Kevin had to admit, Owen really knew what he was doing. He'd expertly positioned himself in between Kevin and the only way out of the room, but in a way that wasn't really all that threatening. He was kind of giving off a 'if you don't have anything to hide then why are you nervous?' kind of vibe. This wasn't an interrogation, oh no. It was an interview, it just so happened that if she said anything weird then he'd pounce on it and eat her alive right there and then.
"Well, I'm sure that's nothing too unusual," Kevin said, leaning back in her chair and crossing her legs confidently. "The first day at a new school, away from the family, surrounded by unfamiliar people... it's bound to happen, isn't it? I'd be more surprised if there weren't more strange dreams."
"Oh, a sceptic, are you?" Owen asked, scribbling furiously in his notepad.
"A good journalist must have a dose of scepticism about him," Kevin said.
"Or her," Owen muttered.
"Or her," Kevin repeated back politely and calmly while internally screaming. Changing the subject, time! "My point is, why should we be so interested in dreams? They are fiction. A product of an unbound slumbering mind, pieced together as the subject awakens. They have no substance, and they certainly have no interest to the public." She leaned forward. "Unless you have reason to believe there <i>is</i> a story there?"
Owen's eyes were dancing now. Joy, mirth, but she couldn't tell if it was because he was relishing the challenge or putting herbs on his upcoming dinner.
"One must always follow the trail to find out," Owen said. "Sometimes you can find a greater treasure than you think at the end of a curious path."
"I don't know, your body language is the same as my mother when she was about to break the 'Lips Cola' drug cartel connection. There's danger. There's excitement. There's the knowledge you're about to crack something so big your career will be made. So? What's the scoop?"
Owen tapped his pencil against his notepad a couple of times. "I remember that story," he said, nodding along. "Your mother had one hell of a story put together. The writing, the sources, everything was as solid as a mountain. You know, that's when I became a big fan of hers."
"Then we should work together on this," Kevin said. "You're my senior, so you get top billing. I have too much respect for the profession to steal a scoop. In exchange, you might even get to meet my mother."
"I don't know," Owen shrugged. "Normally when I'm meeting a girl's parents, it's because we're dating."
Shit. Before Kevin could respond, Owen had already pulled out an old looking news clipping and started to read from it.
"Esteemed journalist receives award, thanks beloved daughter Kelly for helping her through the tough times. No mention of a son, and every other mention is extremely deliberate in not mentioning details about family. I think this was slightly before she started working on that case, in a time where it wasn't quite so easy to get access to past records of news articles."
Guh! She thought they'd had all those records destroyed!"
"That's quite a big leap," Kevin said. "Thinking that I must be her only child -"
"Then you won't mind removing your shirt?"
"That could be construed as sexual harassment, regardless of my gender," Kevin said. Crap. Crap. Crap. His next move would be to trip her up. No question of it.
"Your chest wrap is showing."
She rolled her eyes at that. Good try, but she wasn't falling for that one.
"No, I mean it - Oh, don't go out like that then <i>everyone</i> will know!"
"H-Hey, what are you - Get off me!"
What he was doing was pulling a jumper over her head. For a moment her entire world was wool and then - gosh, he was handsome. And close.
"You, uh, were sweating quite a bit, and it was making your shirt kind of... see through," Owen said. "Sorry, I probably laid it on a bit thick, right?"
“P-p-pervert..” She mumbled as that fact reached her mind. “Eh.. I mean, well I guess the cat is out of the bag.”
"You're working an undercover story, right?" Owen asked. "Well, relax. I'm not gonna spill the beans. I only caught you out because I'm a super fan. I don't know how you pulled the wool over everyone else's eyes, but... Damn, I really thought you were a boy right up until you introduced yourself."
“Thanks for the praise, but don’t think that will get you any extras.” She said, body language switching over to something more feminine by now. After all, there was no point in keeping that act up, and it was frustrating trying to act like a guy all the time anyway.
"What? Oh no, perish the thought," Owen said, though his eyes were lingering in a few places that she didn't much care for. She snapped her fingers in front of his eyes to get his attention back where it should be. "Ahem! The only thing I'm interested in right now is finding out a bit more about this weird dream situation. So, if you got any leads on that, I want you to come to me first. I think that's fair enough. Professional courtesy, am I right?"
"Right," Kevin gulped. "Professional courtesy. It's only fair." Only fair that she didn't tell him a damned thing about her new dream powers.
<hr>
Have you ever watched a crowd watching tennis? There's something almost hypnotic about it. They follow the ball as it bounces across the court, their heads turning from side to side in an effort to follow the game. This might not come as a surprise, but Patrick wasn't watching the ball. She was watching her fellow first years.
None of them seemed especially interested in the game, instead centering their attention on the one called Alec. A cute little thing. Adorable in a meek and sort of helpless unassuming way. Little did Patrick realise the trouble she could get into had she uttered that description aloud within Alec's earshot.
Still. Those other three were fawning over him something fierce. John, Jamie and Oliver.
Was this the much fabled yaoi harem she had only seen in certain doujins of questionable nature? Not that she was especially into that genre, don't misunderstand. It was more that she had mistaken them for anatomy books, she certainly hadn't bought all fifteen volumes of 'Oh, is that your banana?' nor used her pocket money to commision fanart, such notions were absolutely ludicrous and thoroughly based in -
"And that's game!"
Patrick blinked, and suddenly realised that she was staring quite intensely at poor Alec's shorts. She forced herself to look away, at the court where Frank... Frank was sweating up a storm, while Ian didn't look like he had a hair out of place.
"My word," Ian said while brushing a hand through his golden locks, which shimmered in the sunlight. "That might be the greatest challenge I have had yet. For a while there you were even beating me, it is just a shame that your stamina was not up to the challenge."
"S-say that again," Frank wheezed, doubled over and leaning against the net for support. "Say that again in five minutes when I've caught my breath, I'll toss you over this net like a ragdoll!"
"Frank, don't!" Alec warned, and Frank bristled. Alec rose to his feet and walked over to the athletic boy, and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "It's fine that you lost, he's practised a lot more than you have. Okay?"
"Hey, that Alec sure is a helpful guy," Patrick whispered to Oliver, which made Oliver quite a bit jumpy for some reason. "Say... Do you guys all know each other already? I can't help but feel like you've been friends for years."
Again, Oliver's eyes had a brief moment of panic there. For some reason. "Darling, you're overthinking things," the theatre student said, in usual over dramatic fashion. "We are simply a set of rambunctious boys, who easily make friends. That is all."
Hmph. "Did you hear what happened to the table tennis club?" Patrick asked.
"Yeah, yeah!" John snickered, sneaking in behind Patrick before she even knew he was there. "Sounds like a great big mess. Bunch of conflicting stories though. You got any idea which is true?"
"Couldn't tell you," Patrick replied. "Sorry, I don't think I can he-"
Frank promptly collapsed right next to them, grumbling dark menacing things under his breath. Well, whatever. Patrick wasn't here to solve some mystery or other. She was here to <s>stare at boys in tight shorts</s> pass her time in a sporting club for the sake of her health.
- It doesn't take long before Patrick says "help" in earshot of Alec.
- Meanwhile, Simone is busily seducing the entire swim club.
- Owen has his own agenda, and discusses it with another first year.
- The Enigma Club begins their investigation, and drag Patrick into it against her will.
- Character index
- Something else
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