The lunch bell heralded the end of the English Lit class. Heads rose from where they had been bent over books, pupils blinked as they awoke either from their reveries... inspired by Yeats or by boredom, the appearance was much the same. Chair scraped, the teacher called out the required assignment for next time, and hungry stomachs shuffled off to lunch, rumbling softly.

Alex had been sitting by the window, getting as much benefit as he could from the pale but bright January sunshine. He also sat near the back of the class. This was something a lot of his teachers were catching on to as a good thing, since the solar mutant was a distraction at the best of times, and disaster for the lesson at the worst.

It wasn't that he was actively disruptive. On the contrary, Alex Andrews was attentive, polite, and a decent student even in the areas he wasn't so enthusiastic, such as Math and the Sciences. No, the distraction came from the fact that the female half of the class, more often than not, would frequently be stealing sideways glances at him. It didn't matter whether he was chewing the end of his pen while gazing out the window (common in Math), taking notes, engaging in group discussions (where he tended to be very engaging) or reading Shelley out loud with magnetic intensity in his blue eyes (in an upper class English accent, no less), there was no denying that Alex caught the eye. And on those rare winters days when there was sufficient sunlight, the surface of his skin scintillated very softly under the golden warmth of his aura.

Yes, he was hard to miss. And harder to ignore. Some guys get all the luck, right?

It wasn't all sunshine, though. The attention distracted him as much as it did his admirers. He had a small but growing collection of notes he'd found slipped into his bag, dropped onto his desk in passing, and even pushed under his dorm room door. If Warren found them first, he tended to either burn them, toss them onto Alex's bed, or in the case of the particularly gushy ones, read them aloud in a falsetto while Alex was trying to study. Ever since Sonja had clued him in about the effect he had on the fairer sex, though, the young mutant had been very preoccupied with the matter. It wasn't as though he hated the admiration... It was that he felt that something was expected of him. He was new to the co-ed environment, and was still trying to figure out the unwritten rules.

He thought that if he just acted normal and friendly, didn't come off as some Don Juan rock-star rake who swept women off their feet, and treated people with his usual amiable courtesy, then the small-but-growing group of admirers would realise that he wasn't anything special and lose interest.

Yes, that's actually what he thought. Amusing, isn't it?

Dressed in white shirt, khaki pants and sneakers today, long golden hair tied back loosely at the nape of his neck, he wandered into the cafeteria with his book bag over one shoulder. A preoccupied air clouding his deep blue eyes, he decided he wasn't really terribly hungry today, and opted for a small bowl of fruit salad and, after a moment's thought, a carton of milk. Behind him, buttons were surreptitiously undone, sweaters were pulled off or tugged flatteringly tighter, and hair was hurriedly primped in the worlds fastest stealth-makeover.

Alex turned around, trying not to catch any eyes as he scanned the seating for purple hair and amethyst eyes. No Violet today, it seemed. He momentarily considered his options, then smiled hopefully as he saw Josh and Morri sitting with two new faces. He moved over to their table, nodding affably to the few discreet waves and hellos he received on the way.

"Hello Morri, hello Josh. Anyone mind if I grab an empty space here?" he asked politely, then directed his azure gaze to the two strangers. "I'm Alex." he said with a smile, offering his hand to the nearest of the two ((OOC: Frank)) first.

"This is my first semester," Frank replied to Suzume. "I don't really know anyone yet."

Then Alex came over to the table, asked if he could sit down, and introduced himself. Why does this handsome, cocksure asshole want to sit at the handicap table with us? Does he want to make it even more obvious how studly he is by comparison? Boost his ego even more? Sitting with us could just be the set-up. That fruit salad is going to end up decorating somebody so he and his goon squad can get their laughs. Well I'm done enduring that shit. I'm ready for him.

But Josh said he was okay. And it could be very helpful to practice with him. Or maybe picking on a crippled kid is just too far, and the rest of us are fair game. Also, gym class is different from lunch. I'll keep my eyes open.

Frank leaned a little to the right, and tilted his head to briefly get a clear look at the front of Alex's hand, making sure there was nothing on it. He reached out in return and gave a perfunctory, less firm shake.

"It's nice to meet you, Alex. I'm Frank."

Josh's face brightened a little as Alex walked up (and not just from his aura). Josh was really unused to being around this many people, and having another familiar face amongst the crowd helped.

After Alex and Frank shook hands, Josh piped in. "Everyone, this is Alex. Alex is kind of new here, but he's already in on the social side of things. Alex, I'm pretty sure you know Morri, and you've already met Frank. And she is Suzume. Frank's new and Suzume... uh... I guess you just haven't gotten out a whole lot when you've been here?" The last was said/asked very tentatively, with a 'did I get that right?' look to Suzume.

Then he addressed Alex more directly. "Alex, I know that this is your first semester here, but you don't seem to have the problem socializing and getting to know people that some of the rest of us do..." It wasn't until it was out of his mouth that he realized that he was sitting at a table with 4 other people and socializing fairly well... not to mention how his statement might come across to Frank or Suzume. "Well, that I do anyways," Josh backpedaled before going on. "Frank here was wondering about some of the things that are helpful to know that aren't included in the handbook, and some of the kids that it would be helpful to know or avoid." Josh shrugged to show that he didn't really know the answers.

"I hope you don't mind, but you and Sonja really helped me out with my practice the other day and... well... I told him that you might be able to help him better than I can..." Josh just realized that, by announcing this to Alex, that he might've irreparably damaged their friendship.

Hopefully Alex would see this as a praise and not a burden...

Frank's 'wary animal' handshake was a little odd, but Alex took it in his stride as he slid onto the bench next to Suzume while Josh introduced them. "Good to meet you." he murmured to her with a smile, offering his hand to her in turn and trying not to stare at the writing across her face. Then he turned his attention to what Josh was saying. As the brilliant young mutant finished, Alex blinked.

"Um..." he wittily began with a mildly embarrassed smile. "I wouldn't say I'm the sparkling socialite of the Academy." He froze, then looked down at his glowing hands. "Okay, bad metaphor. Starting again..." he took a breath, his sky-blue eyes moving over the others present while he collected his thoughts for a moment.

"Josh, you do just fine. Seriously. It's not that hard. If it was, there'd be classes for it." he stopped again. "Actually, they did have classes for it at my old school, but then there's nothing quite as socially maladjusted as five hundred pubescent spawn of the rich." he deadpanned, then sighed, resting his elbow on the table and his chin in his palm (and incidentally causing heartstrings to twang around the room as a few dozen fingers itched to brush the stray lock of golden hair away from his face).

"Back to my point. And your question." he said with a wry grin. "We're social creatures, even those of us that like to pretend we aren't. Unless they're a true, pure sociopath... or a killer android... everyone cares about what someone thinks, even if they show that by saying and acting like they don't." He waved his other hand expressively. "So socialising is second nature, but we're so good at second-guessing our second nature that it makes us unsure."

"The main things are to be yourself and be interested in the person you're talking to, and try not to judge on first acquaintance." He shrugged. "It's not so complicated."

"Now, on the matter of who's who..." Alex looked around. "There's no-one here I would avoid, as such. My room-mate, for example, is on most people's Defcon lists. But actually I find him quite interesting company. The fellow he fought with here in the cafeteria, Kazuo? He swaggers a bit like an old black and white movie Samurai, but I'm sure he's not as bad as some say. Morri would be the expert there: she's his room-mate. That said, for the more delicate sensibility I would recommend Aradia. She's the girl with the glowing green eyes they call Cirque. Lots of fun to hang out with. Bloody good acrobat too." The Adonis pondered, regarding those with him. "Sonja's good people too. Very physical, but don't be intimidated. Solid gold heart, as Josh can attest. Violet's approachable and good to talk to. There's a fellow named Alek, or Shard if you prefer, who I've heard is pleasant." Alex sat back in his seat, taking a mouthful of his fruit salad.

"But you know, this list of mine is always growing, and to single out certain people is to be unfair to the hundreds I haven't mentioned." he smiled, shrugging apologetically. "Best thing to do is just be open to meeting folks." He popped a grape into his mouth and grinned shyly. "And now I'll stop preaching. Hope that helped a bit."

"Hardly just preaching Alex, you make some very good points." Suzume spoke up.

Indeed he had struck very close to home when he mentioned paying attention to others. Had Frank even finished his sentence before she allowed the radiant new mutant to captivate her attention? On top of that, she realized that this had probably been her first real effort to socialize outside of her normal group. People (well other Mutants at least) were never difficult for her, in fact she always found them fascinating, All to often though, she found she would simply fall back on observing them, like exhibits in a museum, rather than putting forth the energy of actually interacting.

"As Josh has mentioned, I myself probably spend to much time holed up in the studio then in socializing."

Well perhaps she could make amends for her earlier faux pas, and turned her attention back to Frank, "So what do you think of the Academy so far?"

Frank was a little disappointed in Alex's advice. Blah blah blah. He actually said "be yourself," like this is a cheesy afterschool special or he's the clitoris from the South Park movie. And of course Alex's experiences with other students have been almost entirely positive; he looks like a god. It's different for others of us. On the plus side, though, it did seem like he was trying to be helpful. He responded honestly to Josh from his perspective without condescension or blowing him off. I can see why Josh said he was a nice guy. That's good. So far.

Suzume asked Frank what he thought of the Academy. Frank was surprised that she chose to talk to him again, and it made him feel good. "I'm impressed with the facilities, and also how much some of you use them. I should probably take more advantage of them. I've been staying in my room mostly. It sounds like you guys keep busy in the labs or studio. I guess I should also start going to gym class to practice a few things. I'm still learning how this place is different and the same as my last school. It's also weird being away from my parents. It's strange to live here, but I guess I would have moved out in a couple years anyway. What are your favorite things about the Academy? What don't you like?"

"Curtis bad," Morri suddenly announced, having both caught up to the conversation and swallowed the peas in her mouth. "He rub bad," she added to the table - and those close enough to hear.

The others frowned at her, but she was watching Alex, to see what he would say. He needed to eat more, she decided. He looked a bit lean, and without preamble, she moved the cupcake from her tray to his, leaning around Suzame to do so. "Eat more," she ordered him, a fussy as a mother hen.

Alex blinked at Morri's gesture and expression, then smiled politely and started to shake his head. "That's okay, Morri. I'm not really-"

"Eat!" she insisted, cutting him off mid-sentence and pointing a stern finger in his direction, a curiously maternal gesture that brooked no refusal. Alex was taken aback for a moment, then chuckled warmly, flashing the red-eyed girl a radiant smile.

"Okay then." he said, taking a big bite of the cupcake, blue eyes sparkling merrily. "Yes, Curtis is somewhat bad." he agreed with her after swallowing the mouthful. Glancing at the others, he explained a little. "He can be a little full of himself. Almost a stereotype math geek, though I dislike the term. When I first arrived-"

"No talk." Morri scolded him. "Eat." Chuckling again, Alex mimed zipping his lip and continued to devour the cupcake.

Josh just finished his tray and listened to the socializing going on at what had, at one time, been his table. Lightheartedly he guessed that he couldn't claim 'ownership' any more, not with this many people around.

He listened to Alex's 'sermon', nodded at all the appropriate places. He was glad that Alex hadn't taken what he'd said the wrong way. He'd have to be more careful about stuff like that in the future. Not everybody would be that forgiving. Then he listened to all of the following comments, and marveled at Morri's insistence that Alex eat her cupcake. It was a surprising gesture, especially seeing how she reacted when Suzume sat down.

He decided to join in, at least a little, before he had to run back to his classes. "Curtis doesn't seem too bad, if you can get past his ego. That's one fact that the smart kids usually have trouble remembering; 'The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of uncertainty.' I forget who said that, but it's true." It wouldn't be until after he left the table that he'd realize that most of the students considered him 'one of the smart kids'.