[u][i]Red Winston[/i][/u]

Red noticed Poppy's hesitation in touching his hand, along with the small gricace when she did so, but he didn't say anything.

[i]"She probably smelled the cigarette smell. From her fingers, it is easy to deduce that she doesn't smoke and her smell and clothes indicate strict cleanliness. It is probably uncomfortable for her to hold my hand...Should have noticed earlier."[/i] was what run through his head.

He pretended he was thirsty and let her hand in order to fill a clean glass with water, not giving his hand back again, to relieve Poppy. He didn't want to put pressure of her when the reason he first spoke to her was to make her less tense.

He saw his idea going to waste when Nikki and Amanda took off and headed who-knows-where. With Amanda, it wouldn't surprise him if they wanted to swim back to America and back or something along those lines. He calculated all the possible candidates that could match Poppy's profile, but he couldn't find anyone available, with Jake being with Gabe, Henry in another table and Nikki heading out. Of course his calculations were rushed because it would seem akward if he just stayed motionless to enter his Brain Hall to make a thorough analysis.

[i]"Think quick, quick, quick!"[/i] Red thought, his brain running at full speeds.

Finally he could only come up with this:

"Well, we are pretty much unlucky. So that leaves us with two options. Go after the girls that just left, which I already know are good people, or try our luck with a new group, if you are feeling lucky enough! I am also open to any other option you may come up with! Just tell me what you would like to do and I come along!" Red said, trying to encourage Poppy by giving her the freedom to decide.

That's when a strange, one-armed man entered the Cafeteria.

[u][i]Christopher Fox[/i][/u]

Twelve years. Twelve years of solitude and now he decides to go back to the Academy. It would probably be the last time he lived in the wilderness of the artifical forest that surrounded the Academy. It would almost be nostalgic, if it wasn't for the reason he lived there in the first place. 

Realizing he would go back, Christopher Fox tightly grabbed the place where his missing arm would normally be. He was still relutant to go, but, this time, things were different. Henry was assigned as a teacher there, someone strong, someone Chris aknowledged. A former classmate and a valued friend. And he hoped that Henry would still consider him a friend, too, after the incident that is. He was now at the top of the cliff nearest to the Academy, taking one last look of it from afar, since he would now be living in it once again. He didn't know how long it would take for someone to graduate the Academy, since he abandoned it on his first year, but he figured that most of the classmates he had should already be gone, making Henry, some of the oldest members of the Academy and a few others the only ones who knew who he was. For all the others, he would just be a stranger. He walked down the cliff steadily. He didn't have the power in his legs to run, due to his atrophic muscles, which allowed him only small actions. Taking his time he was now by the front doors.

The school didn't change much from when he was a student, so he knew where to go, since this was the first day. The senior students once claimed that Dellamore makes the same entrance ceremony every year, so everyone should be in the Cafeteria by now. His first destination, however, was different. He headed to the Gym. He had to take a shower, or the other students would die from his odor and he wouldn't bet on the staff to not have given his former room to someone else. Not a chance he wanted to take. The Gym showers were open, even though the Gym itself was not. Searching a bit, he found shampoo, probably from one of the students who had to rush to attend to the entrance ceremony, or be late. It was the first time in years that he had a proper bath, which also answered his question, whether his skin was tanned because he was burnt, or because he was dirty, confirming that the first actually stood true. It was also the first time he looked at himself in the mirror. White hair mixed with black, probably because of fatigue and harsh conditions. He was so skinny that he looked like a mummy and the missing arm made matters even worse. He even wondered if he was dead and this was a result of another superpower he had. He got rid of the idea rather quickly, though. He also needed to shave, but safety razors are strictly personal and didn't want to use one that wasn't his own.

Unshaved and with long hair, someone would swear that it was Tom Hanks as the castaway from the movie of the same name, who was washed up at the shore of the Academy. Except he wasn't as handsome as Tom Hanks. The only difference between the two was that Chris was now clean. Other than that, his appearance and his worn out clothes made him an exact replica of a real castaway. With that appearance he went into the Cafeteria.

On his way, he saw two girls exiting the Cafeteria, one of them pretty shaken up. In the past, he would just pop out of nowhere to cheer her up, but now he wasn't in that mood. He didn't seem to recognise either of them, but, after twelve years, he wouldn't be able to tell if he knew them or not. Concentrating on his main purpose, finding Henry, Chris stepped inside the Cafeteria, causing a small reaction to some of the first years and some of the seniors too. Not something huge, like the whole banquet suddenly turning silent, but some people who noticed him coming in couldn't help but whisper about his frail appearance and missing arm to their fellow friends and classmates. Not that it mattered to him.

He slowly rolled his eyes from one side to the other, until he found the only person he knew he would recognise in a glance. With the exception of being considerably taller and bulkier, he knew that the lizard-looking fellow he saw was Henry.

[i]"He looks as intimidating a lizard as he was when I first met him..."[/i] he commented in his mind, ready to burst into tears.

Composing himself, he walked towards the table Henry was sitting. He approached him hesitantly, after all, Chris didn't know if he would recognise him too and even if he did, would he be mad about the incident twelve years ago? Did he even know Chris was coming back? He was about to find out with Henry's reaction to his gentle touch on his shoulder, along with the phrase he muttered in a weak voice:

"Hey, buddy...I am back..."