LOG: [Julio, Marius] Good morning

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Julio wakes up to find a rather unexpected addition to the suite. A moody one.




Sleeping in was one of life's greatest pleasures. Julio seized every opportunity possible to sleep in. Here at the school, he often forced himself to keep his early schedule so he could keep some semblance of normalcy, of home. Sundays were his day off.

Of course, it usually backfired and he was up before 9 anyway. It was still better than 6 am, he mused to himself as he opened the door of his and Kyle's room and rubbed his head. Coffee would be good. Or some juice, or some...one was in their kitchen. Too dark to be Kyle and too thin to be Mondo. Julio's sleep fuzzed brain tried to dredge up something for him so he wouldn't stand there poleaxed in front of his door. And got nothing.

"Que?"

The bread was homemade wheat, likely Lorna's. Fresh, too. Almost half the loaf was still there, and Lorna's bread didn't tend to last long around Kyle. Marius was so involved in sawing at it that he didn't notice the door open -- but he did notice the unfamiliar genetic signature moving at the edge of his vision. He was so numb from lack of sleep that he barely blinked.

"Mornin'," he said, studying the newcomer just long enough to identify the fact that he couldn't identify him. New kid, he supposed. Marius waved the serrated knife he was holding briefly, eyes falling back to the loaf. "Don't mind me. Just gettin' brekkie."

Julio still had nothing. He blinked, fingers waving in an attempt to calculate who this person, who was too familiar with the kitchen to be really new, was.

"A, buh...huh?" He scratched his head. The kid was taller than him, black hair in dreadlocks. And grey skin. Something pinged.

"Would you be. . . Marius?

"Ah, the infamy of my name endures, I see." At some point Marius acknowledged he would need to put on more than sweatpants, or at least find another pair to swap them out for; this pair was scorched, and he hadn't been particularly concerned about having a change of clothes when he'd vacated the Medlab last night. Not that it mattered much right now. It wasn't as if he needed to walk the halls anymore. The last of the bread parted under the blade. "Got me at a disadvantage, I'm afraid. Been a bit out of touch."

"Julio. I would be Julio." He put his hands to his face and rubbed it a couple of times, trying to wake up more thoroughly, before combing his fingers through his hair. "I think I was in the infirmary before you left." How could he forget? It was the first day he'd met the amazing dancing Forge. "If you do not mind, I need to get to the refrigerator..."

"Pardon." Marius stepped aside, taking the pieces of bread as the smaller boy moved past him. "Apologies for the lapse. The details of any time spent in infirmary tend to blur once you hit the first dozen or so. Wasn't so much at my most attentive then, anyway." He inserted the bread into the toaster and pushed the lever down. "Came in after that affair in San Diego, right?"

"After I blew it up, you mean?" Julio said from somewhere in the refrigerator, coming up with a bottle of orange juice. He shook it as he shut the door. "I am sorry. I should have remembered that you lived here and would be back when Ms. Munroe made the announcement. My mind was on my algebra quiz." He found that it was better for his sanity if he blocked any drama not directly affecting him.

"Oh, that you? Sounds like you had a proper start to this place, then. Destroyin' urban centers is apparently a long-standing tradition." The taller boy shrugged, eyes fixed on the coils of the toaster as they brightened to orange. "And no worries. My glorious reclamation was both unscheduled and unannounced. Good one on me my room had yet to acquire another occupant. In retrospect perhaps I should have checked. Sadly I am a slave to my impulses." He bobbed his head towards Julio without looking up, respirator rasping. "So you in with Kyle then, or you take Jay's old room?"

The parameters for the conversation being set, Julio continued, "Yes, I am now roommates with Kyle. Another student, Mondo, is in the other room. I much prefer Kyle. He is less," he gestured, looking for the right word. "Exhausting?" Julio opened the juice and took a drink. "Do not let him have coffee. Under any circumstances."

Marius snorted softly, the noise exaggerated by the respirator. "There's a bloke named 'Mondo' and he's got more energy than Kyle? Ah, cheers. There's nothing like a small core of impending dread to round off a balanced breakfast. It shall sit quite nicely next to the toast."

Everything was so different. Forge had left the suite, and Jay and Catseye just left -- the old replaced with the new. A lot, to hear Rahne tell it. Change. Everything had changed.

Then again, Marius thought, so had he. He supposed it was only fair.

"He is way too cheerful," Julio agreed. "The Hello Kitty nametag is his, it is not a joke. I would not be surprised if he sneezed rainbows or something." Julio scratched his nose with the hand holding the juice and continued, "And Kyle is Kyle. I am, sadly, the normal one. And I shatter dinnerware and cannot function in the proper language half the time." Julio eyed the other boy. The cloud of gloom coming off of him was almost palpable.

"Of course, there is such a thing as too cheerful," Julio added. "Too much here and the suite would explode. Literally. Because I could not take it anymore."

Marius nodded. "Yours is a position I do not envy. It's a terrible burden to shoulder, bein' the normal one. Long hours an' few benefits, madness pressin' in at you from all sides. High rate of turnover. Rather a thankless job, actually. An' of course, there can be only one."

The toast finally popped. Marius collected it, barely registering the heat through his toughened skin. Or any texture at all. He turned to the other boy and gave him a nod. "Pleasure to meet you, Julio. No worries, you shall not often be required to endure my cheerful company. I eat on occasion. At some point perhaps personal hygiene will once again become a factor. Otherwise, I shall endeavor to keep to myself. Apologies in advance for the odour of sulfur. I do that." He raised his free hand, flashing the teeth on his palm. "I would offer a manly handshake of greeting, but you understand."

Julio shrugged one shoulder. "It was only a matter of time until we got the emo one, now our suite is complete. The force is balanced, or something." Oh hell, he really was talking to someone in the kitchen who resembled a junior version of Darth Vader, wasn't he? For a tiny fraction of a second, Julio was hit with a crushing wave of homesickness, where things were simple and uncomplicated. But he pushed that away. "Saying things like that makes me the....gah, group nerd? But, I never claimed to be normal, just the most normal."

"I'm the new emo one?" Marius cocked his head slightly, orange eyes half-lidded. "Well. Suppose quota must be met somehow. Must remember to tender my thanks to Jay for bequeathing that illustrious title upon me by default."

With another shrug the Australian made his way across the kitchen, then paused.

"Incidentally," he said, nodding over his shoulder at Julio without managing to quite look at him, "with this lot, normal by comparison? Not such a bad goal."

"I have discovered that we no longer live in reality," Julio said wryly. "Normal is something we cannot comprehend anymore." He tossed the empty juice container into the trash. "Mucho gusto, Marius. I will see you around."

"Indeed," Marius said as he stepped into his room and shut the door behind him.

Again, my apologies.