Swing Set {NicoletteKyerin}

[Nicolette]

It was Sunday, the first of April, the last day of Spring Break. She had stayed on campus for the break, and her brother had no problem staying on the island with her. Their father had no real problems with the situation, considering he wanted to spend the time vacationing in Hawaii with his wife, their step-mother. This way, both parties were pleased with the situation.

While spring was well underway, there were still some left-over winter breezes that led the girl on the swingset to wear a white long sleeved blouse and a brown ankle-length skirt. A brown headband pushed her hair back, though it let her bangs fall delicately over her forehead. On her feet were a pair of brown ankle boots made of soft leather material.

Nicolette De la Fontaine, Student Council President, sat on a swing at the playground of the Scion Park. Her thin hands were wrapped around the chains of the swing, though she was only swaying, not full-out swinging. Her feet were planted in the sand beneath her, her legs moving just enough so she could sway.

There was no work to do. The airlines had already been taken care of at the beginning of Spring Break, so she didn't have anything to worry about. Students would be arriving back at the school today, and while it would only be proper that she should greet them, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She would be delivering the Spring Quarter speech the following morning at the assembly, so she just wanted to relax for the first time in a long time.

[Kyerin]

Well, what a waste of a break. The boy had opted to stay on the island instead of going home, considering that he would probably be spending all of the summer break there. It was going to be a time where he could do some planning for his two clubs and do his schoolwork before relaxing some. Instead, he had spent the break relaxing, not in the mood to do anything, before spending the prior day working on his schoolwork. And of course he wasn't going to accomplish anything today, since it was the last day before the second quarter. So he instead decided to walk around the island.

His footsteps brought him to the park nearby, causing him to stare across it, his hands in his pockets as his mind drifted back to when he was a kid; true, it wasn't this exact park, but the layout was similar. Those were simplier times, when all one had to worry about was where the parents were, and having fun. His walk led him to the swing set, where he chose to sit, at least for a while. Maybe if he let his mind wander now, he could focus later.

[Nicolette]

The young woman hardly noticed she had company. She never heard the sound of the male's feet shuffling through the sand as he came closer and closer, and jumped slightly at the sound of someone taking a seat a couple of swings away. She turned her blue-green eyes to gaze upon the intruder, to which they widened at the identity of the person.

"Kyerin..." She said, her voice soft.

[Kyerin]

Kyerin paused for a second after sitting down to rise a bit, adjust himself, and then take another seat back on it; he must have sat down on his pants funny, considering that it was much more comfortable now. Now, where had he been? Oh, yes, complete lack of planning for the Tennis club and the SFF. The sports team wouldn't be too hard, considering that it was mainly just planning some matches between members, and the club leader could do that, but the SFF... he really needed to get the ball rolling. He was just having difficulties coming up with good ideas. He wanted to undermine the system without harming the people, but it didn't seem like that was possible, so he would just have to reduce the collateral damage that would happen to-

A voice broke his train of thought, causing the young man to look over at his swing buddy; wow, think of the devil and she shall appear. He forced up a small smile, pushing up his glasses so they wouldn't fall off his nose and into the sand. "Miss Nicolette. Interesting running into you here," he replied.

[Nicolette]

There was something slightly off about her rival, but at the moment... The blonde haired young woman could really care less. She had come out for relaxation, to escape her duty as Student Council President. She was merely a twelfth year savoring the last day of Spring Break.

"I suppose all good leaders need a break once in a while." She said, a small smile sliding on her lips as she complimented him (and herself, indirectly).

[Kyerin]

Kyerin nodded, forcing a short laugh in reply to her statement; he guessed that that was true, but unlike the girl, he really felt like he had been doing nothing, though there was so much to do. Maybe that was the problem; the stack seemed so full, it was hard to decide what to pull out of it so that everything didn't fall down. Wait... was he stressing out about something? This was new; he was usually in control of things. Maybe that's why it was so hard; things weren't naturally coming to him.

He lightly pushed against the ground with one foot, causing his swing to rock forward and backwards slightly, his gaze moving from Nicolette towards straight ahead. "Did you ever just sit in the swings when you were young for no reason?" he asked, seeming almost deep in thought. It wasn't really like him, but maybe he needed to think about this now so it wouldn't get to him later.

[Nicolette]

Nicolette tilted her head to the side curiously at her rival's question. It was an odd question, but she almost felt as if she could completely understand his reasoning for asking, even if there wasn't a reason behind it. She brought a hand up to brush some bangs across her forehead before wrapping her slender hand around the chain of her swing.

"I... never had much of a chance when I was little. But after I started attending the Institute, this place became a usual spot for me to visit." She turned her gaze forward to the playground.

[Kyerin]

Kyerin had to glance over at her answer, surprised by it. Like most of the kids, he had avoided coming to the swing set, though he did it so that he could study more, not because he was "too cool" for it. The institute started at a delicate age, right as kids were trying to be like grown ups; maybe that's why they were out here on their own, so they could hit some of reality earlier and be better prepared for later. Still...

"Have you ever wished you could go back to when you were young? Back when you didn't have all of these responsibilities and worries? Back when the only things you thought about were having fun and making sure you knew where your parent was so they could tell you when it was time to eat?" Maybe this was just him... maybe he was going through some sort of funk. But he wanted to know... partly because it was her, and partly because he wanted to see if he was the only one who thought about such things. True, leading a club that underminded authority wasn't quite living on your own and having to support yourself, but so many people depending on you... it was a lot of weight on his shoulders.

[Nicolette]

Nicolette listened intently to the male's words, her eyes softening at the message they relayed. While she was glad to be moving forward, he seemed to be wanting to go back to an easier time. Was the Student Freedom Force really giving him such a hassle?

She turned her gaze away again, looking up at the pinkening sky. She slid her eyes shut, feeling a cool breeze come through and cool down her face.

"I would not... really know about those easier times. I was too busy making sure that Henri had a good childhood, that I neglected my own, and was forced to grow up before I was ready..." She let out a small, sad laugh after a brief pause. "And here I am, spilling out my life story..."

[Kyerin]

Kyerin nodded a bit at her reply, speaking as well. "I understand where you're coming from. Ayla did have a fine childhood without needing me, but I did smooth some things over for her." Like the bully problem; that had been solved quite easily and permanently, to where even after he came here for school, no one tried picking on her. Probably wasn't as bad as what she did for her brother, considering their parental situation.

The boy glanced over at Nicolette as she laughed a bit at her minor comments, which were really nothing to the weird random questions he had been dropping. "You say that like it's a bad thing," he replied, adjusting in his seat again to prop his head on one hand. "Why is that? Is opening up really so... terrible?

[Nicolette]

Nicolette opted for keeping her eyes closed as she listened to the words that Kyerin spoke. She had forgotten that the boy, also, had a sibling. She wondered what the young girl was like. She remembered that Kyerin and his sister were the same distance in age as she and Henri, so he would be a twelfth year when she was a seventh year.

However, at his second set of comments, her eyes opened and she turned to look at him with a slightly shocked expression. No one had ever said something like that to her, so the thought of it was... definitely different. She slowly turned her eyes back down to the sand, pausing for a moment.

"That... is a very good question..." She whispered. "I suppose... I never became close enough to another person to really open up... I do not know if you noticed, but I have been here since seventh grade and hardly anyone knew me until I ran for Student Council President."

[Kyerin]

Kyerin was slightly amused by the look of shock on the older girl's face; catching people offguard wasn't that hard, but the thrill of it never vanished. While he usually avoided it, being blunt had its advantages, though it wasn't nearly as fun... on the other hand, it wasn't nearly as taxing on his mind either. Still, he prefered some class, but right now, he was getting enough from thinking deeply and provoking the older girl.

"That's actually how it is with most people here," the young man replied, looking back ahead. "We're all gifted in some way, and are either isolated by other people because of it, or isolate ourselves due to it. The students you see that are open... they're like that cause they see the other students as at their level, no matter why they're here. These are people that someone can connect with, if given the chance." It was almost an unsaid question left hanging at the end of his last statement, like a fishing lure: had she given someone a chance?

[Nicolette]

Nicolette paused for a long moment, trying to keep her thoughts straight. Suddenly, everything seemed jumbled up in her mind, as if her mind was a snowglobe and someone had come and shook it up. She shook her head for a moment, trying to clear her thoughts in order to think on a proper response to the boy's words.

"They... act as if I am intimidating..." She whispered, keeping her eyes closed for a moment longer as she spoke. "Sven and the others... only few me as their leader... Normal students... fear me." She opened her eyes, an extremely sad look inside of them. "Because of my position, people are afraid to become close to me."

[Kyerin]

Kyerin nodded a bit in reply to the girl's comments... considering that he wasn't sure what else to do. Hoping for some better insight, he took a quick peek into her mind... to find it just as jumbled and disjointed as her words. No wonder she wasn't making sense; she didn't seem to really know either. Well, then, hopefully something he would say would help... it probably wouldn't, though.

"That's the price for being seen as the top of the school," the young man replied softly, staring down at his feet. "We all know that the Headmaster covers a bit of the business and financial end, but you're the real leader here, and it can be scary to think that the institute turns because you will it so. However, it can't be as bad as you think. I pretty much spent the first few days convincing people that I wouldn't be laughing maniacally and brutally murdering them in their sleep."

[Nicolette]

The weight of the entire institute was on her shoulders. The institute was a save haven for those who were different from the rest, along with somewhere that even normal people could co-exist with the odder people. Everyone lived in relative peace, which was comforting... But one wrong move made by Nicolette, and the whole institute could crumble at her feet. She controlled such a big part.

Had she completed all the forms? She had been spending so much of her break doing paper work and answering emails, could she have forgotten a stack of papers? Should she be back in the Student Council Room working? Oh, how she could feel her heart pounding at the thought of everything falling apart because she wasn't there to keep it together.

She let out a forced laugh at Kyerin's final comment, finding it amusing, but at the same time, still freaking out over if she may have forgotten something. She could feel her eyes watering up, and she discovered, in horror, that the moisture was tears building up. She looked up at the sky and blinked a few times, trying to rid herself of them before they could fall.