Chapter 14: Something Different
Adults didn't have nearly the capacity for learning new languages that children did. Which was largely why Ivy was trying to learn as many as she could now before it was too late.
She wanted to improve her French, Italian, and Portuguese because they were all somewhat similar but she also wanted to learn Russian, Arabic, and Mandarin Chinese because of how many people spoke them in the world. There was an awful lot of studying in her future.
"Yes, but I find languages fascinating," she said. "Being multilingual opens doors to a whole lot more culture and media from other countries as well. I want to experience as much of it as I can."
Adrian shook his head and laughed. "You're really something, Ivy Chamberlain. I've never met a girl like you."
She wasn't sure whether or not that was a good thing. Normally when people said things like that she was able to decipher their true meaning through their thoughts. Talking to him was stressful because she couldn't use any of her usual tricks for conversation.
"Thanks, I think."
Ivy had finally finished her cup of hot chocolate and her head was killing her. She needed to leave before she made a fool of herself. She pasted on her best attempt at a smile before speaking again.
"This has been fun and I would love to hang out some more but my head is killing me so I'm going to go to the nurse's office. Hit me up another time, okay?"
He frowned. "Do you want me to take you?"
"Sure."
At least he didn't hate her. If he truly thought she was a wackjob he probably wouldn't have offered. It was a small comfort. The next time they got together it absolutely could not happen in the cafeteria. Too many people in such a small space was her definition of hell on earth.
When they arrived at the nurse's office Ivy thanked him for walking her and he told her to feel better before heading off to meet his friends for the last twenty minutes of lunch. The nurse recognized her from all the times this had happened before.
Usually, it only got this bad during assemblies or pep rallies. Without a diagnosis she wasn't allowed to wear her headphones during those either. Life as a telepath was hard.
Once the curtains were drawn around her bed she pulled her headphones out and felt the blessed muffling of the worst of the noise. It was quieter than normal anyway because the nurse's office was directly next to the library and the hallways were mostly empty during lunch.
She sincerely hoped nothing big was going down in APUSH today. At this rate she might have to miss P.E. too but at least that wouldn't be a big deal. They had done nothing but play basketball for weeks.
Ivy wondered if she should text Carson and ask him to lend her his notes. She didn't have anybody else's number in APUSH. Having him explain where she was to the teacher so she wouldn't get in trouble might be nice too.
Opening her eyes, she shot him a quick text. 'I'm in the nurse's office and won't be back for class. Can you tell the teacher? And let me borrow your notes later? You're the best'
He replied almost immediately. His phone must have already been in his hand. 'Sure thing. I hope you get feeling better'
She nearly smiled. Carson Summers was nothing if not dependable. Having his number might come in handy in the future too. Assured that she wouldn't miss anything too major, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep her headache off.
===
Carson was in the middle of a Key Club meeting looking up statistics for the president on his phone when he got Ivy's text. He wasn't sure why the thought of not seeing her in APUSH made his heart sink. But it did, especially since he hadn't managed to catch her at the end of AP Bio.
He had never noticed her before she went out of her way to smile at him and tell him to have a nice day. So why did seeing her empty seat at the beginning of class affect him now?
Ivy didn't make much of an impression, to be perfectly honest. Her face was familiar from all of the classes they had together over the years but he hadn't been able to remember her name until last week.
Her hair was about as blonde as it could get and she had pale skin and light blue eyes to match. It was almost as if all of the color had been leached out of her. You would think that her natural paleness would make her stand out but it only helped her disappear even further into the background.
She hardly spoke in class but when she did she always had the right answers. They had done a group project together once and she hadn't been a slacker either. That was literally all he knew about her until recently.
That smile had caught him off guard. Maybe it was because they never interacted. So the next day when she missed her name being called multiple times in AP Lit he had been curious why she was so out of it.
Then she kept staring at him. Girls didn't do that! He wasn't ugly or anything—at least according to his mom and older sister—but his looks weren't flashy the way some guys he knew were.
Carson had been shocked when she asked him to the Sadie Hawkins Dance. Nobody had ever asked him to a girl's choice dance before. Despite how many clubs he was a part of, he wasn't terribly outgoing.
He still wondered why she had done it. But that was what clinched it for him; after she asked him out his eyes had followed her whenever they were in the same room. He was curious what kind of person would bother asking him out.
His observations hadn't amounted to much so far. She was smart but got distracted easily and often looked tired. Apparently, she also spoke at least four languages.
That had really thrown him off. Poor Ivy looked so flustered as she tried to correct herself multiple times when Mr. Beyer called on her. He recognized the German and Spanish…but what was the third language?
Most sixteen years olds barely managed to pass whichever language elective they were taking. She must study them on her own time. Carson was curious as to why. People didn't tend to waste time on things that didn't benefit them somehow. He wanted to ask her about that later.
The only other thing he really knew about her was her reading preferences. He had been a bit surprised that she was reading comics during class. That didn't seem like her.
But hey, it had led to their first real conversation about something not directly related to needing a question answered. Ivy had seemed oddly happy while they talked. Was it something he said?
She was an interesting girl. The more Carson observed her, the more he wanted to know. There was something different about Ivy Chamberlain that he couldn't quite put his finger on.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone