Timber, Rose and A Talk

JP with mdman and Cindy

Rose made her way down the hallway, though she really only knew that Mel had gone to a courtyard. As it turned out there was more than one.

She could call the other girl but didn't want to interrupt any phone conversations Mel might be having. Besides, Rose would rather return to the group when the calls home were finished. She was glad Conner was alright, and wanted to see him like she figured most others did but truly if Conner wasn't a friend of hers Rose might have opted to not come. Then again, she didn't know if being that selfish was in her.

Courtyard number one, had no one in it, well it was late. Courtyard number two didn't hold Melissa but did hold a rather upset looking Timber.

Rose didn't know Timber well, in reality they really hadn't spoken beyond the meeting each other. However, he seemed like a decent guy. Still, Rose was by nature an introvert, some might call her social but shy - she had learned over the years it was easier to just play social than get the wrath of her parents for not doing so.

He likely hadn't seen her, and Rose could have left but she couldn't bring herself to without checking on him. It wouldn't have been like her at all to do so. "Timber, " she quietly spoke but there was no one else out there. "Are you alright?”

Timber almost didn’t hear Rose due to the quietness of her voice and the deepness of his thoughts. When he realized someone was there, he wiped away the one tear that had escaped and fell to his boot. Turning, he saw Rose. Timber stood and swept a hand through curly hair.

He took another deep breath, and answered, “Oh…hi Rose. I didn’t know anyone else was here.”

Being the truthful sort, Timber decided to be forthcoming with his new friends. He didn’t want to hide his feelings. He had often seen those that did so often explode and hurt others.

“It’s my parents,” Timber opened up. “It’s easy for them to believe I’ve formed friendships with the wrong crowd. They are so far away and haven’t met ya’ll to give you a chance.”

He paused a moment in thought, then added, “You’d think they’d give ya’ll the benefit of the doubt, knowing the friends I’ve had back home.”

Enough talking. Quit blabbering, Timber thought to himself. Gathering himself, Timber asked, “Are you okay, Rose? You were right there, nearby. How are you doing?”

Rose just nodded to the comment Timber said about his parents, "Are they coming next weekend, to Parents' Weekend? They could meet us and some of the parents, then." Granted he had just gotten here, who knew if his parents would come back so soon. It was just a thought.

"I'm alright. We missed most of what happened, being in the bathroom. Just knew to not leave until it was clear." Rose looked at him. "I heard you used your wrestling skills to keep Doug down. I feel free that I can say thanks for that, from all of us. I mean stepping up like that, to help, when you just met us.”

Timber rolls his eyes when Rose asked if his parents’ children were coming next weekend. “They’re threatening to come tomorrow to pull me out and take me back to Iowa.” He shook his head. “I talked them in to call the dean or at least Miss Perkey.”

Timber hadn’t thought he had done anything special. It was instinct, pure and simple. The fact that Doug had Mel also motivated him. However, Timber was feeling quite comfortable with his new friends. He likes to think it would have happened regardless of the person Doug threatened.

“Believed me,” Timber stated, “I just reacted. There was no time to think about it.” He smiled remembering that he had used that move on quite a few victims on his way to the Iowa State finals last year.

He sat back down and motioned to the spot next to him. “You wanna sit and talk while we wait?”

"Well, Miss Perkey is the one pretty much in charge of everything. Despite how she might come across, she's fair and pretty decent. Fortunately, for you she likes our group, so, I can't imagine she'd say anything bad about us."

He sounded a little like JD, talking about reacting and not thinking about it.

As for talking, "Sure," Rose responded, sitting down in the open spot. Unlike a lot of teens, Rose never seemed to slouch. When she walked it was with a graceful poise, sitting was the same way. The blonde girl's movements were fluid, but no one was so poised without practice.

"We really haven't spoken very much." Rose realized she was stating the obvious. "So, where in Iowa are you from?" Her voice had very little accent to it, if one knew what to listen for they could pick up a slight hint of the weathly Long Islander in her speech patterns but it wasn't easy to do so.

“I’m from a farming community called Fort Dodge. It’s northwest of Des Moines. My family raises corn and pigs,” Timber explained.

He chuckled, feeling in a better mood with someone to talk to. “It’s a lot different than what you’re used to, I’m sure.” He thought a little, then asked, “What makes you different than the others that come from money. The ones I’ve met so far seem to hate us that are only here because of a scholarship. Yet, you have befriended people like me.”

"Well, I'm not the only one in our group that has money but, yes, the majority of the rich kids are like that." Rose didn't know how much to explain. "The short version is I strive to be the opposite of my parents. My older brother though had a lot to do with it, he pretty much raised me and he was one of the nicest people you could ever meet." She paused for a moment a fleeting smile crossing her lips, as if a memory came to her. "I though have never been like them. I never really fit with kids like that. It might sound weird to some people but I sometimes think having money is overrated. It definitely doesn't make someone better than anyone else.”

Timber grinned as his spirit lifted as they talked more. Rose had a way about her that put one at ease and made them forget she had money.

“Well Rose,” Timber affirmed, “it’s good to know someone who’s both rich and down to earth. It’s refreshing.”

It had occurred to Timber that he had given the wrong impression to Rose about his parents. “I don’t mean my parents are difficult. They're not; I know they care. They tend to be over protective since,” he paused, “well, since the accident that tore my brother’s arm up. We are actually a close family.”

The down to earth comment Rose wasn't expecting, she smiled, "Well, thank you for the compliment." Though she thought almost everyone in their group was pretty down to earth.

"Well, hopefully Miss Perkey can convince them or Dr. Williams, she's the head counselor for the school, to let you stay." Rose paused, "Given the circumstances their reaction is kind of understandable. I mean it's one heck of a way to be introduced to the school, but it's also by no means a common occurrence." She paused, "Do you mind me asking, what happened to your brother? If I'm overstepping you don't have to answer.”

“I don’t mind,” Timber confessed. “He got hit by a car saving my life when we were eleven. Up til then, Tyler was a better wrestler than me. I didn’t take it as seriously as he did. He lost most of his tricep muscle in one arm. He almost lost it. He’s why I’m here. I devoted my wrestling career to him.”

Timber took a deep breath to remain calm. His arms rested on his knees at the elbows. His head was down.

That wasn't something she expected to have in common with anyone, being at Sakura because of their sibling, more precisely their brother. Rose was very quiet for a few moments, then said. "The circumstances are different but I'm here because of my brother as well."

Now that she had told the rest of the group about the accident, it didn't seem quite so hard to talk about.

Timber was surprised to hear that Rose had similar circumstances .Similar, but different?

He straightened up, turned to her with a raised brow. “Really?” he questioned. “Tell me about it, Rose.”

He was interested to hear his new friend's story. It was the stories that drew people together, binding them into a bond that could not be broken. Most people were not vulnerable enough to share that information. So, they remained isolated and hurting.