fandomhighdorms | 5th Floor Common Room; Thursday Afternoon

His first class was in the books and Jasper really didn't know what to make of this place. He'd expected to be sitting through classes that detailed the ins and outs of the works of Walden or Thoreau or taught him how to solve high level math problems. Instead, he'd dealt with a simulation about the aftermath of the end of the world.

Kinda interesting, he had to admit.

He had one more class tomorrow and then he'd make judgments on the whole thing. For now, he was sitting back on the couch with a battered manilla folder on his lap. Inside were the pictures of his father's victims that he'd hung up at home. One hundred and twenty four pictures. In a new place with so many new people, he needed this. He needed the reminder of what could happen if he ever lost control.

Prospects are there for you and for me, Jasper. That’s what they exist for, get it?

"Thanks, Dear Old Dad," he muttered, flipping to the picture between the eightieth and the eighty first victims. His mother's face stared back at him and he touched the old photo with a fingertip before sighing and closing the folder.

He left it on his lap and turned on the television. Maybe he'd try and do something normal.

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This wasn't remotely Cosima's floor, but it happened to be where she was right now.

"Oh, hey," she greeted vaguely, drifting toward a chair. "You're Jasper,right? That was some class."

"That's one way to put it, yeah," he replied, glancing up. "Probably a little more exciting than learning about photosynthesis or something, though."

"You just don't know how exciting photosynthesis really is."

Cosima wasn't quite enough of a science geek to mean that seriously.

"And I don't need to be convinced either," he said, holding up a hand. "I'll leave that to the botanists of the world. They can have their plants and I'll take classes about tomorrow after the end of the world."

He was probably better suited for something that dark anyway.

Cosima chuckled. "You could do both," she suggested. "Probably we'd need botanists after the end of thew orld."

"Babysitting plants is not my idea of a good time," he replied, shaking his head. "There's better things to do. To me, at least. I'd just kill the poor thing anyway."

And Dear Old Dad would probably spin that in some way to make it seem like Jasper was ascending to the throne Billy Dent had built.

"Hi, Jasper!" Ringo waved and grinned as she came into the common room. A pair of ATs were dangling in her hand, as she'd changed into regular shoes before coming into the dorm.

"How's your day going?"

"It's been fine." Even if it hadn't been, he probably would have said it was fine. "Been outside?"

Ringo nodded enthusiastically. "Yep!"

"Though I still haven't found the perfect place to ride yet." She shrugged and glanced at the couch. "Mind if I join you?" Because she really should get around to trying to get to know her roommate a little better. Even if she wasn't entirely over being weirded out by sharing a room with a boy.

"So, not the most useful person to put on greenhouse duty after the end of the world," Cosima decided.

Then: "I dunno, I like the class. It's like we all fell into a video game or a zombie movie."

"Sure, if you want," Jasper said, putting a hand over his folder to make sure nothing fell out. That'd be interesting to explain. "There's not much good on television, though. Just a bunch of sitcoms that are trying too hard to be funny."

"Never said I didn't like it," he remarked, shaking his head. "It's just not what I'm used to. But, I'm getting the feeling that's the norm around here. The unexpected, the strange, the ways we can try and freak out the new kids."

He glanced over at her.

"Or something like that."

"I've never been much of a TV person, anyway," Ringo admitted as she let herself flop onto the couch, careful to give Jasper (and herself) some space. "Have you been up to anything fun yet?" she asked after a moment of silence to think of a topic.

"Depends on what you think is fun." She probably wouldn't think his folder was fun so he said nothing about it. "I had an interesting class full of monsters and arguments and talking about death. It was interesting, at least."

"It's not what I'm used to either," Cosima said, shaking her head. "Jokes aside, San Francisco's about 80 times more normal than this place. At least I never met anybody who could turn into a squirrel there."

"It's interesting," she added quickly. "But ... kind of a lot to wrap my head around."

"The classes here are very odd, I'm finding," Ringo said with a soft smile. "I mean, mine have been fun so far, but not at all like classes back home." Then she frowned slightly. "Though none of mine have involved talking about death." Yet. And she hoped it stayed that way, as the topic definitely made her uncomfortable.

"You're the second person from California I've met." And she wasn't a skulking weirdo like Derek either so points for her. "Didn't realize this school was so in demand that people came across the country."

Or across dimensions.

"It's not so bad," he said, shrugging casually. "We're all gonna go sometime so if I make it to the end of the world, I'd feel accomplished."

Of course, there were big plans in place for him before he died. Plans he would try and ignore but they were there nonetheless.

"Well, y'know. Californians. We'll fly a long way to see real snow."

Not that there was going to be much snow in May, but whatever.

"Why, you're from around here?"

"No." He shook his head. "I'm closer than California but I didn't even know this place existed. It's smaller than the small town I'm from and that's an accomplishment. No Wal-Mart here either. So, they have something in common."

"Well, that's true, I suppose. But it's still sad to lose someone like that." Or it could be, anyway.

"I kind of figure not having a Wal-Mart is an asset," Cosima mused. "But yeah, the place is teeny. I think my grade at my old school had more people than the whole island. Think the weirdness helps keep it from getting boring?"

"Guess it depends on the type of weirdness," he said thoughtfully. "I'd rather avoid giant bugs or waking up in a cocoon."

He'd seen some movies, at least. When Billy had some free time in between everything else. All the murders. It was mundane father/son bonding.

"But, getting three wishes from a genie might be cool."

"Probably be sad to lose someone in anyway," he remarked idly. He watched the television for a second, barely blinking. "Right?"

"Yeah, but most times you can hold out hope that it's not forever, you know? That whatever it is that's between you, keeping you apart, will change." Ringo's expression twitched slightly at the thought. That sort of hope was something she'd had a lot of experience with.

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5th Floor Common Room; Thursday Afternoon

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