[dohtml]
<link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Quicksand' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>

<style type ="text/css">
.header{
font-family: 'Quicksand', sans-serif;
font-size: 18.2px;
text-transform: uppercase;
letter-spacing: -2px;
text-align: center;
line-height: 102%;

}
</style>

<div style="width: 375px; height: auto;">
<div class="header">and of all these angry people in the world</div>
<div style="width: 350px; height: 300px; border-left: 25px solid #404f6e; border-top: 25px solid #404f6e; background-image: url(http://i40.tinypic.com/24plbaa.jpg); margin-left: 40px; background-color: #fff;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: #fff; width: 375px; font-family: courier new; font-size: 11px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: justify; line-height: 80%; letter-spacing: -1px;">you know that there are people in the world annoyed with all the other people in the world? and of all these angry people in the world i am the angriest boy. when i was spat onto the earth in a stream of guts why, mother nature, that green-eyed slut i wasn't the first to get forced from a cut one to whom i still shall stay stuck. well if you think i'm being harsh, well baby, keep on counting stars 'cause i hate everyone-----</div>

<div style="background-color: #fff; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-top: 25px; width: 375px; text-align: justify; font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; line-height: 102%;">it was funny how there could be only so many excuses for lingering around the bookstore. if he'd told the truth, it was likely that only one or two of the people he told would believe him. people just seemed to equate drugs and booze with a low iq so finding somebody like nik in the sections of the bookstore that he actually chose to pursue under his own free will- especially the political philosophy sections- just seemed to boggle people's minds.
<p>
he loved it.
<p>
he really hadn't planned on winding up in the library on this quaint afternoon but it had just sort of happened. it was a nice way to avoid actually doing his work, reading things that were absolutely not related to what he was doing in class at all. sure, his reading for a lot of his pre-law classes could be engaging but it could get incredibly repetitive after a while, especially when he had been actually trying to get work done every now and then. so here he was, wasting time in an undoubtedly unexpected manner. but then, you never knew what could come out of an afternoon like this. speaking of which...
<p>
nik prided himself on never forgetting a face. for one thing, it was something that he was actually good at- and it was a useful skill at that. so when he spotted the girl's face behind the counter as he casually perused the books in the philosophy section, it took him only seconds to place her mentally. second row, tenth seat, mondays and fridays at one. four rows and three seats in front of where he sat. there were probably other little details that would have come to mind if he had tried to recall them but that was all he needed to know for now. that, and that she was new. that was the other thing about never forgetting a face; you knew when you were seeing somebody for the first time. she was new and he needed to add to his mental dossier on her. for, you know, useful purposes.
<p>
grabbing a random book off the shelf, nik formulated a game plan. it was easy- he'd done this so many times before that he had all sorts of variations on the basic way to talk to people. the only thing that ever differed was their responses and he had a good feel for those by this point in his life. and if they responded in a way that he didn't know how to handle, then in some ways it was even easier- it took different ways to get people to like you but just about everybody could be destroyed in a similar manner.
<p>
striding up to the counter confidently, nik shot the girl a grin, hopefully one that seemed sincere, and said, "you're in one of my classes, right? do you have anything else by this professor? i was thinking of taking one of his classes."
</div>
<div style="width: 375px; height: 18px; background-color: #404f6e; text-align: center; font-family: courier new; font-size: 12px; text-transform: uppercase; color: #fff; line-height: 110%;"> words: 496. tagged: maya/chloe. thank you <a href="http://z10.invisionfree.com/CAUTIONTOTHEWIND/index.php?showtopic=160616">annie</a></div>
[/dohtml]

[dohtml]
<link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Quicksand' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>

<style type ="text/css">
.header{
font-family: 'Quicksand', sans-serif;
font-size: 18.2px;
text-transform: uppercase;
letter-spacing: -2px;
text-align: center;
line-height: 102%;

}
</style>

<div style="width: 375px; height: auto;">
<div class="header">and of all these angry people in the world</div>
<div style="width: 350px; height: 300px; border-left: 25px solid #404f6e; border-top: 25px solid #404f6e; background-image: url(http://i40.tinypic.com/24plbaa.jpg); margin-left: 40px; background-color: #fff;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: #fff; width: 375px; font-family: courier new; font-size: 11px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: justify; line-height: 80%; letter-spacing: -1px;">you know that there are people in the world annoyed with all the other people in the world? and of all these angry people in the world i am the angriest boy. when i was spat onto the earth in a stream of guts why, mother nature, that green-eyed slut i wasn't the first to get forced from a cut one to whom i still shall stay stuck. well if you think i'm being harsh, well baby, keep on counting stars 'cause i hate everyone-----</div>

<div style="background-color: #fff; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-top: 25px; width: 375px; text-align: justify; font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; line-height: 102%;">"yeah, sociology. as fascinating as it might be to learn how to talk in front of crowds, i can't say that i've ever had a problem getting my opinions across." nik leaned up against the counter casually as he spoke, surveying the girl. she looked pretty normal. no particularly noticeable features, though her eyes were a clear shade of blue for somebody with dark hair. while he took pride in his ability to read people, appearances couldn't tell you much. that's why you actually had to converse with people, get to know them. as he talked, he glanced casually at the cover of the book he had set on the counter, taking note of the name of the professor printed below the title. "professor montrose, right? yeah, i've heard good things about his courses."
<p>
it was a topic that nik both found fascinating and wanted nothing to do with. he was studying to become a sociology major, prelaw track, so of course he would find the law side interesting. and the psychology side was also incredibly intriguing, he wouldn't deny that. but he was terrified to open a psych book, scared to death that he would find something that would confirm his psychologist's suspicions and his fears, something that would jump out of the page and say "you're not normal." it wouldn't be a surprised to find out that he had something wrong with him- at times, he wondered how there couldn't be. but he still didn't want to have that knowledge stuck in his face in something as permanent as a book.
<p>
nik followed the girl through the bookstore to a familiar section, where the prelaw books were kept. he accepted the small stack that she handed him, thumbing through them with a feigned interest, though he was actually tucking the titles away for future reference. "thanks." he opened the cover of the first book, enjoying the crack of the hardcover signifying that he was the first person to open that particularly copy. he loved that sound, of a new book. it just held a lot of... possibility. and there wasn't much in his life that held that type of significance. after running a finger down the page, he looked back up and smiled, offering his hand.
<p>
"chloe? it's nice to meet you. i'm nik." he flashed her a grin before placing two of the books back on the shelf where she had gotten them from. he tucked the third under his arm, planning on buying it at least until the three day return period was over- if it could keep his interest over the course of seventy-two hours, it was worth the outrageous price that he would undoubtedly be charged. looking back up at chloe, he asked, with genuine curiosity, if a hidden motive, and trying not to sound creepy, "so, chloe, are you new? i've been in canterbury a long time and i don't recall seeing you around before this semester."
</div>
<div style="width: 375px; height: 18px; background-color: #404f6e; text-align: center; font-family: courier new; font-size: 12px; text-transform: uppercase; color: #fff; line-height: 110%;"> words: 494. tagged: maya/chloe. thank you <a href="http://z10.invisionfree.com/CAUTIONTOTHEWIND/index.php?showtopic=160616">annie</a></div>
[/dohtml]

[dohtml]
<link href='http://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Quicksand' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>

<style type ="text/css">
.header{
font-family: 'Quicksand', sans-serif;
font-size: 18.2px;
text-transform: uppercase;
letter-spacing: -2px;
text-align: center;
line-height: 102%;

}
</style>

<div style="width: 375px; height: auto;">
<div class="header">and of all these angry people in the world</div>
<div style="width: 350px; height: 300px; border-left: 25px solid #404f6e; border-top: 25px solid #404f6e; background-image: url(http://i40.tinypic.com/24plbaa.jpg); margin-left: 40px; background-color: #fff;">
</div>
<div style="background-color: #fff; width: 375px; font-family: courier new; font-size: 11px; text-transform: uppercase; text-align: justify; line-height: 80%; letter-spacing: -1px;">you know that there are people in the world annoyed with all the other people in the world? and of all these angry people in the world i am the angriest boy. when i was spat onto the earth in a stream of guts why, mother nature, that green-eyed slut i wasn't the first to get forced from a cut one to whom i still shall stay stuck. well if you think i'm being harsh, well baby, keep on counting stars 'cause i hate everyone-----</div>

<div style="background-color: #fff; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-top: 25px; width: 375px; text-align: justify; font-family: calibri; font-size: 11px; line-height: 102%;">nik watched her carefully out of the corner of his eye as she processed his words, even though they weren't particularly heavy. he could sense something about her, something that suggested that she wasn't quite at ease in his presence but he had no idea what it could be so her simply shrugged it off for the moment-- if it was important, it would come forward eventually and if it wasn't, well, it wasn't important, was it? he didn't exactly share her opinion on the professor-- he hadn't ever had him, so it wasn't like he could really form an accurate assessment but he'd spotted him in the halls of the academic buildings and he looked like he was one of those professors who taught as though he thought that all of his students were braindead incompetents. which the majority were, but still. but he couldn't admit that now after having chosen this book so he just nodded, going along with the natural flow of the conversation. "you've had him? what class? i might try to add one of his classes to my schedule next year if it doesn't cause too much problems with my other courses."
<p>
"the pleasure is all mine." the grin plastered on his face felt like it was about to break any second but nik forced himself to maintain it, at least for a moment or two longer. he was at once both glad that his mother had nailed some semblance of manners into his brain before he was five, so that he had any whatsoever, and surprised that she had even bothered. their household when he was little had been a little too intense for that sort of thing to have been much of a priority. shaking his head, he pushed these thoughts to the back of his mind and attempted to let a little bit of his more natural humor come through instead. he held up the book that he'd tucked under his arm. "how many arms and legs am i going to have to fork over for this one?"
<p>
nik shrugged, glad that chloe's accent wasn't overwhelmingly twangy. it had the smooth and light twang that he'd heard some other students around the canterbury campus with but wasn't indecipherable like that of some of the people he'd had the misfortune of coming across in the past. he gave a light laugh. "so, yeah, really new. i've just got a knack for remembering faces and i'm pretty sure that i would have remembered a face as pretty as yours."
<p>
was that too heavy? he wasn't sure so nik just kept up the air of confidence that he had been attempting to hold since the beginning of their conversation. so he just proceeded by adding, "university of tennessee? i've never been out of the northeast. how are you liking canterbury?"
</div>
<div style="width: 375px; height: 36px; background-color: #404f6e; text-align: center; font-family: courier new; font-size: 12px; text-transform: uppercase; color: #fff; line-height: 110%;"> words: 475. tagged: maya/chloe. notes: omg she's from ktown, that's my hometown lol thank you <a href="http://z10.invisionfree.com/CAUTIONTOTHEWIND/index.php?showtopic=160616">annie</a></div>
[/dohtml]