Joe
Scout was honest-to-God trying to learn to appreciate Newton's Cradle. He stood by his original stance that a bougie jail was still a jail, but there were admittedly a lot of points in bougie jail's favor, once he stopped to think about it. He could go outside, by himself and without a bright red shirt emblazoned with the words 'Flight Risk'. He didn't have to share a room with girls - as a matter of fact, he didn't have to share with anyone. And, as he had just discovered, they had a pool table.

He was the only one in the commons at the moment, so he couldn't get a real game going, but it was plenty fun just to shoot the cue ball back and forth across the table at increasingly tricky angles. As he tried to avoid pocketing the ball, he fell into thought. How long had it been since he last played pool? He used to play all the time, but then he got moved again and the pool hall closest to Corinne's house wasn't as good. The last time, he was pretty sure, was when he taught Dilly how to play two summers ago. Did anybody even tell her he was here?
Bernice
Barric's tail swooped against the ground as he pushed open the doors. He kept it forced down even once he made it through the doors. His attempt to get away from Ares and not piss the kid off further with his accusations of lies. The tail twitched attempting to shoot itself back into it's seemingly preferred position. He ignored it walking into what seemed to be a common area of sorts. Random furniture and other items littered the area. Most likely to give students something to do. Barric debated on just attempting to find his dorm and collapsing in bed for the rest of eternity. But unfortunately everyone at this school seemed hell bent on being where he was or interacting with him.

He glanced over to see a small kid. Not even 5'5. He seemed scrawny and had dark hair covering his head. The kid seemed to be playing pool on his own. Seemed pretty okay at it too. Barric watched from the distance watching him hit the ball off the sides of the pool table. He didn't seem to be going for any holes or was just horribly missing them. Barric wasn't probably the best to judge though he wasn't good at pool. His mom had tired to teach him how to play on a pool table at his grandfather's place but he couldn't seem to do well.

Barric silently approached keeping his eyes more on the table than the boy. He stood a little bit behind him before finally speaking up. "Hi." He stood silent for a moment staring at the pool table. Barric pulled his hands out of his pocket looking over at him. "Mind if I join?"
Joe
Scout was pulled from his reverie by a voice behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see a kid he hadn't met before standing there. Taller than him, though Scout was used to that by now - *Was that a fucking scorpion tail?* "Hey," He answered after a brief, shocked pause. "Yeah, sure. You know how to play fifteen-ball?"

While he waited for an answer, he walked over to the cue rack to get one for the other boy. He made an aborted motion like he was going to toss it to him from several feet away: "Think fast!" Then he grinned and approached closer to pass it over normally. "I'm Scout, who're you?"
Bernice
The pause that came after his question was long. They were both just staring at each other, not exchanging a word. Barric squirmed, waiting for the other boy to say something. "Uh yeah." He walked further towards the table. "I kinda do." Barric was familiar with the words, but he doubted he'd be any at it. He stared at the table for a moment, trying to remember the exact rules of pool. 

His head snapped up up to se what he would assume was a pool cue based on the shape. The kid seemed to go to throw it, causing Barric to tense up. He would not attempt to catch it, but honestly, it seemed like it'd end up hitting him if it was thrown. The boy's hand dropped midway through the fake throw. "That would've ended badly." Barric murmured, taking the pool cue out of the other boy's hand. He tilted his head slightly at the name introduction. "Scout?" It was an intresting name, something he hadn't heard before. 

"Barric. My last name is actually Scout, funnily enough." It was a strange first name, but his name probably wasn't the strangest thing about Scout.
Joe
Scout nodded in approval and began racking the balls. "Hell yeah. Coin toss for the break? I think I got a quarter somewheres here." He dug around in his pockets, unearthing a string of paperclips chained together, a button, half a roll of fruit-flavored Lifesavers, and finally a quarter and three nickles.

"No shit!" He exclaimed when Barric told him about his name. "Ain't that somethin'?" He popped a cherry Lifesaver into his mouth before offering the open package to Barric. "Want one?"
Bernice
He watched as Scout dug through his pockets, pulling out various items. It seemed the boy had forgotten what he had stored in each pocket. Barric raised his eyebrow at the lifesaver offer. This kid seemed more likable than Ares. He shook his head. "Thanks for the offer, though." He looked down at the quarter still in Scout's hand. "You can call it." Barric moved towards the pool table.

 "Scout your real name?" Curiosity got the better of him. He hadn't heard of anyone with the first name Scout and had assumed it to be just a nickname. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to." Barric offered, suddenly overthinking his question. He picked up a small block of caulk, rubbing it against the top of the cue. He leaned against the table, waiting for Scout to toss the coin. His tail swooped low to the ground, practically dragging his stinger against the ground.
Joe
"Awright," Scout said agreeably. "Tails!" He flipped the coin up in the air, caught it in his palm, and turned it over onto the back of his other hand. "Heads," He announced. "S'your break." He rested his cue across his shoulders, somewhat resembling a scarecrow, and watched Barric start the game.

The question gave him the slightest pause, but he shrugged. "Nah, it's okay. It's a nickname. My real name's Razi, but nobody calls me that 'cept my ma." It wasn't that he didn't like his name - it just felt weird to hear. It felt like a name belonging someone he hadn't been for a long time.
Bernice
Barric nodded. "Fair enough." He leaned down against the table and went to break the balls. He watched as they flew in all different directions. A few hits off the sides, only one falling into a hole after they all had stopped moving. He moved to the opposite side of the table, leaning back down to take another shot. "Parents seem to always have special names for their kids. Even if it is just their legal name." The shoot missed, and he backed off the table, letting Scout take his first shot.

"Guess they gotta be special or something." He tapped his nails against the cue. "So what's your deal, Scout? Why they bring you here?" Seems like that'd be one of his first questions from everyone. "You seem a long way from home. You sound like you're from New York or somewhere up north." He referred to up north like they were still in the US.
Joe
"Yeah, guess so," Scout murmured, focusing on his positioning. He pocketed one ball, and then on his next shot another. Barric asked him another question.

The first part was tricky to answer - or rather, Scout just really didn't want to answer it. He stalled for time. "Uh, yeah, you're right on the money. I'm a New Yorker born an' raised. Lived in Queens when I was little but I been all over since then. Brooklyn, LES, stood on Staten Island for a year." His mind was running, trying to figure out what believable excuse he could give, and he fucked up his third shot.

"I just came for, y'know. The regular reasons." He attempted a casual shrug, hoping to give the impression that the topic was uninteresting.
Bernice
Barric tilted his head. "New York's gotta be nice. You miss it?" The regular reasons comment piqued his interest. "What are the regular reasons?" He wandered around to the opposite side of the table that Scout occupied. "Cause I'm pretty sure no one gets sent here for regular reasons." He watched as Scout pocketed his second ball. Already doing much better than Barric, it seemed. His fingers went back to absent-mindedly tapping against the cue. "My reason's pretty obvious right now." The tail swooped up, curving above his head before being forced back down. "I accidentally embedded it in my mattress while I was asleep. It had to be cut out." 

Barric had felt unreasonably comfortable with everyone here so far, he now realized. It was a weird feeling. Only one he instantly felt uneasy about was Pernilla, but that could also just be because of his dislike for authority figures and other reasons. "You don't gotta tell me. Just curious." He watched as Scout lined up his next shot. Seemed like he was already going to pocket a few more even before he took the shot.
Joe
Scout shrugged again. "Only been gone for a couple days. Dunno if I miss it yet." He missed his friends, and he missed Dilly like hell, but he'd been missing them for two weeks already by the time he arrived at Newton's Cradle.

Fuck. What *Were* The regular reasons? "Uhhh, y'know. My parents thought I should come," He lied, "'cause of the powers. I got camoflauge and a buncha other shit. Not real showy like yours. You're up."

The mental image of Barric's tail skewering a mattress was intriguing. "S'that all it does, get in the way?" He questioned, and crunched down on the sliver that remained of his Lifesaver.
Bernice
"My parents just received that little letter Newton's sends out when you have a kid with powers and sent me here with no explanation. I honestly did not know where I was going." There was a hint of bitterness in Barric's voice when speaking about his parents. He had felt bitter since they took him off the farm and placed him in Newton's. He walked back to the side Scout had occupied, lining up his shot. "I'm assuming yours at least tired to explain it to you?" He took his shot, pocketing his second ball. 

He hummed in agreement. It was flashy, but it was also just flat out annoying sometime. "Yeah pretty much. At least when it's out. I can make it disappear just don't feel like going through the pain of getting it to disappear." The shrink of his tailbone sucked. He hated it. So he might as well keep it out for now unless it fucks him up. 

"It's not all my power does. Apparently, it has venom that can kill people." He stood, moving to the left to get a better shot. As he leaned down, he stared at Scout out of the corner of his eye. "I haven't tried to yet though. Don't think I ever will." He took his second shot, pocketing the third ball.
Joe
Scout scoffed and shook his head. "Nah. Nobody told me nothin'. Just said I was goin' to some new school an' put me on a plane." That was the truth, but as soon as he said it he felt bad for implying his supposed parents would do something like that. His real mother would never, he was sure of it. "Don't think Ma really knew what was goin' on, either, though," He amended.

Barric elaborated further about his powers, and Scout let out a low whistle. "Damn, that's somethin'. Guess it's good to have options, yeah? Just in case, I mean." That was exactly why he'd had a switchblade on him that fateful day he got caught - just in case. He'd never planned on using it. Of course, the cops twisted it to make him seem like a dangerous hooligan, and no one listened to his side of the story.
Bernice
Barric nodded. "Guess we're both in the same boat. Not really getting an explanation about it. Did your dad understand what was happening?" He had picked up on the nobody and Scout hadn't mentioned his father yet, so he assumed at least one knew what was going on. He didn't think his mother was dumb enough to send her son to a school that she knew nothing about. He missed his fourth shot. "Your turn Scout." He backed away from the table, letting Scout take his place.

"The options are nice, I suppose. But more so painful than anything. I don't try to use the extra limbs much extra I'm feeling flashy." Barric ran his hand through his hair. A nervous habit, of course. Cause what wasn't for him? He debated prying further into Scout's time before here, but he seemed uncomfortable with the questions he asked. So maybe it'd be better to focus on his time here. "So, how long have you been here?"
Joe
Scout ran with Barric's assumption, glad for a plausible starting point to fill in the details of his lie. "Uh, yeah," He said as he leaned over the pool table. "Yeah, it was all Dad's idea." The cue shot forward, and two balls ricocheted in opposite directions and each thunked into a pocket. 

As Scout straightened up and crossed to the other side of the table he pulled a face, scrunching up his nose in distaste. "Prob'ly just wanted me outta the way. He's a real piece of work." The scornful tone came easily, even though - or precisely because - he'd never actually met his father.

After two more successful shots, he stopped playing momentarily to get himself another piece of candy - pineapple this time. He shoved the package back into his pocket and answered Barric's question, cheerful and careless: "'Bout forty-eight hours now. You?"
Bernice
Barric grinned. Something they had in common. "My old man kind of is, too. He's a little.." Barric paused. He didn't know how to describe him. Insulting him seemed unfair. Especially since the old man wasn't here to offend himself. "Strange." He finally settled on. It didn't comprehend all the shit the man seemed to do, but that was fine. He wasn't interested in trauma dumping to Scout right after meeting him. Barric watched as Scout pulled another candy out of his pocket and popped it in his mouth. "Bout the same amount of time. I guess we're the new guys here." It was a small thing to bond over. 

"You meet anyone besides me yet?" Barric asked. The first two people he met didn't seem to go well. But he guessed the third time's the charm with Scout. "I met some dude about an hour ago. Didn't go very well. Before that, it was one of the staff. That went to shit real quick, too. She was just weird and pushy." It was probably rude to call her that. After all, she just wanted to test him on a few things that were no doubt true. But still, she could've made both their lives easier and just taken it off his paper or file or whatever it was called. 

"What's living in a city like?" He assumed it was loud and dirty, but honestly, he wanted to hear it from Scout's perspective. He'd only heard stories, but now he has someone who lived there so he could poke and prod with all his questions.
Joe
Scout nodded with feigned understanding, relieved that Barric hadn't seen through his lie. "Typical." He took aim with the pool cue, missed, and stepped back for Barric to take his turn. 

"I met a coupla folks," He answered. "A teacher an' some other kids." He gave a noncommittal shrug. He liked Owen, and Uriel was weird but nice, but he wasn't sure how he felt about Pernilla. In his opinion, that meeting had gotten way too close to total catastrophe. At least she hadn't made him read for her in the end - but with his luck, she would change her mind eventually and ambush him. Then he was toast.

Scout frowned, unsure how to answer Barric's question. "Uhhh... S'awright, I guess. Ain't never lived any other place. Never even *Been* Any other place 'til they brought me here." Already he missed the city. This place was so quiet and empty in comparison.
Bernice
Barric leaned down onto the table, aiming his shot. "I met a teacher, too. Think I fucked up that meeting, though. She wanted some tests done or something." He grimaced at the thought of his interaction with the woman. Pernilla seemed okay all around, but the mention of those tests had kind of thrown her off.

"I'm guessing your meeting probably went better." He took his shot, missing it by half a mile. "If that's how you met one of the teachers." Barric tacked on at the end, moving away from the table again. "Yeah, I guess leaving somewhere so loud probably can be a bit of a shock." He joked. "It is for me at least, but my home was always so quiet. Loud places were never my sorta thing, so I guess lucky me." He murmured.

 "I ain't never been outside of the south if you can count that as traveling. I wouldn't. We didn't do any of those travel things." He wasn't a fan of this place only due to the sheer amount of people. But it was quieter than he was expecting when he first arrived. The only thing being loud enough to overwhelm him being the Ares kid setting off essentially a firecracker in his ear.

——- 
Closed he left :[