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Tyson felt like he deserved a more casual day, or at least one that didn’t have him cooped up in the lab during daylight hours. He was coming up to the end of his active research before having to work on his thesis for his final submission, but he didn’t exactly feel on top of things. Hence a day at the library, he had his last few experiments coming up and he wanted to ensure that he wasn’t treading over ground that had already been covered or if there were any known explanations he could refer to in his writeup to explain the results. It might sound tedious, but it was a welcome break from some of the more strenuous elements of preparing an experiment.
He sat at a small table off to the side of the library, there wasn’t a designated section for mature or senior students, let alone research students, but it was quiet enough and close to the kind of material he needed for him to make progress. Tyson let out a soft sigh as he passed a few more pages through his fingertips, as simple as it was for him to skim read the internet with his abilities, holding something that narrowed his search down to a laser focus rather than trying to find a needle in a haystack was rather refreshing and one of the main reasons he enjoyed using the library. He had mused on taking some books back to his apartment or to the laboratory but the large and welcoming windows around him made for a more open and relaxing environment.
It had just passed New Years and whilst the majority of the students were still off school, Tyson worked on a similar schedule to the administrative and academic staff, nine to five with selective holiday leave. He didn’t mind it and he especially appreciated the peace and quiet in the more public areas. He leaned back into his seat a bit as he continued to flick through the textbook, occasionally pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to take in some of the more dense concepts.
Words. 356
Tags. Open
Notes.
Save him from himself? Either a scheduled meetup or a random encounter!
Holiday break was always rough for the twins, probably more so for Sam than Alex. Without any family other than each other, they typically just stayed back at the academy rather than traveling back to where they were from. It made no sense to go back to a place where they weren't welcome in their own home and would have to afford a hotel. It was actually nicer on holidays to be at the academy because everyone was typically away with their families and it gave them both a break from their abilities on some level.
Alex enjoyed less electronic devices talking all at once and she could focus on fixing all of the ones that were broken or had glitches. She kept her cellphone on her when she left Sam's room, telling him to text her if he needed anything, but made sure to tell him not to actually need her for anything. The librarian had called her to come look at one of the computers in the lab that was constantly closing out in the middle of other students' work. She figured it was just something small, there was probably too much filling it up and no release. That was typically what they told her anyway. She'd spent a good thirty minutes just talking it down, telling it what a good computer it was and basically shrinking a computer. It had been exhausting and she wasn't really sure what to even do now that she was done, but she noticed that someone else was nearby.
Maybe it was just her curiosity because she hadn't seen him around, or maybe she was avoiding going back to her room to dwell, either way, she figured she might as well linger and see what his devices would say about him, if he even had one on him. Her eyebrows pulled together and she focused on listening, but heard nothing. "What are you doing here? I thought everyone was on break or something," She finally decided to break the silence before he could call her out on the same thing.
Tyson let out a soft sigh as he closed the textbook he had been reading. It felt like a dead end or that he was going in circles, possibly one in the same. Tying not to think about the time lost, he picked up another textbook on material sciences and tried to justify his foray into the other book as an extended learning opportunity, even if it didn't go on to help his research. Whilst he could have chosen computer sciences or a similar topic and fully taken advantage of his abilities, he had preferred to walk a fine line and engage in the natural sciences instead. It still offered him a few opportunities to save some time or go the extra mile but kept him on his toes and required its fair share of hard work and legwork, something his abilities couldn't help him with. He stretched his arms above his head briefly, he wished he'd brought some coffee to help keep him focused.
The faint footsteps that echoed around the library was a sign that he wasn't as alone as he might have thought, but it could have course been the librarian who was more than friendly and helpful whenever Tyson had needed her assistance. But to Tyson, the sense of a new electromagnetic presence sent a familiar pulse down his spine, a common occurrence for him when walking around the grounds or during the busy minutes between classes with the corridors packed to bursting with students. He couldn't easily determine the brand of phone, over time he had come to recognise some of his friends by the signature of their phones. The iPhone had a stronger lateral pulse thanks to its dual antennas but Sony liked to focus their signal gathering at the top of the handset and it resulted in a weird vibration for Tyson. An unusual benefit to his abilities, if you could call it that.
He had been a bit lost in his own thoughts, but with the prospect of reading more academic texts he couldn't exactly blame himself. The new arrival had come over to ask the same question that he had been thinking about her, it was rare to bump into other students around campus this time of year. "Ah yes." He started, acknowledging the validity of her question with a short nod. He was somewhat taken aback by her forward approach but was grateful for the interruption. "I'm a PhD student, so I'm on the same holiday schedule as the academic staff. Nine to five with elective holidays rather than term holidays." He explained with a small smile as he closed his book. "What about you?" He asked, briefly taking out his phone to check the time, it was around midday so he could use the break and the company.
Her eyes dropped immediately to the phone that he pulled out of his pocket. She had been sort of listening to his words, but she couldn't quite think of much else other than why she hadn't picked up on the voice from his cell the way that she felt she was always picking up on everyone else's without trying. Of course, with her ability it was typically hit or miss. Some devices weren't as willing to dive into their thoughts and feelings the way that hers liked to voice its opinion. She took it as him just being a decent person, perhaps there was no dirt to be spilled, but that was also a skeptical thought because no one was ever really a decent person.
All she heard when he spoke was a bunch of gibberish that while it made sense to her, bored her. Someone with the idea of getting a PhD was obviously mental. She'd been stuck at the school for much longer than she intended, but it wasn't by choice. It wasn't to further her education, it was to get her life together and, more importantly, to stay with her twin. If and when Sam finally pushed through the side effects of his ability, they were getting far away from here. At least, that was always the idea she'd had. Alex stared at him when he turned the question around on her. She could have lied, easily, especially without worrying about anything happening, but she decided on just a half-truth, "I work on the computers in the school while everyone is away since they can't quite fuck it up as quickly."
Alex knew after she spoke that her word choice was probably not appropriate for the conversation, although, her filter had been broken since birth so she didn't feel as bad about saying anything profane. They were adults, she was pretty sure his brain wouldn't spontaneously combust from her dropping the f bomb. However, she did glance around to make sure the librarian hadn't heard her. The last thing she wanted was a lecture about her foul mouth, the way that most faculty went on.
Tyson felt something strange happening to his phone, or trying to happen. The electrons were acting strange, skipping a signal or vibrating peculiarly. It had certainly caught his attention, so Tyson was keeping his phone more attuned to his abilities than he had done before the woman’s arrival. He wasn’t thinking much of it, there were a lot of reasons that could explain this behaviour but in a place like Bellefonte, it payed the be aware of the more unusual explanations. Tyson was always eager to learn about other peoples powers and abilities, it was one of the reasons he decided to go into scientific research. It certainly wasn’t for the pay or the sociable hours. But whilst many looked upon the government's research with suspicion, and Tyson was one of them, he embraced the free and open nature of collaborative research and enjoyed working with others in the department and around the world.
Tyson put his phone on the desk next to the text books he had been reading, it was certainly time for a break. He could feel his brain hissing white noise in protest at all the boring equations and concepts and he wanted nothing more than to be crashed out on the sofa playing video games. He raised his eyebrow out of curiosity at the woman’s answer. It was a curious reason for somebody to stay at the college over the holiday period, with many students taking the opportunity to go home for the holidays. Tyson was planning a trip back to the UK in February when the flights were cheaper so had celebrated Christmas and New Year's with friends in Stagfort. Perhaps she was in a similar situation?
He nodded at her reply. “That’s very good of you - as a part time job for the college or as a means to help out?” Tyson asked, interested in what had drawn her into working with the IT department, a department that Tyson always found it hard to get on with. However, that could be more to do with the unique quirks and complaints he brought to them involving his power. “You must be rather sharp with computers then?” He finished, crossing his legs as he took a view of the woman in front of him. He hadn’t seen her around before, Tyson doubted he’d have forgotten such a pretty face, but it was to be expected with how he usually ended up cooped away in the labs, without any timetabled classes with peers to drag him outside.
