After two classes have past, it was getting closer to lunch time.

The halls were filled with a sarcophany of noises, but she was able to tune them out by correcting the class' research papers and making copies for the next day. Correcting, making copies and tutoring was her usual schedule, but at least it was quiet and she had time to herself. That is until she has to play babysitter for the slackers of the school.

And that was her least favorite thing to do.

After finishing her duties and discussing with certain teachers, Vashti was making her way back to her class until she felt a presence that was cautiously walking into her area.

'Ms. Toma?'

Vashti absorbed the thought that projected into her mind. A few seconds have passed until another one was spotted on her psionic radar.

'Ugh, where is she?...'

The thought frustratingly wondered in her mind as Vashti sensed it moving towards the center of the classroom. The quiet frustration was clear while the words were laced with a feminine tone, which gave Vashti a clue as whom those thoughts belonged too.

Ms. Kimberly Hart.

"Hmm..." She hummed with an accurate guess while quietly strolling into her classroom before turning to see a young girl looking around cautiously, as if she did not want to set off an alarm. To her surprise, the young girl did not seem to notice Vashti's presence even if she was right behind her. She crossed her arms,  watching her waiting patiently for her to turn around...but it seems like the young girl did not pick up any sign or cue.

With a release of air from her lips, young girl reluctantly decided to herself. "Ugh...I guess I will have to wait for her." The young girl sighed with a deflated and solemn stance.

Vashti, who understood and absorbed the frustration after a few minutes, decided to cut in with a soft tone to possibly ease her anxiety. "Well, you don't have to wait any longer." Vashti's voice broke the silence which immediately startled the young girl. Vashti patiently watched with soft eyes as the girl almost jumped a foot in the air, whipping her head around to face Vashti.

'So, the notorious Queen Bee decided to visit with me.' Vashti observed with a soft hum before quizzing her with a mysterious smile. "Ms. Kimberly." Vashti addressed her with a light tonality. "What can I do for you in this hour of the day?" Vashti questioned as her eyes silently scrutinized her awkward posture.

Kimberly, feeling a little intimidated by her presence played with the material of her shirt. "U-um, y-yeah...Ms. Toma."

Vashti watched Kimberly gather her active thoughts, pushing a lock back from her face before looking up to make direct eye contact with her.

"I would like to see my grade for last week's exam?" Kimberly winced a little, as she held her things tightly into her chest. It was as if she said something wrong, that might possibly struck a chord within Vashti, but instead it satisfied her.

Vashti nodded gently to her request before turning from her. "Very well. Follow me Ms. Kimberly." She softly instructed the younger girl as she made her way towards the back corner of the room, that was designated as her working space.

Kimberly slowly and cautiously followed.

Vashti made her way around her desk, then she reached over towards a pile of tests that she corrected over the free period. She was focused on complying to what Kimberly requested, but the awkward silence caught her attention the most. Vashti's eyes moved upward to meet hers. It was like Kimberly feared Vashti, but she could not fathom as to why she felt that way.

'Am I intimidating?'  Vashti inwardly asked before her eyes bored Kimberly's with a cocked brow. "Ms. Kimberly." Vashti addressed her with a deliberate and velvety tone, receiving a rather defeated expression from her young facial features.

Kimberly quietly responded to her name being called. "Yes, Ms. Toma?" She tilted her head slightly, scanning her from the bottom up before a soft smile weaved onto her lips. "Why do you look at me like I am going to harshly scold you for asking about your grade?"

Kimberly did not answer immediately as she quietly stared into Vashti's eyes.

Vashti hummed once more in discontent with her hesitant answer. However, she kept her gentle gaze to alleviate her anxiousness. "I assure you Ms. Kimberly that I am not going to bite you." Vashti vowed with a soft, bell-like chuckle to emphasize her words. "I am glad that you made the decision to visit me, Ms. Kimberly. Not many students do that, you know?" Vashti stated her approval for the younger girl's decision to even see her.

"They either don't give a damn about their academic future, or they try to get out of their bind with a lame-ass excuse." She explained as she was thumbing through names until she finds Kimberly's test. Kimberly's eyes quirked with almost an amused expression towards Vashti's use of crude language.

"I understand your explanation Ms. Toma...but...I-i..ughh. I'm sorry to point out the obvious, but you are the first teacher...--" Kimberly vaguely was beginning to point out, but Vashti commented with a hint of a smirk.

"-that I am the first teacher to ever use a curse word?"

Kimberly raised an curious eyebrow, befuddled as to how she knew that but decided not to question it. In response to Vashti's observant attitude, she nodded.

Vashti shrugged lightly in response, accompanying it with a casual posture. "I may be older than you Ms. Kimberly, but I am not that ancient. I am very far from the grave, if you know what I mean..." She explained in a matter-of-fact tone before looking up to her with a smirk becoming more visible on her lips.

Kimberly, who felt a little bit of relief, fully embraced Vashti's casual attitude and thought of it as comforting. After the small moment of casual talk between the two young women, she found Kimberly's test and stood up from her seat.

"Alright." She said with a release of air exiting from pursed lips. "Exam from chapters ten through thirteen, a C+." She read lightly before placing it gently in Kimberly's soft and well-manicured hands.

Kimberly nodded quietly upon hearing her grade, before gripping it into her hands.

Vashti was receiving emotions of discomfort and sets her other tests to the side. "I do not know what is going on in your life Ms. Kimberly, but I am positive that you can perform better on these tests." Vashti moved back around and gracefully placed herself into her seat. With a gentle hand she reached out to grab her cup of tea. She held it gently in her hands, while receiving another wave of discomfort.

Kimberly released a huff of air. "I-I know...but-"Kimberly tried to protest but Vashti stopped with her with a single hand.

Vashti did not judge drama that clouded focus because she had no room to do so, but she encouraged to not allow personal drama overpowering academics. Her eyes moved from her cup and towards Kimberly's anxious ones.

"If it is personal drama with your peers, I understand. However, you must not let it deter you from your academic goal."

Kimberly, who did not understand as to why she responded so stiffly, quirked an eyebrow. "Ms. Toma, aren't you still in college?"

Vashti tilted her head slightly with now furrowed brows. She wondered her query about her age had to do with it, but she nodded as she brought her tea back to her lips. She took a brief sip before answering her frankly. "I am, but I don't really have space for personal relationships. As a matter of fact, I have no personal relationships outside my family.--"

"--Taking care of my family is my main priority while boys or what you say.. "gal pals" are meaningless, in my honest opinion."

'Meaningless? Is she antisocial?' Kimberly thought with a judgmental kind of expression as to why she prefers not to reach out to others.

Vashti calmly anticipated the impulsive action, which will probably shove a foot in her mouth.

"Why do you say that? Doesn't everyone want friends?" Kimberly pushed until she was met with a now hard gaze. Although she anticipated the question, she had to feign the acknowledgement by reacting like any normal human would.

Vashti's eyes narrowed towards the younger girl and she faintly picked up an almost scared gasp. Her eyes bored hard into Kimberly's, but not enough to burn into them. Although she had one-on-one conversations with students, she never had one who was insistent on questioning her personal life. As a matter of fact, it almost poked her side in an uncomfortable place. After a moment of silence, Vashti slightly tilted her head again. She responded in a low tone.

"If you walked in my shoes Ms. Kimberly, you wouldn't trust anyone with your secrets. --" She explained with an almost warning tone because she prefers not to allow herself to be vulnerable. She continued softly. "--Especially with those who do not take shit seriously or judge you for being different."

After vaguely explaining her reasoning, Kimberly quickly broke the eye-contact and mentally chided herself with a clear and visible expression of guilt.

Vashti heard her mental thoughts of guilt and watched her thoughtfully.

'Me and my big mouth...I should have said that! I must have sounded like a bitch! I should say sorry.' Kimberly did not say anything, but she did not have to as her body language spoke volumes towards Vashti.

As Kimberly's head quickly looked up to meet hers, she tried to apologize but Vashti stopped her once again with a hand towards her. She addressed the younger formerly, as her hard gaze washed away from her eyes. "Ms. Kimberly." Kimberly  frowned and nodded almost timidly. Vashti did not like when she had to be harsh, but she did not pussyfoot with her honesty.

"Yes, Ms. Toma?" She responded obediently, which meant that Vashti had her attention.

"Let me ask you an honest question." She told her, as she slowly rose from her seat once more and moved around her desk to approach her. With slow and deliberate steps, Vashti ended one inch in front of her and picked up on her guilty expression. Her eyes scrutinized Kimberly for a moment, before she asked Kimberly with a now soft expression. "Have you ever made a mistake and desired to start anew.... but you were afraid that people will judge you from your past?"

Kimberly's eyes widened in pure shock, immediately at awe as to how she was able to pick up on that.

'Either Ms. Toma is a mind reader...or she is really observant. I honestly think that she is observant because it is amazing to see her pick that up from just looking at me...'

Vashti wanted to chuckle at the thought that projected towards her, but externally kept a soft expression and waited patiently an answer.

Kimberly, after a moment of contemplating, she took a breath before nodding. "Yes, Ms. Toma." Vashti nodded in response, satisfied with her honesty.

She crossed her arms across her chest before asking her another question. "Let's say that you grew up differently, with a different from perspective from everyone else. Would you want people to judge you just because you don't follow the crowd?" She quirked an eyebrow in question and she received a more vigorous nod.

"No, Ms.Toma, Of course not." Vashti nodded once more before a soft smile slowly appeared onto her lips.

"Good. I am happy we understand each other." Kimberly nodded again, before hearing a sound from Kimberly's phone.

She glanced down briefly, before looking back to Vashti. "I will say this.... the only reason that I don't have friends is because I don't believe that anyone would understand what I have been through...what I have endured to stay alive in this world....and what I must do to protect my family." Vashti stated with a low volume, laced with an almost grave tone in her voice. Vashti will admit that she has lived a lonely life without friends to lean on, but she did not believe that any human would understand her inner demons.

Kimberly nodded slowly in understanding, or slightly for someone who is stereo-typically considered the cream of the crop in the school's social scale. She took a moment to process Vashti's words before responding with another question. "But...would you ever consider giving anyone a chance...you-you know to actually know what you have gone through? Maybe...in the future?"

Vashti's eyes widened for a moment as she evaluated her direct question.

Would she ever let someone in?

Would she ever let someone into her inner circle?

Vashti has never even considered that for a while, until Kimberly Hart brought it up in their somewhat intimate conversation. Her eyes grew a little distant, thoughtfully evaluating her question for a minute or so before Kimberly called her name.

"Ms. Toma? Did I go too far?" Vashti absorbed a hint of worry and shook her head a little before turning back to look towards the younger girl square in the eyes.

A small smile appeared on Vashti's lips. "I don't know...." She answered with a candid tone.

Kimberly was silent for a moment, absorbing her vague answer with confusion at first before realizing what she truly meant. 'I guess it makes sense...' Kimberly figured, accepting Vashti's answer before nodding again.

"Okay...Ugh....I am sorry if I looked judgmental towards you...Ms. Toma." Kimberly sincerely apologized, thinking back to what has been said just minutes ago. She didn't know what kind of flack that she would've received from other teachers, but from the talk with Vashti...it opened up her perspective on things.

Vashti nodded softly, erasing her solemn expression into another soft and understanding smile. "It's alright Ms. Kimberly. I don't usually reveal this kind of personal information to my students because they usually don't give a damn, but I will be honest."

Kimberly blinked in surprise, anticipating on what Vashti was going to tell her. "You have given me something to think about, a good thing to think about. I honestly don't know if I will ever let myself go or reveal my true self, but who knows? Maybe fate will bring the right people around and it will give me the courage to let it out in the open."

Vashti guessed with a simple shrug, receiving a soft smile in return from Kimberly. "Yeah, I see what you mean. Thank you, Ms. Toma. I am glad that you did not brush me off from being too curious."

"Not a problem, Ms. Kimberly." Vashti responded before Kimberly shook her head. "You can call me just Kimberly. You do not need to be formal. I mean you are about a year older than me."

Vashti released a soft chuckle, a little surprised to see this change of emotion since she has observed Kimberly with her little stereotypical clique...but with her change of attitude (from a reason Vashti does not intend to peer in to) she finds it a little endearing. Vashti nodded once more, before waving her hand away gently. "Very well. Kimberly. Now go, I sure Amanda and Harper are waiting for you." Kimberly raised a brow once again in question.

"How did you know that they were my friends?"

Vashti responded to her with a growing smile. "I see you around with those two, but from a distance you seem much more pleasant. I know that I do not know you personally Kimberly, but that is the genuine impression that I receive from you."

Kimberly nodded, before a smile weaved onto her lips. "Ugh...thanks Ms. Toma." She immediately turned to make her way out of her classroom, but before she exited completely Kimberly turned to take one last look towards Vashti. "Thank you for talking with me, it was...nice." Vashti smiled with a gentle nod.

"It is no problem at all. If you need someone to listen, you know where to find me." Kimberly nodded gently before turning away to leave.

After Kimberly left the classroom, Vashti's eyes glowed a faint Scarlet. A brief flash within her head revealed her and Kimberly talking in her car. Kimberly was looking towards her like a younger sister would to her older sibling. Vashti had a feeling that they would have more conversations like this, but she did not know why.

She reached into her bag and pulled out her Scarlet Power Coin in the silent and quiet atmosphere of her work space. Her glowing Scarlet eyes watched her Power Coin glow in strength, but why?

First Jason and now Kimberly?

Will there be more?

She was unsure of that answer, but like Jason she will find out soon. "How is it that you managed to pull out this kind of information from me, Kimberly? What is it about you, that pulls me to open up?" She questioned thoughtfully with a velvety and mysterious tone, before she reverted back to focus on her next class.

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AUTHOR'S NOTE
This is a little intimate moment between Vashti and Kimberly. It is before she breaks off her friendship with Amanda and Harper.