On Tuesday, he caught her eye as he passed her in the hall. Reflexively, she lifted a hand in a mute half-wave. She rolled her eyes at herself the second he was past her. At lunch, everything was normal. She sat so she could see him over Kitty's shoulder. His back was to her and he didn't look over once.
So, when she sat down at lunch on Wednesday Kurt surprised her with an observation.
"I saw Toad looking at you funny today," Kurt was waving a chicken strip in her direction as he spoke, "Are you okay? Has he bothered you?"
"No," Elizabeth's response was immediate, "I gave him back a notebook he'd dropped. I don't think he'd ever noticed me before so he's probably just wondering when I started going to this school." Elizabeth said the last part as a self-depreciating joke. She had been living at the Institute for a few years and attending Salem High School since school started in September.
"You are awfully quiet," Jean agreed, amused.
It didn't take longer than sixty seconds for Kitty and Kurt to start on a conversation that was fun to watch so Elizabeth lingered over lunch.
Elizabeth's last period was study hall. She usually showed her work to the instructor who led the study hall and asked permission to spend the rest of the time in the library or reading under a tree outside. She was the sort of reader that became so engrossed in a book that a stampede of X-Men usually couldn't rouse her attention. It was one of the few things she could do successfully at home. She was sitting under the tree outside, engrossed in a book, when Toynbee dropped down from the branches over her head.
"Hey," he said, hunched over his black high tops, with the green tinted skin of his knee showing through a worn place in his baggy blue jeans.
"Hi," she pulled the open book close to her chest, "Are you still angry with me for rescuing your notebook?"
"Nah," he said, 'I wasn't really angry. It was just weird knowing you'd looked at it."
Elizabeth didn't want to argue with him but she thought he'd seemed angry. Her green eyes glanced back down at the book she was holding. Noting the page number, she closed it and set it on top of the pile of books next to her.
"I've always wished I could draw," Elizabeth offered wistfully, "I have artistic urges but no artistic talent."
He shrugged, "I read the note you left."
Instantly, Elizabeth felt her stomach drop. Luckily, she usually only blushed when she was angry. Flushed cheeks were obvious on her pale skin, unfortunately.
"Sorry," she muttered, "I didn't want you to stop drawing just because Mrs. Kinsley was being a jerk."
"You're okay," he said, "I guess I'll see you around."
Elizabeth watched as he leapt away, her head tilted and her green eyes confused. She glanced at her watch and realized she'd just missed getting a ride home from Scott. She put her books into her backpack and made made her way home by herself.