xp_logs | Angelo and Sooraya | Backdated to Saturday afternoon (Reply)

Whilst waiting for the other students to return to the bus after the outing in New York, Angelo and Sooraya talk.

"It shouldn't be much longer before the others show up", Angelo said over his shoulder to Sooraya, who was sitting quietly in a seat at the front of the bus. "If it is, we'll go lookin' for them."

The Afghan girl looked up from the postcard she had bought that morning - a black and white picture of the old New York skyscrapers that reminded her of mountains, in a way - and smiled. "They will be coming," she said with quiet assurance, glancing out the window before looking back at Angelo. "The city is so big... there is very much to do. It is hard to go."

"That it is", he said with a smile. "But there's always next week, if there's more things you wanted to do today but didn't have time."

"Oh. I did very much today," Sooraya said solemnly. She shifted on the seat and crinkled the paper bag that held the souvenirs she had bought for Moira, Nate and Rachel, as well as the trinkets she had gotten for her suitemates. "I like the trip, it is fun. Thank you for the driving."

"You're welcome - I'm glad you had fun." He turned to look curiously at the paper bag. "An' did some shoppin'?"

"Yes. I have presents." At first Sooraya hadn't know what to do with the money Nate insisted on giving her for cleaning up the office, but she quickly figured out that while she didn't need anything extra, she could certainly use it to purchase things for her friends. Smiling widely, she opened up the bag and began to pull out the little knick-knacks she had bought at the gift shop. "For Angel," she said, showing him the magnet with the same picture as the postcard printed on it. "It is photo-gra-phy."

Angelo leaned back for a better look, smiling. "Yeah, it is. Bet she'll like it, too."

"I wish she will." Next Sooraya pulled out a brightly-colored toy which looked both fun and nigh-indestructable. "For Rachel," she said, the warmth evident in her voice.

"Good choice", he said approvingly. "Looks like it won't break even if she TK's it off the walls. She's been doin' that lately."

"Yes," Sooraya agreed. "Nathan says that is why the squirrels are not to come near the boat-house. They are scared." Personally, Sooraya was curious what a flying squirrel would look like, but she agreed it wasn't humane to actually find out.

"...he told me she wasn't doin' that anymore", Angelo said, laughing. "But then, maybe that's because they learned not to come anywhere near her."

Nodding, Sooraya put the gifts back into the bag, pulling it into her lap and holding it tightly. "The squirrels are wise. It is good Rachel can't make people fly."

"Not yet, she can't. An' hopefully when she's big enough to do that, she'll have learned better. She's got the best teachers she could have, anyway."

There was no doubt about that. Though Sooraya sometimes wondered if Nate's political bargaining wouldn't be successful if he took advantage of his ability to levitate people. No one liked being held upside-down for long. Of course, that was not a responsible use of one's powers, but still... She giggled a little, thinking of a helplessly-flailing politician dangling before Nate while the tall man just laughed. With a gleam in her eye she shared the scenario with Angelo, knowing he would find it amusing as well.

He did indeed. Very, very amusing. He was still laughing when the other students started straggling back to the bus.