A New Kind of Nervous

[Pandora "Laufeia" Bumble]

-[13th January. Just an introduction thread for darlin' old Pandora here. Open to anyone at the Institute.]-

Large hazel eyes stared worriedly up at the large building known as Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters, a place Pandora had only heard of in the last three days. She wore a small, nervous frown on her pale features as her gaze moved to the front door. Her mother had already driven away from the huge school, with no more than a quick kiss on Pandora's cheek as a goodbye, which was no more than a second, but she didn't blame her, her mother didn't know how long it took for her powers to set off an illness of some kind in someone. Every time her powers are used, through touch or anger, the time taken for the touch to work on a person goes down a second. It currently took seven seconds, and had originally started at eleven seconds.

She wore a deep blue dress, it was tight around her petite torso and flowed out at her hips and down to her knees. Covering her knees and legs were black nylon tights a striped pattern embedded in them. On her feet she wore bright red Doc Martens, hiding the fact that her feet were as small as she was. Over her dress was a faded blue jean jacket, covering her arms, the sleeves reached down to where her palm stopped and her fingers started. The only pale skin showing was her neck, face and her fingers.

Pandora had four different bags with her, one backpack hanging from her left shoulder, another backpack being held up by her right forearm, the third was a large messenger bag which crossed from her right shoulder to her left hip and the last bag was a suitcase which she pulled along behind her with her left hand.

She began to move towards the doors of the building, her boots making no sound as each one touched the ground. Though she was struggling with her heavy bags, her back stayed perfectly straight and her movements were still graceful. Her etiquette teacher she'd had as a child had made sure that Pandora always looked like the posh aristocrat she truly was, which meant her back was always straight, her clothes and bright orange hair were always neat and she was, almost always, seen and not heard, as young people should be.

The only sound she could hear was the dragging of the wheels of her suitcase on the concrete. When she eventually reached the doorway, she stared at the wood for a while, her expression becoming worried; she was finally admitting to herself that she was actually scared to go inside. She'd never even met anyone of her age, let alone anyone around her age with abilities. What if someone asked to shake her hand? What if nobody liked her? What if- "Face your fears..." She whispered, interrupting her thoughts; her voice only audible to herself as she reached for the handle of the door.
Her fears seemed to have vanished and almost as if on cue, her hand slipped on the handle as she went to push the door open and she fell hard against the door, smashing her shoulder into the wood. Pan let out an pained breath and returned to a standing position from where she leant on the door. She inflated her cheeks and let out a long breath before she spoke to herself again, rubbing her sore shoulder, it was sure to bruise. "Maybe manners would be best." She muttered gently, nerves returning to her as she pulled the suitcase to her side, and sliding the backpack on her right forearm onto the ground on her other side. She wouldn't know where to go even if she did go inside, although her mother had said she would have taken care of things, Pandora didn't even have a map or anything to do with the school whatsoever.
"Manners." Pan mumbled with a nod, lifting a dainty fist to the door and knocking lightly.

[Sofia "Wind Dancer" Mantega]

"You do not have to knock. The door should be open."

A Spanish accent laced voice echoed on the air behind the girl. Sofia stood there, body covered in a pink trench coat, tight jeans and a pair of comfortable flats. Her hair, as usual, was tied back in a long pony tail with a big fluffy pink scrunchie. She had, again as usual, a bright smile on her pretty face. She'd just been down in Salem center buying some books to help with her English. She'd been disuaded from picking up some book called 'Fifty Shades of Grey' for whatever reason and settled on some classic novels instead plus a few new ones. Her father's 'shut up and don't say you're my daughter' money was helping her along nicely.

"Besides," Sofia said walking up next to the girl, the bookstore bag clutched to her chest, "Nobody would hear you inside. The door is quite thick and the hallways get so loud around this time of day. Many people are headed to lunch."

She beamed, glowing somewhat as she looked the girl over. "I do very much like your outfit," she said, "My name is Sofia. What is yours?"

[Pandora "Laufeia" Bumble]

Pandora completely jumped out of her skin when she her ears picked up on the Spanish-accented voice echoing through the wind behind her.
Her entire body stiffened and her eyes widened nervously as she comprehended what the stranger had told her a moment ago. Now she just felt like a complete and utter idiot. But she didn't really know any better, since she'd barely ever stepped outside her home grounds until now. And when she had, it had been to go to the library even then she'd been forced to have a responsible escort with her meaning that leaving the home became tedious and she just went to her own personal library instead.

Pandora slowly turned around to face the stranger who stood not that far away. A small, friendly smile spread across her lips as her gaze fixed on the pretty female who was smiling brightly at her from where she stood. "Sorry." Pandora said gently, her accent, though British, was also foreign, as the stranger's was. "I didn't know." She explained, her fingers curling around the bottom of her sleeves. This was the first time she'd spoken to someone in the last thirteen years who was actually about her age, and it was already much much easier, though only few words had been passed between her and the stranger.than talking to a middle aged 'friend of the family', that her parents introduced her to at their famous parties.

The stranger then spoke again and moved up next to her. "Oh... I see..." Pandora muttered, she glanced at the door with soft hazel eyes as it was mentioned, then back to the female, her smile becoming a little wonky when she realised that she'd been a complete idiot once more.

Her smile widened when the girl complimented her. "Thank you." Pandora replied, though she didn't believe the compliment. Her mother made sure that she was always complimented even when she wasn't good at something, meaning that when she didn't really believe it when she was actually complimented.
"I like your outfit too." Pan nodded her voice full of sincerity and a smile on her face.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Sophia." She told her with a slight bow of her torso as Sophie gave a beaming smile. "My name's Pandora."

Her eyes moved to the bag of books that Sophia held to her chest and her hazel orbs flooded with curiosity as she stared. "If it isn't rude of me to ask," Pandora said, eyes fixed on the bag, "What books did you buy?"

[Sofia "Wind Dancer" Mantega]

"Oh thank you!" Sofia was happy to see another friendly face on campus. But the girl looked nervous. Sofia recalled not too long ago being that nervous as she approached this school. That settled it. She was determined to make this girl feel as welcome as possible! She shifted her feet slightly. The girl had an accent as well. Now they had more in common as she wasn't from around the states either. Sofia decided to comment.

"I suppose we both are not from here, yes?" She said with a dip of her head, "Your accent. I can tell you are from somewhere else." She tilted her head to the side.

"It is very nice to meet you Pandora," she said, "May I help you with your bags? There are so many, you must be here to stay." She was one for pointing out the obvious.

"Oh, the books, yes," she said, "Well I would like to learn English better despite, I think, speaking it rather well. So I picked up some of what the woman in the book store called Classic American Literature." She said the last part rather firmly as if she was trying to remember it. "I have a book called 'The Portrait of Dorian Gray' and another called 'To Kill a Mockingbird'. I do hope that's not about hunting."

"I personally prefer music, but a good read is okay too," she said, "What kind of music do you like Pandora? How about books?"

[Pandora "Laufeia" Bumble]

Pandora's head bowed softly when she was thanked, "You're very welcome." She replied gently with a pleasant smile. Sophia seemed rather kind, maybe this was a chance for Pan to finally make a friend around her age. A small glint of happiness fluttered through her large hazel eyes, friends were something she'd always wanted, but never really had. The thought of someone to talk to about anything made her feel a little faint and she almost wanted to vomit, she wasn't used to breaking routine or new things in general.
It was like the time, at the age of seven, the first time she'd had chocolate and she had loved it so much that she ate about five chocolate cupcakes from the kitchen, her mother thought it had been because she'd eaten too much, but the doctors had said it was because her stomach hadn't been used to the chocolate.

Pandora was beginning to get lost in her thoughts, as usual, when the female spoke again.
"I suppose we both are not from here, yes?"

A small grin spread across Pan's face. "You're right." She nodded in agreement, "I'm from England." She added gently, tilting her head to the side as the female did. "Are you Spanish?" She inquired softly, fingers tightening around the suitcase handle. Spanish had been one of the languages that she had been taught, but she hadn't picked it up particularly well and was quite rusty, she was more fluent in French, Italian and a few other European languages.

"Oh, thank you very much." She gave a wonky smile as Sophia offered to help with her bags, "But I wouldn't want the to be a burden, I don't even know where my room is yet."

Pandora's eyes stayed fixed on the books as Sophia spoke and another pleasant smile bounced across her lips. "Your English is lovely." She told her as it was mentioned.
Her face lit up as she was told that Sophia was reading The Picture of Dorian Grey, it was one of her favourites. Her smile widened as she heard To Kill a Mocking Bird was also in Sophia's possession. "It isn't about hunting at all," she said softly, "It's a story that is centred around prejudice, inequality and prejudice." Pandora told her, To Kill a Mocking Bird had been one of the first book she'd studied for her English Literature exams.
"If you ever want a new book, I have plenty." She explained, lifting the huge suitcase slightly off the ground as if gesturing to it. Her tutor had filled it with all of Pan's favourite books from her home library.

When Pandora was asked what kind of music she liked, her head cocked to the side as she thought. "I like all music I suppose, except all the rap music kind of thing." She chuckled awkwardly, "I can read any book, there's rarely a book I don't enjoy reading."
"What about yourself?" She inquired.