Between her classes, Astrid escaped to her usual daily getaway beside the school building. She eluded nearly everyone and always seized this opportunity to have a moments peace away from the cumbersome staff, the workload and their rules.
It was veritable time, perhaps the only time for her, during the school hours for a smoke break, after all. And, yeah, disregarding the smoke ban on campus.
Her cell phone vibrated within the purse dangling on her arm. Astrid sucked in a draw of her cig and leaned against the brick wall, digging out the phone and flipping it open. A text message.
Smiling lightly, she'd relay a few messages, her attention momentarily drawn from keeping an eye out for anyone unnecessary who might stumble in on her exclusive time.
He'd given him the slip. Sometimes people left crap shoved in a crack in the doors to escape for smoke breaks or go to their cars for something or whatever, and that meant he'd be able to slip back in again without wasting time cramming anything in the crack himself.
Harold pressed against the wall and waited, hoping desperately Zach Peterson would be too stupid to check outside.
Fortunately, he would be proven to be right.
He was so busy peeking at the door, he didn't even notice Astrid was out there.
When something brushed against her, the blonde squeaked in surprise and she lost grip on her cell in mid-texting, dropping the phone right on the ground.
Oh fuc--
Instead of swiping it up, Astrid cursed under her breath and hurriedly extinguished the cigarette, grinding it down on the wall on her opposite side, hopefully out of sight of the newcomer, then she shot a wide-eyed stare at Harold.
Fate, being the forced loner that she was, was sitting at one of the corner tables of the cafeteria. The remains of her lunch (homemade; her mother never gave her money to buy it) were set out in front of her, and her nose was currently buried in a book. Every once in a while she'd look up, eyes nervously darting around the room. She was keeping an eye out for a certain trio of girls, already planning a quick escape if they spotted her.
Other than that, she seemed like your average Fairplay teenager relaxing during her lunch break. Feel free to approach!
Tavros is far too shy to actually approach, but on one of her sweeps around the room she might notice him, a table away, giving her a somewhat strange look.
He just can't shake this disjointed feeling, a sense of deja vu only opposite. He barely knows her, except from seeing her around the school and town, but something about it doesn't seem right all of a sudden.
Indeed she noticed him, and Fate's first instinct was to turn away. But... there was something about him. It wasn't just the fact that he didn't have that certain glint in his eyes that all the school bullies had...
"Um... is something wrong?" She said, just loud enough to be heard over the din of the lunchroom, after a few moments of pondering.
Nunnally needed a nice, secluded table to sit at, and all of the others were taken. So it was that she found her way to the one Fate was sitting at.
She really didn't want to sit next to anyone else. That would just be asking for trouble. But today she had no choice. She sat down at the very opposite end of the table from Fate, setting her tray down in front of herself, and tried not to attract attention.
Fate was surprised when she heard the sound of someone sitting in front of her. She looked over the top of her book, curiosity getting the better of her.
She was sure she's seen this girl before... not the weird sense of deja vu she got from the boy in the wheelchair earlier, but she was positive she's seen her around the school once or twice.
"... Hello." It was the first time Fate had initiated a conversation in what seemed like forever, but it didn't seem like it would hurt in this case, so why not?
Lash walked around like a predatory animal grinning. She owned this school. Well, not technically, but as far as popular girls went, she had it made.
"Hey nerd. Still buried in your books? What was your name again?" she shrugged, as if she didn't care. "Whatever. I'll just call you blondie." The girls behind her giggled. "What did you make for yourself? Can't be bothered to eat at the cafeteria? Food not good enough for you?"
The best way to deal with bullies, from Fate's experience, was to just ignore them. Sometimes they got mad, yes, but other times they just got bored and left. So that's exactly what Fate did; kept her gaze focused on her book, and tried her best to pretend she didn't hear the giggling group of girls.
"Unless a cheerleader doesn't blab, I may have to cross going to the Takamachi bakery off of the list of things I can do like a normal person. And if the dreams I've been having lately are any indication, I might be going as crazy as everyone else already thinks I am."
Another day another long slow and pathetic day at work.
Disrespect pouring down on all sides from employers, co-workers and worse of all the students. Jayne absolutely HATED the students. They didn't care about how long it took him to clean the floors. No one cared so long as everything was clean when they came back each day.
So here is our beleaguered maintenance man, feel free to make a mess or torment him in some way or another.
Making his way out of the cafeteria, Jamie was suddenly jostled by one of the other students - not quite with enough force to bowl him over, but certainly hard enough to knock his lunch tray out of his hands, sending its contents scattering across the floor. Peas rolled everywhere, a half-empty can of soda sluggishly emptied onto the linoleum, and the barely-touched mystery meat...
...had wound up right on the janitor's shoe. Jamie grimaced, embarrassment washing over him as the other students roared their amusement. Swearing under his breath, he glanced up at the janitor, looking thoroughly abashed. "I'm, uh, I'm sorry. Lemme just - "
Dropping to a crouch he snatched up some scattered napkins and set to cleaning the remnants of his lunch off the man's shoe.
Jayne cocked an eyebrow and as Jamie bent to clean up the mess he lifted his boot shaking the meat from it, "Get up kid I'll take care of it." He grumbled suddenly feeling embarrassed for the kid. The laughter of the students was harsh and he felt it washing over him. Familiar but horribly uncomfortable even when it wasn't aimed at him directly.
Corinne knew she could pull these stunts off. It was just a flip here, twist there, and plenty of smiling---if it's wide enough and you move quickly enough, they'll definitely believe you have spirit. And that was the key.
Just as she'd practiced, the girl positioned herself in her teammates' waiting arms and arced upward. She closed her eyes to block out the glaring winter sun, only to see a flash of green light behind her eyelids. In that instant, her body felt not quite her own, as if it was on fire---but not in a painful way. It was difficult to explain.
Unfortunately, it was just enough of a distraction to keep her from twisting the way she was supposed to, causing her to collide painfully with the mat when she didn't land where the others expected her to.
Ah, that was the team captain. Hands on hips, eyes ice cold, demanding an explanation. Corinne appeared fine, and she'd better be fine---or the consequences would be much worse.
Corinne gaped at her captain. Of course it must look like her fault, it wasn't every day that such an odd feeling distracted her at the height of a jump, but it was to be expected. This is the elite squad, as she'd often said, not the little league.
"I'm sorry!" Corinne rolled up to a sitting position, checking on her limbs. "The...sun's glare distracted me."
Tell them she'd seen a green light? Are you kidding? She's be off the team and in a hospital before the day ended.
Martin reluctantly hung up the pay phone near the doors with a sigh and listened to the quarters clink on down. He'd just wanted to talk to his dad, maybe get some of the mess in his head sorted out, but he'd gotten a total brushoff and didn't want to waste any more money. It wasn't an emergency or even anything he could quite put his finger on, but something in the back of his mind had been bothering him since this morning and he couldn't seem to shrug it off.
On any normal day he would have tried to ignore it, maybe clamp on some headphones and let Eminem drown it out, but...
There was always that one counselor, Kang. He'd always been pretty decent to everybody. Tavros didn't really need much, just maybe to ask a few questions, get this weird feeling off his chest, and then he'd stop bothering everyone.
He rolls to Kang's office, hesitates briefly by the door. When he doesn't hear any voices, he peeks in.
"Uhh... sorry to bother you. Do you think, maybe, we could talk? I mean, unless you're busy."
Kang recognized the kid from around school, as one of the bullies' targets, but he'd never gotten the chance to talk with him before.
"Of course. Come in. Your name is Martin, right?" He fought down an urge to get up and open the door all the way for the wheelchair; he was well aware that it could be offensive to the boy.
Martin's never been one to speak up, but this has just been a weird day. Might as well make it weirder by bothering a counselor. He nudges the door open himself and heads in.
He seems a bit surprised that Kang knows his name. He'd always figured he was one of the invisible ones.
"Yeah, you, got it right. But, I dunno, if there's anything you can do."
He kind of half-expected her to not show, which was why he hunkered down, with his bookbag next to his chance, and snagged a copy of Snow Crash from a nearby sci-fi display--he still hadn't gotten around to reading that one yet.
Upon entering the library, she navigated through the rows of shelves, library attendants, and desks until she finally spotted him in the far back table by the windows.
Astrid bit her lip and eased forward to move closer.
Strangely, she suddenly felt unsure how to approach him and her pace slowed, though she eventually came to stop beside the table where he sat, heavily immersed in his book. And she could only avert her gaze, eyes downcast as she stood nearby, student bag held tentatively against her chest.
After what happened, Astrid couldn't shake off the guilt burning inside her. It's so... weird. She shouldn't feel this bad, should she? Besides that, what were Harold's feelings now? Yes, he had every right to hold a grudge against her.
So she shifted awkwardly and braced for any backlash.
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Somewhere outside.
Between her classes, Astrid escaped to her usual daily getaway beside the school building. She eluded nearly everyone and always seized this opportunity to have a moments peace away from the cumbersome staff, the workload and their rules.
It was veritable time, perhaps the only time for her, during the school hours for a smoke break, after all. And, yeah, disregarding the smoke ban on campus.
Her cell phone vibrated within the purse dangling on her arm. Astrid sucked in a draw of her cig and leaned against the brick wall, digging out the phone and flipping it open. A text message.
Smiling lightly, she'd relay a few messages, her attention momentarily drawn from keeping an eye out for anyone unnecessary who might stumble in on her exclusive time.
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Harold pressed against the wall and waited, hoping desperately Zach Peterson would be too stupid to check outside.
Fortunately, he would be proven to be right.
He was so busy peeking at the door, he didn't even notice Astrid was out there.
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When something brushed against her, the blonde squeaked in surprise and she lost grip on her cell in mid-texting, dropping the phone right on the ground.
Oh fuc--
Instead of swiping it up, Astrid cursed under her breath and hurriedly extinguished the cigarette, grinding it down on the wall on her opposite side, hopefully out of sight of the newcomer, then she shot a wide-eyed stare at Harold.
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Cafeteria
Other than that, she seemed like your average Fairplay teenager relaxing during her lunch break. Feel free to approach!
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He just can't shake this disjointed feeling, a sense of deja vu only opposite. He barely knows her, except from seeing her around the school and town, but something about it doesn't seem right all of a sudden.
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"Um... is something wrong?" She said, just loud enough to be heard over the din of the lunchroom, after a few moments of pondering.
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She really didn't want to sit next to anyone else. That would just be asking for trouble. But today she had no choice. She sat down at the very opposite end of the table from Fate, setting her tray down in front of herself, and tried not to attract attention.
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She was sure she's seen this girl before... not the weird sense of deja vu she got from the boy in the wheelchair earlier, but she was positive she's seen her around the school once or twice.
"... Hello." It was the first time Fate had initiated a conversation in what seemed like forever, but it didn't seem like it would hurt in this case, so why not?
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Lash walked around like a predatory animal grinning. She owned this school. Well, not technically, but as far as popular girls went, she had it made.
"Hey nerd. Still buried in your books? What was your name again?" she shrugged, as if she didn't care. "Whatever. I'll just call you blondie." The girls behind her giggled. "What did you make for yourself? Can't be bothered to eat at the cafeteria? Food not good enough for you?"
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And yet something made her snark back to one of them. Everyone laughed uneasily, but stared at her for a moment.
Well, whatever, she got up to grab a bottled water, tossing her long hair behind her carelessly.
Kang's Office
"Tired of seeing me in here yet?"
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Disrespect pouring down on all sides from employers, co-workers and worse of all the students. Jayne absolutely HATED the students. They didn't care about how long it took him to clean the floors. No one cared so long as everything was clean when they came back each day.
So here is our beleaguered maintenance man, feel free to make a mess or torment him in some way or another.
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...had wound up right on the janitor's shoe. Jamie grimaced, embarrassment washing over him as the other students roared their amusement. Swearing under his breath, he glanced up at the janitor, looking thoroughly abashed. "I'm, uh, I'm sorry. Lemme just - "
Dropping to a crouch he snatched up some scattered napkins and set to cleaning the remnants of his lunch off the man's shoe.
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Practice Field
Corinne knew she could pull these stunts off. It was just a flip here, twist there, and plenty of smiling---if it's wide enough and you move quickly enough, they'll definitely believe you have spirit. And that was the key.
Just as she'd practiced, the girl positioned herself in her teammates' waiting arms and arced upward. She closed her eyes to block out the glaring winter sun, only to see a flash of green light behind her eyelids. In that instant, her body felt not quite her own, as if it was on fire---but not in a painful way. It was difficult to explain.
Unfortunately, it was just enough of a distraction to keep her from twisting the way she was supposed to, causing her to collide painfully with the mat when she didn't land where the others expected her to.
((NPCing a brief thread here))
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Ah, that was the team captain. Hands on hips, eyes ice cold, demanding an explanation. Corinne appeared fine, and she'd better be fine---or the consequences would be much worse.
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"I'm sorry!" Corinne rolled up to a sitting position, checking on her limbs. "The...sun's glare distracted me."
Tell them she'd seen a green light? Are you kidding? She's be off the team and in a hospital before the day ended.
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Kang's Office, Part II!
On any normal day he would have tried to ignore it, maybe clamp on some headphones and let Eminem drown it out, but...
There was always that one counselor, Kang. He'd always been pretty decent to everybody. Tavros didn't really need much, just maybe to ask a few questions, get this weird feeling off his chest, and then he'd stop bothering everyone.
He rolls to Kang's office, hesitates briefly by the door. When he doesn't hear any voices, he peeks in.
"Uhh... sorry to bother you. Do you think, maybe, we could talk? I mean, unless you're busy."
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"Of course. Come in. Your name is Martin, right?" He fought down an urge to get up and open the door all the way for the wheelchair; he was well aware that it could be offensive to the boy.
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He seems a bit surprised that Kang knows his name. He'd always figured he was one of the invisible ones.
"Yeah, you, got it right. But, I dunno, if there's anything you can do."
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At the Library Near the School...
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Astrid bit her lip and eased forward to move closer.
Strangely, she suddenly felt unsure how to approach him and her pace slowed, though she eventually came to stop beside the table where he sat, heavily immersed in his book. And she could only avert her gaze, eyes downcast as she stood nearby, student bag held tentatively against her chest.
After what happened, Astrid couldn't shake off the guilt burning inside her. It's so... weird. She shouldn't feel this bad, should she? Besides that, what were Harold's feelings now? Yes, he had every right to hold a grudge against her.
So she shifted awkwardly and braced for any backlash.
"Hey."
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