Getting Comfortable..

[Leo Alexander]

"Choose a number!" the woman barked to him, catching him off-guard by her loud and extremely belligerent tone. He glanced this woman up and down, his tour-guide round the campus, being new here and all. Last place to go was the Dorm, the Maple Dorm to be precise. Where he didnt like the name, everything else he saw around GreenWood was satisfactory, most of it beyond that, in respects. All through the tour, though, he tried to get friendly with the woman, as was in his nature to do so; she seemed more robot than woman, and rarely spoke, unless it was listing our facts. Apart from asking his name, this was the only question she had asked him. "Well?" she barked again, more of a command than a comment; she was getting impatient.

"Will this affect my grade?" he replied, with a slight grin. Not even so much as a smile. Could she even smile? He shrugged, then bowed his head, muttering a number. "Sixteen.. why?" Before he knew what had happened, a key-ring had been tossed to him from a plaque on the wall; three keys, one for the Dorm front door, and two for his room. Had he even chosen a room yet? The robot-woman pointed down a corridor, muttered something inaudible, then stormed off, no doubt to recharged her cells or something. "Thanks.." he shouted back, natural politeness running through his veins.

"What was all that about.." he muttered to himself, strolling down the corridor he was directed towards. Only upon looking towards the doors did he realise; he'd picked his room number. He was walking a good ten minutes, at a gentle pace, until he came to Room Sixteen, number written in letters, very formal. He unlocked it, and pushed the door open, revealing a simple yet comfortable new home for the next few years; a desk, a chair, a bed, a sofa, a few shelves, and two doors; one to the bathroom, the other to the bedroom. He tossed his brown leather single-strapped bag onto the couch, and collapsed onto it; rigid, yet comfortable, leaving the door wide open, the keys sitting on a small table to the side.

"God damn it, if I'd just picked number one.. Well, Welcome home Leo.."

[>> may tyler]

May Tyler entered the building at about the same time as Leo, though she was more fortunate. "Choose a number!"
Maybe it was something about May's charismatic smile, or the woman felt guilty about how she had treated Leo, but there was definitely something more polite about her tone as she added,
"And Number 1 has a leaky ceiling."
"Number 12 then"
May responded quickly, feeling her duffel bag getting heavier and heavier. She struggled to keep it up, and instead dropped it.
The woman handed May the keys to the room, turning to the next student with an annoyed expression once again.

Picking up her duffel, May began her trek down the hall, seeing that it was boring and uniform - save one door that was open. Hesitantly and carefully, May walked over, wanting to close it. She assumed its owner had left it open on accident - not a smart idea. But then again, closing it probably wasn't smart either..

[Leo Alexander]

Leos entire body peaked up, upon hearing sound of another life-form coming towards the door. Leo being the social type he was, jumped up from sofa, and near-enough dove towards the door, reaching the door-frame slightly before May did. Not really attempting to look overtly cool or interesting, he leant his right arm against the doorframe, tilting his body weight onto his right foot, letting the door-frame support him. He frowned slightly as his thick red-haired fringe fell over his eyes, and with a flick of his left wrist, it was quickly out of the way.

His large smile was radiant, and extremely welcoming, happy to see someone who seemed remotely human; he could still hear the robot-womans voice down the corridor, no-doubt ignoring some other poor student to the very extent of boredom. His gaze shifted from the corridor beyond, onto May.

"You need a hand with that?" he looked down to the duffel-bag, which seemed much larger than the small travel-bag he had brought with him, containing generally all of his earthly possessions, which now sat slumped against the brown-leather sofa, still indented with his impression.

"I see she's still asking the number question, huh? She could of told me they were room numbers. Between you and me, I dont think she likes me so much.. Hopefully she doesnt have the keys to all the rooms..." He looked around, mock-nervously, then shrugged off the comment. "I'm Leo, Leo Alexander, denizen of Room 16"

[Devy]

The building was old, and looked as if a renovation would do some real good. For that reason, Olak took the stairs in stead of the elevatior, which was more like a metal contraption than anything. His feet echoed on the stairs as he climbed them- one hand in his pocket searching for the key that reception had given him, his other hand fastening the clasp on the leather bag that was slung around his shoulder. Such an awkward peice of luggage- due only to his brothers parting gift, which wiggled relentlessly inside the bag. Truely, Olak didn't really want the thing, and would rather be done with it. But despite himself, he couldnt stand to leave it. Not only because it was a gift, but because it would surely deteriorate without him- and not even Olak was brash enough for that.

As his burdonsom gift tryed to nudge its way out of the top of the bag, he shoved it back down with his elbow, whislt pushing open the door to the hall with his other shoulder. The doors down the hall all looked the same- white, slightly water damaged. His key slid into the lock with a crack and a thunk, and he pushed opened the door. Before stepping in, he glanced to the side absentmindedly, and caught a glimpse of what was probably fellow dormies. Setting his bag down just inside the door, he walked over in their direction- shutting the door behind him so the silly mutt wouldnt follow him.

" I don't think she likes anyone"

With a broad grin, Olak stretched out his hand lazily, and introduced himself to the fellow, nodding to the girl.

" Luckily for me, I didn't have to endure her. You new here too? "

[Leo Alexander]

((Tired and generally lacking in a muse, so sorry for the terrible post u_u))

Leo turned, seemingly happy just to have someone to talk to, still wearing his warm, optimistic smile. He nodded, taking Olak by the hand. His grip was loose, and his shake was very lackluster, but he made continual eye contact, suggesting an attentive mind, but a personality that was somewhat distant from most people, either by force or choice. After shaking hands, Leo took a few steps back, letting Olak and May get acquainted, before speaking.

"I got that same expression from her. Just rolled in, mere moments ago. Havent had a chance to settle around or anything, but after that tour, I don't feel like I have the energy to stand, let alone unpack.." He resumed his position leaning against the door frame, glancing back for a moment at the room behind him, before turning back to Olek and May.

"I'm Leo. Leo Alexander. Seems to be a pretty nice place 'round here, huh. I guess I could get used to it. Bit of a culture shock compared to back home, though; I came a long way to get here. Not that I had much choice in the matter.." he shrugged his left shoulder non-chalantly.

[Devy]

((Psh, dont worry about it, did you see my last post? Holy static character..this kind of RPG is new to me.. and bloody hard. Oh May, you still wanna be a journalist?))

" Nice my ass, its a shithole. "

Chuckling slightly, he leaned his back against the wall- dropped his head backwards and looking up at the ceiling, smiley slightly to himself. With a closed fist, he knocked the wall- a hollow thunk and the sound of crumbling drywall- another weak smile. Smiles and nods were one of the most you'd get out of Olak, unlike the firey-headed guy who introduced himself as 'Leo'. What a peculier name, he mused. His hand was slack at greeting, as it seemed to be most of the time here. Olak on the other hand grasped him with a firm grip, thrusting his arm as if cracking a whip. Olak set his jaw briskly during the greeting- his temple shifted slighly as he did. From the hovering stance the Leo man had over the girl- the way he leaned on the wall with the ease of a familier friend- brought Olak to believe some sort of relationship, so he refrained from any physical contact with her- such as a handshake- so as not to offend Leo.

" And you must be..?"

Brown eyes glanced over to the girl whos door they seemed to be crowded around. Before she could comply, Leo had mention he was not from the area. This perked Olaks interest- perhaps a follow forgeiner? Focusing on the words, he avoided his thick accent to his best.

" Where from, Leo?"

It was clear he was not from the same country as Olak.. and sounded as if even from a different region, but common ground was common ground.

" I happen to be from.. how you say.. 'out of state' aswell. I'm sure it must have been obvious, no? "

[Leo Alexander]

((Same, this friendly stuffs new to me too.. Its disorientatingly difficult, compared to just "Fight me! I will kill you!" ))

He shrugged slightly at the comment; in truth, languages hadnt been much of his strong point, and to him, every accent sounded more or less the same; he could judge the country someone came from just by the accent, unless it was a blatantly obvious, and overly exaggerated one; the French came to mind.

"Me? Ah, this is a long way from home. Origianlly from the United Kingdom, jolly old England; but my parents and I moved up to Chicago when I was 4, and I've been there ever since. Infact, since I moved to Chicago, this has been the first time I've ever really left the city..." he shrugged again, then turned to look at Olak. He hadnt the accent of an American; infact, he didnt really have any accent, his voice too vibrant and full-of-life to contain any hint of where he came from; Leo could of fit in anywhere.

"But, I guess this is my Home now. Well, our Home. Out of state, huh? I'm not really so good with accents, so I won't even try to guess.. Somewhere down South?" he asked, blatantly a random guess, trying to make conversation. He glanced over at May, and smiled, hoping she wasnt feeling left out, since the two guys were talking, yet still turning his head back when Olak replied, as to not seen rude...

[>> may tyler]

((Hehe.. Thanks for not taking off without me.))

May glanced up at the number plastered to the door - 16. She had passed her room, but only by a bit. It was two doors down. Olak's arrival startled her a bit, but she realized that he was the man she'd seen in English.

Um.. Hi, I'm May. May Tyler.

She said hesitantly at first, but feeling her voice getting stronger. There was someone in a room with the door open wide? Weird, but in a nice way. It seemed like she was going to be here for a bit - these two guys had started a conversation.

It's OK, my room's not far.

She added in response to Leo's earlier question.. Feeling slightly out of place here, the girl shifted her gaze from Leo to Olak, not sure what to say..

[Devy]

((I think this'll be easier if I make Olak a bit of a rude pig, heh. Time to run down the German stereotype))

Olak erupted into a throaty laugh, tilting his head back further as he did. A broad smile crossed his face- as if he had done somthing clever. The south?

" 'Germany', as you call it. Is ok- many misjudge my origion. I have never been to Chicago- or America. I don't think I ever will."

Running his tounge across his lips, he bit down and pulled his lower lip into his mouth, taking a moment for thought- or for Leo to take a shot at him. Clearing his through, Olak averted his eyes to the women he was more familier with.

" I know you from English class, no? "

Pushing himself off the wall with the flat of his boot, he steadied himself with a few heavy steps, coming to a rest with his feet shoulder width apart- his arms crossed over his chest. The carboard box that he so craved was burning a hole in his back pocket- his fingers iched to reach for it. Don't bother- no smoking in here. And I doubt this place has a spinkler system- Burn it down, and you're really screwed. May seemed nervous- even eager to ger away from the him and the other man. All she needs is a beer or two he thought initially, and mildy regreted it afterwards. The more he spoke, the quieter she seemed to get. Backing up a step subtly, he gave her a little room. It had come to his attention some time ago that his sheer mass of presence often intimidated people- although this Leo man showed no hint of unease. Definatly a well-adjusted fellow.

" In homeland, we drink very much. What have we for taverns here? "

[Leo Alexander]

((Leo lets out a deep laugh, his voice suddenly turning much more English. "German swine! We beat you in the War! Twice! Muahaha" And if that last line isnt one of the biggest stereotypes I've ever seen, I'll eat my hat ;D))

"Germany, huh? And I thought I came a long way from home. Hell, I guess its not just the distance, with the language and culture changes... What made you wanna come here?" He seemed generally relaxed around Olak, even though the guy seemed brute-ish, still leaning casually on the doorframe. He flashed May just a quick glance, hoping to reassure her slightly with his large blue eyes; she seemed nervous, almost reluctant; perhaps it was Olaks frame, and general appearance. He mentally shrugged off the comment, and continued on with the conversation.

While Olak was talking about Taverns, Leo leaned forward slightly, not enough to garner any unwanted attention, infact, it hardly looking like he moved. He whispered something, and being now closer to May than Olak, she would just about be able to hear it above Olaks deep voice, whereas for Olak, it would of gone as nothing more than a flicker of wind in the distance. "English class? Obviously he wasnt listening too well.." he whispered, poking fun at Olak as an attempt to perhaps help her to lighten up, relax, let her hair down, so to speak. He shifted his weight, turning his body so now he leaned his back against the doorframe, facing Olak, almost standing side-by-side with May, containing the slight smile on his lips fairly well, making it look much more like one out of politeness than insult.

"I think I saw a small Bar not far from here.. the SteelBeaver.. the.. the something Beaver. It wasnt open when I went passed, but my Bus did arrive early this morning, so.. Coming from Germany, I guess you like your Beer, huh?" he added, with a slight laugh. He wasnt expecting any specific answer from Olak; a common stereotype was that all Germans loved Beer, and drunk nothing else, and Leo always loved poking fun at such stereotypes. "Brass!" he suddenly burst out, remembering the name of the Bar. "The Brass Beaver, not far from the Lake.."

[>> may tyler]

Well, Beer wasn't exactly something may was familiar with, but she'd play along. The girl wasn't sure how to fit her words in with everyone else's, but they seemed to be waiting for her to speak - or at least the guy in the room was - the German she wasn't so sure about. Still, she was surprised at how international this college was. Most colleges included students only from their base country, or the country they were stationed in. GreenWood seemed to have a little bit of everyone - and everything. Somehow, May felt extremely plain. She wasn't from anywhere, and the only stereotype on Americans were that they were fat - and rich, but mainly fat. Too many McDonald's. One at every exit on I-75, in fact.

Europeans.. Why do I have the feeling that you two have had more drinks than my whole town combined?

She teased, wondering how far she could go with them. Considering that Leo had been teasing Olak all this time now, and without a result, she guessed very far. May shifted her gaze from Leo to Olak, then back again, an expectant look on her face all the while. It must have looked odd to the passer byers, three people standing in the door frame, the door thrown wide open. Not to mention the fact that these people were talking about drinks and booze. She wasn't into either one of them, alcohol had always held a bitter taste for her, having mistakened it for apple juice at a party when she was four. The horrified expression on her nannie's face made up for it, but it still wasn't something May would try again any time soon. Besides, she couldn't hold beer past half a pint.

[Devy]

( ah! so rude of me! Since we are over 20 members now, I've withdrawn my cliche charrie, lol. Just so you know )

[>> may tyler]

(XD, ok..)