HOME | DD

Description
Jeannie looked about her, just as confused as Sam was, “Who dearie?” Who indeed.
“Ummm… that s-strange boy…?”
“’Strange boy’, huh? Nope, cannae say Ah ken him, sorry, lamb.”
“Eh? Oh w-well, then shall we g-go?”
Jeannie smiled, “Nae need tae be so skittish around me, lamb. Aye, we’d best be off. C’mon!” and she bounded off across the grounds, dragging Sam through her dust. It was a strange sensation: Jeannie seemed to be weightless as she flew across the ground and Sam a flag waving in the wind behind her. The chaos came to a close when Jeannie came to a screaming halt by a tree on a small knoll. Its large, protective shadow and low branches made it the perfect spot to eat their lunch. Jeannie propelled herself at the base of the tree and nestled herself against the bark. When she decided that she was comfortable, she pulled out a haggis from her lunch and eagerly tucked in.
Slightly disorientated from her backwards journey, Sam stumbled to her knees and collapsed into a sitting position.

A moment of silence passed between the two as Jeannie ate her haggis heartily whilst Sam looked on. Jeannie couldn’t take the silence and spurred a small conversation, “C’mon, lamb. Why don’t ye eat ye lunch?”
“O-ok, but I-I-I am s-sorry about my stuttering, because i-it’s n-not because I’m n-nervous.”
Jeannie looked up to meet Sam’s gaze, her interest piqued, “Oh? Do ye have a stuttering problem?”
“S-s-sort of...b-b-b-b-but it's w-worse when I'm n-nervous.”
“Och, that's too bad.” The conversation worn dry, silence ensued once more. But it wasn’t very long before Sam tried to reignite the fading cinders, barely managing, “U-um, s-so....where d-did you come before c-coming here?”
Jeannie, hating any sort of silence, immediately sparked up and began to babble like herself, “Ah'm an exhange student fro’ Scotland - as ye can tell fro' ma accent,” she said with a chuckle, “Sometimes, it's so strong, t' other students cannae ken whut Ah'm sayn'!” Jeannie burst into laughter. “Whut aboot ye?”
“I-i-i-i-i-i m-moved from the s-s-s-s-south of M-monaco near C-c-c-costa R-r-r-rica.”
“'Costa Rica', eh? ... Wait, don't they have beaches there? Proper ones?”
“Y-y-yeah...”
“Ah've always wanted to visit one o' dem proper, tropical beaches... sun shining, clouds away... and quite possibly freckl'n sometin' firece too.” Jeannie’s laughter returned, merrier than ever. Sam could not help but smile at the giggling mess infront of her – Jeannie’s laughter was contagious, as was her overall upbeat demeanour. Sam doubted that anyone could stay sour around a sweet character like Jeannie for very long.
But Sam’s smile ceased when reality took hold, “O-oh...w-well, it is n-n-nice there…”
Jeannie, too preoccupied in her own frecklin’ fantasies, failed to notice the sudden damper on Sam’s attitude and sighed, semi-lost in thought, “Ah imagine it wud…” she chuckled again, “No’ like in Scotland where it rains everyday.”
“I-it would be a n-nice holiday.”
“Where? Costa Rica, t' land o' t' shining sun; or Scotland, t' world o' endless rain?”
“S-s-scotland.” Sam’s answer left Jeannie perplexed; who would turn down a good beach on some far off paradise island for boggy moors that never seen to see sunshine?
“Really?! Ah wudnae think o' it as a great place for a holiday...”
“I-i'm s-s-sick of b-b-beaches....t-t-that's w-why I m-moved.”
If Jeannie had not been captivated by the conversation before, she certainly was now, “Oh? And how does one get 'sick' o' beaches? Ah came from an island, ye ken - Ah'm surrounded by beaches!”
Sam looked to the ground, “The s-s-sea, the l-land, the hot s-sun and all those,” she frowned and continued, her tone slightly evil, “pathetically weak men with their overinflated egos.”

Jeannie, normally the chatterbox, was so taken aback that she could find no words for some time, simply leaving her mouth flapping about wordlessly like a fish. Sam quickly realised her mistake and immediately began apologising, her stuttering-self returned. Apparently, according to Sam, the best way to punish ‘stupid’ people (like herself at the time) is to bash their head against a thick Maths textbook multiple times to achieve an unknown result. But before Sam could get too gung-ho with her treatment, Jeannie quickly intervened and removed the torturous device from Sam’s reach. “Ayayayayae! There's nae need for that!” Jeannie placed the book beside her and rested her hands on Sam’s shoulders, trying to look into her face which was promptly avoiding Jeannie. “Whut wuz tha’ all aboot?”
“N-nothing, I p-promise,” Sam quickly returned, gazing off into the distance behind Jeannie.
No matter how convincing Sam tried to sound, Jeannie wasn’t one to be fooled easily.

However, a chance to change the embarrassing predicament chose to saunter past at that moment.
“T-that boy…” Sam stuttered, causing Jeannie to break her questioning gaze and look about in confusion.
“Who, lamb?” Sam pointed to foreboding form of Thanatos who was silently sauntering out of sight. Despite his clear morbid attitude, which would be an obvious attention grabber to anyone else, Jeannie remained oblivious. She always strived to see only the good in people. “Whut aboot ‘im?”
“H-he was supposed to h-help a little in my l-last class.” Being her usual protective self, Jeannie was already feeling resentment for ‘t-that boy’ and the awkward subject of the previous conversation long gone from her mind.
“Really?” she said, glaring at Thanatos through a scrunched-up face, clearly failing at a deathstare, “Shall Ah ‘ave a wee word wi’ ‘im far ya?” Jeannie went to stand up, but a shooting hand from Sam stopped her.
“N-no, he is too s-scary.” Her worried expression betrayed her fear of him.
“How so?”
“J-just… s-scary.”
“But how does ‘e scare ye?” Jeannie paused briefly in thought, “Whut, does ‘e jump out o’ nowhere an’ yell ‘BOO’?” she said making a scary face complete with jazz hands – to which Sam jumped. Jeannie sighed, “Ah’d jus like ta ken whut Ah’m up against… Sorry, lamb, fo’ scarin’ ye.”
“It’s alright.”
“Nae it's not! He's suppos'd tae be protectin' ye, but he's jus scarin' ye. Does 'e do it on purpose?”
“N-no, I'm just n-nervous easily.” This confused Jeannie.
“But then, how does ‘e-” she began, but was interrupted by the school’s bell tolling. “Och, well, that’s tha bell…” Jeannie gathered her things together and jumped to her feet, “Ready, dearie?” It was then that Jeannie realized something horrendous. “Wait a moment, did ye nae eat, dearie?”
When Sam explained that she just wasn’t hungry, Jeannie couldn’t believe her ears: she could never go a lunchtime without eating something. Jeannie helped Sam to her feet and conversed about their upcoming classes when Sam noticed Thanatos apparently waiting for her some way off. Luckily for him, Jeannie hadn’t noticed and bounded off to her class in the opposite direction. Sam was left to face him alone. She cautiously walked up to him and when she got close enough, he began to walk. ‘He might be leading me to my next class’ Sam thought and followed.

Thanatos stopped some time later infront of a classroom, pulling some art books out of his black shoulderbag, placing it inside the portrack and then slouched against a wall. Sam got her own gear ready and stood expectantly beside him, but when no conversation ensued, she thought she would start off. “You’re not exactly talkative, are you?”
Thanatos’ only answer was to stare at her blankly for a moment before staring out into the distance again. Annoyed, Sam let out a small ‘hmph’ and resorted to silence, waiting for class. But when the teacher eventually arrived, Thanatos nudged Sam from her thoughts – a gesture of compassion that Sam never thought would come from someone such as Thanatos. However, class called and left no time for Sam to dilly-dally in thoughts.

Description
Jeannie looked about her, just as confused as Sam was, “Who dearie?” Who indeed.
“Ummm… that s-strange boy…?”
“’Strange boy’, huh? Nope, cannae say Ah ken him, sorry, lamb.”
“Eh? Oh w-well, then shall we g-go?”
Jeannie smiled, “Nae need tae be so skittish around me, lamb. Aye, we’d best be off. C’mon!” and she bounded off across the grounds, dragging Sam through her dust. It was a strange sensation: Jeannie seemed to be weightless as she flew across the ground and Sam a flag waving in the wind behind her. The chaos came to a close when Jeannie came to a screaming halt by a tree on a small knoll. Its large, protective shadow and low branches made it the perfect spot to eat their lunch. Jeannie propelled herself at the base of the tree and nestled herself against the bark. When she decided that she was comfortable, she pulled out a haggis from her lunch and eagerly tucked in.
Slightly disorientated from her backwards journey, Sam stumbled to her knees and collapsed into a sitting position.

A moment of silence passed between the two as Jeannie ate her haggis heartily whilst Sam looked on. Jeannie couldn’t take the silence and spurred a small conversation, “C’mon, lamb. Why don’t ye eat ye lunch?”
“O-ok, but I-I-I am s-sorry about my stuttering, because i-it’s n-not because I’m n-nervous.”
Jeannie looked up to meet Sam’s gaze, her interest piqued, “Oh? Do ye have a stuttering problem?”
“S-s-sort of...b-b-b-b-but it's w-worse when I'm n-nervous.”
“Och, that's too bad.” The conversation worn dry, silence ensued once more. But it wasn’t very long before Sam tried to reignite the fading cinders, barely managing, “U-um, s-so....where d-did you come before c-coming here?”
Jeannie, hating any sort of silence, immediately sparked up and began to babble like herself, “Ah'm an exhange student fro’ Scotland - as ye can tell fro' ma accent,” she said with a chuckle, “Sometimes, it's so strong, t' other students cannae ken whut Ah'm sayn'!” Jeannie burst into laughter. “Whut aboot ye?”
“I-i-i-i-i-i m-moved from the s-s-s-s-south of M-monaco near C-c-c-costa R-r-r-rica.”
“'Costa Rica', eh? ... Wait, don't they have beaches there? Proper ones?”
“Y-y-yeah...”
“Ah've always wanted to visit one o' dem proper, tropical beaches... sun shining, clouds away... and quite possibly freckl'n sometin' firece too.” Jeannie’s laughter returned, merrier than ever. Sam could not help but smile at the giggling mess infront of her – Jeannie’s laughter was contagious, as was her overall upbeat demeanour. Sam doubted that anyone could stay sour around a sweet character like Jeannie for very long.
But Sam’s smile ceased when reality took hold, “O-oh...w-well, it is n-n-nice there…”
Jeannie, too preoccupied in her own frecklin’ fantasies, failed to notice the sudden damper on Sam’s attitude and sighed, semi-lost in thought, “Ah imagine it wud…” she chuckled again, “No’ like in Scotland where it rains everyday.”
“I-it would be a n-nice holiday.”
“Where? Costa Rica, t' land o' t' shining sun; or Scotland, t' world o' endless rain?”
“S-s-scotland.” Sam’s answer left Jeannie perplexed; who would turn down a good beach on some far off paradise island for boggy moors that never seen to see sunshine?
“Really?! Ah wudnae think o' it as a great place for a holiday...”
“I-i'm s-s-sick of b-b-beaches....t-t-that's w-why I m-moved.”
If Jeannie had not been captivated by the conversation before, she certainly was now, “Oh? And how does one get 'sick' o' beaches? Ah came from an island, ye ken - Ah'm surrounded by beaches!”
Sam looked to the ground, “The s-s-sea, the l-land, the hot s-sun and all those,” she frowned and continued, her tone slightly evil, “pathetically weak men with their overinflated egos.”

Jeannie, normally the chatterbox, was so taken aback that she could find no words for some time, simply leaving her mouth flapping about wordlessly like a fish. Sam quickly realised her mistake and immediately began apologising, her stuttering-self returned. Apparently, according to Sam, the best way to punish ‘stupid’ people (like herself at the time) is to bash their head against a thick Maths textbook multiple times to achieve an unknown result. But before Sam could get too gung-ho with her treatment, Jeannie quickly intervened and removed the torturous device from Sam’s reach. “Ayayayayae! There's nae need for that!” Jeannie placed the book beside her and rested her hands on Sam’s shoulders, trying to look into her face which was promptly avoiding Jeannie. “Whut wuz tha’ all aboot?”
“N-nothing, I p-promise,” Sam quickly returned, gazing off into the distance behind Jeannie.
No matter how convincing Sam tried to sound, Jeannie wasn’t one to be fooled easily.

However, a chance to change the embarrassing predicament chose to saunter past at that moment.
“T-that boy…” Sam stuttered, causing Jeannie to break her questioning gaze and look about in confusion.
“Who, lamb?” Sam pointed to foreboding form of Thanatos who was silently sauntering out of sight. Despite his clear morbid attitude, which would be an obvious attention grabber to anyone else, Jeannie remained oblivious. She always strived to see only the good in people. “Whut aboot ‘im?”
“H-he was supposed to h-help a little in my l-last class.” Being her usual protective self, Jeannie was already feeling resentment for ‘t-that boy’ and the awkward subject of the previous conversation long gone from her mind.
“Really?” she said, glaring at Thanatos through a scrunched-up face, clearly failing at a deathstare, “Shall Ah ‘ave a wee word wi’ ‘im far ya?” Jeannie went to stand up, but a shooting hand from Sam stopped her.
“N-no, he is too s-scary.” Her worried expression betrayed her fear of him.
“How so?”
“J-just… s-scary.”
“But how does ‘e scare ye?” Jeannie paused briefly in thought, “Whut, does ‘e jump out o’ nowhere an’ yell ‘BOO’?” she said making a scary face complete with jazz hands – to which Sam jumped. Jeannie sighed, “Ah’d jus like ta ken whut Ah’m up against… Sorry, lamb, fo’ scarin’ ye.”
“It’s alright.”
“Nae it's not! He's suppos'd tae be protectin' ye, but he's jus scarin' ye. Does 'e do it on purpose?”
“N-no, I'm just n-nervous easily.” This confused Jeannie.
“But then, how does ‘e-” she began, but was interrupted by the school’s bell tolling. “Och, well, that’s tha bell…” Jeannie gathered her things together and jumped to her feet, “Ready, dearie?” It was then that Jeannie realized something horrendous. “Wait a moment, did ye nae eat, dearie?”
When Sam explained that she just wasn’t hungry, Jeannie couldn’t believe her ears: she could never go a lunchtime without eating something. Jeannie helped Sam to her feet and conversed about their upcoming classes when Sam noticed Thanatos apparently waiting for her some way off. Luckily for him, Jeannie hadn’t noticed and bounded off to her class in the opposite direction. Sam was left to face him alone. She cautiously walked up to him and when she got close enough, he began to walk. ‘He might be leading me to my next class’ Sam thought and followed.

Thanatos stopped some time later infront of a classroom, pulling some art books out of his black shoulderbag, placing it inside the portrack and then slouched against a wall. Sam got her own gear ready and stood expectantly beside him, but when no conversation ensued, she thought she would start off. “You’re not exactly talkative, are you?”
Thanatos’ only answer was to stare at her blankly for a moment before staring out into the distance again. Annoyed, Sam let out a small ‘hmph’ and resorted to silence, waiting for class. But when the teacher eventually arrived, Thanatos nudged Sam from her thoughts – a gesture of compassion that Sam never thought would come from someone such as Thanatos. However, class called and left no time for Sam to dilly-dally in thoughts.