[physical education 101]

[sevenhorrorsmods]

Who: transfer students
When: July 1̷̝̤̳̙̫̭̻̝͓̄̇̾̀̕͝9̸̙̱̹͍̮̈́́̀̅͛̐̔̋ 20
Where: the. . . gymnasium?
What: an ice breaker
Warnings: moderate physical injury (not debilitating), psychological horror (absolutely debilitating)

[The school is empty. The school is quiet. The only sound that cuts through the silence is the soft ticking of the hallway clocks that mark the passing of each second.]

[. . .]

[At least. . . until a stiff breeze whips through the classrooms, scattering dirty papers and jerking the curtains aside. The clock strikes 6:00 a.m.]

[The school bell chimes.]

[ Team rooms | Endgame | Rewards ]

Comments

[ordimame]

[CRIES]

Thanks, I am too.

[HAH. . .]

Honestly, in hindsight it's the most obvious place to look. Who always has the keys to the classroom. . .?

[SENSEI DOES]

[selfportraiture]

Yeah. Real obvious.

[Said dourly. They got it, but only barely........ she can still barely hear him over the tinnitus.]

Let's get out of here before we get hit with any more "obvious" riddles.

[ordimame]

Right. . .

[he starts to move, but--]

[then he freezes in place, gaze swiveling to the side, entire body freezing. LIKE A DEER CAUGHT IN HEADLIGHTS]

[selfportraiture]

[She also freezes.

And shifts her gaze slowly that way, a chill running down her spine.




And there is nothing there.]

... Hey, that's not funny.

[ordimame]

[THERE'S NOTHING THERE]

I'm sorry, I just-- [. . .] I thought I saw something.

[. . . maybe he's still jumpy about what just happened]

[selfportraiture]

[She just scowls even more deeply.]

You're so cursed.

1/2

[ordimame]

[CRIES. . .]

Of course I'm cursed! That stupid thing broke through the window and flooded the room with weird thread! I thought we were done for!!

[ordimame]

Being a little cursed is better than the alternative, I guess.

[selfportraiture]

What, being dead? Obviously.

[She scoots... away, a little.]

Just don't get too close and curse me too.

[ordimame]

[holding up both hands, palms forward]

Believe me when I say I have no intention of passing this on to anyone else. Are curses contagious?

[selfportraiture]

I don't know! Before today, I didn't think ghosts were real!

[ordimame]

[oh thank GOD]

. . . neither did I! Amidst everything else that happened, I'm kind of having my entire worldview upended!

[DEEP SIGH AS HE SLUMPS]

I'd rather keep denying it, but. . .

[selfportraiture]

Yeah... Hiro can fly and we almost got eaten by a huge ghost. I've given up on denying it.

[She slumps too.]

[ordimame]

[THEY ARE VIBING. . .]

[. . .]

[quietly]

. . . it's a little too much, isn't it?

[selfportraiture]

I don't know what you're talking about.

[She says, arms crossed, hunched small, voice trembling as it is all Too Much.]

[ordimame]

[. . . . . . .]

. . . then maybe it's just me, and you're just a lot tougher than I am.

[a tiny, self-deprecating laugh]

Because it is a little much. A little. . . too much. Waking up in a strange place, surrounded by people I've never met. . . being told that things like magic and ghosts are real, when they're nothing more than fairy tales where I came from.

. . . being shown that first hand in the most terrifying way imaginable.

[a small exhale. he watches her as he speaks, features soft]

It's so overwhelming that all I want to do is find a quiet room and scream. Any one of those things on it's own would be scary, but all of it put together. . .?

[it's fucking terrifying. he won't press her so hard that her brave facade cracks-- not this early in the game. but. . . maybe it'll help, for her to know that she is not alone. . .?]

[selfportraiture]

[... She draws her knees up to her chest, burying her face into her thighs.

Just as she was starting to get better at not going to her room and screaming and throwing things and breaking things. Just when she was finally starting to get her temper and emotions under control.

Now this.

...]

Yeah. It sucks. I get it.

[A shaky breath in.]

And I didn't even have it as bad as you did, and I still--!

[... Just... A sigh.]

... Never mind. It's fine. We're getting out of here and I'm going home.

[ordimame]

[. . . he had a feeling. . .]

Don't compare your experiences to other people's. Who had it worse. . . that doesn't matter.

[he shakes his head]

We're all still entitled to the way that we feel.

[selfportraiture]

[A sniffle.

And then, irritably:]

I don't even know you.

[ordimame]

Haha. . . yeah, you're right. You don't. And I don't even know you!

[. . .]

But with so many people here who come from places I can't even fathom, it's kind of nice to meet someone else who understands-- [what I'm feeling] -- what it's like to be normal.

[selfportraiture]

[Well.

She can understand that much. Everyone here is so weird, and everything that's happening is so weird, and she's already shown more vulnerability to this dude than she wanted to.

She lifts her face, resting her chin on her knees to frown at him.]

So what's your deal, then? Just a regular guy? Where are you from?

[ordimame]

Juuuust a regular guy.

[drawing one knee up as well, slinging his arm across it as he sighs]

I'm from Japan, but I've been doing a lot of traveling lately. Seeing the world, sampling local coffees as I go. . .

[and it was a VERY WELL-DESERVED VACATION and he is MORE THAN A BIT PUT OUT THAT IT WAS CUT SHORT BY. . . THIS??]

[selfportraiture]

Oh. Huh. Yeah, that's pretty normal.

[... and kind of hoity-toity???

She sounds sincerely surprised, though.]

[ordimame]

[a little hoity-toity!]

Why do you sound so surprised about it?

[selfportraiture]

Because almost everyone here really has been weird.

...

I guess you do look pretty average, though.