[center] Bʀᴇᴀᴋғᴀsᴛ Cʟᴜʙ Cᴏʟʟᴀʙᴏʀᴀᴛɪᴏɴ: Aʟɪsᴛᴀɪʀ, Bᴇɴ, ᴀɴᴅ Isᴀʙᴇʟʟᴀ [/center] --- Alistair gave the slightest of grins as he saw the familiar weak smile of a new blood in Open Roads. She shook his hand after her eyes seemed to look over him. He raised an eyebrow at her before she said good morning with a gentle handshake. He gave a short nod at her name “Isa, not a problem…” he tapped the side of his head with a finger and grinned “beautiful name though, I'm sorry if I call you Isabella instead sometimes” he laughed “seems a waste to shorten that name” He poked his tongue out and took a bite of the toast he had picked up. His bright blue eyes flicked from his plate to Isa when someone clattered into the table again with an almost awkwardly sounding ‘hi’. Alistair looked at the newcomer and visibly moved to put more distance between him and the man despite the lack of threat coming from him. Isabella gleamed as the boy bit into his toast, [i] You might not shorten mine, but I'm definitely going to shorten yours."[/i] her lips tightened as she stifled a smile. It had been a week since she had done that. It was refreshing to say the least. [i] "What do you prefer?" [/i] the girl started off, [i]"Ali, Al, Stair, Stairca-"[/i] Isa's ramble was interrupted by a short and simple "Hi." Isa's gaze turned to the boy who had joined them. Perhaps this spot in the dining hall would prove to be sufficient after all. [i]"Yoo."[/i] Isa stated back. It was friendly enough, but she still held a bit of caution towards this crowd. No matter how friendly they seemed to be, it would take a bit more time than a friendly breakfast chat to feel any sort of friendship or comfort around these people. The boy that had joined them look quite different from her own self. Isa hadn't barely even grazed the surface of what real hardship was on the streets, while this boy had clearly lived it. Her eyes met with his for a minute as she couldn't help but stare into the shattered window and frame of a home that the boy's soul resided. Her head jerked to the side as she looked away, [i]"Sorry."[/i] she mouthed apologetically, before looking back at him. [i]"I'm Isabella by they way, or Isa if you prefer."[/i] she stated, as her thumb stuck out and motioned towards Alistair, [i]"He's Alistair, or so he's told me in the last minute."[/i] the corner of her lips curved in a small smile, [i]"So, who does that make you?"[/i] Ben could tell that she was a bit younger than most everyone else here, but she seemed sweet. "That makes me Ben." he said, feeling a little less awkward. At least they haven't told me to leave yet. So far so good. Ben could tell that the guy, "Alistair", was getting nervous and trying to inch away from him. Ben tried to move away a bit before talking again. "Have you been here long? I've only been here since last night." he asked. For his first attempt at genuine human interaction in nearly two years, this was going much better than expected. But Ben knew it was early still, and there was a lot of time in the day for things to go wrong. Alistair smiled at Isa as she spilled out a running of names that she would shorten his own to. He gave a short nod “Ali is fine.” He laughed before looking back at the man that introduced himself. Alistair felt a violent unease in his stomach at the man. He had always felt uncomfortable around men and the only male that had worked through that heavy feeling in his gut was his case worker. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked at that two “so you’re both new…I’m a resident here.” He nodded and grinned “Wonder if you guys will stay here and be stuck with the old man I’ve got as my case worker” he laughed. --- [i]"No, not long. Just a week."[/i] Isa replied to Ben between bites. She nodded along with Alistair agreeing to her nickname. Isabella always liked shortening of names, it always seemed more friendly in the end. Why was it that adults always made their names longer when they 'grew' up? As the broadcast of “Calling the following Residents to the Assembly Room in the Welcome Building: Isabella Roma, Callie Evans, Anthony Ware, Azai Chasina, Ruben Batista, Benjamin Vaughn.” swept through the shelter Isabella nodded towards Ali with a friendly wave, [i]"I guess we will find out. See ya'll around."[/i] she called, going towards the assembly to be assigned to her caseworker for her stay.