Picnic Shindigs (Exxie)

[Exxie]

Jodie tossed around the idea that Zeke put forward. Then, sarcastically, she spoke.

"Naw. That COULDN'T be it! Are you kiddin'? I'm in so much trouble lately the poor guidance counselor's more worried than a chicken in a KFC." Yeah, Ainsley did seem to get away with bloody murder. Five windows? Jodie's eyes widened.

"DUDE! Even I don't get away with THAT much. Mind you, I can't seem to escape their notice. One drawback to having that benefactor of mine. They watch what you're doing just to make sure whoever they are is happy. I mean, who in their right mind rats out someone for graffiti-ing the bathroom stall wall? Sick, I tell you. Sick." The last few words were sarcastic. After all, the irony of her graffiti-ing the place didn't escape her. When Ainsley exclaimed about the ninja bit, she closed her eyes in mock pain. She opened them slowly only to see Zeke doing a facepalm and speaking. Jodie listened to the explanation, and then listened quietly to Ainsley's amazement, and then his question. She took a deep breath.

"Firstly, I know some ninja skills as well as that of an assassin. My parents wanted me to be prepared for different situations. And I don't kill people, Ainsley. I was still in training when my powers emerged. You only start killing people when you turn sixteen, after your party. Family tradish. Even then, I probably would've just been scoping out my family's targets and finding their weaknesses. And the whole killing people thing was kind of part of the reason why I left, Ainsley. As I said, I have lines I don't cross. If someone tries to make me cross them, I become cross." Jodie grinned at the bad joke.

"Even if you feel like killing someone, I think it's better if you don't. Maybe maim them. Possibly. I can think of a few people who I'd love to do that to. But I've always thought the best way to show your skill is if you can stop someone from doing something without killing them. Besides, if you kill them, they don't get to think about what it is they did to piss you off. That's just no fun at all." Jodie laughed. A little black humour. Zeke's blue hair still got her. It was a really pretty colour. Not one of those pukey who-killed-the-dolphin shades. Fairly nice. And not like all the people who suddenly decided red was the new black. Jodie laughed about those people behind their backs. Gingers were always called names like 'zanahoria-top' for the longest time. And now suddenly it changed. It had thrown her for a loop for a while, but then she started laughing, and then ignoring them. Now she just had to wait until blonde was the new black. Then she'd totally be rocking out in style.

"I like the colour your hair is Zeke." Oops. Did she just say that out loud. Backpedal or stammer? Backpedal or stammer?

"Umm...I-I mean...cool c-colour." No help. Gosh she was kicking herself in the butt so hard right now it wasn't even funny.

"Just see so many people with it dyed red that it's refreshing to see blue." Recovery complete. YES!

"So Ainsley...why are ninjas of such interest to you? You a closet otaku or what?"

[Ainsley Cooper]

Ainsley nodded. He understood. Being an assassin was cool in theory, but killing people would be hard. How did one ever even start killing? Sure, he had been mad before, but he had never wanted to kill people. "Yeah, I can see that being rough, I even cry when one of mah rats dies..." He said quietly. "I can imagine that killin' on purpose is much fun, maybe I jus' got too big a heart, I would always be thinkin' of shit like, does this person got a family? Loved ones? How are they gonna feel when they find out their father, their mam, their brother died...."

Zeke kept quiet about it, unsure of what to say. She did not like the idea of killing, it clashed with her moral rules. She had always been taught to do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

"I like the colour your hair is Zeke."

The words cut through her thoughts like a hot knife cutting into butter. The reaction was immediate, a sudden dark flush of blush across her cheeks, and she bowed her head slightly. "Um, thanks...blue is really hard to dye, I redye every week or so, otherwise it goes like... this gross seafoam green colour." She stuck out her tongue to indicate she didn't like the faded colour at all.

"Red's too big right now, I like the funky colours. I've been purple, green and white too." She smiled, playing with a strand of her blue hair. "It's a lot of work, not for the faint of heart... I gotta bleach my roots every month on top of it. I used a brand called Punky colour, my colour is called Atlantic blue... Not that I would know what colour the Atlantic is anyway."

Ainsley shook his head. "Naw, not really, I guess if you count One Piece and watching an anime here and there... Odderwise, I ain't much of a fan boy.... Oh..." He made a grimacing face. "I do like tentacle rape.... Does that count?"

[Exxie]

Yeah. It was hard to think about actually killing someone.

"See, the rest of my family are kind of loners by choice. They've all had that luxury of choosing. I've just been a loner for my whole life. And to me, killing people would probably be the worst possible thing. After all, I'd be like 'you're one of the first people I've met other than my family' and then they'd end up being a target of assassination or some crap." Plus, there was always the trouble of if she would feel guilty afterwards. There was no telling if she would actually, but it was possible. On the other hand, the things she felt guilty for lately were rare and random. It wasn't really that she had a big heart, exactly. It just wasn't in the cards for her to be a killer. It wasn't like it was in her blood or anything. Or maybe it was. She couldn't exactly say at this point. When Zeke blushed at Jodie's first statement, Jodie felt really awkward. It was a hair compliment, but it had been so out of the...blue, pardon the pun. Seafoam green? Jodie saw Zeke make a face and she laughed, tilting her head to the side a little.

"I can't decide whether I'd pay you not to see it, or to see it. Never mind. I'm broke." Jodie grinned a lopsided grin. Purple, green and white. That was almost the colours of a flag, she'd be willing to bet on that. If she had money. Or anything else to bet. Her dorm room was emptier than a a pizza box at a weight watcher's convention. And her bank account was as bad or worse, if that was possible. A lot of work. Jodie could imagine.

"I'd imagine. I've never dyed my hair, myself. I've always loved my blonde hair. If I had stayed in the family business, I probably would've done it eventually to camouflage my identity, but now I can stay blissfully blonde." Then she looked at Ainsley.

"Don't you dare make any blonde jokes, or I'll kill you." Then she remembered a Disney Pixar movie she had watched once and put up a hand, with only a thumb sticking out.

"With zis thumb." The accent had to be done. It just had to be. French chef, French accent. You couldn't do Ratatouille impressions without the French accent. It was unheard of. Atlantic blue, huh? Well, it was pretty whatever it was. But she wouldn't say that this time, since she couldn't seem to give a normal compliment without stammering and tripping over her own tongue. She heard Ainsley talk about One Piece and anime and...what? Tentacle rape? Jodie shook her head vigorously. Then made a face.

"First of all, what the hell? Tentacle rape is not in my vocab Ainsley, and I don't think I have any wish for it to be. Second, One Piece is one of the only manga series I don't read. The art isn't the type I like. Some early Naruto, Bleach, Fullmetal and an occasional Fairy Tail thank you very much." She crossed her arms and make a serious face, like a bouncer. Then she burst out into laughter. She couldn't keep her expression serious unless she was faced with a life and death situation. Or someone finding out her sexuality, which could mean a figurative death.

[Ainsley Cooper]

"Well I'm sure you'll see it eventually. There's always one week where I get lazy and it doesn't get dyed... Pay attention around exams." She informed her, twisting a piece of the blue hair around a finger absently. She nodded. "Don't dye over your blonde hair! Blonde never recovers completely from being dyed and it sometimes comes back in darker!" She exclaimed, now sounding a little worried. "Your hair is such a pretty colour on it's own! Don't change it." She smiled shyly, making brief eye contact with the girl before looking away. The blush was finally fading from her cheeks.

Ainsley smirked. Match maker. Match maker! He was playing match maker! He giggled soundlessly to himself and then threw up his hands in defense when suddenly the attack was on him.

"Whoa! Hold yer horses, I ain't never said a word about yer blond hair, ain't said one word!"

He shied away from her thumb with another breathless laugh. "Stop! Put it away! I promise ta be good! Jus' dun hurt me no more! I promise ta be a good boy fer the rest of the day! I promise! I do declare!" He whined, but he was smiling as he did so. He moved away from Jodie, sitting behind Zeke and holding her shoulders, using the girl as a human shield.

"Hey! Don't use me!" Zeke complained, trying to wiggle out of his grip. "I don't want to die either!"

"Too bad, yer prettier than I am, lass, so she more likely ta not kill ya ta get ta me. She'll wait till I'm alone... or sleeping." He stuck his tongue out at her. "Hey! One piece is really good!" He complained. "And if ya dun want it in yer vo-ca-bu-lary, then fer the love of god, don't look it up on the internet!" He shook his head, "Only other Anime I've seen is Fruits baskets, I liked it, a little too cute, but the drama was good."

Zeke shrugged. "I've never watched an anime..." She said. "I've never had friends how watch it or can loan it to me. I liked Cardcaptors! I saw that on tv a few times. And Sailor Moon! That's anime right?"

[Exxie]

Jodie heard the answer. She wasn't sure how she felt about that. Jodie laughed. When she heard about not dying blonde hair, she smiled.

"Then again, I might have researched and just gone with a wig instead. I would never have known that on my own though." Jodie noted the bit of worry in Zeke's voice and grinned when she heard the compliment, even looking down after the brief eye contact.

"Thanks." That's all she could manage to say. When she heard Ainsley defend himself and then watched him duck away and use Zeke as a shield, along with Zeke's complaint, she grinned. She just knew she was glowing again. So happy. Jodie started laughing, her eyes closing in the happiness of this.

"Who ever said hiding behind someone would help? I'm professionally trained!" She couldn't help the quip. She quickly recovered from the teary laughter. And then he said about Jodie being less likely to kill Zeke to get to him and she laughed, before putting on a more serious face.

"But seriously. You try to pull that with a professionally trained assassin hell bent on killin' ya, that isn't going to stop them, even if they don't want to kill your meatshield, pardon the expression. They could probably still get you by pulling a stealth and gettin' behind you." Then she lightened up. Literally. Her glow came back again. Full force. In fact, she looked down at her hand to see how much, and it seemed like it was the brightest it had ever been. It made sense, if Jodie thought about it. She now had two friends, she had a stomach full of food and she was having a great time. Plus, these people knew two of the biggest secrets in her life. Hmm...killing Ainsley in his sleep.

"I'd say that was an innuendo of some sort, but I know you're gay." Jodie arched one eyebrow with a grin. So he was defending One Piece now. And then he said not to look it up on the internet and she chuckled. That was good to know. Fruit Basket. Hm.

"I haven't even read the manga for that one. The art looked too cutesy. I mostly like boys manga. Occasionally shojo, but mostly shonen. Battles are way too cool to pass up. I might not want to actually kill anyone, but reading about someone who does it? That's totally fine with me." Jodie had a lopsided smile on her face. Then Zeke said she hadn't watched an anime before.

"That's what online videos are for! They have websites with dubbed and subtitled versions! But yeah. Sailor Moon's an anime. A manga too. Haven't read that series either." She was starting to feel like she really needed to do some manga research and read these series. Not One Piece obviously. The art in that one bothered her too much. Too much like a gag. But maybe Sailor Moon would be worth looking into. Nausicaa was popular after all, and it was really good. Hmm...then she looked up. It was starting to cloud up.

"I think it might start to rain soon. Not that I have a power that tells me that. I'm no Ororo. But clouds, rain, y'know? Maybe we should find some shelter or go back to the dorms or something." She had homework too. She wasn't about to admit it, but she actually liked to keep her grades up too. And they were learning algebra right now. Jodie had hated the geometry unit, but algebra? She almost looked forward to it. Even if she acted tough and troublesome, she still knew a good education could help her with her murder-less future. And she'd need an education. After all, you couldn't get a job at a famous business firm if all you knew was how to bump people off. Unless they were the mafia. Jodie guessed that would be a famous business firm. Kinda. Then she realized something interesting. In this circle, there was a guy who was dying, and a girl who had been trained to kill.

"Oh, the irony." She put her hand up to her eyes, covering them with a groan she wasn't going to explain unless they asked her. Jodie still didn't know how Ainsley was dealing with the whole cancer thing. Probably not good.

[Ainsley Cooper]

"No problem." Zeke giggled as Ainsley hid behind her. He moved her that way, and this way as he tried to get the best coverage of his precious organs. "A wig wouldn't be too bad, I guess." She laughed. "Ainsley! Stop!" She said, but not too seriously.

"Well, what did I ever do ta get assassinated anyway? I ain't hurt no one." He muttered, smirking dangerously. "At least I ain't done nothing I can remember. What's been done can't be undone." He slunk out from behind Zeke and flopped onto the blanket between the two of them. "Two lovely ladies." He grinned, "Ain't I a lucky son of a bitch." He looked up to the clouds, listening to the two of them talk about anime. He didn't have a computer back home, he used to go to the library and here at school he really didn't have time to watch Anime, he had better things to do before dying.

"Maybe we could watch some together sometime?" She suggested lightly, she didn't want to seem too eager, but didn't want to seem disinterested either. She looked up now, starting to keep the eye contact longer and less awkwardly. "You could show me the ones you like. I like watching pretty much anything... I.. I'm a chain watcher." She laughed slightly. "I just finished Skins, the British drama."

Ainsley nodded. "Well, I should get goin' I got some thangs I need ta do tonight." He pushed himself up. "I'll walk up ta the school with y'all then I really should head ovah to the library fer a while. Got an English test that I wanna troll, but need ta research some good responses online."

"I should do my homework." Zeke said sadly. "We could do homework together, Jodie?" It was phrased a question. "Avoid the rain and do work, all at the same time." She brushed a hand over her cheek then rubbed her eye with a slight yawn. "I don't want to. I'm no good at science." She whined, "Maybe we could help each other out? Unless you've got math or history. I suck at both of those too." She grinned sheepishly. She was an art kid, much better at things like drama and music.

"Uh?" Ainsley grunted. "What's ironic? And are you sure yer using the term right?" He snickered quietly. "I apparently never really use it right, I always think about that one song, you know, I thank it's called Irony? Like rain on my weddin' day and all that."

[Exxie]

"You haven't done anything to anyone, but you know what they say. It's the thought that counts." Somehow she didn't think that applied to the certain situation, but it was just too perfect an opening and Jodie had never been one to pass that sort of opportunity up.

"Besides, all things considered I know you get into trouble. You could have gone on some sort of...'let's drink and not remember the crazy stuff' rant and binge." She just shook her head with a smile on her face. When Zeke suggested watching some anime, Jodie thought a moment, before giving a small nod.

"I think you have been depraved of the Japanese wonders too long. Maybe we can get sushi too." Jodie grinned mischievously. She loved sushi. And for once, she really wanted to pull that old prank her sister had pulled on her. Wasabi was definitely nothing like guacamole. That had been a dirty trick. A chain watcher, huh? She knew how that felt. She had gone on a TV show marathon of one of the shows off of BBC at one point. Jodie had this thing where she emulated the speech patterns of those she heard too. Rest of the day she was talking with a British accent. It had been just a little weird. When Ainsley said that he should get going, Jodie smiled. An English test that he wasn't going to actually do the work for? She was about to 'tsk' at him, but held back. If she did that, they might catch on that she enjoyed some of her subjects highly.

"Well then, have fun with that. English teachers are pretty sharp about plagiarism." Not that she knew from personal experience. Ha. Ha. Her tutor had been really good at knowing when something had come off the internet. Dammit, that course had been hard. But Jodie did admit she had learned a lot from the experience. Homework. With Zeke. Hmm...on the one hand, that could be fun. On the other hand, she might not actually get her homework done. On yet another hand...wait when had she grown an extra hand...never mind...but her hand issues aside, that meant Zeke might discover how much Jodie liked her work, at least in some subjects. But it might be fun. Her head tilted slightly as she thought about it.

"Sure. Why not? And I know how you feel about science. I hate it too. English is my very favourite, although math isn't too bad. Might possibly be able to help, depending on whether you have some algebra or not." Jodie smiled. Then she heard Ainsley ask what was ironic and she froze, gulping. How was she going to explain this honestly without sounding insensitive?

"Uh...I am using it right. Pretty sure. You're dying and I was trained as an assassin. With the career of killing people. And we're in the same circle of friends." She gulped and gritted her teeth.

"I'msorryifthatsoundsawfulbutIdidn'texpectyoutoask!" A rush.

[Ainsley Cooper]

"I dun drink that much!" He defended. "At least... That I can recall." He smirked. "Then again, I DO have SOME blank nights..." He scraped his fingers along a small bit of stumble on his chin, seeming to think deeply. "There was that one time... Naw, too long and complicated, I thank I'll save ya the details." He nodded decisively. "Ya, too much trouble ta get inta."

Ainsley stuck out his tongue and made a face. "Ugh, I can't stand sushi, it's all... raw fish an' stuff. I'll stick ta ma Texan diet of fried foods, thank ya kindly."

"Oh, I love sushi." Zeke squeed happily, clasping her hands together. "I may not have watched anime, but I love Japanese cuisine! And Korean too. Umm... Korean B-B-Q!" She licked her lips happily, tilting her head slightly to the side. She nearly looked like she could be out of an Anime herself. "I like Ika and kani, and unagi and niji-masu! Ummm and kappa-maki. I also really liked same sushi, but then I found out it was shark! Sharks are endangered and I felt so bad for eating it... But I didn't know!" She made a sad face. "I like sharks."

Zeke nodded. "No algebra, I'm learning the dumb waves on the graphs." She pouted. "I don't like it, it's hard." It's not that was was dumb, but she was one of the kinds of people that didn't like working hard. She had better things to do, like eating, drawing and practising her french horn for band.

Ainsley tried to stifle a flow of laughter, but didn't manage it. He laughed until he was panting, then coughing. "Oh... That's swell, that's goooood." He moaned. It wasn't exactly funny, but it certainly hit his funny bone. Zeke didn't find the humour in it and sat quietly, but smiled at Ainsley's reaction. He slapped his knee, but was soon bent over. His face was ashy, but he was smiling widely. "Oh, I like that, I like that a lot." He grinned widely up at her, his lips had taken on a blue hint. "Oh, I shouldn't laugh like that..." He groaned, then hacked a wet series of coughs and spat off to the side. There was red flecked in the phlegm, not a good sign.

"Yer pretty dark for someone who controls light." He commented off hand. He had straightened and gathered some of his breath back. He ran his hands over his shirt, brushing out the wrinkles from bending over. "Pretteh dark." He smirked. "But I like it, and there ain't nothin' ya can say ta offend me, promise."

[Exxie]

No sushi? Ainsley did not like sushi? When Zeke said she liked sushi though, Jodie was temporarily appeased. Yes. Someone here liked sushi besides her. Of course, she liked almost any food. That's the kind of appetite she had. But sushi was something she really really enjoyed. For some reason, she always wanted to pronounce it shushi though. Then Zeke went on to talk about Korean BBQ and Jodie's vision fuzzed out for a minute until she finished. Then she shook her head to focus again.

"You really really like your Korean food, huh? That's one thing I haven't even tried, I have to confess." No algebra huh? And the wavey things? Jodie waved her hands in a 'no way Josee' motion.

"I hate those things. Graphs suck. Algebra I don't mind. Graphs and geometry though? YUCK!" Then Ainsley was laughing. Laughing at what Jodie had said. It made her feel...awkward. She was glad he was able to laugh at his situation, but it just made her feel like all sorts of jerk. The blood in his phlegm made her concerned too. She didn't want to lose him as a friend. He was fun to be around. When he made the joke about her powers, she gave him a lopsided smile.

"What did you expect? Just because I'm blonde and control light doesn't mean it completely negates the fact that my parents were assassins and locked me in a dark room." She laughed.

"Sorry. Yeah, I make pretty dark jokes. Pun completely intended." She grinned, her eyes betraying mischievousness, but also relief at the fact that Ainsley wasn't offended or something.

"I'm glad. I really don't want to lose one of my two friends." She smiled, glowing slightly and gently. Her eyes also had a gentle light in them. She was happy.

"We should probably head back to the dorms, even if we don't particularly want to. I have a Biology test tomorrow. And there's only so much I can learn about flatworms at a time. Partly why a homework session together might be a good idea Zeke. Because flatworms, roundworms...bleah."

[Ainsley Cooper]

"Korean food tends to be spicier... At least that's what I've noticed... Like Kimchi. I love kimchi. It's spicy pickled cabbage. Not many other people like it, so it usually means I get their portion!" She made a happy face. "Ugh, I'm making myself hungry." She grabbed the last sandwich and polished it off in three bites. "Not Kimchi, but it'll do." she said happily.

She sighed deeply, frowning. "I hate math." She pouted, puckering out her lips. "It looks like I'll just have to suffer through it. Thank god we get marks for trying or I would be screwed."

Ainsley nodded. "I wouldn't want you to lose me as a friend either!" He smiled. "Who else would torture me so delightfully?" He held a hand up to his chest. "Who would kept me in such a state of trepidation?" He giggled, folding up the blanket after they stood up. "You give what remains of ma life such... excitement!" He gave them a short bow. "I guess I shall let ya two lovely dames get on yer way." He grabbed each of their hands, planting a kiss onto the back of their hands. "Ciao Bellas." He turned, walking off. He had a touch of a swagger. About three or four feet away, he turned, raising a thin hand in a goodbye wave.

"So, I guess we should start on our homework, shouldn't we? I left my math stuff in my locker, mind coming with me before we start?" She said, a little sheepishly. She had actually been planning on ignoring it until an hour before class on the day it was due.

[Exxie]

"Well then. I'd probably like Korean food. In fact, I'd probably like eating almost anything. Except for wild rabbit. Little gamey, that." Yeah, she had eaten that. Her parents had taken her out for wilderness training and her dad had been in charge of packing. Bad idea. Canned food. But he had forgotten the friggin' can opener. Then she watched as Zeke finished off a sandwich in three bites and her eyes widened.

"Wow. That was quite a feat. I've only been able to do that once before." Then she commented about how she hated math and Jodie nodded. For the most part, she hated math too. Algebra was just the exception to the rule, was all. Jodie knew algebra was made fun of, but she also knew she wasn't the only one who liked it. And...boy, she needed more interesting internal dialogue. She heard Ainsley's exclamation and chuckled.

"Glad to hear that I'm your way of living on the edge." Jodie grinned. Then he kissed her hand like an old-timey gentleman and she laughed.

"Bye Ainsley. Have a good day." Then she turned to Zeke and nodded.

"Having your math stuff with you would probably be helpful to do your homework. Wait...if it's still in your locker, let me guess...you didn't want to do your homework. Tsk tsk." She shook her index finger at Zeke with a lopsided grin. Then Jodie stood up, straightening her band shirt.

"Let's go then. I have all my stuff in my dorm room already, so we just have to transfer it to wherever we want to do our homework." She tapped her chin.

"So...where do you want to go? I have a room-mate, so I dunno. We could always go to the student lounge too." She shrugged.

"I have some English homework to do myself. I saved it for last because...well...savin' the best for last." Jodie snorted slightly at herself. Yeah, she probably had 'nerd' plastered across her forehead.