[For Alexis]

[halfscarlet]

With Teddy finally around, life seemed to have taken an obvious turn toward good for Billy. He still missed Kate, but if he was going to be honest, he no longer felt as lonely as he had for months. Spending as much time with Teddy as he could wasn't something he could be blamed for, he thought, but it still wreaked havoc on what structure he'd had when it came to classes.

Suddenly, what studying took up his time seemed like too much, like every hour could be better spent making sure Teddy was still okay, that he was still around and wouldn't disappear the way Kate did. Eventually, Billy's worries faded, but he still had class, still had homework. That much wasn't going to change for yet another month.

One end of a table in the rec room had become his regular study spot, and it was strewn with books and paper. Anthropology and Physics were especially trying, and it was the physics he was tackling, having decided to spend the entire afternoon on the one subject. Though Billy was smart, it was still a little hard to grasp, especially with someone as rambly as The Doctor for a teacher.

He looked up from where he'd been writing in his notebook, eyes scanning the wall for a clock. He'd been at this for two hours already. Pulling both arms over his head, Billy leaned back into the chair as he stretched, letting out a pleased sigh when his back popped a few times. Yeah, a break was probably the best thing to do right now.

Comments

[turnedoutfine]

Even though Alexis liked life fine so far on the island, she couldn't help being bummed she was missing out on the Princeton summer program. It was great being on a kind of perpetual tropical vacation, and it was great having her dad and Detective Beckett there (with Gran missed quite a bit). And Alexis loved being able to spend so much time with Cooper. She'd always enjoyed school, though, and she was looking forward to being able to go to the island's once the new term started.

Heading into the rec room to try and find a new book to read, she caught sight of a guy at one of the tables who looked like he was working on homework. She was eager to talk to someone about the school, but she didn't want to interrupt him, so she continued on to the bookshelf. Then he stretched, looking like he was getting ready for a break, and Alexis turned in his direction.

"Hey, are you taking classes at the island school?" she asked.

[halfscarlet]

"A few too many," Billy answered, letting his hands fall to his sides as he gave the girl a smile and a shrug. "I'm taking five right now, though why I thought intro to physics was a good idea, I have no clue."

[turnedoutfine]

Immediately interested, Alexis stepped closer. He looked like he was around her age, and possibly as interested in education as she was, considering school on the island seemed pretty much optional and he was taking physics. "How do you like it? The school, I mean?" she said. "If you don't mind me asking." She'd heard it had been around for a while, so it must not have sucked completely, but she wanted a firsthand account.

[halfscarlet]

Billy wasn't sure if she was asking because she was new and wanted to know how easy it would be to not go, or if she was interested -- and if it was the latter, he didn't want to scare her off with tales of how much work there was.

There was just a nerdy part of Billy that, though never really hidden, flourished here with not much else to distract him.

"It's pretty great, actually. I mean, if you're a kid they ask that you take core classes, but you can take a bunch of different subjects as long as there's someone to teach them. Like, I'm taking Weaponry and Classical Mythology, among other classes. It's kinda like college."

[turnedoutfine]

"Wow, that sounds kind of awesome," said Alexis, impressed and pleased by what he was describing. "I showed up here in the middle of the current term so I can't take classes yet, but I'm really looking forward to signing up."

She stepped forward again, this time close enough to be able to offer a hand. The least she could do was introduce herself, instead of just continuing to grill him. "Hi, I'm Alexis Castle."

[halfscarlet]

Well, that at least settled what side of the nerd fence she sat on, and though Billy would have eventually warmed to her either way, he gave her a grin and shook her hand.

"I'm Billy Kaplan, it's really nice to meet you. Uh..." After a quick glance at the table, he shoved some books away from a seat to his right. "You can sit, if you'd like. Don't mind the mess."

[turnedoutfine]

"It's nice to meet you too, Billy. Oh, it's not a problem," Alexis said as she sat where he'd cleared a space. "I'm sure I'll have at least this much stuff once I actually have homework."

She glanced over his books and papers, looking for a glimpse of a subject. "So you have Physics, Weaponry, and Classical Mythology," she recapped. "And...two others?"

[halfscarlet]

"Phys Ed -- not my idea, trust me -- and Biological Anthropology." Although watching Banshee and Emma Frost snipe at each other for an hour wasn't as fun without Kate around, at least he still had Lucy. "Half the time, the most interesting thing about the classes are the people teaching them. Like, have you heard of Doctor Who?"

[turnedoutfine]

Alexis nodded. "I haven't really watched much of it, but yeah, I've heard of it," she said. She knew the basics, at least. She also knew there were people here who she'd previously only known as either actors or characters from books or movies. Alexis had found that out when she first showed up in the rec room and met who she initially thought was Tom Welling. "Why, is one of your teachers the Doctor or something?"

[halfscarlet]

"One of my teachers is the Doctor," Billy said with a nod, and he waved at a notebook he was vaguely sure contained physics notes. "And he teaches physics. I spend ten minutes before every class reminding myself that I'm actually there to learn something, not fanboy him silently."

[turnedoutfine]

Alexis laughed; she could imagine what that was like. Her dad was a best-selling author and had his share of fans, but that didn't mean Alexis was immune to being starstruck. "Wow, that must be pretty interesting, taking physics from the Doctor," she said. "I think I'm definitely looking forward to taking classes at the school now."

[halfscarlet]

"Interesting's one word for it," Billy agreed, though he would have gone more along the lines of awesome or confusing. Learning physics from a nine hundred year old time traveling alien when he hadn't even finished high school yet proved to have its difficulties. "But yeah, school's actually kinda fun around here."

[turnedoutfine]

Alexis didn't think it was likely she could have disliked the school on the island, at least not much, but Billy's comments made her look forward to it all the more. "So hey, how long have you been here?" she asked.

[halfscarlet]

Billy sat back, taking a moment to count. "Just about seven months, I think?" He shook his head, wondering where the hell the time had gone. It was the same way when he'd been back home, time flying by - it just seemed like here, all time could really do was crawl. "It feels like way longer."

[turnedoutfine]

"It's been something like a month and a half, for me," said Alexis. Even longer for her dad, which was weird to think about considering she'd seen him literally a second before showing up on the island. "Time does seem to move slower here, somehow. Do you have anyone here from home?"

[halfscarlet]

"Yeah," Billy said with a smile. "Uh, my boyfriend. He's even newer than you are, actually. Before that, another friend of mine was here, but she's gone now."

[turnedoutfine]

"Oh, I'm sorry about your friend," Alexis said. She hadn't experienced losing anyone yet, probably because she hadn't been on the island long enough. For Alexis, it was best not thought about since the idea of losing her dad was probably enough to give her some kind of panic attack.

"But that's great that your boyfriend's here now," she continued, smiling. "I bet you were glad to see him. When did he get here?"

[halfscarlet]

"He's barely been here a week," Billy said, sitting up and unable to keep from being a little more animated, which was inevitable when it came to talking about Teddy. "It's been kind of amazing, actually. What about you, do you have someone from home?"

[turnedoutfine]

She nodded, her smile deepening into something undeniably pleased and fond. "Yeah, two people, actually," she said. "My dad, which is great. And the detective he'd been working with back home as inspiration for his latest series. Kate Beckett."

[halfscarlet]

"Hey, that's great," Billy said, and he even managed to be sincere about it. He missed his own parents, miserable as they might have been away from their Brooklyn apartment and professions. "So your dad's...an author? TV writer?"

[turnedoutfine]

"He's a best-selling author," Alexis explained proudly. "He writes mystery novels. He had a successful series, but then he killed off his main character, so now he's working on this new series with Detective Beckett as inspiration for the main character, Nikki Heat."