Ein bekanntes Gesicht

[Ed Elric]

Edward nearly slammed face-first into the school’s door in his hurry. A half-eaten piece of toast, the only semblance of breakfast he’d had time for dangled precariously from his mouth and as he halted abruptly it tumbled to the ground. Edward scowled, wished some bird a happier breakfast than his own, and pushed his way through the door. Around him, students were already filing into class rooms, most of them almost as loaded with books as he was and chatting merrily. He smirked bitterly; he’d woken late, missed orientation, and was now standing, completely and utterly lost, in bizarre surroundings.

Calm down, he told himself, as he had on god-knows how many occasions over the past few months. By this point, you should be used to unfamiliar surroundings. Boy, wasn’t that the truth. The school should seem a small ordeal in comparison to an absolutely new world. Yet, still, he stood still, staring uselessly at the students around him already making their ways to the classrooms. Carefully, Ed hefted his mountain of texts beneath his right arm and reached into his pocket with the left, removing a crumpled sheet of paper scrawled with his hellish handwriting. It was his class list, days and times, of course, in this instance it did him little good considering he hadn’t a clue where any of these classes were.

Across campus, a deep bell tolled loudly; the first warning for students to be headed to their proper classes. Sighing, Ed memorized the name and teacher of his first morning class, shoved the paper back into his pocket and stepped forward. He supposed he had to ask someone, anyone really. After a quick scan of the lobby he reached to tap the shoulder of the boy almost directly in front of him. He was in the middle of shifting his books to the other hand when the boy turned around.

Edward froze. Inside his chest, his heart skipped a beat, hell it stopped for a few uncountable moments. His mouth opened but no sound came out and it was as if he was staring into the icy blue eyes of a ghost. He hadn’t seen that face in five years…not since that night. It was different somehow, different eyes, and he had grown up but Edward knew if his brother hadn’t lost his body, this is exactly what he would look like at fifteen. Tall, broad shouldered, wide eyed and so damned familiar he was almost alien.

“Alphonse…” Edward whispered more to himself than the stranger and he didn’t even realize that his text books had fallen from his numb, lifeless fingers until the crash resonated in the entrance hall.

[Alfons Heiderich]

Alfons ruffled through the papers he had dropped. He had awoken sort of early that morning, simply for sake of being on time to the first day of college. He had a good number of books with him, and the papers that had fallen out of some of them were only a bother in the bustling crowd of the first day. The orientation had only recently finished, and everybody was already on their way to the classrooms. The papers would have been lost if he had decided against picking them up, however, he was risking being late because of this delay.

A small frown crossed his face and he began to flip through the titles on the papers. He had been rather anxious these past couple of weeks. The prospect of college was simply enthralling, and he'd taken the opportunity of a bit of freedom to purchase his textbooks from the school ahead of time, so he could start reading through some of them. However, he had gone in with intentions of only skimming them for the sake of being on top of any lectures, but he had soon found himself with many-a-page of notations he'd made. Alfons...what have you gotten yourself into? he asked himself with a bit of humor. He was probably one of the younger students at the college, but he'd been granted admission. He considered himself lucky for even that.

Truthfully, the classes he'd wanted to take were all absolutely engrossing to him. Rocketry, engineering, physics, mechanics....they were all highly interesting to him, and they would help him progress with his dream, of building rockets that could go into space, and leave his name behind on the earth, to show that he existed and did something spectacular. The thought sent eager chills throughout his body, and he finished filing the papers quickly, tucking them into one of his books before picking them up again and stepping forward just as a bell tolled.

Surely it isnt that late already? Alfons asked himself in surprise. He needed to get going. Thankfully, he was still in the main lobby...a portal to almost everything. He was simply transferring books to his other arm in preparation to take off before he felt a tap on his shoulder. Turning around, a slightly curious look painted his face. Somebody lost? he thought. Upon turning around to face whomever had tapped his shoulder, he found himself looking at a boy who seemed to have a look of utter shock on his face at the sight of him.

Raising his eyebrows slightly in confusion, Alfons tried to comprehend the shock on the other's face. It was as though he was seeing a ghost from the past. Do I look like someone he knows? he wondered curiously, among other things. Then the boy spoke...his name? How does he know my name? Alfons was sure he had never met this boy before in his life. He was dragged out of the few-second realm of his thoughts at a crash. Tearing his gaze away from the shocked face before him, he looked at the ground. The other boy had dropped his books. Upon pure instinct, so it seemed, Alfons crouched down and collected the other materials, placing them atop his, a thumb separating the two different piles.

Standing back up, Alfons stared for another moment before offering him a smile and introducing himself with a small laugh "You look as though I remind you of someone...my name is Alfons Heiderich. I...dont believe we've met?" Normally, he would hold his hand out as an offering of introduction, but currently, his hands were busy with the books, preventing them from crashing to the ground again.

[Ed Elric]

His throat felt tight, he couldn’t breathe, he couldn’t speak, he couldn’t move, and he continued only to stare in mild shock as the look-a-like bent to recover the books he had allowed to slip from his grasp. His mind raced, he knew the possibility existed, he had seen himself after all, and a police officer that looked suspiciously like Hughes. They were counterparts to the people he knew, and they danced about him; surreal. But…he figured Hughes was a coincidence, and himself had been in a different town, Hohenheim called the place London…The chances of Alphonse being here were astronomically small, nearing on impossible with a whole world of other places for him to be, The proof otherwise was staring him unarguably in the face, literally.

A dream, a dream, a dream…

Talking…he was talking. Saying something, in a voice similar to Al’s, deeper and older and babbling on in this language Edward only had a limited grasp of. "You look as though I remind you of someone...my name is Alfons Heiderich. I...don’t believe we've met?" No, we haven’t met, not here…Alfons. His name, my brother’s name. A wave of nausea washed through Ed's body, making his head spin and his legs feel weak.

A dream, a dream, a dream…

Edward tried to regain is composure, control his desperate urge to turn and run, run from the phantom of his brother, the charmingly naïve smile he offered, and the ache that had settled in Edward’s chest like an anvil. “I-I’m…sorry.” He managed in his bumbling German, already tripping around the awkwardness of his suddenly very dry mouth. “I thought…you were someone else. It was a mistake.” Swallowing, he held his hands out to take back the books Alfons had retrieved. Once they were returned to him he clutched them against his torso as though they were a shield. “I arrived late, missed orientation and shit so I’m completely lost.” He tried not to mumble, his accent he had found, could be difficult for some to understand, not that it was his fault; and at least he’d managed to discover the curse words in this language easily enough. If Alphonse were there, he would try to get Ed to steer clear of the foul words, chide him when he didn’t, and laugh about it anyway. The man before him didn’t know him, wouldn’t scold his language or accept it fondly.

A dream, a dream, a dream…

“Calculating Mathematics,*” he started in again. “’s my first class. Do you know where I can find it?” A deep, shaky breath later Edward succeeded in looking up once more and meeting the boy’s gaze, he tried to smile a little at the same time blinking back a resilient wave of tears that threatened to break the façade he had plastered on over his surprise.

Just a dream.

[[ *= Calculus]]

[Alfons Heiderich]

Alfons swallowed as the boy in front of him remained silent for however long. He seemed to simply be staring at him in shock, disbelief, or just surprise. He didnt know why he had cast a shadow on this unfamiliar person to drive him to make such an expression as his was, but it was the least of his worries. If anything, he would forget about it and maybe remember some day, and ask later. The silence seemed to drag on for an eternity to Alfons. Did I say something wrong? Or do anything offensive? he found himself beginning to wonder. Maybe his new aquaintence wasnt from Germany, they had plenty of people around that moved to Munich from other areas of the world simply because they wanted to attend the college. He didnt want to have possibly made the mistake of doing or saying anything that would be found rude in another society. He had heard of some very forceful consequences that were dealt by one person because of a mistake by another. Alfons blinked. He didnt think that would be the case here.

Seconds later, as though finally realizing the extent of the silence which had dragged on, the other boy spoke. "I-I'm...sorry. I thought...you were someone else. It was a mistake." Alfons smiled a little at that. It was perfectly alright to make mistakes. He didnt even want to think about the number he'd make today alone, not even taking into consideration this next year. After saying this, he held out his hands for his materials. Passing the books into the open arms, he watched the boy clutch them tightly against his chest like they were supposed to defend him from something. He didnt get the chance to linger on that before he turned his blue eyes back to the...golden ones of his aquaintence when he spoke. "I arrived late, missed orientation and shit so I'm completely lost."

A small frown crossed his face as the other boy swore. Sure, he had too in the past, but mostly when he was frustrated or upset. I guess being late and lost is reason enough to be a bit out of sorts on your first day at college... Alfons thought, his expression relaxing a bit, putting the swearing behind the actual conversation at hand. He was preparing to speak, but then his aquaintence looked away and began to speak again, a final time. "Calculating Mathematics's my first class. Do you know where I can find it?" At this, a bit of a grin moved its way over his face again, offering an expression of comfort.

"You dont have anything to be sorry for...mistakes happen. Its understandable." Alfons spoke a bit matter-of-factly. "I'm actually a bit late, myself. I was getting ready to head to class when you tapped me. We can go to class together. I have Calculating Mathematics as well. Its just down this corridor..." Alfons turned about ninety degrees to the right and extended an arm to point down the hallway. He hefted the books under his arm slightly to assure they didnt fall out of his grasp and spoke once more for this interval. "We dont want to be later than we already are...we should go." He had a feeling his aquaintence would follow him, and Alfons made a mental note to ask his name once they got into the classroom and got settled. He wouldnt mind getting to know this other student.

[Ed Elric]

Ed's breathing was far shallower than he would have liked, but he was having a great deal of trouble convincing the rhythms of his body to revert to normal. His heart was beating too quickly and he could feel the pulse of blood pounding in his forehead starting up a migraine scale headache. He’d been experiencing those far more often in this world than he had at home. He assumed it was because of the drastic habitual changes he had made, eating and sleeping rarely, spending late nights doing nothing more than wandering around the unfamiliar streets until he’d memorized every twist and break in the cobblestone. Now, of course, it was the result of the…the trauma of seeing Al’s face. His Al, only not…

Again he was talking, and Ed realized that he had asked the question and really did need an answer. "You don’t have anything to be sorry for...mistakes happen. It’s understandable. I'm actually a bit late, myself. I was getting ready to head to class when you tapped me. We can go to class together. I have Calculating Mathematics as well. It’s just down this corridor..." With that he turned and pointed down a branching corridor, Ed nodded a bit at the instruction despite the fact that he was no longer being watched. Alfons began walking briskly and Ed followed quickly after. "We don’t want to be later than we already are...we should go."

As they walked, Ed took careful note of the other classes down this hall so he wouldn’t be forced to idiotically ask someone else for his next class and run into Winry, or someone else painfully familiar. He saw chemical studies, and general language, which he did have later in the day. Unfortunately, by the time they’d reached the mathematics class Edward had yet to see his second class labeled down this hallway, inwardly, he groaned.

The mathematics classroom was rather typical. At the front of the room a chalkboard was bolted to the wall, it stated the class name, though not the professor’s, and beneath it was a tidy desk, behind which set the man Ed assumed to be their teacher; an old, grandfatherly looking type with hard, stormy eyes. Ed had a feeling he wasn’t nearly as old and frail as he looked.

The student’s area was simplistically utilitarian, containing only six long tables that would probably seat five or six a piece spanned the back of the room, each had eight chairs stationed behind them, leading to cramped workspaces. About half of the chairs were already filled with eager students, and Alfons took his place among them at a relatively empty table. After a moment’s thought Edward sat next to him, if for no reason more than to feel a little less lost.

“…Thanks,” Edward said finally. He didn’t elaborate further, and hoped Alfons would understand. Maybe it was simply the striking resemblance to Al, but having gotten over his shock, for the first time since Amestris, Ed felt comfortable around a stranger.

[Kane]

Alfons didnt even need to glance back to tell that his aquaintence was following him. The now-deserted hallway proved quiet enough to create an echo of feet on a floor, no matter the material. Glancing down the corridor that they walked, Alfons was making mental notes of where different classrooms were on this hallway. There was one or two offices, but there seemed to be more classroom-based rooms, such as social studies and language rooms. However, there were a few lab-based classrooms they passed that looked as though they ajoined to regular classrooms. So far, he had only seen one or two lecture halls. That was slightly bothersome...he knew he had a few classes in lecture halls today. He didnt want to be late for any more classes than necessary. Finally spotting the room, Alfons felt a small smile part over his face and he glanced back at his companion and he opened the door.

The classroom was much like what he expected. A chalkboard against the wall with a desk in front of it, and rows of tables with chairs behind them. Most of the desks were filled, only a few were left totally vacant. The other students already seemed to be making their space "their" space. The man behind the front desk seemed rather aged with a pair of hard eyes. Alfons had a feeling he wasnt going to be the easiest of the teachers he was going to encounter at this college. Despite the age, a persons eyes could say it all. Alfons remembered his father telling him that, and he realized that sometimes it meant something as simple as this. Though the teacher hadnt started, Alfons glanced around before heading over to an empty desk, more to the right side of the classroom than others. He placed his books quietly on the table and slid into the chair.

A few moments later, Alfons saw his companion slide into the chair next to him. A small smile began to spread its way across Alfons' face again. "...Thanks". Glancing to the side, he gave a friendly nod. He cast his gaze back to the front of the room to look at the teacher. Perhaps he had time now to figure out the student's name. Turning back, he opened his mouth to speak before he was cut off by the teacher, who began the day by introducing himself as Professor Baur. Alfons closed his mouth and turned back to face the front of the room. The professor took a while to go through the general concepts to be taught in the class, his introduction and history before announcing he'd call roll. Sitting back, Alfons knew he would come later on the list, so he could relax at least a slight bit.

Kane sighed a bit. She had been pulled aside by one of the administrators after the orientation and called to her Counselor's office. After glancing around, she'd determined that it was on the same hallway as her first class, Calculus. She had been afraid this would happen...and she had a damn good idea what she was being called to the office for. Explaining her living situation. She blinked, her light blue eyes simply staring at the picture behind her Counselor rather than at him himself. One of the Deans was in the office, as well. She was growing more irritated by the second, but she kept her temper under control. Uncle Yash and I already explained this...twice. And we were told there were no questions. This is supposed to be a College...its administration should act like its one.... She thought, frustrated. She had listened to the bells ring however many of times. She was late for her first class...on her first day of College.

Brilliant...

Glancing to the side as the Dean and her Counselor were caught up in their own discussion, she fumed a slight bit as they talked about her as though she wasnt standing right there. She looked through the windows on the door and longed to get to her class even more than before as she saw two blond boys, one with short hair, one with long, pass. They were late as well. ...Lucky... she thought a bit enviously. Finally, the Dean spoke. "Serafina...". She turned her unblinking blue gaze back to the Dean after looking at the bag which was toted by her hip, which carried her books.

"Please explain your living situation to us once more." Biting her tongue to restrain a sigh, Kane spoke again. "I live with my uncle, Yash Abhay. He lives just a seven minute walk from the College." she stated simply. "And what is his profession?". She swallowed "He is a buisnessman.". "I see...and why do you not live with your parents?" "My parents are both dead." "I am sorry for your loss...why are you with your Aunt and Uncle?" "They adopted me. And my Aunt is dead as well. Can I go back to class now?"

She could tell by the displeased looks of the Dean and her Counselor that they were not expecting her to act this way. However, her Counselor released her, and she headed to the classroom. She walked quickly, knowing that once roll was called, she would probably be first on the list. Putting her left hand on the door, she opened it just as she heard the half-bored but half-stern voice of the assumed professor call "Serafina Isolde Abhay" She swallowed and spoke up "Present...". With that, almost every head in the class seemed to turn to look at her. She flushed a bit. The professor clearly looked displeased, and he seemed like the type to take an opportunity to humiliate someone if they displeased him. Looking down at the ground, she tucked a lock of black hair behind her ear and slowly made her way over to the table to the right that only had two people at it...the two blond boys she'd seen that were late to class as well. She moved rather slowly, half-hoping to melt into the wall.

Please dont ask me to explain why im late....please, please dont...

[Ed Elric]

Edward tapped the pads of his fingers quietly against the cover of his textbook, he was happy to be in class and actually beginning his studies but he founds the professor’s diatribe on his teaching history and their basic agenda for the year to be so dull it was nearing on deadly. He spoke in a crisp, clear perfect monotone that buzzed drearily in Ed's ears like an irate bee and for a brief moment Edward felt him drifting off. He felt lost in the divide between dream and reality as his mind drifted to thoughts of Amestris, Al and the rolling hills of Risembool, the hard concrete of Central Headquarters as the gold of the Amestrian flag gleamed in the noonday light. He wondered as usual if he was dreaming the world around him and how he could wake up. He…

Was shocked from his daydream as the door opened, he glanced that direction as a pretty girl about his age entered. Huh, someone was later than him… The professor was saying something again and he finally allowed himself to tune in. “Serafina Isolde Abhay?” Ed's eyes were drawn back to the newly entered student again as she spoke her part and started to creep across the room towards one of the only empty seats in the classroom –the one next to him- shirking away from every eye in the class that had swiveled to look at her.

Professor….something, Edward had missed his name, folded his arms disapprovingly over his chest, no longer looking at the roll-call sheet but gazing down his nose at Serafina superiorly. “Excuse me,” he started, his mind-numbing tone turning strict. “Would you care to explain your lateness to myself and your piers? It’s extremely rude to interrupt and say nothing. If this is the way you plan to start the year, I can’t say I’m excited to have you in my class for the remainder of it.” Edward groaned loudly, the teacher’s air of supremacy automatically set him on edge and he had a feeling that he would rarely look forward to his morning class. “Do you have something you’d like to say?”

“Huh?” Ed looked up again, he was being spoken to? He sat up a little straighter in his seat. “What?”

“Did you have something enlightening to interject into this conversation?”

“Well…yeah. You could lay off her a bit, it’s the first day, anybody could be late you don’t have to be such a dick about it.” The room fell completely silent after his words, and Ed felt his eyes get a little wide. He hadn’t really intended to say that, but he had forgotten for a moment that he was not Edward Elric, the Fullmetal Alchemist and Major ranking in the Amestrian military…He was just Edward Elric, bratty college student with a chip on his shoulder the size of a boulder.

It was his turn to have every eye in the room zeroed in on him and after a long while he shrugged, he was already in it. Fact of the matter was, he could garner any reputation here and it was unimportant, so long as he learned what he was attending the school to learn and didn’t do anything drastic enough to get himself thrown out. “I just meant you could back off a bit, so what if she was a little late? It’s easy to get lost in this place.” Besides, the prof. reminded him of General Hakuro, and that war-mongering bastard wasn’t worth the stitches in his overblown uniform.

Edward sighed, and waited for the shit to hit the fan.

[Kane]

Alfons’ head turned slightly towards the sound of a door opening, but only seconds later was his attention caught by the Professor’s voice again. ”Serafina Isolde Abhay” Alfons felt his interest pique a little. It was a rather interesting name…particularly the surname. Turning his head back around to look at where the sound of the door had originated, his ears were met with the sight of a fair-skinned girl with long black hair and light blue eyes. A rather uncommon combination. Her voice was light, but it had a bit of a rough edge to it anyways. ”Present….” she said. So this was…Serafina. Arriving later than himself or his acquaintance had. Professor Baur didnt seem like the type of person to tolerate tardiness to this degree...even if it was the first day, even if the school was large, and even if it was only a few minutes above all the other circumstances. "Excuse me” the Professor began, irritation beginning to lace through his voice as easily as a childs eyes would widen at a large meal. “Would you care to explain your lateness to myself and your piers? It’s extremely rude to interrupt and say nothing. If this is the way you plan to start the year, I can’t say I’m excited to have you in my class for the remainder of it.

Alfons bit his tongue as he looked back at the girl. She looked perfectly embarassed about the whole ordeal after she spoke up to announce her presence in the class when her name was called. She was moving slowly to the seat two away from him. His first instinct was to defend...Serafina...against the Professor. It wasnt just. She could have a perfectly feasible reason for being late, and also, for all the Professor knew, she could have been late for a more personal reason that she didnt want to say out loud. Despite himself, and despite anything his parents had taught him, Alfons felt the muscles in his jaw tighten as he opened his mouth to say something in her defense. That urge was soon cast aside as soon as he heard a rather pointed groan escape the mouth of the acquaintence beside him. Looking over, Alfons studied the expression upon his face as he spoke. With each word, Alfons felt his eyes slip into a slightly more shocked gaze. If his acquaintence continued this, Alfons doubted the professor would do anything severe like kick him out of the class.

Still though, he acted as though he seemed to have forgotten his place in the classroom...that he was just a student among others like himself compared to the professor. However, he seemed to pause in the middle of speaking up for her, like realization or something had hit him on the back of the head. He spoke yet again, this time making a less offensive remark as compared to the one he had just made. Alfons turned back to look at his hands and he swallowed. He wasnt going to say anything to his acquaintence about what he had just said, but he was still curious to see the reaction of the professor to what was just said

As Kane slowly made her way over to her chair next to the blond boy with the ponytail, the silence seemed to drag on for an eternity instead of just the mere seconds that lasted while she walked over to the desk where she would set her materials. She was hoping that this would be all, however, she inhaled as soon as she thought silence would ring through the classroom as though her lateness had never phased them. Daring to glance up, she saw that every eye was still on her. Staring at the ground again, she reached her seat as soon as the professor spoke.

"Excuse me." he said, his incredibly dull voice breaking the silence like a rock on ice. “Would you care to explain your lateness to myself and your piers? It’s extremely rude to interrupt and say nothing. If this is the way you plan to start the year, I can’t say I’m excited to have you in my class for the remainder of it. She bit her tongue and felt her lip curl as he spoke. She could already tell this was going to be one of her least favorite classes, and this professor...Professor whatever he introduced himself as...was not going to make the experience any more enjoyable.

She moved so that she had managed to place her right hand on the desk, the palm flat against the wood as she would have done in frustration before saying something. Looking up, a fire sparkling in her blue eyes, she was about ready to say something before a sound interrupted her. Glancing down slightly, the young man with the ponytail let out a groan. Instantly, the professor was on his case more than hers. She couldnt say it was expected, but she didnt move as he spoke. "Well...yeah. You could lay off her a bit, it's the first day, and anybody could be late. You don't have to be such a dick about it."

Instantly, Kane wanted to smile at what he had said, maybe even giggle a little. He...stuck up for me... she thought, a bit happy. He seemed to be as thrilled with the professor as she was, but she kept a straight face to prevent any of her pleasure at somebody talking to the...seemingly pompus and snide professor...the way he did. She wasnt about to explain anything to the professor, but just as she was about to speak, again, the blond spoke again, his tone different than before as though he had realized that he had been a bit out-of-sorts for the whole ordeal. "I just meant that you could back off a bit, so what if she was a little late? It's easy to get lost in this place."

Kane looked up as the professor to see his olive-colored face flush a bit with color. He spoke, his eyes locked on the boy. "I cant say Im pleased to have you in this class, either. Normally I would deal with you accordingly, but I feel that would just give you a reaction you wanted." He was...assuming that the boy was trying to make a scene or grab at some attention? ...how rude... she thought. His gaze snapped back to her and he spoke this time to her, and she felt herself pale a little as he re-iterated his earlier statement. "Young lady. I repeat my question from earlier. Why are you late?"

Kane bit her lip and frowned. She was going to stop this subject in its tracks...and currently she didnt deem this professor deserving of any respect she had to give. She spoke, her voice quiet but unwavering, and her eyes hardened. "Firstly, lay off him. He spoke his mind. Something adults do. This is an adult environment, is it not? I'd say he wasnt doing or saying anything out-of-line, given such circumstances. And no, I would not care to explain my lateness to yourself and my peers. If you still have an issue, you make take it up with administration." With that, a bit of a shocked silence met her for a response. She swallowed and narrowed her eyes, waiting for the response she knew was coming.

"Excuse me" he said, color beginning to flood his face more than before. "You will never speak to me in that tone again. You are not an adult, you are a child --" Kane cut him off, indignant to being looked upon so lowly. "Im sixteen years old! Im old enough to make my own descisions and say what I choose." she said, affronted. "Prescisely, a child." the Professor continued, without missing a beat. "If you are only sixteen, how were you even accepted? This is a college, not some preparatory school."

He paused, just long enough for Kane to retort again. "That is another thing you can take up with administration." she said, less frustrated than before. The professors eyes narrowed as he responded. "Young lady. Seeing as this is the first day, I think it would be such a shame for you to return home and explain to your parents why you wont be coming back. Another episode like today, and that might just be the case. Do not refrain to such insuboordination again" Kane stopped in mid-thought when he said that. Not only did she not want to push the matter further, but a new voice broke through before anybody else could say somtething. Looking to the side, she saw it was the blond boy with the short hair two seats away from her.

"Erm...professor...may we...begin the lesson after you finish roll?" he asked mildly, obviously trying to divert the attention of the arguing professor and student. Kane sighed a little and looked to the ground. She sank slowly into her chair as though nothing had happened, and slipped her bag off her side and into her lap. She began rummaging through it before pulling out a notebook and a pen to write in. "...high-and-mighty bastard..." she whispered under her breath in English, a minimal chance that anybody could understand. Popping the pen-cap off with her thumb, she spun it in her left hand and wrote a small note at the top of the page. "Thank you" it read. Hesitating a moment, she silently edged the notebook closer towards the boy beside her once the professors boring voice began resonating again throughout the room.

[Ed Elric]

Surprisingly mild, Ed thought of the professors response to his little outburst, but maybe that was a small bit of the upside of occasionally forgetting he wasn’t military anymore. This was a University, and he was certain they didn’t have a single crime that the punishment for was death by firing squad.

He sighed again as the teacher waded through some ridiculous speech about what could, would, should, shit to the late girl; Ed found practically nothing threatening in his pathetic manner, obviously trying too hard to be eloquent and intimidating, he fell just short of that mark and instead left Ed knowing he was a hell of a lot scarier than some want-to-be-tough professor of mathematics.

After a while, Alfons spoke up beside him, calmly and obviously trying to defuse the situation. It sent a cold pain coursing through Ed's chest as it reminded him desperately of something Alphonse would try. He glanced towards the younger boy and swallowed uncomfortably quickly pulling his eyes back to the front of the class. So many similarities, Ed couldn’t be sure if it wouldn’t hurt more when he discovered a discrepancy in their personalities. "...High-and-mighty bastard..."

Startled, Edward looked to his right as the girl spoke up again, and it took him a moment to register that she hadn’t spoken German, rather English…the language Hohenheim claimed was a near perfect replica of his own, from Amestris. He wondered briefly how she knew that language and had to snap his mouth shut quickly before voicing his question. She was writing something and curiously Ed glanced down to see what, only to notice that she had pushed the note in his direction. ‘Thank you.’ He couldn’t help but smile somewhat.

Surreptitiously, he lifted his own pencil and with a brief look to see that the professor’s attention was elsewhere, he scribbled ‘No problem, can’t stomach high-and-mighty bastards’ before pushing the notebook back towards her and returning his gaze to the front of the classroom, the lesson had begun and he was ready to actually begin paying attention.

After the morning’s incident, the day started to pick up pace and before he knew it, Ed was making his way through the bustling cafeteria. He had found as the morning progressed, he and his brother’s look-a-like shared almost every class, and in a few they were joined again by the woman from first period. Edward wasn’t certain if he should be pleased to have Alfons at his side most of the day or not, but eventually he settled on accepting it positively, because at least he was something familiar. With that thought Edward scanned the cafeteria until he’d found Alfons and strode in his direction, taking an inelegant seat next to him, and dropping his food on the table. “Hey,” he began, rummaging through his bagged lunch that consisted of little more than bread or cheese. “Don’t mind do you?” Without waiting for an answer he tugged out a quarter of a baguette from his lunch and savaged it, a small shower of crumbs fell onto his shirt and he easily brushed them away, swallowing his large bite.

Ed looked up from his shirt and across the room spotted the girl from earlier, her name…Serafina he thought? He’d been so caught up being angry with the professor he wasn’t certain if that was correct. He watched her for a moment, she didn’t seem as if she was heading anywhere particular and Ed waved her over. He was still curious over her random bout of English, and figured he could try to casually, or hell, not so casually, ask her about it over lunch. Besides, he wouldn't mind the company if they connected over nothing more than a common enemy.

[Kane]

Alfons relaxed as the professor continued on with the roll call. He didnt have a clue as to why the girl would want to stir up trouble with the professor on the first day of class. She was late for some reason she obviously didnt want to say out loud, and she defended the boy between them after the professor "attacked" him. Shaking his head, Alfons let out a small, quiet sigh. The girl...Serafina...seemed o be rather..outspoken for a girl. Alfons had been watching her as she argued with the professor. She hadnt let her voice waver once, her left hand had remained steady by her side, and her right firmly on the desk. Her expression had been set in a strong look, and her blue eyes had blazed with a cold fire. Her answers had come quickly, and she hadnt missed a beat once in her responses, as though they had been rehearsed.

Biting his lip, Alfons looked at the page of notes he had taken during the professors lecture. Serafina had fair points, and she was...pretty good at arguing. That was slightly worrying to Alfons, though. Some people frowned upon those who spoke against those in an authority position...especially if they were a girl. She was young, too. Sixteen, like him. Shaking his head, Alfons glanced to the front as he stood up with his bag to leave to his next class. As he made his way out, he glanced back once...only to see Serafina still sitting and gathering her possessions.

The day progressed at a moderate rate, some classes going by quicker than others. His acquaintance, whos name he'd learned was Edward, was in nearly every class with him, and Serafina had even been in some of them, too. He'd come to take Edward's near -constant presence as a good thing. They could get to know each other better that way, among other things. Alfons had been sitting for a mere minute at lunch at a table next to a window with a tree next to it when Edward walked over and sat down next to him.

"Hey, you dont mind, do you?"

Shaking his head, Alfons let a smile pull his lips back somewhat. Edward had already begun eating by the time he asked. Glancing up from his food, he saw Edward's eyes were fixed on a spot across the room. It was Serafina. She seemed...lost, perhaps, like hse didnt have anywhere to be, so she didnt know where to go. He was about to say something when he saw Edward giving a small wave, which she saw and slowly began to make her way over. It surprised Alfons a little. Edward didnt...exactly come off as a person who readily got to know people...or tell them to sit with him. Closing his mouth, Alfons decided to watch the exchange yet to come...and occasionally talk as well.

Kane's eyes widened in surprise slightly when she glanced to the side and saw the boy from earlier giving her a small wave. His name...Edward, right? she asked herself as she slowly began to make her way through random groups of people towards the table. The other boy was there, too. She'd had some classes with them aside from the abysmal calculating mathematics. Which I'm sure left a stellar first impression in everybody's mind...a sixteen year-old-girl with a temper and the guts to argue with the teacher...great... she thought a bit with a tinge of sarcastic humor.

However, another thought that sat in her mind when she saw the boy with the long ponytail...Edward, as she'd learned from roll calls, had understood English when she'd insulted the professor under her breath. Initially, she hadnt had the faintest idea why he'd looked at her how he did, but when he wrote his response to her thanks, he showed her that he'd understood her perfectly. It was then that she'd understood the surprised expression on his face. He probably expected anybody to speak English just as much as she had expected anybody to understand the insult she'd cast.

Kane came up to the table offering a small, somewhat nervous smile. It wasnt often people talked to her willingly if they werent family. In England, people had even called her crazy, simply because of her personality and abstract idealism. She hated it when people did that. But, this was Germany, not England...she didnt have some pre-existing record that labeled her. No. Maybe these two...Edward and Alfons, the other boy was called, would be her key to a new start, of sorts. Maybe they would accept her for who she was and the abstract ideas she had. This was a college, right? A college was a place for brilliant minds, philosophy, theories, and logic, right?

I should be accepted more readily... she thought, somewhat hopeful. She thought, somewhat more hopeful. She set the bagged lunch on the table with her left hand before pulling the strap of her side-bag off over her head and placing it next to her chair, which she lowered herself into, allowing her right hand to slide into her lap in a manner she hoped was natural. Looking up, she noticed Alfons was looking at her. Turning her blue gaze to Ed, she quietly said "..Thanks...I..wasnt sure where to go...", as she pulled out some apple slices she'd cut that morning.

[Ed Elric]

The girl, -woman, whatever- cast a miniscule smile as she seated herself across from them; Ed classified her demeanor as cautious, her smile was a little nervous and the way she looked at the table instead of either him or Alfons struck Ed as wary, all of that, however, simply served to make Edward more curious. He watched her somewhat critically as she reached for the lunch bag she’d placed on the table earlier, and opened his mouth to take another bite of bread when her gaze turned to him. For a brief moment, Ed allowed himself to amusedly ponder being surrounded by blue, which was apparently an excessively common eye colour in Germany; that thought led him to remember that, as Hohenheim had stated, his eye colour was certain to draw ‘unnecessary attention’. He frowned momentarily, but pushed it and that thought away easily as Serafina began to speak, her voice a near whisper: “...Thanks...I...wasn’t sure where to go..."

Edward’s lips twitched undauntedly into a small smile and he shrugged. “So I noticed,” he said in a jesting tone before peeling off another bit of bread and popping it into his mouth. He chewed quickly and swallowed, still fingering the small piece of baguette that remained. “Besides, it’s no problem, not like I was gonna ask anybody else to sit there.” As an afterthought Edward glanced to the side, thinking that the possibility existed Alfons had in fact planned to ask someone else. Lifting his shoulders slightly to himself, Ed brushed that off. If that were the case Alfons could say so.

Looking back to Serafina, Edward wondered a while how to bring up her knowledge of Amestrian, English, without being completely awkward about it. Truthfully, he wasn’t even certain why it interested him so much. It wasn’t as if it was strange for someone in this world to know a language that was actually spoken by a large portion of the world’s population...However, before that morning he had yet to run into anyone besides Hohenheim that spoke his language; he supposed hearing it made him homesick in an almost self-indulgent fashion. Anyway, what was so wrong with being curious? It wasn’t often someone voiced their insults aloud and simply in a different language, Ed admired it as something he might do.

“Your name was Serafina, right? Mine’s Edward.” He voiced finally, in clear English. The language felt familiar in his ears and his tongue felt almost relieved not to have to work its way around his hellish, accented German.

As he waited for her response, Edward stretched for his lunch again but as he made to set the part of his bread down his right wrist knocked against the metal rim of the table. It rang surprisingly loudly in the lunch hall and Ed froze, biting the inside of his lip and looking around anxiously. Sub-and-self-consciously he brought his automail back to his chest, and sighed quietly. Flesh sure as hell didn’t make that noise. “Sorry,” he muttered in German, laying his automail in his lap and staring down at it. Eventually he grabbed for his lunch again, this time with his left hand.

[Kane]

Alfons watched Serafina make her way over to the table. She seemed almost hesitant, though. Maybe she's more of a shy person... Alfons thought. It was possible...As she reached the table, she gave a small smile before taking her bag off her shoulder and sliding into her chair rather easily. As she finally looked up from the table and at him, the way she looked at him, for some reason made him feel...curious. He couldnt describe it, but he felt a small amount of color rise to his cheeks and he shifted slightly, swallowing as he proceeded to open his bagged lunch and eat a piece of cheese. From what he could see, and what he'd heard from her so far, Serafina was a different sort of girl than he expected to come across at this college.

He flashed his gaze upward again in the direction he'd met her eyes. She looked away from him at that moment, and turned her attention to Edward. Her eyes were a shad similar to his. He already knew about some people's...strange beliefs. His father had told him that people in Germany were slolwy beginning to find some humans superior to others -- those with blond hair and blue eyes -- simply because of physical characteristics. Alfons had passed perhaps twenty people today that had blue eyes, and another ten with black hair. However, Serafina was the only one he'd seen with black hair and blue eyes...a rather..pretty...combination. It wasnt a common combination, though, in Germany. In other places, maybe, but not Germany...at least not Munich. Sure, black hair and green eyes, maybe, but not blue.

Then she spoke, her voice quiet, maybe a bit timid as compared to the fierce tongue that had coiled while arguing with the teacher earlier. "...thanks...I...wasnt sure where to go..." she said quietly, as she pulled some apple slices out of her lunch bag and quietly bit down on one. Edward spoke then, a joking tone lacing the words. "So I noticed." Alfons gave a quiet chuckle and a smile. She had indeed seemed at a bit of a loss. Just before Edward had flagged her over, he was ready to suggest they invite her.

Suddenly, Edward spoke. But...the only two words he understood were "Edward" and "Serafina". Alfons' mouth hung open in surprise for a second before he closed it again. Edward...knew another language? He was clearly asking of her name, though. Shrugging his surprise off, he blinked, eager to see if Serafina could respond to Edward's comment...whatever it was...efficiently. It was polite enough to offer your name when asking someone elses. He figured he would give his as well after she responded to Edward. One thing concerned him slightly, though. She didnt seem too keen to user her right hand, nor had she in class. Its probably that bag...it looks as though she's carrying all of her materials for classes in it... he muse seomwhat. He wasnt much better, eager as ever to head straight to his next class and start taking notes. He would ask, simply to check that she was alright.

Kane felt her breath leave her in a slightly amused manner. Though her smile may have curled slightly, she didnt let more of an expression slip onto her face. Good to know somebody has a sense of humor... she thought. Swallowing a slice of apple, she glanced at them in turn again. Alfons had a small, comforting smile, but his eyes were also a bit quizzical, as though she had something strange on her head. She brushed it off a few seconds later, though. He was probably thinking about something unrelated while looking at her. Looking back to Edward, she blinked when he spoke...English. She leaned forward slightly and took a moment to think before deciding how to respond. She glanced at Alfons again before Edward. She didnt want to be rude towards Alfons by conversing in a language he probably didnt know, but the looks of it. But...she would respond to Edward appropriately.

Pulling her three years of English to the front of her mind, she opened her mouth to respond after a few seconds of thought. However, she was cut off when a sharp sound resounded through the lunch hall. She blinked in surprise. It had come from Edward's wrist, it seemed. She didnt take her eyes off of it as he moved it. He pulled his wrist to his chest and then back into his lap rather slowly. She heard him mumble an apology in German and she glanced to Alfons, who seemed to be looking out the window for the source of the sound. She tore her gaze away from the table behind which his right arm disappeared and back to his unusually colored eyes.

She tried her best to restrain a curious look as she spoke to him, a bit slowly at first as she cleared the confusion for her head. "Nice to meet you...officially." she said in English, the influence from her German accenting some words. "Yeah...my given name is Serafina. You...can call me Kane, though...I tend to go by that..." Among other things... she added silently to herself. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small movement, which turned out being Alfons nodding. "And my name is Alfons" he said, his German breaking the barrier of English. "You two are bilingual? That's a nice talent to have...What language is it? It sounds familiar..." he said, offering a curious look. "Yes...it's English..." Kane said, an incredibly small grin parting her lips. "Ah...I see. Very nice. I know only a few words..." he said with a chuckle before continuing, his gaze clouding over slightly. "Is your arm bothering you? Your...bag looked fairly heavy..."

Kane couldnt say she had expected that. Thinking quickly, and letting her gaze fall to the hand in her lap for a second, she managed some of a shrug, and asked "My arm?" She hoped her seemingly unawares would put him off a bit, but to no avail. "Yes...you...havent seemed to move your right arm at all. Are you sure you're alright?" She blinked and swallowed the apple piece she had just bitten off. Other than I can hardly move it, its fine... she thought, before speaking. "Yeah..its fine. Just a bit...sore is all." she said, hoping he would fall silent after that. He did, having just taken a bite of his lunch.

Looking back to Ed, she cast her gaze silently back to his left hand before down to where his right sat in his lap before pulling her eyes back to meet his. In English, again, she asked "Are you alright? That was....a fairly hard hit..." Dropping her gaze to his right shoulder before down the arm, she began to think. That sound...she couldnt quite describe it. But..it wasnt normal. Flesh, blood and bone couldnt make a sound like that against metal. It just...wasnt right. However, to appear as uninterested as possible, she managed to tear her gaze away, back to her bag and continue to quietly eat some of the fruit, glancing out the window occasionally.

[Ed Elric]

Edward was pleased that, at least initially, the sound his automail had made was ignored. He wasn’t certain how to explain that decidedly metal-on-metal sound, though maybe he was simply being overly worried because he knew what that sound was. If nothing else, maybe he could pass it off as the sound of his watch hitting the metal rim, of course, that was hard to pull off without a watch to back it up. Edward gave another small sigh, thinking wistfully that it he could use alchemy even not having a watch wouldn’t be an issue. On the same token, if he could use alchemy, he wouldn’t have been in that cafeteria in the first place.

"Nice to meet you...officially,” Serafina started in, she spoke English also and Ed couldn’t help but smile a little. The more she spoke the more obvious was the lilting German accent, which in fact answered one of Edward’s questions. Her primary language was German, Ed wasn’t certain what to make of that. Nothing particular, he supposed. "Yeah...my given name is Serafina. You...can call me Kane, though...I tend to go by that..." Kane? The name immediately led him to remember a story from this world’s bible, a text he had only glossed over and pushed off as myth in his own world, though here it seemed to be taken as seriously as an alchemist took equivalent exchange.

Kane...the name was that of the cursed one in the story of Kane and Abel. Ed shrugged a bit to himself, he assumed there was no connection, considering, biblically speaking, Kane was a jealousy-demented man, and this was just a college student, he doubted she was named after someone like that. Still, she said her given name was Serafina, which obviously didn’t even vaguely relate to the name Kane, which garnered the question of why she went by that name, why she had apparently chosen that name.

Coming out of his pondering, Edward realized he had missed part of an exchange between the girl and Alfons. “...haven’t seemed to move your right arm at all. Are you sure you're alright?" Huh? Her right arm…Ed gave that a passing minutes thought and realized that was true. She never raised her right arm, or used it for, well, anything. Even thinking back, he realized that, despite the fact that nearly everyone was right handed, she had written everything with her left. Ed remembered that of himself, and glanced down a bit anxiously at his automail. Maybe…No, inwardly Ed laughed at himself, he was jumping to conclusions and her explanation seemed perfectly reasonable…sort of.

Ed turned his head to Alfons, about to explain himself and his bout of English when Kane returned her attention to him, unfortunately bringing up his small accident. "Are you alright? That was....a fairly hard hit..." Her gaze, he caught, traveled down his shoulder and arm and he cringed a little. With his Amestrian automail, it was difficult for anyone to tell the difference between mechanics and flesh beneath clothing except for through a trained eye but here…It was true that the design of his automail for the world was exquisite compared to most other prosthesis, that was also, however, its downfall. This world’s technology couldn’t replicate the perfect flesh and blood appearance and still be as effective, and he knew for anyone really looking the difference could probably be seen. Hell, the fake skin stretched over it was nearly a full two shades lighter than his real skin. At least most of this world’s prosthesis, while not nearly as complex as his own, could be shaped perfectly and blend easily into one’s form.

Rather suddenly, Edward realized he had allowed an uncomfortably lengthy silence to pass him by and he attempted to smile. “Oh, yeah, it’s fine. I hardly felt a thing.” Ed turned again, to look at Alfons and it was somewhat difficult to slip back into German. “Uhuh, bilingual, I’m really a great deal better with English,” how he hated calling it that, “You’ve probably noticed my German can be a little fluky…I’ve only known it a few months.” Quickly, Edward dredged up the reason he had cleared as acceptable with Hohenheim if a question ever came up of his heritage. It was thin, something about having been born and raised for the first fifteen years of his life in England while his father was there for business. He knew he needed to give the story more body but…he had never assumed it would become much of a question.

Unconsciously, his stare slipped back to Kane, he wasn’t certain why, but chalked it up to simple intrigue. "Nice meeting you, too, you know, officially."

[Alfons Heiderich]

Alfons quieted when he returned to his lunch, eating the piece of cheese until it had just about vanished. Serafina had answered his questions relatively simply. As I figured… he thought. Any bag that carried that number of college texts would be liable to make one sore due to its weight. As she turned from him to speak to Edward again, in English, Alfons felt a small, amused twitch on his lips. Truly, he was fascinated by their English, and was highly interested. Edward responded to her, and Alfons was able to pick out two words. “Fine” and “I”. It made him slightly curious as to what they were talking about, but he remained silent and finished his lunch. He hadn’t packed much, so it wasn’t like he had practically inhaled his meal.

As he swallowed, Edward turned back to him and spoke in German. ”Uhuh, bilingual, I’m really a great deal better with English. You’ve probably noticed my German can be a little flunky…I’ve only known it a few months” For only a few months?!

[/u] Alfons thought in amazement, some of it he was sure dabbed into his expression. That’s incredible…his German is incredible for that short a time. He must be some sort of prodigy…or have a natural gift for linguistics… he concluded. Letting a small, impressed smile come over his expression, he spoke. ”Only a few months? That is really something…your German is quite good. Very impressive.” Folding up the bag he took his lunch in, he picked it up before folding it into more of a poor excuse for a ball.

Bringing his wrist up nearer his face, he pulled the cuff of his sleeve back so it rested more on his forearm. He looked at the watch there and thought for a moment. He really had wanted to eat lunch sort of quickly and get out so he could poke around the college campus before his other classes, so he wouldn’t risk getting lost. Also, he wanted to check out the library to see what sort of resource-wealth it held. Picking up his books from where he’d set them on the windowsill, he adjusted them in his grip before he stood up, taking the bagged lunch with him. ”Normally, I would stay to finish lunch with you two, but my next class is Concepts of Engineering, and…I really don’t have a clue as to where that is…” he began, a bit of a laugh coming through his voice. ”For some reason I have a feeling it would be in a totally different building, so I’m going to try to stake my way around so I don’t get lost. I hope you don’t mind….please, enjoy your lunch. I’ll see you around.” he cast a friendly smile and headed towards the trash can to place his bag before he exited the doors.

Kane sat in silence for a minute after she asked the question from Edward. The few minutes that he took to finally come out with an answer seemed to take a while…longer than normal, actually. She found herself drifting through some of her own thoughts, and glancing around the area while she politely waited. She looked back at Alfons, then at passing students, before finally resting her gaze on the tree outside the window. She liked sitting under trees on a summer day with books and reading in their shade from sunrise to sunset. She could spend a whole day reading…if she had the right mindset. Her bubble of thought was broken by Edward’s response, the English ringing through her brain. ”Oh, yeah, its fine. I hardly felt a thing.” Kane sat in a slight bit of wonder for a minute, and was very grateful when Edward turned back to Alfons and began speaking in German. It just…didn’t seem like it would be right. The sound that was made was far too loud to be bone. Or if it was bone, it should have broken. It sounded almost like metal.

Perhaps he’s wearing a watch… she thought. It settled in her head as a feasible idea, but then she found herself doubting the theory. She hadn’t noticed a watch, and generally she picked up on things like that…minute details that other people might not pay attention to. Giving her head a small shake, Alfons responded to Edward, and she caught only the tail end of his small elaboration on how brilliant it was to know two languages. That was something else Kane found herself sort of curious about…how did Edward come to know English? And German. He had just said that he only learned German a few months ago. Kane had to admit she was impressed by that. It had taken her three years to learn the amount of English she knew, and still it wasn’t anywhere near her German.

She glanced at the sound of a rustling paper bag, and saw Alfons crumpling his up. She glanced at Edward and gave him a small smile in response to his counter to her greeting ”Nice meeting you, too, you know, officially” The smile was a bit closer to a grin than the last time, but he appeared to have a touch of humor that she found more amusing than others. She was about ready to speak when Alfons shifted. She looked from the bag to his face, and saw a small smile on his lips before he spoke. ]”Normally, I would stay to finish lunch with you two, but my next class is Concepts of Engineering, and…I really don’t have a clue as to where that is. For some reason I have a feeling it would be in a totally different building, so I’m going to try to stake my way around so I don’t get lost. I hope you don’t mind….please, enjoy your lunch. I’ll see you around.” He was leaving? I guess I wouldn’t want to get lost, either… Kane thought.

She’d already been late once today, and she didn’t want to repeat that. However, she had a good idea of where her next class…Advanced Concepts of Physical Science…was placed. She was sure it was in the building, down the hallway near the abysmal Calculating Mathematics class from earlier. In response to Alfons, the second he pulled away from the table to go to the trash can, she gave a nod. She didn’t mind. She didn’t blame him for wanting to stake out the grounds of the college. She watched the doors swing closed behind him as he left. Turning her gaze back to Edward, she bit the inside of her lip to think. She wasn’t an expert on small talk or conversation, but she could at least ask of his next class.

She blinked, deciding to practice more with her English. ”Excuse me for a second…” she said, politely dismissing herself to throw her bag away. She stood up, crushing the brown paper bag in her left fist as she walked over to the trash can and placed it through the flap. Absently brushing off a crumb on her dress, she turned and tucked the hair on either side of her face behind her ears so it didn’t bother her. Sitting back down, she spoke again. ”I…wouldn’t want to get lost, either…” she said with a small chuckle, referring to Alfons’ departure. ”My…next class is Advanced Concepts of Physics….what’s yours?” It was a fair enough question. Maybe they’d have the same class…

That might be…nice… she thought.
[/blockquote]

[Ed Elric]

Edward attempted to smile some at Alfons’ compliment on his German, he knew it wasn’t great, and occasionally he tripped himself up on larger words, and god forbid someone speak quickly, it began to sound like gibberish after a while. He had been trying desperately lately to master German, even think in it, but more often than not he slipped back into Amestrian mentally. He was simply lucky that as long as he could remember the words, the letters to be written were nearly identical to his own. It would have taken him twice as long to become even adequate both learning to speak and to write a completely different language.

“Normally, I would stay to finish lunch with you two, but my next class is Concepts of Engineering, and…I really don’t have a clue as to where that is…” Edward felt the small even semblance of a smile fall from his lips, his next class wasn’t Concepts of Engineering, he had really been hoping not to have to trek to the next class on his own. “For some reason I have a feeling it would be in a totally different building, so I’m going to try to stake my way around so I don’t get lost. I hope you don’t mind….please, enjoy your lunch. I’ll see you around.” Ed nodded and gave a small wave of his sliced cheese as Alfons stood, tossed his rubbish and was engulfed by the bustling cafeteria crowd.

After a spaced moment of staring blindly at where he had been, Ed looked back to Kane. There was a moment of silence before she politely excused herself to dispose of her garbage; Ed watched her go munching his slice of cheese absently, hardly noticing the mild flavour. His mind began to wonder again, forcing him to consciously coerce himself back to the present. He knew he couldn’t allow himself to slip in and out of Germany so often; it was simply a difficult task not to think about home. It had been months since he was last in Amestris, and still he couldn’t concentrate properly without thinking about it. This afternoon it was worse than usual, probably due to meeting Alfons which made his homesickness more readily apparent, reminding him constantly of Alphonse, and how much Ed missed him. He was certain the Amestrian language wasn’t helping either…speaking of which…

Kane had resituated herself across from him, and Ed managed to smile some again, surprisingly pleased that she had come back instead of heading onto her next class as well. That was probably a little pathetic… “I…wouldn’t want to get lost, either…” she stated, giving a quiet laugh. Edward nodded his agreement, he was almost in that boat in the morning before he was lucky enough to come across Alfons. “My…next class is Advanced Concepts of Physics….what’s yours?” Briefly thinking back to his itinerary, a slow grin spread across Ed's face.

“Advanced Concepts of Physics,” he responded sounding content, oddly happy that he didn’t have to go to his next class alone. Easily he balled up the paper bag he’d brought his lunch in and tossed it across the room into the garbage can instead of walking to rid himself of it. “Do you think we should head out? Alfons left a little early, but we probably don’t want to be late,” again, he added, “I think it was over by the math room, right?” Ed pushed his fingers back through his bangs, attempting to get them out of his eyes and stood, picking his books up from the chair next to him as he went. “You know, better safe than sorry.” He said, smiling, and waiting for her to leave with him.