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Halo
May 14, 2017 20:18:19 GMT
Post by Sara Gather on May 14, 2017 20:18:19 GMT
Skyler
He glanced over her papers that went by easily, waiting for her to respond, smiling slightly when she did, even if it was a short answer, it was enough for him. “Ahh, you have been here for a long time then. Did you adjust quickly to the culture here or did it take you a while?” He then asked as he wasn’t going to leave it with just that question, he was curious about how she had adapted to the new culture when she was young. When you were younger it was probably easier to adjust to the new things all around, as he had been almost 14 when he moved here, it had been very hard on him because he just didn’t have much of a chance to communicate with people in the beginning and had a lot of troubles with it as the English your learned in Japan wasn’t always as right as they made it out to be. He still wasn’t fully adapted, but that was more because he didn’t want that, he didn’t want to let go of the culture he had lived in for 13 years as it was his only connection to his true home. He waited patiently for her to answer, keeping his own voice down too so he wouldn’t disturb the other students in here. Some really seemed to have it hard, while it was very easy for him. He couldn’t say this was a hard subject, it was the exact opposite of it for him as he had seen all of this already. He was surprised they learned this in a higher grade, this was pretty much basics for him. He glanced at the clock in the room for a small moment, checking on how long they still had, but they had oceans of time with the slow pace everyone, except for himself and Jay, had put up to make all of the pages. “I didn’t know math was such a hard subject for many people. It looks simple enough,” he then mumbles quietly as he glanced around the whole classroom right now, hearing sighs, yawns and groans every now and then from people that just couldn’t get it right or thought it wast just straight up boring. Math wasn’t his favorite subject at all, and it sure as hell wasn’t that entertaining, but he still enjoyed it once in a whie.
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Halo
May 14, 2017 20:35:44 GMT
via mobile
Post by pieceofmind on May 14, 2017 20:35:44 GMT
Jay
She kept on working whilst he kept on talking, he surely didn't give up easily. She let out a small sigh through her nose and turned the page in her notebook now. "I was quick to adapt, I knew basic English and being a youngster does the trick," she answered calmly, though the second part of her answer was obvious. She had some trouble the first few weeks, from what she remembered. Bowing, not being able to communicate fully. But children were creative with their body language and she was always a quiet person anyway, so it got her out of a lot of talking. Besides that, she had Davor who had stood by her side, in her mind, for as long as she could remember. She never understood why he crept around in her mind, it wasn't like she had a double personality. She was clear on that after researching it for a while. He really was a different soul and she knew that somehow, somewhere, he had a life of his own. But what she couldn't get until this day was why he was with her. Perhaps her intelligence or her work did the trick, whilst he was the one who got her to work underground in the first place. She rubbed above her eyebrow for a moment, she was thinking too much about it again but Skyler pulled her out of her thoughts rather quick. "It's a hard subject for the average American since they don't put much effort into teaching it to them. You get to use calculators and cheat sheets, they let you off with a minor effort grade and it becomes less important as time goes on. Unless you want to work in a field where you need to master it, but then it is your own choice. Besides, Asian parents often push harder on doing well in school and therefor Math where as American parents let their children do whatever. It's lack of displine, or more freedom, depending on what your opinion is." She explained calmy, by now she was close to finishing all pages that they had assigned, which meant she could sit back and relax. Unless he kept on talking and she knew he would keep on talking. "Then again, if we don't meet up to the "Asian expectations" here, they call us stupid as well." She shrugged slightly at her own words and closed the books, putting them in her bag and stretching out slowly after.
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Halo
May 15, 2017 5:33:04 GMT
Post by Sara Gather on May 15, 2017 5:33:04 GMT
Skyler
He looked at her, waiting for an answer again and nodded when he got one, smiling slightly. “Ah, I guess so, while being kids it’s easier when you don’t have tons of assignments yet and can learn enough by others helping,” He said softly. His first year could be described as a disaster. His English wasn’t that bad but the few cultural difference really had him struggle for a while before he was completely comfortable with how people were acting to eachother and their surroundings. He looked back up at her, as his eyes had drifted down to the sheet she was working on, when she responded to his little remark about math and was actually a tad surprised with how she answered with more than once sentence, and it made him happy she did. “Ah, they get pampered,” he decided out of her explanation on why this was hard for most Americans. It wasn’t hard at all, it was just thinking logically and if you couldn’t do that, then yes, you had a problem with maths. But to use calculators and cheat sheets to compensate the lack of logic in someone’s mind, he didn’t understand that. If anything he had never thought about cheating because he knew it would be bad news for him if he had tried in Japan, and his father wouldn’t be happy either. But since he got here in America, he didn’t need to study at all, his grades were great, so he didn’t complain. “Maybe a bit of both,” he mumbled as he couldn’t see himself hammering on grades when he would get kids, but he wouldn’t just let them do whatever they wanted when it came to school. He was the one having to pay for it so if he paid for it they better went to that school to do something useful. “I didn’t know there was something as Asian expectations. But to call us stupid over something they can’t do either is cruel.” He said calmly a he glanced around again. People were still busy with the first few pages, others were already busy with the homework that had been assigned. He was glad to see that not the whole class was having trouble with it. Except for Ellie then, once he noticed what she was doing. She was twenty-two, so she said. He doubted that it was a normal grade for her to sit here, unless he was thinking wrongly about that. He looked back at Jay then and tilted his head slightly. “I guess Jay is also an English name instead of your real name,” he then began, because if she was of Korean origin, she should have a full Korean name.
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Halo
May 15, 2017 9:43:49 GMT
via mobile
Post by pieceofmind on May 15, 2017 9:43:49 GMT
Jay
She shrugged a bit and sat back, pulling her boot up on her chair so she could fix her jeans at her ankle and eventually rest her chin up on her knee. "Hmm.. You have a lot more to learn about this culture, or you're lucky you didn't get picked on it." She shrugged and grabbed her phone, looking at Ellie who was sighing and mumbling to herself and then to Skyler who seemed to wonder why she was here. Or perhaps why she was struggling. Jay knew Ellie was terrible at Math even though she tried her very best. For her the numbers just didn't mix together well in her mind. She was one of the eldest in their class, not because she was stupid, but because it was college and people could decide whenever they wanted to go to college. From what Jay could remember from her unasked rambling; She had been travelling around the world, helping people in unfortunate countries. It wouldn't surprise Jay if she thought of Korea and Japan as unfortunate countries, but Ellie never mentioned a thing, she learned from Jay about Korea and accepted all the information she got, which wasn't much. She'd talk like she did with Skyler now, but most of the things she explained were straight facts and if someone didn't agree, they wouldn't hear a word from her. It was up to them to believe a fact or not, hearing her opinion took a few more words and if that wasn't accepted, she wouldn't speak at all. She wasn't going to talk to someone who disrespected her after all. She listened to his answers and nodded slightly, her opinion in that was practically the same. It annoyed her as well, but as a singularity there wasn't much she could do about it. "Hmm," she hummed in an agreeing tone to him when he went on about her name. Jay had been a nickname given by Davor the moment they had introduced themselves to each other. "Jeong-suk" was too much effort to speak out and Jay fitted her, though she wasn't a lad. No one mistook her for it, since they knew better, but they did think of her as a tomboy. On certain days where Davor picked clothes so he could be comfortable, it indeed looked like it. Barely any make-up and then baggy jeans and a sleeveless shirt, it looked different from what she had on now. As always it was all black, but it had some more style and effort. Small plateau boots with a good heel so she wouldn't be as tiny, some ripped skinny jeans, a fairly unbuttoned blouse and her usual leather jacket. Simple, but put together. Her make-up differed day to day, but to say she was heavily influenced by Western make-up was a mistake. She did a grungier, darker Korean style make-up and it made her look fiercer than any thick eyeliner would. It also was less effort. She would do this within ten minutes, whilst thick eyeliner alone took her half an hour. She didn't get the hype, but perhaps was that because she was Korean and they were Western. She did use contacts, as would many others of her age and descent, hers were an icy blue today, fitting with all the burgundy tones around her eyes. Her gaze went towards her phone, marking the hour and the list on notifcations and messages, what a pain.
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Halo
May 15, 2017 15:51:36 GMT
via mobile
Post by Sara Gather on May 15, 2017 15:51:36 GMT
Skyler
He looked at her again when she said something. He shrugged and smiled at her words. "I can't say I'm fully adapted to the culture. Not at all really, but I have been bullied before, but the bullying here doesn't seem like much, for what I experienced. I'm probably lucky," he said with the same smile. He hadn't let any bullying affect him or change his ways, he couldn't stand the fact that he would shape himself to a more likeable person just because other people wanted him to be. Thinking about it made him already annoyed that people even intended something like that. He sighed softly and stretched out when his limbs seemed to stiffen a bit. When she nodded on something he said he felt happy once more, to know their opinion was shared on that topic. Luckily he wasn't the only one thinking that way, well if it had been different it would've given more of an opportunity to talk more to her. She just answered his words with a hum that made him want to pout, but he managed to leave it be so he wouldn't be all that annoying on that part, he could keep his cute acts for later. "What's your Korean name then if I may ask?" He then asked to altleast try and get a full answer out of her on this part. It had been easier if she had immediately said it with giving her answer, but ah well, it made him talk more to her, probably to her annoyance. As long as the others in the class were working, he was going to search for every subject they could be talking about meanwhile. He wasn't exactly sure when class would be over, but he would notice once everyone would be packing their stuff like earlier.
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Halo
May 15, 2017 16:05:48 GMT
via mobile
Post by pieceofmind on May 15, 2017 16:05:48 GMT
Jay
He spoke something about bullying due their culture, but it was less now. At least it wasn't some sad sob story, she couldn't come up with the sympathy for that. He had been bullied, interesting to know. She wouldn't know exactly what for, but kids would yell the craziest things to hurt someone so did it really matter? She nodded slightly to his words, there wasn't much she could say to it, or wanted to for that matter. She had been bullied too, heavier than what it sounded like for him. But it only made her grow a tougher skin and it made her smart-mouthed. Her remarks were harsher than the words the bullies would speak, it didn't hurt her, but it hurt them instead and that helped to break it off. She had her insecurities like every other teenager, she still did, but she had learned a long time ago how to hide those things with ease. For a moment things seemed to silence down and she was almost hopeful that he would stay quiet and go bother Ellie, but she knew better. So she waited, her gaze staying on her phone and replying to messages for the time he was silent. But then he asked about her name and she tried to figure out a way to get out of that. She always tried to get out of saying her name, not because she hated it, but because such information could be used wrong. That wouldn't be the case with him, he didn't look like the type and she had enough in her to make him crumble right in front of him. She sighed out softly and put her phone away, looking at him. "Choi Jeong-suk," she spoke then, her American accent faltering under her Korean name. She tucked her hair behind her ear and tilted her head a bit whilst looking at him. Her facial expression barely had changed in the time he had arrived and now, he could be considered lucky for even seeing the slightest of smiles when that car drove past.
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Halo
May 15, 2017 19:28:48 GMT
Post by Sara Gather on May 15, 2017 19:28:48 GMT
Skyler
There hadn't been a time when he felt so bad that he had been sad for days. Sure he had his ups and downs once in a while, but everyone had those right? Most of the time he was cheerful and just enjoyed the life he was living right now because he didn't have a bad life at all. He had both of his parents supporting him, he had friends, he wouldn't know what to be sad about. And if he had a bad time he would have his pup to cheer him up so it would be forgotten quickly. He had the animal for about half a year now, got it for his seventeenth birthday from his parents, it sure had been a big surprise, but he loved him with all his heart. The pup had been somewhat excited and nervous when they moved, so he was sure to go and walk with him later on so he would grow familiar with the environment they were living in now. After his question Jay seemed to be in debat with herself to tell him or to keep quiet, but she eventually did tell him, making him smile again. "Ah, so I think Jay actually comes from Choi then," He stated a it did sound alike and he could understand Jeong-suk wasn't an easy name to keep using when in class. His English name even got cut short to Sky as it was easier for people to talk to him. It didn't matter to him though, he listened to practically everything that was drawn of his name, english or Japanese. Some of his friends of his previous school called him after his Japanese name, so he was used to both. "the name Jay fits you though," he then said. While speaking her name he had heard her accent come through, actually making it pretty cute to listen to. Her Korean name also was very well fitted for her, he didn't know why she was hesitating on telling him though. Didn't she like her name or just didn't want him to know? Or was there another reason for it? Well, whatever, she had told him so he was pretty damn happy about that.
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Halo
May 15, 2017 19:41:15 GMT
Post by pieceofmind on May 15, 2017 19:41:15 GMT
Jay
She listened to him and wondered how it sounded similar. Her surname and her English name didn't sound the same at all in her ears. But perhaps that was because it came from her own standpoint as a Korean. She did get his point, but she simply disagreed with it. "Jeong," she corrected him then, shrugging slightly. "Your point is more valid than their excuses, but it comes from Jeong," she explained then, glancing at the clock for a moment to see how much longer she would be trapped in this classroom. Another half an hour, bit more. She wondered how she was going to get through the whole day of class, since it seemed to take forever already. Though she wasn't one to easily go home and just forget about going to college, she would stay until the very last minute of their last class, but not with much excitement. "Hmm," she hummed when he spoke about her English name again, looking back at him. She glanced past him for the slightest moment to see what Ellie was doing, but she was still hammering on their homework, she couldn't quite see on what page she was but she hoped for her sake she was at least on the fourth page. Ellie had asked time and time again if she could copy Jay's homework, but she most of the times refused to do so. The few times she had shown her the answers, she had made sure she put effort into understanding the assignments. As if she was her tutor, almost. It was just against her principles to just give away the answers. She wasn't the one failing class, Ellie was, and therefor she felt like Ellie should put effort into getting it all. Luckily the girl accepted her help with much glee, the few times it had happened. Her gaze moved back again to the new student, taking his face in for a moment, examing his features for once. They didn't sit far apart now and since she already was conversating with him, in her own way at least, she could take the time to see him properly. He was handsome, big eyes and full lips. He had some sharp features like his jawline, which made his kind look a bit tougher. But he still had a youthful sparkle in his eye, one she missed. Firstly because her contacts concealed her own almost black eyecolour, but also because she was far too mature for her age. She wondered why he put so much effort into talking to her again, but still refused to ask. If there was one thing she knew, it was that her pokerface never broke, not unless she let it. And she rarely did in public.
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Halo
May 15, 2017 20:09:59 GMT
Post by Sara Gather on May 15, 2017 20:09:59 GMT
Skyler
He lifted his head slightly when she spoke without him expecting her to say something actually, but he did understand that he could've been wrong on her naming. "I see, then excuse me for my wrong statement. It just sounded most logical to me in matter of pronounciation," he said with a smile. She noticed her eyes moving past him for a moment to look at Ellie, so his gaze followed, looking over at her for a bit to see how far she was with the assignments. Though it was with very much difficulty, she seemed to manage well. If she wanted help she could always ask him to help her, or let him atleast explain it so she would understand and continue. He looked for a bit longer before looking back towards Jay, being surprised when her gaze was on him, but he didn't look away because of it. "What do you do in your free time?" He then asked as he wants to get to know her better while he had the chance in the time they had, because she had finished early. It wouldn't matter much if she won't respond to his questions. If he would notice her not wanting to say anything about hat subject, he would jump onto another subject until she wanted to respond again, even if it would mean having a full conversation with only himself if she would just refuse all of it. The persistence in him sure did help in that kind of situations.
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Halo
May 15, 2017 20:22:50 GMT
Post by pieceofmind on May 15, 2017 20:22:50 GMT
Jay
She shrugged a bit again, he hadn't been wrong, it just wasn't why she was named the was she was. Davor never wanted to agree that he was wrong, so she instead agreed on this one statement since most people wouldn't think twice about it. But Skyler was almost a native, so he saw the logic point in better than Davor ever would. He hit her with another question and that wiped away any hope she had of ending the conversation soon. She sighed out softly through her nose and tilted her head a bit, as if she was in thought. Which, quite honestly, she was. What was she okay with letting him know. What was an acceptable answer, other than what she actually did. She could easily lie to him, but the question actually made her think deep and realise that she didn't really have any real hobbies. She knew things, like how to play the violin or piano, but she didn't have any real hobbies like drawing or gaming, playing a sport of some sort. She knew some defense and fight sports, perhaps that was something she could answer with. But that wasn't the only thing someone would do in their free time, so what else was possible? "Hmm.. I practice taekwondo and some IT stuff," she answered then, since it wasn't far from the truth and it also kept things limited. "Sixth rank black belt, I'm still working my way up the ranks," she then said to prevent him from asking so. "IT is more of a side job than a hobby, if that's what you're wondering. I fix computers and all," she vaguely explained about the second thing she mentioned. She could return the question, but that would be more of an actual conversation rather than one-sided and trying to end it. Then again, this slowly would sound like an interrogation and that wasn't exactly what she wanted either. She had had enough of those. "Hmm.. What about you then?"
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Halo
May 15, 2017 20:44:40 GMT
Post by Sara Gather on May 15, 2017 20:44:40 GMT
Skyler
He saw that she was thinking about the question again, as if contemplaiting on telling him or not, wanting him to know something about her or not. She could lie for all he cared, as long as she talked to him and he wouldn't be bored to death as the class really seemed to drag on for far too long already with everyone being so caught up into their maths. Once she had decided to tell him he listened carefully and let her finish talking, probably trying to cut him off from asking the questions anyway. Ah, it was always fun when people started to figure out how he worked and how obvious he could be when it came to asking questions. "That sounds awesome," he said cheerfully and slightly amazed about the taekwondo. "Anything that can keep one busy right?" He said with a smile when she gave a bit of an explanation about the IT stuff she did. Before he could think of something to continue she threw the question back to him, startling him what was to be seen in his eyes for a slight moment, but he quickly regained himself. "I play volleyball. Well that was before I moved here, I'm going to look for a club to join around here so I can continue playing. Furthermore I can play some instruments. I don't have much hobbies really. I guess I put a lot of time in my dog the last couple of months," he said as he thought about it. He really should be looking for a club to join for volleyball, he really wanted to continue playing the sport as he really did enjoy it. And maybe continuing with music wouldn't be a bad idea either, not that he was talented, he just tried his best to make the best off of it, which made him remind himself of a previous hobby of him. "I have danced before, I just don't know when I stopped doing that though. But ah well, it was all very enjoyable," he looked back at her again with a slightly brighter smile as before, being happy she just put some effort into conversating, even if she didn't want it at all.
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Halo
May 15, 2017 20:55:45 GMT
Post by pieceofmind on May 15, 2017 20:55:45 GMT
Jay
She sat back in the rather uncomfortable chair, fixed her jacket and tucked her blouse in a bit neater, looking away from him for that moment so she could see what she was doing. She hummed a bit in agreement to let him know she was paying attention as she placed her feet upon the table next to hers, that way she could fully see him and also sit more comfortably. She crossed her arms loosely to really get in a of some sort comfortable position and looked at him again, catching the surprise on his face just in time. Ofcourse he would be startled, up until now it only had been a one-sided thing, but she figured that if she wanted to get off quick, she'd have to put some kind of effort in. Volleyball, music, a dog and dancing. The creative and loving type, it wasn't really a surprise to her. "Hmm.. There's a club a few blocks away from here, a volleyball club. Perhaps you should go look there," she spoke up, she knew the city like the back of her hand. Every alley, every building, quite honestly, pretty much every person in the city was somewhat familiar for her. She did her research so well that she knew what people worked where and what she could get from them when needed. Dancing.. She remembered dancing when she was far younger, looking up to the idols from her country and wanting to be like them, but that dream was far gone. She wasn't the type to become a kpop-idol, her music taste had developed more though she still listened it frequently and she just grew out of it. She figured he was the type to dance more of a hip-hop style, as he definitely didn't have the flexibility or grace for ballet and she really couldn't imagine him doing so. Volleyball wasn't that bad of a sport, she could find the fun in it, but it wasn't something she was passionate about. And a dog, probably a young one since he said he was busy with it for the last few months. From what she had noticed, dog people usually were warm-hearted and outgoing, since for a dog you had to go outside a lot and it was a good chance people would stop and ask about the animal. She didn't dislike dogs, in fact, she grew up with one. But that animal wasn't as disciplined and trained as she would go for now, though it still lived with her parents.
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Halo
May 15, 2017 22:07:01 GMT
Post by Sara Gather on May 15, 2017 22:07:01 GMT
Skyler
He looked up with more curiousity when she said something about a club not too far from here. "Ah! Arigatōgozaimashita! I'll be sure to go there then and look out for it," he said, maybe a tad too excited. He tended to switch back to Japanese if he was excited about something or felt sorry, like he had earlier during break, but it seriously was an accident, he didn't notice himself that he changed over between Japanese and English as he would tend to forget if he was excited about something. He already was planning when he would be able to go there or call them to see if he could go and look at how it went there. This made his whole day a lot better again. He got distracted for a small moment when Ellie mumbled something to herself again. She seemed to be almost done, so Jay would probably have her rest a bit when Ellie finally had done all of it, because he was sure she would drag him into conversating with her again, or maybe trying to get them all three to talk again like she tried before. When he felt his phone buzz in his pocket he took it out swiftly and read the message he had gotten, making him smile very slightly. He quickly responded to the text before he put his phone back into his pocket and looked back up at Jay. Maybe it was a good idea to cut if off here, he was running out of questions and he was already happy enough having talked to her for a bit and to know more about her now without too much trouble, even if it took a while.
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Halo
May 15, 2017 22:16:03 GMT
Post by pieceofmind on May 15, 2017 22:16:03 GMT
Jay
She looked up to him when he had a sudden outburst of excitement, making her raise her eyebrow slowly but nod shortly after. He was just excited to see if he could get back to volleyball, she could understand that. It was just the mix of Japanese and English that had her off guard for a moment. He really seemed to mix it together sometimes, so he was lucky she understood him. Although, many would understand a thank you. Her gaze went along to Ellie, thanking her in her mind for being close to done as well, so she could get some rest and think some things through. Rather than conversate with an overly excited new student. At least she had done something nice, though she only mentioned there was a club. His attention went from Ellie to his phone and her gaze followed along again, though she looked up quicker than he did to her. He seemed to have run out of questions or at least something to say, which was to be expected when someone else didn't do much to talk back. "Hmm," she only hummed once again, marking the end of the conversation. Ellie also closed her books and put them away, which meant she'd be quick to talk and Jay wanted nothing to do with it. So she reached for her bag and took out her earbuds and plugged them into her phone. With that she also took out a different, smaller notebook and pen. After putting some music on she opened the thing up and read through what she had written before to see where she stopped. With that done, she grabbed her phone again and searched something up, going from there. Hopefully until class ended, if Ellie was nice to her today, she would keep Skyler occupied. Then again, it was Ellie, and you never knew what she felt like doing.
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Halo
May 16, 2017 5:18:58 GMT
Post by Sara Gather on May 16, 2017 5:18:58 GMT
Skyler
He looked at Jay for a last moment before he heard Ellie sigh to mark that she was done with her homework, so he turned back to sit at his desk again to talk to Ellie for now. She asked what they had been talking about so he explained it a bit, it wasn't anything serious really. They had just talked about everyday things so it wasn't like she had missed much when she was fighting her math. And then the conversation went on, about different things. Ellie found that she was interesting enough to tell almost her whole life story and rambled her way through it, and he just listened to it because he was a kind person and wouldn't tell her to shut up. Besides some things she told him were actually pretty interesting, but to say he was focussed all the way through would be a lie. It was just so much and she was talking at a speed he couldn't comprehend, but if it made her happy to tell like that, who was he to stop her? He did hope that time would tick away faster though, the other students took too long, and if he had to sit much longer in here he felt like he would drive mad sooner or later if it would always be like this, this quiet except for the few people whispering, the faint sound of music and Ellie telling her life story.
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