` More Than Meets The Eye `

S

SatyrWarrior

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He didn't get it. He just couldn't comprehend why, out of all of the agents, they had chosen him to take part in this demeaning mission. Well, perhaps they decided on him because he looked as if he could blend well into the role and was endowed with the necessary aspects. But still.... He honestly wished he had never gotten into this in the first place. If he wasn't one of the agency's most credible agents, then maybe he would have escaped this particular task. Luck was not his ally today....or, perchance, it was. He had arrived to the interview approximately five minutes early, and the long skirt his bosses had forced him into was peculiarly more comfortable than his pants. Quite the disturbing revelation. Then again, it had better be with the constricting stuffed bra that clung relentlessly around his torso. 'This corset is killing me... How shall I kill those old geezers when I get back...?' he whispered both mentally and maliciously, still unaccustomed to the attire currently restricting his steady breathing. His bosses felt that the corset was needed, apparently.

Kalen was already slender with a well-toned physique, but they had forced him into the corset in order to create the illusion of curves for increased authenticity. Kalen had merely assumed that they wanted to torture him though, all the while obtaining a good laugh out of it. He was about 5'11" in height--and of course, still growing--, so he made sure to wear faint heels in order to partially blame said height on the shoes. Though, any taller than an inch and he'd be stumbling down the halls later. Somehow, he appeared surprisingly natural playing as the role of a woman taller than average. In spite of all of his deemed qualifications for the special mission at hand, he was also the owner of countless drawbacks. For instance, Kalen was knowledgeable about the opposite sex in a scienticific sense, but he barely held any direct experience with them. As an agent, he simply didn't have the time to. Was that a trait that his bosses had expected him to learn quickly whilst living in the dorm? Sighing, Kalen took a seat across from the counselor's desk to initiate the interview.

He possessed a peculiar talent that he didn't get to apply to his routine all that often, but for this mission, it would be rendered quite useful. Kalen was capable of imitating any sound that he perceived in a 'so similar that's it's kind of eery' way, whether it be the voice of a little girl or the sound of a dog barking. For the interview, he borrowed the voice of a young woman he had passed on the streets a short while ago. Well, 'rent out' for as long as he was on this mission. 'Alright. Maybe luck is on my side today. Who knows--they might end up hating me and if that were to happen, I wouldn't have to go through with the rest of this...' After musing once more, he focused his full attention on the interviewer. And several minutes later, Kalen was mentally cursing up a storm as he angrily headed towards the dormitory building. 'Damn, damn, daaaamn!! They loved me?!? How could they like me with how disinterested I sounded? And...! No, maybe I was too truthful with my actual credentials.' He had retained one final opportunity to slip out of this mess entirely, but he blew it by placing a portion of his outstanding credentials into the resume.

He knew now that he had no one else to blame but himself...or did he? He could have sworn that he had brought the negative resume along with him. Did one of those geezers switch the resume when he wasn't watching? Upon reaching the dorm's entrance, the 20 year-old lad reluctantly trudged to his room while dragging the compact rolling suitcase behind him. It contained the majority of his female clothing and other various supplies even though the amount was insignificant in total. Kalen immediately dropped the black suitcase by his bed and walked up to the blank wall. His roommate hadn't arrived yet, and considering that he was still slightly fuming, he decided to endeavor in venting out most of his frustrations...with the wall. "This. Is. A. Load. Of. Shi--!" Within each pause, he had slammed his forehead into the wall as if he were attempting to knock out what little sense he had remaining. However, Kalen had bizarrely seized in his actions before a particularly colorful word escaped his mouth. Why? Because a female voice had intervened. Instantly, Kalen's steel-blue irises dilated. "Um, hello...?" the voice stated with uncertainty, nearly compelling Kalen to jump out of his skin.

Hesitantly, Kalen swiveled his head to the young woman standing at the entrance of the large room. His lengthy silver hair mildly whipped him in the face subsequent to turning so swiftly. The girl held a much broader suitcase alongside her, in comparison to his own. "Er..." Kalen began awkwardly as he quickly recollected himself. "S-sorry about that--I was just...um..." he added, recalling to use the female voice he had borrowed from earlier. 'Damn, she probably already thinks I'm crazy... Not good.' he thought, irked at himself for standing out. "I'm Kalen. It's...nice to meet you! You're my...roommate, right?" he stated with the most sincerest smile etched into his features. Somehow, he had cleaned up his act in an instant. Must have been the agent nature kicking in. Though, his smile was a genuine one.
 
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Madeline Stinson hurled her luggage out of the back trunk of the car as she suppressed a yawn. Her mother, who was clearly trying to hold back tears, came up beside her and wrapped her in a hug. "Oh Maddie!" she practically wailed in Maddie's ear making her flinch. "We'll miss you so much," she went on. The 18, almost 19-year-old couldn't help but roll her eyes.

"I'll miss you too, mom," she assured, awkwardly patting her mother's shoulder as she was squeezed tighter and tighter. She let her mom stay like that for another minute or so before huffing a frustrating breath that sent some of the hair hanging in front of her face flying. "Now as much as I would love to hug you forever, I kind of have to move my stuff upstairs." Mrs. Stinson gave her a watery smile as she pulled back and held her daughter at arm's length.

"Look at you," she said, smiling sadly again, "You've grown so much."

Maddie rolled her eyes, this time so her mom can see and smirked slightly. "Mom, you say that every time you drop me off here. If I grow up anymore I'll be your age, for god's sake!" she joked. Her mom's face twisted into a grimace slightly and she elbowed her daughter, earning a soft "Hey!" in protest. "Just saying, ma!" Mrs. Stinson gave her daughter one more hug and tried to smooth down her daughter's unkempt hair (Because apparently, moving in did not require to look like you didn't just roll out of bed) and tried to lift the neckline of her shirt a bit before Maddie batted her hands away and mussed up her hair. "It's a shirt-dress," she said, tugging the long shirt back into place. "It's supposed to hang like this. And now I have to go because if I stay out here any longer, they're going to lock me out for the night," she said as she gave her mom a kiss on the cheek and waved to the once-again teary-eyed Mrs. Stinson before hauling her luggage up the stairs and into the dormitory building. When offered to have her bags brought up for her, Maddie politely declined and stepped into the elevator.

Despite the way she currently looked, Maddie was a hard worker and even a bit of an overachiever (and it was this that impressed the admissions board). It was because she was so busy that she took so very little care to make herself look presentable most of the time. If she wasn't trying to impress someone, she didn't see the point in getting all dressed up. It was a waste of time and energy that she shouldn't have to spare. When given the chance to be lazy, she did not hesitate to take full advantage of it. And now that the new school year was starting, she knew today would be one of her last days to fully relax.

Maddie sighed as she wheeled her luggage off the elevator and down to her new room. She had been hoping to have her own room, but her mom handed the papers in too late and all the single rooms were taken. Now, she wondered who her new roommate would be and as she turned the corner, her brows furrowed as she heard what sounded like a banging noise from what should be her room. When she entered, she couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at the strange spectacle her roommate made as she introduced herself. Maddie squinted and gave her a good looking-over. At 5'6", Maddie always thought that she was pretty tall, but this girl -- Kalen -- takes the cake. With her brows still furrowed, she introduced herself. "I'm Maddie," she said. "Now is this headbanging something I should get used to?" she asked as she rolled her luggage to the opposite bed, trying to make light of what was obviously becoming a very awkward situation for the both of them. She plopped herself onto the bed, nearly jumping into it, sending the the pillows and her messily tied hair flying into the air momentarily. "Because if it is, I'll have to buy some earplugs," she added, her voice muffled by the pillows she was currently face down in.
 
On instinct, as the introductions were made, the young man stored his roommate's name away into his brain for later. "Oh, don't worry. The headbanging was just a one-time thing~." Kalen assured with a slight, but sheepish grin. He subsconsciously rubbed his forehead as Maddie plopped herself onto the bed. 'Seriously, I didn't even hear her coming. Was I really that immersed with myself? I need to get on the ball if I want to get this mission over with...' Pessimistic notions began to swarm his mind again, but he was swift to stop them this time. 'No, let's try to look on the bright side. Uh...well...' Was there anything positive about the current awkward situation at hand? 'Well...at least my roommate's cute--,' Once again, the camoflauged lad interrupted himself. 'Okay, that's something I really can't think about right now! Especially not as a woman. I should just go back to the negative thoughts...'

Mentally sighing, Kalen took a glimpse at his roommate. He assumed that it was safe to steal a longer glance at her, what with her being face down in the pillows and all. He tilted his head thoughtfully, surveying her current wardrobe. Girls...certainly possessed an interesting taste in fashion, even if it was rendered to be casual. Something else that he wasn't quite knowledgeable on. His own wardrobe usually appeared limited to only a couple of colors and styles. Colors that were solid and somewhat bland to be more specific, which strayed from the majority of bright hues. Kalen would be oblivious to clothes on a regular basis, but it was difficult to not be aware of his roommate's own considering that she was right there in front of him. Eventually, as Kalen became unfocused again, he realized the looming silence. Was this the way in which roommates were supposed converse? In silence?

"So are you a new student here, Maddie?" Kalen finally queried to muster up light conversation. He took a seat on his own bed, curiosity unveiling through his optics. He figured that sparking up a conversation would most likely stray the entire situation away from the former awkwardness, though now....he pondered about whether she was even in the mood to chat. He hadn't thought about that. 'It can't hurt, right?' he thought, kneeling down to unzip the tiny compartment of his suitcase. Swiftly, he slipped out his cellphone, which was already vibrating to signal that he had received a text message. 'Are you in?' The message was short and to the point. Kalen's brows burrowed into a mild frown, though he attempted to hide his apparent annoyance to the message upon waiting for a response from his roommate. 'Yes, I'm in already. By the way, prepare to die when I see you three bastards again...' Message sent. After sending the text message, he turned his smartphone off completely and stuffed it right back into the small pocket of his suitcase.

Kalen was a nice guy. Really, he was. He wasn't usually violent, and had always preferred talking over violence, but...his bosses were probably capable of converting the kindest person into a cold monster when having to deal with them.
 
"No," was all Maddie said as she brushed off the awkward attempt at conversation in favor of turning over in the bed and staring at the ceiling with her arms spread wide on either side of her. Her roommate was pretty and she seemed nice enough, but at the moment, Maddie couldn't find a shred in her that cared to socialize after that very awkward introduction. So she didn't.

From her spot on the bed and with as minimal movement as possible, she surveyed the room they were given. It was spacious and they had an HD television (which she would be enjoying immensely) and they had a miniature fridge -- most likely added on during the summer after students were complaining about lack of snacks in the lounges last year. It wasn't like the school couldn't spare a few bucks. She had learned that last year, when she transferred. There was a door in the corner furthest from the window which was either a closet or a bathroom, and Maddie sincerely hoped it was the latter so she could go back to spending an hour in the shower (shared bathrooms in a girl's dormitory weren't very good for taking your time when you wanted a nice, long bath) and get some decent privacy.

Maddie simply lay there, now on her back, with her hand up towards the ceiling as she inspected her nails for some time, she wasn't sure how long. All she knows was that the room was way too quiet for it to not be awkward, and now the teen was starting to think that she should have tried to strike conversation with the girl if only to get rid of the unbearable silence that hung in the air. Upon hearing the phone vibrate, she raised a brow from her spot on the bed and looked at Kalen as she replied to the message and shut off her phone. She smirked. "Was it your mom or your boyfriend?" she inquired. "I know my mom will never leave me alone the first few days I'm here," she explained, grabbing her own phone from where it lay next to her as she held it out to her roommate. "See? Look, 7 missed calls," she said, shutting off her phone just as Kalen had.

Her mom knew better than to expect she would call back after she'd entered the dormitory not even a half hour ago. Maddie wasn't so insensitive as to not call her back. She would. Eventually. Probably before she went to sleep. However, her mother should know better than to allow her daughter to go to a boarding school so far away from home if she would sob every time vacation ended and she would have to go back to school. Seriously, she didn't understand her mother sometimes. Though she was pretty sure her mother could say the same thing about her daughter.
 
Kalen honestly didn't take the hint that she didn't particularly want to socialize as a personal offense. On the contrary, he was sort of relieved that she dismissed the conversation. Besides, it was completely understandable considering that their primary introduction was rather...odd. And her response merely sent him into 'reflection mode' again. Thinking to oneself during the silence was definitely preferable over suffering through the quietness doing absolutely nothing. 'So she's a recurring student huh? I wonder how many grades in total this school actually has. Perhaps it doesn't just have college level, but high school levels as well...?' There he was again, pondering and calculating. It couldn't be helped though--his nature, that is. After all, his main priority was to investigate the school. Thus, even her short response was helpful to him.

Upon scanning the room, he took note of its spacious and decororative assets. Kalen knew that the school could certainly spare a few bucks, but he hadn't realized that it was this loaded. An HD television, a mini fridge, and two full-size beds for each room. Including the decent bathrooms and roomy closets. Perchance, living in the dorms for awhile would be better than he thought it would...? He was now positive that they must have some sort of gym if they possessed all of this. The gym would be a nice place to pass his spare time in. Keeping his body condition was important as an agent after all. Subsequent to shunning his phone away, Kalen looked up with faint surprise when he perceived Maddie's voice. He genuinely wasn't expecting her to speak again so soon, but of course, his mind was open to anything at the moment. 'I wish...' he thought to himself flatly. Proves to show that he'd even rather have a 'boyfriend' calling his phone than any of his bosses.

And he wasn't gay. That was just how much he currently despised his bosses and/or guardians. "Well...I guess he could be considered a legal guardian of mine." Kalen replied as he rubbed the side of his head with uncertainty, subconsciously tucking some of his hair behind his somewhat pointy ear. Without much awareness, he had unveiled the actuality of his 'legal guardian' situation. Virtually, his bosses were his guardians. They had taken him in when he was very small, around the time that his mother abruptly decided that she longer wanted him. At least, that was what he'd thought until he discovered that she died a few days later. "Really?" Kalen questioned after Maddie stated her mom never left her alone during the first few days. "Uh, wow...That's...a lot of calls." He stared at the phone's screen with astonishment in his eyes. "She must be a sweet mom to miss her daughter so soon...and persistent too." Kalen said, chuckling. He couldn't help but wonder why she had placed her into a boarding school in the first place though, if she was going to miss her that much.
 
"Overbearing is more like it," Maddie corrected. She couldn't help but wonder about Kalen's own 'guardian' but she figured her roommate would open up to her in time. After all, if she wanted to mention it now, she would have. "But she didn't really want me to come back here," she went on. "However the school offered to pay for my tuition since I graduated from their high school. And frankly, it'd be stupid to say no to that kind of offer. It seems like everyone needs to save money these days, my family is no exception." Maddie sat up from her bed and hauled her suitcase up, pulling out her clothes as she decided it was finally time to unpack.

"It's not all bad though. The school is huge and has a really good rep, and the college campus has certain buildings around the city so you're not all cramped up like in high school. And there's not nearly as many restrictions on the college students as there are on the high schoolers," she said as she messily shoved her somewhat folded clothes into one of the closets in their huge room. She kicked off her shoes into the closet, which caused one of her tall socks to slide down her leg, making her look like more of a mess than before. "I swear, I'm not always this much of slob," she insisted. "Though I am most of the time. So don't say I didn't warn you," she said, cracking a smile at her new roommate. Maddie finished putting her clothes away very quickly since she hadn't brought much with her. She figured that if she needed clothes, she could always go shopping in the city which wasn't lacking in shopping districts.

The girl then sat down on the floor as she pulled out her favorite console and connected it to their television. Oh man, these games are going to look so nice on this t.v., she thought excitedly. Her gaming habit wasn't something a lot of people knew about her. Honestly, it started with playing with her brothers when she had nothing better to do. Eventually, she bought her own system so she had something to do on her lazy days without actually going out and doing something. It was perfect for her. "So tell me about yourself, Kalen," Maddie said as she connected some of the wires. "What brought you to this school of all places?" She felt like her roommate knew enough about her by this point, perhaps it was time to let her roommate talk.

Maddie was like that sometimes. She sometimes got caught up in her own babble that she forgets to let other people talk. It was a bad habit of hers that she knows she needs to work on and she hoped her roommate didn't misinterpret it as Maddie being disinterested in what she has to say.
 
Okay, so maybe calling seven times in a row would be considered overbearing, but even so....Kalen still thought it was kind of sweet in a peculiar manner. After taking note of the fact that this college also came along with a complimenting high school, he listened intently to her situation. College must have been a rather difficult time for both the students and their families, whether it be financially, emotionally, or academically. Sometimes it was nearly inevitable that the student would have to move into the dorms, especially if it was a college of great distance from their home. "Yeah..." Kalen agreed softly. "Tuition is definitely way too expensive nowadays." he commented in a flat tone, but with an absent-minded touch to it. Pausing, he caught sight of Maddie pulling out her clothes in order to initiate the unpacking process. Should he begin unpacking as well? 'Eh, I'll do it later.' Kalen mentally dismissed.

Simply watching his roommate unpack made him feel...exhausted. It certaintly looked tiresome. Above all, he wasn't in the mood to be reminded with his female attire that he'd be cross-dressing for at least a semester. Kalen blinked blankly; he wasn't expecting her to say that it wasn't all bad. The majority of it sounded tedious enough, but he failed to recall that this school was most likely all worth it in an academic sense. Not to mention that it wasn't half-bad living in the dorms with a roommate. Though, the rooms had better be nice with how expensive tuition was. Kalen had aspired to complete his 'research' on the school prior to applying. That way, he wouldn't stumble too much with his words if questioned about the college. Well, aside from the academic benefits, it appeared that the students were allowed their freedom with minimal restrictions. Good to know, considering that he'd probably have to venture off on his own to search around on occasion.

A faint smile smeared into the supposedly young woman's lips when Maddie mentioned that she wasn't always this much of a slob, but was most of the time. Kalen laughed slighty. "That makes two of us. I'm definitely not that neat." he admitted truthfully. He was a tad messy when it came to organization. However, that didn't seize him from attempting to due so thanks to his even sloppier bosses. Seeing as how they barely cleaned up after themselves, Kalen found himself taking care of most of the cleaning duties. That was a mild habit--to be messy for awhile, but then after the mess piles up, it would be cleansed automatically. 'Yep, they've got me programmed like a freaking robot.' Kalen thought with another one of his mental sighs attached. Subsequent to pondering about how long he'd be able to procrastinate with the dreaded unpacking, his smile broadened in Maddie's direction.

'Hmm. Do women usually talk this much? I don't mind, but it's interesting the way they open up to each other. My bosses barely even talk to me this much about themselves, and they've known me longer than she has.' he analyzed with intrigue, just as she stepped away from the closet to sit on the floor. 'It does save me the talking. I'm more of a listener anyway. Besides, she just revealed plenty of information about the school that I wasn't exactly aware of...' Suddenly, Kalen's irises brightened. Why? Because Maddie had pulled out a gaming console. He had always wanted to play videogames, but his guardians never allowed him to do so. They felt it would become an obstacle to his duties. That never stopped him from fantasizing though...and playing his friend's console in secrecy whenever he possessed the spare time. Eventually, Kalen tore his eyes away from the console.

It was when Maddie asked him to tell her about himself. Nervously, he began to smooth down his dark purple skirt. Tell her about himself? What was he to say? He certainly couldn't tell her that he was an agent investigating the school. And he most certainly couldn't state that he was male. No, because he figured that that would get him stabbed by either Maddie or his bosses. Basically, he would be in a heap of trouble. Ultimately, he eased off at her following query, mainly because it provided him with something to say due its higher specificity. What brings Kalen to this school? 'Come on, think...' he urged himself, quickly fabricating a story. "Ah, well you see... It was actually my guardian's idea. I never really thought of transferring to this school until he'd mentioned it. But then I realized I wanted to go to the school after visiting. And now I'm just glad that he pointed this school out to me..." Kalen trailed off. He truly didn't mean to, but...well, the screen to the television had been turned on and he was now gazing at what her game console had brought the screen to. Sure, he was a decent listener, but his attention span was occasionally 'off'.

And soon enough, he immediately recognized the game when it ceased on the trademark 'Start' intermission screen. "Oh my god... This game is awesome!" he stated with a hint of excitement in his voice. He leaned forward to obtain a closer view. "I can't believe you have this game!" Playing around with his friend's videogames had exposed to him a couple of popular and somewhat popular titles. He merely thought it was an interesting coincidence for her to have the same game that he tended to play the majority of the time.
 
If Maddie thought Kalen's explanation was vague, she didn't let it show, choosing better to just nod in understanding to her roommate's mini-backstory as she hooked up some more cables. Maddie realized that some people did take longer to open up than others and she figured Kalen would be her roommate for a very long time to come which would give them plenty of time to get to know each other. Or ignore each other, depending on how the whole sharing a living space thing worked out. Maddie wouldn't ever admit it or let it show, but she was nervous about the whole roommate thing from the start. When the admissions told her that there were no single rooms left, she recalled all the horror stories she's read on the internet about how terrible having a roommate could be. She was pleasantly surprised that her roommate seemed normal enough (if you exclude the whole headbanging incident from before) and at the very least was trying to be social -- which sometimes Maddie couldn't even muster up the energy to do.

Maddie jumped slightly at Kalen's exclamation of excitement when she turned on her system, and the third-person treasure-hunter shooter game she had been playing before she packed her stuff up and moved it all up to the college appeared on her screen. She looked back at the girl behind her and gave a bit of a lazy smile. "Good," she said, hooking up a second controller. "Because we're going to play co-op. And later, take advantage of our dormitory's wi-fi."

Maddie decided to stay seated on the floor as she went through the main screen and clicked on co-op mode. She looked up and behind her to the figure on the bed and raised an eyebrow in question. "You do know the controls, no?" she asked, the loading screen music playing in the background. She turned back as the war-torn Middle Eastern town in the video game appeared on the tv screen. "Right now, we're after this ancient artifacts located in one of the many temples in this city, but be careful because there's shooters everywhere and you really don't want to get caught," she explained.
 
The young lad didn't mean to sound over-excited at the sight of a mere game, but...well, his reaction occurred before he could even adjust it. Let alone scan it over to ensure that it was an appropriate response. Perhaps it was not rendered too big of a deal though. He was quick to calm down and flash a sheepish smile in her direction, as if to silently apologize for essentially yelling. 'Whoops... I didn't mean to sound so excited...' he thought, glancing down at his lap. However, steel-blue irises almost instantly brightened when Maddie said they were going to play co-op. Happily, Kalen somehow twisted around in his seat and slid across the bed on his stomach in order to reach the edge of the bed where the second controller's range laid. Leaning over, he picked up the additional controller and subconsciously scanned the buttons over. It had been a little while since he'd played this particular videogame, so he had to think about it prior to answering her query about whether he knew the controls or not. "Of course!" he replied to her shortly after, grinning.

Subsequent to reflecting, he realized that he did remember the controls to the game in spite of not playing for awhile. He temporarily forgot that he had played it so much that it was most likely embedded into his brain. As the loading screen passed on and commenced the actual game, Maddie briefly explained the background story. Kalen definitely appreciated that since he rarely played the story mode and hadn't gotten very far into it. He would always join in on one of the online matches available through the wi-fi features. "Hmm, okay..." Kalen said with a nod of his head whilst processing the information she had given him about the level. Honestly, the young man didn't think he would obtain a roommate quite like this. Considering his lack of experience with the opposite sex, he merely thought he would get a roommate that fit the stereotypical female college student. Or perhaps, he assumed he would get such a roommate in order to prepare himself mentally. To think that he had already discovered a similar interest between her and himself... What luck, right?

Kalen remained on his stomach on the bed as Maddie remained on the floor. Of course, his upper body was upright in order to comfortably accomodate the control in his grasp (without having his arms lose their circulation in the middle of the game), but his legs were also upright in the common position. He subconsciously allowed his sock-covered feet to sway gently behind himself through midair, compelling him to be relatively thankful that his bosses had placed him into a long skirt. Even so, that didn't stop him from wearing a pair of black shorts underneath. It was merely to ensure that nothing would look 'odd' down there if someone happened to catch a glimpse beneath the skirt. In the virtual world, Kalen's character had already shot a couple of the computers. Though, at first instance, he was clipped by the enemy's bullet while attempting not the get caught. Thanks to the bullet's trail, as well as the red indentation that notified the player of what direction the fire had come from, he had dealt with the attacker before the word passed onto the other computers. From there, Kalen adjusted back to the game mode he'd possessed beforehand, accelerating in his performance at a decent rate.

It wasn't too difficult to get back into the mode; playing online with other players had always been a tad more challenging than computers. All the while taking care of himself, he made sure to watch Maddie's back as well, just in case there happened to be an enemy that she didn't see. And after taking care of the first couple of enemies, he attempted to stay out of view in order to achieve the main goal at hand.