All Good things come to those who are bored (Open)

[Theo Jacobsen]

"I'll see you after lunch Theo." his assistant said to him.

"Sure." Theo said before heading of in the general direction of his locker, he didn't have a clue as to where everything was in the school. He also had to wonder how long he would be in this school to get accustomed to it, probably not long enough to make a difference.

Theo opened the shared locker retrieving his lunch, he refused to eat the school meals mainly because he didn't know what was in them and the vegatarian food was dodgey at best in schools. Closing his locker he headed down the hall to the lunch room, it was hotter than he was used to. Still it would be good just to eat something and have a drink before doing what ever to waste the rest of the lunch hour away.

He brought a bottle of water before making his way to a table... it was pretty busy in the hall, but he managed to get one of the last tables that was completely free. Pulling the lid of the container in front of him took in the great smell of his food and tucked into it. Taking a moment to open his bag and retrieve his latest book.

[Lace Kellan]

Lace's stomach was growling the moment she closed her locker door. But she hated cafeteria food and she didn't bring anything from home so she rushed out of school to get a tuna sandwich and a bottle of apple juice from a nearby shop and rushed back to school with enough time to avoid the crowds in the cafeteria. She scanned the room and spotted a boy reading a book. She smiled to herself and made her way over.

It had been a long time since she approached someone so blindly like this but she supposed she had to start somewhere. She couldn't very well live her life in the shell or bubble that she had put up years ago in lieu of a little rejection she had to face in the sandbox. And the boy seemed friendly enough. And someone reading a book in the cafeteria ought to be someone approachable. Either that or he would be weirded out by some girl just coming up to him to say hello. She shrugged and continued to make her way over to the table.

"Hi, mind if I sit here?" She asked in her soft voice. She didn't want to startle him.

[Theo Jacobsen]

Theo looked up at the girl who had spoken not sure whether it had been him she had spoken to, mainly because he had been so into his book but when he saw that she was standing pretty close to him he knew it was meant to him.

"Sure thing... plenty of space... at the table." he said to her, it was painfully obvious that he had a problem with his speech, but to see how far it had come in such a short space of time he was amazed and annoyed it never seemed to go fast enough for his liking. He didn't stutter, he was just not used to using his voice knowingly.

Theo's eyes returned to his book not sure whether he could bare to try and hold a conversation after such a wonderful opening line, his embarrassment clear from the way his shoulders slouched forward. He knew that he couldn't hide from the fact that he was different, to the rest of the school. No matter how much he wanted to, it was deeply embarrassing for him as a proud man that he couldn't hold a conversation with people without a struggle just to get his words out.

He recently had become very self conscious about the whole thing, not that he regretted being able to hear for the first time, though he had no idea whether what he heard was what every body else heard. It was just one very hard adjustment for him that never seemed to end.

[Lace Kellan]

Lace forced a smile and sat down opposite the boy. She took the food out of her bag and began to extricate them one by one on the table, arranging them as so. When they were in perfectly symmetrical order, she smiled and took out a piece of paper and pen and wrote: "Hi, my name is Lace." She contemplated in giving the boy. She recognised a stutter when she heard one. Either the boy was wearing a hearing aid or he had a speech impediment. Either way, Lace was not going to burden him with a vocal speech. But she still wanted to talk. Notes seemed to be the only compromise.

She took out her tuna sandwich and bit into, buying time. She wondered if the boy would be offended if she passed the written note to him. She didn't want to be snooty. She certainly did not want to offend him, no way. The boy probably had enough being ridiculed and whatnot. Lace could not begin to be able to empathise with him but she knew some of the folks down at the retirement home felt exactly what he did. She sighed and put down her sandwich before taking the piece of paper and tapping his hand lightly with it.

Offering him a smile devoid of pity and sympathy, she took his hand and shook it a little before pressing the piece of paper into the palm of his hand.

[Theo Jacobsen]

Theo looked down at the note and smiled, "Hi, I'm Theo." he said alloud with a smile on his face, showing at least a willingness to hold a conversation alloud. It did make him smile at the fond memories that passed notes brought back to him. Back in New York, his classmates would use it to communicate with him... it was certainly an easier way for him to communicate with people.

"Thank you... most people dont... consider it worth their... time to do what you just... did." Theo said to her with an appriative smile. "I can speak... sign language no problems... talking that is... another matter." Theo said with a small smile.

Theo returned to the salad that he had prepared before leaving the house that morning, it was his usual mix of food, most people would have made faces at the lack of meat or anything slightly appealing to the meat eaters in the school. To him this was as good as the food came, it had everything that he preferred to eat in it. Basic but delicious.

He took a bottle of water out of his bag opening it and taking a huge swig of it, wiping his mouth before returning to his meaal, though his eyes were now watching the girl, intrigued and pleased to see that someone was willing to give consideration to people with difficulties.

[Lace Kellan]

The smile on Theo's face made Lace blush and shrug. "It's not a problem. I know how much of an agony it is. I work with geriatrics and most of them have so much to talk about but no one would give them the time of day because they either write too slow or their speech is staggered." She picked up her sandwich once more and bit into it.

"I don't mind if you want to write out your replies. Sometimes they're faster than vocal speech itself. I'm willing to wait." Lace reassured him. She was glad she didn't offend the boy. "If you don't mind my asking and you can completely ignore the question if it offends you but, what happened? Was it an accident or have you had this since birth?" She asked boldly. Maybe talking to Tyler this morning helped with her confidence a little. If she could handle a conversation with Tyler Durnham, she supposed any other person should be a breeze.

When she felt him staring at her, Lace blushed even redder and thanks to her naturally pale complexion, it showed on her cheeks. She tried to hide it by mostly looking down at the table or everywhere else. She didn't want Theo to think she was some sort of a freak or anything. And she'd been doing so well so far.

[Theo Jacobsen]

He chuckled, "I was born deaf." Theo said to her with a smile... "Not to long... ago I had... an implant put in to... allow me to hear for... the first time." Theo explained to her though any outward appearance was covered by his hair... to any one who saw him in the street he looked prefectly normal. It was only when he opened his mouth to speak that people picked up on the fact that he had issue with speech.

"I still get... headaches from it... I think it has more... to do with... the fact that... I'm not used to the things... that I have been able to hear since this." he said to her tapping his ear. "It's taken a lot of getting... used to... Silence was... fantastic once upon a time." he said.

He meant it to, he sometimes missed the silence of not being able to hear every body else, the headaches it caused made him regret it sometimes. His parents didn't coddle him, they did make allowancces for it, but his father had been insistent on allowing him to choose how much help he wanted. Theo was very stubborn when it came to his life and how much control he wanted in it.

[Lace Kellan]

She lowered her hand as Theo started talking. She was genuinely interested in listening to him however staggered his speech was. She admired his strength and resilience and couldn't help but think that if she were ever thrown into such a situation, she would never show grace under fire. When she was diagnosed with Thalessemia major, she wasn't even sure what it was but she knew she was sick and that made her whiny, clingy and bossy. She hated that little girl and vowed never to be like her ever again.

"I won't attempt at trying to sound like I understand what you're going through but I feel sort of in awe of you Theo." She admitted though somewhat embarrassedly. "I mean, I hardly think I would even go to school if I were in your position." Lace tried to get back to her sandwich but suddenly found that she lost her appetite. She wrapped it back up and instead grabbed her bottle of water and sipped a little of it.

Looking back up at him, Lace smiled. She was quite glad she decided to be friendly that afternoon. She wouldn't have met such a nice guy if she didn't.

"Are you new here? I've...never seen you around."

[Theo Jacobsen]

He smiled, "I'm new this would be... my first day at the school... my parents decided to move... us here from New York. I was at one of the premier... performing arts schools in New York. This is something of an... adjustment for me... there is far less dancing here than I am used to." Theo told her with some concerted effort he tried to sort his speech out a little in speaking to her... when he wasn't nervous and that usually included talking to new people he could normally keep his speech for letting him down so badly.

What was apparent in his refusal to write his replies was a fierce determination not to go back to his old ways, he wanted to move forward in his communication with others not backwards. He didn't mind the change in weather from what he was used to in New York, he just missed the classes and fun he had in New York training as a dancer. It was something that he had private tutors for here in LA, which just wasn't the same for as talented a dancer as he was. On the plus side he had his fathers old Ferrari, which wasn't old at all but it was a major talking point for a teen to drive the car in question.

"My parents moved us here... to capitalize... on new business opportunities... it sucked the day they told me that we were moving... and that I couldn't stay in dorms." Theo explained taking a gulp of water to help with a dry mouth.

[Lace Kellan]

Lace saw how Theo was struggling and felt bad that she had bothered him of all people today. The guy must be frustrated in trying to make out words. Lace was done with her sandwich but she was intent on hearing him talk.

So he was in the entertainment industry. That should be interesting. "So you're planning on becoming a professional dancer or were you trying to get into something else? I love watching people dance." She admitted. She was quite happy that she was making progress in learning how to communicate with others since it's been a hard time for her to make friends. Now that she was in Gould, it was making it that much harder for her to do just that.

"Well welcome to Gould...or Silver...well Gould since this is their school." Lace smiled. "Us Silvers are just boarding up here until those rats are well done with." She shuddered instantly at the mention of rats. She was kind to all animals and she loved them all, especially dogs. But rats...a multitude of rats for that matter, made her queasy just thinking about those whiskers and those... Lace stopped and turned to Theo again with a smile. "I don't like rats..." she gave him a sheepish grin.