..what does that symbol mean?++Claude/Kida/Jadie

[Miss Murder]

Jade knew that it was a great thing to be offered to be tutored. By the tutoring club? He honestly didn't get why anyone would want to help stupid kids get math problems. Then again, if you got extra credit for it then that was another story. So, there he stood with a mountain of papers growing in his arms. It was really bothersome... He didn't want some smart kid to tell him what he was doing wrong. He didn't need one. He already had his own mind to tell him how stupid he was.

Walking awkwardly toward one of the tables at the library he bent on his knees gently so that none of the papers would slip from his grasp. After fixing the stack quickly he eased himself into one of the wooden chairs. Crap. Did he forget a pencil? Glancing around the room quick in search of a lost pencil he locked onto a target.
There, underneath one of the computers, was a lost pencil. It was pretty obvious the owner had stress problems since it was chewed on, but it was better than nothing. Indifferently he stood up and tucked the seat underneath the table as if he had never sat there in the first place.

So, the teenage boy got down on his knees and crawled across the library floor and to the computer desks. Sure, he didn't need to crawl all the way there... He should have just walked over there then bent over to grab the pencil. However, Jade's mind didn't function like that. It would go to the simplest of ideas, such as crawling across the floor like a toddler.
When he finally reached underneath the desk he had to lay down so that he could fit in between the chair. Again, it probably would have been easier to move the chair. As he reached for the chewed on pencil be began to picture the previous owner as a beaver. After all, they had chewed the shit out of the poor pencil.

Realizing that his tutor would be their any might he grabbed the pencil and began to climb out from the chair. It was harder to get out than in he found... The chair squeaked against the floor as he attempted to squeeze his arm free from it and then his body. After the struggle was over he back tracked to sit up on the rug and glance around. Where they there yet? Had they just witnessed the most embarrassing thing in the world?

[Sarah]

Tutoring. Ugh. Hadnt he tried this before? Hadnt it failed before? The memory, though he had encountered it a while ago, was still fresh in his mind. It wasnt in any means a pleasant memory. Well..in a cruel way, sometimes it was. The little pipsqueak Kida, ready to help the most unwilling and stubborn third year that he would ever encounter. That was a laugh.

Claude was a bit later dropping in the library than Jadie was, though Claude had seen Jadie preparing to leave. Jadie had stacked supplies high, Claude didnt see the need. He knew, if any of their tutors were like Kida, that guy would be prepared. In fact, it was likely that Kida was precisely the man assigned to them, after all. But, just in case, two pencils were carefully slipped into his pockets.

Walking down to the library, Claude took his time. He wasnt eager in the least to see what poor soul had the unfortunance of tutoring him. That wouldnt end well. But, when he came in, he noticed supplies sitting at a table, clearly Jadie's, he decided as he came closer. On the top sheet of paper, some scribbled down lyrics. Claude smiled. Just, he didnt know where Jadie was. He looked down the row of books, not finding him. Shrugging, he sat down.

A chair squeeked, and Claude jumped, wide eyed as he looked around. It was only a moment before he saw a dark head pop up, sitting up on the rug. "Give me a heartattack, Jadie." He chuckled, shaking his head.

[marriedinthesunx]

He didn’t quite like to think he was naïve enough to be manipulated into this job, but this was the truth. When there were shy, eager boys with brains—they often got bullied into activities in which they normally would have refused. Mr. MacDonald, also known as the thorn in his side, had decided that there wasn’t enough pain in merely teaching one student, and decided that he’d sign the enthusiastic fifteen year old for a small group of students instead.

“Trust me, Nakita,” he had murmured one afternoon, eyes caught up on some papers he was marking. “You’ll be thanking me later for this. School involvement is so important, and Universities are looking for things like this.” Maybe this was so, but the fact that he had been signed up without his consent? That proved to be a little harder on the suffering teenager. Right about now, the blond didn’t need a parent, he needed a teacher, and the middle aged educator didn’t seem to recognize this. After all, it was far too easy to just baby the kid. With those bright blue eyes and happy go lucky disposition.

The boys here hated him, he had decided, or at least the members in his classes. Nobody liked a little know it all in the class or a teacher’s pet, but Kida easily fit into both categories. This was the sort of kid that was subject to all sorts of abuse ranging from swirlies in the boy’s washrooms to verbal abuse. (At least, those were the behaviors of students back at home in New York. There was always the possibilities that these sort of things would change.)

This afternoon was approached with a certain ferocity. Self talk had been used, the blond staring at himself for a good fifteen minutes in the mirror and convincing his reflection that he was ‘super cool’ and that he was ‘born’ for this. Oh, redheaded pug-nosed kid even managed to take a break from his schedule of ignoring Kida to watch this little routine. Most would assume he was crazy by this point.

But here he was, crazy or not, the scrawny, doe eyed fifteen year old barging into the library, books in hand, folders stacked neatly under his left arm, and a pencil case hugged under his chin as he made his way forward to the assigned table. He could do this—math was easy, and, well, the chances that he would get someone like Claude again were slim. Mr. Mac had promised that this time things would go smoother and, well, naively the first year had assumed his love interest was no longer part of the equation.

But here he was, and all at once attention turned on two bodies, and his heart sank. Claude was recognized immediately, color turning into his cheeks and causing Kida to take a step back, as if recovering from some sort of blow. This was going to be impossible. And, but—Geeze. Someone else was here, that was good. A couple steps were taken forward, cautiously before getting a better look. Jared, right? They had math class together, same period. This shouldn’t be difficult, he seemed nice enough.

Could they be friends?
Uhg, no. He was not making friends. That just led to disasters like Claude.
Claude who had BETTER start showing up to his dorms in the evenings or Kida would start to really get annoyed.

Confidence was realigned and the smaller boy stepped on over, dropping his supplies in a free space across from both Jadie and Claude and sat down in the seat.

“Hi, I’m Kida. I’ll be assisting you two for about an hour, and if things go well, I’ll see you hopefully on Thursday.”

Pretending as if he didn’t know Claude was probably for the best.

[Miss Murder]

Jared almost laughed at Claude's face, but was too preoccupied with himself. He stood up and brushed off the few dirt particles he had obtained while crawling across the room. There was their tutor. He stared at the kid as if he were some sort of god from heavens... Gracing him with the glory of knowledge. What? What was that? Shaking his head to be free from the weird workings of his own mind Jared quickly crossed the room.

Taking a seat next to Claude he nodded in greeting. His eyes widening at the tutor's supplies. He grimaced down at the chewed up pencil in his hand. What the hell? Now they'd think he chews his pencils down to the bone or the lead. Actually, what do they put in pencils? He heard it was something like lead and clay? Or was it just clay? Or was it just lead? Should he ask his tutor what people put in pencils? He was tempted to, but then it would just make him more of an idiot.

Glancing down at the pile of papers he saw the lyrics he had wrote earlier that day down in front of him. Ohhh, he wanted to flee from the dreadful library with just his music... Maybe the crappy pencil too, so he had something to write with. It was too late though. His tutor was already there, and sitting across from him.

The crafty, smart boy had just introduced himself as Kida. What was he supposed to do now? Reach across the table and shake his hand? Introduce himself? Or just awkwardly stay silent? "Hi... I'm Jared and this is my lovely pile of work," he gestured to the mountain in front of him with a smile. "Yeah, Thursday. Looking forward to it," he muttered almost sarcastically. This was going to be a joy ride!

[Sarah]

Oh, this was beyond brilliant. No one could predict the level of irony in Claude's responding smirk as Kida stepped foreward. Kida, being his tutor again? Did this mean they got to relive the whole experience all over again? Awesome. So, Jadie got to see a side of Claude that he never saw. Lucky him.

Feet propped up on the chair opposite of him under the table. This was going to be like old times, wasnt it? And, this time, he had reason. No way could Jadie learn about this particular first year being the one to cause him all the rumor trouble. A cruel smirk that he had often worn around Kida rose his lips. "Hi, Kiddo." He said cooly. "I'm Claude." Oh, what else to add? It was a grand thing Kida was playing it that they didnt know one another. Just, it meant they could 'reacquaint'.

"I also go by 'bastard' from time to time." He said, almost winking to Kida, but didnt last second. An inside joke that Jared wasnt in on. That was perfectly fine. It'd probably torture Kida, though. Just, Jadie wasnt finding out about Claude's full reputation with Kida.

Leaning back on two legs of his chair, Claude pulled out the pencils, the only supplies he brought. With Kida as tutor, probably meant he'd be holding up a hard time, and wouldnt use them at all. Again, perfectly fine with him.

[marriedinthesunx]

Kida had limited difficulties getting himself comfortable in his seat, gaze rising from his books and meeting Jadie’s the moment he ventured so far as to speak. Honestly, he hadn’t been expecting an introduction, hadn’t expected either boy to go out of their way to even attempt to be friendly. However, a small smile, just barely hidden could be spotted on those pink lips. This was a little more like it, some small talk, even if it wasn’t the most positive. Claude, on the other hand, had put him through hell within the first thirty seconds. This, here, was manageable.

“Hi Jared, pleased to meet you and your pile of work,” more folders were organized, looking for the standardized tests that he had once put Claude through. He’d have to do another one, he supposed, if he wanted to pretend as if this hadn’t been done in his company before. Two were fetched from a green binder and they were passed to each boy, smirking at the final statement the new boy offered. “Oh, believe me, I’m looking forward to it, too. I mean, what do I have better to do, right?”

Apparently Kida was fighting back, learning from his initial mistakes with Claude. That was probably for the best. Eyes narrowed once Claude referred to him as Kiddo, however, and a certain annoyance was clear on his face. One that ran much deeper than just a mild dislike of the title. Because, honestly, that wasn’t the issue. It was the fact that the other was trying to jeopardize this. Fuck!

“Bastard, huh? Well, I think Claude will suffice,” he assured, opening up his pencil case and smiling back at the both of them, trying to pretend he didn’t feel quite so overwhelmed by two students. “I need the both of you to fill out these,” Fingers drummed forward, tapping the edge of the paper in front of Jared. “Calculators can be used, do as many as you can. If you can’t do a problem, skip it. I just need to know where the both of you are.” A pause, “And if I catch you cheating, I will be so pissed.” Cute little blond fifteen year old was meaning business.

No more, “Will you be my best friend?”


Was it bad that he was undressing Claude with his eyes all over again?

[Miss Murder]

He looked down at the sheet of paper that the first year had just pointed out. That? Math problems? He suddenly felt the urge to chew on the pencil he held in his left hand. He now understood Mr. Beaver, he probably had Kida as a tutor also. Shit. No cheating? Well, who was he supposed to cheat off? Both Claude and him were screwed. Twisting the shock from his face he gave his tutor a smug look, "Yes sir," his voice rang out in the silent library.

Wishing he actually paid attention in math class he looked down at the paper. Math? Numbers? It looked like a bunch of gibberish to him. The more he gazed at the weird symbols and numbers the more he felt sick. Oh, how much he missed the lovely safety of his dorm. Even if it was weird there.

Another thing that sent him off balance was Claude and Kida. Not them alone, but them together. When they both looked at each other they set off such an atmosphere... He couldn't describe it. It was both cocky and then longing. What was it?

Rising the pencil over the sheet of paper he almost forgot whether he was left handed or right. Why was he so confused? Oh I don't know! Maybe it is to do with his father showing up earlier... Biting his lip and almost pulling out patches of his hair didn't help his brain much either. Was it anxiety? Maybe he should have his blood pressure checked by the nurse. He had a lot of stress lately...

That was when sudden knowledge struck his brain. Focus a small voice called in his brain. Was this the almighty awakening?
He looked at the first problem, and soon he began to scribble numbers down. He wasn't completely sure what he was doing was correct, but it was better than leaving the sheet blank. Yes? Growing in confidence he glanced at the second problem. His hand didn't move, nor did his brain.

[Sarah]

A small chuckle, hushed within the library bubbled up from Kida's response. Who was Claude trying to kid? No way was he going to be capable of acting like he had never had met this little twirp. Let alone capable of acting like Kida was never his tutor to begin with. Claude examined the page with careful blue eyes. Ah, the same one he had to encounter the first time he had unsuccessfully attempted tutoring. Completely identical. He brought a pencil into his hand, then pushed his lips out, as if to kiss, and stuck the pencil between his top lip and nose as he concentrated.

Staring down at the page, some of which were fairly easy. Some of which he could use mental math. He looked up to Kida once more, actually being serious for once. The pencil fell from his lip as he spoke. "Do we have to show work?" He asked, looking into Kida's eyes for once. He glanced down at the page, deciding that he would write the answer to the first problem before he forgot. As he did that, he also scrawled his name at the top.

Oh, no cheating, was there?

But, it was one of Claude's top priorities to piss Kida off. It was all part of the plan. Claude wouldnt really need to cheat, but probably would just annoy. He smiled cruelly to himself, his lips upturned in the same smirk when he looked back to Kida. This was going to be delicious, whether Jadie was next to him or not. Guard would fall, and over all, it'd be rather obvious that he and Kida were an item.

[marriedinthesunx]

Kida couldn’t help but beam when he was addressed as ‘sir.’ It was most likely used in a sarcastic, mocking manner, but at the moment the blond fifteen year old wasn’t the best at picking up sarcasm when he was in ‘tutor’ mode. Then again, he wasn’t expecting a fight out of Jadie, instead keeping all his concentration on Claude, who was bound to make this as rocky as he possibly could throughout the hour. Testing his patience, and probably being as impulsive as possible. (Of course, Kida was better known for his inability to suppress impulses. Especially if Superman boxers were part of the equation.

Blue eyes shifted back to Jadie once the test had been started, peering over and upside down didn’t seem to bother him much, instead watching him work and smiling in an almost fond manner when answers were pencilled in. Some of them, even from this distance, he recognized as being correct, but it was quite clear that the new boy sitting across from him had issues with his confidence. “Math-phobia,” as he tried to explain to another student in a lighter manner, but his suggestion had been shot down.

Really, it was easier than most people realized. They just needed to approach it with an open mind. “Ten minutes, alright?” He added now, deciding it’d be best to set a limit. Lower lip was drawn into his mouth when Claude spoke up, internally cringing at the first syllable and wondering, briefly, how hard the other would make this. However, he was starkly surprised at the honest question, and the first year couldn’t prevent his eyebrows from raising. “Oh, um, yes—I’d appreciate it if you did, I mean. Yes.” Stumbling over his words, stumbling over them because he was forgetful or...stumbling because those eyes looked him dead on? It was all objective.

A smile couldn’t be stopped, as if he was withholding a special joke and revelling in it. “Eight more minutes.”

[Miss Murder]

Jared glanced at Claude a few times while attempting to finish problem three. He wasn't exactly sure what the fuck the kid was doing, though. His room mate had the pencil pressed against his lips and what? He wanted to make out with the pencil? If not that, then what was he doing?

His eyes flickered back to Kida who stumbled over his words to answer Claude. Something weird was going on between the two, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. They had to have meant before, but they acted as they did in the beginning? Nothing made sense... Especially problem number two.

"Eight more minutes," the first year chimed in like a bell. Jared's hand shook lightly, and sweat trickled down his back. He felt like he was defusing a bomb with only seconds to spare.. If he didn't do it quick they'd all die. BOOOM!

How many seconds were in eight minutes anyway? Sixty seconds in a minute... So that is sixty times eight, but then we lost some time. So sixty times seven equals? "Hahaha, we have four hundred and twenty seconds left!" he laughed at himself. WAIT! What was he doing? Math to figure out how much time he had left for math? Awwwww.

He skipped down to the last problem and began to read it. Getting side tracked during a test was always his weak side... He'd find himself thinking about lunch, and then what he'd do later that night. Maybe ponder on a few lyrics to a new song he had just written.

That sounded good..... Oh so good.
He guessed he'd go straight to sleep later that night.. Although that heap of work beside of him disagreed greatly. He had so much work to complete! In such a small amount of time.. All he wanted to do was sit back and relax. Take in a great breath of Eddingborough, you know?
Tomorrow, he suspected that he'd skip class. Well at least math class. He had never been a goodie two shoes, but wasn't a trouble maker either. So he'd skip math, big deal. Repressing the urge to run out of the room, and to freedom, he began to scribble over the almost clean paper. Only a few minutes left... When they had only seconds would Kida start counting down? He sort of expected so, but then that would just be lame. Like some lame game show. Where they get the whole crowd in on it, and then the poor man who is still working almost has a seizure. God damn.

[Sarah]

Well, as far as 'making out with the pencil' went, Jadie was pretty off base. He just did it to concentrate..not meaning to say that he wouldnt kill to make out with a certain someone in this room. Not that he ever would in front of Jadie, or in front of anyone for that matter, of course. He was trying to maintain some dignity, not make it plummett farther.

It had come to be that Claude could sense Kida's discomfort the second his lips began to form words, and Claude grinned proudly to himself. Being an annoyance should be a sport, it'd be the only one where he was picked first on the team. But now, he nodded slowly, holding in his laughter rather effeciently, and angled his head downward to his work once more. Kida was going to throw a fit, it was clear. "M'kay." He said easily. He for one wasnt affected by the other's presence. "Just thought to check." He focused on the test again, and nearly jumped as Jadie rang out triumphantly, then chuckled slightly, not as much as he would have if it was Kida who had called out. He was on thin ice with Jadie. He didnt bother with checking his math either. If Jade said it was 420 seconds, then it was. Simple enough for him.

He for one had one up on Jadie. He had ran through this test before, and some came to him through memory. One of which though, was the memory of the bloody red strokes up and down the paper...so it didnt truly help that he remembered that number 3 was x= -45, because he had got that answer wrong. At least he could eliminate it. Now, he crossed the second letter, B of course, out of his options on his paper. So, he had paid some attention after all.

He was to number 17, after skipping at least three questions and guessing on several, by the time they hit the 5 minute mark. He smiled to himself. He had been a good boy for up to five minutes straight...it was time to torment, just a little. "Can you calm down, Kida?" he asked, not looking up from his paper as he marked number 18 as D, 2003. "You're heart's beating like a rabbit's. Can hear it from all the way over here." He murmured, still not looking up. His tone was pretty much even, only having the slightest bit of mockery for either to pick up on. But, whenever most people disected his tone, they would find something similar.

Just, with Kida, there seemed to be more to pick up on.

[marriedinthesunx]

Was it so obvious there were ties between Kida and Claude? Gosh, the blond looked so guilty and excited whenever those eyes turned to the cocky brunet, as if the sun rose and set on him. Gosh, those so called 'stamps' on their heads were certainly not to be noticed. The connection was clear, but to Jadie, who had put no face to the first year Claude had been fooling around with, this was all a little confusing. It would probably hit the math illiterate boy later, probably between the walk back to his dorm with his room mate by his side. No doubt there would be some petty arguments. Just the same way there was petty arguments between the notorious pair sitting across from one another.

Kida, who had finally managed to turn his attention to anything other than the mess of chocolate brown hair on Claude's head couldn't help but be reminded by the obvious anxiety issues that his companion was going through. The way Jadie looked at the problems, the way his eyes widened and hand shook was a pretty good sign of anxiety. Chances were this was just a fear of failure, and it distracted him from his best work. Perhaps it would make sense if he found some test taking methods, way to calm the other down before he walked into these tests. Honestly, the ones he was leaving blank were things that he could do, because in all honestly it wasn't that complex. He showed various successes in different problems so...

God, he really wasn't a teacher. Maybe he'd run it past Mr. MacDonald, get him to run a little seminar on test taking skills. Deep breaths, problem solving techniques, whatever.

Head jerked up at the other's sudden outburst, a single brow rising at the mention of the time reverted to seconds and finding himself speechless. "I've got the time covered, Jadie, you just work on the questions.." he decided, a little bit unsure of the other before taking another glance at his watch.

Claude's voice had broke the fifteen year old's concentration, eyes widening at the smooth talker's accusations and flushing rather brightly. "IT IS NOT," was the rather sharp retort, his volume seeming to rise and the defense taken quite telling of some previous relationship. A scowl was shot his way from the librarian, flushing and discretely kicking Claude's left leg under the table, as if to warn him to shut the hell up. "You're so conceited."

More to pick up on?
God yes.

A moment later and he stumbled, feeling uncomfortable before saying, "Times up." Hand extended to collect. Aright, he cut them off by a minute or so...but, he'd let them leave early. That seemed fair.

[Miss Murder]

Claude next to him seemed quite relaxed, and that was what made him even more nervous. Was he the only one in the room that felt completely and totally hopeless? Releasing a sigh he listened irritably at the ticking clock. His last seconds wasted on dreaming about possibly winning a million dollars.

That was when Claude's sly remark skipped in. Jared was too busy to really notice or comment on it until Kida's returning remark. He exclaimed it so loud that it took him from daydreaming and to half jumping a foot in the air. The librarian turned to their table with a sharp glance of disapproval. Innocently glancing at Kida he wondered what had gotten him so upset.

As he reached for their papers Jared held on to his for a last desperate second before releasing it. Now he would see at all the questions he had failed at.

When would this tutoring secession end? He looked down at his chewed up pencil and then awkwardly began to think about all the germs that must have clung to the disgusting thing. "Um," he said thinking over his plan to was both his hands and the pencil, "Can I go to the bathroom quick?"

He wondered whether he should have raised his hand, but he would feel lame doing that with a kid younger than him.
It would probably strike someone as odd when he would race from the library, down the hall and into the bathroom with a pencil in his hand. Then again it would seem even worse when he started washing the two. Already thinking of his own humiliation he chewed anxiously on his lip. Then, maybe Kida wouldn't let him go.

Now he began to squirm in his chair and attempted to make it look like he couldn't wait. If he was allowed to go then he now suspected that he would make it a long walk. He wasn't exactly thrilled to be sitting there. "Please," he muttered lastly and looked across the room at his escape route.

[Sarah]

The calling out Kida made only made Claude's remark that much more satisfying. He was going to make this kid squirm in his shorts, simply because he knew he could. Kida had made things difficult for him before, now the tables could be turned. Even if it was in front of Jadie, clearly splayed out before him what kind of boy Claude really was.

Claude smirked wide, though was surprised. At the kick under the table, he smirked again, broader. He was being naughty, but he felt that Kida deserved it after so long. Besides, it wasnt like he forced Kida to react the way he did...he just expected him to. Claude handed over his paper easily, letting out a contented sigh. "Concieted is my specialty." He said simply, rolling his shoulders. He acted as if he didnt have a care in the world, something he figured would upset Kida greatly.

He liked Kida just a bit irritated and embarrased. They seemed to go hand in hand anyway.

Instantly Claude couldnt help but scowl at Jadie's question. He knew what that meant, and had only shared a dorm with the boy for a little while. When things got complicated or nerve-racking, Jadie fled. A simple technique, but also obvious. He snorted with the fact that he was asking Kida. Did no one understand that Kida was, in the rules of senoirity, below them?

"Just go ahead," He said, shrugging again. He picked up his pencil, and started to doodle on a sheet of paper Kida had provided them to show their work. He didnt have anything better to do, it seemed.