uh, supposed to start yesterday but I got sick. Anyways, my name's Mira. Jones. Mira Jones." Was she supposed to shake his hand? Exactly what was she supposed to do in this sort of situation anyway? Mira settled for crossing her arms and smiling awkwardly, grimacing just a little at how silly she sounded.

"Well, nice to meet you, Mira Jones, Mira Jones." he said, echoing her. "Mira. Means 'look' in Spanish. Are you looking for something?" he asked curiously, head canting to the side slightly as he gazed at her. He held his camera lightly against his shoulder, not too far away in case he wanted another shot, though he decided if he was going to take another, he'd opt for permission first. Still, she had his entire attention, something that wasn't always the easiest thing to do with the flighty artist.

"Well, actually, I'm looking for the library." Mira rubbed her neck out of habit, gathering up her books from where she had let them fall at her feet. She wanted to correct him, tell him her full name, but she didn't even know his yet. Bent over, Mira looked up at him through her hair, eyeing his camera warily. She was fairly certain he'd taken her photo before, but she wasn't sure how she felt about that. "I'm supposed to get a library card if I ever get there," she said, shouldering her bag again. "So, do you speak Spanish, or do you just know enough to impress pretty girls?"

He laughed a little. "Are you impressed?" he asked. "And I know a little. I was in Mexico here and there growing up, so..." he shrugged one shoulder. "If you're impressed, enough to impress pretty girls. I can, however, dazzle you with my ability to find the library if that's more useful to you." he told her. "Want some help? It can be a little confusing to find your way when you're first getting here. It took me a while to get used to it and all, I don't mind showing you around." he offered.

"Then your time in Mexico was well spent," Mira said with a little smile. "Go on, do it. Dazzle me. It'll be particularly brilliant since I really have no idea where anything is in this place." Mira couldn't help but feel flattered that he'd called her pretty again, even though she knew she was being silly. There was no reason to get excited just because some helpful stranger was a total flirt. Still, it was a lot easier talking to him than she had expected. "So, do I just call you That Kid From Mexico, or do you have a name?"

"Eben! Sorry about that, I didn't offer my name, did I? Sometimes that skips my mind." he admitted, bowing with a flourish to indicate the direction they were going to be headed, and he started off that way with her, falling into step. "So, I'd prefer that, since the other is terribly inaccurate. I mean, I spent time there but I'm not really from there per se. Which leads me to ask where you're from." he said, turning the subject back onto her easily with a grin. "So, Mira, where are you from?"

"Indianapolis, mostly. I've spent time in other places too, though." Mira followed his lead, rehearsing in her head all of the simple versions of the truth that she had come up with for questions like this. Mira rubbed her neck again, realizing as she did that she had let the pause go on too long. "Michigan is way different. I'm not sure I've ever lived anywhere this miserably cold before," she added, and it was completely true. "I mean, holy shit this is a lot of snow. I am so gonna freeze to death before seventh period."

Eben noticed that she rubbed at her neck twice in rapid succession, and it led him to examine her skin further. Which drew his attention to the scar, the red line, and he of course had noticed the one on her face as well, he just tended not to view things of that nature as a determent to beauty. Eben's world view was a tad warped at times. His eyes ticked onto the lines, but he didn't say anything immediately. "I'm sure you won't freeze to death." he said sagely. "I mean, logically speaking, there are tons of other people around, so if push came to shove, you could grab people for shared body heat." he said brightly, as if this were a reasonable, viable option.

Mina giggled--actually giggled--at the image. "Well, that's one option. I could kidnap a couple of freshman and make them follow me home and to all my classes. But isn't that supposed to work better when they're naked? I know I haven't been here long enough to be certain, but somehow I don't think the faculty would approve." Mira looked out the few windows they passed as she spoke, glancing at the snow banks. "It might be more convenient to just drag a space heater around. It's a little warmer today, though. I might even keep all my toes if it stays like this."

"Just so we're clear, I'm claiming no responsibility for bringing nudity into this conversation." Eben said firmly if playfully. "That was all you. But other than that, I'm sure you could pull it off sans nudity, if you tried hard enough, though I couldn't really imagine you couldn't find some freshman that would be more than happy to shed their clothing to get up close and personal with you. Plus, it would be a valiant effort on their part, heroically coming to your aid so you don't lose any extremities. I'm sure they'll warrant at the very least pats on the head, if not medals for their valor. How could the faculty find fault with that, I ask?" he continued, pausing to pull the camera up again, hoping to catch a touch of a smile as he snapped a shot. "I like that sound. You laughing like that. It's pleasant." he told her randomly.

Ruining her 'normal high school girl' act completely, Mira snorted. "Pfft. Yeah, right. Forcing them to undress via violence for their humiliation and my amusement I could see, but now you're just talkin' crazy." Mira was speaking a little too quickly, her cheeks bright pink. "If they're getting medals, it'll be for endurance and courage and to help piece their fragile psyches back together once I'm through with them. Purple hearts, and whatnot." Mira paused, thinking over the last thing he had said. It was strange...he was complimenting her like crazy, and even though she knew better, she couldn't help but think he meant it. "Thanks," she said at last, though she was uncertain if it was the right reply.

"You're welcome." Eben said easily, taking them round a corner. "And are you really planning on damaging your warmth-providers psychologically? Are you really an evil mastermind and I've just stumbled upon you by accident?" Which had him thinking about the lines of chaos he was walking around, generally speaking, and behind them a locker popped open without true reason, reacting to him, even if he didn't notice. "Are you planning on messing with my head? I'll give you fair warning, if that's your goal, you've got your work cut out for you."

"Eh, not so much a mastermind as a savant. Of evil. Well, not evil so much as screaming and fistfights. I'm pretty good at cursing." Mira glanced over her shoulder at the sound of metal scraping against metal, wondering briefly at the swinging locker door. "Any damage would be purely collateral. I can only go for so long making witty quips and having a nice time before it'll collapse into a bad episode of Jerry Springer. Aside from the freshman, there's typically less nudity and midgets than a regular episode. "

"Should I be waiting for you to turn on me then?" Eben asked, not sounding concerned, so much as he sounded more like he just wanted to note it if that were the case. "I could probably stay out of kicking distance, I've got a good lens on this thing." he said, indicating the camera. "Which leads me to asking you if I can take more photographs of you. I mean, I'm sure you're busy with keeping warm and avoiding frostbite and all, but if inbetween those times you would be inclined...?"

Mira shrugged. "Don't worry about shocking betrayals or anything like that. Just, y'know, practice dodging and ducking. Generally, the yelling come first. It's like how rattlesnakes, uh, rattle. Natural warning sign." Mira raised an eyebrow at the camera. "I guess so. I don't know why you'd want to, but I don't see why not. Unless you're one of those dudes who hangs out under stair cases and takes upskirt shots. Or naked shots. 'Cuz then the answer would definitely be no. But normal photos are okay. Don't expect me to pose, though, because then your lens is gonna be filled with my middle finger." Mira adjusted the strap of her bag, suddenly self conscious. All the talk about nudity was starting to get to her a little.

Eben squeezed one eye shut and looked pained for a moment. "I'm pretty sure you just insulted me." he noted. But he blew it off easily enough. "No, I'm not a creep, if that's what you're getting at. And I don't usually do posing? Generally I just like hanging out with people and taking natural shots. If I really have a burning desire to say, shift your hair from one shoulder to another, I might ask, but other than that, I'm all for not really setting things up. Especially with a first time shoot." he explained to her. "And why wouldn't I want to?" he asked, slightly puzzled on that.

"Sorry," Mira said, biting her lip. "I'm fucking this up, aren't I? I don't know anything about this sort of stuff. Er, art stuff." What she had meant was 'friend stuff,' but that was much. much too pathetic to say out loud. "I've only really seen dudes wander around with cameras on tv, and then they were usually suspects on Law & Order. I'm sheltered." It was a shitty excuse, but she had blurted it out before she could really think about it. Mira shrugged, glancing down at her outfit; ratty jeans, a seriously ugly black shirt, a hoodie under her black pea coat. "I mean, I'm not really much to look at. There are more interesting people to take photos of. I'm not...art."

"No, you're not fucking anything up." Eben told her easily. "It's not a big deal or anything, don't worry about it so much." he told her, since she seemed to be stressing over it and he didn't want her to. "As for you...I'd say you're much to look at. And if by 'interesting' you mean 'largely the same', sure there are other people around, but you're unique. Which to me, that's art. Anyways, art is in the eye of the beholder. It's different for every single person. Whether we're talking about what people consider art, or just how people react to art pieces. No two are the same. I find you interesting and different than what I see every day. Therefore that draws in my interest, and I like to document those who capture that." he explained.

Mira was quiet for a moment, taking in what Eben had said. "After this, I'd be insulted if you didn't take my picture." It was hard not to take the things he said personally, to keep it casual and superficial. There was something disarming about his obvious passion and honesty. It was....different. She didn't quite know what to think about it. But his obvious love for what he did was endearing all the same, and Mira couldn't help but want to get to know him better. He was oddly compelling, almost charming. "Anyway, who am I to argue with the artist over his choice of subject? You can take my photo anytime."

That had Eben beaming at her brightly. "Thank you!" he said gratefully. "I'll hold you to that." he warned playfully. "And here's my end of the bargain. Behold! The Library! A place full of what was once considered a great wealth of knowledge, but has been made obsolete by the interweb. Or so I hear, I dunno, I'm not on computers much. But here you are. The place where the books live." he said, bowing and gesturing to the doors with a flourish. He glanced up at her with his bright blues. "Are you properly dazzled?"

Mira nodded, glancing around at the shelves. "Oh, yeah. I am dazzled, totally. Consider me wowed. If you ever need a good reference for your dazzling skills, I'm your girl." Rummaging through her bag, Mira dug out her schedule and a few of the notices she'd gotten at the beginning of the day. "I'm totally abusing your skills here, but I'm supposed to go to some assembly today. Er, soon. I'm not actually sure of the time, to be honest. Whenever last period is. Er." She held the paper out to Eben, clutching the rest of it to her chest. "D'you know what any of this is about? Because it looks totally retarded to me."

Eben took the sheet. "Oh, hey, that's cool. You're in my group." he noted. "I was meant to go to one explaining it yesterday but lost track of time. From what I gather, the school district has deemed it wise to educate us youngins on the ways of the spirits, and we're going on a field trip to someplace haunted." he explained, handing the sheet back to her. "That's about all i can tell you, really, I don't know a whole lot myself. So...welcome to Marquette, I guess? Land of the spooky ghost field trips?"

"...what." Mira looked at Eben blankly, trying to figure out if he was joking or making fun of her. After all, it would be easy to prank the new girl--sell her an elevator pass or give her directions to the rooftop pool. But Eben was still sunny, still completely frank. "...that is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard. I can't believe they're gonna make us buy into this spirit crap--force us to! And if it's really real, then that's stupid dangerous! Everyone knows that asylums and hospitals are, like, ghost nightclubs! This school is retarded. This town is retarded." Mira knew her volume was rising, but she couldn't help it. Blatant ignorance of basic logic was one of her biggest pet peeves, after all.

Eben blinked, eyeing her for a moment. "....um. Okay." he said. "First of all, the 'crap' I have to say is undeniable, we've even got some ghost girl wandering the halls. I've seen her." he said. "And I didn't know that asylums or hospitals were ghost nightclubs." he added. The whole ghost thing was pretty new yet. And while he'd fully believed in spirits before they'd suddenly started showing up all over, it was different having the whole world and society at large trying to deal with them.

Mira shrugged, trying to get back a little nonchalance. "I'm not gonna believe it until I see it myself. That's pretty much my stance on everything, though. It doesn't matter if it's ghosts, unicorns, or white kids that can dance. As far as asylums go, you get people dying in those places all the freaking time. Well, the old ones, anyway. A lot of those places used to be, like, jail for people with small pox or tuberculosis. Can you imagine being completely sane, but forced to die surrounded by crazy? I'd be a totally pissed off ghost, too. And hospitals...well, people die in hospitals more than anywhere else." She shrugged again, holding onto her books and papers a little more tightly. "Still, not gonna believe it until I punch a ghost in the face."

"Why would you want to punch a ghost in the face?" Eben asked. "...they're already dead, wouldn't that kind of be rude?" he asked. "And it's been all over the news and everything, the ghost thing--but I suppose if you've got to see it for yourself and don't want to believe the rest of the world, that's up to you." he said, shrugging one shoulder. "...are you done taking things out on me, or did you have another round in there?" he added, with a light tone.

"Punching a ghost in the face isn't rude, it's a highly scientific test. If I connect with something, then it's a dude in a sheet and not a real ghost. If my fist goes through it, then I'll run the hell away because there's no way in hell that transparent people are a good thing. And it's not that I don't trust the world..." Mira paused, because it was exactly that. She didn't trust anything, or anyone. Not completely, anyway. And certainly not the media. "Anyways, I'm sure that if you stick around you'll get to see me stick my foot further down my throat. Lord knows that I'm gonna make an ass of myself one way or another on the field trip."

Eben didn't say anything for a few moments, just kind of assessing in general. He kept his eyes on her, quite clearly calculating what he thought, taking in new information and slotting it in with what he already knew since meeting her a few minutes ago. "Transparent or not, they're people." Eben said lightly, after a long pause. "They've been here as long as we have, we just hadn't seen them before now. Not like this. They've got as much of a right to be here as we do. It's kind of ignorant to just...decide they don't belong here, just because they're different, or that they're a bad portent or anything." His tone was still light, not pointed at all.

Mira nodded. She was failing this, wasn't she? True, she hadn't offended him, but... She still felt incredibly awkward and more than a little uncomfortable. It was off-putting, being analyzed like this; she had no idea what to make of it or him. What was the right thing to say here? And if he was judging her, then what right did he have to do that? "That's true...but...well, can I at least run away? Transparent dudes are pretty much synonymous with panic attacks. I'll totally respect them as people, but I'll still be terrified. Probably. I really don't know what I'd do, to be honest."

Eben quirked a half smile at her. "You don't need my permission for that." he said. "You don't need mine, or anyone else's permission for anything. I was just pointing out an alternative point of view." he explained. Since that had been what he'd been doing. "From the ghost around here, she seems pretty...well. Normal. She goes to classes, hangs out in the halls, and if it wasn't for the kind of mooshed extremities thing, she'd kinda look like everyone else." he shrugged. "I don't think the movies have really done them justice, in other words."

Mira nodded, tilting her head to the side as she thought over it. She didn't like thinking about death and all its messy details. She had always been of the opinion that everything ended, including the soul, or whatever it was that made up these ghosts. But if there were spirits wandering around where anyone could see them, then how did it end? She didn't say any of this aloud and pushed it from her mind."Are you sure you're a highschooler, Eben? You're way too articulate for public school." Putting her papers back in her bag, Mira paused, wondering if she would see the ghost girl. "Maybe she can help me with my chemistry homework."

He laughed a little. "Call it a lot of life experience with a whole slew of different theologies and personalities influencing my life." he told her, which was plain truth. He'd grown up hopping from cult to cult, commune to commune. He'd seen faiths all across the board, dealt with incredibly varied amounts of people. It left the kid a little wide open when it came to world views. "And maybe she can. I know I can't. I can just help on art projects, and offer distractions, which don't normally help with chemistry."

His laughter put her at ease a little. Maybe all wasn't lost. Yet. "I haven't gotten my intramural classes worked out yet, so I may take you up on that. If they stick me with art, I'll need it." She paused awkwardly, realizing she'd spent the last five minutes standing in front of the library with him. "I guess I ought to go ahead and get this done. I'll see you at the orientation thingy, right? It'll be nice to know at least one person in the room."

"Of course! I'll look forward to it." Eben said, bringing his camera up to snap one more shot and he grinned at her, winking. "See you then, pretty girl." he said, before he wandered off, leaving her to her own devices. He guessed he ought to see what class he was meant to be in around now, shouldn't he? Making an appearance might be for the best.

Mira smiled, the camera catching her just as it reached her eyes. She watched him leave, berating herself a little for being so happy that she had managed to talk to someone and might have even started to make a friend. She was an adult for crying out loud--she should have a little dignity. All the same, she stood in the entrance and watched him turn the corner, a smile still on her lips.