Black River

[Gifted]

"Yeah. Kinda sucks that it's necessary, but I like it." Rick nodded. "So which teacher is which? I still don't know them all, you'll have to point them out to me as we walk by."

[Raven]

Most of the teachers were still outside or in the entrance to the cabin. "Sure. The old lady on the porch is Mrs. Harris, she teaches English and home ec," he said. "Then the two young women, the black one is Ms. Viette, and the redhead is Ms. Sangria." He motioned to where the pair were cleaning up after the volley ball game.

[Gifted]

"How did the black one get all those scars?" He asked. Ms. Viette was wearing a tank top for the game, a rare sight when she normally wore high necked short sleeved shirts to hide the raised scars across her chest and upper arms. She usually kept them covered even in gym, and the rare days she did wear a more revealing shirt, she didn't talk about them.

As Rick was watching, another kid ran up to the teachers. "Mrs. Harris! Ms. Sangria!"

[Raven]

Colin's eyes grew round and he looked at Rick seriously. "She took on an entire unit of agents on her own when she was still sixteen and won, but there were like, fifteen of them, and one of them could dissect people with his mind! She barely made it out but she finished them off before they could take her."

"What?" Sangria barked without looking up.
Maggie stood up and walked down the porch, with a sigh at Scarlet's coarse tone.

[Gifted]

"Woah, that's cool." Rick grinned.

"Heather Lambley's trying to break into Mrs. Harris's office again!"

[Raven]

"Yeah. She's pretty lame now though," Colin said.

The school staff as a whole gave a heavy sigh and Mrs. Harris went to head her off, parting the sea of students with a practiced ability to project her voice.

[Gifted]

"That's a shame." Rick said, listening to what was happening. "Who're they talking about?" He asked.

[Raven]

"Oh. Heather's one of the newer kids. Got here a little bit after Piper. She hardly ever attends class and is constantly breaking into things," Colin said.

[Gifted]

"You'd think she'd appreciate having a safe place like this. But I suppose every school has its delinquents." Rick noted.

When Mrs. Harris got to her office she saw the familiar mouse-brown haired teen stuffing a hairpin back into her pocket and slipping through the office door. Heather didn't even wear hairpins, but no matter how many times they confiscated the damn things she always seemed to produce more. They didn't even know where she'd learned to pick locks, although her power probably helped significantly with that.

[Raven]

"Ms. Lambley," Maggie said, following her into the room. Her voice was soft, but firm.

"Yeah, I guess so," Colin said. "I don't know why she doesn't just leave if she doesn't want to be here."

[Gifted]

"I mean... do you know how far we are from civilization? Maybe she doesn't know how to survive in the wild, figures there's nowhere else to go. I wouldn't want to take my chances running from this place. We could be weeks away from the nearest city." Rick pointed out.

Heather froze and Mrs. Harris heard her swear under her breath. Because she'd already entered the office, there wasn't really any chance of her running.

[Raven]

"What are you doing in here, Heather?" Maggie asked patiently.

"She could ask to be taken back," Colin said. Whether that was true or not wasn't clear.

[Gifted]

"I don't have to answer any of your questions." Heather crossed her arms. She was never cooperative.

"Yeah, maybe." Rick agreed thoughtfully. Could she? That was interesting.

[Raven]

"If you tell me, I might be able to help you," Maggie said. She didn't attempt to get closer to the young woman.

Colin shrugged. "Anyway, she causes a bunch of trouble all the time."

[Gifted]

"Pfft. Yeah, whatever. I'm not talking, so punish me if you're going to and get it over with." Heather rolled her eyes.

"Weird." Rick followed Colin inside. "Come on, I'll show you my room."