The Back Row Sees All

[Tami Mullins]

Tami would consider herself to be a very curious person. Frankly, she would probably be the first to die if she was in one of the horror films she loved so much. However, when she noticed some of the students in her science lab fiddling with something as the professor wasn’t paying attention, she knew well enough to get out of there for the time being.

Chemistry plus powers usually ended in a spectacularly messy way.

So she raised her hand and asked to be excused for the bathroom. Once she got out of the classroom though, she didn’t actually go there. Instead Tami leaned against the wall on the outside and waited for the inevitable noise she’d hear once things went wrong. She'd need to get her things after all, and it would be too suspicious if she'd taken them while supposedly going to the bathroom. There weren’t many others out in the halls since it was technically class time. Still, some students were walking around. Tami was humming when one of them actually got closer to her. She flashed them a kind smile before realizing something. “Excuse me; would you happen to know what time it is?” She’d forgotten to check when she escaped her lab.

[Dominic Rowe]

The past few days had been better than his first days in this school, he was meeting some cool people and he felt like he was making friends, it had been a slow start for Dominic, but for some reason the bad days would keep coming back, sometimes for no reason at all, he wondered if there was something wrong with him.

He was stressed out about the idea of speaking to one of the school counselors, he had been called in for a chat later, which to him was a really bad idea, why couldn’t adults just leave him alone? They had never done anything good for him before, so why should he give anyone a chance now?

He had just gotten out of class and he was thinking of skipping the one after lunch, he was trying to come up with an excuse to get out of class when a girl stopped him and asked him about the time “Huh? Oh it’s around lunch time” He put his hands in his pockets to grab his phone, but he had of course left it in his room “Not sure what time exactly” he tried giving her a friendly smile.

[Tami Mullins]

Fortunately the person she asked actually answered her question. She’d completely forgotten it was lunch next period; how was that even possible? Tami’s smiled widened in response and she nodded a little. “Thank you. I don’t know how I forgot.” Really, she didn’t Now that she thought about it more, her stomach felt noticeably empty. As much as she wanted to leave though, she still needed her things.

How the sudden shouting from the other side of the door tipped her off that maybe she could now.

“I think that’s my cue to get my things.” Tami mused out loud. Flashing the boy a quick smile she hurried into the classroom to see that, yes, she’d been right. Powers and chemistry really weren’t the best of combinations at times. Luckily no one seemed to be hurt, but there was a rancid smell coming from the equipment the two fooling students had been using. Not to mention some dark black smoke that Tami guessed wasn’t a good thing. Like before, she got out of there in a hurry. Fast enough that the boy probably (hopefully) hadn’t sped off. She flashed him another kind smile before glancing back at the lab.

“They cover lab safety in the beginning, but I suppose there’s a difference between hearing and listening.” Tami remarked before shrugging lightly. Then she looked back at Dominic and tilted her head to the side. “You said it was lunch now, yes? Would you mind if I went with you? We’ll be going the same way, after all."

[Dominic Rowe]

”No problem” He said and would have walked off if it wasn’t for the shouting from the other side of the door, as she opened it, him and a couple of others who seemed to have noticed it curiously peeked inside to see what was going on. He started wondering if he could get out of class by making something like this happen in his next class, if only it had been science.

He nodded as the girl came back and spoke again “Yeah, doesn’t seem to have been too much listening happening in here” He shook his head as he stepped away from the door. “Oh, sure” He said when she asked to join him for lunch, that was nice he thought, his bad mood was a bit easier to hide when somebody seemed friendly like this.

“Just, sorry if I’m a bit quiet, having one of those days” he figured he’d warn her, he didn’t feel particularly talkative “I’m usually a lot more fun to hang with” he added, worried she’d think he was really boring or something. He nodded at a couple of people he knew as they walked towards the cafeteria, he usually ate with whoever seemed to want him at their table, though he couldn’t help but feel it was a bit out of pity since he usually came there alone.

[Tami Mullins]

Tami laughed a little and shook her head. “It’s a shame, really. Our teacher did his best to make the instructions as painless as possible.” Still, some people just couldn’t be bothered. Even if they really should have paid attention just so incidents like these ones didn’t happen so much. It was a lucky thing no one appeared to be hurt, although that was yet to be seen.

Tami glanced over at Dominic when he mentioned having “one of those days.” He had been kind enough to let Tami join him for the cafeteria. That alone could speak a good deal about him already. For some reason, it reminded her of Max. Either way, Tami decided to help him out just a tad. Carefully and subtly, she focused some of her power on the boy so it could gradually seep into him and give him a bit of relief. Tami definitely wasn’t close enough to him so her ability would passively affect him. “Well, you were nice enough to me even if you aren’t having the best day. That’s behavior I’ve rarely seen in anyone that’s stressed out unless they were a good person at the core."

[Dominic Rowe]

”Some people are stupid, playing with things they don’t understand could get them hurt really bad one of these days” He shrugged, not that he could claim to be the smartest, his grades weren’t exactly anything to be proud of, but at least he felt like he had some common sense.

For some reason, Dominic was starting to feel a little more comfortable and relaxed, he didn’t really know why, but for some reason his mood seemed to start getting a little better. “Oh thank you” He said to her, blushing slightly at that compliment, that must have been one of the nicest things anyone had ever said to him “It’s just human decency, no reason to be rude to somebody else just because I’m having a bad day.”

As they walked, he glanced at her “So, if you don’t mind me asking, why weren’t you with the rest of your class” He was just curious, he was also wondering if it would give him a good idea as to how to get out of his next class without getting in trouble, he felt like he couldn’t afford skipping class and getting on his teacher’s bad side with his grades.

[Tami Mullins]

Tami hummed but found herself nodding slowly in agreement. "Curiosity can often serve as a double-edged sword, I've found. I'm often at the punishing end of my own inquiries." She admitted with a soft laugh. Tami was as bad as the cat itself, and in no way would she deny her nature. Sure, it could get her into trouble more often than not but sometimes the trouble was worth it for the answer. Curiosity might've killed the cat, but satisfaction brought it back.

Smiling warmly at him in return, Tami's lips quirked a little on the ends at spotting a blush. She did so love to get that reaction out of people. "If only more people had your mindset. The world would be a little better, I would think." Tami decided with a definitive nod.

Dominic's question managed to draw out a soft mischievous tint to Tami's expression. "I was sitting in the back when I noticed some students weren't exactly doing as they should. The back row sees all, I've found. Fortunately I found I had to go to the bathroom at just the right time." She replied with an innocent tone, though she threw Dominic a wink. "Timing is everything."

[Dominic Rowe]

He nodded, she seemed like a pretty smart word, whatever she meant, it did sound clever even if he didn’t fully understand it “Yeah, that makes a lot of sense” he said, not really understanding. He wasn’t the most curious person of nature, instead of figuring out how something worked, he’d rather look it up or ask somebody else, the only thing he truly was curious about was the actual reason he was in this school, his powers, since the only real way of learning about it was testing it and figuring it out himself or with a trainer.

“I mean, of course the world would be better if more people were like me” He smirked as he joked, he felt like compliments were awkward, so turning it into a joke before he got even more would probably avoid him acting all strange, Tami seemed like a cool girl and he didn’t want her to think he was some weirdo.

He chuckled a bit at her explanation “So you predicted trouble and got yourself out of there? Smart girl.” The bathroom excuse wouldn’t get him ou to of class for more than a few minutes, though it could at least give him a small break he guessed. “I never get to sit in the back row anywhere, I guess my life would have been a lot easier if I could sit there huh?” He let out a sigh.

[Tami Mullins]

Despite his words, Tami had a sneaking suspicion that he didn't actually understand what she said. Which, honestly, she was surprised hadn't happened more often. It seemed like she'd been running into the minority of people who somehow could understand a lot of her comments. Expect for some of her flirting (one redhead in particular).

Laughing a little, Tami's smile grew into a small grin. "It would be perfect. We'd be surrounded by so much modesty." Tami lightly teased. Some people took compliments with a bit of fluster. Dominic might be joking, but Tami had a feeling he took compliments awkwardly. Unfortunately for him this knowledge piqued Tami's mischievous side. If praise could make him flustered then there was more where that came from.

Tami's smile faded back to her typical smile as she shrugged. "Thank you, though I think it was luck that helped me more than smarts at this moment. Without that seat I wouldn't have known." In fact she probably wouldn't have met Dominic if not for her seating arrangement. Tami would've been back in the classroom with the rest of them. Funny how things like that happened. Humming with thought, Tami considered his last comment for a few moments. "Perhaps. There's pros and cons to any seat. Those who sit in front can see and hear the instructions better, though there's less cover to goof off." She chuckled a bit at that. "While the back allows more so for that, but it's harder to see and hear what you're supposed to be doing. Some goofing off can result in negative outcomes too. Like today, though I think I escaped most of it."