Sweet Sixteen: Back to Brooklake (Student/Prof Spots Always Available!) - Part II | Monday - English Literature

[Alissa888]

http://i38.tinypic.com/2ebhe02.jpg
It’s most likely your junior year of high school, and you’ve finally hit that notoriously significant age: 16. You’ve made it through the first two years, and have settled in to your own particular group of friends. It is from these groups of friends that cliques have spawned, forcing students to distance themselves from one another in certain cliques. Brooklake is not your average and boring high school—fights, break-ups, make-ups, outrageous field trips, and parties are always occurring, and there is never a lack of drama. But with the hostilities and alliances between cliques, many a time you will find yourself caught in the crossfire. Whether you make friends, or make enemies—you will have to find a way to survive high school, or your sweet sixteen won’t be quite so sweet after all.

This is a continuation. Part I can be found here (http://forums.sims-community.com/showthread.php?t=61544).

http://i36.tinypic.com/3468eo5.jpg

+ All Forum and Roleplay rules apply.
+ Must be a teen sim (all sims are assumed to be the same age, so the classes will be mixed if they are a student. Must be an adult/elder sim if you want them to become a professor.
+ Characters may be either Male or Female.
+ You may apply for three characters maximum. Special allowance may be made in the case of teachers.
+ If you haven’t posted once in a fortnight (without providing us with a reason beforehand as to why you’ll be gone) you may be removed to make room for members more willing to participate. However, you will receive ample warning beforehand.
+ Try and keep separate posts for OOC down to a minimum.
+ Cursing is permitted, but don’t overuse it. If it gets too profane, you will be warned. Please be certain, however, to censor the use of profane words.
+ You may RP as much as you like (meaning, there is no limit on the number of posts per day) but please DON’T SPAM.
+ Be courteous to other members; even if your characters don’t get along, you still can. Remember, we’re here to have fun!!

http://i36.tinypic.com/zloxe.jpg

((Just a little note before you begin; you can choose to enter as a student who has been attending the school all along, or as a transfer, if you'd like. It’s not mandatory, but if you’d like to have a better idea of how this RP has functioned in the past, I would suggest just quickly skimming over the older RP here (http://forums.sims-community.com/showthread.php?t=61544). This is time-consuming, however, and you are not under any obligation to do so. Also, I require that students be Juniors so that they can all be in class together; if you all would rather be able to have separate grades, we'd have to deal with only having three kids able to RP in a class. Let me know what you'd prefer. If at any point you have questions, feel free to contact me!))

Include this information in your application.

Student Application -
Name:
Age/Class: (automatically 16/Junior)
Clique: Choose from the list below
After School Activity: Choose from the list below
Brief History/Personality Description:
Anything else you might want to add: (Could be a phobia, whether they are a new student or transfer, or any other random tidbits of interest.)
Picture:

Professor Application -
Name:
Age:
Class taught:
Sponsor of: (choose one of the after-school activities)
Brief History/Personality Description:
Anything else you might want to add:
Picture:

http://i34.tinypic.com/2rp4q2o.jpg

Cliques: (feel free to suggest a new clique!)

Jocks
Your typical athlete. Participates in a varsity sport, is well-liked and popular, and has practically everything handed to them on a silver platter. The guys are regular Casanovas, with girls tripping over themselves to get their attention. However, they have a reputation for being a bit on the duller side, and are seen as meat-heads who never use their brain.

Preps
They are the fashionistas, the most popular kids, the cheerleaders, the rich kids. Known for being very beautiful, very well dressed, but also incredibly shallow and manipulative, as well as self-centered and egotistical. Furthermore, they’re often outrageous flirts and teases, constantly playing with the emotions of others.

Trouble-makers/Badasses
These are the kids you don’t want to mess with. Tough as nails, they walk around with a huge chip on their shoulder, prepared to strike at anything that dares to cross them. They are known for being somewhat antisocial and aggressive, but they posses the smarts that the equally brawny jocks may lack. However, unlike the jocks, when they start fights—they are almost always the ones to get the blame. If you’re a Badass, chances are that you’ll be spending a lot of time in detention.

Achievers
These are the brilliant kids; the ones who will be owning the multi-million dollar corporations when they’re older. They ace all their tests, get practically all A’s, and never miss a day of school. Despite their impeccable work ethic and standards, they are often given the label of nerds, geeks, and teacher’s pets. Although they may be picked on in high school, they’ll probably be the ones having the last laugh.

Skateboarders/Surfers
These students a the most laid-back, relaxed kids in school. With their mellow and calm attitudes, they hardly let anything phase them and never go out of their way to create drama. They’re known to be the slackers, and this is often revealed through their grades. While they may not be stupid, they certainly aren’t geniuses, and they’re notorious for being extremely lazy and a bit of the class clown.

Goths
The perpetually troubled, deep, emotional kids. They don the darkest clothing they can find, wear thick, heavy, and dramatic makeup. Often, they are incredibly pale. These are some of the most artistic kids in school, however. Be it poetry, painting, or music, one thing is for sure—they’ve mastered one type or the other, as a means to express their angst and deepest emotions. Sadly, they are often given the label of freaks, because they can be misunderstood.

Normies
The average kids. They don’t really stand out in any particular thing. They’re not over-achievers, but they’re not under-achievers either. They show up to school, make their way through the day, and maintain a balance between school and their own lives. Because they are labeled as boring, they often blend into the background, not really fitting into any one clique. The normies are often the wallflowers, but when you get to know them, they often bloom before your very eyes, or shrivel up and prove they’re as boring as they seem.

The Oddballs
The exact opposite of the Normies, the Oddballs stand out like a sore thumb. People can point them out a mile away, with their eccentric clothing and their loud mouths. Lighthearted and outgoing, they talk to anyone and anything that crosses their paths, not fearing social boundaries. While their free-spirited nature and unique ways can be a good thing in its own light, they are often looked down upon by others and labeled ‘obnoxious’ or simply 'out-there'.

http://i34.tinypic.com/2pqj2u1.jpg

After School Activities: (feel free to suggest more!)

Drama Club
Members – Loren Dansen, Leigh Grayson, Kim Ames, Preston Hollister, Nadia Dering

School Newspaper
Members – Natalie Cardew, Judas Wakefield, Donnie Kang, Lea White, Kassel Dylan, Carter DuPont


Sports/Cheerleading
Members
Sports – Josh Brennan, Matt Sidle, Mitchell Gaithers
Cheerleading – Dylan Bishop, Katie Byrd, Melissa Carson

Art Club
Members –

AV Club
Members –

Music Club (Choir/Band)
Members – Tyler Young, Lilith Fitzgerald

Foreign Language Club
Members –

Upcoming Activities: (Open to suggestions)
TBA

NPC Staff

Dean – Professor Kevin Laramie (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Alissa888/Laramie.jpg)
Principal – Professor Henry Maltby (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Alissa888/Maltby.jpg)
Vice Principal – Professor Irene McCarthy (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Alissa888/IreneM.jpg)
School Administrative Secretary – Jessica Balham (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Alissa888/Jessica.jpg)
Head Receptionist – Mrs. Paige Latimer (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Alissa888/Paige.jpg)
School Nurse – Rosa Navarro (http://www.crimson-tale.com/SweetSixteen/Downloads/Rosa-Navarro1.jpg)
Janitor – Eduardo Jimenez (http://www.crimson-tale.com/SweetSixteen/Downloads/Eduardo-Jimenez1.jpg)

Maths Teacher – Mr. Carlo Benetti
English Teacher – Professor Barnaby Rubelein
Art Teacher – Mrs. Veronica Hartford
Biology Teacher – Mrs. Matilda Jaym
Chemistry Teacher – Mr George Carpenter
Physics Teacher – Mr Lawrence Monroe
Foreign Languages – Ms Sylvie LaClaire (French), Mrs. Carmella Caprio (Italian), Mr. Gabriel Alonso (Spanish), Mr. Hans Ackerman (German)
Geography Teacher – Mr. James Walker
History Teacher – Mrs. Kayla Carstens
Media Studies Teacher – Ms Isabella Diaz
Religious Education Teacher – Ms Iris Lin
Drama Teacher – Mrs. Gwen Etamas
Sports Coach – Mr Alistair Benwick



NPC Students

Aaron Eaton (http://www.crimson-tale.com/SweetSixteen/Downloads/Aaron-Eaton1.jpg) – Jock, Abby Vigilanti’s friend.
Mark Nielsen (http://www.crimson-tale.com/SweetSixteen/Downloads/Mark-Nielsen1.jpg) – Jock, Vice Captain of football team, Dylan Bishop’s (ex-)boyfriend and best friend to Mitchell Gaithers.
Gavin Messner (http://www.crimson-tale.com/SweetSixteen/Downloads/Gavin-Messner1.jpg) – Jock, best friends with Mitchell Gaithers and Dean Carruthers.
Dean Carruthers (http://www.crimson-tale.com/SweetSixteen/Downloads/Dean-Carruthers1.jpg) – Jock, best friends with Gavin Messner.
Caroline Webster (http://www.estatevaults.com/bol/%20%20Lindsay%20Lohan.jpg) – Cheerleader, Marie-Elisabeth Normandy’s friend.
Amanda Stroud (http://www.crimson-tale.com/SweetSixteen/Downloads/Amanda-Stroud1.jpg) – Achiever, Matt Sidle’s love-struck minion.
Madison Fenway (http://www.crimson-tale.com/SweetSixteen/Downloads/Madison-Fenway1.jpg) – Prep, Matt Sidle’s girlfriend at the time of his one-night stand with Dylan Bishop.
Ashlee McKenzie (http://www.crimson-tale.com/SweetSixteen/Downloads/Ashlee-McKenzie1.jpg) – Prep, Matt Sidle’s ex-girlfriend.
Melissa Markham – Lacrosse playing bully who attacked Katie Byrd.
Kyle Matherson (http://www.crimson-tale.com/SweetSixteen/Downloads/Kyle-Matherson1.jpg) – Jock, slept with Leigh Grayson and then proceeded to spread rumours about her.
Leon Walters – Track team member who takes Caroline Webster to the dance.
Penny Fitzgerald – Cheerleader freshman, friend of Katie Byrd who is blamed for the Silver Nitrate prank.
Kellie Anderson (http://www.crimson-tale.com/SweetSixteen/Downloads/Kellie-Anderson1.jpg) – Prep cheerleader.
Jacqui Giannopoulous (http://www.crimson-tale.com/SweetSixteen/Downloads/Jacqui-Giannopoulos1.jpg) – Prep cheerleader
Emma Brixton (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Alissa888/EmmaBrixton.jpg) – Geek, pays Tyler Young for protection from bullies.
Neville Highams (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Alissa888/NevilleHighams.jpg) – Geek, pays Tyler Young for protection from bullies.
Shane Baysten (http://www.crimson-tale.com/SweetSixteen/Downloads/Shane-Baysten1.jpg) – Surfer, Senior stoner indebted to Tyler Young.

And last but not least...

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Jocks:
1. Josh Brennan (http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?p=2547752#post2547752) - Alissa
2. Ethan Collins (http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?p=3113651#post3113651) - Lanawinst
3.
4.
5.

Preps:
1. Matthew Sidle (http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?p=2547754#post2547754) - Atropa
2. Dylan Bishop (http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?p=2547753#post2547753) - Alissa
3. Brilee Ward (http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?p=3308508#post3308508) - whitewater
4.
5.

Goths/Emo:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Normies:
1. Riley Martens (http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?p=3088458#post3088458) - Atropa
2.
3.
4.
5.

Achievers:
1. Natalie Cardew (http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?p=2547751#post2547751) - Alissa
2. Deborah Jensen (http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?p=3082137#post3082137) - Lanawinst
3.
4.
5.

Skateboarders/Surfers:
1. Lauren Loughlen (http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?p=3274450#post3274450) - WLK360
2.
3.
4.
5.

Troublemakers:
1.Tyler Young (http://www.modthesims2.com/showthread.php?p=2547756#post2547756) -Atropa
2. Lilith Fitzgerald (http://forums.sims-community.com/showpost.php?p=1356802&postcount=41) - Ghanima Atreides
3.
4.
5.

Oddballs:
1.Faye Griffith (http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?p=2756966#post2756966) - Ghanima
2. Tehya Jenkins (http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?p=3113482#post3113482) - TayrynJaneway
3.
4.
5.

[Alissa888]

Name:

Natalie Cardew

Age/Class:

Sixteen/Seventeen, Junior

Clique:

Achiever (ex-prep)

After School Activity:

Editor of School Paper (also photographer and occasional writer for paper)

Brief History/Personality Description:

Natalie Cardew was absolutely perfect. She was beautiful, charming, popular and very clever. And of course, she had the perfect life, rich, doting parents, the school idol as a boyfriend, Parker, and a bright future.

Now, just as most of the people whose lives fit that description, Natalie was very shallow and self-absorbed, everything that meant anything to her was always centred on her; there was simply no room for anyone else with an ego as big as Natalie’s. And she played games, cruel, manipulative games with those less that her – of which there were plenty. She relished in her apparent superiority, she took pride in the desperate envy she incited and she knew exactly how to make it last.

Or so she thought.

With a steadfast mind like hers, there was no hope for redemption in her iniquitous ways, not without something so rarely dramatic. However, Natalie was either very lucky or very unlucky, for that very unlikely quandary played itself out to teach her a very precious lesson.

Parker was a year older than Natalie, and very talented at basketball, with an equally dazzling future ahead of him; he’d managed to snag a scholarship for Duke’s for the forthcoming year. However, it was such the case of Natalie’s mind games that they were simply inescapable, especially for those close to her. Having led him to believe that he’d simply lose her interest once the school year was over, Natalie, not realising she’d actually struck a raw nerve regarding his fear of drastic change, soon grew bored of the game while Parker had taken it to heart.

They were at a house party; some random teenager’s parents had gone away for the weekend and thus had inadvertently left the place to turn into a jungle hosting teens running amuck. Of course, Natalie was invited, practically the guest of honour and she made it a point to tease Parker by deliberately avoiding him in favour of others’ company. However, whether it was because he truly wasn’t dealing with stress in general all that well or whether Natalie had truly hurt him, he managed to delve into a drunken stupor and then stumbled upon a medicine cabinet.

He didn’t take the pills, not right then. Instead, he found Natalie, rather managed to corner her in the bathroom and decided to brandish the bottle at her in an attempt to get her to see things his way. The problem was, Natalie was too wrapped up in her own world to actually see what it was that bothered him, and in any case, given his reaction over it, she’d have probably hurt him some more over it. However, having him, drunk and aggressive, confront her alone truly wasn’t the best of ideas for both of them.

So, either out of fear or callous frustration, when Parker threatened to overdose, she simply egged him on, only to find, to her utter dismay, that he actually did go ahead with it.

She just didn’t know what to do. He was already drunk and adding Lord knows what drugs to the mix was just…. She had to do something fast and, being rather inebriated herself, she yielded to irrational reasoning.

First off, no-one could know about it, a suicide attempt, deliberate or otherwise, could cost him his scholarship, and she’d already messed him up enough. Secondly the ambulance might not actually get here fast enough and it’d be terrible for both of them if this got out. And thirdly, it was just shame, because she felt it was her fault because she played with him until he hit breaking point and then egged him on with his cry for help. She didn’t want anyone to know. The only option was to drive him to the hospital herself.

And so, she did, with Parker falling in and out of consciousness and continually requesting, begging and demanding that she pull over so that they could ‘talk about it’ while she was busy trying to save his life. In a sudden moment, he grabbed the steering wheel, wresting it from her control – Natalie’s reflexes a little dampened from her own alcohol consumption to react appropriately – sending the car hurtling into a ditch.

She was fine, a few stitches, bruises and sprains, but Parker ended up in a coma. His liver managed to give up on him and made his condition worse before he was eventually stabilised, still in a coma. His parents refused to give up on him and Natalie, facing charges of reckless endangerment, was only given a three month driving ban and group therapy over alcohol abuse, all thanks to her lawyer father passing the circumstances off as a young girl acting under duress – which, granted, wasn’t far from the truth.

It did change Natalie. She was horrified at her behaviour, disgusted by herself and her friends, at the inconsiderate manipulation running rampant in their lives. It was uncalled for and its effects were devastating. Worse was the fact that Parker’s friends and family were doing her no favours over it and thus, her parents decided to move from Illinois, uprooting Natalie right in the middle of the year to transfer to a new school.

She is almost a different person, more depth and better principles cultivated for atonement if anything. She had had every idea of what she wanted to do – to basically be famous, an actress, a fashion designer, whatever – but now, she wasn’t so sure. She liked writing, photography, acting and design, that was all she knew and well, she has a little time to figure it out.

Though no longer quite as exuberant and sparkling as she used to be, she is certainly not shy nor reserved, simply more observant, thoughtful and philosophical than most and still as appealing as ever, though now with a more enticing nature than glamorous intimidation.

However, personalities are never truly shaken off and when pushed to it, the dangerous Alpha girl makes a reappearance... so getting on her bad side - though far more difficult to accomplish these days - is an invitation to be destroyed.

Anything else you might want to add:

New transfer, loves Wasabi and has a grand fear of birds, especially pigeons, in masses, stemming from a childhood incident in Trafalgar Square. She is a very talented actress and photographer. Has a Siberian Husky dog named Cartier (http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Alissa888/sammy.jpg).

Picture:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Alissa888/NatalieProfile.jpg

(((OOC: Okay, very dramatic, but they’re teens and this kind of thing happens way too often :shrug: Also, the age thing is a little off, but yup, it could make sense, I guess?

Also, as always, open to storylines and connections :) )))

[Alissa888]

Name:

Josh Brennan

Age/Class:

Sixteen/Seventeen, Junior

Clique:

Jocks

After School Activity:

Football – Captain/Quarterback of football team

Brief History/Personality Description:

Josh Brennan is awesome.

To say that he is the school’s idol would be an understatement indeed, for Josh fulfilled the Hollywood stereotype of high school hunk and then some. He's gorgeous, funny, charismatic and irresistible to the girls… and he takes full advantage of that, earning himself a good reputation of a Lothario with the ladies. He doesn't even pick wantonly on the other cliques, unless they get in his way, in which case, the game was on.

However, Josh’s true passion lies in football, to which he has almost completely devoted his entire life. Although he’s passionate about it now, Josh had to admit that it wasn’t really where his inclination first was. He, ever since a young age, was interested in art and design, and whenever he got time, he’d make up sketches and concepts for various things; buildings, automobiles, anything and everything.

Now, the most important driving factor in Josh’s life was his father. Daniel Brennan was a media magnate, who’d initially been sponsored by an Ivy League college for varsity sports. However, in his first year, Daniel sustained a serious knee injury that prevented him from playing again. Feeling that he’d had his opportunity stolen from him, he did everything to push Josh into living the life that Daniel had wanted.

Hero-worshipping his father from a young age, Josh had not objected and simply did what he was good at; sports, keeping his interest in art and design secondary to what he thought he wanted more; to be an athlete. And in all fairness, he was excellent at that.

While most people assume he’s a little on the dim side, Josh is a bright boy, though not the brightest of them all. He, like most people, has subjects he excels at and subjects he struggles with. He’s very polite and chivalrous to the ladies, even if he does play the field, he does not cheat with other girls if he’s in a relationship, however short. He makes everyone he’s with feel utterly special… and hey, someone girl out there’s gotta tame him sometime, right? Why does it have to be later on in life?

The truth of the matter was that Josh wasn't ever doing what he wanted to do; it was more pleasing his father than following his own dreams. Even though he appears effortlessly cool, he feels crippled in his own skin and he knows everything that he has now, popularity, adoration and fame, is a result of following his father's dream rather than his own, but if he had the courage to do it, he'd break through, he certainly wants to.

He’s the James Dean of Brooklake, the girls all want him, the boys all want to be him and still, no-one can truly know his secrets... well, not unless they try....

Anything else you might want to add:

Josh's greatest fear is disappointing his father, for so far, the paternal influence has been the most defining factor of his life.
He drives a sports car (http://www.digitalcarwallpapers.com/wallpapers/lamborghini/2003_Lamborghini_Murcielago_RGT_1024x768_01.jpg) given to him as a present from his father for making it as Captain of junior football team and being already approached by leading colleges. He has a little brother called Julian, who's 10 years old and hero-worships Josh the way Josh hero-worships his father.

He knows full well of the names he gets called by the 'lesser people' - Chisel Chest, for one.

He's currently dating Marie-Elisabeth Normandy in what's really a fairytale, and to drive home the celebrity glitz of it, they're actually known collectively as 'Josabeth' - he'd like to find the person who came up with that.

Though he is dating Marie-Elisabeth Normandy, Josh is also romantically involved with Matt Sidle, a relationship which, though secret, predates his involvement with Marie-Elisabeth.

Picture:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Alissa888/Josh2.jpg



Always open to storylines and connections :)

[Alissa888]

Name:

Dylan Bishop

Age/Class:

16

Clique:

Preps

After School Activity:

Cheerleading

Brief History/Personality Description:

The common take on adolescence is that it’s the period of time during which an individual gains maturity and finally becomes a capable adult. In some cases, said level of maturity is one that is already achieved during the childhood of an individual. One such individual is Dylan Bishop.

The first decade of Dylan’s life was one that could only be described as humdrum and ordinary, the adopted child of a geneticist and a hotel manager, she was raised without the knowledge that she was adopted. However, it was a balanced and happy family life, save for the fact that her parents had grown somewhat distanced from each other given their vastly differing careers.

However, when Dylan was eleven years old, her mother one day picked her up from school, as usual, only, she’d packed up most of both Dylan and her own belongings in the trunk of the SUV, telling the little girl that they were “going on a trip to make things better”.
Six months later, with Dylan herself having made contact with her family, she and her mother were found, and her mother was consequently diagnosed with stress disorder, leading to the sudden dissociation that she’d felt from everyone but Dylan. However, resisting treatment, her mother soon revealed that Dylan was adopted, leading to a rift between the eleven year old and only parent she could depend on.

A year later, with Dylan still distant from both parents – particularly her father – for their deception, the Bishop marriage met it’s long drawn out end in divorce. With the custody battle in full swing, the choice was torn between an overworked father and a previously unstable mother who could still relapse. Here, the choice wasn’t quite given to Dylan, but was allowed to be influenced by her. Taking her time with it, she maturely decided that her mother could do without the burden of raising a teenager – though, Dylan had every intention of making the best of the visitation rights – and that she needed to work on her relationship with her father. And, all resting on the realisation that they were her parents, blood related or not. She has made no attempts to contact her birthparents.

So, that was Dylan Bishop, mature, self-sufficient, responsible and balanced. She wasn’t the bitch that preps were meant to be, but she wasn’t cloyingly sweet either. She wasn’t manipulative, but she was far from naïve. She wasn’t selfish, but she wasn’t desperately altruistic. Despite being cliqued, she just acts as if there were no such invisible social walls – everyone was only judged by the things they did, not simply by who they were.
With an angelic face and the demeanour of a spirited elf gifted with clever wit, she’s approachable and very agreeable, making friends very easily – she’s popular for all the right reasons and doesn’t hesitate to give people second chances; however, she’s not forthcoming about her own problems.

Anything else you might want to add:

Is allergic to peanuts, has won awards for choreography and is very good at maths. She is the social chair and therefore organises the student body social events.
Her adopted brother is Tyler Young, the biological son of her adoptive father, Victor Bishop through his first marriage.

Picture:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y84/Alissa888/kristen-bell-314192.jpg

Always open to storylines and connections

[AtropaMandragora]

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss68/mandragoratropa/MattSidle1.jpg

Name: Matthew 'Matt' Sidle

Age/Class: 16/Junior

Clique: Prep

After School Activity: Track & Field

Brief History/Personality Description:
For all of his (so far rather short) life, Matthew has belonged to the in-crowd. Born the youngest of two sons, to wealthy socialite parents, he's always had the best of the best, whether it's been lavish birthday parties and an excess of toys, or as has been the case in most recent years; expensive clothing of the latest fashion, all the newest gadgets, and even a wicked car. All that, helped along rather nicely by his charming good looks, ensured him not only a place among the most popular kids, already from day one in school, but as one of the more prominent ones of his clique as well. He's not a leader type per se, yet has been made one due to possessing all the 'right' qualities. Seen by many as the suave prince of Brooklake High, he quite thouroughly enjoys the 'adoration of the unwashed masses' as well as that of many of his prep friends, and has over the past couple of years been known to start quite a few trends, as far as school fashion goes.

Although he's known as a charismatic and fun loving young man, a regular party animal and notorious serial dater, he's also known to only rarely venture outside of his own particular clique, where making friends is concerned. He sticks to his own crowd, and like many of them, considers himself just a tad bit better than the rest of the other students, and just the world in general, really. If he does venture out of his own 'comfort zone', it's usually to mess with the head of some poor unsuspecting victim in one way or another, as just like many of his friends, he enjoys a good game of manipulation. 'Dance puppet, dance'. However, on the surface, he's usually nice to everyone, though you'll never know if there is an eyeroll to follow as soon as your back is turned, and there is the occasional exception when someone is just too darned 'annyoing' or 'pathetic' for him to even bother hiding how he truly feels about them. More often than not, the one on the recieving end is either an oddball, or a goth, for a variety of reasons.

But... As is the case with so many other things, not everything here is what it appears to be. Matthew might seem confident and self-assured, but truth be told, he's rather insecure and like anyone who puts their identity in a certain crowd of people rather than themselves, cares perhaps a little too much about what his peers think of him. He knows his status directs the eyes of others onto him at all times, as it's him and his friends that are constantly looked to for hints of what's hot and what's not, and with it comes a ton of expectations for him to be everything that is the teenage ideal; rich, popular, good looking and carefree. He's deathly afraid of not living up to these expectations, of falling from grace, being pushed from his pedestal, and will go to serious lengths to try to ensure that it doesn't happen.


Anything else you might want to add:
Usually goes by 'Matt', or even 'Sidle'. Has done a bit of modelling ever since childhood, and still does every now and then. Has dated Marie-Elisabeth Normandy, Sienna Gentry and Natalie Cardew (though the latter with ulterior motives), among many, many others. Is active in both sports and drama. He's got quite a bit of acting skill, and is one of the school's top sprinters (his main distance being 100 metres). Has one older brother by the name of Liam, who is currently in uni. His father is a television producer, and his mother a pure-bred socialite who has never worked a day in her life, and spends most of her time and effort planning, organizing and hosting charity and/or entertainment events.


http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss68/mandragoratropa/MattSidle2.jpg


Open for plotlines and backstories. :)

[AtropaMandragora]

Name: Leigh Grayson (nickname: Lee-Lee)

Age/Class: 16/Junior

Clique: Troublemaker

After School Activity: Drama club

Brief History/Personality Description:
Leigh is really quite an intelligent girl, but still does poorly in school. Having moved here with her family at the age of thirteen, she quickly fell in with the wrong crowd (J.D. and Esteban, among others), and things have gone down hill ever since.
Her younger brother Lucas is physically disabled since birth, and that has left Leigh feeling that her parents pay more attention to him than they do her. The only thing that gives her attention, is when she's doing something bad. It might not be the kind of attention she'd prefer, but at least it's attention. And so she's become quite good at being bad, although she may not realize her own reasons for doing what she's doing.
She's made a habit of skipping classes, and can be gone from school for days. She has a huge problem with authority, and any attempt to discipline her will be destined to fail.

Leigh has also earned a reputation for being a bit on the loose side, which is really the result of seeking the love and affection she feels she doesn't get from her parents, and like alot of teenage girls, she mistakes sex for love. There have even been rumours that she's even been with one of the male teachers (though she hasn't). A while back, after she had gotten more than a little tipsy at a party, one of the football players at Brooklake took advantage of the situation and ended up in bed with her (not against her will exactly, but, as she was drunk, rather against her principle's and her better judgement), after which he boasted and shared details about it with pretty much the whole team, thus fuelling her already damaged reputation.
Needless to say, these days, jocks make her see red.

Still, despite that whole experience, she's no stranger to partying and partying hard, and never has been, since moving to Brooklake. Consequently, she's had to be brought to the hospital to be stomach pumped twice. Once for alcohol poisoning, and once, almost a year ago, for taking pills in what is commonly believed to have been an attempted suicide. This too is well known, as it too happened during a party.

To the other students she's a hellcat, and has gotten into her fair share of fist fights, as well as a legion of less than friendly verbal exchanges. She will not hesitate to punch someone if provoked. However, if you don't get on her bad side, she'll most likely leave you alone, or she might even turn out to be quite approachable.

Anything else you might want to add: Plays guitar and does back-up vocals/harmonies in a local rock band. Has dated both Esteban and J.D., altough they still hang out with the same crowd, and are still fairly close.

Last semester, she also hooked up with yet another boy in the troublemaker gang, Derek, with whom she had her first actual relationship in quite a while. However, having serious commitment and trust issues, and having been told by Derek that he'd give her all the freedom she wanted, Leigh ended up being with someone else, mostly as a result of being drunk and having a minor anxiety attack, overcome by fear that for some reason, Derek might suddenly dump her, and thus seeking temporary comfort from the imaginary problem, in the arms of another boy. And although Derek had said he'd give her as much freedom as she wanted, he had also asked to never be made aware of it, and so when he heard the most recent rumour about her, he hadn't been able to suppress the jealousy and the hurt he felt. Consequently, the two of them got into a fight, resulting in a break-up, and eventually Derek being sent off to a correctional school, for getting out of control.

During the holiday break, Leigh and her family moved to a closeby neighbouring town, Lonsdale, due to Leigh's father having gotten a new job, and even though Leigh protested in pretty much every way she could, she ultimately had no choice but to go with them, and start over in a new school.
However, being a resourceful young lady with a tendency to get what she wanted, Leigh decided that one way or another, she would be allowed to returned to Brooklake. A mission she accomplished after only one day in her new school; having caused enough trouble to have her parents dragged to school for an emergency meeting about the young lady's future, during which it was decided that it really would be in everyone's best interest, Leigh's included, if she did return, she is now back in Brooklake High.


Picture:

http://i562.photobucket.com/albums/ss68/mandragoratropa/LeighGrayson.jpg


(((ooc: Since she's an old character of mine, I had to mess with the fate of Derek, another character from the old SS rp, as well as the character of a now inactive player. Sorry about that, and if Iris ever does return, I'll be more than happy to edit the part about Derek and Leigh, but right now, I had to get him out of the picture somehow. :/ )))


Open to backstories and/or plotlines, as always. :)

[AtropaMandragora]

(((ooc: Due to the last couple of months giving me quite a headache regarding J.D. and his storyline - he's simply too anti-social and aggressive to be easily RPed with other characters outside of his own clique - I will not be re-submitting his application, but rather begin to phase him out of this RP, and replace him with another character. (See app below)
Do note, however, that this is not a fickle decision, nor one easily made. I've spent quite some time contemplating this, as both Alissa and trampledsneakers can testify if needed, but while I do mourn J.D. as a character, I also do believe this will be for the better.)))



Name: Tyler Young (nickname; Ty)

Age/Class: 18/Junior (held back a year due to excessive absence from school)

Clique: Troublemaker

After School Activity: Music club

Brief History/Personality Description:
Unlike many of his peers, Tyler, though labelled a troublemaker, is quite the easygoing and carefree young man. So carefree, in fact, that he's been held back a year due to excessive absence from school, and had to repeat his sophomore year. Which actually bothers him none. He's simply going on his merry way, in no particular hurry to graduate, figuring he's already got a job and a place of his own (explanation to follow), so what's the hurry? Nor is he much bothered by the boundaries between the various cliques, and doesn't dislike people for being rich, odd, "dark", or intimidatingly intelligent. As long as they don't get on his case, or simply just stay out of his way altogether, he usually gets along with everyone just fine. Whenever he throws a party, everyone is welcome, and because he's got his own, 24/7 parent-free place, those parties tend to be widely popular. And should you ever find yourself in need of a place to crash, he's got two somewhat worn but very comfortable couches, as well as a large double bed to offer, and isn't opposed to the idea of letting people use them.

But, Tyler Young is bad news. Most everyone knows it, and even the jocks tend to make an effort to stay on his good side. Not because he's a tough fighter - which, admittedly, he is, though that's rarely been known to make jocks back off - but because he's... shall we say, connected.
Since the tender age of thirteen, he's been working for the shadier people in town, starting out as an errand boy simply because he happened to be in the right place at the right time, and then for the past couple of years have been advancing gradually in rank and duties. These days, he's known in Brooklake High as well as in his own neighbourhood, as the one to go to, if one is on a mission to score some lighter drugs or hard liquor, or if one is in need of some quick cash, or even credit for something bought from him. The pockets of his employers are deep, and loans a frequent occurance, even for people Tyler's age, with the neverending race among the young for the latest fashion and gadgets that their parents might be either refusing them, or too poor to get for them. Thus, there are a few students at Brooklake currently in debt to Tyler and his employers. And when comes time to collect that debt, Tyler is often the one to do that as well, and in true arm-twister manner will use force if "necessary". Though he takes no pleasure in it, and those unfortunate enough to have experienced it all first hand, have found him effective, but strangely congenial.

As for his family situation; it could probably be described as shaky, at best. His parents divorced shortly after he was born, and his father, Victor, went on to soon form a new family with another woman. Due to joint custody, Tyler ended up spending weekends, parts of school breaks and some holidays with his father, the new wife and the couple's adopted daughter, who was around the same age as him, and with whom he got along rather well. Until a few years ago, when it was time for Victor's second divorce, which eventually resulted in single custody of his daughter. Shortly thereafter, Tyler's mother was found to be an unfit one, spending most of her time working and leaving Tyler home alone, thus resulting in the young man acting out more and more in and out of school, in his increasingly desperate attempts for some attention. Eventually, he too was handed over to his father, who at that point was already struggling as a single parent.
Consequently, Tyler ended up feeling much like a burden, resenting his sister for having gotten first "dibs" on their father, and sought refuge in his own independence. Now, since the age of fifteen, he has his own place, an apartment legally leased by his employer, but (mostly) paid for by Tyler himself.


Anything else you might want to add:
His sister is Dylan Bishop. He plays both drums and guitar, has a tattoo of a wolf paw print all in black on his left shoulder, a silver stud in his right eyebrow and a scar above his left one, along with one on the left side of his chin. He has due to his reputation been approached by two bullied achievers willing to pay him for protection against their jock tormentors. They are now bullied no more.
Drives a motorcycle, and has a pet ball python (http://www.crimson-tale.com/Temp/BallPython.jpg) named Monty (the Python).
Also has a eighteen month old daughter, Tara, with a young woman (Bianca) one year his senior. This, however, is not common knowledge, and even his father and adoptive half-sister don't know about it.


Picture:
http://www.crimson-tale.com/Temp/TylerYoung1.jpg


(((ooc: Open to backstories, plot lines, friends, victims, love interests, etc. :D )))

[FurryPanda]

Name: Katie Byrd
Age: 16, Junior
Clique:Achiever
After School Activity: Cheerleading
Personality/Bio Katie grew up with one expectation: she would go to Princeton and be a millionaire before age 25. Her parents had no further demands on her, and didn't pay any attention to her other than to occasionally say, "When you are 25 you will be a millionaire, and have graduated from Princeton."

For most people, being ignored like that would make them despise thier parents, or rebel against a system that didn't seem to care. Katie is not most people however. Ever since she was four she wanted, longed desperately for her parents love, and figured the only way to accomplish that was to be a genius. She had read Euclid by the time she was 6, gotten a paper on ornithology published under a pseudonym when she was 10, completed an internet BS in physics and special relativity when she was 12, and published her first novel when she was 15. Still her parents didn't give her any acknowledgment, saying only, "Good job, why aren't you at Princeton yet?"

After her paper was published, and became the preeminent work on the subject with no parental acknowledgment, Katie became desperate for some human contact and praise and made her first friend, Natasha Raines, in junior high. Since then she has blossomed a bit, still being extremely clingy, and very easy to manipulate, but now she will talk to people about things other than birds and physics. She is still an insufferable know-it-all, but once one gets past that she is extremely kind and mind numbingly loyal. She is extremely rigid in her morals, or at least she thinks so, though when push comes to shove she'll often do what her friends want her to do.

At the end of middle school purely on a whim she went out for cheerleading, and much to her surprise made the cut. She had hoped not to be teased mercilessly or some such, but once she realized that wasn't going to happen, she got used to the constant social torture, and focused on how much she loves dancing. She is a mind bogglingly good dancer and she figures the joy that that brings her cancels out the hell the other cheerleaders put her through.

Anything Else?: She has been in the Brooklake school system her whole life. She is referenced in the school's biology textbooks, though she keeps that quiet. She is a mind-bogglingly talented dancer. Less well known is that she is a good programmer and graphic designer.

-Her parents are Dr. Alison Anderson-Byrd, M.D., and Dr. Thomas Byrd (Dr of chemistry). Both went to state schools and they both make huge amounts of money, which goes towards making their house look like a palace, and to Katie's college fund. Her mother is very loud and uninhibited, though she cares deeply about her work and how the family is perceived in the scientific community. Her father is rather distant, and he tends to get lost in his own little world of chemistry and physics on a regular basis. Her mother shares this tendency, though she is much more able to snap out of it.

Picture: http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff207/AmyLyis/RP/dancingsim.jpg
Thank you very much to robokitty for making this sim, and to gears7667 for taking the picture

I'm open to storylines/backstory with anyone.
Also, I know that this seems a bit overmuch for a high schooler, but at the magnate school I know people who have credentials like this by senior year. They are scary, but they exist.

[FurryPanda]

Name: Loren Dasen
Age: 16, Junior
Clique: Oddball
Extracurricular: Drama
Personality/Bio: Loren is quite accurately described as loud and obnoxious. He will fearlessly speak to anyone about anything with no fear of offense, even though he is often rebuffed as a freak. This does not concern him at all, he generally sees people that call him "freak" as ones that just can't express their affectionate amusement at him. For the record, he is very very wrong.

Underneath the fearlessly oblivious exterior lies a pretty fearless pretty oblivious interior, Loren is not the sort to ever play games pretend to be something he's not. His ambitions change with the weather, at the moment his ambition is to be a museum curator, last week it was to be a street musician. Whenever people ask him what he wants to do after graduation he just tells them he wants to have a huge party.

It has always surprised Loren that not very many people like him beyond the of course affectionate "Freak" connotation, because he is extremely active in drama club and has been the lead in more than a dozen plays, most recently playing Fred Graham in Kiss Me, Kate where the lead actress insisted the director rewrite the scenes where they kiss and dance. Loren assumed it was because she was rather feminist and Lilli Vanessi's character was rather insipid and weak in those scenes. In actuality it was because said preppy actress didn't want to get within four feet of him.

Though Loren sometimes suspects that he's wrong about people liking him, he consciously decides not to act on that, and goes about in a cheerful and annoying way.

He sometimes thinks that he is actually popular, and will tone down his antics a bit to reflect that every once in a while. He cares very much about people, and will generally try and keep everyone happy and amused. He thinks that the sort of things that he likes are what everyone else likes though, so he can be even more annoying without even realizing it.

Anything else?: Loren is working on his own screenplay, which is a jealous secret, and has been in Brooklake since grade school. The day after winter break he got shoved into a locker, and as a result his arm is extremely tender and mangled.

Pic:I don't have my game at the moment, and I'm starting to hate the pic that was up, so I provide for your reference a
Description: Loren is rather skinny, and shorter than most guys, taller than most girls, somewhere in the region of 5'8 to 5'10. He has blonde hair, typically messy, though rarely longer than ear length. His eyes are green, and during the week immediately before a show opens or the two days after a show ends he seems to have massive raccoon eyes due to his stage makeup. He has a somewhat upturned, and very narrow nose, and small feminine lips.
Loren is also open to any story lines

[Slytherin-Girl]

Name: Marie-Elisabeth Normandy

Age/Class: 16/Junior

Clique: Preps

After School Activity: Cheerleading (Is head cheerleader)

Brief History/Personality Description: In every highschool, seeming since the dawn of highschools, there has been that one girl. The girl who is the prettiest girl in school, and is always the best dressed and impaecibly made up, with never a hair out of place. She's the head cheerleader, and the msot popular girl you'll ever see. Girls are jealous of her, and boys want to be with her. If you're a popular kid like her, she's your best friend. But annoy her once, or do anything to make her mad, and you had better join the witness protection program and fast.

In Brooklake highschool, that girl is Marie-Elisabeth. The only and much spoiled daughter of a wealthy oil tycoon, and a French ex-model, she's used to getting what she wants, when she wants it. And lord help the person foolish enough to get in her way or say no.

Anything else you might want to add: She drives a baby blue sportscar that was given to her on her 16th birthday, which was featured on the show "My Super Sweet 16". Marie-Elisabeth has had her share of previous boyfriends, including Matt Sidle. She's currently dating football captain Josh Brennan, and they're basicly the Brangelina of Brooklake. Complete with the silly couple nickname which she doesn't like to acknowledge.


Picture:

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a286/hikari-schezar-bloom/snapshot_b5d0503d_15d05877.jpg


((OOC: Yup she's still back. As if she'd ever go away LOL)

[Slytherin-Girl]

Name:

Nadia Dering

Age/Class:

16/Junior

Clique:

Oddball

After School Activity:

Drama Club

Brief History/Personality Description:

Nadia was born on New Years day at precisely 12:05 am, to Leonard and Angelica Dering. Both were rather older for parents, Angelica being 42 and Leonard being 5 years older. They had been trying to have children for years, and considered this pregnancy a miracle.

Nadia was the first baby born at the hospital that year. However, her twin brother Aidan was born 15 minutes earlier at 11:50pm, the last baby of the previous year. This made him technically a year older than she was which always put them a year apart in school. This wasn’t fun for Nadia, because she and her brother were extremely close. It was hard for 3 year old Nadia to see him go off to school and be told she didn’t get to go till next year. Despite that, the two siblings were as close as peas in a pod, and spent all their time together.

Her house was a bit of a mixed bag growing up. Her mother was (and is) a University professor specializing in Ancient Mythology and history. Her father is a classically trained Shakespearian actor, and a native of the infamous city of Stratford, England. She and her brother developed a love of the theatre at a very early age, with their mother happy to supply help making their costumes look just right.

Both Nadia and her brother could quote whole soliloquies by the time they were 7, and loved to wander around the schoolyard singing songs from various musical theatre productions. Their parents never discouraged any of their creative endeavors, and they still have their shared bedroom walls covered in chalkboard paint if the mood ever strikes them to write something down or do some doodling.

With such a loving atmosphere, Nadia grew up to have a generally pleasant and easygoing demeanor. She takes most things in life in stride, and in often found reading one of her mother’s many history books. She’s a “what you see is what you get” kind of girl, and if you don’t like it she’ll tell you where you can go. And loudly too, as she’s never been afraid of speaking her mind. She doesn’t judge anyone before meeting them, she believes everyone should be given a fair chance.

She’s been in so many plays she’s lost count, but her favourite role so far were Cleopatra in Caesar and Cleopatra, and Johanna in Sweeny Todd. She and Aidan are always in the school play, although he’s not as fond of musicals as she is.

Quite a few pieces of her theatrical costumes have found their way into her current wardrobe, and it isn’t unusual to see her in a renaissance feathered hat or a long dangly gypsy’s skirt. She hasn’t had a serious haircut in years, and she’s very proud of her long locks.

Anything else you might want to add:

Owns several dozen pairs of multicoloured socks, but is next to never seen wearing a pair that matches. She also has a replica of Anne Boleyn’s B necklace that she likes to wear.

Due to her mother’s naming choices, her name is Nadia Artemis, and her brother’s is Aidan Apollo. She speaks 3 languages, English, French, and German.

Is also owed a ruler by Preston, who she thinks makes really neat art projects.

Open to storyliney type stuff. And can her brother Aidan get added to the NPC list pretty please?

Picture:

(Will get new ones later. THese are OLD from before my compy crashed and thesims went BOOM)
Nadia

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a286/hikari-schezar-bloom/snapshot_f6186e54_b61872a3.jpg

As Johanna in Sweeny Todd

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a286/hikari-schezar-bloom/snapshot_f6186e54_b6187102.jpg

[elpemmy]

Student Application -
Name: Lea White
Age/Class: 16/Junior
Clique: Oddball
After School Activity: Newspaper Club
Brief History/Personality Description:
Lea's parents died in a car crash, and ever since she's been moved from place to place. She makes friends easily, she's learnt that when you move around a lot, you need that skill. She doesn't really bother with her work, she figures everyone dies sooner or later, so why not have fun while you can? So yeah, she's an Oddball with Badass tendencies. She gets into fights easily, because of her willingness to talk, and because of this, she does Karate.
She's a talented writer, but won't admit it for the world. She's only at newspaper club because her current foster carer requires she goes to at least one after school club.
As a kid, before her parents died, she was bullied horribly. After her parents died she transfered, changing her image and everything. For a while, she was a prep, but she got into a fight with a teacher and got kicked out of that school, and she decided being popular wasn't for her.
She's not afraid to stand up for what she believes in, either. But she doesn't believe in an awful lot. She's been through a ton of struggles, and she made it out okay, she thinks, so why should she help people out of situations she conquered?
If you get to know her, really get to know her, you'll learn that all she really wants to do is make her parents proud. She doesn't know how long it'll take, or what she'll have to do, but she reckons when they're proud of her, she'll feel peaceful.
Anything else you might want to add: She's a transfer student, and she's terrified of being alone.
Picture (http://www.modyourpanties.com/images/090307125144-previewheadshot.jpg)

Open to storylines

[AnalynneHopes24]

Name: Melissa Carson
Age: 16
Clique: Normies
After School Activity: Cheerleading
Brief History/Personality Description: Melissa was born in New York and lived there for 5 years before her dad was transferred to London, England. He is a successful businessman and her mother, a world-renowned ballet dancer. Growing up she always admired the way her mom danced and begged for ballet lessons. Soon after, she signed up for gymnastics, hip-hop and jazz. She was extremely passionate about her hobbies- she started entering competition after competition and winning medals and trophies, it was obvious she had inherited her mother’s talent.
You would think her great talent combined with her family’s wealth and power, she would be snobby but in fact she is quite the opposite. Melissa is quiet, not shy, quiet. And people who are quiet, find themselves to be observant which is true with Melissa who notices everything around her. She is silly and nice (except to her younger brother) and has generally optimistic outlook on life. But can be stubborn.

Anything else you might want to add: Her dad is now transferred to Brooklake. She is a bit nervous to start school but excited to try cheerleading. Before she was on gymnastics team but since that’s not offered here, it seemed like the closest thing. Also she likes to give people the benefit of the doubt but sometimes it seems like she is naïve.

((Open to storylines, and I'm so sorry for calling her Molly, I don't even know where that came from :headdesk: Her name is defiantly Melissa))

[FurryPanda]

((Well, Emily wasn't really working out, too anti-social to really work, and too normal to have fun with on her own. So I'm going to have this one. As always, I am open to storylines, connections, backstory, or any other form of extraneous character development!))

Name Mitchell Gaithers
Age: 16
Clique: Jock
After-School Activity: Football
Bio: Mitchell was born to the height of middle class suburbia, and he and his six years younger sister Joanna received a loving affectionate raising by his mother, Tammy Gaithers and his father Johnathan Gaithers, a small software company CEO. He was never rich and spoiled, but he never wanted.

All that changed in middle school, when his father's company was bought out for stock in a company that tanked soon after. Left with nothing, Mitchell's family was torn apart, with his mother having to get a job, his father starting to drink, young Joanna running away several times, and young Mitchell having no idea what was going on or what he was supposed to do. At the same time, Mitch's somewhat preppy friends stopped wanting to hang out with the fairly sensitive, but rather thick boy who couldn't buy them anything and wanted to actually talk about his problems. He grew six inches in seventh grade, and put on eighty pounds, all of it solid muscle and went out for the rec football team where he became a star linebacker, mostly because he was able to ignore anything that got in his way, including nasty concussions. He actually had a mild concussion for two days from a nasty double tackle before anyone else noticed, or he thought to complain about it.

He was settling into his new life as an upper-lower class peon when another bombshell fell- his parents divorced. He and Joanna were caught in a whirlwind of emotion he couldn't understand, and as she experimented with the artistic, creative side of MTV culture, he punched the face in of the one person who would still deal with his occasional violent mood swings. Having lost his last friend he learned something- he liked the way it felt when he hit someone weaker than him.

Armed with this knowledge and his undeniable prowess as a football player, he completely re-did himself as a jock through and through, whose only hobby was beating up on nerds, being a jerk to girls, and performing marvels on the field. His best freinds are Gavin Messner and Mark Nielsen. His grades have suffered badly, as he is still very much a sensitive person, but he almost completely internalized the jock mind-set, and will follow the social hierarchy religiously. He is terrified of returning to the crippling loneliness he experienced before he joined a football team, and before he got the artificial high of hitting people. Most people see him as a petty thug and a total meat-head, but underneath of that he is extremely sensitive and almost poetic. He is such a good football player that he has a three quarters early decision scholarship to Notre Dame on football, and as a result he's contracted a violent and early case of senioritis, although his grades weren't that good to begin with.

Anything Else: His grades have suffered so much the past two semesters that he is in danger of expulsion if he doesn't pull it together.

He hasn't ever had a serious girlfriend, though he has had more than his fair share of one night stands. He is close to, but separate from the clique as defined by the other jocks, so some girls will go out with him for short periods of time until they realize that using him as an in is woefully ineffective.

He calls everyone except his closest friends "babe" (for the girls), "dude" (for the guys, and "bud" (for close acquaintances).

Pic: http://www.gossipgirlinsider.com/images/gallery/penn-badgley-photo.jpg

((As always, open to storylines and connections))

[Aya_Alexa]

Here's my Character application.

Name: Alexa Janine Riley or AJ
Age/Class: 16/Junior
Clique: Trouble-makers/Badasses
After School Activity: Music Club (she play's the guitar and piano)
Brief History/Personality Description: Aj came from a rich family, in here childhood years her life seem happy, until their family business went bankrupt. after 2 years her mom left her with his father because her father can't support them anymore. her mother promised to come back for her if she already have a good life, her father then started drinking none-stop. moving into her Aunt's house (father side) she grew up in a bad neighborhood full of drunks, killers, robbers, gangsters and drug dealers. turning into her teens she wasn't raised well by her father making her hate both of them and makes her start to rebel. she started joining gangs, drinking, smoking, vandalizing and getting into fights. one day a woman introducing herself as the sister of her mom came knocking in their door getting her (like the social worker). she resisted at first but there was nothing she could do since even her own father agreed to it. arriving at the new place she was then enrolled at Brooklake.

Aj is pretty loud around people she is close to, she is also fun and extreme. really snobby around people she doesn't know or don't like. she really likes making fun with people especially people who thinks there all that. she really flirts alot and even sleep with anyone if she's drunk, she is a chain smoker and doesn't care about it. she is a really smart girl but she just doesn't use it alot, she has a very nice voice and likes playing the guitar or piano. many misunderstand her as a girl who just do alot of bad things but she really is nice if they just have the time to listen to her.
(More will be added or revealed in the RP about her)

Anything else you might want to add: Aj likes times alone in the park. she secretly likes slow and dramatic songs, and likes shakes and cookies. she writes songs, plays the guitar and piano in her spare time. she is Claustrophobic and she hates flirty boys since she's kind of tomboyish.

AJ's Quote: "Talking sh*t is worthless B*tch, I'm pissing you off on purpose!"

Picture:
http://img145.imageshack.us/img145/5531/aj1d.jpg

http://img134.imageshack.us/img134/8237/aj2.jpg

("Open to connections and storylines")

Name: Kassel Dylan
Age/Class: 16/Junior
Clique: Achievers
After School Activity: School Newspaper
Brief History/Personality Description: Kassel is an Intelligent and beautiful young lady, he grew up with a seemingly perfect family. her father was a rich business man and her mother was a flight attendant, even though she was neglected as a child she always enjoyed her time with Kali, her one and only best friend. at age 6 her parents got divorced because her dad was humping another woman, they then moved out of the city and build their mansion in brooklake. her mom then resigned from her work and decided to build a small restaurant business, having her mom always at home was a big change for her, she didn't know how strict her mom was until the divorce. she was forced to study everything and anything and practiced her in sports and music until she was perfect with them. she then became really smart and creative but a loner, she didn't have that much of friends and in her birthday it was only her mom and their four maids who celebrated with her. at the age of 13 he then decided to tell her mom that she wanted to study normally at school and not home study, her mom disagreed at first but then agreed and enrolled her ever since in brooklake. Kassel is really smart but could be really stupid at times, she acts so innocent and like a child everytime, she also is really clumsy, she also do really good things without knowing about it. Kassel is Aj's cousin, her Aunt asked her mom if she could take care of Aj until she's ready to show up her mom then agreed, she was really excited about meeting her cousin and living with them.

(More will be added or revealed in the RP about her)

Anything else you might want to add: Kassel has a multiple personality disorder and only her mom knows it, Kassel calls her other personality Kali, and she thinks she's real. Kali has the bad and b*tchy side of Kassel, Kali comes out sometimes without Kassel knowing about it. Kassel is a vegetarian trained by her mother, she is a good painter and likes to paint beautiful scenery, she likes the beach and the sea alot also if its at night and the moon glows through the sea. she's really curios sometime and likes to know new things. she is really kind even if its already being stupid. she likes mango juice and and strawberry shake low fat.
Picture:
http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/1035/kassel.jpg

http://img40.imageshack.us/img40/8159/kasselsitting.jpg

[Requiem19]

((OOC: This is my first RPG on this site. =] ))


Name
Claire Whitmore

Age/Class
16 / Junior

Clique
Goths

After School Activity
Art Club

Brief History/Personality Description
Claire Whitmore has not always been rich and privileged. In fact, her parents could rightly be called members of the nouveau riche. After her father's business took off, suddenly her family was rolling in money like never before. Along with her newfound wealth came many changes for Claire. According to her parents, she was now above such things as an ordinary education. According to them, she deserved only the best. So her parents enrolled her in Brooklake.

Claire is still getting used to all the changes going on in her life. She's learned to cope by adopting her own personal, rather dark style although she is not your typical goth. It's true she is more reserved and withdrawn than most, but she's not into the whole angsty teenager thing. In fact, she prefers to keep her emotions to herself, looking down on those who wear their hearts on their sleeves or indulge in melodrama.

On the outside, Claire is a confident and down-to-earth individual, but secretly she is more melodramatic and whimsical than she would like. She has a great imagination and is very creative, and sometimes that leads her off on flights of fancy. Though she tries to be detached and aloof, her true demeanor comes shining through sometimes and then interesting things happen.

Anything else you might want to add
Claire is a talented writer and painter, talents that she inherited from her mother. Her father on the other hand is the head of his own software company, which has quickly taken off and earned the family a lot of money. Claire is also an only child, and a sometimes neglected child at that. Her mother is often too busy with her latest canvas to pay much attention to her daughter's problems, and her father is a workaholic. However, Claire has a pet cat named Bastet. She is also a new transfer to the school.

Picture
http://i40.tinypic.com/21b6v4k.jpg

Open to any storylines. :)

[robokitty]

Student Application -
Name: Esteban Morales
Age/Class: (automatically 16/Junior)
Clique: Troublemakers
After School Activity: Detention
"Brief" History/Personality Description:

Childhood History:
Mrs. Morales is pregnant with her youngest of three children, Esteban, when she discovers her husband’s illicit affair with a younger, flirtier girl. After many heated arguments, they divorce, leaving Mrs. Morales in a perpetual state of depression. Her pregnancy feels bitter and long.

Members of the family say that this is where Esteban first acquired his intractability—from his mother’s foul temper.

In school, Esteban proves himself to be a bright student. Unfortunately, this compounds with his inborn desire for excitement and conflict. The result is long periods of boredom in school, relieved only by abundant misconduct.

Esteban quickly loses interest in school. He stops doing homework and scrapes by on D’s, usually saving his grade by scoring high on tests. He is a terror in class--talking back to teachers, inciting other troublemakers to join him in creating mayhem, and smack-talking his way into fights on a regular basis.

Inside, Esteban is an angry kid who needs attention—attention he doesn’t get from his father, who would come around once every few months and give him $20 to buy some ice cream, attention he has to fight for as the youngest of three kids, and attention doesn’t get from his mother, who seems to be perpetually working at one job or another.

“Mijo, you’ll thank me when you need this money to go to college some day.” She would say about her work.

So when Mrs. Morales scolds, spanks, begs, and pleads with her son to improve his grades and stay out of fights, at least Esteban has his attention.

Early Adolescent History:
When Esteban is in junior high, his mother is diagnosed with ovarian cancer. One hysterectomy and months of chemo later, the cancer cells metastize. They spread to her other organs, showing up in her liver, stomach, and lungs. The chemo starts again.

After the metastasis and the grim realization that she hasn’t much time left, Esteban solemnly asks her to take him to the store. He asks her to buy him a pair of glasses so he can see what the teacher is writing on the blackboard. It looks all fuzzy from the back of the classroom.

The first bully who tries joking about his “four eyes,” he shoves into a locker. Later, a jock makes a flippant remark about his mother. Esteban sends him home needing six stitches. A fiasco in the juvenile courts and two month’s suspension later, Esteban comes back to school with all of his assigned make-up work completed. Teachers are astonished. Seven months later, he shows his mother the first straight A report card she’s ever seen in her family. She cries.

In two years, Mrs. Morales dies to ovarian cancer. The inchoate feelings Esteban’s been nursing all this time coalesce into a single, driving edict. Someday, he resolves, he’s going to be a doctor, and he’s going to find a cure.

Personality

Esteban enjoys smack talking others, doing so in a cocky, glib manner that is almost charming. While not manipulative, Esteban knows exactly what he’s doing when he pushes others’ buttons and how far to go. He has perfected this art in particular when it comes to his interactions with teachers. His is very critical of others’ faults, and is good at figuring out exactly what to say to make someone feel badly. He has no problem lying on the spot.

As critical as Esteban is of others’ shortcomings, he is even more critical of his own. He has deep self-loathing issues, though he puts on a cocky front. During his episodes of severe self-castigation, he blames himself for not doing more to help his mother, for not being smart enough, and for any little failure he's ever had in the past. His devil-may-care attitude reflects this lack of regard for himself and his own safety (due to the low value he puts on himself). This makes him particularly dangerous when he gets in fights.

As a result of his self-loathing issues, Esteban has a fear of intimacy. He puts up walls around himself with his behavior and doesn’t let anyone get too close, where they might be able to actually hurt him. He never tells anyone that he wants to be a doctor and fears his own failure. While he’s had many flings in the past with girls who dig the whole “bad boy” persona, he has never had or wanted an actual relationship.

Esteban has an adventurous personality and is easily bored. He looks favorably at any other students who are also adventurous, aren’t afraid to break the rules, and go against the grain of conformity. He is disdainful of anyone “boring,” who lives their life by the book; however, he does respect intelligence, which makes him ambivalent towards nerds. He dislikes rich, privileged kids who get everything handed to them on a silver platter.

While he has a bad reputation, Esteban has never picked a fight with someone “lower” on the food chain. He will openly mock nerds (and anyone else for that matter), but roughing them up and preying on the weak isn’t his style.

Esteban is extremely serious about his grades and will not severely jeopardize them. He is a quick learner and a particularly strong lateral thinker. He has thorough knowledge of what crimes count as infractions, misdemeanors, and felonies and is careful to avoid anything that would result in a serious penalty in juvenile court. As a result, Esteban knows many creative, nonviolent ways to prank and harass others for revenge. Since trying to turn around his grades, he is less likely to get into serious fist fights with other students, but he will happily provoke others into attacking him first so that he can fight them in “self-defense.”

Esteban is very close to his older brother and sister and believes in the importance of family. He is fiercely loyal to anyone he considers a friend, but he will still “play rough” with them. He hates his father and rarely sees him. His oldest sister, Marissa, is his legal guardian.

Anything else you might want to add:

Esteban is almost always in detention after school, and he doesn’t mind. He uses the time to finish homework and study. After his mother died, he went to live with his oldest sister in a tiny 1 bedroom apartment, and he can never find privacy there. In fact, if there is a single day when he knows he won’t be in detention, he usually conspires to find some reason go—showing up, then saying he forget he didn’t have detention today.

He gets mostly A’s and some B’s, and he usually tries to hide his good grades from others. When discovered, he lies and says he studies so that his probate officer (which he currently doesn’t have) won’t lock him up. He never talks about his mother’s death with anyone, and only his friends would be aware of her death.

At home, his family doesn’t live in poverty, but money is tight. Esteban has an after-school job working as a car mechanic with his brother, Rafael. His sister went to cosmetology school and works as a hair stylist. On weekends he volunteers at the local hospital to build up his resume for college.

Esteban wears his hair long to cover up headphones. Rather than listening to music, he records himself reading class notes and listens to them during boring classes, detention, or work. If anyone asks what he's listening to, he lies.

He dresses in simple, solid, dark clothing—usually a black t-shirt and jeans. He has a strong, lean build. He is attractive, with dark eyes and eyebrows. He has several scars from his past multitudinous fights.

He is bilingual, speaking English and Spanish. While he is capable of speaking perfect English, Esteban usually affects the leaning swagger of a Mexican accent. He does this to keep up his image, knowing that it makes people underestimate his intelligence and allows him to play dumb when he wants.

Picture:
http://www.teewu.com/simages/esteban02.jpg


FAMILY INFO:

http://www.teewu.com/simages/morales2.jpg


Esteban currently lives in a one-bedroom apartment with his sister, Marissa (22), who is his legal guardian. His brother, Rafael (19) used to live with them. It was extremely crowded; both Esteban and Rafael would sleep on couches in the common room, and Marissa got the actual bedroom to herself. Marissa has recently kicked Rafael out of the apartment (read below).

As the oldest, Marissa has always been the responsible one in the family. She helped raise Esteban when he was younger. Although she had the opportunity to go to college in another city, Marissa decided to stay in Brooklake to help take care of her mother while she was still ill. When their mother died, Marissa was the one who took care of all the paperwork and kept the family together. She took it upon herself to become Rafael and Esteban's legal guardian, which again forced her to stay in Brooklake. She helped support the family by working at a hair salon and has recently finished a two-year training in cosmetology school.

When she gets to have a social life, Marissa is an acceptance-seeker. In high school, she joined the cheer squad in order to gain more friends. She often dates guys who Esteban thinks are total assholes, and now that he's finished puberty, he looks forward to when she finally breaks up with them because now he actually stands a chance when he tries to beat them up.

Rafael has always been a ladies' man. Since he was little, he would almost exclusively talk to and charm pretty girls. On multiple occasions, he has hooked up with girl friends that Marissa brought over to the apartment. For a while, it's great... until the girl realizes that Rafael isn't in it for the long haul. Then they turn into a teary broken mess, and Marissa gets pissed something furious. After he slept with two of her friends, Marissa warned him not to do it again. He did it again anyway in the worst way possible, with two at once, so she kicked his ass out, chasing him with a rolling pin and a string of profanities.

Rafael works with Esteban at an auto shop. He drives a souped up car that he says is a real p***y magnet and takes vocational classes at the college nearby. He often invites Esteban to college parties. On special days, Rafael drives him out of the city 2 hours to go party at a college that has a 2:1 women to male ratio. Esteban appreciates all his brother's help and his tips, but hooking up with women isn't a focus for him like it is for Rafael.

All the Morales love alcohol more than they really should. Of all of them, Esteban is the worst when it comes to drinking.

[robokitty]

Student Application -

Name: Abby (Abigail) Vigilanti
Age/Class: automatically 16/Junior
Clique: jock
After School Activity: Football (kicker)
Brief History/Personality Description:

Some people just seem like they're born with all their sh*t together. Pretty, popular, rich, star athlete, and a kickass last name to boot, Abby Vigilanti seems like one of those people, at least to the casual observer.

But life wasn't always so rose-tinted for Abby. She grew up in the city's armpit, where all the other poor kids like her lived. As a child in elementary school, she wasn't popular at all. She had an awful bowl-shaped haircut and wore her older brother's hand-me-downs, so she was often mistaken for a boy. When she was teased by the other kids, which happened fairly regularly, she reacted loudly and violently, and she often got into playground fights.

Growing up in the shadow of her older brother, Daniel, Abby was a bit of a tomboy. It's not that she didn't like girly things; it's just that anytime Abby moved in that direction, her brother would tease her about it relentlessly. Most of her friends in elementary school were boys, and they were generally troublemakers.

But having an older brother definitely had its benefits. When Abby would come home after school, she would tag along with Danny to his sports games. Abby practiced sports with his older friends, and she was a natural. Even with the age disparity, she could hold her own in their games. She loved sports--the release of physical energy, the pride of a game well-played, and the support of her teammates. Sure, the older boys might give her shit about her hair and small size when they meet her, but that would all fade away under the solidarity of playing on the same team.

Two things changed everything for Abby. With the advent of middle school came school-sanctioned sports. That was the first thing.

Abby Vigilanti exploded on the scene of school sports. Every morning during announcements, the speaker would extol her deeds to the entire school: Abby Vigilanti saves..., Abby Vigilanti scores..., Abby Vigilanti assists.... It wasn't long before the name "Abby Vigilanti" became synonymous with school pride. You couldn't support sports at Brooklake without implicitly supporting Abby Vigilanti as well.

For the first time, Abby found herself thrust into the limelight and into an elite circle of "friends" who were eager to get to know the school's star athlete. She began hanging out with more jocks and preps. And, as if by osmosis, Abby's appearance began changing. She started copying the preps' makeup and how they dressed. At the same time, she saw less and less of her old friends and eventually lost touch with them completely.

Accompanying Abby's meteoric rise to fame in middle school, her father's upstart dot-com company had its own rise as well. Several years earlier, her father changed his company's business model to focus on advertising. It paid off big time, and in three years his company skyrocketed from small potatoes to a multi-million dollar asset.

That was the second thing. Money and fame, they say, both change a person. And Abby Vigilanti was no exception.

By the time Abby started high school, her family had moved out of the barrio and into a mansion in the suburbs. She was dressing in expensive designer clothing and was one of the most popular girls in school. In her freshmen year, she joined five different sports teams, and she even made the varsity team for soccer and track as a lowly 9th grader.

She currently is in the varsity teams for soccer, basketball, track, volleyball, and is the kicker for the football team.

Personality - "Preppy tough girl"

Though she no longer looks like a tomboy, Abby still has a lot of the attitude she had when she was younger. She is a hyper-assertive tough girl. She can be ruthless if competition is involved, and she hates losing. If she thinks that anyone has tried to slight her, she will call them out, loudly. She gets very defensive if her pride is involved. While she will attack others verbaly, Abby hasn't been in a fight in many years.

Like most other preps, Abby is preoccupied with image and appearance. She is mortified when she sees pictures of herself from her childhood where she looks like an awkward boy. She is quick to judge others based on their appearance, though given her own transformation, she doesn't always write someone off immediately if they have potential (are attractive).

Abby has become elitist since gaining all her fame. She knows that she's like royalty in the school, and while she isn't openly mean, she ignores the "lower" classes and is dismissive of them. The only exceptions are when she sees a boy she thinks is cute or if one of the rabble happens to play sports on the team.

Because of her incredible sports record, Abby considers herself untouchable. She acts with impunity, knowing that her transgressions will be forgiven or overlooked because she's Abby Vigilanti, and what would Brooklake women's sports be without her? She slacks off in class and openly skips classes, knowing that her teachers will usually fudge the last few percentage points and bump her up to a D or C. She also isn't afraid of being caught talking to the "wrong" type of people because her reputation will easily rebound from such associations; however, Abby usually doesn't want to talk to those sorts of people anyway.

Abby is somewhat self-centered, which gives her tunnel vision when it comes to interacting with others. That means that she isn't good at reading people's emotions and motives. This makes her easier to manipulate by more socially savvy individuals.

Right now, Abby has two main motivations in life--play sports and meet boys. However, Abby has hard time finding the flirtatious vixen inside of her, and she isn't a good flirt. If there is a boy she likes, she starts trying to act like "one of the guys" around him and is more likely to playfully punch him than to flutter an eyelash at him. She has not had very many boyfriends in the past and is a little envious of flirtatious girls who seem to have guys eating from the palm of their hand.

She is very much still trying to reconcile her tomboyish self with her emerging sexuality.


http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i205/superwuman/av1.jpg

Open to storylines--I crave drama!S

[robokitty]

Student Application - Donnie Kang
"Speak softly and carry a big tablet PC. A taser doesn't hurt either."


Name: Donnie Kang
Age/Class: 16/Junior
Clique: Achiever
After School Activity: Newspaper




Brief History/Personality Description:
Donnie never had many friends. His parents immigrated from China and were in their late 30s when they had him, which left him with very few people to talk to growing up. His parents, an engineer and a research geneticist, raised him with high expectations and distant displays of affection. Due to their influence, Donnie's thinking style has always been logical and structured, and his speaking mannerisms were riddled with idiosyncrasies reflecting this.

As Donnie grew up, he spent most of his time either by himself or speaking to adults. He occupied himself with several different hobbies. He took the obligatory piano lessons required of every Asian kid, tinkered with electronics, engaged in drawing & painting, studied old college textbooks, and read voraciously.

That passion for reading gave him a knack for writing. Though he found it difficult to vocally express himself in terms that others could understand, he was an excellent writer. When he was a Freshman, his English teacher mentioned that he should consider writing for the school newspaper and that it might look good on a college application. Thus, Donnie started his regular column, "Get This," in the student newspaper. And since then, he's gained a lot more self confidence and notoriety.

Since he tends to be both critical and misanthropic, he regularly lampoons and derides multiple groups in his column. No one is safe. The most regular targets of his scathing writing are the preps and jocks, though he spares no one. He will also lambaste school administration, personnel, and some of the other less popular cliques at school. While many students love his column (even when they are the target of his invectives), he has earned many more enemies because of it. He receives an 8:1 ratio of hate mail to fan mail. Love it or hate it, most people can't stop themselves from reading his editorial.

Donnie is a technophile. He loves getting new tech gadgets, tinkering with them, and using them to increase the efficiency of all his daily tasks. He avoids using paper like the plague and instead takes all his notes on a tablet PC. He carries around a voice recorder, which he speaks into to quickly record daily events; later, he plugs the audio file from the recorder into his computer and uses a speech to text program to convert it into easily accessible raw data. Due to all the antipathy stirred by his column, Donnie has taken to carrying a taser around. He has used it to defend himself twice so far. He's thinking about getting one of those neat jackets with the taser-action on contact already built in, but they are currently cost prohibitive.

Donnie has a lot of trouble relating to people. He approaches everything with a logical, structured view and processes his thoughts as mechanically as a robot. Since the beginning of high school, he decided to approach interpersonal relationships with the same study-oriented approach he took with other aspects of his life. This lead him to study body language and psychology. Now, he is capable of at least appearing "normal" in conversation, though his idiosyncracies show again once he has to engage in more than superficial banter.

Donnie has not had many relationships in the past due to multiple factors. He tends to be emotionally aloof, and he holds high standards for both himself and potential girlfriends. He is also extremely serious-minded and would prefer to save relationships for college. Or after college. Or after graduate school. Or after post-graduate work. Whenever it happens, the point is that it shouldn't interfere with his focus for work.

Donnie requires a lot of order and control in his life. He keeps everything meticulously clean and organized, often setting his things on his desk at perfect ninety degree angles. (He loves a well-designed user interface!) He strives for efficiency and perfection in all things and will spend hours dissecting and re-assembling his computer in order to shave off 2 minutes from its startup time, since those 2 minutes every day will accumulate over several months and result in a greater payoff than the initial investment.

Extra factoids:
In addition to the above, Donnie has recently expanded his piano skills into more experimental music using mixers and synthesizers. He "works out" by engaging in long, healthy sessions of Dance Dance Revolution and is insanely good at it--combining his ultra-fast mental processing with his militaristic discipline. He does a pretty decent pop and lock, (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHpxL84bnr8) which is the result of hours of examining the dance style, breaking it down into its component parts, and attempting to replicate it.

Other clubs/teams that he would be part of (provided that Brooklake has them) are: Debate team, Science Olympiad, Robotics, Mathletes, any sort of AP or NHS club. He's still a good artist (mostly due to his perfectionist nature), but that is not his calling.

Picture:


http://www.teewu.com/simages/ba_donnie1.jpg



http://www.teewu.com/simages/ba_donnie2.jpg


((Open to storylines :spin: ))

[robokitty]

"Fine," the retort snaps out like a slap across his cheek, and Esteban shrugs slightly. If she says she's fine, she's fine. He ain't gonna press the issue. He picks up on the anger in her voice with some satisfaction. Anger and fear are a heckuva lot more fun to play with than indifference. And there was something to knowing you could change others--could make them scared, angry, and rattle them up a bit.

He enjoys the shocked look on Katie's face when he takes a swig from the bottle and realizes that she had no idea what was inside it, despite how distinctive the smell of tequila is. The same smell he's woken up to one too many times, lying face first on the floor with a hangover the size of Texas This fresa musn'tve had a drink of hard liquor in her whole life, he figures. The thought of Katie Byrd getting sloshed enters his mind, and now that he thinks about it he's kinda curious to see what she's like.

There isn't much difference between a drunk Esteban and a sober Esteban except that one is louder and Esteban-like, but more. But for most people, a little liquid courage that washes away fear and inhibition changes their personalities. Since it's Esteban's best guess that Katie lives like a rabbit in a cage--perpetually in a state of some fear, he thinks a drink would do her some good. Unwind a few strings and help her face her fears. Mostly though, he's amused by the idea of seeing her wasted.

When she dabs at her eyes and refuses with a "No, thank you, plenty of better places to get hydrocarbons," he scoffs back. What planet is this chick from? And reaching back into his memory for what the f*** a hydrocarbon is, he wonders who the hell would knock a few shots down for some hydrocarbon chains? No, it was a different chemical group all together that interested him--the alcohol group.

"Jesus, don't be such a nerd. You drink this s*** to get smashed, not for a bunch of hydrocarbons or whatever the f***." He doesn't retract the bottle, doesn't back away at her refusal. Instead, he gives it another small shake at her, urging her to take it. He continues in a voice that's meant to be more gentle but sounds like a gruff father telling his cabritos to finish eating their dinner. "Here. Don't be scared, chica--it only burns for a couple seconds."

[FurryPanda]

Alarm clock.
Why was the alarm clock ringing? Was today a school day? Had yesterday been? He knew the day before that was break. With a gigantic effort Mitch opened his eyes to look at the calendar that his mother had hung near his bed. It was a Teusday... maybe that meant he should get up. Blearily he knocked the alarm clock off of the table and sat up, scaring the cat as he did so.

His mother called up the stairs a moment later that it was time for school and he yelled something back to her that might have been assent. He didn't know if there was time to get dressed nicely, so he just put on his jersey from last year and a pair of jeans. Hardly the most attractive attire, but he knew he could work it, and besides which, football players could wear what they wanted. It was all part of the mystique or something- he'd never seen anyone mock his choice of clothes since he'd beaten up that kid in middle school who thought he was wearing a girl's button down shirt.

He managed to catch the bus, as his mom had taken away his keys when his grades started precipitously dropping, but none of the freshies or sophomores on the bus brought it up. They knew better. When he got into school he wistfully walked past the gym where some of the other football players and some people from the other teams were working out. He couldn't risk being late for class, or tutoring, or whatever the hell the guidance counselor had arranged for his morning so that he didn't get in trouble or get any dumber. He wasn't going to cut, not after they had threatened him with suspension if he did it again, and not after he'd gotten a letter from Notre Dame that he'd lose his scholarship if they got another letter from the school. He'd wanted to break down the guidance counselor's door, show the little twerp that it was a bad idea to pull a stunt like that, but after a bit of thought he'd decided it wouldn't do him any good.

So he was in class on time like a good little drone, and took his notes and did his problems like a good little almost nerd-let, and like the transcendent meat-head he was, he got all of the problems wrong, did all of the work wrong, and got a pathetic score on the classwork, even though he'd copied from someone who'd gotten a good score. He was too dumb to even copy right.

Lunch was a relief and he'd sat with Gavin and Mark, and they'd discussed a football play in excruciating detail that had made the current object of Gavin's affections, Lisa Yung, nearly fall asleep at the table, and had made Maddy Fenway, who'd taken to hanging out with him since she and Matt Sidle had broken up, leave in an exasperated huff. Mitch didn't care that much, the girls were very much transient objects, and there would be two different ones in another week, so it didn't really matter. After Madison left, Mark had jokingly said that the only one who could keep a girl ought to find her, and the three had parted company amicably, Mark to find his girl, Alex, or Dylan, or Adrienne or someone with a guy's name, Gavin to talk to coach Benwick about the play they'd come up with and Mitch to attempt to bull through the biology problems that they'd been assigned for class, and he hadn't had a chance to finish. They were all multiple choice, multiple choice was easy, right?

As he read through the first one he wondered how terrible it would be to wind up at the community college, since keeping his scholarship seemed less and less likely as he looked at those damn problems about stupid cell biology.

((Approachable
And Alissa, I hope you don't mind that I did pre-story for Mark?))

[Alissa888]

(((OOC:
Furry - That's entirely fine by me :) And lol, poor Mark!
Everyone - I've updated the NPC lists with links to pictures of the NPCs (where applicable), so if you need to describe any NPCs, please do check the lists and please do keep submitting those sims :D (I love downloads ;))
Gears - Eep, so sorry! No idea how I missed that when I was going down the list of apps, but she's definitely on there now. Not sure what after school activity to group her in, and so I think I'll put in a miscellaneous section and group her in with Esteban etc?
Slytherin - No, you didn't, but I figured I might as well ;) And LOL, Lindsay looks a little manic there....)))

[KyleTheArtist]

Name:Bridget Francine Dieudonné(Call her Bridgie)
Age/Class: 16/junior
Clique: Surfer
After School Activity: Music Club
Brief History/Personality Description:Bridget is second child out of 3 in Dieudonné family. There is very little known about her family. Every one rumors her parents are criminals, but no one really knows. Some even think she lives alone.
Bridget is active and athletic. She likes swimming and playing with her little sister Monique, since her older brother Damien is working all the time. She is excelent guitar player and when ever Damien has free moment he play drums with her.Bridget loves cooking and she helps her mom with that when ever she can.Her music preferences are Rock and techno.She likes reading historical books.
Bridget like confident, athletic and musical guys. Dieudonné family just moved into new town and Bridget was signed up for a new school. It is always hard to start from scratch. But bridgie is strong at she knows she will manage.
Anything else you might want to add: Bridgie loves chocolate chip cookies, hanging out at clubs and raspbery sherbet. She is alergic to limes and she loves caffiene(basicly coffe or tea).She hates eating any form of fish because she is a surfer and surfers befriend fish not eat it. She has slight fear of spoons(childhood incident involving Damien almost spooning her left eye out. Good thing parents saw them and Bridgie still has both eyes)
Picture:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h44/RowdyRuffBabe/Bridget.jpg
Hope you like her

((ooc:I edited the biography part. I decided to keep the part about her sister and brother since it dicrbes her. I hope it fits in now.))

[Slytherin-Girl]

(((OOC: I dun remember if I ever gave Caroline a last name *is blond* but here's a shot for her

CLICK ME (http://www.estatevaults.com/bol/%20%20Lindsay%20Lohan.jpg)

Yes that's who you think it is. She works OH so well for Caroline LOL)))

[AtropaMandragora]

(((ooc: Furry - Technically, Matt was the one to break up with Madison, a couple of days after the party where he and Dylan hooked up. :) )))


Having spent the last couple of years of her life being targeted by the majority of the popular crowd, for everything from wearing the "wrong" clothes to sleeping around, there were many reasons why Leigh despised them. They didn't just act as though they were better than everyone else, they also truly believed they were, and everything and everyone that didn't live up to their standards was usually written off with a simple yet most expressive "Ew". They abused their popularity, by exploiting other people, often using them for a variety of selfish purposes, and laughing at them the rest of the time, all depending on what was on their agenda that particular day. They were piranhas, feeding hungrily off of everyone in their surroundings, and Leigh hated them for the way that they would manipulate and orchestrate situations to their liking, sometimes for no better reason than for a mere laugh.

However, while she did despise how they used manipulation for their own amusement, it didn't mean she herself didn't know how to wield that very same ability. She was far from being as simpleminded and coarse as some tended to believe, yet quite a few had been made to discover that she was not. She had a good amount of wit, she had managed to talk and act her way out of her fair share of the trouble she got herself into, and there had been times when she had made a desirable scenario into actual reality. She just usually didn't, unless she really had to, and she most certainly did not do it as a way of kicking people who were already down.

In the current situation with Natalie Cardew, however, that would hardly be the case, as Natalie didn't exactly seem like the fragile, victimized kind of person, nor did Leigh feel any particular desire to take a shot at her. She dressed nicely - well, if you liked that prepish style, anyway - and she did have an air about her that made it difficult for Leigh NOT too picture her with the rest of the pretty, popular ones, but at the same time, Leigh couldn't remember ever seeing her hang out and get along with the preps, save for that brief fling she'd had with Matt Sidle. Plus, Natalie had obviously approached J.D., and indirectly Leigh as well, and seemed serious about it to a point that made it hard to believe it was all just an act. She was even sitting down at their table; something no self-respecting prep would ever do, even if they were acting with an ulterior motive.
Bottom line; with all this taken into account, Leigh couldn't really figure out where Natalie stood, and so before she made her first slightly more thorough assessment of her, she would put the pretty brunette to the test, using her own ability to bring about the ideal kind of situation, the kind of situation that was bound to give her at least a clue. Which was all exactly what she did, when she brought up J.D.'s satire of Matt Sidle, knowing it would force Natalie to pick a side. If not through words, then at least through reaction. Alot of J.D.'s artwork was simply brilliant in that sense, because while he may not have a quick wit and a sharp tongue, when given time to elaborate on his opinion in a way that he mastered - by drawing - as opposed to struggling with the words of his rather limited vocabulary, the result often ended up far more cutting than any comment ever could.

Sure enough, the Sidle satire got Leigh exactly what she wanted; a reaction, and one that was even followed by words to match. When Natalie's eyes locked on the drawing, and her mind had taken that initial moment to connect the dots of whom it portrayed, her face lit up with a smile. A genuine smile, Leigh could tell, because there had been no split second look of shock or horror to be quickly hidden behind a mask of amusement. No shock, no horror, only a bit of surprise, and alot of amusement.

"Well, journalism is all about the truth, after all", Natalie started as the smile, filled with both delight and appreciation, lingered on her rosy lips. "It's brilliant."

Though soon thereafter, it did still fade, as she seemed to pause for a few seconds to think and contemplate, knowing as well as both Leigh and J.D. that the chances of such a caustic satire being approved and showing up in the school paper, were practically non-existent. Still, while it was a real shame that they couldn't take such a shot at Matt Sidle's gigantic ego, the drawing had served it's purpose well; it had given Leigh a chance to test Natalie on behalf of herself and J.D., and it had also shown that while most thought J.D. incapable of delivering insults with more of a punch than "Your mother!", he did actually have more brains than that. And that he was a good enough artist to capture the details that made a caricature or a cartoon easily recognizable as the person they portrayed. Which really wasn't an easy thing to do.

"Problem is", Natalie said after a few moments, addressing what the two troublemakers had already known was going to be an issue, "I can't get this past the radar."

Another brief pause followed as her eyes narrowed slightly, in a manner true to that of someone who's thinking hard, apparently far more unwilling to let the matter go than Leigh had expected her to be.

"But something this good deserves to be shared", Natalie finally continued, and then leaned forward as though she was about to embark on a session of conspiratory whispering, yet her voice remained audible, albeit somewhat lowered, "so... If you're up for it, I have an idea to make sure everyone sees it anyway. Matt deserves it."

Their curiousity piqued, both troublemakers had leaned in as well, to listen, apparently drawn in by Natalie's dramatic flair of secrecy, but with their reactions towards the end of her statement turning out somewhat different from one another. J.D. looked mostly just puzzled, as though he had either expected an entirely different reaction from Natalie, perhaps thinking she was still carrying a torch for Matt and would take offense, or as though he was trying to figure out just how they could go about ensuring that everyone saw the drawing, without printing it in the school paper, while Leigh on the other hand seemed nothing short of intrigued. Another mischievous twinkle had appeared in her piercing eyes, along with one of slight approval at Natalie's apparent dislike of Matt - though perhaps she should have expected it, considering not only that he'd dumped Natalie, but also how he'd dumped her - and thus she was the first of the two troublemakers to urge Natalie to go on.

"So he does", she said with a rather smug smile sliding over her lips. "We're in. Right?"

At the last moment, just as J.D. was starting to shoot her a glare for taking it upon herself to speak for him as well, Leigh turned her head to look at him and acknowledge him as someone that might actually have an opinion of his own, and in doing so, turned the glare into a slight shrug instead, since once he was no longer treated as an appendage of sorts, he could only agree.

"I guess", he said, with his usual level of (hardly) ecstatic enthusiasm, after which Leigh turned her gaze back to Natalie.

"Shoot", she said.

[Aya_Alexa]

Aj woke up hearing a loud ring of an alarm clock, she looked to her right side and grabs the clock and smashes the little gadget to the floor. she looked around the room with silence. it has been 3 days since she moved in with her Aunt. it was hard adjusting with them since she never new her or saw her in her life, she even never had the chance to talk to her since she leaves the house early and goes home really late. the house she was living in was a big modern mansion with 3 floors and a basement, it reminded her of their life when she was still a child. she then looks to her left side and sees light coming from the sun entering the balcony door that was opened, as she looked at it and wondered for a while she realized that it was her first day of school. it wasn't like her to worry of being late but she doesn't want to have a bad record already to her Aunt, she then stands up put on the bunny slippers that was already placed beside her bed and went to the bathroom to wash her face.

Aj walks out of the room and walked down the stairs to the kitchen, there she saw her cousin Kassel already dressed and eating her breakfast. "ms. Alexa what do you want for breakfast?" the other maid asked as she saw her standing near the entrance of the kitchen. Aj looked at her "uh... er... well anything would be fine" she said as politely as she can, she then sat in the dining table and looked at Kassel. Kassel looked at Aj and smiled "i bet you didn't like the alarm clock mom put in your room." she said and smiled, Aj then made a fake smile "oh no! i really liked the alarm clock, because of my happiness i smashed it" she said and twinkled her eyes. "really you really liked it?" Kassel asked with a big smile, Aj then raised her eyebrows before she could say how stup*d she is her egg and bacon breakfast was served. as she ate she noticed Kassel looking at her, "do you always do that?" Aj asked, "do what?" Kassel replied, "that! looking at people while they eat" Aj said with a sharp tone. "oh! sorry i just can't believe i have a cousin, its really my first time seeing a relative, well except for my mom and your mom which is then my Aunt...." before Kassel could finish what she was saying, "ok! ok! stop i get it already" Aj said Kassel then stopped and bowed her head "you see i never had a sister before, i was just hoping we could be...", Aj then looked at her "ugh! ok! we could be sisters" Aj said and raised an eyebrow as she ate. Kassel looked at her and smiled "really? i was going to say friends but sisters are better right." Kassel said and took a bite out of the carrots she was eating.

After breakfast Aj went up to her room to get dressed, she then saw the shopping bags that was set aside, it was cute pink and lavender tops and dresses that her aunt bought for her, she took and peek and felt really grossed out, she then decided to wear her usually clothes. as she finished getting dressed Kassel entered the room, "hey your ready? Jake's waiting outside" Kassel said, "uh? who's Jake?" Aj asked "he's a friend, he's going to take us to school today." Kassel replied, "uh ok." Aj said and grabs her black sling bag and went down. as they drove to school Aj looked outside the window wondering how her dad was doing, even though she hated him deep inside she still worries.

Arriving at the school Aj looked around, it felt weird for her since it was a long time since she entered a school, "hey im going to the library wanna come?" Kassel asked. "nope, i think the library is not the place for me." Aj replied, "hmm well ok then see you in a bit." Kassel said and wave at her as she leave. "well alone at last" Aj said and decided to look around.

((OOC: Kassel and Aj are approachable now.))

[Alissa888]

Thanks to Matt’s… expertise at crushing people’s ego, a lot of people knew a good reason as to why she hated him quite so much. That he dumped her, and that he did it publicly and that he went on to gloat about it; it was a severe blow to any girl’s self-esteem, right? Well, it was a plausible reason and it was fair; Natalie didn’t take well to being made a lesson out of, but it really wasn’t why she hated him. If things had been different, she knew exactly how she’d have dealt with it – she could think up ways to humiliate him to the same level that he did to her and then some and then, she’d be done with him. Truth was, contrary to what Matt’s ego hollered at him, he really didn’t mean half as much to her as he thought he did. She’d gone on that date with him for a few shallow reasons; he was cute – hell, let’s admit, he was gorgeous – he was funny, he was charming and she needed friends, she needed to have fun. It wasn’t like she actually had any deep ties to him, so it didn’t matter.

However, she hadn’t done what she would have done – humiliate him and be finished with it – and she did absolutely despise him, because he knew something that she didn’t want him – nor anyone else – to know, and to make matters worse, he actually went ahead to exploit it. She’d made a mistake, and it was something that, no matter what she did, wasn’t going to be fixed, but it sure as hell wasn’t his place to pass judgement over it. Given fair warning about how little this was any of his business, he didn’t manage to get it past his thick, well-moisturised skin and now, the gloves came off.
That said, she didn’t want anyone to know why she hated Matt quite so much and therefore, when she mulled over the ways to pitch the plan currently forming in her head, she knew that Leigh and J.D. cited the excused Matt had kindly provided her with as the reason for her odium and hence, Natalie made no move to correct them.
However, the most important thing was that they agreed; she didn’t want to put all her cards on the table for no reason at all. Though, the way they both followed her lead and leaned in to be conspirators was a positive sign.

"So he does,” Leigh conceded with a smile that matched Natalie’s current mood, thereby ensuring it to Natalie that they were in the same boat and so, she could go ahead and take a chance. Question remained, however, regarding why J.D. hated Matt enough to actually spend time thinking about it and coming up with work of art that he’d produced and why Leigh also hated him quite so much. Well, all in good time. "We're in. Right?"

Now, though Natalie kept a polite smile on her face, the way the sharp raven-head just about managed to realise that J.D.’s opinion did Matte in this after all – she really did take the reigns, didn’t she? – almost had a grin of amusement blossoming on her features. What was even more surprising, however, was the way J.D. just let it go once she had asked him that passing question. So… what was it, then, that had J.D. backing down; friendship, acceptance…? Because it wasn’t about being controlled – Leigh was outright making decisions for him and he was okay with that and therefore… it had to be something to do with emotional need.

"I guess,” he then verbalised his acceptance, leaving Natalie to feel Leigh’s scrutinising gaze on her once more as the brunette tried to keep both troublemakers in her line of sight, for both politeness and also to gauge their reactions to her plan. "Shoot.”

Right. So, the plan. Now, just because something wasn’t going to be officially sanctioned didn’t in any way mean that there was no way to get it done; pirate radios, for instance. However, it did mean that you had to be really, very careful in pulling it off, because otherwise, there was going to be a hell of a lot to pay. So, it was a fortunate thing then, that Natalie, if this plan went ahead, had the partnership of two people well-versed in the art of… less than diplomatic disturbances.

“We print hundreds of copies of it, anonymously,” Natalie started, her voice now lowered enough just for her two companions, her eyes still as bright with mischief as ever, the word anonymous itself signifying more than just that it won’t be linked back to them. “And then we spread it across the hallways, drop copies from the top of the stairs, make sure everyone gets to see.”
The way Natalie saw it, the whole school would be littered with copies of the caricature and it’d be everywhere that Matt turned to.

“Now, there are a few small glitches,” she then carried on, preparing to lay out the problems before she suggested the solutions. “One, the cameras… unless we were balaclavas or something, or try to avoid every camera in school, they’ll know it’s us. Two, the printing of the copies… we can’t do it in school, they’ll trace it back to out cards.”
Very unfortunately, the printing system in school was operated by student cards involving pre-paid credit; easily traceable.
“However,” she then shifted the tone to something far more positive. “Easy solutions available; we get it done while school's out.” And it was currently winter; they wouldn’t have to wait long before it got dark. “We need to do something to disable the security cameras and do it early in the morning so that they don't have enough time to clear it up.” She paused, letting her eyes contemplatively drink in the sight of J.D. and Leigh; “I'm hoping you guys know people?”

“That done, as for the second problem, we’ll just have to get the copies printed out privately,” she suggested. “And for something this good, I’ll pay.” A hint of mischief crept into her features as she recalled what Leigh had earlier said; "Or we can make Laramie pay for it...."
And sorted. Well… almost, because there was another insult to injury that suddenly jumped up to Natalie, only… she couldn’t see a way to go about it.

“Do you know of any way we could get Laramie's credit card?” she contemplated slowly... thinking up ways to make it work.

(((OOC: Oh, Natalie… you’ll just never change. *glomps*
Hope that works, Atropa! :D)))

[Requiem19]

Claire Whitmore zoomed through the school parking lot in the new Mercedes her father had bought her for her sixteenth birthday. As she whipped into a parking space, nearly clipping a shiny BMW as she did so, Claire thought about how she had never even asked for a car, let alone a Mercedes. For most of her life, she'd never asked her parents for much at all, knowing that they had little to give. Before her father had succeeded with his new business, he'd worked a series of low-paying, dead end jobs that barely supported the family. Her mother had never worked a serious job in her life, preferring instead to stay home with her canvasses. Of course, a few of her mother's paintings had sold, but Claire was in no doubt as to her mother's extent of talent. Sadly, Mary Whitmore was no Picasso.

Claire got out of the car, dragging her black messenger bag along behind her. After slamming the car door, she pressed the lock button on the remote that dangled from her keys. The car honked at her in response. Shouldering her bag, Claire traipsed a bit warily toward the school doors. She was new here. She knew absolutely no one, and she was more than a bit nervous at the prospect of arriving here a total stranger, like an unwelcome crasher at a party. As with every high school, there were bound to be cliques at Brooklake High. The only question was could Claire find her place in the school or was she doomed to being an outcast forever?

She felt curious eyes watching her as she roamed about the school aimlessly. She had a little while before her first class, and she wanted to get acquainted to her new surroundings. After ten minutes of roaming, however, Claire soon got bored and decided that she would leave it up to fate to decide whether or not she'd get lost on her first day at Brooklake. Upon finding the library, she decided to enter and check out her new school's supply of books. Claire was more of an artist than a bookworm, but she still enjoyed curling up with a good book on a rainy afternoon sometimes.

Claire entered the library and looked around. Shelves and shelves full of books greeted her. There were also only a few students residing in the library so early, and most of them, Claire thought, looked like geeks. She didn't have anything against geeks (it was usually the jocks and cheerleaders that tested her nerves most of the time) so she decided to go wander amongst the books herself. As she headed toward one of the bookshelves, she noticed a red haired girl close by. Determined not to start out her first day on an antisocial note, Claire decided to introduce herself.

"Hey," she said casually. "Nice library they've got here, huh?" It was a completely lame thing to say, but Claire couldn't think of anything else to say so it would have to do. She only hoped the other girl would think her awkwardness endearing rather than pathetic.

((OOC: Alissa, I have updated Claire's profile. =] I hope it's okay to post already although she isn't up on the first post yet.

Claire is approachable.))

[Alissa888]

(((OOC:
Requiem19 - your character is on the list now and yup, you're entirely free to start RPing, and also, welcome! :D You're off to a great start!

Everyone -
Given that lunch has gone on for a while now, shall we move on to the next lesson (Biology) in a week's time? Say, on the 24th of May. Is that too much time or too little?
Let me know :))))

[Slytherin-Girl]

There is a rather famous saying that insists bad luck or bad things happening comes in threes. Why it had to be threes instead of just ones, Marie-Elisabeth had no idea but after the doozy of a one she got last night she was hoping the other two she was sure were going to follow wouldn’t be so bad.

She couldn’t really count not being able to get a hold of Matt properly as number two, since he WAS after all just acting like well....Matt. He did that every day. “ That stupid, arrogant, good looking bastard” she thought to herself, tuning out Sienna’s apologies for being late. She waved the overly tanned girl off and said “Whatever, just remember to be in the parking lot this afternoon after class so we can go. And on time, I do not want to sit around wasting gas waiting for you”. She didn’t bother saying anything else, just swept into class and took her seat with Caroline trailing after her.

Math was, like most subjects, boring to Marie-Elisabeth. It wasn’t that she was bad at it, she got a passable B- most of the time, it was just so long and tedious. She kept stealing glances at Matt, and rolling her eyes watching him go about his usual activity of flirting with anything female in a five mile radius. Growing impatient for the lesson to end, she pulled her phone out and decided to send a message to Josh, knowing she’d definitely have a lot to talk to him about after lunch. She smiled when she flipped her phone open, looking at the shot of Josh in his uniform she had as the background. She was sure she had a bit of a stupid looking grin on her face as she glanced over at him before returning her gaze to the phone.

You excited for the dance yet?
All I’m telling you is blue and strapless, but you’ll :lovestruc it I promise ;)
Sorry we didn’t get to talk this morning, we’ll have to talk after lunch okay?
Love you,
M-E

She sent the text, shut the phone and put it in her purse.

Marie-Elisabeth then resumed impatiently tapping her newly manicured nails on the desk and ignoring her practically un-touched notebook beside her. You can only doodle M-E and J in hearts and put swirly things around it so many times before you get bored, and she was resisting the urge to pretend to have to use the washroom before she went loco and started throwing well sharpened pencils at Natalie’s head. Not that that wasn’t an attractive prospect, she just didn’t want to waste the pencils.

However, she didn’t have to come up with an excuse because horrible thing number two decided to make its’ appearance. It chose the form of a rather hideous wave of nausea that had her holding back the urge to share the fact that she had a bowl of fruitloops for breakfast with the whole class. Quickly grabbing all her stuff, she made her way up to the teacher’s desk and muttered something about feminine problems before heading out the door. Once outside she dashed into the nearest bathroom, which was mercifully empty, and into the nearest stall.

After ridding her stomach of the fruity cereal she had for breakfast, along with swearing to learn to make voodoo dolls for the express purpose of sticking pins into sensitive parts of Matt’s anatomy, she picked herself up and wiped her mouth off. She resisted the urge to kick the door as she exited the stall and pulled out her makeup bag and plopped it on the bathroom counter.

“I swear by all that is holy I am going to kill him and hide the body so f*&king far away it’ll never be found” she muttered as she went about the task of fixing her makeup and erasing any evidence of what she had spent the last several minutes doing. Being sick had put visions in her head of the eventual weight gain and other hideous things that were going to happen to her, and that only increased her resolve to dig her spikyist heels out of her closet at give Matt a well placed kick.

“Time to go face the music” she though, giving herself a final spritz of perfume (http://scentsandbeauty.co.uk/images/midnight-fantasy.jpg) and a once over in the mirror. She noted with great satisfaction that not a curl was out of place and her makeup looked flawless as always. Tossing the rest of her things into her bag, she shoved the bathroom door open just as the lunch bell was ringing.

Thankfully for her, it didn’t take Marie-Elisabeth very long to locate a familiar brunette head just outside the cafeteria. And thankfully for the owner of said head, she resisted the urge to throw something at it and just increased her pace to stand next to him instead. For once, she figured it was better to just take the proverbial bull by the horns and not dance around the subject, largely because she knew full well Matt was still going to be angry with her. And she really didn’t want him pissed off right now

“So” she said, shifting her bag on her shoulder “Seeing as you’re the school expert on places not to be disturbed, where do you want to go?”


((OOC: *sits in well covered and fortified trench with popcorn to watch the show*
It’s so funny that I can’t seem to picture ME not sweeping into a room. Probably some weird leftover relic of Vipers and her multitude of poofy gowns :P That and her general attitude LOL Also before you ask, yes that is my FAVOURITE perfume and I wear it all the time. It seemed very ME ish to me!
And Alissa, have I ever mentioned I ADORE your icon :D:D:D

Also, my apologies to Atropa, I've been rather absent and less than pleasant about it and I'm sorry. I'm going to do my utmost to be back more now)))

[AtropaMandragora]

Thud.

Groan.

"I know, I know, it breaks my heart too."

The words; spoken by a lean and muscular young man in the currently rather deserted boy's restroom on the second floor. The groan; uttered by the slightly smaller senior pothead whose gut had just gotten intimately reacquainted with his fist. It wasn't the first time the two of them found themselves in this kind of situation, and Tyler suspected that sadly, it wouldn't be the last one either. Shane Baysten, the boy currently doubling over in pain infront him, with Tyler offering a steady arm for support to keep him from falling over, just never seemed to learn his lesson, even though it had been taught to him three times already, if counting this one. He would find himself short on cash, and either lend some from Tyler's employers through Tyler, or score some of his beloved weed from Tyler on credit, and then end up 'forgetting' about it, until Tyler made a point of reminding him. Then he'd try his usual sob story of an excuse, babbling on and on about how money was still tight, since his parents wouldn't give him any, or he had lost his weekend job at the mall, or his car had broken down and he'd had to get it fixed, always wrapping it all up with asking if he could please, please get an extension. All to no avail, and deep down already fully aware of it.
The only reason why they still let him borrow money, was because even though it usually took a session of roughing him up, it did take only one, since the very next day, he had 'miraculously' managed to get his hands on enough money to pay them back.

"Look", Tyler said, while giving him a light, encouraging pat on the back as he struggled to straighten back up. "You know I don't like doing this, but you gotta learn, man. If it's gonna go this far every time, I'm gonna have to stop doing business with you, because if you don't pay, it's my *ss on the line. And I like you, but not enough to take that kind of heat for you."

Still grimacing slightly from the pain, but now at least standing somewhat straight, leaned back against the cool tiles of the wall behind him, Shane gave a slow nod.

"I know, I'm sorry, Ty", he promised. "It won't happen again."

"Yeah, I hope so...", said Tyler, while studying him with a mix of criticism and concern in his dark blue eyes. "Cuz if it does, it'll be the last time."

Shane merely nodded in understanding, yet Tyler still had his doubts that it wasn't just going in one ear and out the other, in which case the next time Shane came to him for money, if history repeated itself yet again, it really would be the last time Tyler gave him a loan or even credit, because he really couldn't afford to lend money to someone with a history of not being able to pay when payment was due, and thus there being the risk of them ending up not able to pay at all. Tyler couldn't afford it, for more than one reason. Since most of the time it was up to him to decide whom to lend money to in the first place, if he didn't get it back for his employers, him roughing up the 'customer' wouldn't be the only lesson taught. The scar above his eyebrow and the small one on his chin kept him well reminded of that. It had not been a pleasant experience, and what he did to the kids that needed some 'encouragement' to cough up the money, paled in comparison.

"Alright", Tyler said, deciding that even though he had his doubts, there was little he could say to stress his point any more than the punch to the gut had already done, "well, I'll see you around."

And with that, he headed for the door, pulling it open and nearly colliding with two junior jocks just on their way in. Talk about timing. Though Tyler supposed they wouldn't have to actually have seen what had happened ten seconds before they walked in, in order to figure it out. Tyler Young exiting a fairly remote and deserted area of the school and leaving behind a notorious stoner with temporary difficulties of standing up straight... Even the meatheads would manage to put two and two together on that one. But as long as there was no actual eyewitness account, things were fine, and even if there had been, most of the kids knew better than to tell on him.

Alright, so, lunchtime. The first part of it he'd spent dealing with Shane, but a glance down at the expensive watch around his wrist - although he hardly wore brand-name clothing, or live in a fancy apartment, he did make fairly good money, and spent it on what most teen boys with money and no parental influence would; toys, such as his motorcycle, a nice watch, and a killer sound/TV system - informed him that he still had plenty of time to grab a bite in the cafeteria. And with the first horde of hungry teenagers having already gotten their food, the que to the register was almost non-existent, which left Tyler able to enter the cafeteria, buy his meal, and sit down at an empty table - unlike the preps and jocks, he wasn't the type to consider eating alone a social stigmata - in less than three minutes.
That had to be some kind of a record.


(((ooc: Most approachable. :) )))

[Aya_Alexa]

Aj arrived at the school grounds, as she looked ahead she felt wind coming from outside the grounds, she then climb the stairs to the stands, she then sat down and looked towards the grounds were she saw students practicing cheer leading, football and other sports. Aj didn't really liked sports, especially Cheer leading. she sat there for about 8 minutes imagining the jocks having big potato heads and the cheerleader's looking like horses with horns. she then snapped out of it and decided to leave.

As Aj walked the hall's of the school she felt eye's looking at her like she had something big and really scary stuck at her face, she then stopped and looked back, as she looked the heads suddenly turned like they weren't even staring. trying to get out of the sight of the students she decided to enter a room.

Aj then entered the cafeteria, Aj then looked around and saw many students eating, talking, chatting and cutting in lines just to get food. as she walked around her stomach then started growling like a plane crashed into it. it was then that she felt hunger, she then decided to get some food, after a few of the students ordering it was then her turn, she then grabbed her food and looked for a place to eat, she wanted a silent more place were there were no people but she couldn't find one, she then looked for a table were there was few people as possible she then saw a table were there was only a guy seated she then decided to approach him, she then stood near him "uh! umm, hi im new here and i don't know anyone yet. so uh yeah anyway can i seat with you?" Aj asked the guy.

=================================================

Kassel arrived at the library, as she entered she saw few people reading and scanning some of the books, she felt a sudden breeze and excitement came to her. she then smiled then grabbed as many books that she can hold while grabbing books a girl then came near her and talked to her. feeling a bit weird with all the books she was holding she decided to drop them all, as the books falled to the floor she just flashed her a smile. "yeah, i know right. it reallly is. this library is one of the oldest rooms in the school." Kassel replied.

((OOC: sorry i can't post as long as you guys. so i hope it doesn't break any rules.))

[FurryPanda]

((Aya, 'tis perfectly alright, and there's no rule for this RP about minimum lengths, so you're fine. If you do want to have longer posts, just think about what your character is thinking about, and their body language, and if it fits, write about that. Not only are your posts longer if you do [though that really isn't a big concern], but you and all the other RPers get to know the character better, and it gives the other layer more to react to, and that in turn lets them give you more to react to. But, as I said, longer != better. Whatever you like :)))

[AtropaMandragora]

(((ooc: Aya - You're fine, don't worry. :) Will try and get a response for Tyler up a.s.a.p., but it might be a day or two before I have a chance. One thing though; it's currently winter, so I don't imagine there would be cheerleaders practicing outside... ;) )))


Time to himself... It was a luxury Matt Sidle could rarely afford. For years now, he had built close to his entire life on the social aspect of it, defining himself by what he appeared to be to others, and as such, keeping such a wide circle of friends and wannabe friends, that wherever he went, for the majority of the day and the evening, there would be people he knew to surround him. Rarely would he find a few minutes of peace to spare for his own inner ponderings, because even though he did have the choice of seeking out some remote location, or to shut himself away in his room, his social life was what kept his glorious persona of prep perfection alive, and so it had to be well maintained and nurtured. He couldn't afford to let it slip, and so time alone would usually get 'pwned' - to use that utterly ridiculous phrase that nerds would shriek when unlike the real world, their make believe one offered them a slice of brief importance - by time with others. And Matt knew it. He even expected it.
But it didn't mean that he enjoyed every single time it happened.

Although his outward appearance had now purged itself of signs of anger and upset that had clung to him when he'd left the class room, he still needed to calm down. To be left alone, and to calm down. To sort out his thoughts in peace and quiet, and then muster the energy he needed to make it through the rest of the day.
God, how he sometimes wished he smoked... That seemed to have such a calming effect on the people who did it, and he would have an exellent excuse to venture out into the cold and stand by himself for a little bit, without looking like a total freak.
Or, no... What he needed was an outlet, not a sedative. A nice, long run, just like yesterday, when annoyance over Josh and his antics had put him in such a foul mood. There was nothing better to rid you of frustrations and anger, than to take it out on the track, to let the fast pace cleanse you of it all, and the rejuvenation and blissful harmony that lowered itself over you after a good workout, to give your mind the peace it needed for you to be able to look at whatever was bothering you with fresh eyes, and help you think of the way to best deal with it.

Yes, a nice, long run was what Matt needed. And thankfully, with lunch soon about to end, there was only one class left to sit through, before he would get a chance.
Although... Oh, h*ll no! He would so not attend biology! Not after what had just happened in that other classroom, with both Josh and Dylan treating him like... like... like he just didn't deserve to be treated! After what they had said to and about him, he really didn't feel like he could stand the sight of either of them. Even the thought alone of either of them still made his blood boil, and...

"So."

A most familiar voice to his left cut through his inner grumblings, and pulled him to a halt. Stifling the irritated sigh that had threatened to spill over his lips as he immediately realized who it was, he reluctantly turned his head to look at one of the last people he felt like dealing with right now; his oh-so-lovely-ex, the Queen B*tch herself.

"Seeing as you're the school expert on places not to be disturbed", she said, apparently assuming that despite his rather dismissive text message to her earlier, he would drop everything he was doing - which, granted, wasn't all that much, but still... - and make time for her, "where do you want to go?"

Usually, that kind of comment, alluding to his popularity with the girls, would have recieved a rather self-satisfied smirk in response, or perhaps even his notorious dazzling smile. But, under the circumstances, it managed to draw only a slight eyeroll from him, since what it really was - or so he assumed - was another stab at him for having been late in meeting up with her the previous day.

"What's the difference?", he snapped back at her. "Obviously you intend to be there with me."

Though with that small opportunity to vent having appeared and been seized, he immediately continued, before she'd have a chance to practice her usual routine on him again.

"Come on", he said, and started heading towards the gym hall, glancing over his shoulder only once to make sure she was coming, instead of throwing a tantrum and trying to make him look like a fool by stalking off on his own.

A place to talk... Well, it was true, Matt did have quite a few of those, since the key to the boiler room wasn't the only one he'd gotten his hands on. Though talking was rarely what he did in the rooms he'd gotten access to. Not when they could be put to much better use.
But anyway, he supposed he could reveal one of his spots, since enough people had seen him wander out of there a few times already, followed by one of his 'love interests' at the time, so it was hardly a secret anymore. Thus, when he and Marie-Elisabeth had almost reached the the sports hall, he stopped by a door to the left - the one leading to the summer sports closet - and dug into one of his pockets while looking around to make sure the hallway was empty of teachers and other school staff. Seeing none, he then slipped a key into the lock, not waiting for Marie-Elisabeth to neither approve nor disapprove of his choice, and following a soft click pushed the door open, while motioning for her to step inside.
Once there, with the door closed and securely locked behind them, ensuring no intruders, he turned to his former girlfriend, while his arms folded themselves expectantly across his chest.

"What?", he asked.

[Ghanima Atreides]

Application - Lilith Fitzgerald


Name: Lilith Bethany Fitzgerald (she HATES her middle name)

Age/Class: 16/Junior

Clique: she doesn't consider herself as pertaining to any clique, though she's closer to a Troublemaker than anything else (so, yes, Troublemaker). She does however get lumped in with the Goths on a regular basis due to her predilection for dark clothes, fishnets and stompy boots, but she does not identify with them. She absolutely hates being associated with Emos.

After School Activity: Music Club

Brief History/Personality Description: Lilith has been called many things: troubled girl, troublemaker, a waste of potential, freak and slut being among them. She is ok with that, because it only proves most people's tendency to pigeonhole based on shallow assumption and stereotypes, plus there is the added benefit that she remains always one step ahead of them all, because if there's one thing Lilith isn't, it's predictable. Boisterous, but not an indiscriminate hothead, sharp-tongued but not innately malicious, Lilith has difficulties connecting and bonding with other people, which her refusal to be considered a part of any of the established highschool cliques does not help. She is, however, not necessarily unfriendly, though her quirky personality, dry humour and sarcasm tend to come across as off-putting, even aggressive. She enjoys new thrills and challenges and messing with the world view of certain people who seem to glide through life as though they had been born with a set of skills she apparently lacked. Especially reluctant to invest trust and feelings in other people, once her good opinion is lost, it is lost forever: Lilith is notoriously unforgiving and tends to hold grudges. She holds “posers” in the greatest contempt, those people who carved themselves a fake exterior to please the masses, regardless of what clique they were in and she has been known to stand up for the underdog just out of principle. Deeply-set trust issues also surround her general attitude towards boys and dating, and indeed Lilith displays fairly liberal views towards the latter. In her own (boastful) words, “men are only good for one thing” and she pursues them freely, but avoids any real form of romantic commitment, supposedly because she has no need for it and is perfectly happy with casual sex. In reality, it is a defense mechanism, Lilith being stubbornly convinced that once she gave her heart to someone, it would be returned to her in a million pieces, and yet she seeks out guys she is able to get along with. These shallow encounters serve to inadequately fill the void in her which secretly cries out for attention, and affection, a void created by the general difficulty Lilith has with maintaining friendships. In spite of appearances however, she is quite discriminate regarding her partners, harbouring a strong hatred for manipulators and men who degrade women.

As a student, Lilith maintains average grades with the occasional failures as well as the odd exceptional result when she bothers to study properly (usually when she has no other choice, such as during detention). The only thing that keeps her from being among the best students in the year is her general apathy towards school work, much to her teachers' disdain. As long as she is able to maintain mediocre grades with just minimal studying, she is happier to devote herself to more interesting activities, such as partying, boys and, of course, her band.

The band, of which Leigh Grayson is also a member, is the centre of Lilith's world: she finds escape and expression in the music and the moment she begins to sing all her troubles seem to fade away; she feels powerful and invincible, and most of all, that she is actually worth something. She fantasizes about fame and their “big break”, while fully embracing the whole “sex, drugs and rock'n'roll” lifestyle. Her love of music makes Lilith a great fan of dancing and she has been known to gain access to nightclubs teens weren't usually allowed in and party her ass off, usually ending up with a horrid hangover and a strange guy in her bed the following day. She maintains an undefined sort of friendship with Leigh, and the other member of their band.

Anything else you might want to add: There is a reason why Lilith scorns emotional attachment: she has seen the effect her father had on her mother who loved him and how he used those feelings against her.

Oh yeah, I forgot to say: I'm open to connections, plots, ideas, etc :)


Picture:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/Ghanima/RP%20Contests/Lilith1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/Ghanima/RP%20Contests/Lilith2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/Ghanima/RP%20Contests/Lilith3.jpg

[maeve.2.0]

(( Once again very very sorry for my absence. I was in France on exchange. I know I’ve been dropping off the face of the RP earth often, and I apologize. From now on I will try to be more reliable – a new thread is a good time for a fresh start, I figure. ))

The sun had come out.

Lacey Cormier gazed up at the sky through half-shut eyes, rays of sunshine peeking through her eyelashes. She imagined the sun as a girl in a yellow dress, with buttery hair blowing in the wind and a smile to light up a room. It was a nice image – a girl in a yellow dress, who brightened things up wherever she went. She liked to think that maybe, just maybe, she was a bit like the sun in that respect. Maybe the things she said or did made someone, somewhere, happy. Just maybe.

“Watch out!”

Lacey was interrupted in her daydreaming by a frisbee zooming past her head. She opened her eyes, and picked it up off the floor to throw it back to the two boys who had been playing with it. She rolled onto her stomach and watched them, one lazy hand above her eyes to shield them from the sun. This particular patch of grass at the back of the Brooklake High building was usually occupied by smokers, who littered the ground with cigarette butts, so it was good to see something wholesome take place on the field. Today, under the watchful gaze of the sun creeping out from underneath the October clouds, it seemed as though only nice things would happen.

Maths had been as dreary than usual – numbers didn’t interest Lacey. There was no creativity, no possibility, no imagination in them. They were hard facts and that was that, and usually they were hard facts that she didn’t understand.

The bell for lunch had rung quite some time ago, and Lacey had headed to the grass to listen to music and generally enjoy the small amount of sunshine. Despite frisbees soaring dangerously close to her, and Biology – which was only slightly more interesting than Math – as the next class looming over her head, she was enjoying herself.

***

"Would you watch your f*cking feet?!" Natasha Raines hissed through clenched teeth. The freshman the hiss was directed at cringed back, his mousey features screwed up in fear. His beady brown eyes were fixated on the furious girl in front of him, whose pointy black boots he had just tripped over, and who was now scowling at him. She was terrifying not just because her eyes were blazing with anger, or because she was a junior, but because there was a monstrous black mark on her cheek.

Natasha watched the boy's anxious gaze fall on the black spot, and in an instinct, flung her hair in front of it with a tilt of her head. She felt some of the angry confidence drain out of her as she realized people were looking at her. Looking at her deformed face.

Donnie's advice - start exfoliating? Seriously? - hadn't helped her one bit, and though the words silver nitrate had rung a very dim bell in her head, she still had no clue what to do. A tiny part of her longed for the days when she could solve any problem with her endless assortment of knowledge, the encyclopedia in her head - longed for the old Natasha, who would have known what to do.

Yes, but she wouldn't have cared about black marks on her skin. She would have convinced Katie to paint her cheek black too and make it seem like it was on purpose, a special token of their friendship, the sign of a secret exclusive club, or some sh*t like that.

The old Natasha wouldn't have cared, but then the old Natasha didn't care that her hair perpetually looked as though she'd had an electric shock, or that she wasn't up-to-date on the latest fashion. Wasn't it much better now?

No question.

She stepped past the freshman who had trodded on her toe so carelessly, making sure that the pointy heel of her boot bore into his foot, and moved further down the cafeteria. She glanced around, looking for any table with acceptable people at it, and could find no one. So she took an empty table, crossed her legs, and hoped desperately that another prep would join her so she wouldn't look like the freaky loner with the skin problem.

(( Both very approachable. Oh and welcome Ghanima, looks like a great character!))

[AtropaMandragora]

(((ooc: Ghani: :elephant: :jig: :cdance: and... uhmm... :companion Okay, done now.)))


For once in her life, since moving to Brooklake anyway, Leigh wasn't looking for trouble. Having left behind the sweet, well-behaved girl she had once been, before her younger brother had come along and "stolen" her parents' attention, she had in recent years gotten herself into a myriad of different situations, none of which could be justly described as healthy and advantageous for any young lady. She'd had far more experience with sex, drugs and crime than some people did in an entire lifetime, although she had, so far, been lucky enough to manage to stay away from getting into the "heavy" drugs, or even getting hooked by the "lesser" ones, as well as managed to keep her nose out of more serious crimes such as robbery, grand theft or burglary. She still had that little voice holding her back from committing the more severe deeds common among the group that defined her, and in essence, she was still a nice girl. Not necessarily a good one, but still a nice one. She didn't get a kick out of hurting people, unless of course they deserved it, and she did still have morals as well as empathy. It was just that sometimes, they were simply forgotten in the heat of the moment, when her hot temper or even her thirst for adventure were triggered and took over. And, let's not forget, the influence of the crowd she hung out with tended to have an impact on girls in her situation as well. Although far from a sheep blindly following the rest of the herd, there was still that unspoken but very much real pressure of living up to the reputation she had made for herself, and so sometimes the softer, calmer and more sensible side of her would just have to take the backseat to her troublemaker one.

The most recent development in her young life, however, of getting to return to Brooklake only on certain conditions, posed her with the dilemma of finding a balance between behaving well enough for the adults to think that what school she went to really did matter, and still not give people reason to think she had gone soft. And with one fight already under her belt on her first day back, she had promised herself that she would try hard to keep a low profile for the rest of the week, and only get involved in things that weren't likely to get her into too much trouble, even if caught.
But... There are some things that are just too good to pass up, even when you are making a conscious effort to stay fairly well on the straight and narrow.

"We print hundreds of copies of it, anonymously", Natalie began divulging her plan to the two troublemaker friends, her words instantly planting an image in Leigh's head that tugged her lips into a widened smile. "And then we spread it across the hallways, drop copies from the top of the stairs, make sure everyone gets to see. Now, there are a few small glitches. One, the cameras... unless we were balaclavas or something, or try to avoid every camera in school, they'll know it's us. Two, the printing of the copies... we can't do it in school, they'll trace it back to out cards. However, easy solutions available; we get it done while school's out. We need to do something to disable the security cameras and do it early in the morning so that they don't have enough time to clear it up."

There she paused for moment while studying the two troublemakers, one of them - Leigh - nodding along with what she had just said as a sign of following in Natalie's minor monologue, and of agreement, while the other seemed to have found something amusing about what she had just said, as a bit of a smirk had formed on his lips.

"I'm hoping you guys know people?", Natalie added, and in doing so, drew an actual part chuckle, part snort from J.D., though he did remain silent as she continued; "That done, as for the second problem, we'll just have to get the copies printed out privately. And for something this good, I'll pay."

Another ever so brief pause, as an idea seemed to form in her mind, the smile on her lips leaving little doubt regarding it's nature.

"Or we can make Laramie pay for it...", she suggested, yet still seemed somewhat uncertain regarding the possibility of such a plan. "Do you know of any way we could get Laramie's credit card?"

As far as Leigh's approval was concerned, she had just performed something as miraculous as a slam dunk; something not achieved by many. Obvious dislike of the Prince of Preps, and willingness to mess with dean Laramie, suggesting she harboured no particularly tender feelings towards him either? Yup, Natalie Cardew was, believe it or not, alright in Leigh's book. At least for now. It remained to be seen how much of the plan she intended to carry out herself, or if she would just try to play the Chessmaster (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheChessmaster) to their Elite Mooks (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/EliteMooks), in which case; think again, sweetie.

"I was gonna say we are people", J.D. said, referring to Natalie's question about him and Leigh knowing 'people'. "I can fix the cameras, but I ain't stealin' no credit card."

"Hm, yeah, I really can't risk it either", Leigh said with a bit of a frown, and then added with a slight eye roll: "I'm supposed to be on 'good behaviour'."

Taking a few moments to think, she let her gaze wander the cafeteria in inner contemplation, as though she was looking for something that might inspire her, that might spark an idea of how to pull off the Laramie bit. Because really, that was sort of the icing on the cake, and far too good to pass up.
And what do you know, even though she hadn't actually expected to spot anything that would help solve the dilemma, her eyes did end up locking briefly on something across the room, and her head snapped back to face J.D..

"What about Ty?", she suggested, tilting her head slightly to indicate in which direction this 'Ty' was to be found.

J.D.'s eyes flicked over to the boy with the light ash brown hair seated at one of the tables along the opposite wall - the young man whom despite being considered part of the troublemaker clique, J.D. didn't know all that well, other than by reputation - and then back to Leigh again. A slight shrug was to be his only reply. Leigh knew the guy better than him, so then she would also know better than him both the likelihood of Tyler Young being interested, and of keeping his mouth shut. Though he supposed Tyler hadn't gotten to where he was by talking too much.

"It's worth a shot?", Leigh said, neither bothered nor surprised by J.D.'s apparent lack of an official stance on the matter, as she was quite used to it by now.

Instead, she simply turned back to Natalie.

"Know who Tyler Young is?", she asked. "I think he might be willing to help. Probably for a fee though."


(((ooc: Alissa - Couldn't help myself with the tropes. :D )))

[Slytherin-Girl]

(((OOC: GHANIMA! WHEEEEEEEEEEEE I missed you!!!! *tackles*

And ohhhhh lord, it's ON now *passes around popcorn and spare riot gear for everyone else whilst giggling evilly*)))

[Requiem19]

Claire watched the other girl spill her books all over the floor. She bent down and began to gather the books into her arms. Standing up, she offered the books back to the other girl with what she hoped was a helpful smile. She wasn't used to smiling all that often, and she didn't want the gesture to look forced. She honestly was trying to be approachable on her first day at Brooklake. At her old school, Claire had apparently come off as too aloof to her other classmates and so she had often been shunned for a loner. She was determined not to let that happen again. Maybe she'd never become part of the popular clique here at this new school, but perhaps she'd be able to make a few friends.

"Here you go," said Claire, handing the books over. "I'm Claire Whitmore by the way. I'm new here. Are you new too?"

It was probably too much to hope for, but if the other girl was new as well at least Claire knew she would not be the only newcomer at the school.

[Requiem19]

((OOC: I felt like making a new character. I figured the more the merrier. Hope that's all right.))

Name
Evan Marshall

Age/Class
16/Junior

Clique
Oddballs

After School Activity
Music Club

Brief History/Personality Description
Evan Marshall was born into a broken family. From the day he was born, his mother raised him by herself. After their divorce when his mother was still pregnant with him, Evan's father left the family for good, neglecting even to pay the required child support. But to his mother it was good riddance for his father had been a lazy, no account drunk who lacked any ambition whatsoever and could not provide for the family. During Evan's childhood, his mother worked two jobs to support herself and her young son.

In her spare time, which was rare, she loved to write. She sent off a manuscript to a major publisher on a whim and to her great surprise her story was accepted for publishing. Her first novel was published and quickly became a bestseller when Evan was only ten years old. Nowadays he and his mother live in a spacious Colonial home on a spacious plot of land dotted with many trees. To date, his mother has published five novels and is currently working on her latest. As a result of her newfound craft, his mother became slightly reclusive and Evan found himself alone a lot of the time although he didn't feel neglected. He knew his mother loved him in her own way. She wasn't prone to displays of affection, but he didn't mind.

During his childhood, he had only a few best friends and he would run and play around the neighborhood with them whenever he wanted to. His mother was not the most attentive of parents and so he often was left to his own devices. He developed a mischievous, playful streak that exists to the present day. He is very fond of jokes and pranks and doesn't take anything too seriously. Life is one big game and all the people in the world the players.

At his first high school, where he spent his freshman and sophomore years, Evan was expelled for one of his practical jokes. He had decided to play a prank on his least favorite teacher, Mrs. Burnett, which backfired. Mrs. Burnett was deathly afraid of spiders as she liked to remind the class at least once a week during one of her many boring, droning lectures. So Evan decided to bring in a fake tarantula and place it on her seat one morning before class started. To his horror and dismay, however, when Mrs. Burnett saw the tarantula she was so terrified that she had a heart attack right then and there. He hadn't known about Mrs. Burnett's heart condition, and he'd only wanted to play a funny prank, but the principal didn't find anything amusing about the situation and since Evan had already had a long history of detentions and suspensions for his previous misadventures, the principal decided enough was enough. Evan was kicked out.

His mother searched for another school in the area in which to enroll her son and decided on Brooklake High. It's Evan's last chance to make it work at his new school. If he gets kicked out of high school again, he doesn't know what he'll do. His mother warned him that if he gets expelled again he'll have to go work at the local fast food joint flipping hamburgers for the rest of his life. Not looking forward to such a job, Evan has promised his mother that he would behave. However, he knows such a thing is easier said than done.

Anything else you might want to add
Evan is a new transfer to Brooklake High. His favorite thing to do, besides making fun of other people and himself and playing pranks on people, is playing the guitar. He owns his own cherry red Gibson Les Paul, which he treats as carefully as a newborn infant. He prides himself on his irrepressible sense of humor, and he knows that because of it people often don't take him very seriously. However, deep down he can be quite serious if the situation calls for it, but his first reaction to anything, especially any stressful situation, is to laugh. That gets him into trouble more often than not for laughing during grave situations.

Picture
http://i39.tinypic.com/20p7vxg.jpg

[AtropaMandragora]

There are many different kinds of dangerous people. Psychopaths and sociopaths, with their violent tendencies and their impulsivity, their narcissism and their indifference towards hurting others. The power hungry, with a determination to climb higher and higher in social rank, be it in honest business or with crime lining their path. There are those so overly confident or reckless with their own lives, that they indeliberately though still most carelessly endanger those of others. And then there are the desperate, driven beyond reason and self-control, because of one or more among a myriad of reasons, such as lack of food, safety, money or drugs, or because a loved one or even themselves are being threatened by someone or something, bringing out those basic protective and aggressive instincts ruling us all once pushed far enough.
But, even with all these types of dangerous people already mentioned, one of the most dangerous still remains; the ones that you know are bad, but can't help but to like.

Tyler Young was widely known as someone whose bad side you, if you knew what was good for you, did not want to get on. Not because he had gained notoriety by, like most troublemakers, getting into an excessive amount of fights, or being prone to physical violence (anymore), and not because he was unpleasant or mouthed off to authority whenever he got a chance, but because of his chosen "career", and the many rumours surrounding it. Rumours that, from time to time, would prove themselves to hold quite a fair amount of truth. That, along with possessing that typical, alluring air of a bad boy, had people pegging him as dangerous.
And yet, even despite all that, despite even donning the outward appearance of trouble - with piercings and scars "decorating" his handsome features - what most saw when they looked at him, was a friendly face. Beside that semblance of a bad boy, he also had a remarkably disarming air about him, with a smile that came easy, and was as genuine as it was charming. More often than not, whenever it lit up his face, it would even seem to lighten the color of his deep blue eyes.
Yes indeed. When people looked at him, what they saw was generally a friendly face. Especially those who weren't familiar with his reputation, which, just as he was digging into his lunch of various indefinables, was aptly proven when a green-eyed, dark-haired beauty he hadn't seen before suddenly appeared by his side, holding a tray of her own;

"Uh! umm, hi im new here and i don't know anyone yet", she started somewhat hesitantly. "so uh yeah anyway can i seat with you?"

Now, while Tyler had deliberately seated himself at an empty table, it hadn't really been because he wanted to be left alone, or shunned the company of others for any other reason. He just simply hadn't seen anyone he was fairly well acquainted with, and wasn't the type to seek company just for company's sake. So he had simply plopped himself down at the closest convenient table.

"Sure", he thus said with a faint smile, while motioning towards the chairs opposite of his. "Take a load off."

Then, as the girl sat herself down, he extended one hand.

"Tyler Young, impromptu welcome wagon at your service", he introduced himself with a humorous twinkle in his eyes. "You are?"

[Ghanima Atreides]

Lilith Fitzgerald - Math class - Outside


...Tock-tock-tock-tock...

A brisk, impatient staccato mingled with the usual noises of a classroom: a cough here, a hushed conversation there among the ever-present sound of pens scraping on paper in tandem with the monotonous droning of the teacher's voice. Between Lilith's index and middle finger was balanced a pen whose tip and end she bounced incessantly upon the surface of a notebook, creating that interminable succession of short, sharp sounds while her thoughts drifted further and further away from the lesson at hand.

“This much boredom should be illegal” the redhead mused scornfully and her eyes drifted momentarily from the empty point in space she'd been staring into and back the page half-filled with equations, various notations and scribblings that was positioned on her desk. Lilith despised math with a fiery passion; it was her worst subject and it didn't help that she'd barely scraped a passing grade the previous term. Given her tendency to not study outside class, Lilith tried not to skip too many classes, particularly math – at least, if she had no particular plans. With every fibre in her screaming for release and more and more difficulty concentrating to whatever Benetti was telling them, the decision to “screw it” was promptly reached, leaving Lilith to count the minutes that crawled by. After all, the term had just started, she had plenty of time to catch up.

At one point, the girl seated in front of Lilith turned around with an irritated frown knitting her brows together; it was the second time she'd done it and, as before, she found herself stared down by Lilith's impassive eyes: let's see who has more patience, went the silent message. Considering she had been in that class more than forty minutes without losing her sh*t (yet), the answer was obvious and following a third attempt, the girl did not turn again for the remainder of the class.

“I swear, these geeks can get on my nerves as much as the preps at times” Lilith thought, the pen bouncing unrelentingly in her hand. She had just as much right to vent her boredom as the other girl did to lap up every last of Benetti's words, and if that happened to bother her...well, plenty of things bothered Lilith, but unlike some, she coped.

When at last, the sweet, sweet sound of the bell rang out through the stuffy classroom, several cheers welcomed it. At once, the subdued semi-silence was replaced by loud chatter, the clattering of chairs and many pairs of feet shuffling as the students scrambled for the door. Despite her eagerness to leave, Lilith made no attempt to join the throng currently clogging the doorway and instead waited until she could stroll out at her usual meandering pace. Unless she had reason to hurry, Lilith liked taking her time when moving from one place to another, which had the extra benefit of avoiding most congestions that tended to form in hallways after the bell just rang. Lilith wasn't big on crowds, particularly since they always seemed to contain people she disliked.

Popping her Ipod headphones in each ear, Lilith's eardrums were assaulted by the heavy bass of whatever track was on shuffle, blocking out the surrounding noises of a highschool in recess; it was just as well because, on her way towards the exit, she passed a group of cheerleaders huddled around a notice board. Judging by the rapid movements of their lips, Lilith knew that without the music to blot it out, the squealing and chattering would have been eyeroll-inducing. They were fretting over that moronic Winter Formal that had the entire school buzzing with excitement, and only momentarily ceased their conversation to glance critically after Lilith who strolled by with the characteristic stomping footsteps her signature boots (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/Ghanima/RP%20Contests/LilithBoots1.jpg) were known to produce. An uneven black top hung lopsidedly atop a bondage skirt (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/Ghanima/RP%20Contests/LilithOutfitDay2.jpg) that left a good portion of her legs on display, wrapped in one of Lilith's many tights/fishnets combos.

Her destination took her outside in the frozen yard, where Lilith quickly replaced her hoodie and began rummaging inside her bag for a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. Strategically positioned out of sight, she lit one and brought it to her lips: tobacco and tar fumes filled her mouth and lungs, draining the tension from her body and bringing with them the familiar sensation of calm. Lilith exhaled at length and leaned against the wall, gazing at the world through slitted eyelids.



((ooc: Not approachable at this moment, this is just an introductory post for me (and others) to get into her character a bit.

Thank you everyone for the welcome! :)

[robokitty]

It looks like I'll be staying in Brooklake until either my dad gets sick of me or I screw up again."

"Cool!" It was a simple trained reaction to a stimulus, something that Donnie didn't think of stopping before it was too late. Back when Donnie had known Jude, Donnie had been significantly less polished in his social skills. Now, however, the vapid noncommittal responses so popular among teenagers their age had worked their way into his vocabulary due to his efforts to more smoothly interact with his peers, and somehow it rang hollow to Donnie. Regardless of how generic his response had been though, Donnie found himself feeling glad to know that Jude's return to Brooklake was unlikely to be a temporary one.

"I also had an awkward run in with Katie this morning. I think I said something wrong."

Donnie could tell Jude was feeling uneasy because of his gaze aversion patterns, and he sympathized with his friend/junior guildmate. He wanted to provide a panacea for his discomfort, and his immediate thought was to suggest that Katie herself possessed social graces that were, perhaps, a notch or two above the autism threshold. However, Donnie doubted that criticism against Jude's object of affection or worse, the implicit suggestion that Jude's social skills might put him on par with an autistic person, would help his situation, so he merely listened and nodded.

"So, that black stuff on Natasha is silver nitrate, right? I noticed it last night when I was picking her up from cheerleading. I take it you're covering that story for the paper..."

Donnie was about to assert Jude's conclusion when his friend's characteristic propensity for babble interposed itself unto him.

"Oh, speaking of last night.... Now, I may be wrong, but isn't that Caleb's car? He tried to shove us both in the same locker the first week of school...despite our protests that it was impossible to fit one person in there, let alone two. He's not still here is he?"

While Donnie's memory was not an eidetic one, he did have an uncanny ability to recall names, faces, and other details as a direct result of his normal hyper-vigilance to his surroundings. "Yeah," he said in affirmation of all of Jude's questions. Yeah, he was covering the story. Yeah, it was Caleb's car. And yeah, Caleb wasn't here, but answering questions framed in the negative always irked Donnie because no matter what his answer was it could always be interpreted ambiguously. Caleb isn't here? Yes, he isn't here. Caleb isn't here? No, he isn't here. Idiotic idiomatic expressions, damn it all!

"He graduated last year," Donnie clarified, "but not before meeting Tim the Enchanter." He grinned as he patted the side of his bag where he kept his taser. "Didn't I tell you about it online?" Donnie continued recounting the story of how, after a particularly scathing article, Caleb had attempted to deposit Donnie into a garbage can, likely in preparation to roll him down that big hill behind the school, and how Donnie had managed to escape with help from Tim, the pet name he had given his taser.

The two made their way down the hall and came to a stop by the school store to pick up Donnie's "fan" mail and, hopefully if Nora remembered, his midday caffeine injection. Nora was a sweet girl, and part of the reason--aside from the well-balanced roast of their coffee and their free wireless--that Donnie regularly visited the Java House to finish his work. On one occasion, someone suggested that Donnie's actions might be construed as courting rituals, but it was absurd to suggest that simply because he enjoyed spending time with her, that presupposed romantic intention.

She didn't even make the 95th percentile on her SATs. Donnie wasn't even sure if she made the 80th percentile!

"Hey Nora," he said familiarly as they reached the counter. "Mail? And coffee?" Donnie viewed the exclusion of other words such as "Do you have..." or "May I please have..." as one step towards increased lingual efficiency, and he was pleased that Nora would understand him despite those eliminations.




((Hope that works for all involved. And welcome to Ghani :) ))

[Alissa888]

Natalie Cardew knew well of the differences between Troublemakers and Preps; after all, she had once been the regal queen of Chicago’s brand of superficial losers. Well, actually, Natalie would be the vice president of the 40-Watt club (because, in all fairness, the position of president rightfully belonged to Marie-Elisabeth) if she somehow managed to miss the differences. One sect was belligerent, while the other was self-absorbed. One sect found comfort in shunning the restrictive social rules, while the other found comfort in asserting said restrictive social rules. One sect believed in liberation, while the other group believed in “decorum” (well, a loosely defined concept of it, anyway, but let’s not judge the kiddies for trying).

However, added to that, and added to the fact that given the aforementioned 40-Watt club housed Marie-Elisabeth and her cronies – to be fair to Matt, he didn’t belong there – and therefore Natalie couldn’t stomach being a part of it, Natalie knew well of the stark similarities between the two groups; while they lived by their set of (or lack thereof) rules, neither one adhered by the normal rules of social interaction. Push comes to shove, both groups were dangerous to deal with. Both groups had a pervasive disregard – well, at varying degrees – for the next man and it showed in their actions. Both groups were trapped in their own machinations and had serious issues.
Oh, well.
It wasn’t really Natalie’s business, nor her problem and therefore all that remained in focus was the fact that she was doing everyone a favour by serving Matt Sidle his comeuppance. Call it community service, if you will.

However, the point still remained that she didn’t want to get J.D. or Leigh into trouble – though, truth be told, they probably were far more accustomed to dealing with trouble than Natalie was, given that they were far more accustomed to causing it – partly because… she just didn’t want to get them into trouble, and partly because chances were, she’d have to go down with them. Added to that was the fact that Natalie was a hands-on kind of girl. Now, yes, she was accustomed to being the queen bitch, but as nice as delegation was, when you need something done to absolute perfection, you make sure you’re out there in the field. Plus, it was damn fun and she wanted to relish every moment of it.
And so, of course she remained involved in sorting out how to put the plan into action.

"I was gonna say we are people,” J.D. asserted, in a manner that made it clear to Natalie that he was referring to her asking after people. She had noticed that slightly lofty amusement in his eyes when she’d asked the question and wondered if it was in any way an insult to him that she hadn’t immediately pointed to him as the one who’d be able to get it done. "I can fix the cameras.” Fantastic. The less people involved, the better and frankly, with J.D. in the same boat in being a partner in crime, Natalie felt a lot more comfortable. “But I ain't stealin' no credit card."
Well… that was fair. Honestly, Natalie hadn’t truly contemplated the extent of J.D. and Leigh’s delinquency she had to admit that it was easy to ask someone to do something, compared to that someone going out there and getting it done. That said, she still wanted Laramie’s wallet; for his affluent parent funded bias of the jocks, he could afford it.

"Hm, yeah, I really can't risk it either,” Leigh also rebuffed, and though it came as a disappointment to Natalie, the way a crease formed between her arched brows spoke volumes about how much she liked the plan already and therefore, even though it was smaller in magnitude, it was something of a victory. Not that the Laramie arena of the plan was a failure; they could still find a way. Meanwhile, Leigh took the time out to explain why she hadn’t been able to do it; "I'm supposed to be on 'good behaviour'."
Oh. Now, did that have anything to do with the fight she’d been talking about earlier? Or the circumstances of her return? Knowing Laramie, he was looking for an excuse to populate the school with Stepford citizens whose parents could pay a lot to keep their kids’ school atop. And furthermore… why did she feel the need to give that slight explanation?
But Natalie said nothing, instead just watching as Leigh’s determined eyes scanned over the cafeteria in search for something only she knew.

"What about Ty?" she asked suddenly, her gaze locking onto J.D., head tilted towards the direction of her inspiration while Natalie instead watched J.D.’s reaction. He shrugged. Well, that meant one of two things; lack of knowledge or indifference and right now, given that they were better than dislike, Natalie was willing to hear out the rest of the plan.
While Leigh pitched the idea to J.D., Natalie’s scrutinising gaze found it’s way to the object of the other two’s attentions, landing on the distant features of handsome Young man bathed in a casually self-assured air, in the company of a girl with her back to Natalie. Natalie had no idea who the girl was – one to find out, because she looked like trouble – and she had somewhat of a vague idea of who the guy was.

Tyler Young; the man with the connections. Now, Natalie did try to stay on the straight and narrow – she really did… it was just difficult to do sometimes – but she couldn’t deny the fact that most of the time, the nice ones finish last. That aside, in journalism, one did have to know which strings to pull to get what done and who to talk and who to shut up and therefore, Natalie did have the gist of the power players in Brooklake High. Tyler Young was one of them.
However, that said, she didn’t know much. It was possibly because Tyler didn’t do much, or because Tyler did a lot, and made sure people didn’t talk about it. Given the fact that the usually ‘roided up jocks kept out of his way, Natalie was inclined to believe the latter.

"Know who Tyler Young is?" Leigh interjected, leading Natalie to snap her gaze back onto the pretty rebel’s face, realising that J.D. lack of enthusiasm had yet again failed to even halt her in going about what she thought was best. "I think he might be willing to help. Probably for a fee though."
Hmm. Now, paying wasn’t a problem for Natalie, especially if it worked out cheaper than what it was going to cost Laramie and knowing the rates for printing, she knew it’d probably work out a lot cheaper, but she had wanted too keep control of who was involved. That said, Leigh, with her possibly – probably – tentative return to Brooklake had reason to be even more careful and therefore, if she was giving this the go ahead, then it was quite probably a safe venture. Added to that, for Tyler to keep the status he had without the spread of wild and vicarious rumours, the guy had to be skilled at discretion.

“Not as much as I’m about to,” Natalie thus replied to Leigh's initial question, her gaze flicking over towards Tyler’s direction again before focusing onto the two troublemakers in her company, giving her preliminary concurrence for the current vein of the plan; “What’s his story?”
After all, in getting involved, she did have to know who she was dealing with.

(((OOC: Hope this works :D )))

[FurryPanda]

Loren considered lunch to be the most important meal of the day. Breakfast was like an initial free fall, dinner was the last push to get you to midnight snacking or sleep, but lunch was what held the day together. His opinion on math was partly because the subject was dry and confusing, and partly because he was hungry during that class.

So once the serious business of eating with the seniors was taken care of, and the general, but exhaustively detailed process of casting Brooklake's Rocky Horror was finished, he saw the flower (http://ikebana.cgdays.com/images/PICT2772.jpg), poem (http://www.modthesims2.com/showpost.php?p=2543740&postcount=427) and artwork (http://www.modthesims2.com/showpost.php?p=2543778&postcount=463) in his bag, and nearly coldcocked himself smacking his forehead that he'd forgotten to drop off the thing in his lady's locker.

That was what he took care of, and he figured that it would be strange to stand by her locker until she showed up. If it took him fifteen minutes and a hallway full of people wondering why he was staring at her locker, then so be it. He'd signed it, and she would probably think it was easier to bring it up, because beautiful intelligent girls like her were all about the whole feminism thing, right?

Even if he was still cooking on the lovely winter morning in his duct tape coat, the fact that soon he could have a girlfriend, and he'd get to audition for Rocky Horror was enough to put a bounce in his step, a spring in his mind, and an unconsciously whistled version of Dammit, Janet.

He wandered over to the quad, figuring it would be cooler outside, and losing the duct tape wasn't going to happen anytime soon, and saw Lacey sitting under a tree, watching some kids playing frisbee.

He plopped down next to her, not bothering to kiss her hand- after all, the whole thing didn't work out gracefully when both parties were seated- and instead just greeted her, as usual. "Hey, Lacey. How's everyone favorite lady on the whole wide earth?"*

He didn't see how she could say anything other than that the day was perfect- the sun was shining, the quad didn't smell, there were flowers blooming and the grass was comfortable, even if it messed a little on a duct tape coat.

((OOC: *in reference to the first loren/lacey posts
And Alissa, the flower and poem are in her locker now, for her to discover at your leisure. Just gimme some warning, k?
And I'll try to get a Katie post up tomorrow. Sorry for the wait!))

[FurryPanda]

That was the problem with stock answers, Katie reflected as Esteban's expression went off. They didn't work outside of stock situations. At the few parties she went to where people drank, they tended to not understand and leave her alone to listen blankly to the music playing and eat potato chips.

Here though, he wasn't soused, he probably knew what hydrocarbons were in the first place, and maybe even the various functional groups, and it was stupid nerd pun. Natasha would have gotten it, and maybe a few other people would understand, but... That was one of the reasons she didn't joke very much, no one got them.

And of course, he didn't think it was the witty thing it was. That was vaguely disappointing, though Katie didn't know why. "Jesus, don't be such a nerd. You drink this s*** to get smashed, not for a bunch of hydrocarbons or whatever the f***." She hadn't been paying enough attention earliar to gauge if that was more or less swearing, or even in the few encounters to see if more swearing meant anything.

And besides which, behind the swearing, that was exactly why she didn't drink. She didn't want to get wasted. The one time she had, she'd woken up the next morning with her head pounding and the rec cheerleading coach, slightly soused herself, had brought her home wrapped in a curtain. She'd gotten into the wrong bowl of punch, was what the woman had told her parents. After she'd been chewed out for drinking what had to taste incredibly basic, and then doing something that stupid, she'd decided that her parents didn't want her drinking, and it made her head hurt, so that was that.

He probably knew both of those reasons, but maybe for him they weren't as big a deal. She didn't know. She kind of didn't care. She was back at her usual analytical and controlled self, having realized that nothing was going to happen, but she wanted to get some lunch and go running or dancing or something, and she doubted that there was much time left before the bell rang, even if the whole thing seemed to have been both incredibly fast and heartstoppingly slow all at the same time.

"Here. Don't be scared, chica--it only burns for a couple seconds." he said, not encouragingly, but not threateningly either. Almost like he was impatient. For what though? She didn't know, but she reluctantly took the bottle and just looked at it for a moment like it was a dead fish. She hadn't thought that one through really, and she didn't know quite what she was going to do with the bottle. Actually drink it? Put it back on the shelf? Wallop him over the head with it and take her chances bulling past? And then it occurred to her, which might have made her eyes flash mischievously for a second. She opened her mouth, put the bottle to her lips and tilted her head back as if to take a swig, but she clicked her teeth shut so that very little liquid actually went in. Besides which, the bottle was labeled as a gum solvent, and she doubted that whoever had cleaned it had done it to OSHA or EPA standards, and the alcohol would break down anything biological in there, but then again, so would the nitrogen compounds, which was what she was worried about.

The tiny bit of alcohol sloshed in between her teeth and her lips, and burned a little on her gums, and she wanted to hiss or do something, but she made it a point to take the bottle away and close her mouth before she did. The little bit did burn going down, and she made a face, because it was expected, and she didn't really see a reason not to.

Not bad, right?" he asked, and she wondered if he looked a little smug at that. It wasn't terrible, but it certainly wasn't something that she would drink on her own time. Was it so strange to like fruit punch for goodness sake? So, with that seed of a rant in her mind, she put the bottle back on the shelf behind her. It was very much premeditated- she was exceedingly confident that his alcohol tolerance was higher than hers, but that didn't mean that she wanted him anywhere near a threshold. The boys at the studio had made it abundantly clear that she was desirable- especially after it took one guy ten tries to let go of her within three beats of when he was supposed to- so even if he didn't want to do anything, that could change.

As she was putting the bottle back on the shelf he stepped forward and she stopped moving, hating herself for feeling a momentary spike of fear, and hoping she wasn't showing it. "Hey," he said, sounding more indignant than intimidating, "give it back." His arm came up and she put the bottle between his hand and herself. It would seem like she was being nice and cooperative, but really it was just to have something between them. So much for being in control.

So the bottle was gone, the after-taste was mostly gone, and she said, in as dry and sarcastic a tone as she could muster, "It was utterly delightful. Don't suppose I can go get some lunch now?"

Lunch, a run, a few pages in a book, and she'd be good as new. Until then, she just was acting,

((OOC: Hope that was okay with you robokitty?
ETA: Edited. Same question as above))

[AtropaMandragora]

(((ooc: Due to a rather hectic schedule over the next three or four weeks, I may not be able to post as regularly as usual, and my posts will probably not be as long as usual either. I will still be around pretty much daily, and will do my best to not keep people waiting too long, but I just figured it was worth a mention.)))


Being part of a group where you were more or less expected to sometimes put your hide on the line for your friends, Leigh took a lot of pride in not backing away from a challenge. Whether it was about actually helping out a pal, or just causing general mischief, the young lady usually didn't hesitate to get involved, and to do her part, and she didn't shy away from the risks it usually involved, by trying to procure the less perilous tasks and positions of whatever was the plan. Heck, not even when they were assigned to her by someone else did she immediately accept it, but would instead protest and question why she was being "left out of all the fun", sometimes - though it was quite rare - even going so far as to accuse her partners in crime of underestimating her capacity simply because she was a girl. Though in all fairness, those kinds of situations didn't tend to happen all that often anymore, because she had proven herself to be most capable regardless of her gender, and so these days, very few of the people she hung out, which indeed consisted of mostly boys, made the mistake of being overbearing or selling her short. She was one of them, and she made damn sure they didn't forget it.
Which only went on to explain why now she was being so very reluctant to pass on what would probably be one of the most precarious undertakings of the plan developing between herself and Natalie (J.D. might be present, and he might have offered to take care of the cameras, but so far, the actual planning itself hadn't seen much input on his part). But since in this case, she really couldn't afford to risk getting caught, she wanted to make it clear that it was indeed a case of being unable to, rather than being too chicken to. With the prospect of getting thrown back to that dump in Lonsdale (or worse) hanging over her head, she really couldn't take the risks she usually didn't hesitate to. Not when she had claimed to parents and school officials alike that what school she went to really did make a difference to her troublesome behaviour. After all, it was up to none other than just herself to prove it to be true, and stealing the dean's wallet would land her in such a pile of trouble she seriously doubted she'd ever be able to dig herself out of it.

Hence, with her unable to, J.D. not willing to, and Natalie - let's face it - probably too inexperienced to, the only solution Leigh could think of, was to bring in yet another person. And what other person better to bring in, than the young man that despite the school officials having caught whiff of the vague rumours regarding his tendency to supply students with various substances, and therefore keeping a close eye on him, had yet to be caught dealing, or even holding said substances. Despite having had his lockers - both the regular one in the hallway as well as the one in the locker room - searched, twice. He had even willingly submitted to their request (read; challenge) of getting to search his very person. And still; nothing. Not a thing had been found on him.

Furthermore, let's not forget the incident about six months ago, shortly after the school year had started, when Mr Walker's brand new laptop had suddenly gone missing from the teacher's lounge, and never been found. The theories of whodunit had been many - and they still were, since it had caused quite a bit of excitement at the time, and left an impression on the kids as well as the staff - but what had always stood out to Leigh, was how little Tyler had had to say about the matter. When once she'd intentionally brought it up with him, in order to try and gauge his reaction, commenting how someone who managed to steal a laptop from right under the teacher's noses had to be pretty darned good, he'd just simply changed the subject. Very smoothly and very casually, leaving Leigh somewhat uncertain of whether it was intentional or if he'd just had other things on his mind and not really registered what she'd said. But it had still gotten her thinking.

"Not as much as I'm about to."

The sound of Natalie's voice drew Leigh's thoughtful gaze away from Tyler, along with her attention, and back to the beautiful editor of the school paper.

"What's his story?"

Simple question, but difficult to answer. When it came to Tyler Young, facts mixed generously with rumours based on other people's assumptions and vivid imaginations, and at times it was really hard to tell them apart. That he'd stolen Mr Walker's laptop? Rumour, as there was no evidence whatsoever to suggest that he had, even though Leigh had her suspicions. That Neville Highams, nerd extraordinaire, was paying him for protection against his jock bullies? At least part fact, because people had seen senior quarterback Zane Morris get his bullying butt kicked, when as he was giving Neville a hard time, Tyler had shown up and for seemingly no reason at all beaten the snot out of Zane, which did suggest some kind of arrangement between Tyler and Neville. And then there was of course the rumours that Tyler was working for Roy Finnegan, a name well known by anyone with even a toe on the other side of the law, or possibly for some other big crook in the area. That, that was probably fact, based on a few other things that Leigh knew from personal experience were facts; that Tyler had easy access to drugs, hard liquor and plenty of cash, which was hardly something he'd have achieved all on his own, and even though he had never mentioned anything about his supposed employer to Leigh personally, or even about having one in the first place, she knew people to whom he had.

However, that was hardly something she would tell Natalie about, least of all now, during their very first real conversation. But that didn't mean there was nothing at all to tell;

"Well", she started. "For this kind of stuff, he's the one to go to. I've seen him pick a lock in seconds, and last semester he got into several of the jocks' lockers in the boy's locker room and tossed their uniforms under the showers."

There, she paused for a moment as her lips parted slightly in a smile of malicious amusement at the memory.

"I remember that", J.D. commented. "That was him?"

Leigh glanced over at him, and nodded.

"Partly", she said, not feeling particularly inclined to elaborate and share who had been the other part of the prank, and the one to tell Leigh who had been behind it, and thus continued, once again looking at Natalie: "And last year, someone got their cell confiscated by Maltby, and they paid Tyler to get it back for them. And he did."


(((ooc: Also, Tyler is approachable, since Aya_Alexa apparently won't be on for a while)))

[Alissa888]

There’s a code of conduct in high school that most of the people unknowingly adhere to and a small proportion violate; it was an unwritten law and it was incontestable… without detrimental costs, that is and maybe it was survival instinct that left the majority choosing the right option when it came to violating said code of conduct. In fact, this code applied to the outside world too, so yeah… high school was more of an important training base. Basically, there were certain people in high school that you just do not mess with, for any reason and then there were those born to be the designated whipping boys and girls.
Considering her antics thus far, it was clear which of those Natalie belonged to.

Now, there were those in between in their shades of grey and had to assert their standing – usually on the dominant side if they were doing any of the asserting – so that everyone else got the message. Now, Natalie, finding herself on this side of the fence for now after the stint in Chicago, had to admit that she had some trouble figuring out where to place Leigh. J.D. – she could easily place him in as the sort who’d had to establish his reputation once and then only deal with those who felt a little bit adventurous in testing the boundaries, but Leigh… now she didn’t seem perpetually aggressive, as if there were buttons that needed to be pushed in order to bring that side out of her and those were the very button that could be avoided should anyone want a peaceful encounter.
So right now, the encounter between Natalie and Leigh – and she did notice how Leigh’s taking charge put J.D. in the backseat almost entirely, where he oddly seemed comfortable being… perhaps because he trusted her that much – going quite peacefully between the two of them, but quite hostile in regards to the others involved, Natalie had to wonder what exactly had prompted Leigh to test out Natalie in the first place, when she was quite sure not everyone had a test run bestowed upon them.
In any case, there was time to figure that out still.
Right now, the focus was on Tyler, because Natalie wasn’t prone to biting off more than she could chew and as badly as she wanted to get at Matt with the magnificence that she was capable of (oh, with a little help, of course…) she wasn’t going to let it cost her too much. After all, the point was that Matt paid for what he did, not that she paid for what he pushed her to. And Tyler… with his reputation (or rather the ambiguous warning cloud that served as a reputation), involvement required a bit of caution.

“Well,” Leigh started, after contemplating what exactly to divulge, because as Natalie suspected, there was a lot to divulge and as Natalie also suspected, she wasn’t about to get the full story. But fair enough, she could work on a need-to-know basis for now. “For this kind of stuff, he's the one to go to. I've seen him pick a lock in seconds, and last semester he got into several of the jocks' lockers in the boy's locker room and tossed their uniforms under the showers.”

Oh…. that prank… now, Natalie wasn’t sure what had brought it on, but she did have to admit, it was as entertaining as hell. Especially since it’d involved some of their sponsorship kits with red dye that wasn’t all that set and therefore some of the boys ended up looking quite pretty in pink. In any case, picking the locks on the lockers did take some doing and to do that to the entire team unnoticed had to take some skill.
On another note… how exactly did Leigh know this to such certainty…? Well, that was an easily answered question, because as she put it, she did actually see him do this and therefore was quite possibly the lookout on the mission, which again begged the question of why she had quite so much against the jocks and preps.... Natalie had heard a few rumours, but well… this did seem to be an interesting little mystery.

"I remember that,” J.D. interjected, cementing the notion that he wasn’t all that acquainted with Tyler… and so, given that the boys locker room incident involved Leigh and the evident amusement polishing her delicate features, Natalie had to wonder whether that prank – if Leigh had been involved – had anything to do with Leigh personal vendetta and if so, why Tyler had obliged. Money? Possibly… and then there was the fact that it’d all rendered Leigh quite willing to trust him. "That was him?"

“Partly,” she answered, leaving it at that and then moving on; "And last year, someone got their cell confiscated by Maltby, and they paid Tyler to get it back for them. And he did.”

Well, now that was more like it… being able to get into Maltby’s office did rank up high enough with getting into Laramie’s wallet and therefore Natalie was on board enough to go for it and hence she simple took a moment’s consideration to consolidate everything she’d been pondering so far.

“Pretty impressive,” she admitted with a slight inclination of her head, then her eyes locking onto the two troublemakers in her company; “Maybe he’ll appreciate the challenge.”
After all, Laramie was a… prickly character and getting his wallet did take some considerable skill. With that, she rose out of her seat, excusing herself from the company of the current two troublemakers to go proposition another. “Be right back.”
She weaved effortlessly through the maze of tables and chairs – being ex-head cheerleader, her body did carry itself with grace – slowing down as she approached the table housing Tyler before eventually sauntering her way to a standstill before him.
“Hope I’m not interrupting anything,” she began smoothly, eyes flicking momentarily to the disappearing figure of another girl before locking back onto Tyler’s blue orbs, a slight smile upturning her lips as one palm pressed down on the opposite edge of the table from him. “Can I have a few minutes of your time?”

(((OOC: Hope this works, Atropa :) Rushed ending but yeah…
Requiem :doh forgot to say – great new character, and feel free to start RPing, I will add him to the list as soon as I’ve updated all the links etc :D
Aya - so sorry, I assumed that AJ had left when Natalie made her entrance, I didn't think she'd be (outwardly) rude enough to interrupt an on going conversation?
Furry - :bunny: can't wait and will let you know when she ventures near her locker! )))

[Aya_Alexa]

Aj stood infront of the guy and smiled slightly as she waited for his reply. Aj was the type of girl who really doesn't want to be rejected, she thought of it as defeat or something were she was put to shame. she stood there thinking of what to do if ever she was rejected. will she smack the tray to the guys face? or will she just leave peacefully and not think about what will happen. her thoughts broke when the guy looked at her with a faint smile. it wasn't likely for Aj to fall for a guy, be attracted or something like that. she was more of a tomboy, a strong independent girl, one who isn't played by guys, someone who stands for herself and not needing their power or rich fathers to cover for their wrong doings. but looks like she felt something strange and different as she looked at the guy, he was really good looking despite the scars on his face which looked like he has been in many fights, the piercings and the rugged look still he seemed to be nice and friendly. "Sure, Take a load off." the guy then replied breaking Aj's thoughts of him. Aj then smiled and sat at the opposite seat facing him, she bowed her head as she removed the food out of the tray. he then extended one hand and Introduced himself, "Tyler Young, impromptu welcome wagon at your service" Aj raised her head and looked at him. "You are?" he continued, Aj smiled and reached out a hand but before she could tell her name or even shake hands with him, a beautiful brown haired girl came, “Hope I’m not interrupting anything,” she said, Aj looked at her and smiled as she pulled her hands back, she then pouted her lips sideways to the right. “Can I have a few minutes of your time?” she overheard the girl say. thinking that she might just be in the way she thought its time for her to take an exit, Aj then put everything back to her tray, "excuse me." she said as calmly as she can and stood up leaving the two alone. Aj leaves the tray in a table near the exit of the cafeteria and leaves.

======================================================

Kassel felt more a bit embarrassed for dropping the books as she saw the other girl pick it up, "Here you go," she said as she handed Kassel the books. Kassel smiled and reached for them. "I'm Claire Whitmore by the way. I'm new here. Are you new too?" she said as she introduced herself. Claire reminded Kassel of Aj with the dark hair and green eyes. she then wonders what she was doing breaking her though Kassel then smiled back at her. "Hi." Kassel replied and reached out a hand. "Im Kassel Dylan, and thanks for picking up the books" she continued. Kassel looked at the girl and smiled she then put the books down in one of the shelves and looks at her. "Hey, wanna take a seat?" Kassel asked the girl and smiled hoping she would agree since her foot hurts from being hit by the books.

[Ghanima Atreides]

Lilith, later with Leigh and J.D, the Cafeteria



Contrary to what some people believed, Lilith Fitzgerald did not go out of her way to be “unique” as it was sometimes whispered with a sneer; and her distaste for the organized cliques in general stemmed mostly from the fact that once you became a member, you were expected to dress in a certain way, behave like the rest of them, even like or dislike people you basically didn't know simply because you were supposed to. It was this sheep-like mentality that did not sit well with Lilith, who enjoyed the freedom of choosing who she associated with and she'd be damned before she let anyone dictate that for her! Nonetheless, certain people tended to grate her nerves less than others and yes, they tended to move in similar circles, which she supposed meant she was inevitably lumped in with them. Opinions regarding Lilith's place within Brooklake High varied depending on who was asked; for example, geeks and emos claimed she was goth while, ironically, the goths themselves were quick to refute the claim ever since Lilith, tired of constantly being accosted by those snivelling bat-kids wherever she went just because of the way she dressed, delivered a rather sharp remark to a group of them right in the middle of the schoolyard. Apparently, they hadn't appreciated being told they were a bunch of "pretentious mallgoths she wanted nothing to do with", although to be fair, a couple among them were not that bad. Then, of course, were the groups Lilith clashed with by default, the superficial airheads and the well-muscled meatbrains, also known as the preps and the jocks, whom even someone with a far larger bullsh*it margin than Lilith would have found insufferable. They were wrapped up in their own perfidious little lives, people existing on the fringes, such as Lilith, rarely registered to them beyond the fact that they were considered to be inferior and insignificant. This made them the perfect targets for Lilith's mischievousness, the devious little prankster in her only needing an excuse to emerge and shake them out of their complacence. Like that time she and Tyler broke into the boys' locker room and tossed their brand new uniforms in the shower; Lilith had wanted to add a whiff of that skunk scent she'd bought last Halloween but in the end, as the red dye soaked into the white cloth, the result proved satisfying enough. She remembered standing there with a smirk on her face, picturing the outrage which would soon fill that empty room...ahh, to have been a fly on that wall!

Such plans to cause mischief and general mayhem were rarely the product of a single mind and often involved collaboration between the troublemakers, which inevitably lead to bonds being formed. After all, one did not risk warnings, detentions or worse for nothing or just anyone, and there had to be some certainty that, in case one of them was caught, they wouldn't rat the others out. That's the way things worked: Lilith had certainly endured her share of punishments alongside people such as Leigh and J.D, and she would no doubt face them again. As long as she remained careful not to get herself into too much trouble, and the outcome was worth it, she could take it.

Having finished smoking her cigarette, Lilith flattened the remains under her right foot, preparing to leave. During warmer days she enjoyed the peace and quiet of that particular spot, secluded in a nook behind several large trees, but the cold wind whipping her exposed legs drove her towards the confines of Brooklake High once more. Plus, she was getting hungry.

Lilith found the school cafeteria in a familiar state of chaos, a swarm of noisy students miling about, carrying trays or seated around the tables with their friends and acquaintances. A few were alone, she discovered as she scanned her surroundings for a place to sit, but could find neither a group she felt inclined to join nor an empty table. Leigh and J.D were there, but they seemed to be immersed in conversation with an unusual guest, that new girl, Natalie Cardew. Since Lilith just wanted a hassle-free meal she kept looking, discovering that Tyler had decided to grace the cafeteria with his presence but he, too, had company. While she waited in line for her tray to be filled however, Natalie left the troublemakers' company which caused Lilith to reconsider joining them; after all, she had to sit somewhere, right?

Holding the tray firmly with both hands, Lilith made her way towards their table where she promptly set it down, before lowering herself unceremoniously into the adjourning chair. Propping an elbow on the smooth surface of the table, the redhead's gaze flickered from Leigh to J.D and back, her lips puckering up to form one of the impish little smirks the pair would be sure to know well:

“Hey” Lilith greeted as she reached for the fork, plunging it into a bowl of Caesar salad. Diverting away from the pair seated across the table, her eyes followed Natalie Cardew just as she was lowering herself at Tyler's table. Hmm...this had the potential of being intriguing.

“What did she want?” Liltih added with a subtle nod in Natalie's general direction.

((ooc: I kinda lost focus towards the end, I hope this works.))

[maeve.2.0]

"Hey, Lacey."

Lacey glanced up to see Loren had plonked himself down next to her, and was looking at her with his usual cheerful smile.

At first she was happy to see him - she was always happy to see him - and then yesterday's scene of him and shampoo-commercial-hair Natalie, and the churning realisation of its meaning, shifted back into her mind. Oh, yes. That.

Before the axe thoughts could put in a reappearance, though, Loren continued, "How's everyone's favourite lady on the whole wide earth?"

A sad smile crept over her features. It was nice to see him, very nice. Even though it had been only yesterday, she felt like she hadn't seen him in ages. And if he liked Natalie, so what? What was it to her? Nothing, Lacey firmly decided. Absolutely nothing. And if he did ask Natalie out and she said yes and they lived happily ever after and had numerous impossibly glossy-haired children with a love for musicals and quirky outfits, then she would be nothing but happy for him.

It was such a nice day, she couldn't do anything but be happy for him. The axe thoughts would have to go. Yes, even the thoughts where she just happened to sit behind [bNatalie[/b] in maths and just happened to have a pair of scissors on her and just happened to snip off a few of those shiny shampoo-commercial strands. Yes, they would have to go, too.

Lacey plastered a ginormous grin on her face. "I'm quite good," she said resolutely. "It's such a beautiful day, and I have decided that I'm going to be happy." That last part hadn't supposed to come out that way, in fact hadn't supposed to come out at all, but oh well. The sun was shining and there was no need to worry about one's verbal awkwardness. No need at all.

(( Yup, pretty short. Sorry about that. ))

[omarawad]

Name: Liam Jenkins
Age/Class: (automatically 16/Junior)
Clique: Goths
After School Activity: Art club
Brief History/Personality Description:
Liam is a quite boy. However, his mind is a swirling mass of colour and noise. He choses to speak, not through outright verbalisation, but with the paintbrush. When his brush reaches the canvas, creativity flows. It is one of his few creative outlets, but it shows that there is a deeper side to him.
Picture: (Coming soon)

[AtropaMandragora]

(((ooc: Aya_Alexa - Yeah, since you did say it was ok to godmod your character in order to move on, I too took that to mean it'd be okay to move AJ away from the table before Natalie approached... Not sure how to handle it now though, so you'll have to excuse me for leaving their encounter somewhat abstract.)))


To someone like Tyler, with various shady dealings marking his everyday life, two of the most important qualities to have, was discretion and loyalty. Without them, you just didn't last very long in his circles, since a big mouth or even just general carelessness would soon ensure that the cops came after you and threw your *ss in the slammer, thus putting your blossoming career and, frankly, rather comfortable life on hold for Lord knows how long. Well, that is, unless the people you worked for and whom your big mouth was risking getting into trouble as well, got to you first, either to teach you a lesson or to simply shut you up for good. For yes, even though people in Tyler's position had yet to make it into the big league, they did usually still know more than enough about their employers to make the police able send them away for a long time, should they decide to talk. They knew it, their employers knew it, and the cops most certainly knew it.

Consequently, despite his fairly young age, Tyler had already had quite a few run-ins with the police, and even spent the night in jail a few times, but largely due to him practising discretion, and his sense of loyalty, he had yet to be successfully tried for anything. Discretion and loyalty were by now second nature to him, regardless of whether the matter concerned an actual crime, or simply a mere, harmless prank. Although, even so, it was impossible to completely avoid certain things getting out - people had eyes and ears after all - and for some of those things to get exaggerated and twisted around, especially when it would seem Tyler's somewhat rugged appearance - with his scars and his lean yet muscular build - left it to vivid imaginations to just go wild.
But, the fact still remained; Tyler himself just didn't talk, and he never flaunted his business. End of story.

Thus, whenever someone approached him - especially those who usually made an effort not to be seen in the company of the likes of him - he was fairly soft-spoken in greeting them, and, unlike some, didn't announce their approach to the entire room by giving a loud "Heeeey man!". Even when they were approaching him in a place as public as the cafeteria, for everyone else to see, because it could just mean that they were acting under the guise of their business with Tyler being perfectly innocent, and thus not needing to be done in secret.
So, when this early afternoon in the cafeteria of Brooklake High, following the sudden departure of the new girl, Tyler noticed in the corner of his eyes that someone else was nearing his table, he turned his gaze - which had been furtively following a certain fierce redhead as she was slowly progressing in the line for the register - to them, only to discover that it was yet another girl, with her sights clearly set on him. A girl that, funnily enough, would seem a mix between the one that had just left his table, and the one he'd just been watching, in that he didn't know her name, but knew her to be a student of Brooklake, as he had seen her around before. She had been kind of hard to miss, for even though her comely exterior didn't scream of the typical preppy "Look at me, I'm fabulous!", she did move with a kind of confident swagger that set her apart from most of the other students, and there was a perfectly cool purpose in her eyes, as though she knew what she wanted, and unlike most teenagers didn't fear rejection.

"Hope I'm not interrupting anything", she said as she came to a graceful halt by his table, indicating the newly departed girl with a glance, before her eyes returned to lock with his. "Can I have a few minutes of your time?"

However, while her gaze had made a slight detour away from his, his relaxed one had yet to venture away from hers, and even though his eyes didn't wander her appearance, he still appeared to be casually scrutinizing her, perhaps trying to determine her purpose. When kids like her took an interest in "a few minutes of his time", it was usually for one of two reasons; either they wanted to get their hands on some hard liquor for some party they were planning, or they wanted to borrow money. For even though they tended to look like they were well-off , that didn't mean they could snap their fingers and have their parents buy them anything they wanted. Tyler'd had quite a few kids like that come to him because there was something they craved - clothes, iPods, cell phones, you name it - that their parents wouldn't get for them, and that thus needed money from an alternate source to get it. Only rarely did they come to him for drugs, or with the desire for him to do something they themselves didn't have neither the skill nor the guts to do.

Now, the above were of course not the only reasons why people approached him, since there were the "normal" encounters as well, as just proven by the new girl, but nevertheless, Tyler was rather safe than sorry, and thus would maintain discretion until it was proven to be uncalled for, or even redundant.

"Sure", he said, still without taking his eyes off the second pretty brunette to make herself a part of his day so far. "Here?"


(((ooc: Alissa - Hope it's enough to go on. If not, let me know.)))

[Aya_Alexa]

(((OOC: @AtropaMandragora oh, so sorry if i messed up the story, my trip was suspended for 3 days and i wanted to tell you so i could post but i forgot so i went in and post, when i saw Alissa888's post i just decided to make an exit so i wouldn't have to bother you again to drag my character along, so really sorry.

@Alissa888 no its ok. i think im the one who messed up.)))

[AtropaMandragora]

(((ooc: Aya_Alexa: Ah, no worries. They'll just have to run into one another at a later time? :) )))

[robokitty]

Katie doesn't sip the way he thinks a fresa like her would, so something's up. He suspects she's faking like the posers who think they're the s*** because they puff on cloves, but ultimately he lets it slide. She's lying to please him, and that's almost as good as the real thing.

After a light wash of liquor, her face contorts like she just sucked on a pair of limes.

“Not bad, right?” He grins.

There's only one beverage Esteban likes more than beer, and it's tequila. After all, it takes a bathtub of Dos Equis to get him buzzed, but a single bottle of tequila can make him fall from the sky. So when Katie starts to put it away, he jumps like she's trying to toss the blood of Christ down the gutter.

“Hey!” He cries. One hand extends expectantly. “Give it back.” Which she does before he has to add “Now.” Good.

Katie scrabbles around for wherever she dropped her dignity and finds it in a sarcastic remark. "It was utterly delightful. Don't suppose I can go get some lunch now?"

Esteban's expression goes serious for a second then curls to a slight sneer. The f***? Does this chick have the memory of a pothead with Alzheimer's? With one foot, he slides a bucket towards him smooth as a shuffleboard puck, flips it over, and plops himself down. She's going nowhere soon. They've got s*** to work out first.

“What about Pene?” he asks, stopping to take another swig at the bottle. His voice is gravely low, insistent—but without the same menacing edge as before.

"Don't worry about it, I'm completely convinced of your innocence,” she says.

He chuckles dryly into the bottle. “Right, and I'm f***ing Ricky Martin.” He quips. Pauses. Eyebrows scrunch together as he catches his verbal slip. That sounded really gay, didn't it?

"I meant that as an adjective," he adds and knocks one back again. Then, like it's completely natural, with the same spirit as a couple of stoners passing a joint around, he hands the bottle back to her and urges her to “Go ahead.”

A little prying, a few good reassurances from her, a couple more rounds of tequila later, and Esteban's feeling more confident about letting the rabbit out of the closet. Maybe it's just that he's had a good day so far. Turned one jock into a skid mark and got off unscratched. Found Ed's secret stash of booze. Nailing la puta bronceada later. Fight, drink, f***. Yeah. Good f***ing day.

Or maybe it's the way Katie's perched herself onto a shelf. The pendulum swing of her crossed ankles brings back memories. Memories of a black-haired girl who always crossed her ankles like that when she was nervous—a habit that disappeared as she ripened one spring break at a time. His sister at fifteen years old.

Esteban's a lot of things, but he's not insensitive. Sensitivity comes easy for guys who know how to cut where it hurts most. The 101 flavors of fear, apprehension, loathing, and on and on, he senses in others with an awareness like an nail driven through his heel. No, what Esteban's running low on isn't sensitivity—he's bone-dry on empathy. But sometimes it rears its head. Bubbles up through the s*** like the flashes of a glimmering gem at the bottom of a septic tank. And out of everyone, his sister gets it the most from him. Marissa, the one who helped raise him, who kept the family together, and who Esteban insists is pure as the Virgin of Guadalupe no matter how many guys he pretends she doesn't f***.

Esteban's gaze drops to Katie's sneakers swinging forward, back. Forward, back. He swishes down another shot thoughtfully. It could've been Marissa in a closet. It could've been some other culero in there with her.

“You know, mensa, you're pretty shitty at fighting for yourself,” he remarks, passing the bottle to her again. Back before puberty hit him in full and he was still a scrawny little s*** with two hairs on his chin, he got into a lot of fights with older, bigger guys. One good chunk of those fights were cuz of something Esteban did. Another good chunk of those fights were cuz of some chick Rafael did. S*** rolls downhill, and if an a**-sore boyfriend didn't get a chance to take it out on the actual guy, then his little brother was the next best thing. In fights like that with a meatier opponent, it's best to end it quickly, efficiently, and in 10 seconds.

“Don't you at least know how to choke someone out?”




((OOC: So sorry about the long wait, Furry. Good news is that we're all moved into the new place! Bad news is I still have to unpack everything. Luckily, the neighbor has unprotected wireless :D ))

[Slytherin-Girl]

(((OOC: Gah sorry, I am still alive. I was away all weekend, and when I got home my computer had completely crapped out. I've gotten my laptop back from school, so I'll have that ME post up for you later today Atropa (I hope you got my PM before i left))))

[elpemmy]

((OOC: AnnalynneHopes hasn't replied yet and it's been a while. Can I move on, or should I wait? Apologies :D ))

[FurryPanda]

((OOC: Elpemmy, you're allowed to move on if it's forty eight hours without them contacting you. It's not a perfect number, but no one will fault you if you follow it religiously

Will edit with a post for mitch and loren, and robokitty, ill have one up for katie by saturday the latest))

Loren didn't tend to like winter, but the one thing he had to give it credit for was that it made it a lot easier to put up with wearing a duct tape jacket, especially here, on the grass that had only recently lost its frost and was nice and soft, and besides which, he couldn't ever manage to hold onto a bad mood. Pretty soon he'd know if his love of the peerless Natalie Cardew was unrequited, and thus a foolish lust, as it always turned out to be in plays, or if it was true and perfect. Or at least fun as he discovered the latter was actually the former. Not that he had a cynical thought like that in his head.

Lacey smiled as he sat and greeted her, and he thought she looked a little sad. What could possibly be bothering her on a day like this, when it was sunny, not too cold, and it was all but decided that the school play would be The Rocky Horror Picture Show? Did she think there weren't enough girl parts? Or that she wouldn't get one? He couldn't think of anything else that would be bothering her... unless something big happened? Nah, she'd been chilling happily before he got there. He must have reminded her of the show, and she thought she couldn't get a part.

"I'm quite good," she said to answer him, "It's such a beautiful day, and I have decided that I'm going to be happy." Loren beamed back at her, wondering at her choice of words, but rationalizing that kind of thing like he always did. Most people didn't read as many scripts as he did, didn't appreciate what could be communicated with a difference of one word, a substitution of a phrase. So even if it was a peculiar choice of words, it probably didn't mean anything, it meant that she was happy.

Except for the play, which Loren was perfectly confident was the source of what ailed her.

"Smart descision," he said, grinning despite the fact that he was trying to non obviously move his arm so that the jacket wasn't pulling on it and he wasn't leaning on it, as he was doing now, with startlingly painful results. The many-and-varied skills of an actor, once more coming to usefulness! Lacey probably knew him well enough to see his carefully hidden grimace as he readjusted, but maybe, hopefully, she hadn't been looking. He wound up facing her, and maybe he was a little in her space, but they were such good friends, and had played opposite each other in The Importance of Being Earnest and Beauty and the Beast, it didn't really matter "And besides which Lacey, seriously, you have nothing to worry about."

His expression was serious for once, after all, he hated to see people worry. "You'll get whatever part you go out for." He smiled again, it was too much effort to not grin when it was a nice day, his weight had come off of nasty pressure burn, he was with a good friend, and had doubtless just assuaged a real problem for her.

((OOC: I feel so bad for Lacey right now...))

[Alissa888]

(((OOC:
Okay guys, lunch time is now over and please start RPing your characters over to the next lesson - Biology. We'll have the class actually start on the 1st of June to give people enough time to wrap up their characters' current activities? :)

Elpemmy - I echo what Furry said :) Just also try contacting her, though, just to check whether she's been held up etc :) )))

“Get off me, Brennan.”

Moments after Matt had stormed off, with Josh’s mind on nothing but the events and revelations that had urged him to ask Matt to leave for clarity of mind and calmness of emotions because he had neither, he was still holding the pacified Mark down. With Matt storming out, he still didn’t have clarity or calmness but… at least he didn’t have to work on keeping his hurt, accusatory eyes off the other boy, at least with Matt gone, he could focus on the situation at hand and nothing else and pretend that his life was nothing more than what everyone thought it was.
That he was the high school football captain dating Marie-Elisabeth Normandy, that he had a bright future of being a professional sportsman that he was completely looking forward to, that there was no way in hell he felt trapped and suffocated in his own life, and that the only relationship he wanted to be in was the one between him and the young man who’d just stormed out of the room.
That life. The life that Josh couldn’t help but accept would be the easier reality to accept right now. Now he understood Matt better than he ever had; it was easier to lie a lie and pretend you didn’t have any problems.

“Get off me.”
Mark’s voice cut through the air again, now calm and composed in blinding contrast to the hollering that he’d resorted to earlier. Josh still wasn’t sure whether he’d just hurtle after Matt the moment he was released from the grip, he wasn’t sure exactly how violent Mark was still prone to being and he wasn’t sure whether he wanted to go out into the hallway and risk running into Matt before he was ready to handle it.

“Josh,” Dylan started softly, kneeling on the floor next to Mark, her hand delicately gasping his shoulder, inciting him to look straight into the reddened eyes and he felt sorry for her, he really did, but at least she had some control over the situation she’d got herself into. “Thanks.” With that, she bit her lip slightly, gaze going down over to Mark, who just refused to look at her. “I think it’s okay now.”

Oh, right. They wanted him to leave. He’d wanted time away from Matt and Mark wanted time with Dylan. Mark made no objection to her request for Josh to leave – after all, Mark himself had only asked for Josh to let go of him – as if she’d simply just read his mind as to what they both needed right now and simply stayed put while Josh scrambled up off the floor, pulling himself to his feet and brushing the dust off his clothes, looking down at the two people who really just wanted and needed him gone at this point.

“I’m sorry about…,” he started awkwardly, then wondering what exactly he should be sorry about. Dylan cheating on Mark? Dylan cheating with Matt? Matt’s behaviour generally? Wrestling Mark to the floor? Hanging around awkwardly apologising? “I’ll er…. See you around.”
There really wasn’t much to say was there?
He made his quick exit, walking briskly towards the door, opening it and slipping out into the hallway with in fluid moves, not looking back as if the scene would suddenly burst to life if he did.
There, he stood, running one hand through his silky locks, catching his breath and just staring blankly as the bell began to go off, signalling the next lesson. He really didn’t feel like going to Biology at this rate.

(((OOC: Emo, but approachable
Dylan coming soon)))

[AtropaMandragora]

It was quite a peculiar situation for Leigh, to be telling an outsider - and one she had only spoken to for about ten minutes, at that - about some of the most prominent 'merits' of one of her own, of pranks played and actual crimes committed by a friend. Even though in the case of Tyler, he was perhaps something more along the lines of an in-between of a friend and an acquaintance. Leigh had been to most of his parties, she had hung out with him a number of times, she had even made it into his bed on occasion, and he was very much what she would consider one of her own. But in general, he and she still moved in somewhat different circles, as Tyler tended to hang out with older friends, and Leigh, while she did have a few such friends as well, tended to hang out mostly with J.D., Esteban, the girls in the band, and a couple of others the same age as her.
Though nevertheless, Tyler Young was still part of what Leigh had labelled 'her kind of crowd', and usually, tales of who among them had done what and when didn't venture outside the troublemaker clique, because the only thing these kids trusted about the preps and the jocks, as well as the goody two-shoes, was that they would get the troublemakers into hot water if they could. The two former categories because they simply seemed to get off on such antics, or held some kind of grudge because the troublemakers dared breathe without their express permission, and the latter because they were so stuck on the idea of doing the right thing, and being morally immaculate, that they would report and wrongdoing as soon as they caught whiff of it. The only reason why Natalie Cardew had been made an exception, was because her behaviour had seemed genuine, in that she clearly appreciated the satire of Matt, and had tried a second time to persuade J.D. to accept her proposition about the school paper, risking if not life, then at least limb, by approaching him at a time where most others had been making a conscious effort to stay out of his way. The preps might usually be too wrapped up in their own little egos to take notice of other people's wishes, but even they weren't blinded enough by their own splendour not to realize the risk they'd be taking at having their perfect (and in some cases very expensive) noses broken, by annoying J.D.. So, the fact that Natalie did choose to take that risk, suggested that either she was an idiot, or her motives were at least fairly sincere. And one didn't need to talk to her for more than a minute, to realize that an idiot, she was not.

"Pretty impressive", was her verdict of the ten second crash course in Tyler Young's abilities that Leigh had just honoured her with. For even though silence was golden among the troublemakers, in regards to outsiders finding out about the things on their consciences, it was Leigh that had brought him up as a collaborator, and thus it was up to her to vouch for him as well. "Maybe he'll appreciate the challenge."

Knowing Tyler... the odds were that yes, he would. He was one of those rare people with very little to loose, as he didn't seem to care a whole lot about the risk of getting thrown out of school, because he already had a career waiting in the wing, and getting caught stealing a wallet was hardly something you'd be made to do hard time for.

"Be right back", Natalie then added, and stood from her seat.

Apparently, she didn't plan on wasting any time in finding out, because as Leigh and J.D. watched, she made her way towards the table where Tyler was sitting, purposeful steps carrying her forward as though there was not even a single ounce of hesitation or apprehension in her. Much like when she had approached J.D.. But then again, Tyler, while being a known bad boy, didn't have the reputation for giving people a black eye simply for looking at him the wrong way. On the contrary; most of the time, it seemed he couldn't care less about what kind of attention he received, or if he even received any in the first place.

"Hey."

Looking up at the sound of a familiar voice, Leigh's eyes locked on an equally familiar face, discovering that the departure of Natalie had brought the arrival of Lilith instead. The rich-on-attitude redhead that was the singer of the all-girl band Leigh was in, as well as one of her friends, had just plopped herself down on one of the empty chairs around the table, her trademark smirk on her lips, and her gaze flicking between Natalie, the two troublemakers, and the third one whose table Natalie was just stopping by.

"What did she want?"

Enter sudden part two of Leigh's minor dilemma. Just like she didn't tend to tell outsiders about things concerning her friends and "equals", Leigh didn't tend to NOT share ideas and plans of mischief with said friends and equals. Within her circle, people trusted one another to keep secret the naughty things they had done, sharing freely their various experiences and the wisdoms learned from them, sometimes even ending up in a minor duel with all contestants trying to out-do one another. All with the comfort of knowing that none of them would rat them out.

But, that was among the troublemakers. Natalie Cardew, while currently plotting with a couple of them, was not one of them, and both her and Leigh knew it. As did they both know the two of them had to go out on a bit of a limb in trusting each other on this one, and thus had to be, at least initially, somewhat restrictive about sharing their plans with friends and/or previous partners in crime. For the sake of the trust of their current ones.
So, despite the fact that Leigh really wanted to let Lilith in on the plan - because not only was she a friend, but, knowing her, she might also have a few brilliant twists to add to it - out of respect for the instigator of the plan, she decided the best thing to do for now, was to say nothing.
Well, about the plan, that is.

"She asked J.D. to work for the school paper", Leigh said, and couldn't hold back a small snicker when it occurred to her how utterly bizarre the idea had to seem to someone familiar with J.D.'s character, but unfamiliar with what exactly he'd been approached to do. "Can you believe it?"

However, just as J.D. shot her a murderous glare, she decided to elaborate a little, because despite how comical the thought might seem, she did figure it would be good for him, and didn't want him to change his mind for feeling as though he was being made fun of.

"Apparently she's seen some of his drawings", she explained, "and actually recognizes talent when she sees it."


(((ooc: Sorry if it's not much to go on. Let me know if you can't work with it, and I'll try adding to it. :)

ETA - Oh, and yes, slytherin, I did get the PM. :) )))

[Slytherin-Girl]

Once upon a time it had been a commonplace occurrence for Marie-Elisabeth and Matt to be skulking off together towards some secret corner of the school. In fact, people had started to wonder what was going on if there was a day when it hadn’t happened. It had been almost a point of pride that they had managed to sneak off nearly every day and had never been caught by any authority figures doing so.

This time though, Marie-Elisabeth was glad that no one was able to see them for a different reason. She knew it was inevitable that her secret was going to be found out, but she also knew how much damage it would cause for her to be seen sneaking off with Matt. Specifically, how much damage it would do to her relationship with Josh.

She wanted to be the one to tell him about what was happening, to be able to explain things to him and tell him the truth. She hoped he had gotten the message she sent earlier, she would definitely need to talk to him after lunch was over.

Regardless of their skill in sneaking around, Marie-Elisabeth kept glancing over her shoulder as they walked down the sports hall, making a point of ignoring the typically sarcastic comments Matt was throwing at her. Now was not the time to get into a fight with him.

They came to a halt in front of a closet, which Marie-Elisabeth knew from experience to be full of summer sports equipment. Matt unlocked it and opened the door, and she stepped inside. He followed her in, locking the door behind him, and she took several deep breaths both to steady her nerves and rid herself of the lingering nausea.

“What” he finally asked, crossing his arms across his chest.
This was it. She knew that this was not the time or the place to play any of the mind games or dancing around that the two of them so often used when dealing with one another. She had to just come out and say it and hope against hope that Matt didn’t somehow explode destroy the school when she did.

“I’m pregnant and it’s yours” she said, holding up a hand to stall the vehement denial she knew was coming “And before you even say it, because I know you well enough to know you will, do you really think I’d be telling you that you were the father if I wasn’t a hundred per cent sure that you were?”.

If the situation hadn’t been so serious, she probably would have started laughing. “You know me better than that Matt” she said, taking more deep breaths in an effort to stay calm “I mean, for f$@k’s sakes, if there was even the slightest chance that it could be Josh’s I sure as hell wouldn’t be in this closet with you right now would I?”


(((OOC: Sorry about it taking so long. I swear the universe hates me lately.

And I think I'm going to drop Nadia as a Character. I'm not really doing much with her and it seems like I've never got any muse for her. So if you could, could you take her off the list for me?)))

[AtropaMandragora]

Nothing fazed Matt Sidle. Nothing made him lose his cool. That was the mantra Matt had kept inwardly repeating to himself since... well, in all honesty, for most of the day actually. First there had been the incident with Natalie and her sickly sweet sarcasms, and what at the time Matt had believed to possibly be innuendos of that one secret that no one else could ever know about, but that he had since decided were merely wild stabs in the dark on her part. Then there had been the incident with Dylan, when she and Matt had kissed and Mark had shown up, swiftly followed by a rapid combination of blows to Matt's self-esteem, by Mark attacking him, Dylan announcing that he didn't matter, and then on top of it all, Josh and his judgemental hero routine.
It was a good thing, a blessing even, that Matt had learnt the art of truly tapping into those mantras of his, and let them work their magic on him, because even though turmoil was still raging within, on a level deep, deep down, it hadn't taken long for his outer appearance to cool down and allow him to once again become his usual suave official persona, if perhaps a little irritable. And as was always the case with Matt, appearance was everything. If you looked calm and collected enough, no one would suspect you to be feeling any different, and like any good actor, Matt would soon become the part he was playing, and absorb the feeling he was trying to portray.

Right now, that part was that of his usual self, and the feeling was that of being in complete control of himself, of being unfazed. And while he had wished to get to spend at least an hour to himself, possibly even the rest of the day, the few minutes he had actually gotten before Marie-Elisabeth had shown up to tell him whatever it was that was so bloody important, had been enough for him to block out that horrible sensation of losing his grip of himself, and being unable to keep the mask from slipping.
Damn, he was good. So good, in fact, that when Marie-Elisabeth sashayed into the summer sports closet, past Matt and the door he held open for her, he couldn't help but to allow his gaze a quick jaunt along her shapely form, in appreciation of the view, and the memories it brought back of similar rendezvous' a few months ago. Though maybe that all had more to do with the vindictiveness still simmering inside of him, his desire to get back at Josh somehow, even if indirectly. Because if Josh got so bent out of shape over Matt and Dylan, imagine his reaction to seeing Matt check out Josh's own girlfriend...
Not that he needed to know about it, of course, and not that Matt planned on telling him - well, part of him did want to throw it in Josh's face at the moment, but deep down, he knew he probably wouldn't be able to do it after all - but the nevertheless, the thought alone did make the currently rather vindictive teenage boy feel a little better.

But not for long.
Much like the Shakespeare quote goes, when sorrows come, they come not single spies, but in battalions: Marie-Elisabeth would soon prove only moments away from shattering Matt's recuperating outward stability all over again.

"I'm pregnant and it's yours", she said, dropping a bomb so severe that it took Matt a few moments to actually register it and, once he did, even do a double-take, before a split second later, he completely froze.

At that very moment, he wouldn't have been able to produce a single word even if he'd tried, but as Marie-Elisabeth perhaps - and rightfully so - expected him to snap out of it and utter something less than pleasant, she motioned for him to let her finish.

"And before you even say it", she continued, "because I know you well enough to know you will, do you really think I'd be telling you that you were the father if I wasn't a hundred per cent sure that you were? "You know me better than that Matt. I mean, for f$@k’s sakes, if there was even the slightest chance that it could be Josh's I sure as hell wouldn’t be in this closet with you right now would I?"

At first, Matt simply just stared at her, while her words washed over him like a bucket of ice cold water being emptied over his head, and with only a single thought going through his mind: "WHAT?!!"
However, that reaction lasted only for a couple of seconds, before his eyes suddenly darkened with annoyance, and his limbs came alive once more as his arms dropped from his chest.

"Oh yeah, that's f*ckin' funny, Marie", he rebuffed with stinging sarcasm, thinking she was just trying to rattle him because of their recent dispute. "Ha ha. Was that really the best you could come up with?"

He gave a disdainful snort.

"You're losing your touch."

But, just as those words left his lips, his eyes locked with hers, and something in them made him almost flinch. Despite both their skill at manipulating people, and acting innocent even when being confronted, they usually could see through each other's tricks when it came to such schemes, and what Matt saw on Marie-Elisabeth's face right now, was not a mask. Or at least not one meant to cover any kind of deception in her words.

"You're not kidding, are you...", came his voice then, now slow and devoid of the previous gall, as the sincerity in her statement started dawning on him.

Then, it finally hit him, and his eyes widened in horror.

"Are you serious?!?!"


(((ooc: Sorry if it's messy or whatever. Really scatterbrained right now. Tried to work in the bell calling the end of lunch, but it's not really something Matt would register right now... :P )))

[Alissa888]

Explanations were… necessary, but hardly easy.
How do you explain what you did something that you knew then and know now to be wrong, and inexcusable, regardless of the circumstances surround it? Dylan knew that everyone made mistakes, and that the only thing completely unforgivable was to not learn from the mistakes you made but… she couldn’t help but feel absolutely abysmal for what she’d done. She’d sold out her principles, her morals, used a friend and abused a boyfriend and it made her feel worse than any rumour or biting comment from anyone else ever could.
And worse yet was explaining it all to Mark. But he did deserve an explanation and he deserved the privacy to accept or reject it and that’s why she’d wanted Josh gone.
He’d been a gentleman through to the end and obliged and now it was just her and Mark.
Awkward silence for the first two minutes that dragged out for a mental hour, grudging it’s way with friction before any of them spoke.

“I am sorry,” she reiterated quietly, deciding to really just say the only thing that made sense in her head; she was sorry. She really was just completely, and utterly regretful. “I just didn’t think about it.”

“You could have just talked to me about it,” was the first thing he said, pulling himself up off the floor and facing her properly. She suppressed the urge to scoff; no point in making things worse.

“And you would have listened?” she instead asked calmly, then moving on in case that lead to an argument she didn’t want to have. “It doesn’t matter what I should or could have done. It matters what did happen. And I am sorry.”

“You keep saying, but it doesn’t change much does it?” he snapped back, leaving Dylan to just stare for a few seconds. He wasn’t sorry about any of the things he’d done, was he?

“There’s really not much else I can do,” she pointed out. “I gave you an explanation, and I am sorry, but I can’t exactly reverse time. What do you want me to do?” She paused, refraining from getting defensive, because really she didn’t have much right to be defensive, did she? “I didn’t do it because I wanted Matt, I did it because you didn’t care about my feelings.” She gave a small bitter laugh. “And it’s the worst way to try fix that problem, but I didn’t really think about it. I wish I had. I really do.”

To that, Mark said nothing, probably because there wasn’t much to say to it, probably because he just didn’t want to respond to it or probably because he just needed time to really think it over now that Matt was gone and he couldn’t focus all his rage on him. Though, when he did finally speak, what he said was a lot calmer than Dylan expected, and the words were something Dylan had been expecting anyway;
“We’re over.”

“We have been over for a long time,” she accepted with a small nod because even if it was the most ridiculous thing, she did want him to be the one to break it off, to dump her, because they both deserved that much for their respective roles played. And then there was the matter of apologising to Madison, because one way or another, probably because of Mark, actually, the reason for their break-up would get out and Dylan didn’t want Madison to hear through the grapevine that her boyfriend cheated on her. At least this was one person she could be upfront with.
A few more words exchanged with Mark, he made it clear he wanted to be devoid of her company and so, she obliged and walked straight out of the thick, stifling atmosphere of the room and into the hallway, standing there and watching it empty out as people moved to their lessons.
She didn’t want to go. Not yet, anyway.
She took one wavering glance across the hallways, suddenly feeling scrutinised by everyone and yet ignored and left out, swallowing slightly in nerves and shame. She cheated. She’d actually cheated on someone. Oh, God.
She didn’t linger around for long in case for some irrational, impossible reason, someone found out immediately and criticised her for it, turning and walking straight out into the quad to get herself a fix of the cold air.

(((OOC: Wow. I really suck at RPing break-ups. Will post again and move her towards bio )))

[FurryPanda]

A second lunch and fifteen minutes later, Mitch had finished his biology homework, and taken over half the cafeteria table with his notes, trying to find where the answers to the stupid questions were, at first as he had been taught in class, and then as some nerdlette continually provided in some bizarre amalglam of gratitude and fear for what had happened after a football game.

He couldn't find her answers, and he only found half of them in his notes, so he just picked them in alphabetical order. He'd fail that homework probably... what else was new? It still wasn't good for his ego, so as he cleaned up his notes and put away his assignment he looked around the cafeteria for something to make him feel better. A quick one in the closet, some braniac whose face he could punch in, or even a friendly conversation. The last one wasn't going to happen, given his predilections to the first two, but he kept his eyes open, like he usually did.

He threw away his tray and slung his backpack over one shoulder, anticipating the bell ringing, and not wanting to be late to class, lest Mrs. Jaym decide to fail him for the day for being two seconds late. She was a witch, but if she could magic his scholarship away, he didn't know what he'd do.

Glancing at the clock he saw that he still had a few minutes before the first bell, but it was better to be early. As he started leaving the cafeteria, he saw a familiar face. It looked like kassel, some girl he'd known freshmen year. They hadn't been tight, and they hadn't slept together, but he remembered her. He didn't recall her dying her hair black though, or dressing in short skirts and tight shirts like that. Well, to each their own, especially when their own turned out looking fine.

When he drew up next to her, he saw it wasn't Kassel just someone who looked a lot like her. Who was it? He definitely recognized this girl... oh yeah!

The football captain before Brennan had come up with the idea of scouting the other team before games, and Mitch had volunteered to go to Lakebrook's pep rally, because he'd heard that their quarterback was a flaming gay, and that the Lakebrook girls were gorgeous and easy. He hadn't been able to tell much about the quarterback, but he had found some gothy girl who'd been completely wasted and quite happy to go a back room with him.

The morning after she'd gone completely non-linear, and he'd just left, and then Kassel had flipped out at him two days later for sleeping with her cousin or sister or something.

He rolled his shoulders slightly, wondering what had brought what's-her-name to Brooklake, and casually said, "Hey babe", because he'd forgotten her name. He didn't know if she was still pretty easy, but then again, it didn't hurt to talk to the girl, and that short skirt and tight top was mighty interesting to look at, even if that wasn't happening when she was sober.

((OOC: That okay with you Aya?
For the record, he's talking to AJ, and wow, my character is a jerk. <3 ))

[AnalynneHopes24]

"I've moved around an awful lot. Nobody wants to keep me, it seems." She replied, smiling shyly. Melissa raised her eyebrow questioningly, she had her thoughts about that statement but wanted to confirm it for sure. She nervously poked a fork into her salad before moving down the line with Lea.

"What about you? Moved for any special reason?" Lea grinned. "God, I hate joining new schools. So much hassle."

“My dad was transferred overseas. This is the first time, that I actually remember, moving.” Melissa started, swirling the leafy lettuce and tomato stuck to her fork. “It’s going better that I thought at least.” Then again, anything would be better than what she thought. Melissa imagined her first day to be a pit of despair with snobby jerks who would make fun of her for being new, obnoxious teachers and would get beat up at the end of the day. She shuddered and rolled her eyes at herself for being so silly.

"There's always the friends issue too. Which clique should I join? How should I wear my uniform THIS time? What's the best way to fit in? It gets so aggravating sometimes." Lea continued and grinned as she grabbed a drink. Melissa, however, bit her lip nervously, she never thought of that. She casually scanned the cafeteria, and could see people sitting in groups, some obvious by their choice of clothes and others not as easy to identify. It is aggravating, Melissa sighed, touching the small bump on her head.

“Yea…” Melissa trailed off, nodding her head. She glanced again at the busy caf, “So….where do we sit?” she asked, assuming Lea had everything she needed.

((Sorry for taking so long, somethings came up and then when I went on, it was down :/ Is this okay with you ?))

[Alissa888]

(((OOC:
To everyone,

Right, character lists and links have been updated. Could everyone please do me a favour and check that the links to their character bios are working and if not, do let me know and I'll fix it :cool:

That said, lunch is now over, the bell has rung and please do move your characters to the next class where Mrs Jaym would start class (or if they're skipping class, please ignore poor Mrs Jaym)

Omarion99 - Welcome! :D Feel free to start RPing at any time.

Maeve and Summerkelsa - would appreicate it in you guys posted your characters' bios in this thread, just to keep everything neat and tidy ;)

Will edit this post with Natalie )))

[Ghanima Atreides]

Lilith, with Leigh & J.D. - The cafeteria


Some teachers claimed that trouble seemed to follow Lilith around, but in reality it was the other way around. She had a nose for mischief as sensitive as a prep's homing in on the newest trend, the practised ability to read intent in others' behaviour and body language, the small telltale signs suggesting something was going on. It was perhaps not that surprising, considering that Lilith was well acquainted with the usual guilty parties, their mindsets and strategies. An useful ability for more than one reason, vital to any successful troublemaker who often had to rely on non-verbal communication and keen observation skills in order to outsmart parents, teachers and other students who would have liked nothing more than to catch them red-handed. Anyone who couldn't see beyond the surface was doomed to always be the one taking the fall, and as pranks went, they were a liability.

Now, Leigh and J.D. simply chatting in the cafeteria was common enough and not bound to set Lilith's “spidey sense” off, except that in this case they had been joined by a surprising guest, Natalie Cardew. Natalie was newly-transferred to Brooklake and in all honesty, Lilith had expected her to be assimilated by the preps in no-time; the fact that it hadn't happened was a pleasant enough surprise, though she had yet to form a solid opinion about the girl one way or another. However, she was not the type of person usually seen around people like them, causing Lilith to wonder about her motives; hence her question.

"She asked J.D. to work for the school paper", was Leigh's frankly unexpected response, which instantly triggered a disdainful snort from Lilith. This lack of subtlety or apparent consideration tended to irritate those not accustomed to her personality, but the pair seated across the table knew her well enough to realize that the scorn was not directed at J.D.' drawing skills which she knew and admired, but rather at the idea of him working for the school paper.

"Can you believe it?"

...With some difficulty. It was however hilarious to imagine J.D contributing to the jock propaganda articles in that paper, and funnier still that Natalie Cardew had chosen to approach him, of all people! Still, she had the impression things were not over there, nor as simple as they seemed. For once, she hadn't seen Natalie make a quick, embarrassed retreat as she would've expected her to following one of J.D.'s rebukes; instead, she'd made a beeline for Tyler's table.

"Apparently she's seen some of his drawings", Leigh continued while Lilith ate her lunch, "and actually recognizes talent when she sees it."

If Lilith had expected J.D to intervene and confirm that he'd given Natalie a piece of his mind over it, she would've been disappointed; in fact, judging by the glare he shot Leigh when she expressed her incredulity, he had, in fact, accepted! Still, to make absolutely sure, Lilith glanced expectantly from one to the other with the air of one awaiting the punchline to some hilarious joke and when it did not arrive, she peered covertly towards the table where Tyler was now conversing with Natalie. With the next class due to begin in a couple of minutes, the cafeteria was quickly clearing out, but Lilith had no intention of leaving this matter unsolved. Tyler's apparent involvement strengthened Lilith's suspicions, since it could hardly be a coincidence.

“Oh yeah?” Lilith asked, taking a long, thoughtful swig of orange juice and allowing her eyes to narrow conspiratorially over its rim. “What kind of drawings are we talking about here?”

[elpemmy]

“Yea…” Melissa nodded. “So….where do we sit?”
"I don't think it matters." Lea murmured. "There goes the bell. We've got... biology now, is that right?" She smirked. Melissa needed to be put to the test. A friend, she may well be, but Lea definitely didn't want to be associated with the nerd crowd.
"Bloody teachers. I'd skip, but it's the first day and all, and I'd get killed when I got back." she said.
"You don't know how much I hate biology. It's all insides and stuff. Besides, at my last school we had a horrrrrible teacher. She insisted on teaching us. Standards these days." She grinned, shaking her head.
"So, shall we go?" Lea asked, nodding her head in the direction of the biology rooms.

((OOC: That's fine, Annalynne. Hope the above is all okay, especially that I ended lunch so quickly, I got a bit lost ¬¬ Thanks :D ))

[AnalynneHopes24]

"I don't think it matters." Lea murmured. "There goes the bell. We've got... biology now, is that right?" She smirked. Melissa scrunched her nose as if she just tasted sour milk, she really could do without biology. She headed towards the lockers and grabbed her books.

"Bloody teachers. I'd skip, but it's the first day and all, and I'd get killed when I got back." she said. Melissa giggled, and remembered how she and her friends did some “amateur skipping”. They would tell the too trusting teachers they had some other project to do, then spend the rest of that class “working”, coming back just before the bell rang.

"You don't know how much I hate biology. It's all insides and stuff. Besides, at my last school we had a horrrrrible teacher. She insisted on teaching us. Standards these days." She grinned, shaking her head.

“Yes, the teachers who actually make you do work are the worst ones,” Melissa replied, hoping they had easily distracted teacher, “I think biology takes the magic out of things. Do I want to know the process the digestive system goes through? No not really, I'm hungry, I eat, hours later, I go to the loo. Magic.” She waggled her fingers in the air for extra effect and grinned.

"So, shall we go?" Lea asked, nodding her head in the direction of the biology rooms. Melissa once again grimced,

“If we really must.” Melissa sighed. She couldn’t even look forward to the end of school, because than she had a cheerleading practice. “Hey, what are you doing after school?” she asked.

((OOC: Are we doing are clubs and such after biology? It‘s fine elpemmy, it was a good way of ending it :] ))

[elpemmy]

“If we really must.” Melissa said. Lea nodded, and began to walk towards the lockers.
“Hey, what are you doing after school?” Melissa asked. Lea frowned. She didn't want to seem a nerd- after all, it was Newspaper club, but at the same time, she didn't want to lie to someone who was, at the moment, her only friend.
"I'm forced to go to newspaper club. It's a requirement, supposedly. I might just hang out at the park or gym or something afterschool, til I'm supposed to be at home." Lea told Melissa
Newspaper club was going to be dull, dull dull. Behaving was optional, at least in Lea's mind. Who knows, she might actually enjoy her time. She smirked.

((OOC: Eek, tis a bit short. I kind of suck rofl))

[AtropaMandragora]

Well aware of the oddity in the idea of the notorious troublemaker and slacker J.D. Harper agreeing to actually commit himself to a project involving the school, and not even the destruction thereof, Leigh had pretty much expected Lilith to react the way she did upon hearing about it; the initial, contemptuous huff at what in this case could be easily perceived as Natalie's stupidity, especially by those who didn't know her, and her destined failure, soon followed by the anticipation for a continuation, and then the discovery that such a thing simply did not exist.

The sight of it alone drew another small giggle from Leigh, partly because the reaction itself amused her, but also because she could just imagine what was going through Lilith's mind at the realization that no, J.D. hadn't turned the offer down, but had instead ended up actually giving his (rather unenthusiastic) consent. No one that knew J.D. and that was in their right mind, would have ever thought of it as even a possibility. Yet here he was, having just agreed to it, albeit completely on his own terms. Of course. Though J.D. himself on the other hand, didn't seem nearly as amused by it all as Leigh did, and had turned his glare briefly to Natalie, his dark eyes momentarily boring into her turned back, as though the recent exchange of amusement and incredulity between Leigh and Lilith really had changed his mind, and he was blaming the pretty editor of the school paper for persuading him, when in fact it was Leigh's enthusiasm and influence that had been the key ingredient to making him accept in the first place. Without them, and without Lila's obvious support the other day, the offer would have been rejected on the spot, and not in a very nice way either.

Luckily, however, both Leigh and Lilith knew better than to actually tease him about it - Leigh in particular, since she had been one of the three people making such an effort to persuade him - and so neither of them commented on that part of the matter. Instead, Lilith turned the attention to something else, having not failed to notice how Natalie had headed straight from the troublemaker table over to Tyler's, and apparently had her suspicions further stirred by it.

"Oh yeah?" she said, pausing to take a few sips from her glass while Leigh nodded, a smile firmly on her lips, and J.D. turned his gaze back to the two of them, the look in his eyes no longer quite as dark as a few moments ago. "What kind of drawings are we talking about here?"

Though no sooner had the question been uttered, than the shrill sound of the bell rudely announced that lunch was now over, and that the students had better make their way to their next class, lest they'd end up being late.

"Crap", Leigh eloquently announced her opinion in return.

Giving a reluctant sigh, she then did proceed to stand, unhurriedly scrambling to her feet as though as long as she was just moving, no matter how slow, time would wait for her and class wouldn't start until she was good and ready.

"And yeah", she said as J.D. began to follow her lead, having caught the hint of scepticism in Lilith's comment, but feeling somewhat uncertain about how to interpret it, and thus deciding not to act on it quite yet. "What drawings has she seen?"

After all, while Leigh had been the one to pick the satire that J.D. should show Natalie this time around, she still didn't know what or how much of J.D.'s artwork Natalie had for some reason actually been given access to before, that'd had her forming an opinion of what she had called the quality thereof. To be perfectly honest, given how private and touchy J.D. was about sharing his artwork with outsiders, it really did surprise her that someone like Natalie had gotten to see it in the first place. How on earth had that ever come about? It didn't really make any sense. Until J.D. explained;

"She saw this doodle I did of Rubelein a couple of weeks ago", he said, as the three of them started making their way towards the far end wall to dispose of their trays, and Leigh glanced towards Natalie, as her tray still remained sitting on the troublemaker table. "I dropped it in class yesterday, and she picked it up. And now Leigh wanted me to show her the one I did of Sidle."

"Yeah", Leigh filled in, turning her head to look at Lilith, with a smile lighting up her eyes at the mere thought of the satire, and adding, just in case Lilith didn't know which one she was talking about, even though J.D. had ever only done one drawing of Matt: "You know, the one of what he looks like on the inside? The giant slimy toad thing? I wanted to see her reaction."

[Alissa888]

There was a time and a place for everything. There was a time and a place to pull your weight, there was a time and a place to delegate out your tasks, there was a time and a place to throw a tantrum to get your way. Now, most people knew how to do each of those things, but safe to say that only the more successful of people knew that it didn’t matter just what you were able to do, it also mattered equally when and where you were able to do it.
Like now. Natalie was so capable of turning people against Matt Sidle; find a few scorned women, push the right buttons, let them loose and hell hath no fury like what they’d unleash on him. Yeah, it required work, but when you used to be the sort of Queen Bitch that everyone was too scared to cross, you knew exactly how to do it. And, you didn’t need someone concocting plans for you… unlike some.
Oh, yeah, Natalie knew who the brains of the outfit was, and that was why she’d been a little careful around Matt. Compared to his prowess, Marie-Elisabeth was small fish.

However, that didn’t mean that just because Natalie appreciated Matt’s perpetual testing of her wits, patience and perseverance to turn over a new leaf, she’d let him get away with all that he’d done. Quite the contrary, for Natalie was done playing nice with him, she was done giving him chances and reasons to back off. The gloves were off and she’d switched to biding her time, because the best assault was the one that was perfectly aimed and perfectly timed. See, she could turn a few of his girlfriends against him in a John Tucker Must Die fashion, or, she could strip away his much prized popularity from him and show him exactly what he was when stripped bare.
This prank was just phase one; first plant the seed, band together the student body that he’d demeaned by giving them a common opinion to share and then work on it from there.
Of course, the success of the plan depended on the co-operation of the young man currently in her company.

However, she didn’t want to jump out on the frying pan that was Matt’s antagonism and into the fire that could be Tyler’s… well, the spider’s web that his reputation (or distinctive ambiguity of) suggested he could weave. And gazing onto the handsome face sculpted by it’s angular, yet charmingly youthful features, Natalie couldn’t help but catch onto the scars that, though failing to detract from the appeal of his appearance, didn’t fail to paint a picture of their owner’s more… darker characteristics. Those kind of injuries were usually accompanied by more severe accessories – seriously, who hits you once over the eyebrow and walks off, rather than it being the case of someone slamming your head against a hard surface during a beat up session – that either didn’t leave behind visible collagen deposits, and thus being internal, or were elsewhere on his body.
Either way, having survived that, and taking into account his confident demeanour, Natalie deduced that he was probably someone you were not only better off staying on the good side of, but also quite likely to find the experience rather pleasant, should you do so. Furthermore, he was clearly similarly analytical, for though she didn’t keep her eyes intently locked onto his, she hadn’t missed the way his eyes surveyed her appearance, though, admittedly not in the way a lot of the guys tended to look at Natalie, but rather weighing her and her intentions up. Fair enough. At least he was careful.

“Sure,” he agreed, with his sparkling baby blue eyes still fixed on her. “Here?”
Yeah… time and a place, after all, and for what she had in mind, this definitely wasn’t the place, especially what with Tom, Dick and Jose wandering about the place, with ears poised to eavesdropping. Frankly, Natalie was just about comfortable with the people involved in it already and thus, best be careful as to who got wind of it, because there’s bound to be some goody-two-shoes who might overhear it and rat out to Laramie.
And speaking of that, there was no point in standing up and sticking out like a sore thumb, considering the rather unlikely participants of the conversation, and so, she gracefully slid onto the seat in front of Tyler, without further ado, until they sorted out where to go.

“I’m Natalie, by the way,” she introduced with a smile, realising that maybe Tyler might want a name to go with the face, in case the infamy hadn’t spread that far enough and hey, that might add to why he’d agree, because she was hardly one of the preps and she was known for that, if anything. Then, she continued, leaning in a little, folding her arms loosely over the table, with a slightly sly look in her eyes in distant excitement of the plans – she really wanted this to go ahead. “And no… I was hoping for somewhere more private.” Her gaze dropped to the table before raising it up to meet his; “It’s a little scandalous.”

[maeve.2.0]

So yeah, finally reposting the apps for my characters!

Name:
Lacey Cormier

Age/Class:
16/Junior

Clique:
Oddball

After School Activity:
Drama Club

Brief History/Personality Description:
Child-like and quirky, Lacey has three great loves in her life -- the ocean, strange books, and socks.
She and her parents have lived in a seaside home since she was born, first in Australia, then in California. But after the relocation to Brooklake, their watery backyard became a thing of the past, and Lacey loathes it. She loves swimming with all her heart, in part because in the water, she's weightless and moves as fluidly and elegantly as the next girl.
On land it is a different story. Lacey is a bit weird and spastic, once quite miraculously managing to knock over a lamp while standing completely still. She hates her clumsy limbs and most others hate it as well -- her stumbling only serves to irritate them, and most definitely don't see it as endearing.
Lacey adores learning odd little facts and is infinitely curious about every subject under the sun -- from fortune-telling to the history of the barbecue. After moving to Brooklake, the library has become a substitute for the sea. She can often be found checking out books like The Art of War or Moles and Their Meanings, or at home looking up things on Wikipedia or Google.
Lacey is almost like a wide-eyed child in some aspects -- her unsatiable curiosity, but also her short attention span (she often reads five books at a time, forgets about one for months and then picks it up again) and neverending optimism. Wikipedia may be editable by everyone, but that doesn't mean it is a bad source for information -- Lacey believes in the goodness of Wikipedia.
When Wikipedia or one of her books can't cheer her up, Lacey opens her sock drawer. She loves socks, especially wearing ones that don't match and especially patterned ones. There is something about socks -- those cozy little foot warmers, tiny sleeping bags for the walking utensil -- that cheers her up right away.
Lacey has lived in Brooklake for a while now, and she's still not entirely settled in. Her toes itch for the sea of Santa Monica, and she's not made many friends. Most people know her as "that band girl who dropped a tuba on the principal" (she promptly switched to Drama Club after that incident).
She's not shy, just a little awkward.

Anything else you might want to add:
Lacey is happiest when she is in the water. Now that the beach is so far away, though, she will settle for being in thick, warm socks, eating peanut butter out of the jar with one hand and reading a strange book on something exceptionally interesting, such as numerology, or tea, with the other. She wants to be an oceanographer when she grows up, or a dentist, or a make-up artist, or a lawyer, or a writer, or an archeologist, or a rockstar, or maybe she just wants to work at Wikipedia.

She's friends with Loren Dasen and Bodene Rivers.

Picture:
http://i423.photobucket.com/albums/pp316/maevical/gemma_ward1_narrowweb__300x4500.jpg

***

Name:
Natasha Raines

Age/Class:
16/Junior

Clique:
Prep

After School Activity:
Cheerleading

Brief History/Personality Description:
Standing at a mere 5'1", her face almost perpetually employing a foul expression, Natasha Raines might just be the most unpleasant girl you will ever come across. Bratty and bitchy, she is the type of person who will bring others down to feel better about herself -- she enjoys spreading rumours and masks her many, many insecurities with arrogance. Her parents, nouveaux-riche folk who spend more money than they make, don't give her all that much attention, so she has learned to look for it in other places. A ruthless social climber, her unpleasant demeanor will quickly change to a sickly sweet, servile one when around someone of better social standing.
Natasha has a terrible theatrical streak and can be quite the drama queen. She likes glossy magazines, expensive clothes, make-up, stirring up drama and gossip.

Natasha has only recently found her "true self" -- namely, since going to high school. In elementary school, she didn't have contact lenses yet and her hair was still frizzy, and she spent her days dutifully doing her homework and practising on the piano and the violin. She is still, in fact, quite a nerd -- but she has become rather skillful in hiding this with large doses of make-up and fashionable clothing. She has a gifted mind and nearly skipped a grade in middle school -- but declined when her teachers brought it up, as that was also the year she discovered lip gloss and the joys of having a social life. Promptly dropping her geeky friends, she devoted her days instead to slaving after the popular girls and trying to emulate them as much as possible. She constructed a web of lies designed to make them like her -- the subjects of her fabrications ranging from her parents' wealth to the school she attended before. Naturally, the whole thing backfired on her.

Now she is in high school. Her grades are suffering due to her not applying herself, she knows better now than to lie about her home life or past -- she just tweaks the details, these days -- and she hopes, this year, to finally reach the highest rung on the social ladder.

Anything else you might want to add:
Most people don't know that she is a gifted piano player and would get stellar grades if she wasn't so obsessed with her social life. She, however, knows everything about everyone, and what she doesn't know, she'll make up.

Her half-brother Judas Wakefield, who she thought she'd gotten rid of after getting him shipped of to Greenland, is back in Brooklake and annoying the hell out of her - she is still livid at him over leaking those hideous old pictures of her.

Picture:
http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc259/mushroomconspiracy/ricci.jpg

Lacey post coming sooon.

[maeve.2.0]

"Smart decision," Loren said, grinning.

Her face flushed. Her choice of words had been weird. Fortunately Loren wasn't the kind of person who minded weird choices of words - that was what she liked about him. When he was around she no longer felt like the weirdest person in the room.

She smiled, this time less sadly. Here she was, with one of her closest friends, on a beautiful day - she was completely comfortable. She glanced at Loren; his blond hair shone in the sun, and he was messing around with his arm, trying to reposition himself better. Natalie or no Natalie, she would always feel comfortable around him. Loren was Loren. He would always make her feel happy, make her face light up in a smile.

For a second Lacey closed her eyes, letting the lazy sunshine warm her face, and when she opened them again - the faint blush Loren's casual comment had brought on earlier was nothing compared to the scarlet hue that now tinged her cheeks.

Loren was very close.

So close, in fact, that Lacey could feel his warm breath on her skin. So close she could count the freckles sprinkled across the bridge of his nose. So close she stared into his bottomless green eyes, so close a wayward strand of his unruly hair poked out and nearly brushed across her forehead.

She seemed to have forgotten how to breathe for a second.

Was it just her, or was there a Moment? Was there some sort of electricity between them, a loaded atmosphere? Was it just her?

"And besides which, Lacey, seriously, you have nothing to worry about," Loren said. His eternal grin had disappeared and instead there was a serious expression on his face.

She had nothing to worry about. The logical part of her stated calmly that she did not know what he was talking about, but the other part - the distinctly illogical, thoroughly irrational part, the part that was in control of Lacey most of the time - that part wanted to interpret what he said as, don't worry, Lacey, because I'm not going to run off and have glossy-haired children. I'm going to stay here right by your side so you can count the freckles on my nose.

"You'll get whatever part you go out for." His face broke out in a sunny smile again.

Part? What part? What was he - oh. Oh. Of course.

Stupid Drama Club.

He thought she was worried about the part she was going to get for the school play. He was talking about the play. She should have known.

She should have known it was just her - that there had never been a Moment, that in fact the Moment was just Loren not being entirely familiarized with the concept of personal space.

The spell was broken.

Lacey scrambled up, away from him and his green eyes and his freckles and all his closeness, her cheeks hot. "Um, yes, thanks, but, um - we should get going!" she cried, her voice alarmingly high-pitched. "We should get to class."

(( I love these two lol ))

[Ghanima Atreides]

Lilith with Leigh and J.D. - The Cafeteria -->the Hallways



From the angle Lilith looked at it, highschool was the death of individuality. With everyone so incredibly eager to fit in, often through sacrificing whatever traits set them apart from the crowd in the process, and judgement being passed on the basis of stereotypes and shallow assumptions, it was a wonder that the rest of the world wasn't entirely composed of mindless little drones. The so-called popular kids were often the most generic of them all, veritable walking clichés some of them, terrified that any diversion from the “norm” would have them branded as “weirdos” and therefore shunned. Didn't every highschool in the world have its very own Josh Brennan and Marie-Elisabeth Normandy? Lilith wagered they even owned the same clothes, and smirked privately at the thought of an army consisting of single-minded, preppy zombies – God knew they could use some brains. Although...it was only funny in theory.

Speaking of things little known by the masses, J.D.'s skill as an artist was one of them, mostly because he was extremely private about it and secondly because most people who were aware of his “mouthy bad boy” reputation probably pictured him smashing cars (or someone's face) for fun, not drawing. It was just one of those matter-antimatter things, or whatever Monroe had called it. It basically meant the two notions did not mix. Lilith harboured a similar secret of sorts, although in her case current circumstances served to disguise it: it was known that she fronted a local rock band, but very few people knew she had actually taken singing and piano lessons as a child. There was still a picture of a ten year old Lilith in a frilly dress happily strumming away on the piano keys, hidden away in an album somewhere and as far as she was concerned, there it should remain.

All things considered, it was no wonder that Lilith had felt a certain amount of incredulity when told that not only had J.D. shown his drawings to an outsider, but that he'd also accepted said outsider's offer to work for the school paper, a publication known for its bias! Surely nothing J.D. was likely to draw could have prompted Natalie to want to print it...right?

"And yeah" Leigh intervened as the trio made their way towards the end of the cafeteria to dispose of their trays, "What drawings has she seen?"

"She saw this doodle I did of Rubelein a couple of weeks ago", came the response "I dropped it in class yesterday, and she picked it up." Fair enough, so far. And now Leigh wanted me to show her the one I did of Sidle."

At once, Lilith's brows shot upwards: oh, really?

"Yeah", Leigh confirmed with a mischievous glint in her eyes which reminded Lilith of her earlier suspicion that something not quite straightforward, or innocent, was afoot, "You know, the one of what he looks like on the inside? The giant slimy toad thing? I wanted to see her reaction."

The redhead gave a brief, devilish laugh, grinning approvingly at J.D. - oh yes, she remembered that one. Satire could hardly get any better.

“That was a good one,” she told him, yet mere seconds later a thoughtful crease began forming above her pale green eyes: hold on a minute, that was what prompted Natalie to make her offer to J.D.?! It was difficult to swallow, for even if Natalie had somehow assumed that the creator of such a piece could be persuaded to work for the school paper, Lilith could hardly imagine J.D. agreeing to draw the sort of images capable of passing inspection. Or...

“Wait,” Lilith said abruptly, stopping in her tracks once the trio was out of the cafeteria and, having made sure there were no possible eavesdroppers in the vicinity: “Are you trying to say that Natalie is willing to publish that sketch of Sidle the Great as a toad? Laramie would have an aneurysm. Unless...” Lilith's voice drifted as her eyes narrowed cunningly, for she had not failed to notice Tyler and Natalie were still immersed in conversation back at their table, “there's a catch?”

((ooc: Guh, I hope this works, Atropa!))

[AtropaMandragora]

(((ooc: I know I said this before, but I can't help but to repeat it, since I hate making people wait for me for very long, but at the moment, 95% of my time awake is spent at Sweden Rock Festival, and so while I do check in to read posts and PMs daily, ones actually written by me will be scarce until Sunday/early next week. :) )))


His reputation as a criminal and for being involved in racketeering notwithstanding, Tyler Young was also known for being a generally friendly guy; someone fairly easy for most people, regardless of gender and background, to get along with, with a good sense of humour, a laid-back attitude, and no actual need to assert himself as the big bad wolf he was rumoured to be, by talking tough or picking fights with anyone that happened to cross his path, intentionally or otherwise. If someone bumped into him, he was actually more likely to stop and make sure they were alright, than he was to want to wring their neck on the spot for inconveniencing him, or to verbally abuse them somehow. And despite his rugged exterior, there tended to be this boyish twinkle in his eye, of mischief just waiting to happen, that upon closer inspection might make it difficult to think of him as no more than a rogue. After all, aside from his lean, muscular frame, the telltale scars on his visage, and the reputation attached to his person, there was little to allude to the more dangerous aspect of his being. And it wasn't even due to him trying to hide anything, or pretend to be more innocent and amiable than he was, in order to consciously make himself a wolf in sheep's clothing, and thus mislead people to think he was harmless. To most people he really was harmless, unless of course he was given good reason not to be, and his smiles - open, bountiful, and utterly disarming - tended to be perfectly genuine in nature. Heck, even those who from experience knew him to actually be a big, bad wolf, often found it hard to dislike him or speak ill of him, simply because he had such a pleasant way about him that made him hard not to like. Even when he was planting his fist in your gut.

It was usually only people like Zane Morris, and others who were simply too dense to register a warning when delivered with anything less than straightforward violence, who got to see the not-so-friendly side of him. Though even so, the general advice would still remain not to get on his bad side, because considering how mean a punch he packed when still being fairly sympathetic, you really did not want to find out what it was like when he felt less inclined to be. Nor did you want to disappoint or anger him enough for him to possibly mention your name to his employers.
Not that they were likely to care much, since they had bigger and better things to focus on, and would let Tyler deal with his own headaches, but you never know... In cases such as this, the wise would rather be safe than sorry.

But anyway, because of his carefree nature, his down to earth attitude about the various cliques (or rather, his disregard for their largely self-imposed rules for socialising), and the small business he ran, he was used to being approached by all kinds of people, and with the vast difference between the aforementioned factors, had made a habit of not making actual assumptions regarding their reasons, until they'd had the chance to present them to him. Something which the pretty brunette just claiming the seat opposite of him was about to do;

"I'm Natalie, by the way", she said as her glossed lips curved into a polite yet far from impersonal smile, to which Tyler responded only with a short, casual "Tyler", without the handshake he'd offered the other girl, since Natalie seemed intent on continuing, by answering his question; "And no... I was hoping for somewhere more private."

She paused for a moment, while her gaze dipped briefly to the table surface, the look therein having grown yet a little more conspiratory once it returned to lock with his again, managing to draw a faint smirk from his lips all on it's own accord, as it left him able to sense the rest of what she had to say even before she said it;

"It's a little scandalous."

Scandalous... Tyler liked the sound of that. It indicated that what she was looking for was not to buy something from him, or borrow money, but that what she was interested in, was his expertise. Such prospects were refreshing, as they usually offered quite a bit of stimulation. And the prankster and the daredevil in him always did appreciate a challenge.
Yup, if by her choice of words, she had hoped to pique his interest, she had succeeded.

"Alright", he thus said, refraining from continuing immediately only because it was at that exact moment that the bell rang, marking the end of lunch.

Though once the signal had sounded, and the hustle and bustle of students hurrying off to class took over, he gave her a few swift instructions, since by now, thanks to his shadier dealings, he was used to arranging private face-to-face negotiations.

"Meet me by the girls' restroom on the second floor in a couple of minutes", he said, while leisurely rising from his seat. "If it's empty, wait inside. If not, outside."

Then he added, with a glance towards the students filtering out of the cafeteria, his gaze once again locking ever so briefly on that one particular redhead who, possibly unknowingly, had managed to attract the attention of his eyes quite a bit over the past couple of months;

"Unless, of course, you're in a hurry to get to class?"

Towards the end of the question, however, his gaze was back to resting casually on Natalie's slender form, and her intelligent eyes in particular, as if to guesstimate just how intent she might be to procure what he assumed was some kind of service from him.

As it would turn out, it seemed she was very determined indeed, and that the matter was, at least by her standards, fairly important, because rather than suggesting that they'd discuss it after class, she did agree to follow his instructions and meet him on the second floor in a few. Thus, with no further ado, the two of them went their separate ways, Tyler handed in his tray, and then left the cafeteria. First destination; his locker. He had to stop by there in order to pick up a little something that would help ensure the privacy that Natalie had requested. Once that was done, and a long, folded strip of yellow and black plastic was tucked into his one back pocket, he made his way towards the less populated part of the school, unhurriedly cruising between the last wave of students on their way to class, and took the stairs up to the second floor in a couple leaps, covering three or four of the stony steps at a time.

Much like expected, due to classes being about to start, the hallways there were practically empty, and upon turning the corner that made the little ladies' restroom come into his field of vision, he found that it too had to be empty, as he had given Natalie plenty of time to get there before him, and she was not waiting outside, thus signalling that the coast was clear for him to enter without risking setting off a cacophony of high-pitched squealing.
Before he did, however, he reached back into his back pocket to retrieve the strip of tape he'd brought with him, and fastened one end on the left side of the door, and one on the right, so that when the door drifted shut behind him, the tape stretched from one part of the door frame to the other, announcing "Out of order (http://www.crimson-tale.com/Temp/OutOfOrder.jpg)". It was a perfectly safe way of ensuring they wouldn't be disturbed, because even though what he had just done had all been caught by the security camera outside, there was no one watching the monitors, and so the only way anyone among the staff would notice, was if they went back to review the recordings, which they would have no reason to do, since there would be no blowing up of the toilets, or anything else that would call for any kind of administrative attention. Nor would the students be likely to care too much about it, since most of them were in class, and even those who were not would hardly find it an odd occurrence that the restroom was out of order. It was after all how Tyler had procured the tape in the first place.

Though he did still wish to be on the safe side, and so before he even acknowledged Natalie that stood waiting by the sinks a couple of feet away, he reached down and pulled out a stiletto (http://www.crimson-tale.com/Temp/TylersStiletto.jpg) from his inside his boot, fired it open, and wedged it into the small crack underneath the door so that it wouldn't open, and give anyone that might try to open it, the impression that it was locked.
Only once that was done did he straighten his back to look at Natalie, as though to signal that he was now ready to listen.

[FurryPanda]

Katie didn't drink. Not because she didn't like it, her father had insisted that she try a bunch of different kinds so she would recognize what tasted different if it became necessary, and most of them tasted fine to her. She didn't not drink because she didn't want to get hung over, because well, she figured that that was the fair trade for rebelling against society's expectations for Ms. Braniac. No, the reason she didn't drink was because she was so damn sensitive. A large daquiri was enough to get her giggly, and she didn't have any knowledge of what her threshold was for when her iron self control would slip with tequila. All she knew was that it would be much, much lower.

When he took the bottle back he didn't move to let her out, and she supposed she had known that was coming. What he actually said shouldn't have surprised her, but it did. "What about Pene?"

Wasn't the fact that she'd just been sh*tless with fear enough to assure him of some degree of safety? That and the still rather undeveloped, but much weightier seeming threat that he'd made as they came into the closet? Iti didn't really matter, she figured she'd be kind of testy if the situations were reversed. But then again, given how testy she was now, it would still be an improvement.

"Don't worry about it," she said flippantly, "I'm completely convinced of your innocence." As usual, right as it came out of her mouth she realied it was the wrong thing to say. He knew full well that she knew that he was responsible for the prank, but she wasn't going to do anything about it. It was hardly as if clearing Penny's name completely was her only option to help her friend after all, given how much the guidance counselor's trusted her, and given what a bad job Laramie did of hiding his passwords.

“Right, and I'm f***ing Ricky Martin.”

She was about to comment that Ricky Martin seemed like he could do better, but he added before she could decide if that was prudent, "I meant that as an adjective".

And then he passed her the bottle of tequila again. Dammit, was he trying to get her drunk? She took another tiny sip, hating the sensation, not of the alcohol, but of not really having much say in the matter. She passed it back, and tried to back up, but there was that shelf again. He wasn't nearly as threatening as before, she just... didn't want to be near the nasty alcohols, and whatever leftover nitrogen compounds were floating in there, and Esteban himself. So she hopped up and sat on the shelf, crossed her ankles demurely- and defensively, with a bit of lingering paranoia- and explained that there were other ways she could get Penny off the hook, that blaming someone else was just the easiest.

He pried, she said she could make the suspension go away, he kept asking stuff, and Katie figured he was just looking for reassurance at this point. She told him that there was absolutely no animosity regarding the prank, and didn't go much deeper than that. He gave her the bottle twice more, and she started focusing on her breathing to keep the awkward sensation out, and her legs started swinging of their own accord. She wasn't drunk, not even tipsy, but it was better to start fighting it before it happened.

And then he took a sip, and changed the subject. “You know, mensa, you're pretty shitty at fighting for yourself.” He handed her the bottle and as she took it she glared a moment. She didn't like being told that she was bad. At anything. If someone told her she was bad at math, she would show them the sort of math she had had to do for her BS. If someone said she couldn't write, she would show them her book. If someone said she was bad at science, she would wear them down with trivia and theorems. If someone said she wasn't an athlete she'd shrug and take it. Dance was a sport, and it was hard, but they would split hairs longer than she would.

But it was accurate to say that she didn't know much about fighting, all she really knew was accidents that had happened at her dance studio- a fan kick landing anywhere was horribly painful, catching up to someone who did an alexander roll at the wrong time in the choreography was almost impossible, second position arms were hard to grip... And of course her studies in anatomy. If that fan kick was closer to a battement and it came into contact with any of the more fragile bones, they would probably break- ribs, manubrium, lower ulna and radius...

Esteban's voice interrupted her musings. “Don't you at least know how to choke someone out?”

"No..." Probably had something to do with making a trachea collapse... She doubted that it was actually physically strangling someone was what he was going for. So the trachea was right at the front of the neck, behind a thin muscle... enough force applied there would mean that it would invert painfully and stifle breathing, and maybe even break it.

"It's something to make the trachea collapse on its own right? I guess a flat hand, though you would get around it all the way with a jazz hand of some kind..."


((OOC: EDITED- good?
Maeve- I'll do a Loren post tomorrow))

[Alissa888]

The right time and place being somewhat of a constraint, what Natalie had said had been to advertise the project somewhat, in complete subtlety, much like the advertisements that rather cleverly started with “DON’T read this” and thereby getting you interested in reading it. Yeah, in one sense it was the forbidden fruit effect, or maybe it was the Pink Elephant theory, but either way, it usually worked and therefore, Natalie made use of subtle varieties of it in her articles and general management of the paper, as well as in her actions in life. Right now, being rather unable to unveil the sheer outrageousness of the plan right there and then in the cafeteria, she simply hinted at it.
She hoped it worked, because as things were, Tyler’s involvement was more or less a keystone.
And judging by the vague smirk weaving onto his lips before she spoke, he was liking it so far. So… she was right, he would most probably appreciate the challenge. Natalie liked that.

“Alright,” he conceded, only to then have anything else he was about to say be cut short by the impeccably timed bell wielding its innate ability to cut short any budding conspiracies. Well, trying, anyway, because Natalie wasn’t going to let it stop her.

"Meet me by the girls' restroom on the second floor in a couple of minutes,” he then instructed, rising out of his seat casually, leaving Natalie to be more assured in the stance that he’d done this multiple times before, which in turn improved her assessments of his abilities, because it wasn’t all that likely that he became proficient at arranging secret meetings that lead to nothing at all, and given that there was severe ambiguity surrounding what everyone did know, it was a good sign. Besides, all else aside, she was perfectly fine walking into the little girls’ room. “If it's empty, wait inside. If not, outside.”
Hell, Natalie would make sure it was empty. She was patient, but she wasn’t exactly a saint.
As his gaze surveyed the exodus of students, locking for a few seconds on one particular redhead – who Natalie only knew by her fierce reputation rather than any personal experience – who was, funnily enough, in the company of Leigh and J.D. Well… not exactly a big surprise, given that Natalie did know that Lilith and Leigh did keep each other’s company frequently, and with Leigh expressing her trust of Tyler pretty clearly, and with Tyler’s possible interest in Lilith, it did paint a picture of a tightly knit group, leaving Natalie to wonder how much she should watch her back, clearly being the outsider in this instance. Well, how much more, anyway. However, journalist suavity in full throttle, she didn’t let herself be caught following Tyler’s gaze, averting it to survey the rest of the crowd before Tyler’s gaze returned to settle on her, whereupon she returned it by locking eyes with him once more.
“Unless, of course, you're in a hurry to get to class?”

To this, Natalie simply looked amused. Yup, she certainly was the (supposed) goody-two-shoes amongst the established troublemakers and therefore, the checks to ensure that she wouldn’t have a coronary about missing five minutes of class were justified she supposed. Natalie couldn’t care less about being in class on time – she already knew the stuff, she knew she’d get the top grades, she knew she could talk her way out of detention for being late, and right now, her time was better invested in this project.
“I now have better plans for my time,” she thus replied with a slightly mischievous smile, accepting his instructions and then grabbing her stuff and taking her leave, eyes flicking over to the tray still over at the other table. Well, not her problem anymore.
She quickly wove her way through the zombie crowd absently navigating itself somewhere or another, not exactly in a grand hurry to get herself to the girls’ bathroom but still brisk in her speed as opposed to the others’, gracefully slipping between the shuffling bodies in the hallways and up the stairs, overtaking them with speed and strategy and finding herself soon pushing open the door of the second floor girls’ bathroom, amidst a few other girls making their way out, rushing over to class, finally finding the room empty save for one little hindrance.

Whatshername. Kellie Anderson, another citizen of the Orange County, due to the prolific use of the fake sun tan – honestly, gremlins came out to play in weather like this, and who did she think she was kidding pretending she’d been out sunbathing, when in fact, she’d just been spraying on the fake tan like nobody’s business, making herself look like a damn oompaloompa – standing there by the mirror with what was most definitely an entire vanity case, painting her face, supposedly just having finished with her hair, taking out strawberry coloured lipgloss and liberally sliding it on (though, admittedly with practiced skill), then moving onto the blusher.
Right. Natalie wasn’t going to waste time because of her and therefore, it really came down to getting her out of here before Tyler arrived. Though… now it would be funny if Kellie was left with the impression that Natalie and Tyler were meeting for more romantic purposes than business, and it’d definitely teach her not to shoot that dirty look one more time. Friends in high places and all that jazz.
However, Natalie could deal with this one all on her own and upon receipt of the attempted demeaning that the blonde shot at her, Natalie stared her down. Kellie looked away, and just on the principle of teaching her a lesson and getting her to leave as soon as possible, even if meant psyching her out, Natalie kept her gaze locked onto the other girl, leisurely leaning against the wall of the restroom, arms folded and a smug smile over her lips.
Vain little thing, wasn’t she?

“What?” Kellie turned around and snapped, again attempting to treat Natalie like something she scraped off her shoe… problem was, she was a little uncomfortable and it showed. When you’re trying to demean someone, you play tough, you don’t show discomfort, it ruins the show. Insecurity… that was why Kellie was wearing so much make-up and playing out the big ‘I am’. “What're you looking at?”

“Just wondering whether you're trying to look like a circus freak,” Natalie replied coolly, tilting her head in slight contemplation, always maintaining that air of superiority regardless of what Kellie did. Kellie stared for a second as if she wanted her eyes to shoot daggers at Natalie, then slamming the eyeliner held in her hands back into the case and storming out, shooting another dirty, debasing look at Natalie, coupling it with the oh so original insult of “Bitch” before she left, the latter simply following her movements with silvery golden eyes.
And there we go. Alone at last.

However, not long passed before Tyler remained true to his word and joined her in the restroom, leaving Natalie to wonder whether he’d evaded the cameras or whether he just didn’t care. Frankly, she did suppose it wasn’t that much of a big deal; these places were often used as a (tacky) spot for make out sessions and more and no school authority cared that much about it. However, when Tyler flipped open a knife from his boot, Natalie did shift a little, though out of interest rather than fear; had that knife seen much use in actual violence? Why did he have to carry it around in school? Habit or necessity? If necessity, Natalie doubted it was because Tyler needed to defend himself from anyone in school, but more to encourage any opposition in school to play nice. If habit, she had to admit her mind quickly conjured up images of the type of company that would forge such a habit. Well, call it digging the bad boy vibe, but Natalie couldn’t deny that, danger aside, it was definitely appealing that he could hold his own fort against that.
However, watching as he straightened up to his full height, turning to face her, ready to listen, Natalie did realise that he wasn’t exactly an unreasonable guy, because if that knife had seen use in school – and considering how belligerent certain members of the student body got – she would have most definitely heard about it and that he probably didn’t use it when there was a viable alternative.
However, the question still remained; would he use it and under what circumstances? Both questions not entirely salient to this topic and simply for her own curiosity, Natalie pressed on.

“Thanks for meeting me,” she began with courtesy, form her stance of leaning back against the counter, palms pressed down on it’s surface, supporting her upper body before she pushed off, standing on her own feet again.

“I was told that you’d be the man to go to for something of a more… exigent nature,” she started, folding her arms slightly as she took a couple of graceful steps towards him, knowing that he probably didn’t get many requests like this, mischief spreading over her features as she spilled what she wanted; “Something like getting Laramie’s wallet?”
She unfolded her arms, letting them drop to her sides as she gave a one sided shrug as if she ensure it wasn’t an irrational task; “Only for about five minutes or so.”

(((OOC:
Maeve - thank you! :D
Atropa - hope this works and hope you're having fun at the festival :D )))

[AnalynneHopes24]

"I'm forced to go to newspaper club. It's a requirement, supposedly. I might just hang out at the park or gym or something after school, til I'm supposed to be at home." Lea replied.

"Do you know what section you want to write for?" she asked, "Even if it's a...requirement." She gave a small smirk and wondered whether if really was a requirement or not. Last time she checked, you get to choose which activity you sign up for. Although, her parents could be forcing her... she thought as they arrived to the door to Bio.


((I know what you mean, I'm running out of ideas too. XD))

[FurryPanda]

It never ceased to amaze Loren how varied people were. Even when he thought he knew them perfectly well, knew them as well as a character that he had taken and internalized completely, they would do things that would surprise him, or just that he had no explanation for. It was marvelous.

Like Lacey. He'd known her for almost three years now, and they'd been the best of friends for most of that, but sometimes she was just so delightfully random! Like now. Why was she blushing? Was it some sort of deep pathos stemming from a repressed memory of getting a lousy part, or worse, being an extra, from before she moved here? Was it allergies? Even in winter, this close to the grass and near the school's garden there was pollen.

He didn't even know if she was breathing... it didn't sound like it, but then again, he didn't usually listen. Except that she had convinced him to go swimming with her once the summer after sophomore year, and he'd become quite enchanted by the sound of her breathing. It wasn't something that he actively sought to listen to, but when they were this close, he should have been able to hear it, right? So it was probably allergies.

Which would explain why she sprang to her feet like she'd just been eaten by a cat, to get away from the new pollen blowing over from the crocuses and the early spring hibiscus. Her face was really red, and Loren sat up, looking a bit concerned. He hadn't even known she had allergies...

Her voice was really high when she said, "Um, yes, thanks, but, um - we should get going! We should get to class." She did tend to be a lot less laid back about school then he was, but getting shrill about it? It was just one more facet... allergies made her squeaky apparently.

He had gotten up to a half sitting up position when she'd gotten up, like the girls in gym class who couldn't do a push up and didn't bother taking their knees off the ground, and sprang lightly to his feet to follow her. Glancing at his watch out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the bell was going to ring in a couple of seconds. As usual with only a tiny amount of time to come up with and deliver something, he managed. "Yeah, the bell should be ringing any second now-" And there is was, the bell ringing, making the entire quad freeze for an instant, and then move like an overturned anthill to go to class.

He smiled that same irrepressible smile at her, reveling for an instant in the fact that he'd been able to time that right- he'd wanted to use that line for ages- and they started walking to class in that same unbelievable loud buzz of the hallways. They passed Natalie's locker and Loren half wanted to peek in through the grille of the locker to see if the flower was there, but knew that that would be in bad taste, since he was in company.

And besides which, he didn't really want to. He was with a good friend, auditions were an unannounced soon for one of the best musicals ever, and how could he do anything but smile at Lacey, every student passing by, and the ugly paint on the lockers?

As long as he was thinking about the musical... "So, you excited for Rocky Horror?" It wasn't really a question, Loren was physically incapable of imagining any reason for someone to not be excited for Rocky Horror, but he figured that if that was how the seniors started thier elaborate casting rituals, then it would work here too.

((OOC: Hope that's okay with you?))

[FurryPanda]

The chick didn't say a word in the time it took Mitch to breeze on by, but he wasn't too concerned. He could find her later if she wanted to be found, and if she didn't, then it was a waste of time to hang out with her. And besides which, the first bell had rang, and Mrs. Jaym had warned him that she would call his mother if he blew off her class one more time, and she had then warned him that if he got in trouble with his schoolwork one more time, then he was off the team, never going out til he got straight A's or anything.

So he walked by Whatshername, having greeted and been ignored, and got to class a couple of minutes before second bell was due to ring. At least he wasn't the first one to class, a couple of times he had been and he knew that it was only some uncharacteristic self control on Gavin and Mark's part that he hadn't been mocked as a nerd, and only a long and devoted internalization of jock-ness that had prevented any nerds from commenting.

As he sat down to unpack his binder Mrs. Jaym walked up to him. "Hey, I'm on time, I did my homework, what the heck?" he said petualantly. She wrinkled her nose like she was wondering why in heaven's name she had chosen to teach a class that everyone, from those freakish little geniuses like Katie Byrd and Donnie Kang to the Grade D morons like him, had to take.

"The guidance counselors have scheduled you to have some private tutoring." Mitch mentally translated- "I had to work my ass off to get your sub-CroMangnon brain out of my class, but I managed. I feel really sorry for whatever poor idealistic kid gets stuck with you."

"Okay?" he said, and started putting his binder away again.

Mrs. Jaym told him that he would be meeting his tutor, Dylan in the science prep room, and that he should take his stuff. It really didn't matter who his tutor was, at least this one was some guy, so he could probably intimidate him into just speaking glowingly, and giving him test answers.

He walked over to the science prep room and sat down, to doodle out that play that he and Mark and Gavin had discussed at lunch. Each little B and X was carefully, meticulously considered. If B did this... then X would do this to counter, so another B had to go... and then he was quite throughly entranced marking out the full field.

((OOC: Alissa, I hope that's okay with you?))

[Alissa888]

Pull yourself together, Dylan.

The scarce slivers of sunlight pierced down on the snow covered grass, the brilliant and uneven whiteness scattering the sun’s warmth away from it, creating a divide, the warmth in the sky and the coldness in the ground, amidst the almost empty open land standing a lone figure hugging herself against the icy winds whipping itself against the exposed skin, infiltrating the fabric of her dress to make it’s presence known.
She really should have thought to bring a coat.
A gush of cool air flooded her lungs as she straightened herself up with resolution; standing out here wasn’t solving anything, but it did help calm her down slightly.

She still had to apologise to Matt for what she’d said. It really hadn’t been what she’d meant but, right then, there hadn’t been any other way to put it without hurting Mark even more. In hindsight, she had to admit that she hadn’t really though that much at all through it’s entire fiasco. Worst thing was, she’d messed things up with Mark, and that had been the case for quite a while now, but chances were, she’d also lost a really good friend. She didn’t need Matt’s shoulder to cry on – and frankly, she should have known better than to use Matt as a pick me up the last time around – but she did want him as a friend still.
So, that was two people left that she had to apologise to; Matt and Madison.

Though… now really wasn’t the best time for it. Admittedly, she did have to talk to Matt before talking to Madison, to explain it to him before she ended up selling him out to his girlfriend; he also deserved the opportunity to talk to Madison first, given that he was the one going out with her at the time and whatever was going wrong between them, Matt had the right to reason it out with her first.
Wait, wait… was she just stalling from sorting out the situation herself?
No. No… it was right to give Matt that opportunity before speaking to Madison herself. It’ll be alright.

She also had the arrangements for the dance to finalise, being social chair… oh, that was going to be interesting when she knew that chances were, everyone would be talking about what happened; Madison would have told them by then. Fair enough, she would be angry, but it didn’t make it easier for Dylan to stand there and take it. But, she did make her bed and she’d have to lie in it.

She turned her head slightly, looking over her shoulder, suddenly finding herself entirely alone in the quad, looking inexplicable awkward all by herself. Damn. She’d completely forgotten about the message she’d gotten earlier, that she was tutoring… God, who was it…. Mitchell Gaithers. She probably did know him, but not too well, given that Dylan wasn’t all that prone to forgetting a face or name that she’d had at least one conversation with. Well, either way, she’d know in about five minutes, hurrying over to her locker, pulling out the file she kept for Biology, and some of the notes she’d made for it; Dylan was a bright girl, but her A grades didn’t materialise without any effort put into them, and that was part of why she’d taken up tutoring in the first place, because all it usually needed was a little bit of effort.
Flicking through it, she headed over to the science prep room not running into anyone despite her lack of concentration because there were few people there to run into, moving into the room, still immersed in the file before she looked up, seeing who's company she was in.

Mitch. Watching him sat atop a stool, absently drawing, she remembered meeting him, a while back, and she remembered seeing him around Mark a lot. Oh, God, how awkward was this going to be? Dylan had very little against Mitch - though, it had to be said that she didn't know all that much about the guy, what with her habit of not hanging around with Mark's friends because he'd always made her feel so... objectified in their company - but she didn't know how weird it be for him, or for Mark, or for her.
Well, that all aside, she did commit to giving the guy help in Biology and that she'll do; it wasn't his fault she'd made a mess of things with Mark. And if Mitch decided that he didn't want her tutoring him, then that was his decision.
Wasn't going to be easy, though.

"Hey," she greeted warmly, brightening up a little, the enthusiasm at helping him make a difference to his grades shining through - after all, to require tutoring, things couldn't be all that great, but here was a chance to change that - as she moved further into the room, placing the file down on the desk and taking her seat opposite him. She wasn't sure if he remembered her and so she extended a slender hand out to him; "I'm Dylan."

(((OOC: Works fine for me, Furry. Hope this is all okay with you :)

Will post Josh soon (he's most approachable by the way ;) ) and start Bio :))))

[FurryPanda]

Mitch was just killing time by drawing out the play, but then again, knowing Gavin, he would try and present the meticulously complex thing in monosyllables and not even try to draw a diagram. It would help Coach Benwick if there was one, and he didn't need another blank sheet of looseleaf.

As he was nearing the end of the diagram he heard the door open, but didn't look up. It was probably one of the senior aides, here to make copies, or one of the teachers who had been well trained by their senior aide. The tutors were almost always late, fishing for information from the teachers, or going into a nerdly fit of horror at the belated realization that if they tutored someone, they'd miss class and maybe their precious ninety-nine point nine grade would drop from missing some stupid piece of information.

"Hey", whoever it was said, and it sounded like a girl, which was enough to get Mitch to stop focusing exclusively on his play. He wasn't going to try to pick up a senior, they tended to be possessive enough even of friends that he wasn't going to risk it, but just because he couldn't touch didn't mean he couldn't look. Except that there were still four people he needed to place. There, there, he would need to go there, and there. Perfect.

He crumpled up the paper and shoved it in his pocket and looked up. She was blond, very pretty, and apparently his tutor. Unisex names confused the heck out of him, especially one like Dylan, which, really, definitely was a dude's name.

She put her papers down and sat down across from him, and he finished his quick but extremely searching little appraisal as she extended a hand and confirmed it. "I'm Dylan."

"Yeah, you're Mark's girl, right babe?" he said, as he gripped her hand and squeezed it gently, a polite and entirely chaste greeting. He didn't pay any attention to her reaction as he dropped her hand like a dead fish- no way in h*ll he was giving Mark any fodder to think that he was flirting with his girlfriend- to dig in his backpack and pull out his own binder.

((OOC: Was that okay with you?
May as well dive head first into happy awkward conversation, no?))

[Alissa888]

When it came to Dylan’s reasons for tutoring, there were many, and they all were supported by a few salient points. As was her nature, Dylan wanted to help. The people who ended up in tutoring were usually the ones who needed help and therefore, she wasn’t really enforcing her presence on them and if they didn’t want it, they were more than welcome to make it apparent. The point was, the offer was there. Secondly, it really was a collective thing; if there were people lagging behind in class, it took out time from everyone’s work and that wasn’t really fair on everyone else who strives to further their education. And yes, they didn’t have to take time out to tutor others if they didn’t want to, and neither did Dylan, but she wanted to, so she did. Thirdly, it really did help. She saw the tutoring as more of a discussion than an actual teaching session; as much as it helped the person in question, she had to admit that it helped clear her own understanding of it too and it was always nice to see things from an alternative perspective.
And that was what this tutoring session was going to be about; biology tutoring. Not about Mark, or Mitch’s friendship with Mark, or her relationship with (lack thereof) Mark, or anything that didn’t have anything to do with Biology. Besides, she was sure Mitch was a nice guy – though, what she did know of him came mainly from Mark’s complaints and the other cheerleaders’ swooning or complaints – and even if Mark had said anything, he’d be courteous enough to not mention it, right?

"Yeah, you're Mark's girl, right babe?" he asked, taking hold of her hand in a firm, yet gentle grip, enveloping her cold hand in warmth, before discarding it entirely almost with disinterest as he moved on to focus his attentions on his backpack while Dylan gaped slightly at the name tag.

“Mark’s girl”. Personal identity was sort of a dichotomous topic in high school; you either cling to it, or you sacrifice it. There were those who took time out to segregate themselves from the rest of the normal… well, let’s say majority population’s sartorial sense, crafting out their own styles, their own rules and really, even if they weren’t “popular”, they were liberated in a way. Whereas the other side of it comprised of people who were willing to crunch down on every aspect of personal identity to function as mass assembled Barbie dolls and, especially given that she was friends with half these people, Dylan felt really sorry for them. However, as far as her efforts went, she wasn’t one of them. She wanted to be herself.
Fact of the matter remained that Dylan was overshadowed by Mark’s personality, his need to have his say and have it accepted, and when around other people as a couple, she didn’t say much, because she wanted him to feel comfortable. Especially around Mitch, Gavin and Dean, she really didn’t feel like saying much, because – guy conversations and all – there hadn’t been much that she’d wanted to contribute.
She really didn’t realise that that had come down to a point of her being an accessory that Mark and that that would lead to Mitch seeing her as Mark’s possession.
Well, here was start – she didn’t know how to answer Mitch’s question, but she wasn’t going to leave him with the idea that she was “Mark’s girl” (well, anymore anyway; she couldn’t blame the guy for correctly interpreting the part that she’d played).

“No…,” she found herself saying, watching him pull out the binder from his backpack, wondering how extensive his notes were – she’d have to check it out – and then wondering what she was going to say to finish that sentence. “I’m not. Anymore.”
She tucked a lock of blonde hair behind her ear rather awkwardly, shifting the topic of the conversation onto where it was better off;
“So, are there any topics you want to focus on particularly?”

(((OOC: Lol, yes, awkwardness indeed!
I hope this is all okay :) )))

[FurryPanda]

Mitch made no claims to being perceptive, making such a claim would mean that people would watch what they said and did around him. Acting on what he did see immediately after he saw it often had the same effects. If he wanted to screw with some nerd's mind, or some dumb freshman, or some slightly gullible girl in his own year, he had to know how to get to them, but letting them know he knew? That was bad.

“No…,” she said in answer to his question. And that made him pay a bit more attention. Mark had gone after lunch to see his lady... ouch. He'd have to avoid Mark later, he was probably going to take it out at practice, and Mitch tended to be the one the team tackled, since he could take it pretty easily.

He had gotten his binder out, filled with photocopies of that nerd girl, Terry Oldyvar's, notes, hand written notes that he and Dean took turns taking, and his own notes from the textbook. There was only one or two sheets of the latter, while the first occupied most of the binder. Terry was a real sweetheart, but she had deeply overcompensated after she'd gotten drunk after that game.

Looking at her now, he could see she was terribly upset, and he decided to change tacks. His desire to know what had gone on, since Mark's version would doubtless be different than hers, was tempered by the fact that if he pried too much, she would probably start bawling. It was slightly ridiculous that more than half of Dean's and Gavin's "relationships" ended like that.

“I’m not. Anymore.” Yep, redundancy, on someone who was supposed to be smarter than average ra-ra-self-confidence-of-a-crustacean cheerleader. Either she was more like them than he'd heard from Mark and Maddy Fenway, who was a friend of hers, or a friend of a friend, or an eventual receiver of gossip, or something.

She hesitated for a moment, to fiddle with her hair and break eye contact, and Mitch just looked at her sympathetically. Mark's timing was impeccable, dumping her right before a dance. “So, are there any topics you want to focus on particularly?”

Well, duh. He was quite fascinated by whatever had been going on with Mark and Dylan. In actuality he wasn't so dumb that he couldn't take a hint, but doubtless Mark had filled her head with all sorts of crap on the subject and Mrs. Jaym's opinion would only have solidified it.

"Sounds like you made the right decision. He's always been an ars* to the girls he dated". It was a force of habit to say that she was Mark's girl, or that Lisa was Dean's girl, but now that she wasn't, she was like any other girl, just completely off limits. So he would cater to any feminism or identity issues or whatever she had.

He glanced away. He was fully anticipating that she had not wanted him to go there, so he thumbed through his binder a little until he found some of his own notes. He wasn't sure what reaction the deal that he and Terry and Dean had with notes swapping would elicit, and as such, he would stick with his own.

Here was something... Meiosis... whatever the heck that was. "Or meiosis, like cell energetics and stuff. Whichever you like." He smiled pleasantly at her, not knowing what the heck he was talking about, but that was what was on top of the page, in neat block capitals- Meiosis- and then some incomprehensible drawings. That was what cell energetics was, right?

((OOC: I am rapidly growing fond of this fellow...
Was this okay with you? And for the record cell energetics= photosynthesis and respiration, not meiosis))

[Alissa888]

When it came to people’s opinions of other people, Dylan couldn’t say that she ever took what she heard to heart; after all, she was a different person and her interaction with any specific person needn’t be the same as someone else’s, and so, she approached it with fresh eyes. Or maybe it was just that innate compulsion to give everyone a chance. One of those, but same result, anyway. However, it didn’t mean that she didn’t listen when other people talked (usually in extreme; either complaining or flattering), but that was more simple, passing conversation in lieu of playing ‘Yes man’. Dylan didn’t do that; if she didn’t agree with something, she didn’t pretend to agree with it just to have friends.

Which brought them to the point of Mitch. She wasn’t sure what to make of the guy, with and without what she’d heard. Mark made it a point to complain about his conduct, branding him only worthy of being accepted into the social circle because of his performance on the pitch and Dylan couldn’t figure out why he kept insisting on hanging out with Mitch if he felt so negatively about the other guy. But then, Mark did have a habit of putting down people to make himself look better. And then there were the other cheerleaders, none of whom had actually had a long standing association with the guy as Dylan came to notice and fair enough, the majority of the cheerleaders did tend to conform to a stereotype which wasn’t to everyone’s tastes… didn’t mean Mitch wasn’t close to anyone at all.

"Sounds like you made the right decision,” he commented on what she’d wanted to leave behind, inciting her to wonder whether this was going to turn out into a fully fledged conversation that she really didn’t want to have. “He's always been an ars* to the girls he dated.”

Well. Mark did have his redeeming qualities, but she’d never really thought of herself in terms of all the other girls he’d dated, or all the other girls that he’d date from here on. She didn’t want Mark to suffer from making the same mistakes again and again, regardless of how bad things had turned out between them; he did deserve to be happy.
Though, this did mean Mitch had been paying attention to Mark’s interaction with the girls he dated. Wait, no, had Mark said something regarding her? Dylan wasn’t naïve, she did realise guys talked about their relationships in the same way girls did, but… what had he said? Was Mitch likely to take Mark’s opinion on it, or…? Clearly, Mark hadn’t been particularly pleasant, in order to leave Mitch with the impression that he was an ars* to the girls he dated….
Though, thankfully, she didn’t have to find out, because he was gracious enough to pick up on the fact that she didn’t feel like discussing it now and he let it go.
Hmm, not so insensitive, after all, huh? Contrary to what Tori had said….

"Or meiosis, like cell energetics and stuff,” he singled out the topics he wanted to cover first, a amiable smile growing on his lips that left Dylan wondering whether he was feeling uncomfortable about anything, such as pointing out his weak spots in the syllabus. “Whichever you like."
Well… meiosis wasn’t cell enegetics, they were two entirely different topics. One was reduction division to form pro-gametes and the other was the actual metabolic reactions within the cell. This did suggest that they had a few things to cover.
However, Dylan didn’t like telling people they were wrong, especially when she was trying to build up a rapport with them and so, she wasn’t about to directly point it out to him…. But at the same time, she didn’t want to leave him with that misconception and so, she handled it more indirectly.

“I think we should cover meiosis first?” she suggested without outrightly correcting him on it. “Once we have cell division done, then it’ll be easier to cover cell function.”
She smiled slightly in almost geeky amusement; “We’ll have a cell before it starts respiring.”
Right. She needed to see how much he knew before she started the tutoring; after all, she didn’t want to insult his intelligence, nor drop him off into the deep end and so, it made sense to see what he’d got down on paper. Plus, when people made notes, they were usually a little hesitant on the things they didn’t understand, and that too would give her a clue as to what topics to approach.
“Could I please have a quick look at your notes?” she asked, pointing slightly at the binder before him.

(((OOC: I hope this is all okay with you, Furry :) and thanks for the heads-up!
Summerkelsa - welcome back :) amd I do hope RL eases up a little
I have to ask, are you also resubmitting Bodene?)))

[AtropaMandragora]

In high school, there are usually quite a few things that are considered common knowledge, things that often have to do with social rank and/or repute, that you're supposed to know, or risk being asked what rock you've been living under, and also quite possibly told to return there.
At Brooklake High, a couple of those "must know" things, were usually who was dating who among the top layers of the preps and jocks, no matter how difficult it might be to keep up with - if you didn't know Marie-Elisabeth Normandy and Josh Brennan were an item these days... well, let's just say you would have your sanity questioned - and that you didn't go near the table in the far end corner of the cafeteria, or this one spot behind the school, unless you wanted your nose broken by the troublemakers. As a girl, you made sure never to use the second stall from the right in the girls' ground floor restroom, since early last year, some boys had discovered the airvent that connected it with the boys' restroom on the other side of the wall, and that offered a fairly good bird's eye view of aforementioned stall. Furthermore, and on a somewhat more socially focused note, you'd do well not to antagonize Marie-Elisabeth Normandy, Matt Sidle or Donnie Kang, not to get involved with Tyler Young, and - this just in - not publically embarrass Abby Vigilanti, lest you'd risk getting intimately acquainted with the nearest locker.

Also on the list, though quite a bit further down than the above, and thus not considered as much of a piece of vital information, was the fact that while preps/jocks and troublemakers rarely got along, there really was no love lost between the jocks/preps and Leigh Grayson, following her by now widely known and often graphically retold encounter with Kyle Matherson last year. The way the jocks and the preps kept dragging it up and throwing it in her face just for the sake of making things worse for her, had made her a complete adversary to their existence. Therefore, it would come as no surprise to anyone really, that she took any and all opportunities she happened across, to strike at them and their inflated egos. It was partly why she had suggested that J.D. should show Natalie Cardew the satire of Matt Sidle; because even though Natalie had by then seemed as though she didn't particularly care for the company of the preps either, Leigh had wanted to make sure, and for that purpose, the satire had been nothing short of perfect. If Natalie still sided with the preps, the satire - which even though it depicted only Matt, did have him representing his entire clique - would have been a bit of a slap in the face. And if she didn't, then hey, there'd still be the satisfaction of having yet another person seeing the preps for what they really were. Either way there would be gratification.
And if the plan Natalie had come up with really was put into action... Now that'd be something.

"That was a good one", Lilith voiced her agreement with what now seemed to be the general opinion of the few that had seen the satire.

Though it was soon followed by a couple of seconds contemplative silence, as Lilith seemed to run it all through her mind again, and upon doing so, realize there were still a couple of question marks.

"Wait", she said and stopped abruptly, causing the other two to pull to a halt as well. "Are you trying to say that Natalie is willing to publish that sketch of Sidle the Great as a toad? Laramie would have an aneurysm. Unless... there's a catch?"

Again her eyes narrowed slightly at her two friends, as she still clearly smelled a prank of some sort in the making, though in this case probably mostly because both Leigh and J.D. had failed to mention that the satire had only been used as a sample, a reference of what J.D. tended to draw, and hadn't - at least initially - been meant to actually be printed, neither in the school paper, nor anywhere else.

But still... Oh, how Leigh wanted to tell her what was going on, to let her in on the plan. She didn't at all like to have to leave Lilith out of the action, especially not when she trusted Lilith far more than she trusted Natalie, and would have loved to have her be part of it.
Still, she couldn't overlook the fact that the feeling was probably more than mutual, and that Natalie was already at a bit of a disadvantage, as the outsider among two, possibly three people with a lot more in common with each other than with her, and thus sharing a strong sense of trust and loyalty, that she had never really been a part of, until now.

Though by no means did that mean that Leigh didn't plan on introducing the idea to Natalie of letting Lilith in on the plan, since even with friendship aside, Lilith could turn out to be quite an asset, with her sharp wit and history of pulling successful pranks (and with Tyler, too). It just meant that Leigh wouldn't let Lilith in on the plan right now.

"No no", she thus said, shaking her head and sending strands of black and red dancing around her shoulders. "It's not going in the paper. Too offensive, obviously. I just meant it's one of the drawings she's seen. I just wanted to see her reaction when J.D. showed it to her, since, y'know, she used to date the guy and all."


(((ooc: Think I lost my focus towards the middle somewhere, so sorry if it's messy and/or doesn't make sense... )))

[Slytherin-Girl]

(((OOC: Okay, please don't threaten to kill me anyone. I think the computer gods hate me because a couple of weeks ago our entire harddrive exploded and we had to get everything re-installed. I've only been able to get on very infrequently, either with someone else's computer or theifing wireless from my neighbours on my laptop, which was spotty at best. THe main PC is all fixed up and running now, so I will be back I promise. Again I apologize muchly and offer all kinds of apology cookies for everyone))

[robokitty]

Some things you don't f***in' forget. It was a couple of summers ago hanging out with Marissa's precious few friends who didn't completely suck c***. Broad daylight. Sittin' on the campus grass and passing a joint. A cop passed by, and Esteban's muscles tensed. The f***er passed by, saw a group of good, little middle class gringos with the odd minority, had himself a chuckle as he remembered his glory days, and he kept on passing by. What the f***? If they'd been all beaners, there'd be a shakedown.

It was complete bulls***, but it taught Esteban something valuable. It's good to have white friends. They're the best ones to talk down a couple of cops getting off on busting some brownskins. Plus, if they're one of the nerdy types, then people didn't expect them to steal s***--certainly not from the laboratory stash of medical marijuana, which, by the way, is heaven compared to the swag that usually trickles into the barrio.

From the beginning Esteban suspected that Katie Byrd might have an "in" somewhere. And after a healthy session of grilling her, he confirmed it. Katie could make suspensions disappear.

Putamadre. That could be useful.


When she glares at him, he pretends he doesn't notice. It ain't too hard given that Katie's about as intimidating as a bowl of flan.

“Don't you at least know how to choke someone out?”

"No..." she starts, and he can see her brain revving up behind her eyes. "It's something to make the trachea collapse on its own right?"

Wrong. Well, mostly. Air chokes could definitely work, but they're a b**** to pull off. Crushing someone's windpipe is serious s***. S*** that stands a good chance of killing someone since their lungs fill with blood. He's seen it before from his volunteer time. Not pretty. Hard to reconstruct. Hard to heal. Not to mention it takes a lotta force to actually shut off the trachea completely--maybe ten times more than the carotids. And in a fight, cutting off someone's air long enough for them to pass out means holding it a full minute. Not good.

It could be useful sometimes, though. Hurts like a motherf***er. Giving a jackass a sharp hit to the windpipe was always satisfying, but no way in hell Esteban was letting anyone, much less Katie, practice a wind choke on him. In almost every way, a blood choke was better--especially for practice. Hard to do permanent damage with one, relatively painless, and quicker and easier to pull off in a real fight.

"I guess a flat hand, though you would get around it all the way with a jazz hand of some kind..."

"Naw... don't go for an air choke 'less you wanna kill someone. S*** even if you wanna kill someone, you're still better off with a blood choke cuz it's real quick if you do it right. Like five seconds. Think you can manage one?" His chin tilts up, and his neck lengthens. With one finger, he taps against the left, then the right sides of his neck along his carotids before challenging her: "Show me."

It occurs to Esteban that this is a stupid idea. A really stupid idea. But he's got a nice buzz, and from how he's sized up Katie, he doesn't think she has the cojones to hurt him that bad. So he rises up from off his bucket, kicking it away. Hesitation weeds over Katie's face. She hops off the shelf. Not the most graceful thing he's seen, but he doesn't expect that much from her, so it fails to register.

She sounds like a textbook on the way over, a recollection of anatomy facts that mean balls in a fast-paced fight. The difference between knowing how a choke works and knowing how to choke--it's all the difference in the world. When her hand whips out fast towards his neck, he instinctively withdraws half a centimeter before steadying himself.

Lightly, she taps on the sensitive skin of his throat. "And I suppose a digging motion until gasping and nasty fluids come out?"

Jejeje, s***. Did she think some gay tiger stance rip-off would impress him? She's got it all wrong. It ain't about speed. It ain't about fast moves and flourishes. It's about getting the right position, the right leverage, the right angle of your arms against their arteries. It takes a practiced touch, and for that, you have to take it slow at first.

One corner of his mouth curls smugly cuz he knows something that she doesn't. Far as Esteban can tell, Katie's flustered cuz she probably hasn't had too many chances to be so piss poor at something. In a way, it's kind of endearing. And after a few seconds of her fingers fumbling lightly on his neck, uncertain of what do to, she steps back with an awkward mumble, "...or something."

Cute.

The bell rings. The sound of students migrating to class filters in from the outside. Katie's ready to make her escape. "Okay, I need to go, now. I'm not going to lie to Mrs. Jaym if she asks me why I'm late and smell like alcohol. And you should probably change too."

"You really want all those people to see us coming out of this closet at the same time?" He asks sarcastically, thumb pointing to the door. A smile melts over his face. A smile that says I'm not gonna hurt you even though I could. He doesn't demand or request. He states calmly, assuredly, as though the idea that she'd refuse doesn't even occur to him. "Now come here."

He extends his right hand towards her, like he's trying to pet a deer without startling it. Right hand crosses to the opposite side of her neck, and he gently slides the back of his fingertips against her skin till the back of his hand is firmly positioned against her neck. His fingers curl into a fist around her shirt collar, pulling it tight and using it to help wedge the blade of his hand into her neck.

"This ain't about speed or strength. It's about finding the right spot and getting leverage." He explains, taking his eyes off her neck to look into her eyes and make sure she isn't freaking out. The light in the closet is s***ty, but there's something kind of... nice... about how green her eyes are. How many guys have actually touched Katie Byrd? She was a dancer wasn't she? That meant at least a little physical contact.

"The arteries are on both sides, so you gotta hit both spots. Do the same thing with the other hand, but you can grab further up in the collar... here," he narrates, as his left hand crosses up against the other side of her neck. Between both hands, he's pulling the collar of her shirt tight, using it to help dig the backs of his hands into her neck, the same way that two people tugging at opposite ends of a rope counterbalance each other and dig their feet into the ground. "Even from here, you can f*** it up. So, like, if I squeeze my hands together like this, it's a uncomfortable, but you're not gonna pass out from that, right?" He demonstrates, and as he squeezes the pressure against her neck slowly increases and caps off.

"Like I said, it's about leverage. So if I pull from the elbows instead..." He lifts and pulls them out, making the blades of his hands clamp down around the sides of her neck like pliers. The force against her neck skyrockets. It feels like pressure against the back of her eyeballs and heavy throbbing around her forehead and temples. He doesn't hold the choke for more than one second before he lets go so that her face can return it it's normal color.

"...feels a lot different, right?"

Outside, the sound of footsteps was sputtering down, a bag of popcorn on its last leg in the microwave. Five seconds in between steps. Ten seconds. Twenty. Safe.

"You wanna practice some more, meet me after school," he adds without mentioning an exact time or place. For having his shining moments as a mastermind, Esteban could be a real s***ty planner sometimes.

Once it sounds like the traffic outside's died down enough. He maneuvers against the side of the closet, making room for Katie to squeeze past him. Despite the fact that he doesn't have a problem with pinning a chick against some dusty shelves in a closet, there's something ingrained in that even now tells him ladies first.

At the last moment as she's leaving, he remembers something, digs out her lightly rumpled homework from his backpack, and thrusts it towards her, "One sec... here. You f***ed up number sixty three."



---



"Are you planning on interviewing the cheer squad during clubs? I can help you out with the photography."

Donnie allowed himself to show a faint smile at the mention of cheer squad. Given the nature of the prank, pictures of the squad were an absolute necessity. Even if Natalie was unable to get them past the censors for the paper, Donnie had use for those pictures well outside the school sphere. After all, the Brooklake Myspace scene was nearly as vibrant and pertinent as the real world one.

And in this particular case, Donnie had an additional reason to be enthused. A new toy.

When they arrived at the school store, Donnie kept the exchange with Nora as efficient as possible. She handed him his coffee and a thumbdrive with his mail. He handed her exact change for the coffee and a replacement thumbdrive--its data he had already backed up onto his hard drive.

"Thanks." He said. Though he personally considered the verbal gesture of gratitude meaningless, he understood that the ritual was important to some people. In any case, the monosyllabilic expression added less than one second to their exchange and was well worth the time sacrifice. Donnie's entire intercourse with Nora was finished in less than five seconds, and this was a thing of elegance--the sort of efficiency that was only appreciated by New Yorkers and people like Donnie.

When everything falls into place smoothly, efficiently, Donnie gets a little hop in his step. Turning away from Nora, he continued down the hallway with Jude, responding to his previous question and lowering his voice conspiratorially.

"Yes, I could use your help. I'd like to try out a new set of wireless spy cam glasses since I predict most of them will be reluctant to let you take their pictures. You could pull aggro, and I could snap pictures incognito. Or vice versa."

A beat passed as Donnie mentally ran through the various branched scenarios in his mind. "You could probably use a wire too, in case your mic picks up something that mine doesn't. C'mon, let's set up in the news room."

Donnie led them to the room used for newspaper club, letting them both inside. He pulled out the wire from his bag and a roll of duct tape from one of the cupboards. He waited in what he considered a somewhat awkward moment for Jude pick up the cue and take off his shirt, and then he affixed the wire to Jude's chest using a generous amount of tape. All the while, he expounded on the multitudinous functionalities involved in the spy glasses and gave Jude some basic information how the wire worked.

They ate in the newspaper room. Donnie's lunch consisted of perfect proportions of all the food groups condensed into energy bars, vitamins, and a small tin of sardines for the omega-3-fatty acids necessary for proper brain development, which he offered to share with Jude. As Donnie was finishing up the last sardine in his tin, the bell rang.

"Just a minute." Donnie interjected, wrapping another layer of duct tape over the wire for good measure.

The two made their way to biology, somewhat late for class, when Donnie spotted Katie Byrd emerging from a door that he soon realized led not to a classroom, but to a cleaning closet. Her shirt looked slightly dampened with some unknown fluid. Donnie's journalistic instincts were tingling. Interesting.

He ducked behind the nearest garbage can, pulling a somewhat clueless Jude along after him. Quickly, he flipped out an antenna of angled mirrors from his bag and adjusted them from behind the garbage can so that both him and Jude had a good view of Katie without revealing their presence.

Donnie jaw dropped four full millimeters as he saw Katie hurriedly leave the closet followed shortly by... Esteban Morales? His jaw remained ajar for seven seconds before he remembered to close it.

"That's quite... uncharacteristic of her," he remarked in a low whisper.






((OOC: Hope this works for all involved.
Also, YAY! kelsa! I was planning on have Esteban go to the the *wink*wink*honkey noises* rendezvous point in this post, but I ran out of steam. I'll get something up for that later.
Also, maeve--this is like the cutest thing I've read in a while! AWWWWW!))

don't worry, Lacey, because I'm not going to run off and have glossy-haired children. I'm going to stay here right by your side so you can count the freckles on my nose.

[AtropaMandragora]

More often than not, with a widely known reputation also comes great misconceptions. If someone is interesting enough to gossip about, chances are that in the midst of all the sharing of usually more or less incomplete information, imaginative minds with a burning desire to know the whole story, will at some point start contemplating and conjuring possibilities for the holes they are so yearning to fill, and in doing so will, consciously or no, give life to pure fabrications, only loosely and distantly founded on fragments of actual truth.

Despite the rumours of his connections and shady dealings, there was a somewhat common idea among the students of Brooklake High, that Tyler Young wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. Even if usually, no one had the guts to suggest it to Tyler himself, face to face, and even though if you just stopped to think about it for a moment, you'd realize that he was far from dim. Problem was, not many had any interest in stopping to think about it for a moment, because they were all too wrapped up in their own drama that was teenage life, and also because hey, dismissing people and their worth, even if only in thought, was so much more fun, wasn't it? Fun, and simple:
Tyler was known to deal weed, among other things, and so naturally he'd have to be a stoner himself, right? He had been held back in school and made to repeat his sophomore year, and so naturally he had to be a bit of a dumb*ss, right? And he tended to stay clear of of all the intrigues and vendettas between the various cliques or even random students, and was known to only do what others paid him to do, and so that had to mean he suffered from a serious lack of actual wit, because he didn't play games, and didn't take the initiative to the things he did. He simply let others tell him what to do, did it, and made money from it. Right?

Wrong.
There was quite a bit that Tyler did on his own, from the budding plan to the final execution of the same. It just so happened that he simply had no need to assert himself by bragging about exactly what pranks he had instigated and pulled off, and what other accomplishments he'd achieved. He didn't care about making any such stuff known, because what he did - in the terms of pranks - he did for his own amusement, and not in order to have others think he was so cool, and such a daredevil. He couldn't care less, end of story.
And as for the intrigues and the manipulation... He didn't get involved in such things not because he wasn't sharp enough, but simply because he chose not to. He had no interest in it, and to be perfectly honest, he even despised it. The way he saw it, if you wanted something from someone, you asked them for it. If they didn't want to help you out, you respected their decision, since it really was theirs to make. Or, at the very most, you persuaded them, one way or another. You did not trick them, or try to play on their emotions just to get your way. Simple and straightforward, that was Tyler's method of choice, both for himself when dealing with others, and for others to be dealing with him. He didn't manipulate, nor did he tend to fall for the manipulative tricks of others. And those who tried it on him, would soon enough find themselves no longer in his company, at least for as long as they kept trying. For while he wasn't the type to sever all ties with someone whose qualities he didn't appreciate one hundred percent, he would still distance himself from those who tried to make him a target for what he considered to be their least redeeming ones.

However, even though in some ways, if one decided to be very black or white, one could suggest without bending the truth a whole lot, that a bit of manipulation had been used in trying to ensure that Tyler's curiosity and interest were piqued by the matter with which Natalie had decided to approach him this afternoon, he wasn't about to actually label it as such. He did understand the thought that had gone into wording things right, and he did understand that it had all clearly been designed to draw a desired reaction from him. But even so, it wasn't clear-cut manipulation, and it was far from meant to coax him into doing something he was hesitant about, or even downright reluctant to do.

Ergo, she had his full attention, when after jamming the stiletto into the crack between the door and the floor, he'd straightened back up to await her explanation, and elaboration.

"Thanks for meeting me", she started politely, in recognition of his agreement to hear what she had in mind, and quite possibly also the fact that she wasn't the only one taking time away from class, even though it'd be a lie to say that Tyler was at all bothered by missing part - or even all, should that turn out to be the case - of biology. "I was told that you'd be the man to go to for something of a more... exigent nature. Something like getting Laramie's wallet?"

At that, the devilish glint that was in her eyes appeared in his as well, as they watched her lithe frame draw closer, and then produce a small shrug as she added for a bit of clarification;

"Only for about five minutes or so."

Hmmmm... Well, in all honesty, how long she needed it for didn't make all that much of a difference to the endeavour as a whole, since it was the getting of the wallet that was the crux of it all. Returning it was the easy part, since there were several ways of doing it; some involving Laramie discovering that it was missing in the first place, and some not. Getting it, however, posed a little more of a challenge, because if his assumptions - based on observation, of course - were correct, it wouldn't be as simple as slipping a pair of nimble fingers inside Laramie's jacket and snatching it up. From what Tyler had witnessed, when once having been called to Laramie's office and having then had Laramie follow him out once they were done, Laramie tended to leave his wallet behind, when he went on his daily patrols around the hallways. That made the main target not Laramie himself, but Laramie's office. Laramie's empty office, preferably.

"Okay...", Tyler started slowly, with his left hand coming up to rub the side of his jaw in contemplation, as obviously various possibilities were already darting through his mind, of how to go about it.

Though before any decision could be made, and before a plan could be settled on;

"What do you need it for?", he asked, calmly fixing her in his dark blue gaze, the look in his eyes speaking more of simple curiosity, rather than actual demand. "And how soon do you need it?"

Usually, he didn't make a habit of asking any questions, since due to being considered "rude", it tended to be a most effective way of getting yourself hurt. Although, probably not here, in high school, as opposed to the outside world that was part of his after-school activities. But still, the instructions were rather specific, which in turn suggested a very specific purpose, and so if it wasn't just something as simple as causing Laramie a bit of inconvenience and worry by making his wallet disappear, it could be good to know. If for no other reason, than for Tyler's own chances of covering his hide, should it turn out to be something major.

[Alissa888]

Natalie was used to schemes; you have to scheme in order to keep yourself on top of the food chain and back then, Natalie couldn’t envisage herself anywhere other than on top of the social pyramid, before she realised that she did perfectly well without bothering with the aforementioned pyramid; who needed their approval? Though, she did suppose that was one of two ways; you either become disillusioned when you realise that you’re working towards nothing at all, or you become addicted to the lie you forge out for yourself, and at the end of the day, those who find themselves towards the top of the pyramid are as much victims to it’s constraints as everyone else they trampled on.
As Natalie found out, and soon, as Matt would find out. To an extent, Natalie was unsure why she wanted him to see it. Yeah, she was disgusted by him, and yes, she was mad at him, but what also singled him out from the others, apparent more following the events of the previous night than ever before, was that he really was a victim to his own schemes.

She hadn’t told any of what she’d witnessed – the tryst between Matt and Josh – to anyone else and it was for two main reasons. She really wanted to twist the knife in Matt’s side and she wanted to take her time doing it, and she wanted him to feel what it was like to have someone judge him for a) what they had no business judging, and b) to feel guilty about something that he couldn’t have helped and really wished he could. She’d have her revenge and she’d make it as sweet as it was cold and she wouldn’t stand for anything that stopped her from getting what she wanted, and deserved to have. The other reason was that she knew how scary it was to make a mistake that you knew everyone would scrutinise you for, and how terrifying it was to admit it to yourself that you were wrong. Added to that, Brennan had never done anything to her, and despite the fact that they guy had obviously incurred some brain damage during those football matches – what with getting involved with both Princess Peroxide and Brat – Natalie figured he deserved that privacy too.
Didn’t mean she’d let Matt believe that she wouldn’t tell, because if he gave her reason to, she most definitely would spill the beans.
This prank, it wasn’t anything to do with Matt’s sexuality – and honestly, Natalie could have easily suggested to J.D. that he also take a pot shot at Matt’s sexuality in the sketch by adding a poster of a naked man on the background bedroom wall or something, using the fact that Matt’s womanising behaviour was clearly overcompensation of some sort – but rather what Matt did (not who he did either) and that was hardly a low blow. Natalie had every intention of using the sexuality issue too, but perhaps in a more encouraging way; she wasn’t about to make homosexuality look like a crime just to get at Sidle.
And she’d do that one on her own, without involving anyone else, because she really didn’t intend on spilling Matt’s secret, unless her pushed her to it, and therefore, collaboration with other people wasn’t the best idea.

However, she had guessed that she’d have to probably give Tyler a reason as to why she wanted Laramie’s wallet and that in turn fed back to the nature of the prank and that was sure to raise questions of why and Natalie wasn’t sure she wanted to go down amongst the troublemakers as the girl who simply couldn’t get over Matt Sidle. Yeah, she was okay with Leigh and J.D. contemplating that she was still hurting over that episode, but she hadn’t given any confirmation for that. Now, if she explained to Tyler the nature of the prank and he asked why, she’d have to give a more convincing reason than “I don’t like him” and she really didn’t want the reason to be “I’m a bitch of an ex-girlfriend, even though I was never his girlfriend… that makes me bitchy too”, regardless of how convincing she could make it.
Though, was there a chance that he’d accept the deal without a reason as to why? Didn’t seem likely, because she’d have thought he’d have to be pretty careful over what he did and how he did it, considering that the majority was probably illegal beyond student life. In all honesty, she didn’t see him backing down from the challenge – guy like him, living life on the edge, was hardly likely to refuse because he wanted to play it safe suddenly – but at the same time, to have made it this far with an intangible, yet convincing reputation and track record, he was obviously the master of quite appreciable smarts and therefore, she didn’t see him going into something without the whys and whats.

"Okay...,” he seemed to agree, the contemplative gesticulation soon affirming it in Natalie’s mind that he was on board and therefore, that was one step closer to achieving the goal; with Leigh and J.D. probably most capable of playing their parts, Natalie, as the inevitable newbie, didn’t want to slack on her side of the duties.

"What do you need it for?" came the cool question as she found herself the recipient of a rather civil look in his sapphire eyes, leaving her with the choice of answering, refusing to answer, or simply side-stepping the question.
Now, Natalie most definitely liked choice, but she wasn’t going to answer just because she could choose to. However, she did intend to answer, because he’d been courteous about it and also because she did want him to be comfortable over the whole thing… and that also had something to do with the fact that she could use his expertise for the next stage of the plan. But… first get this one finalised. She contemplated how to phrase things as he finished; "And how soon do you need it?"

She wasn’t entirely sure how to put it; keeping certain details ambiguous and revealing others was always tricky when people could just outright ask you questions regarding what you were talking about. Right… here goes.

“We’re hoping to have Laramie foot the bill for our plan,” she explained, then taking a moment to figure out what to say about said plan, because she was more or less sure that J.D. didn’t want more people to know about his sketching skills, despite the fact that he really was very skilled at it, and she’d rather have Tyler on board for the second stage of the prank before she ruined the surprise for him… though, Tyler probably didn’t care much about Matt.

“There’s a pretty educational drawing that everyone in school deserves to see, but Laramie would have a coronary over it before he lets me publish it in the paper,” she carried on, with a slightly disappointed look, not mentioning names or details to any significant extent. “Not a huge setback, because having hundreds of copies printed out and anonymously distributed works well too, but… given that Laramie’s the obstacle to it happening the less expensive way, it’s only fair that he should foot the bill for this. As for when... as soon as possible would be great.”

(((OOC: Hope this works :) )))

[Slytherin-Girl]

Marie-Elisabeth had, quite obviously, thought a lot about how Matt was going to react when she told him. It wasn't as though they hadn't been careful when they were together, or at least she thought they had been. She had no urge whatsoever to have a kid, and turn into a bloated, waddling mess.

She had already prepared herself for the absolute worst after she told him. She was prepared for screaming, yelling, throwing things, for him to completely deny it and for everything in between.

Of course she knew he couldn’t deny it for long. They both knew each other well enough to know when the other person was playing games and when they weren’t. That’s why it had almost surprised her when he had laughed; asking if that was the best she could come up with and telling her she was losing her touch.

She had wanted to scream at him, and possibly throw one of the pieces of sports equipment at his smug head, but she kept herself quiet. The thought to lie about something this serious had never occurred to her. Even she, the Queen of doing bitchy things and manipulating people, wouldn’t go that far. It would do too much damage to Josh, and she really didn’t want that.

Marie-Elisabeth was shaken out of her thoughts of Josh when she heard Matt say “You’re not kidding are you”, as his eyes widened in complete horror “Are you serious”.

“No, I’m just dicking around” she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes “Of course I’m serious you idiot”. She wished there was room to at least move around more in the closet, being this close to him was not the most comfortable thing in the world. That and the fact that she was afraid of getting sick again and loosing what little remained of breakfast.

“I wanted to be the one to tell you before the inevitable happens and the entire f*&king Universe finds out” she continued “Something like this is not going to stay quiet long, and I don’t want Josh to get hurt by it. It’s going to be bad enough already”.

[Ghanima Atreides]

Lilith with Leigh and J.D. - the corridors


Lilith Fitzgerald did not go looking for conflict, generally speaking. As far as she was concerned, people she disliked were best observed from a distance, and preferably not observed at all. She had better things to do than swap barbs with some prep or deliver necessary “f**k you's” to jocks who thought it would be entertaining to harass her (often in that sarcastically flirtatious manner she hated so much). Unfortunately, they inhabited the same building and sooner or later stumbling across someone you disliked was inevitable – even for those who went out of their way to avoid them. Lilith didn't; she may not have liked these episodes, but she didn't fear them, and despite the fact that she was rarely the one to throw the first punch, she'd gained something of a fighty reputation because she also didn't shy away from delivering a nasty kick to potentially sensitive bodyparts with those heavy-soled boots of hers. Even where female opponents were concerned, Lilith didn't waste time with hair-pulling; she tended to skip to the punching.

Speaking of disliked persons, most preps and jocks made themselves difficult to like for the aforementioned reasons and more, not in the least because one of them, that jerk Matherson, saw fit to share details of his tryst with Leigh with the entire world, something she had yet to completely live down. This angered Lilith for two reasons: first of all, Leigh was her friend and that asshole had basically taken advantage of her, and secondly because Lilith hated guys who slept with a girl and then proceeded to treat her like crap. It was pathetic, in her opinion. Therefore, she was hardly the one to object whenever plots to strike back at the school's so called “elite” were devised, and would gladly enlist to help.

Right now, a certain suspicion was nagging her: this J.D.-working-for-the-school-paper business Lilith still found difficult to swallow, plus the involvement of Natalie Cardew and possibly Tyler put things in a different perspective altogether; and now apparently it had all been decided upon showing Natalie J.D.'s satirical depiction of Matt Sidle. Under these circumstances, it would've been difficult for Lilith not to imagine something more was at work, though she would've expected Leigh, if not J.D., to spill the beans already if that was the case. She was used to them sharing their ideas, and it would be a lie to say that it wouldn't have stung to know her friend was withholding information over an upcoming prank.

"No no", the girl countered and shook her red-streaked raven head. "It's not going in the paper. Too offensive, obviously.”

Well, yeah, obviously, hence Lilith's original disbelief. Crossing her arms expectantly, she waited for Leigh to go on.

“I just meant it's one of the drawings she's seen. I just wanted to see her reaction when J.D. showed it to her, since, y'know, she used to date the guy and all."

Lilith couldn't help but think it sounded rather anticlimactic – that was it? So, Natalie saw her ex's caricature (well, Matt wasn't her ex, technically, but that was splitting hairs) and somehow J.D. ended up with his offer to work for the paper? Hmph. Now, Lilith didn't know too many details over that ill-fated date Natalie and Sidle had shared, but word on the rumour mill went he'd made some unflattering comments about her afterwards, how she'd bored him or similar, and in any case the fact that they hadn't pursued the relationship any further spoke for itself. As far as Lilith was concerned, it was for the best in case Natalie was about to make the mistake of actually falling for the school's top serial dater, but truth was she didn't know too much either way. Good thinking of Leigh to show her that particular sketch, her reaction would have undoubtedly revealed quite a bit about where she stood not only regarding Sidle and any possible latent feelings for him (with the potential of wanting revenge) but also on her place within Brooklake High in general. Was she a prep sympathizer or not? Lilith had some idea already, but that didn't mean she wasn't interested in the details.

“More like hit-and-run than dating, but yeah, I know what you mean” she replied and gave a thoughtful nod. “It was a good idea, showing her that particular drawing; since she didn't freak, I suppose she isn't too keen on Sidle these days. Unsurprisingly.”

Then, Lilith's eyes once more narrowed intently and a rather wolfish grin spread on her face:

“Aside from that...what was her reaction?”

The fact that apparently J.D.'s satire hadn't been a deal-breaker obviously meant Natalie hadn't taken offence at it, but the imp's look currently dominating her features invited more: she was looking for the specifics, the little things that would satisfy her curiosity as well as help her piece together a more solid opinion of Natalie Cardew . After all, despite all her quirks, Lilith wasn't from a different planet: she enjoyed some good ol' fashioned gossip as much as the next teenage girl.

((ooc: As usual, dialogue is not my strong point (and I didn't know what else to have her say :blink: I hope this works though!

ETA: I edited the dialogue slightly to make more sense. :S ))

[Laughy]

1:34
That number kept blinking at him. That horrible number, just there blinking on his laptop screen.

His mouth tasted like nasty socks, not to mention his throat felt like the Sahara desert had made a new home in there. All common symptoms he'd learned to live with after years of partying till the wee hours. He rubbed his sleep ladled eyes to try and focus on the ominous screen as if the time would get any better.

It was the first day of his "probation" period and he'd already missed the first half of the school day.

Just f***ng great.

He swung his legs off the bed, grabbing a shirt (http://www.truereligionbrandjeans.com/store/productimages/regular/2990_optic_white_l.jpg) off the nearby armchair. His father probably would be calling in to check out the situation at home as soon as he even remembered that he had children at all. He had to get his a** moving as soon as possible in order not to have to go through another one of his lectures again.

He got showered and getting dressed was a snap after that. He simply put on a pair of True religions (http://www.truereligionbrandjeans.com/store/ProductImages/details/2952_switchblade_l.jpg) to go with the shirt. Checking the current time confirmed that, he was on schedule. Well as much of a schedule as he had left.

One of the advantages of being sent to some town to get reformed was the perk of pretty much living alone. His mother would not be caught dead in a place like this. His father would simply not be caught dead with his family anyway. The house was eerily quiet. Partly due to the fact that the help had not gotten into town yet. Apparently, it took a while to wrangle up a full maintenance staff to care for a mansion. Who knew?

He nonchalantly grabbed a pear from the barely stocked fridge. He really needed no other nourishment apart from some Advil and a cup of coffee. That being taken care of, he headed out to the garage wondering what type of toys his dad has stocked in this house. After all, every rich little boy needed a ride, right? He decided on the red Aston Martin DBS Volante (http://www.astonmartin.com/content/allsites/images/AMDBSV_001_Ret_383a97f2-225c-459e-97fb-1147f803be09.jpg) that looked like it'd be a pretty bad boy on the roads. First day of school, a guy needed to show off the guns. Even if he didn't really need it.

Just as he suspected, the car handled the drive like a pro. Not to say that the roads were even challenging, just your average, suburban roads in an average, suburban town. He pulled into the parking lot, marvelling at the smooth handling of his new baby. School was turning out just fine already if he has access to this machine everyday.

He made short work of locking up the car making sure the hood was up. Walking into the school was like going into a whole new dimension. It was safe to say that he'd never before been near or even seen a public school before in his life. His first thoughts? It’d be so damn easy to score some a**. To his great, but pleasant surprise, the prospects were not exactly that bad. Some of them needed a little help but majority might have even survived back in Silicone Valley.

He made his way to the main office where he was supposed to sign in. Trying to ignore the speculative stares of the other students heading to class was almost hard. Key word being almost. He smirked to himself, and pushed open the door to the office as he caught the wide-eyed admiration of two girls in the corner. One even had the courage to wink and give him a little wave. Brooklake was truly going to be another experience.

Needless to say, the staff at the office were hardly the welcoming type he’d come to expect. They were outraged at the fact that he was about a couple of hours late and even more furious when his only excuse was a shrug. Noting that that must be what happened to over-worked and under-paid workers, he got his class schedule and locker assignment.

Walking to his locker was another disappointment in it’s own right. The halls were littered from the just completed lunch period and the lockers were just below standard. Still, he figured he’d have to tough it out if he did not want to be answering to some steroid engorged sergeant soon. On the plus side however, his locker was almost right next to the girl’s change room. He could foresee some great advantages with that prime location.

He checked out the locker and made sure everything was a-ok. Well as a-ok as they could be in a place like this. Checking in with the schedule showed that he had biology right about now. Closing the locker door with a little force than was necessary, he headed for the class.

The class was pretty much like every other class. Right away, he saw the cliques forming. He almost laughed out loud at the absurdity of the whole situation. It was like walking into a movie. A bad sequel-type movie, but a movie nonetheless. Taking a seat towards the back, he proceeded to pull out his phone, checking out what he’d missed when he’d been dead to the world earlier.

{Approachable}

[elpemmy]

"Do you know what section you want to write for?" Melissa asked, "Even if it's a...requirement."
Lea frowned. She hadn't even thought about that. It's a newspaper, how much is there too it? She thought.
"I don't even know what sections there even are." She said, "I mean, who reads the school newspaper anyway?"
Lea glanced at Melissa. Her delicately freckled wrist just peeking out from her clothes somehow fascinated her. Lea shook her head, and smiled. What the hell is up with you? She thought to herself, trying hard not to notice the subtle beauty in Melissa's face.
I'm just being stupid she thought to herself, as her hands nervously came together. She studied carefully the expression in Melissa's face. She doesn't look... shy, or embarrassed, thought Lea praying Melissa had no idea what was going through her head.
"So, I guess we should go in." Lea said, nodding towards the door.

((Hope that's all okay, Analynne. I'm not that sure about it, so let me know if you want anything changing. (Especially the description of Melissa.)

[FurryPanda]

((OOC: Hi all.
Sorry for disappearing off the face of the earth. There were some bad storms in my area, and now there's a half inch flood of water on everything, and the power's out in my development, has been since Teusday, although people have said it'll be fixed sometime next week. I'm writing this from the library, and I'm really sorry that its going to be once I get power back that I can write a post. If I have time before my card expires, I'll get something short and crappy up for Mitch))

[AnalynneHopes24]

"I don't even know what sections there even are." She said, "I mean, who reads the school newspaper anyway?"

"Isn't there like entertainment, sport, stuff like that?” Melissa pointed out, Huh, she really doesn't know about newspaper she thought, "I imagine not much people read it but don't tell the people at the paper that, some take newspaper too seriously." She added with a laugh, remembering one of her friends who pretty much lived for the school paper. She didn't add that sometimes she read the paper for the gossip and comics.

At the corner of her eye she could see Lea staring intently at her. Puzzled, she wondered if she had something on her face. Melissa checked her hair, and ran her tongue over her teeth. She hoped she didn't had anything in her teeth, reminiscing once more about the day she just had to have the spinach special.

"So, I guess we should go in." Lea said, nodding towards the door.

"Sure, but before we go in, anything on my face?" she asked.

((It's fine, I just didn't imagine her with freckles but no need to change it. Is this okay?))

[elpemmy]

"Sure, but before we go in, anything on my face?" Melissa asked.
Lea looked, savouring the chance to openly examine Mel's features.
"No, not at all." She smiled. She pushed the door open, and walked in.
"Grab a seat at the back?" She said. She glanced around at the few students who were here already, and spotted a seat at the back of the class, by the window. She began to make her way towards it, already focusing her energy on forgetting what she had felt for Mel.
Lea shook her head and sat down in her chair. Right, she decided, I've got to focus on something else. Next -cute- boy that walks in, I'll get a crush on him.
She smiled, a plan of action already in her head, and realised she was smiling for a biology lesson. She scowled, slumped in her chair, and kept her eye on the door.
((OOC: Yep, that's fine. I got a bit carried away at the end, let me know if it needs changing (as usual :P) ))

[Alissa888]

The bell has gone, and Biology lesson has started.
Your class today involves working with your designated lab partner* to make a A3 poster presentation of anatomy (location, features) and physiology (functioning) of one major organ in the body (heart, lungs, liver, kidneys, spleen, stomach... etc), which you'll pick out of a hat now**
Raw materials for the poster are available at the front desk, and information is available in textbooks/your memory.

Good luck!

* Feel free to team up with anyone. For dramaz, it can be someone your character doesn't know/doesn't like ;)
Please do try have it be someone your character doesn't normally interact with - never know where it might lead!
** Feel free to work it out amongst yourselves who wants to work on which organ, guys :)

----------------------------

On another note, to get to the dance sometime this year, it's probably the best case to skip a couple of days and fast forward to Saturday. We're definitely skipping Wednesday (unless anyone has severe objections), and also probably Friday so as to not skip two consecutive days.
I'm hoping that's all okay? Would love to hear your opinions :)

[maeve.2.0]

Why didn't life ever do what she wanted?

Why didn't Loren realise glossy brown hair did not make someone all that great, that unruly blond hair was actually quite nice too? Why didn't Natalie transfer to and get all her shiny locks cut off in a grassmower-related mishap?

Why did Loren never take notice of body language?

She had leapt to her feet, stumbling away from him, but much to her misfortune Loren had swiftly gotten to his feet too - as always, wildly oblivious. "Yeah, the bell should be ringing any second now -" he said, and right that moment the bell shrieked through the quad, as if it had heard him. In a flurry of movement, students got up and began to make their way to class.

With another broad smile, he walked alongside her through the doors and down the hallway, heading for the Biology classroom. Lacey resigned herself to having to walk with him to class - and for a moment, was unsure why she felt so uncomfortable with the thought. On one hand, she loved seeing that smile more than she loved the "random article" function on Wikipedia, on the other hand, her mind was so muddled right now she felt like she couldn't think. She needed to be alone.

But as always, Loren completely failed at interpreting body language, and merrily stayed by her side. "... So, you excited for Rocky Horror?" he asked, as they entered the Bio classroom and found a seat.

Rocky Horror? For a second Lacey's thoughts were distracted from his smile and her muddledness. "Really, we're doing Rocky Horror?" she said excitedly, forgetting for a moment that she was muddled and ought to act accordingly.

(( Oh the shortness! Well. I didn't start RPing the project thingy yet because I figured I'd give Loren a chance to respond and such. And btw summerkelsa pleeease keep Bodene! He was so fun to read about and also we never really got him and Lacey started storyline-wise, and their backstory was so cute. :\ ))

[AtropaMandragora]

The word 'bully' is usually defined in terms along the lines of 'a quarrelsome, overbearing person who habitually badgers and intimidates smaller or weaker people', or possibly 'a man hired to do violence'*. It's someone who preys on those inferior in size, strength and often outward confidence, and who gets a kick, an ego boost, from threatening them and in many cases even downright abusing them, physically as well as mentally. Someone who beats others into submission, literally, just in order to get their way, or even for no other reason than their own boorish amusement.

Now, with all those descriptions of what a bully is, it wouldn't be a very far-fetched notion to label Tyler as such. He actually was hired to do violence every now and then, and he did, in a way (that way being the financial one) prey on those a bit more unfortunate than him, that were desperate enough for something, to borrow money through him, from what most of them knew to be a local loan shark with a not-so-pleasant reputation in town. Heck, he'd even beaten people up in order to get them to do something he wanted them to do. Or rather, not do something he didn't want them to do, as in the case of Emma Brixton and Neville Highams, and the way that Tyler had convinced the jocks that they really were better off leaving Emma and Neville alone, as opposed to.. well, bullying them, actually. Imagine that; resorting to bullying behaviour, in order to discourage bullying. It was almost poetic.

However, even though a lot of the criteria for what makes a bully would probably fit the description of Tyler and his deeds, he didn't really target those weaker than him just for being weaker. He didn't beat them up just because he needed his ego fixed, or because he thought it was great fun. He didn't even pick his targets. They picked him; he never forced anyone to buy drugs or alcohol from him, and he never forced anyone to borrow money from him. They came to him for what they wanted, willingly and knowing that the people he represented were hardly kittens. It was only when they didn't keep their end of the bargain, that he might get rough. And he never took any pleasure in it.

The only targets he ever picked, were not those where the matter was business, and thus serious in nature. The targets he picked, were those on whom he decided to play pranks, those who could do with being taken down a peg or two, who would not suffer any considerable mental or physical distress or damage because of what he did. He rarely even targeted actual people, but preferred to keep to material things instead, thus sparing his targets public humiliation a la 'Carrie'. A perfect example being the prank which Leigh had just told Natalie about; how he and Lilith - though the latter had yet to be named to Natalie - had snuck into the boy's locker room, and thrown their uniforms under the showers. The real damage was only materialistic, because even though it caused the football team quite a bit of aggravation, and even though the uniforms had been discoloured by the red dye, the players did still have the chance to NOT practice in the soaking wet, pinkish clothing, and their egos remained intact, if a little nicked.

Never did the already victimized groups find themselves the targets of one of Tyler's pranks. For even though he might not pay too much attention when they were being targeted by others, and stepped in to protect them only when he was being paid to do so, there was no satisfaction for him in actually making people feel bad about themselves. The nerds, the achievers and the oddballs were usually self-conscious enough already due to being constantly targeted by those higher up on the social ladder, while the latter could usually do with a little something to think about, and reflect on. Not that they tended to actually get the point, since usually, they just dismissed any and all pranks played on them, as being born of nothing but jealousy. But that was beside the point, as it didn't change the fact that Tyler himself didn't target those who needed it the least. Though at the same time, that was just the thing; he didn't target them himself. They weren't at the receiving end of what he did. Even if what he did was only part of a grander scheme, that in the long-run would end up targeting the "weak", he wouldn't be the one making a conscious effort to get at them. And if the ones that had hired him in the first place would find a way of going through with what they had planned regardless of his involvement, why not benefit from it?
Then again, it did all depend on the severity of the "attack". So, when Natalie went on to answer his question, by elaborating a bit on what was up, he found himself wanting to make sure that whatever it was that she had planned, it wasn't on the scale of "ruining" someone's life.

"We're hoping to have Laramie foot the bill for our plan", she said, her explanation starting out well enough to coax a slight grin from Tyler as that part of the plan - as well as the mind behind it - was clearly worthy of his appreciation. "There's a pretty educational drawing that everyone in school deserves to see, but Laramie would have a coronary over it before he lets me publish it in the paper."

Huh. As if Laramie having a coronary would be a bad thing? Tyler failed to see how exactly it would be any kind of a loss. But, oh well.

"Not a huge setback", Natalie continued, "because having hundreds of copies printed out and anonymously distributed works well too, but... given that Laramie's the obstacle to it happening the less expensive way, it's only fair that he should foot the bill for this. As for when... as soon as possible would be great."

Alright... Firstly, about that 'educational drawing': The term was a rather vague one, and could mean anything, from someone or something being made fun of, to an actual social or even political statement. It was impossible to tell, just from the description she'd given what it was all about. But on the other hand, was it Tyler's problem if it did target a specific group or person? A drawing was about an opinion, a personal view of something, and thus couldn't be considered more than hearsay at the most. And while hearsay could be bad, it wasn't likely to actually "ruin" anyone's life. So... No. It wasn't really his problem, no. Tyler looked out for Tyler, with the exceptions being only a few other ones who had given him reason - emotional or material - to look out for them as well. Neither Neville Higham or Emma Brixton had ever mentioned Natalie as one of their tormentors - though that in itself didn't actually prove anything - and by now, Tyler figured he'd made his stance over those who were pretty clear. Natalie, whom he now realized had to be the Natalie of the school paper, ought to know that much at least, and thus also know that if the drawing she planned on printing with Laramie's unknowing financial backing, targeted any of Tyler's "wards", she'd have a big batch of unpleasantness coming her way. The fact that Tyler himself would have technically been an accessory to the crime in the first place, would make no difference in her favour.

But, he was getting ahead of himself, and so left that train of thought in order to move on to the more practical part of this budding arrangement: the how and the when. Natalie needed it done as soon as possible, and while Tyler wasn't opposed to getting on with it right now, odds were that Laramie would be in or around his office, making the risk of breaking into it a little too high for Tyler's liking. Waiting around outside for Laramie to leave would draw attention sooner rather than later, and even if the office would turn out to be empty, with no bearing on Laramie, there was no telling when he might show up.
So... A bit of help then?

"Who are 'we'?" Tyler thus asked, although he already had a suspicion, based on his observations in the cafeteria, as well as the "references" hinted at by Natalie, when mentioning what she'd heard about him.
After all, if there were already others involved, and they were wanting to hire him to help them out, expecting a little help from them in return wouldn't be too much to ask, would it? Plus, knowing who else was involved might tell him quite a bit about who/what would be on the receiving end of this endeavour.

"I prefer to know who I'm in bed with", he added with a faint smile, that even though it was as amiable as could be, still made it clear that it was no longer as much a matter of curiosity, as it was importance.

He'd be a fool to turn the advantage he had of being the one approached, to a disadvantage by not bothering to find out who else was involved, and thus make it less risky for them to rat him out, should they need a scapegoat if things went awry.

"Plus I could use a diversion", he concluded, "cuz we need to get Laramie out of his office for this one."


(((ooc: * http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/bully)))

[summerkelsa]

[[ Hey guys. I'm sorry to do this but I'm bowing out officially due to personal reasons. I really wish I had the spare time to devote to this because the characters and plots are so much fun but, as of now, I don't. I sincerely apologize to those of you whom my characters were involved with and for any issues my withdrawal might cause.

Happy writing, guys. ]]

[Alissa888]

(((OOC:
Gears - Aw, sorry to hear you've been ill, hope you're feeling much better though! :D
As for Preston, I'd be sad to see him go, but he is your character, and it's entirely up to you. If you do drop him (which I hope you don't ;)), feel free to resubmit him, or another character anytime you want

Summerkelsa - Oh, no! Very sorry to hear you're leaving us, you, Sienna and Bodene will be sorely missed! Your characters really have spirit to them.
I hope things are looking up in RL and you are welcome back anytime you want :) )))

[robokitty]

"Matt."

Esteban takes a long drag on his cig. It burns down to the root, leaving a trail of ash behind. The wash of nicotine relief can't dent the way the booze from before is feeding his brooding. A slow breath of smoke rolls over his lips, and he looks at the stub in his fingers. There's still one left in it. He takes a one last, little puff and tosses it to the ground. Chingala pinche puta.

"Matt."

It's not like he thought of her when they were together either! Did he? Did he?! Esteban pauses darkly. Ok, maybe he did. But that was kind of the f***ing point of nailing one of the preps. Well either way, it's not like he cared. They weren't in a "relationship" or anything like that. All she meant to him was p****--an easy one at that. He was not attached.

...god, she was flexible.

Esteban grimaces, shaking away the thought of her. The scent of her still hanging on his clothes. Whatever the f*** that rich girl designer perfume is like flowers, spice, and raw sex.

F*** it, he could drop her ass anytime he wanted and not think twice about it. Any goddamn time! Who the hell was she? Just some dumb w****--nothing special! Hell, it's not even like Esteban was that picky. It's not like he wouldn't stick it in the mud! And it wasn't that hard to find some other lanky gringa with long, hot legs and a tight body--s***, did he ever call that sex shop chick back? What was her name? Tracy? Trista? Wait, no, scratch that. He doesn't want to be on the wrong end of her anal beads. Who the h*** was Leigh banging these days?

He jabs his fingers into the pack for another, and fumbles it angrily. F***! Before he can recover, the brand new cig drops to the ground, wet with the last traces of snow on this sunny day. F***, f***, f***, f***!!!

Esteban stares at the soggy cig. He is not picking that up. He is not desperate enough to wait for that thing to dry so he can light up again. As he digs into the pack for a new cigarette, he wonders what the hell he's even doing here. Not like he has to be at school anyway with his suspension. Oh, right. No car. He's gotta wait his sorry ass for Rafael to pick him up.

Esteban sighs heavily and lights up. He lets the tobacco try to ease his nerves--like attacking a tank with a slingshot. Time passes, and his cigarette burns down furiously. As he lowers his right hand from his mouth, he wonders why he doesn't have a bottle of booze in his left.

Motherf***er. He hates second place.


((OOC: approachable... he's outside the school in the troublemaker's smoking spot, perched on a rail or something. Brooding, obviously. And uh... let's assume this is *cough*cough*cough* approximately 30 minutes after the bell has rung.

kelsa-sorry to hear that. I'll miss your colorful characters, and no hard feelings or anything. Take care, and you're always welcome back. It's been a pleasure to RP w/ you. :D Also, I hope what i wrote here is okay. It was the quickest way I could think of to tie a ribbon on Esteban/Sienna. ))

[AtropaMandragora]

As recently as only a few hours ago, when seated at the kitchen table in the Gentry household, waiting for Sienna and watching her toddler brother, Matt had reflected on how having children was something he intended to steer clear of for at least another fifteen years, minimum. He had every intention of living his life to the fullest, to party and have a great time, and not be tied down by some kid who'd probably spend all night wailing at the height of his or her lungs, barf all over you when you least expected it, and just simply be so much work that you'd even forget what having some time to yourself had ever been like. Matt liked his freedom just fine, thank you very much, and was perfectly content with the way things were. And there were still so many things that he wanted to do before he was ready to settle down, at least somewhat, and having children would require far more attention and commitment than he was willing to give.

Yet here he was, being told that what he had vowed to make sure didn't happen, already had. Marie-Elisabeth was pregnant. Oh God... It was horrific. Utterly horrific. Had there ever been a moment in Matt's young life, where it had seemed like a living nightmare, this would be it.

"No, I'm just dicking around", came her retort to his fearful exclamation, laced with bitter sarcasm and even accompanied by an eye roll. "Of course I'm serious you idiot. I wanted to be the one to tell you before the inevitable happens and the entire f*&king Universe finds out. Something like this is not going to stay quiet long, and I don’t want Josh to get hurt by it. It's going to be bad enough already."

Matt could but stare at her. Having first accused her of simply trying to make him sweat by lying about it, he now found him wishing that she really had been trying to do just that. Desperately. To him, there would have been no more welcome sight than a smug smirk seeping into Marie-Elisabeth's beautiful features at the satisfaction of having successfully pulled it off and scared him out of his wits.
But there was no smirk. There wasn't even an indication of a conscious effort to hold one back. There was only gravity, and impatience.

Add to that the way that Marie-Elisabeth went about it all - just flat out throwing the announcement in his face and than acting as though he didn't have a right to be shocked - and Matt really could but stare, as a million and one thoughts darted through his mind. Thoughts how he couldn't be a father, thoughts of how the h*ll it could've happened when she was supposed to be on the pill, thoughts of how could she even be so sure it was his and not Josh's, or even someone else's entirely.
Yet funnily, what ended up being the main thing that his mind latched onto, if only for a few moments before it moved on to what actually was the main thing, was Marie-Elisabeth's approach, and general attitude towards him.

For a long time now, Matt had considered her one of his best and most treasured friends. Not because she was his female counterpart at Brooklake High - though it was a small part of it - as his status was what it was regardless of his association with her, but because they really were two peas in a pod. They had so much in common, and understood each other so well, at least as far as Matt's official persona was concerned. Since first getting two know each other, they had been one serious force to be reckoned with, with multiple successful schemes having been pulled off in order to shape everyday life in and around school to something that was more to their liking than it had been before. Unwanted elements in the cheerleading squad had been dealt with and kicked off, and those that'd had unflattering things to say to or about the two of them or their friends, had been taught a lesson they wouldn't soon forget.
Yes indeed, Marie-Elisabeth, despite not knowing about certain parts of Matt's life and personality, was what he'd considered one of his best friends. Lately, however, it was becoming increasingly clear that the feeling wasn't mutual. Because friends didn't accuse you of intentional negligence, they didn't turn their back on you and stalk off without giving your a chance to respond, or act as though you were riffraff, a mere waste of time. And friends didn't call you an idiot two seconds after they had just dropped a bomb on you.
Marie-Elisabeth, on the other hand, lately had treated Matt as little more than an inconvenience, and now didn't seem the least bit interested in showing any consideration whatsoever, neither when delivering her news, since there wasn't an ounce of tact to her approach, nor afterwards, when for understandable reasons, Matt got upset, since unlike her, he hadn't had a single chance to suspect, to confirm, and most importantly, to digest it all. Instead, she got impatient and unpleasant, and then topped it all off by turning the only consideration she was apparently capable of mustering, onto Josh and, of course, herself.

So, quite naturally, Matt's reaction developed accordingly, with the stare turning into an initially unsuccessful attempt to speak, his jaw working slightly to produce words that just would not come, while a steely hand seemed to grip and squeeze his lungs.
Suddenly, Marie-Elisabeth wasn't the only one in the summer sports closet feeling nauseous.

"W-well", came his stuttering voice at long last, as one hand sought the wall behind him for support, and the dam finally burst with a desperate; "Get rid of it! You have to get rid of it! I can't have a kid!"

[FurryPanda]

Mitch always preferred tutoring to sitting in class. He was pretty empirically certain that the teachers hated him, and when he wasn't stuck listening to them feel bad for dunce-linebacker, it was pretty hard for something to be worse than that. Besides which, sometimes he did get things out of tutoring. Freshmen year he'd had an excellent history tutor, although there had been some problems, and occasionally some bits of knowledge from his tutors did penetrate his sub-Cro-Mangnon skull, as one of the shorter lived tutors had identified.

And of course, there were other benefits. All of Terry's friends were half in awe of him, and there was Terry too. He would never touch her again after she'd freaked out like that, but her friends, who for the most part he avoided like the plague when there wasn't any "tutoring" going on?

So when Dylan was all set to talk about meiosis and crap, he was perfectly willing to listen. He wouldn't go there with his friend's ex, but he might as well derive as much use from her company as he could. After all, if Mark found out that Mitch had spent all of biology in the company of his doubtless desperate ex, just like had happened with Mary when she and what's-his-name broke up, he'd be pretty livid. As it was he was going to take out any post-breakup crap on him at practice, the problem with being able to take tackles all day with few ill effects was that he would.

“I think we should cover meiosis first?” she suggested, and the way she phrased it made him think that there was some difference. Ah well, one more bit of evidence that he had the brain power of a sloth. “Once we have cell division done, then it’ll be easier to cover cell function.”

But wasn't it a function of the cell to divide? Divide and conquer and all that sh*t? He didn't let anything other than polite interest in what she had to say show on his face, but he figured that this one was going to be almost as bad as Jaym breathing down his neck, asking what in heaven's name that concoction of lines and labels was. Almost as bad, though, was still better.

He nodded, even if the difference was marginally over his head, he'd let her take the lead.

“Could I please have a quick look at your notes?” she asked, and Mitch stiffened. His binder could get him and Terry and Mark and Gavin in a lot of trouble, since the system of switching off taking notes, with Terry taking most of it, would be seen as manipulative and bullying at best, and extortion at worst, even though she did it entirely of her own free will.

He wouldn't get her in trouble, she was too damn scared of him already. It was really annoying that she would, every single day come and hover behind his seat, and then go across the room and at the end of the day hand him photocopies of her notes, when she hadn't let him talk to her for weeks, and then he'd stopped trying and she'd kept giving him notes.

So either way, he wasn't going to sell out Terry, crazy nerdlette that she was. "Ah... I'd prefer if you didn't." he said sheepishly, and his mind blanked for what reason he could possibly have to hide his notes, other than the fact that they were photocopies. He hoped he didn't look too vacant as he frantically considered and discarded excuses. "Couple of doodles in there that a lady shouldn't see."

Wow, Mitch, could you have come up with a worse excuse," he berated himself, and he grabbed his pen off the desk and held it above his notes on meiosis- which were his, admittedly, though anything on cell energetics or respiration or anything would be Terry's- and kept his elbow on the other half of the binder so that she couldn't sweep it away if she wanted to. He doubted that she would, for the most part the chicks that he'd had tutor him were pretty meek, but then again, most of them hadn't broken up with Mark the Enlightened less than an hour ago.

((OOC: Hope that's okay with you?
And sorry for the delay, my internet is still down, apparently my modem got fried, though we're getting a new one.
Katie will be next, I'll be around on Thursday I think.
Gears- if you want Jude to meet her in the hall and talk to her, I don't mind, just don't GM any dialogue, and don't get them to class, because she'll have some errands to run and will be ditching. Or you can not have him approach. I'm good either way.))

[AtropaMandragora]

To be perfectly honest, Leigh had never understood the appeal of prettyboys. No wait, correction; she had never understood the appeal of dating them. Even though they were far from her type, she could still see the appeal of looking at them - they were quite easy on the eyes, after all, as per definition - and maybe having a single close encounter with them. But to actually hang out with them, and hook up with them? Forget it. Leigh was usually attracted by the strong rebel type of guy, the classic devil-may-care bad boy, who knew how to hold his own, especially when it came to fighting. And not just physically. Leigh was a sucker for the type of guys who seemed to be at war with the world, much like she herself was, and who knew from experience just what a b*tch life could be, yet didn't shrink away to some dark corner to hide from it all. She loved the type of guy who would try to take charge, and not back down once he realized he'd have to challenge her for it, but instead go on to wrestle her. A guy that wasn't afraid to get rough and throw her down, as long as he didn't truly abuse her.
That was what she was attracted to.

What she usually wasn't attracted to, was the type of guy that even though he might have a hot, toned body, would hesitate to put it to use in a fight. The type of guy that would rather take taunts and jeers, than to throw a punch, because he was so afraid of getting his good looks bruised, or be publically defeated, that he'd try to smooth talk his way out of a situation instead of once and for all show that you didn't get away with disrespecting him. Or his friends/girlfriend. A guy that would rather try to laugh things off, than to defend himself or his girl against whatever insults might get thrown their way. Not that Leigh had a habit of playing the damsel in distress, or taking crap from those so prone to dish it out, but still, it was always nice to have someone care about her enough to be provoked when she or her character were attacked. And prettyboys were usually far too concerned with their pretty looks, to dare risk getting beaten up, or even just mess up their hair beating someone else up, should they be so lucky.

So no, Leigh really wasn't all that attracted to prettyboys. At least not for something long term, and barely even anything short term. What girl in her right mind actually wanted a guy that probably spent more time in front of the mirror than she herself did, and who obviously had an ego the size of Minnesota and thus needed it constantly maintained and stroked; a job so demanding that it left very little room in their thoughts for anyone else?

Matt Sidle - now the subject of not only one discussion of hers this afternoon, but two - to Leigh, was the epitome of a prettyboy; rich, gorgeous, charming (with a hint of sleaze), and far, far too aware of it. And, while before she had talked to Natalie, it had made sense to her, somewhat, that the pretty, stylish and thus appearance wise rather prep-like brunette had gone out with him, now that she had talked to her, Leigh couldn't help but thinking 'What on earth had Natalie been thinking?'. The guy had egotistical heartbreaker and narcissistic jerk written all over him. Although, she supposed it might take some a little while to realize it, because he still obviously managed to make girls trip over themselves in their efforts for him to notice them. In some cases even the same girls that he'd already gone out with and dumped once. Airheads. Those girls really hadn't learned their lesson, had they?

However, as it had turned out, Natalie wasn't one of them, because judging by her reaction to the drawing, she was one of the few girls who didn't seem to be still fawning over him. It would seem she even disliked him, and wasn't afraid of neither admitting it, nor showing it.

And apparently, Lilith's thoughts were moving in a similar direction as Leigh's on this one:

"More like hit-and-run than dating", she said with a nod, "but yeah, I know what you mean. It was a good idea, showing her that particular drawing; since she didn't freak, I suppose she isn't too keen on Sidle these days. Unsurprisingly."

Well, actually, Leigh would kind of have to disagree with her on that one, because as had just gone through her head, for some unfathomable reason, no matter the line of ex's Sidle left behind him, there seemed to be surprisingly few hard feelings among them. A trail of tears and broken hearts, yes, but Leigh had yet to hear or witness any of the girls he'd dumped curse him, slap him, or even just p*ss and moan about what a jerk he was. Not even his latest dumpee, that Madison Whatshername - the girl on the diving team who was rumoured to have locked herself in a stall in one of the girls' bathrooms for about two hours following Matt's "abrupt" ending of their, what, a week long "relationship" - seemed to have it in for him.

Then again, Leigh hadn't made a habit of having heart to heart talks with the preps and the rest of the cheerleading squad, so who knew? Maybe they did it in private, and then hid it in order to play nice while in public? Because she might not be part of the prep clique, but Leigh did know that with the status Matt held at Brooklake, antagonizing him was considered to be a death sentence, socially, especially if you were a prep. So yeah, in a twisted kind of way, it made sense that they wouldn't openly bad-mouth him, or conspire against him.

"Aside from that...", Lilith continued next to her while they started nearing the class room, and Leigh found herself looking into a pair of eyes twinkling mischievously at her through narrowed slits, "what was her reaction?"

Oh yeah, Natalie. She clearly was a rare exception among Sidle's ex's, in lack of a more appropriate term, since, as Lilith had pointed out, it hadn't been as much dating as it had been a really brief encounter. Just like most of the dating he did. Heck, Leigh had even heard of bets being sometimes made regarding how long he'd stick with his newest conquest.
But anyway... When it came to the case of Natalie Cardew, Leigh had heard some of the complaints Matt had expressed about her, so now that she knew Natalie to be a fairly bright girl, playing with all the cards in her deck, at least on the surface, perhaps it shouldn't be such a surprise that she'd reacted the way she did to J.D.'s drawing?

"Well", Leigh started out describing said reaction, with her lips being coaxed into a grin by the one playing on Lilith's face. "She seems to have her sh*t together, so I don't think she would have freaked out, even if she was still hung up on him. Which, I might add, she's not. Unless she's in denial, that is, and channels it into contempt, because she seemed to just love the drawing. Her whole face lit up when she saw it."

She glanced over at J.D., who trudged silently at her other side, donning a bit of a smirk at what she took to be satisfaction at the memory of Natalie's reaction, and then turned back to Lilith with a slight, conclusive nod.

"I think she might be alright", came her verdict.


(((ooc: Ghanima - Not sure if that gives you enough to go on or not? Let me know, and if needed, I'll try adding to it.)))

[FurryPanda]

((OOC: Nvm, brother dear gave me a lift to the library))

When Katie was twelve, she had been at the studio for about a year, and she was still in awe of several people. She did dance rings around the other girls then, but they were all so much more confident, so much prettier, so much better.

And then the schedule for that year's recital had been put up, and she was shocked to find that she, out of all of those beautiful talented girls, had been picked to do, not just a solo, but a duet too. She had auditioned with everyone else, and so had all the guys, even Taylor Mitre, whom she'd been madly crushing on, even if he was four years older, dating the choreographer, and half of the performance team. And then she'd gotten to dance a duet, with him.

She'd been so excited, and when she showed up with him she hadn't even remembered any of the choreography the next day. That had embarassed her terribly and she realized that if she was going to dance with the guy, she needed to get over him. Two weeks, hundreds of lifts, and five minutes of mastered, exhausting choreography later, she was completely over him. Especially since it had taken ages for them to do the lifts right, since he would wait a count too long to let go of her waist, her leg, and for several days he had practically been copping a feel.

And that was how Katie danced. She needed to see a move once, and do it a few times, and she could do it. Flawlessly. Transitions were harder, but the thing that kept her from doing something on her own was that she couldn't dance with other people. It had taken hours and hours and weeks to be able to get everything to work perfectly. She was never out of step, she never missed the beat, but she couldn't dance with him for a while. And he was Taylor Mitre, so it was clearly her fault.

She figured fighting would be the same, so as she tried what made sense with what she knew of anatomy, and as she had a momentary flash of intense gratification as she saw Esteban flinch, she knew full well that she wasn't doing it right.

When the bell rang, she wanted out. She didn't know if her clothes stank, and she knew that if Her Royal B*tchiness saw her wearing her cheer clothes, she would blow sky high that Katie Byrd was sullying those precious silk screened sweat pants in public, but it was better than smelling, or being wet.

"You really want all those people to see us coming out of this closet at the same time?" He asks, and she was about to say that no one would notice or care, after all, no one noticed or cared much about what she did, hence why she was still able to take care of suspensions, with a great, great deal of care and prudence, but he didn't let her answer.

"Now come here." He was smiling, and it didn't seem too predatory, and she figured if he would have done anything he would have done it already, but still she felt utterly weak, utterly worthless as she took half a step towards him.

He put his hands on her neck, but that didn't bother her. All of the duets were vaguely sexual, and that was how to make a dip kiss look realistic across an auditorium, and hide that there wasn't anything going on. She'd been on the receiving end of a fairly similar touch from Taylor, and from two other guys when she'd gotten to do the duet at the studio. That wasn't the problem.

"This ain't about speed or strength. It's about finding the right spot and getting leverage." That wasn't anything Taylor or any of the other guys would say, and that brought her right back to watching, paying attention. It was just more choreography to learn. He was looking at her, but she was really thinking about Taylor, about how much she'd liked him when she was eleven, how much she'd wanted him to do something other than hold her a moment too long on leaps, how easy it was too get over him when she saw him and the choreographer he was dating, in costume, waltzing like...

She told herself to shut up and pay attention. Even when it had been Taylor, she'd been able to be touched and still think and listen. "-sides, so you gotta hit both spots. Do the same thing with the other hand, but you can grab further up in the collar... here," She watched what his hands were doing, breaking eye contact, attempting to see what was going on even as it happened where it was hard to see. She could do that though... probably. But where was the choking...

"Even from here, you can f*** it up. So, like, if I squeeze my hands together like this, it's a uncomfortable, but you're not gonna pass out from that, right?" There was pressure, it hurt, her toes clenched in her shoes at the unfamiliar sensation, and with a bit of effort she didn't yank herself away.

She was about to mumble something, asking him to stop, when he continued, "Like I said, it's about leverage. So if I pull from the elbows instead..." and the pressure skyrocketed, her mind blanked out, the small part of her brain that operated on instinct yelled, "go backward!", the rest saying, "go forward!" or "he's not gonna do anything" and the tiniest part of her that reveled in irony commented on Taylor never doing anything like this. The turmoil meant that she needed to decide, and by the time she had all she had done was get on the balls of her feet and he had let go.

She breathed in deeply, counted to three, and heard vaguely, ""You wanna practice some more, meet me after school," She nodded, and resisted the temptation to rub at her throat. Gentle breathing exercises... physically relax throat muscles, trachea expands, blood vessels dilate marginally, in and out, in and out, and she was a little sore, but felt better. She nodded vaguely, figuring he meant the troublemakers hide out or something, she could find him.

He opened the door for her, and she nodded, already putting together her own facade, a combination of the cheer squad's and some of the dancer's, a look that said, "All of you worms, stay the hell out of your superior's way."

Before she could leave, he added quickly, "One sec... here. You f***ed up number sixty three.", and passed her her homework which she'd given him yesterday. Her stony expression relaxed as she thought vaguely that that was nice of him, but the paper he handed her was wrinkled and he already had printed out a new one. She didn't acknolwedge it, just crumpling it and sticking it in her pocket. She wasn't paying any attention to what he said, it was enough effort for her to walk in a straight line when she had more alcohol in her system than she'd ever had, she was missing her first crush terribly, and her face was still slightly flushed, whether from the choke or from Taylor or something else entirely she didn't know.

((OOC: She's briefly approachable, very emo.
*snugs summerkelsa* Your posts were so much fun to read, I hope that your busy times brings much fun, and you return whenever it is convenient))

[Slytherin-Girl]

It took a lot to shock Marie-Elisabeth. And by saying a lot, that was an understatement. Someone who has built their entire life on being constantly calm, and able to control their emotions to the point of most people thinking they were emotionless, does not get surprised easily. If they ever were, they certainly did not show it.

She was now, if it was possible, starting to become even more pissed off about the fact that she was pregnant. She was barely hanging on to the remains of breakfast, she had turned into a...well more of a moody b*^ch over the last few days, soon none of her clothes were going to fit, and she was stuck in sports closet that smelt like gym socks and the sweat of dozens of years of football players.

The icing on the cake came when Matt seemlingly recovered the use of his lungs and stuttered out "Get rid of it! You have to get rid of it! I can't have a kid!"

Most of the thoughts in her head seemed to fly out the window and she just stood there silently for several minutes and stared in uncharacteristic shock. At least she managed not to gape like some kind of drunk goldfish, but she was pretty damn close to it. “You’re not...” she started, before biting her lip and putting her hand over her mouth to try and keep from being sick again. She settled for sinking to the floor, not really caring that she was in a rather short skirt at this point.

“You’re not serious are you” Marie-Elisabeth finally said, after taking a few deep breaths and rearranging her legs so that she could sit comfortably “I mean I know you’re obviously not happy about it, and I’m not either believe me, but I’m not about to f*#cking commit murder here Matt. Besides, I’m the one that’d have to have it done, do you have any idea what can happen to a girl if she does that?”

She started laughing out of nerves again, shaking her head back and forth slightly. “I know we’re not eachother’s favourite person, but I didn’t think you felt THAT way” she continued “It’s not like you even have to be involved with it, I just figured you needed to know since it's yours”.

(((OOC: AWWWWWWWW Summerkelsa, we're gonna miss you. (ME won't say she'll miss Sienna, but she totally does. Really...I swear.....) Hope everything goes OK with you))))

[FurryPanda]

Loren knew that he wasn't always the most perceptive, and he knew that it was usually a shot in the dark if what made absolute perfect sense to say in a play would be the right thing to say, or if what he was thinking was the right thing to say, or well, anything really.

But walking with Lacey, knowing that she was as devout a thespian as he was, and knowing that she hadn't even gone out for the community theater that semester, and hadn't been in the improv troop, he figured that the best thing to get her out of whatever allergic funk she was in was... drama.

*Not drama in the sense of reciting a romantic Shakespearean monologue, grabbing her hand and waltzing, a la The King and I to class, to end before the door with a lengthy kiss, which was how he had wanted that scene to end when he played Prince Chulalongkorn and Anna had confessed to him that she was half in love with the guy playing the king. No, Lacey would hate it if he did something like that to embarrass her. But drama, referring to the club? When there was such good news? How could it do anything but cheer her up?

And for once, he was right, since she got all excited and asked, "Really, we're doing Rocky Horror?"

"It's all but official," he said, his own excitement shining through, and if it was possible he smiled even wider. Whoever wound up designing the costumes was probably going to have the. best. job. ever. Other than playing Brad or the good doctor.

"You should go out for Janet," he added, after thinking for a second. Lacey would be perfect as Janet he thought, though there were a very few others, seniors mostly, that he figured would be a bit more comfortable, and possibly as pretty, wandering around in a bra and slip on stage. "If I wind up as Brad, it'll be so much fun, just like when I was Jack and you were Gwen!"

They got to class and he held the door open for her. Seeing that everyone was working in partners he turned to her and asked casually, "Lab partners?"

((OOC: *I laughed hysterically the entire time I was writing that paragraph
Hope that was okay with you maeve?
And bleh, that was crappy))

[Dreamydre]

Name:

Carter Eleanora DuPont

Age/Class:

16.5/Junior

Clique:

Preps

After School Activity:

School Newspaper

Brief History/Personality Description:

Carter Eleanora DuPont was born in Dallas, Texas on the late evening of November 24, 1992, the eldest daughter of real estate billionaires James and Mary DuPont. Carter also has one younger brother named James DuPont Jr. (http://thecount.com/wp-content/uploads/melania_trump300.jpg) (b. December 26 2006).

Mr. and Mrs. DuPont were far too busy to care for Carter, she was always in the hands of Nannies, but she was always given the finest things her parents could offer, she was never to be told no to anything she wanted. This led to a destructive childhood, always demanding, always expecting everything to be given to her and throwing a screaming fit when they weren't given to her immediately.

Carter attended Ms. Potters Preparatory School, starting in Pre School at the age of 3. She wouldn't start Kindergarten until she was 6 years old due to her birthday being past the cut off date. Despite her snobbish attitude, Carter was a very fast learner and eventually skipped Grades 1 and 2.

Eventually the Preparatory School was simply not enough for Carter and she was transferred to Augustine Country Day School her Third Grade year. Because of her high academics, she was respected by all of her teachers, and was always pampered. Of course all of this praise went straight to Carter’s head making her arrogant and self-centered. She was always praised and given too much attention. Especially when she was 12 and began to develop, which attracted the attention of many boys, she rocked ACD and left a name for herself, Carter and her family packed their bags and moved from their massive estate (http://www.2dorks.com/gallery/2009/0316-billionaire/billionaire10.jpg) in Texas, of course they bought a new ridiculously huge home (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_BpDNdb-o2MU/Sc1nNWvn5XI/AAAAAAAAA9c/4YHtQ5Psn3c/s400/Picture+65.png) and Carter is to attend Brooklake High School for her Junior and Senior year.

Carter expects to get what she wants and when she wants it, Carter knows it won’t be easy making a new name for herself in an entirely different school where nobody has ever heard of her. Maybe a few students will recognize her high profiled parents but no one will be use to the bitchy yet classy Carter Eleanora DuPont. But Carter is very manipulative when she can’t get her way and she knows she’ll have to play the “nice girl” until she can claim her popularity rank once again.

Anything else you might want to add:

Carter enjoys Fashion and has a pipe dream of becoming a Fashion Designer like that of her idol CoCo Chanel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coco_Chanel) . But despite her dream, Carter is part of the DuPont Family and is expected like her younger brother to carry on the family business. She also owns a 6 month old yorkie named Duchess (http://msp238.photobucket.com/albums/ff98/ravenpressley23/yorkie.jpg ) .

http://i43.tinypic.com/vskrjp.jpg
(Open to any storyline of course)

[Dreamydre]

As Carter walked through the doors of Brooklake, she expected it to be how it was at her old school. She expected to be greeted by her former "friends", rushing over to her and talking about the latest gossip. She expected to strut passed the group of nerds, who were always grouped near the stairs and watch as they stared at her in awe only so she could scoff at them. She expected to open her hot pink colored locker to be greeted with her mirror, posters of Jesse Metcalfe and her make up kit. She expected to apply her latest flavor of Sunnydew lipgloss (today's flavor would be candy apple), and to close her locker only to find her hot Senior boyfriend standing their with his dazzling blue eyes and charming smile.
"Hey babe" he would say to her, slipping his hands around her waist
"Hey you" she would say back flashing a pretty smile
Then he would give her a deep passionate kiss and they would walk together down the hallways, she expected to take her time heading to Mr. Meisner's class late as usual, although he wouldn't care. She was one of the smartest, hottest and popular girls at Augustine Country Day School and teachers were so impressed with her they didn't care if she was late to their class. She'd go to her seat and wait for one of the guys to pull her seat back for her to sit down. She'd give them a silent thank you by smiling, unless they were nerdy looking; then she'd sit beside her friend Claire.

But all of that would change, from this day on she was no longer that girl and that was no longer her life. Just a bundle of memories that she could do nothing with but write stories about. She had to start over again, and it wouldn't be so easy, but at the same time she knew it wouldn't be so hard either....would it?

"Good morning m'am, how may I help you?" said a scruffy voice that jerked Carter back down to reality.

"WHAT?" she yelled, frowning up her face.

The receptionist raised an eyebrow and gave Carter a sharp look with her eyes, "I said how may I help you" she said a little slower with an edge of attitude in her voice.

Carter wrinkled her nose, surely the woman wasn't giving that look to her. "I'm here for my schedule".

"You must be the new girl" the receptionist picked up a white paper and looked hard at it, "Ms. Carter DuPont am I right?"

Their was a brief silence, as if Carter expected the receptionist to already know who she was. Carter rolled her brown eyes "...duh, am I going to get my schedule or sit here all day, lady?"

The receptionist gave Carter another look, "The name is Mrs. Latimer, and of course you can have your schedule...unless you'd rather sit in the office for the rest of the day".

Carter scoffed, snatching the schedule from Mrs. Latimers hand and walking out,

What a bitch she thought to herself, her French heels (http://www.supplierlist.com/photo_images/178115/sell_free_shipping_Louis_vuitton_high-heel_shoes__.jpg) clacking on the hard tiled floor. How dare she look at me that way, don't she know who I am? Doesn't she know who my parents are? That's fine, because I'll make sure daddy get her fired if it's the last thing I do she smiled as she thought of this.

Her first class was Biology with Mrs. Jaym, she easily found the classroom without getting lost. She could hear the voices of students inside the classroom, her hand began to shake as she touched the doorknob, and for a brief moment she thought about if they would like her or not before shaking it off. Carter? Nervous? She silently laughed at the thought, before swinging the door open and strutting into the classroom.

(((OOC: Carter is approachable at this point)))

[AnalynneHopes24]

"No, not at all." She smiled. She pushed the door open, and walked in. Melissa let out a sigh of relief and followed her into the room.

"Grab a seat at the back?" She said. They found empty seats at the back and made their way there. She let Lea sit next to the window, and she grabbed the one next to her. She scanned the room, only a few students were here. Bored already, she grabbed her notebook and doodled, drawing anything that came to her mind.
((Ah, it's always great elpemmy and she's approachable (unless you plan on continuing to talk her which is completely fine :]) ))[/QUOTE]

[Dreamydre]

(((OOC: This question is for Atropa and Slytherin-Girl, I'm a little confused which is probably because I haven't read the entire roleplay but I thought Marie-Elisabeth was dating Josh Brennan? Have they broken up or did she cheat on him with Matt?)))

[Alissa888]

(((OOC:
Dreamydre15 - (Atropa and Slytherin, I hope you don't mind that I answered it) Marie-Elisabeth used to date Matt before she got together with Josh. I'm not sure how far along Marie-Elisabeth's pregnancy is, but the time frame excludes Josh as the father and puts Matt in the frame instead :)

Love your new character, she has been added to the list :D )))

[robokitty]

((I'd like to officially withdraw Abby from the RP and apply with Frankie instead. I was waiting on this for a while to make sure it felt right and yeah... I just don't have inspiration for Abby anymore :\
Feel free to NPC Abby or refer back to her if needed. I'm pretty chill about it as long as she doesn't do anything extremely OOC like sleep with someone.))


Name: Francesca (Frankie) Meir
Age/Class: 16
Clique: oddballs
After School Activity: Music and/or random student council activities
Brief History/Personality Description:

March 6th, 2003. Frankie had a megaphone in her hands. The crowd innervated the air--their anger, their indignation. The tyranny of a war fueled by capitalistic greed. She told the shop owner she just wanted to use the bathroom, and because she a young girl and they didn't know what harm she could possibly do, they let her in. She made her way to the balcony, above the crowd of two thousand, and from there the words surged from her mouth. Faster and faster. Words that flowed with passion and intensity. Words that she'd exchanged with her family one hundred times before at the dinner table but now took a life all their own. Words that whipped up the crowd in a mighty furor. Sometimes, she didn't eve know what she was saying, but she was hooked.

And then something happened. The police say it was a protester who threw the first bottle, but Frankie never bought that story. Regardless of how it started, a riot broke out. From her vantage point, Frankie could see it unfolding beneath her, so she did what she could. She barked out to the crowd like an army general from on high, all the while lambasting the police, those imperialist gangsters in uniform. That was the first night she'd ever spent in a cell. The riot, as well as video of her role in it, was all over the local news and even got some national coverage. She was eleven years old, and whole the experience was no less than exhilarating.

-

Frankie comes from a secular Jewish background, which essentially means she's Jewish in culture but agnostic in practice. She is radically leftist, and believes in a mash-up of ideals borrowing from Marxism, anarchism, feminism, and any anti-capitalist, anti-globalization writing she can get her hands on. Because of how much exposure she's had to political philosophy, debate, and crossfire, Frankie has become a fearless and gifted orator. She has the makings of a natural leader and has the ability to galvanize people.

At home, she has two younger brothers. Her father is a lawyer, but not the kind that makes a lot of money. He works on civil justice suits and takes a lot of pro bono work. Her mother is a professional activist and has been imprisoned (for longer than one night) four times. They are all quite critical, argumentative, and confrontational, and the dinner table is their firing range. They tend to be workaholics.

Physically, Frankie is "thick" when compared to most other girls her age. She has dark brown hair, brown eyes, and a narrow nose with a small hook. Her eyes are large and dramatic. She thinks they are her best feature, but they're hidden behind her glasses most of the time. There are three articles of clothing she is almost never seen without: a men's military jacket, worn combat boots, and a Fidel Castro hat (http://www.teewu.com/simages/clothes_frankie1.jpg) . If the subject of her appearance comes up, Frankie dismisses any insults as the sexist brainwashing of an oppressive patriarchal society that treats womyn as walking sex objects and by the way go f*** yourself. In truth, she is very unsatisfied with her appearance, and she tries not to think about all the things she would like to change about her body.

In her spare time, she likes to read, write political and social consciousness essays, involve herself in activism, and sing opera. At a very young age, she was given a tape of opera music as a gift, and she sang along to it every day, teaching herself how to sing. Later in high school, when she tried out for choir, and the teacher was so impressed that he recorded her voice and played it for one of his friends, who was a professional voice trainer. After listening to it, the trainer informed him that her voice was harmonizing with itself and such a thing was "impossible."

After some research, Frankie discovered that the tape she'd been singing along to as a child wasn't a single person singing, but actually two people. This is the only way she's learned how to sing, and it gives her voice an unusually rich, resonant quality. She is an alto, and though the most interesting parts are written for sopranos, she refuses to try to change her voice to conform to archaic gender expectations from a time when pre-pubescence was considered the height of a woman's sexuality.

Generally, boys find her voice (but only when she sings) is the most alluring quality about her. Her intelligence and propensity for criticism and conflict tend to scare most of them away, and while her face is somewhat reminiscent of a less attractive Natalie Portman, she doesn't have the figure to go with it. Ultimately, she is plain in appearance. When she's not singing, her voice sounds normal.

At Brooklake, Frankie is as popular as she is infamous. Well known, but not necessarily well liked. Many students view her as an oddity, though she attracts a small, near cult-like following of outcasts and normies who passionately believe in her. She is the first student to raise her hand with something to say, and she has led many a teacher's lessons astray by asking unexpected questions which led into long-winded classroom debates and ultimately in the teacher forgetting to ask for last night's homework. Her best subjects are English and Civics, though her report card is highly schizophrenic. She usually either gets an A or a just barely not-failing D in class because she refuses to cooperate with fascist teachers drunk on their own power. Still, her grades are good enough that she tutors other students.

Frankie is part of student council at Brooklake. While she would like to be president, she believes her chances of winning are too slim to justify the effort it takes to run (and therefore, she rejects the idea that she's remotely interested in it). At the same time, she is unwilling to compromise on her more radical views to make them palatable to the general population.


Picture:

http://www.teewu.com/simages/frankie1.jpg


http://www.teewu.com/simages/frankie7.jpg


Anything else you might want to add:

I was hoping to get a full body shot of Frankie, but unfortunately, the "fat" morph in Sims 2 isn't quite big enough. Think, like, America Ferrera in Real Women Have Curves (http://www.hbo.com/films/realwomen/) for her body type.

((Open to storylines, of course))

[Dreamydre]

((I'd like to officially withdraw Abby from the RP and apply with Frankie instead. I was waiting on this for a while to make sure it felt right and yeah... I just don't have inspiration for Abby anymore :\
Feel free to NPC Abby or refer back to her if needed. I'm pretty chill about it as long as she doesn't do anything extremely OOC like sleep with someone.))


I also want to withdraw Adrienne Reed from the RP. I lack inspiration for her as well.

[Elice]

“Beriiing.” Elysia mimicked as she wondered around the outside of the high school.

Was that a bell, maybe the school’s bell—possibly? Or could it have been her shoes (http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g42/Rayka_Sannada/shoes.jpg), the cute little bells on them did reach her ears whenever no one was around. There it goes again, but this time she wasn’t walking… plus the sound was much louder than her soft jingles. Hmm… what did that sound remind her of… go to class, d**n it. Eh? Reminds her of her mother—so strange—ah well, she’d figure out the cause of the noise sooner or later.

Thinking on it; she should really get to class! But where was it, finding the class would be her first lesson at this school, what happened to the nice desk lady that would hand you a map? Or the kind old counselor that would show you around or even the student body that was smarter—or, so to say, better at kissing up—than all the other kids? Elysia would have to face the fact that to even get to any of that stuff, she’d have to enter the building first.

Ah, but before one studies a building, one must study it from the outside in! Or something of the sorts. Elysia fixed her white short sleeve French Toast uniform shirt (http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g42/Rayka_Sannada/1040whit.jpg) and tucked it into her plaid gray skirt (http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g42/Rayka_Sannada/checktutu2-1.png ) , she didn’t remember them saying anything about uniform, but it was always best to be over prepared than not prepared at all, right? Plus it was too cute to pass up—it came with a small petticoat and everything! Now she was ready, with her lucky love, peace, and happiness bangles and her many mood/charm rings, she was on her way.

Taking up a nice pace, a casual walk, around the building, she noted many things; some of them were that the school was tiring to walk around, first of all; all the doors that wasn’t the front were locked; and that the school was poorly taken care of when you reached behind the building completely. Whelp that was phase two, next phase was to enter the thing. Elysia perked once she saw someone in the distance, the silhouette of another being! Finally, someone to show her around this place.

Just go in, I’m sure you’ll run into a teacher or at least one of the desk ladies. Elysia’s mother’s voice popped in her head, and sweetie, make some friends, I’m starting to worry. Elysia smiled, well, here she goes—oh, but what would she talk about, oh how would she start. She was too cool to ask about the weather and too lame to talk about the latest gossip. Maybe she could ask about his interest—is he into music, or would he rather play video games—or she could ask her about her favorite designs—was she into fashion anyways? She’d never know unless she asked.

As Elysia grew closer, she notices that the outline was indeed male, and he was quietly poised neatly to himself; Elysia saw a cloud of white puff, but it didn’t feel cold to her. Okay, guy stuff, what did the male half of the world enjoy? Hey, why be sexes, why not say something about herself and see if they shared anything in common. Pumped up, Elysia rushed over to the guy and stopped, smiling brightly at him.

“Hi, I’m Elysia Tordill! I have a Persian kitty named Noodles (http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g42/Rayka_Sannada/Onyx10weeks1.jpg) .” Hey—he could possibly have a kitty too.

((OOC: yay, I love talking about kitties—they’re so much better than dogs—joking. Wow, looking at this brings terrifying memories that I try hard to block out, after many a moons of crying myself to sleep, it still haunts me. Oh and robokitty, she talking to Esteban, I don’t know where the spot he’s at is exactly, but I didn’t really have her going in any certain direction—at least I hope I didn’t XD))

[Dreamydre]

Carter wrinkled her nose, clutching hard to her Linea Pelle Folding Tote (http://www3.images.coolspotters.com/photos/71404/ED5d16eC74B838Df__profile.png) , as she looked around the distasteful room. The tiles were a hideous off white color with dark speckles, it was probably coated with Bacteria and dirt and god knows what else. The walls appeared to be tiled or white bricks or something, Carter was not quite sure but she was afraid to touch them. Everything was wrong with this room, from the weird desks to the small seats. Plus the room size itself was no bigger than her Yorkshire Terrier's shoe closet. Carter could barely think straight, she felt as if she was in one of those white rooms for the insane. Already she was missing Augustine Country Day School with it's warm creme colored wallpaper and cozy carpets. It was nothing compared to this cave? She never even knew such places existed. Was she mistaken? Had she walked into the wrong room? She looked down at her schedule to make sure she was in the correct place, the room numbers matched but this made no sense to her. Perhaps Mrs. Latimer, had screwed up her schedule. That was the only possible solution Carter could think of, Mrs. Latimer had given her the wrong room number...hell she probably meant to do it, the witch did seem to have it out for Carter, I mean it's not her fault she's so beautiful that people get jealous, is it? But of course it's just a part of life; Carter turned around heading back out the door.

"Hi, can I help you?" came a voice from behind Carter. She looked over her shoulder, her dark hair swaying in the air. "Uhh...yah" she said walking toward the woman, "I'm kind of lost, I'm looking for Mrs. Jaym's Biology room?"

"Well you've come to the right place" laughed Mrs. Jaym, "You must be the new student, what's your name?"

Carter looked around at the room with a half frown, so this really was the Biology room. The place Carter would be learning, this simply would not do. She could not learn in such an environment; Carter knew Public School would be terrible, she had heard creepy tales of it at her other school but she never imagined it being this bad. How could anyone learn in this place?

"Are you okay?" Mrs. Jaym asked.

"Not really but I will be, and my name is Carter by the way. Carter Eleanora DuPont, you should write that down somewhere you can see it everyday because I'm not going to say it again. Now where am I suppose to...sit" she said looking at all the empty desks.

"Anywhere, no assigned seats" said Mrs. Jaym as she began walking back to her desk.

"Umm, Mrs. Jaym...do we seriously sit in these chairs?"

Mrs. Jaym made a weird face, "Well of course, unless you'd like to sit on the floor".

Carter looked down at the tiled floors, she'd die before she'd do such a thing. She scanned the room once more, only a few students were in the classroom. She was early to class, what a shocker; this public school thing was already not working out for her. Perhaps if she begged her parents enough, they'd take her back to Texas.

In the back of the room Carter spotted two girls, one of them was writing something on a notebook. The bell hasn't even wrong yet and this dork is sitting here writing, if Carter had any hope of being Popular again she definitely had to know who to talk to and who to stay away from and she definitely knew to stay away from whoever those two freaks were in the back of the class.

She took a desk on the left side of the room, at her old school all the cool kids sat in the seats on the left; no one really knows why, it's just how they rolled.

With nothing to do Carter took out her cellphone (http://dandygadget.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/amosu_diamond_pink_blackberry_storm_cellular_cellulars_and_phones_gadgets1.jpg) and dialed her former boyfriend Greyer. "Ms. DuPont, you need to put that away please" Mrs. Jaym yelled from the front of the room.

"For what?"

"Cell phone's are not allowed in school"

"Oh my god, are you seriously serious?"

Mrs. Jaym gave her a look similar to the look Mrs. Latimer had given her in the office. "Yes I am seriously serious and I am not going to ask you again before I take it from you".

"That's totally unfair, I can't get on my cellphone but that girl can't sit back their and write in her notebook" she said pointing at Melissa. Then Carter remembered, she was no longer at ACDS, she was no longer in Texas. She was...here at Brookview or Brooklane or whatever the hell the prison was called and if she ever wanted to be a respected pupil she would have to give respect to her teachers first. "You know what, Mrs. Jaym, I am totally sorry. I honestly don't know what I was thinking, you know what, here I'll turn my phone off and for the remainder of the semester you will never see it again."

Mrs. Jaym smiled, "I hope not Ms. DuPont"

"Oh please, call me Carter m'am"

"Well, Carter could you come up to my desk for a second. So I can fill you in on what we are doing in class".

As Carter walked up to Mrs. Jaym's desk, she smiled. Soon Mrs. Jaym will be so impressed with her she'll have the woman on a leash.

If their were only three things Carter knew, they were:

1) Tiled floors should be illegal
2) Dorks like Melissa shouldn't even be in the same classroom as popular kids
3) Brooklake High School would be a far more easier challenge than she expected.

After Mrs. Jaym filled Carter in on what they would be doing in class she immediately panicked, she needed a lab partner...but who? Surely not Melissa Carson and whatever that thing was sitting beside her. Mrs. Jaym said she can partner up with anyone...the thing is their was no one in the classroom yet and surely they'd all partner up with someone they knew. Why would any of them partner up with the new girl? Wait...reality check. This is Carter DuPont we're talking about, who WOULDN'T want to partner up with her? She'd wait for everyone to come into class, someone would ask to be her partner, and if not she'd ask someone herself.

"God take me back to Texas" she moaned, burying her face into her arms.

(((OOC: I feel like I'm leaving something out but maybe not. Carter is approachable)))

[elpemmy]

((OOC: My character is currently fully approachable- would anybody like to be my assigned lab partner? Thanks.))

[robokitty]

((OOC: I plan on deleting this later, but since I noticed that there are several new characters who haven't been approached yet, why don't some of you guys approach each other? You don't have to sit around and wait for someone else to approach you first. :) ))

[Alissa888]

(((OOC: Many apologies, I know I owe posts, I'll get them in soon - started lab work and stupidly resorted to sleeping 3 hours a night again, which isn't working too well this time either. Posts may be sub-standard, sorry!

Elice - welcome :) Will add your character to the list soon

And yup, I echo what Robokitty said)))

Biology was just one of those lessons that Josh never paid attention to in most instances. Yeah, there’d be a few times where they’d be covering something he knew about – being an athlete might suggest that mandatory meatheaded intellect, but being a successful athlete meant understanding how it all, game and the players, worked – or liked and he’d pay attention and do the work, but the rest of the time, it didn’t appeal to him. He did enough to pass, but he didn’t sit around pouring his spare time and effort into it like some of the other kids did.

However, not wanting to focus his interest on something didn’t mean that there was something else immediately available to take it’s place. Granted, right now, he did have something that, even if he had wanted to pay attention to class, would have claimed the majority of his conscious and his subconscious thought. Only, he’d rather focus on Biology than think of that. Contrary to Matt, Josh didn’t have a problem accepting he was bi, that he was in a relationship with another boy, and when thoughts of Matt seeped into his mind when they weren’t together sneaking around, he didn’t banish them out of shame. Most of the time. Right now, he was ashamed, for being stupid enough to assume that last night had been some giant leap, or for hoping that in the mess that was the situation between himself, Matt and Marie-Elisabeth, there was a chance for a happy ending.
Worse yet, he couldn’t help his own realisation that his reaction in the maths room could have been better.

Or could it? He needed time, he needed space, just like Matt needed to pretend that this was just fun and games with no repercussions or meaning, and unlike yesterday, he wouldn’t run to Matt and apologise; he wasn’t in the wrong. Matt was, and Matt could make the first move. Matt could demonstrate that he did know it wasn’t fun and games despite his desperate attempts at deceit, because Josh had seen that realisation in his eyes. But then, there was that scary uneasiness that every time he pushed Matt, he pushed him too far.
Well… playing the same old game hadn’t worked this far, had it?

He needed something to purge his mind of that gripping uncertainty and so, this turned out to be one of those times where he forced himself to show interest in something, following Mrs Jaym’s instructions and picking out a piece of paper from some old pirate hat that she probably dragged out of discount fancy dress store. He did his best to not imagine Mrs Jaym dressed as some pirate wench; he wasn’t that desperate for a distraction.
Ears.
Figures.

He looked through to find out who his assigned lab partner was, finding the name of some guy he’d never met nor heard of before; Carter DuPont.
Was that French? Oh, man, it wasn’t an exchange student, was it? Josh didn’t have anything against exchange students, but right now, he could do without the hassle of trying to talk to someone whose language he didn’t even speak. Alright, alright, that was a bit prejudiced; for all he knew this Carter guy could speak better English than he did – well, a couple of game after-parties taken into consideration, it didn’t take that much to speak better English than a lot of the football players.
For all he knew, this Carter guy wasn’t even an exchange student; he could just be some transfer. Or just someone Josh’d never met despite being at the same school with, for… how many ever years.
He didn’t know what that always made him feel bad, that people knew him and he just had no idea who they were.

“Carter?” he called out, after clearing his throat to smoothen out his deep voice, looking around to find the guy. Wait, did that sound threatening? What if this guy was some geek, and there Josh was, jock with the obligatory label, standing there summoning Carter, so, he explained following a brief moment; “Dude, I think we’re lab partners?”

(((OOC: Hope that’s all okay with you, Dreamydre :)
Slytherin – he hasn’t got ME’s text yet because I just didn’t imagine him checking his phone, will have him do it soon :) )))

[Dreamydre]

(((OOC: I was thinking of sponsoring a professor for the school newspaper but I wasn't sure if we needed one. So....do we?)))

[FurryPanda]

She was going to be late. It was a mathematical certainty, that even if she ran to Mrs. Jaym's room, she would be late. The second bell for their fourth period class would ring, and she would be late.

Given that, she saw no reason to hurry. The fact that Mrs. Jaym was half in love with her studiousness and insight meant that it wouldn't do Katie any harm to be a few minutes late, and she did have stuff to do.

Her first stop was the cafeteria, where a tale of being delayed at the guidance counselor's office got her a sandwich. With a bit of sugar in her system, she felt much, much better, so she went to the locker room to change into her cheer clothes. If anyone wanted to bother her, they'd think twice when they saw the pastel blue sweatpants with "Brooklake Cheer Squad!" and an archetypal cheerleader silk screened on them, or when they saw the brightly colored shirt with the school's mascot and the color's bisecting it along her bra line. Katie had always been amused that no matter what kind anyone wore, the color change followed it.

She swept her hair up into a pony tail as she walked out of the locker room, and looking as imperiously haughty as if she were a proper member of the cheer squad, and not one tolerated only because she was a superlative dancer.

The bell rang as she was walking up, but she didn't care. She needed to get some exercise, and she was dressed for it. When she went to the gym, there was a class there, but she convinced the gym teacher that she had annoyed the cheerleading coach and needed to run some laps.

As she darted off around the track, she figured that the gym teacher thought her an utter goody two shoes, as really, who would doubt Katie Byrd if she said she'd done her punishment and hadn't?

Ten minutes and a mile and a half later, she was starting to sweat, and out of politeness to her class she stopped. She felt great now, relaxed as she could only be after exercising.

She crossed the school and arrived in class a full twenty minutes late, and as Mrs. jaym cheerfully greeted her and explained the day's work, the blood drained out of Katie's face. Today was a lab partner day. She hadn't shown up to class, and now whoever her partner was going to be probably thought she was absolutely worthless.

Her usual lab partner was Donnie, but that was a matter of convenience, and now that Jude back they'd probably work together. She wasn't even going to look, since lab partners did tend to shift pretty often, so Katie figured she'd suck it up and work with the lazy sue in just sitting there in the back.

She went over to the desk and sat down, introducing herself with none of the haughtiness that her outfit would suggest. "Hey. I'm Katie. You have a partner yet?"

((OOC: Robokitty, was that okay with you with Donnie? We did discuss it in passing, and I tried to keep it extremely vague, but if I'm interfering with something, do let me know.
Elpemmy, she's talking to Lea))

[Dreamydre]

To say that Carter was a Pessimist would technically be untrue, but so far Brooklake High School had proven to be a disappointment; she knew if she had any chance of making it through this school year she had to keep her head up. "Keep your head up gorgeous" her Grandma Lyra use to tell her, "because people will kill to see you fall". Carter had to remember that she was a part of The DuPont Family (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Du_Pont_family) , a family with a surname that had been proudly handed down for generations. A surname that was established by her ancestor Pierre Samuel du Pont de Nemours (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pierre_Samuel_du_Pont_de_Nemours) , the son of a Paris watchmaker and a member of a Burgundian noble family, Pierre and his sons, Victor Marie du Pont and Eleuthère Irénée du Pont, emigrated to the United States in 1800 and used the resources of their Huguenot heritage to found one of the most prominent of American families, and one of its most successful corporations, E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Company (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DuPont) , initially established by Eleuthère Irénée as a gunpowder manufacturer. Carter had to remember that one day her little brother James Samuel DuPont Jr. would grow up to be head of the DuPont Company and she would take over her parents newly established company, despite the fact that she actually one day wanted to be a pioneering Fashion Designer, like her idol Coco Chanel (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coco_Chanel) . But she knew this was only a pipe dream, she knew what was expected of her, not only by her parents...but by the many generations of the DuPont family, including her ancestral grandfather Pierre. So much expected of her, and you'd think a girl like her would be a little rebellious, or at least its what she made everyone believe at her old school. She would do that same here at Brooklake High School, keeping her secrets to herself. It was good to know that she was so much more than she sometimes felt she was, she had to remember she was the daughter of multi-billionaire parents, and she was important, more important than dorks like Melissa Carson.

A deep voice calling Carter's name sent her flying back down to reality, she had been so focused on the things that were on her mind that she had forgotten for a moment that she was sitting in a classroom. Carter's brown eyes focused on the guy in the front of the room, who she assumed was responsible for calling her name seeing that he was looking around the room.

Who was he; and why was he calling her name? She had no idea, but he certainly was the best thing she'd seen since walking through the door. He looked awfully familiar, though Carter could not pinpoint where or if she had seen him before, but she did know one thing...he certainly was hot. She automatically assumed he was a jock, and she knew a jock when she saw one; considering that Carter was pretty much beast at reading people like a book she assumed he was a jock who certainly caught the eye of all the girls in the school. He was obviously on the football team and with those looks she knew he couldn't be single, just like a stereotypical Hollywood version of a Jock he was dating the head cheerleader aka the snobbish bitch. Carter knew that however friendly or unfriendly his girlfriend was, she was the "It Girl" of Brooklake and she would become one of Carter's greatest enemies. Its funny once you look deeper into people, suddenly the hot jock doesn't seem so hot anymore, just an object Carter could probably use to make his girlfriend hate her guts and if she had any chance of stealing the title of the "It Girl" she had to act fast and act now. He was a guy, and like all guys he viewed high school girls as "sex on legs" but before she could act she had to get to know him, because looks can be deceiving. For all she knew he could be some gay nerd who just happened to look hot. She coated her lips with her latest lip gloss from her Sunnydew collection, today's flavor was "Krispy Kreme", she was just about to wave her hand signifying that she was the one he was looking for...until.

“Dude, I think we’re lab partners?”

Carter raised her eyebrow and partially opened her lips with a "wtf" expression on her face. Did he seriously just call her a dude? At her old school, he would probably have a date with the trash can for that one, but she would let it slide this time. She knew jocks weren't so smart anyway, and in her eyes he definitely was not exempt.

"I think the guy you're looking for is over here".

[robokitty]

(Earlier)

Hmmm... carrot stick. High on beta carotenes, a precursor to vitamin A and rhodopsin--necessary for night vision. Donnie did not need good night vision--he already had night vision goggles that took care of that. However, he recognized the offer as part of a gift-giving ritual, a social exchange that fostered feelings of bonding between participants. He stared at the carrot stick for half a second before he accepted it graciously and promptly absorbed it.

(Later)

As Jude stumbled and his knee impacted against the floor, Donnie wondered if perhaps he underestimated his own strength. After all, he had started doing push-ups in order to improve the execution of his pop and lock. Or perhaps in the moment of excitement, he had gotten careless and simply used too much force? After a flash of concern over his friend's wellbeing and a quick analysis of possible culprits, Donnie mentally concluded that Jude had the dexterity of a min-maxed dwarven warrior in full plate.

"That's quite... uncharacteristic of her."

Donnie glanced over at his friend to study his reaction. He knew Jude still harbored feelings for Katie, and so he was concerned about how he might be holding up. An array of microexpressions played across Jude's face, and they all indicated uneasiness and/or frustration. Though honestly, Donnie found it difficult to believe that anything sexual had transpired between the two oddly matched students. Unless, perhaps, Katie had recently had a falling out with one of her parents and was seeking revenge through sexual rebellion and planned on surprising them with a "guess who's coming to dinner" moment?

After Katie and Esteban disappeared down the hall, Donnie cautiously rose from his position behind the garbage can. Caught in the excitement of the moment, he clicked on his audio recorder and was about to narrate their recent discovery when Jude's wavering voice interrupted him and reminded him that his actions were, perhaps, somewhat callous to his friend's feelings. Oops.

"Who was that?"

Donnie paused, then looked to Jude cautiously. He avoided making a sympathetic face because he didn't want to engender a coddled feeling in Jude. Then, he began explaining in a voice that treaded carefully, "That was Esteban Morales. He has a pretty bad reputation--not for that, though. Mostly for beating people up and chain smoking. He put one of the football players in the hospital for two broken ribs yesterday."

Donnie wondered if this information would ease or aggravate Jude's emotional state--he exponentially preferred the former as opposed to the latter. Was Jude still an INFP or had he developed into more of an INTP over the years? Would it be better to offer him logical or emotionally based platitudes? Donnie thought about saying "I'm sure it's nothing," but the words stopped short in his throat as he realized he couldn't be sure, and he was unwilling to commit himself to an inaccurate statement. And so instead, he changed the subject.

"Let's get to class. You don't want to be late on your first day back."


After the two arrived in biology, Donnie introduced Jude to the teacher, knowing the Mrs. Jaym would treat him preferentially if she knew the two were friends. Then, he proceeded to Nora's lab table, where he joined her on the poster project. She had already started their project on the kidneys.

Donnie turned his head sideways slightly, looking at the human diagram she had drawn on their poster. "Hi." He said curtly as he evaluated the proportions. The torso was too short by a couple millimeters. The angle of the forearm given the location of the elbows was... improbable. The sartorius and vastus lateralis muscles of the leg were completely unrealistic. Donnie's gaze moved to the picture she was drawing of the kidney. The capillaries of the vasa recta were too thick. The loop of Henle didn't extend far enough into the cortex by three millimeters. The ratio of the nephron to kidney was simply... wrong. What's more, the glomerulus wasn't contained entirely within the Bowman's capsule! His eyes widened slightly.

He continued scanning the picture silently, keeping these thoughts to himself with the knowledge that people typically did not respond well to criticism unless it was accompanied by at least two compliments for every critique. However, the sheer volume of corrrections Donnie was itching to make led him to conclude that it would be extremely awkward for him to contrive two compliments for every single criticism.

"Looks great," he said perfunctorily. "You really nailed that distal convoluted tubule." Then, Donnie reached into his bag for a pencil and an art gum eraser. "May I?"


((OOC: will try to get something up for Esteban tomorrow at the latest... or maybe tonight if I'm feeling particularly prolific. Also, FurryPanda, that's fine about Donnie & Katie))

[elpemmy]

Lea glanced up as the girl sat next to her. Lea looked her up and down, disgust showing obviously in her expression. A prep. Well, this -could- be fun. She allowed herself a smirk, then paused, a flicker of recognition crossing her face.
"Hey. I'm Katie. You have a partner yet?" The girl who was apparently called Katie had said. Lea shook her head, as she recalled the Ballet she'd seen which one of the carer's had insisted on her going to. She'd been enraptured by the beauty of the dance, and the dancers themselves. One in particular. And now, seemingly, here was that dancer, sat next to her, making introductions. Wanting to know Lea. The thought in itself seemed bizarre.
"I'm L-Lea" Lea stammered. "I don't have a lab partner... yet." She frowned, certain she was making a fool of herself. Must try harder she told herself.
((OOC: Hope that's okay, Panda :P))

[FurryPanda]

Katie didn't tend to like partner projects. Statistically speaking, she was almost guaranteed to wind up with someone dumber than she was, and they either expected her to do all the work, or wanted to do it all themselves and do a sub-standard job. Sure, some labs did require an extra set of hands, but a poster project? Seriously?

A cursory glance at the other girl's desk showed that she hadn't picked up a slip of paper saying what the topic of their poster was, or the poster paper... "This is why you shouldn't be late to class!" she reminded herself.

Her partner apparently also was even more of a social failure than Katie, since she stuttered when introducing herself. "I'm L-Lea. I don't have a lab partner... yet."

"You also don't have an assignment sheet yet," she said crisply, pushing her chair back and walking to the front of the room to pull a slip of paper from the basket. Knees. At least that one would be easy. One of the choreographers had been a recent college grad with a masters in kinesiology, and they had discussed the physics of dancing and anatomy at length until she got sacked.

She took the poster board and the slip of paper and turned around to walk back to Lea's desk, when some guy darted in front of her reassuring his partner he'd get a sharpie. She jumped back, landed gracefully, fifth position feet and a small glare while he apologized without looking at her. She walked back to the desk and set the poster board down, and opened her backpack to pull out her binder for biology. Like most of her binders, it had a cover sheet with her name, the class, the period, the teacher and a few tasteful decorations. On this binder, it was a sticker from the studio, and a picture of her and Taylor's duet, chosen not for the memories, but because it was the only picture from the studio that comfortably fit on her binder without showing a great deal more skin than she wanted any Tom, Dick or Harry she'd ever talk to to see.

"We have knees," she informed her partner, flipping open her binder to the relevant section. "How's your handwriting?"

((OOC: Was that okay with you Penny?))

[elpemmy]

Lea rolled her eyes as Katie spoke. That crisp, uppity tone of voice was enough to make anyone shoot themselves. "You also don't have an assignment sheet yet,"
And? Her point was? Lea watches as Katie disappeared to get the sheet. Not only a prep, she told herself, but one f*** of a goody-two-shoes. She might be pretty.. scratch that, stunning, but Lea was sure she couldn't have fallen for someone who seemed to look down on others. Not as badly as she did, anyway.
She watched Katie carefully, waiting for that sign of dancers grace. She watched as Katie picked a slip of paper, which would decide their work, and get some paper. She watched as Katie headed for her, as some idiot stepped in her way. Unbelievably, she saw the proof she needed. That perfect step, the jump, the whole movement just screamed dancer. Lea's heart pounded in her chest. The person she had been so entranced by was here, in real life. Lea almost couldn't believe it.
Katie approached, taking from her back a binder, decorated in such a way that only further confirmed Lea's suspicions.
"We have knees." Katie said. Lea was about to make some smarta** comment, along the lines of "No s***" but Katie spoke again. "How's your handwriting?" and Lea realised what she was talking about. She smirked. "I try not to write a lot." She said.

[Ghanima Atreides]

Lilith, with Leigh and J.D. - the corridors


One of the many things Lilith hated about dating was the double standard: a guy could have as many conquests he wanted and get pats on the back for it, but a girl was branded a “slut”and had her worth judged in terms of how easy it would be to get her into bed. Matt Sidle was a prime example of this, he'd managed to turn his serial-dating habits into something of a legend that, inexplicably, drew girls to him like moths to the flame, and more outrageously still, many of them seemed to actually invest feelings into these flings! Lilith may have been known for her casual encounters as well, but the key difference was she was unabashedly forward regarding their purpose; she was well aware of the many snide remarks that followed her around, suggesting she was cheap and slutty, when she simply was honest, and unlike some, she'd never deceived her partners or tried to lure them with false promises. Lilith's hookups were the result of a “take it or leave it” kind of deal, and more importantly still, the choice of whether it happened and with who it happened with remained hers. That's why over the last year she'd taken to older guys, who tended to be more relaxed about sex (not to mention, better at it).

Perhaps even more incomprehensible than the ability certain prettyboys had of scoring one girl after another was the attitude displayed by the girls themselves once they found themselves just another name on a long list of ex girlfriends. That some of them got hurt, Lilith could understand – hell, wasn't it the main reason she didn't do “dating”?- but that after some public tear-jerking scene they went right back at schmoozing the jerk who just dumped them was beyond her. Way to add insult to the injury, did these girls have no self-respect at all? Despite what some believed, Lilith had quite a bit of her own, firm in the belief that if you didn't respect yourself, no-one else would either, and couldn't help but wonder whether these girls realized that they were only rewarding bad behaviour, and that sleazes like Matt Sidle existed because they allowed them to exist. Even more shudder-inducing was the possibility that they did understand, but stepped over their dignity and pride for the sake of maintaining their social status – their highschool social status, how pathetic was that?!

Lilith generally tried not to judge based on appearances, at least not before meeting the person, but like everyone else she wasn't infallible; sometimes, prejudice got the better of her. Such had been the case with Natalie Cardew, who, apart from her starlet looks had also landed a date with Matt Sidle in almost record time, at which point Lilith had been about to write her off as yet another future prep. But not quite yet; as it turned out, her date with Sidle was not repeated nor did she appear to hang around the cheerleading squad, which meant there was hope – and now, Lilith had a good opportunity to learn more about Natalie from a trusted source, no less.

"Well", Leigh began, "She seems to have her sh*t together, so I don't think she would have freaked out, even if she was still hung up on him. Which, I might add, she's not. Unless she's in denial, that is, and channels it into contempt, because she seemed to just love the drawing. Her whole face lit up when she saw it."

Hm; that was most interesting. Lilith couldn't imagine any girl enjoying getting dumped after no more than one date and be publicly embarrassed during her first months at a new school, and it was good to know there was someone out there who didn't just bend over when Sidle the Great beckoned.

"I think she might be alright" was Leigh's final verdict on the matter. As they made their way towards the Biology lab – at a slow, unenthusiastic pace – Lilith pondered this: Leigh's opinion was something she trusted, so if she was ready to call Natalie “alright” then she basically had no reason to distrust it. Except, well, because Lilith wasn't quick to trust people and because a detail still lingered in her mind.

“Anyone who doesn't buy into the Matt Sidle cult of personality bullsh*it definitely earns some brownie points from me”, Lilith responded with a smirk. She was going to take Leigh's word for it, for now, but that still left one thing:

“Oh yeah, I saw her heading straight for Ty's table right after she was done talking to you guys”, Lilith remarked casually “What was up with that, do you know?”

Tyler was...Tyler, descriptions varied depending on who you asked. Lilith could get along with him, and they'd slept together a couple of times over the last months; he also sometimes supplied her with alcohol which was easier than trying to get it from other sources. All in all, a nice arrangement, and she liked the fact that he managed to inspire respect and even fear in some without being a complete asshole – few could manage it. Now she had the opportunity to find out just why Natalie had seemed so eager to speak to him after arranging J.D.'s future involvement with the school paper; after all, whenever people approached him like that, it was rarely because they were there to chat about the weather.

[robokitty]

Christ, what the hell is wrong with him anyway? What kind of f***** gets wrung out over some airhead? It was over. It's been over since the day it started. Move the f*** on. He never really cared about her, right? So next college party, he'll go find some chick who's itching to slake her white guilt him. Not like p**** was so hard to get, right? Just sit there, smell good, and don't say anything to f*** it up. Easy.

Thinking through it all in his head along with calling Sienna every synonym for "w****" he knows--it helps. Even though it doesn't ease away the tightness in his throat or the knobs in his stomach. He thinks about all the things that could make him feel better now, and strangely enough he doesn't feel like sex or fighting. Getting smashed would help. His 17th wasn't that far away now. Maybe Marissa would let him get that tattoo? Even though he's not feeling like pounding the s*** out of something, some pain would make him feel better. Calm him down.

He's still looking very much like someone shat in his guacamole after all of this. He takes another thoughtful puff on his cigarette. As it leaves his mouth in a cloud, he notices a slight figure in a miniskirt heading his way. And for that skirt, he was willing the give her the benefit of the doubt until she got closer. Until he could see the bright, beaming smile on her face like everything is right in the world. That pisses him off.

"Hi, I’m Elysia Tordill! I have a Persian kitty named Noodles .”

It's not like Esteban to tells girls in miniskirts to buzz off, but for some reason this chick is happy. Stupid happy. The kind of sheer unadultered joy you see in retards in safety helmets. Even that miniskirt and the legs attached to it can't save her now.

Let's see how uncomfortable he can make her. She likes cats, huh?

"Hey," he replies gruffly, turning away disinterestedly from the girl. "You know, this is where all the thugs come out to smoke and beat s*** up and r*** kittens."

That last one was a lie, definitely a lie. Actually, the last two were lies since most people knew well enough to steer clear from this area.

Esteban stops short of adding "So get the f*** outta here," and instead lets the girl figure out it's implied. He takes another drag, looking at his cigarette instead of her--like she's some nothing. Some nobody. Let's see if that bothered little miss sunshine, here.



((OOC: Elice, I know I told you in PMs, but ack! Sorry again if Esteban is being a jerk! :D ))

[Elice]

"Hey," Elysia beamed. He wasn’t weirded out by her yet; oh thank a god! But her smile slowly left her as she notice he turned in thought. "You know, this is where all the thugs come out to smoke and beat s*** up and r*** kittens.” Elysia gasp, loud enough to make it dramatic.

R*** kittens… r*** kittens… r*** kittens . It echoed in her brain as her face turned into one of distraught. She made no pains to hide the emotion that contorted her facial features as it vellicated her mind. How horrible… why would anyone do such a thing—and to a kitten no less! Who would do such a thing? How many kittens met such a horrible fate?

Elysia face went from morbid horror; to absolute sadness; to confusion; to thoughtful; and all the way to happiness once more. “You are so sweet.” Elysia clasped her hands to her chest and looked at him with adulation. Here he was, actually interested; to tell her this—such a kind boy. It’s better to be informed about the bad then to be in the darkness, right?

“How horrible; you must have witnessed it. Such a shame—” Elysia looked at him pitifully. “—I hear that in China, they actually eat cats.” Elysia said with her figure raised, happy to spread her, somewhat common, knowledge.

“Oh! You know, in Africa, there’s a tribe, that for a boy to become a man; he has to eat his pet dog! Yeah,” Elysia said, letting it sink in, “they give them dogs when they’re kids.” Elysia finished vivacious, “And there’s even tribes that for a girl to become a woman, they have to sit while the woman of the village pull the strands of their hair out one by one—and if they cry, then they have to stop and do it again in six months—oh, I’d just die.” Elysia explained, doing little hand gestures at little points.

Elysia is an artificer of going off topic, the offspring of inadvertence, and the composer of migraines. Everything was bubbling inside her and she couldn’t keep it all in for the life of her. She was now familiar with the guy, which was something that happens quickly for her.

((OOC: No worries robokitty, I completely understand the situation I was getting into. I don't mind abuse to my characters, it's all good. :cool:
edit: sorry about that, it's just that she doesn't really take offense to things so... :lol: ))

[Alissa888]

Honour amongst thieves was mostly somewhat tentative, regardless of how deep it went. That concept was most obvious in cases of the compulsive rule breakers, the wild children, but in fact, it was most prevalent amongst their supposed polar opposites; the Preps. When you’re a prep, you never trust another prep as a rule. See, it’s a constant struggle to get to the top of a pyramid – a position that Natalie learned was as difficult to keep as it was to get there – and it comes down to survival of the fittest with the backstabbing, the put downs, the public defamation because everyone wants to get to the top of the pyramid. Everyone wants to be the king or the queen and when people want something badly enough, they’ll do anything to get it; such was the power of desperation.

The troublemakers, on the other hand, didn’t work in such stringent, public hierarchies. Yes, there was a competition to see who was tougher, who was more powerful, more influential, but what the troublemakers wanted was to not be messed with. The preps, on the other hand, wanted to be adored. Therefore, the prep competition had a defined first place – the most popular, the most adored – whereas the troublemakers were more liberal with it; they wanted to be feared, or respected. Hence, troublemakers teamed up because it helped the parties involved achieve the same goal, because the goal could be shared, whereas the preps… there was no sharing the top spot.

However, Natalie knew how much said trust and loyalty – rather the mirage of – mattered in both groups. You don’t sell out a prep to someone who wasn’t and then get caught, that was a social death sentence. She wasn’t sure on it, but she could bet that you don’t sell out a troublemaker and then expect to live out the rest of your high school life in peace. In Chicago, she’d been the queen, and therefore she’d known all of what was going on and who was in on it and when she hatched her plans – of which there were so very many – she delegated and everyone did as they were told. You didn’t mess with Natalie Cardew and last long. So, they did as they were told not because of loyalty, but because of fear and trust that they’d remain in good graces if they appeased her.

Here, it was a different story. Natalie was trying to turn herself around and yeah, sometimes fear was a way to get what she wanted, but she wasn’t into using it as one of her primary weapons anymore; it just wasn’t right. In any case, she sure as hell wouldn’t succeed very much at scaring Leigh and J.D. into doing what she wanted. As for trust, well, this was the first thing they were doing together and going this far with it had quite a bit of beginners trust, but Natalie wouldn’t push it. Loyalty… well, she could bet that Leigh and J.D. were very loyal to each other… and she’d go as far as to assume that there was quite a bit of loyalty between Tyler and Leigh, because Leigh did seem to recommend him with flying colours, but not with Natalie.
So when Tyler asked her who else was involved, Natalie wasn’t entirely sure how to answer.

"Who are 'we'?" he asked, and to be honest, Natalie had seen that coming – he’d want to know who else was in on it, just in case even if she wasn’t doing it herself, someone else on the plan might have something to gain out of seeing him go down; stealing Laramie’s wallet was a pretty big deal, after all. Natalie was a little new and therefore, it was feasible that he figured she wouldn’t know about any long standing or secret enmities.

"I prefer to know who I'm in bed with,” he then pressed further, a smile curving his lips into what was more encouragement to answer rather than an excuse for the question; he really wanted an answer for this one.
She returned the smile in acceptance; she would answer… besides, his choice of words coupled with his appealing physique did put a rather interesting visual in her mind.

Now, fair enough, he wanted to know who else was involved and he had a right to know; after all, paid or not, he was still taking a risk, never having dealt with Natalie before, not knowing what she was likely to do, and she did appreciate it. However, Natalie wasn’t sure whether it was right to namedrop Leigh and J.D. when she didn’t have their explicit agreement to be mentioned to Tyler. Yeah, Leigh recommended him – and quite highly too – but she didn’t say she wanted her name mentioned to him… for all Natalie knew, Leigh only suggested Tyler so that Natalie could ask him to get Laramie’s wallet and the rest of the plan could go ahead without him.
Then again, there did seem to be a lot of trust between Tyler and Leigh, what with her having seen him in action, and also being privy to quite a few of his accomplishments and so, maybe Natalie should go ahead and mention it. Then again, this was the first time Natalie was playing with Leigh, and she didn’t want to be a bad playmate.

Alright, she’d have to be careful then.

"Plus I could use a diversion,” Tyler then declared, leaving Natalie wondering what he needed a diversion for…"Cuz we need to get Laramie out of his office for this one."

Oh. Did Laramie leave his wallet in his office? Well, showed how much she knew regarding Laramie and his wallet… actually, it said more about how much Tyler knew regarding Laramie. Well, right move then, getting his expertise involved. So, that was another push to handle this well; she didn’t want to lose Tyler’s involvement, and she didn’t want to make things difficult with Leigh or J.D.

As for a diversion, there were few things that could get Laramie to move his obese, Type II diabetes bound body out of his office; fire alarm, a fight, visit from the education board, visit from the police, Elvis. Fire alarm… plausible. Fight… Natalie Cardew did not fight. Yeah, if someone got physical with her, she could take care of herself, but she didn’t scrap around; there were far more covert and less clothes damaging ways to get things done. Leigh… Leigh was supposed to be on good behaviour. Natalie wasn’t sure whether J.D. would do it. Visit from the education board… not going to happen. Visit from the police… possible. Elvis… now as entertaining as it would be to hire an Elvis strip-o-gram for Laramie… maybe not this time.
Besides, it was Tyler’s call, and therefore, she’d have to see what kind of diversion he had in mind first.

“Mostly just me,” she replied to his first question, being rather honest about it because when it came down to it, she had been the one really, really wanting to teach Matt his lesson. She could take responsibility for her actions. “Leigh Grayson suggested you’d be able to solve the issues with getting Laramie’s card.”
There, she didn’t directly implicate Leigh as part of the plan and affirm that she would indeed be involved through it all, but she did make it clear that Leigh knew about it, and that she’d been the one to recommend Tyler in the first place and furthermore with “mostly” she’d alluded that there were others involved. Then again, Tyler knew Leigh and therefore, he should be able to deduce that Leigh wouldn’t have suggested him and/or be involved if she wasn’t ready to vouch for Natalie, right?
Here’s hoping this works.

“As for a diversion, did you have anything particular in mind?” she asked, then thinking out what factors would play into it, such as time, location etc.

(((OOC: I hope that made sense, and so sorry for the delay!

Dreamy – If you really want to, I have no objections at all! :) )))

[AtropaMandragora]

(((ooc: Hmmm, if she stood silent for several minutes, Matt would have probably gone to get the nurse by now, or something. :p )))


Talk about mixed feelings. Mixed-to-the-point-of-being-completely-scrambled feelings. Stumbling back against the wall in the tiny summer sports closet, uncaring of and even numb to the discomfort of some sharp random piece of equipment poking him in the ribs, Matt felt utterly incapable of forming even one single coherent thought. In a matter of seconds, Marie-Elisabeth had taken his life, currently already somewhat marred by recent events, and not only turned it upside down, but given it a violent shaking about, as though it was a fr*ggin snow globe or something, thus causing the thoughts to crash violently against the insides of his skull.

On one hand, he was horrified over the fact that she claimed to be pregnant and insisted that he was the father, and on the other, he was offended by how she made it sound as though he was the last person on earth she'd ever want to have a kid by. On one hand, his entire being objected to the thought of being made to take care of a baby, and to take on a responsibility even he, with all his denial, knew he wasn't capable of, and on the other, that cold, steely hand wrapped itself around his gut as well, and squeezed it hard at the thought of Marie-Elisabeth turning to Josh to make him fill the shoes of a father instead, since it might just take Josh away from him. On one hand, he was so very relieved that she suggested that he wouldn't have to have anything to do with the whole mess, and on the other, he was livid at how she just completely dismissed his right to have a say on the matter. On one hand - though a really small and deeply buried one - he felt like a bit of a jerk because of his violent reaction, and on the other, he felt as though she really didn't give him a chance to be anything but.

"You're not...", she started slowly, after having stared at him as though for some unfathomable reason she actually had a hard time understanding that exact reaction of his.

She cut herself off however, as her hand came up to cover her mouth in a sign of trying to hold down the contents of her stomach, and in pure reflex Matt quickly stepped back, eliminating what little space had remained between himself and the wall, and wincing when the equipment behind him pressed even further into his back. Despite his aversion to small children and this particular case of pregnancy, he was familiar with the concept of morning sickness not being limited to just mornings, and he was sooo not interested in having someone be sick all over him.

As it would turn out, however, Marie-Elisabeth luckily managed to hold it down, and instead "just" plopped herself down on the floor.

"You're not serious are you", she continued at length, once she was again able to speak. "I mean I know you're obviously not happy about it, and I'm not either believe me, but I'm not about to f*#cking commit murder here Matt. Besides, I'm the one that'd have to have it done, do you have any idea what can happen to a girl if she does that?"

At that, Matt blinked several times and even had to do another double take, as it was his turn to question if he'd actually heard her right. Say what?! Just what the h*ll was she on about?! 'Murder'?! She was anti-abortion?! Her, the very queen of "The right thing is whatever I decide is convenient for me"?! She had got to be kidding him! She couldn't be serious! Never in a lifetime had Matt thought that Marie-Elisabeth, of all people, could be so... so... conservative and old-fashioned!

"I know we're not eachother’s favourite person", she continued, following a slightly hysteric laugh, "but I didn't think you felt that way. It's not like you even have to be involved, I just figured you needed to know since it's yours."

Once again rendered temporarily speechless, Matt's eyes kept widening as one revelation after another crashed over him. She was pregnant, he was the father, she didn't want to have an abortion, and she claimed he didn't have to be involved.
WHAT?!!

"Not involved?!", he howled, the emotional upset pushing his voice into a split-second near-falsetto. "How can I not be involved?! It's my kid! Or, what, you and Josh are gonna play house now, and pretend it's his?!"

Nearly choking on the words, a full-on panic attack nipping at his heels at the thought of being robbed of the right to even have a say, his hand shot up to press against the lower part of his chest and he almost doubled over, all in an attempt to seize control of his breathing, and keep it steady.

He failed miserably.

And what was more, was that the control of his breathing was only one of the things to go. The control of what he was saying had been the first, and as it would turn out, it was still at large, because soon to follow that first outburst, was another, of simply sputtering some of the jumbled thoughts in his head at random;

"And I liked you just fine until you started being such a hag!", he lashed out, the additional upset over discovering that her affiliation with him had apparently been just another one of convenience for her, still churning somewhere at the back of his mind, and made to sting ten times worse because of the similar discovery he'd just made regarding his and Dylan's so-called 'friendship'.

One such loss he would have been able to handle just fine, but two of them within a matter of minutes, and one of them accompanied by a physical assault, and the other by a confession that turned his whole life upside down... That was too much to a teenage boy already hanging on by a mere thread, to the life he tried so hard to build for himself. Far too much.

"You can't do this to me!", he desperately exclaimed, finally managing to force his thoughts back onto the main issue, regardless of how eager he was to just push it out of his mind altogether. "I should get a say in this!"


(((ooc: :blink: )))

[Slytherin-Girl]

If Marie-Elisabeth didn’t spend more on her hair in a week than most families did on groceries, she would probably be pulling it out at this point in time. Biting on the inside of her lip was really the only thing keeping her from chucking a spare volleyball at Matt’s pretty little head at this point in time.

She had though, immediately shot back up off the floor as soon as he had screeched about how he couldn’t not be involved and then about her and Josh. Firstly, because if she had stayed on the floor she might just have grabbed one of the volleyballs on the shelf next to her and whipped it at his head. Secondly, because her feet were starting to hurt from sitting on them, and wearing expensive non-comfy boots did not help. And thirdly because it looked like Matt was about to have a heart attack and, contrary to popular belief, he was still technically her friend and she didn’t want him dead.

“You’re not going to keel over on me are you” she said, trying not to roll her eyes “Because the last thing I need is for someone to catch us in here with me giving you CPR and thinking we’re doing what we used to do in here” But any faint bit of concern she might have been feeling for him disappeared when he seemingly regained the powers of normal speech.

"And I liked you just fine until you started being such a hag!", he almost spat out and her eyes narrowed. No one went around calling her a hag and got away with it. "You can't do this to me!", he continued before she could say anything "I should get a say in this!"

Marie-Elisabeth glared and crossed her arms, resisting the near impossible urge to smack him across the face. She knew someone had to act something resembling calm at this point, and since it clearly wasn’t going to be Matt she was stuck doing it.

“First of all” she said, holding out a finger and tapping on it “ Josh does not know yet and I haven’t thought about what I’m going to do about it. And even if I had wanted to do that, which I don’t, it would be impossible. When this thing pops out in like 6 or 7 months, people are going to be able to count backwards and realize I sure as hell wasn’t with Josh nine months beforehand.”

“Secondly” she continued, holding up a second finger “Never call me a hag again. You haven’t exactly been a paragon of niceness lately either. And just so you know I MEANT to say that we’re not eachother’s favourite person right NOW, but I kind of have bigger things on my mind than that. For some strange reason I do actually still consider you a friend, although whether I will when we get out of this closet or not is debateable.”

“Thirdly and lastly” she said, holding up another finger “Don’t think for one second anything you say is going to make me change my mind about getting rid of it. Don’t you think I already thought about that? If I went through with that it could damage me for life. I could never be able to have kids again afterwords, or I could even f%*king die Matt. Die, and is no longer be breathing, take a dirt nap, six feet under DEAD.”

Largely finished what she had to say, she put her hands to her temples in an effort to get rid of the massive headache that was starting to form. “Look” she said, rubbing her fingers in circles on her head “I’m not saying you don’t get a say in anything, I’m just saying that I’m not going to kill the thing okay?”



(((OOC: Huuuush :P I initially typed that really late at night/early in the morning and didn’t catch all the mistakes. Actually the favourite person thing was supposed to say right now, but I’ll work with it :P

And I haaaate you because I couldn’t get to sleep because this was in my brain so I had to write it. And it's nearly 3am. And oooooh the delicious irony of me typing this on father’s day

Also, I graduated from College a few days ago, so. YAY ME :deal: *pretend that's a diploma*)))

[FurryPanda]

Katie was the classical overachiever. At the beginning of the year she read all of her textbooks cover to cover, and took meticulously sorted, diagrammed and spell checked notes. That wasn't what seperated her from the nerds and the overachievers, what seperated her was that she still paid attention in class and added to her notes.

Which meant that she was pretty confident that what she needed for this poster- busy work if ever she saw, Mrs. Jaym probably was hung over- would be sitting nicely in her binders. She opened it to the section on joints, which had divider doodles unlike most of Katie's stuff. There had been some lecture on degenerating osteoblasts which she already knew about in extensive detail, and she'd had a new piece of choreography whirling in her head that day, so she'd written it out on her divider and drawn in the stick figures executing each move.

As she flipped past her divider into her neatly typed notes, her partner said, "I try not to write a lot."

Katie tried not to look too overwhelmingly dismissive, but she wasn't going to let Ms-Doesn't-Write-A-Lot put her doubltess atrocious handwriting on the poster, and she wasn't going to let her do the artwork, since it wouldn't be perfectly to scale or as physically accurate as possible.

She glanced at the other girl's stuff, and then put both of their names on the lower right corner of the paper, Lea White and Katie Byrd and neatly boxed it off from the rest of the white expanse. She lay her binder with the relevant notes section on the table and said perfectly calmly, as though this happened every day- it did- "Okay, so I'll do the lettering and artwork."

((OOC: Penny, talk with me before you reply, k?))

[Alissa888]

Dylan didn’t want to be overbearing; she wasn’t Mrs Jaym, she wasn’t the teacher, and this was supposed to be an equal discussion session. Sort of… because it was clear that one person needed the help and the other was offering help, but still, it only had to be as formal as the people involved made it and Dylan wasn’t really up for making it so formal and cold and she didn’t think Mitch was either. So that was good, that was one step; ensuring that it was a relaxed experience rather than intensive or awkward.

So, in that vein, she didn’t want to push Mitch into any kind of schedule or work pattern that he didn’t want to do; after all, a lot of people who didn’t do well in the classroom ended up that way because they rebelled against being told what to do and being controlled, and maybe Mitch was like that. Or maybe he’d prioritised football over studies, but either way, Dylan didn’t want to come down on the guy like a ton of bricks. Not doing that would be a lot more productive than doing it, after all.
However, wanting to get an idea of his understanding, his pace of work, and anything else really, she’d wanted to look at his notes.

"Ah... I'd prefer if you didn't," he uneasily excused himself, seeming intent on not letting her see his notes, but seemingly at a loss for a reason why. Or rather, a reason that he could share with her. Dylan wasn’t really sure what’d prohibit him from showing her his notes – even if he didn’t have any, it was fine, the tutoring was to work on that after all – but alright, she wouldn’t push it… she could do without that. Nevertheless, he explained; "Couple of doodles in there that a lady shouldn't see."

Right… on all the pages? Most probably not – if he was referring to the kind of sketches she knew Kyle and Dean liked to draw before throwing it at some of the girls they were trying to flirt with, she could handle those, and yeah, he was being a gentleman, but they weren’t exactly kids. Okay, Dylan was inclined not to buy it – his reason – but he didn’t want her to see it and though the slightly amused scepticism showed in her crystalline eyes, she left the matter at that and, letting her eyes skip over the protective stance he held over his binder – being so protective, she doubted it was just a matter of embarrassing drawings, but if he didn’t trust her enough to share, she could just wait – she pulled out a couple of blank pages of lined paper from her notepad before putting it in between them.

“Is it football?” she asked with joking innocence, before sliding off her seat and then moving it around the corner of the table to sit at the adjacent side to where Mitch was, making it easier for both of them to see what she was scribbling down on the papers. “Okay. Meiosis is pretty much reduction division; a diploid cell with 2 sets of chromosomes divides to eventually give four daughter cells with one set of chromosomes each.”
She looked up for a minute, realising the missed out on the maths – a 2n cell gives rise to a total of 4n.
“Well, the diploid cell replicates it’s DNA in S phase of interphase….”
Okay, she needed to go back a bit further, just that it made sense to begin with and they had the background of cell DNA covered.

“Okay, I think I'm rambling,” she switched again with a slight laugh, drawing the shape of a chromosome in a simple ‘X’, marking the middle with a circle. She slid the paper over to him with a bright smile; “Do you wanna label the parts? Or we could do it together, whichever.”

If she couldn’t check his notes to get an idea of what he knew, she might as well test him slightly instead, right?

(((OOC: I hope that makes sense, and works for you, Furry
I’m sketchy on so much of the Biochem and Genetics stuff I need to know *is ashamed*
Congratulations, Slytherin! :D
Lol, I have to say, with ME’s reasoning – doctors aren’t that inept, unless she’s planning to go to a backstreet clinic :P
Loving the whole closet scene, though. Poor guys!)))

[robokitty]

From the corner of his eye, he catches Elysia's horrified expression. He's in too foul a mood to be truly satisfied by it, but there's a ghost of smirk inside him as he takes another long, slow drag. And as he's exhaling the fumes over his lips, realizes something. This b**** gone yet.

“How horrible; you must have witnessed it. Such a shame—”

Un-f***ing-believable. Without turning to face her, Esteban's eyes raise to glower at her. She doesn't look like the type to carry booze or cigs on her, so it's not like he could bum anything offa her. And while the thought of trying to score her crossed his mind, it left as soon as he looked into her eyes and didn't see anyone looking back. So really, Esteban doesn't see any reason for this chick to exist--let alone be bothering him now.

“—I hear that in China, they actually eat cats. Oh! You know, in Africa, there’s a tribe, that for a boy to become a man; he has to eat his pet dog! Yeah, they give them dogs when they’re kids. And there’s even tribes that for a girl to become a woman, they have to sit while the woman of the village pull the strands of their hair out one by one—and if they cry, then they have to stop and do it again in six months—oh, I’d just die.”

Holy s***, sounds painf--WAIT WTF IS THIS CHICK STILL DOING HERE??? If she's the dense type (obviously) and needs a strong message, then he's sure as hell willing to give it to her. Without warning, he grasps at her forearm with one hand, jerking her towards him hard enough to be painful.

"Just get the f*** outta here. You're pissin' me off." He says in a low growl and pushes her away, letting go of her arm at the same time. Always overreact. Best way to get what you want.


((OOC: Hope the godmodding was okay... let me know if you want me to change any of it, Elice.
Also, happy graduation, slytherin.))

[Slytherin-Girl]

(((OOC: Thanks Alissa and Robokitty :D

LOL You don't know how hard it was for me NOT to say "When we come out of the closet" instead of "when we get out of this closet". *snicker* See what I did there? :P )))

[Elice]

Elysia gasped as the guy suddenly grasps her forearm roughly, she held her breath as she was pulled towards him, not missing to wince as it felt as if she’d gotten whip lash.


"Just get the f*** outta here. You're pissin' me off." He says in a low growl and pushed her away as he released her.


Elysia stumbled back as she tried to steady herself, but to her, would be, embarrassment, these heels (http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g42/Rayka_Sannada/shoes.jpg) were a new height and yet to be broken in, so she fell. Her face was held in shock as she nearly missed the puddle; she didn’t care if anyone saw under her skirt at the moment, she just stared on blankly. Elysia wasn’t hurt, no, she has fallen quite often in the past, hardly a seventy/thirty chance of scrapping something; but that didn’t stop the hurt that crossed her face. Not the hurt of physical pain, but the emotional hurt; as if a lover told their spouse that they suddenly wanted a divorce. Elysia looked up at him with glossy eyes that held the look of betrayal as she stood to dust herself off.


A scowl as fiery as her hair flashed across her face but melted as tears silently raced to her chin, oblivious of the fact that their journey would end on concrete. Elysia reached up to her eyes to wipes them, only to notice, in vain, that more would come. Elysia wasn’t one shy of tears, it was fairly easy to push her to them, so why not embrace what most people see as flaw?

Elysia trembled and her face turned into a callow glower. “You shouldn’t express yourself with physical contact; it’s not very nice.” Elysia started; the pitch of her voice higher then it normally was—and that’s saying a lot. Her eyes glared into his, her look were as spiteful as a child who was yelled at by a stranger, “If that’s what you wanted, then say it.” Elysia said boldly.

She took as step towards him and dug her foot into the puddle and dragged it sideways through the water, kicking up the soggy cigarette and propelling the muddy water towards him.

“That’s for making me cry; Jerk Face!” Elysia said, turning to leave, tears still following their suicidal scheme; she’d respect Jerk’s—the name she now deemed him since she’d never learned his actually name, but even if she did know, she’d call him Mr. Jerk Face anyways—request, he wanted her gone, so be it.

Well, that went great. It was her fault for taking things so fast. It wasn’t like her to feel so angry, people irked her before, yes, but it wouldn’t affect her, especially not anyone she just met; no, not like this. She broke her rule of waiting to be approached, that way; she’d know the other was the one interested. But she was new here to Whatever High, so she made the mistake of clinging to the first person she saw, like a newly hatch bird when it looks into the first pair of eyes it sees. This only enforced her to follow her rule, it didn’t matter to her if she’d made friends here or not; if they liked her then good, if they didn’t, well she tried right?

((OOC: She’s kind of in the mitts of leaving, so you could stop her if you wanted, or say something, or just let her leave—she would just go back to the front of the school to go inside—I’m leaving that up to you because I kind of had her ‘insult’ [i]and[/b] splash water on him, and it’s only fair if he was able to retaliate without me having her dash off XD.
Oh and don’t worry about it robokitty, that’s all okay with me, just like before, it doesn’t too much matter what you do with my character. If you wanted to have her say/do anything or get a better feel of her character, I’d be happy to PM you more details, and the same for you if you ever feel I cross the line.
You kind of hit it on the nail though; she really does need people to tell her directly :lol: That’s kind of how she talks anyways, no hint’s just answers)

[Elice]

((OOC: I know this is super early, and might be a long shot here, but do any of you think this RP would continue to senior year? (I say think because it's impossible to know.) I know I've only been here for a short time, but I'm already planning a story for my girl when she's 17. I'm having so much fun is this one, and thought it'll be a shame if it ended as juniors.
It was just a thought, because it's second semester and all. I know it'll be way long before we get to graduation; and sadly, someone might even drop out once this is finished (I hope I didn't just cures it), but was there a plan to see the character proceed to senior year?

Now I know this have a feel of 'Roleplay Brainstorming/Planning Thread' but I wanted to get the people who actually RP here thoughts--you have to admit that no one just randomly enter that (http://www.modthesims.info/showthread.php?t=338374) thread unless they're new--I'll delete this post later, I just want to know if it were a highschool RP or just a life at sixteen one?))

[robokitty]

((OOC: Elice-The pace of the RP is fairly slow since one day takes so long to RP. So, it's not likely we'll get to senior year unless we all agreed on doing a fast forward.

Also, Esteban would jump away a little from the muddy water... probably still get splashed, but he wouldn't interact with her more. She's leaving, so in his mind, he's "won" already... no point in saying something to screw that up. Also, what type of panties is Elysia wearing? Just PM me :D ))

[Elice]

Elysia walks towards the school but stop abruptly once she’s notice that she’s about to run into a guy. Said guy pulls a tissue from his bag and offer it to her; Elysia first looks at it confused, a little raddled by the sudden predicament, but mumble a soft thanks as she accept it.

"You ok?" he asks. Elysia looks at him again as she studies him once more. Her face brightens after she wipes her face dry.

Elysia looks up at him again from the tissue in her hands, she was starting to look like a cheery bobble head, only not so bouncy. “I’m okay.” Elysia’s smile returns, it was as if nothing ever happened, but she stops short and look back at Jerk as if she needed his permission to speak. Shaking her head, she turns back to the kind new guy.

“Hey, your hair’s red too.” Elysia began as she saw the guy light a cigarette, “I heard that…” She stops as she looks back at Jerk again. She made a pout as she looked at the ground, accidentally ignoring the new guy as she turns and go to leave towards the school.

What time was it anyways? What classes did she have? She’d never entered the school, so she wouldn’t even know. She’s probably not even signed in since she never went to the office; hmm… that meant she was skipping right? Boy, she should really get to class.

((OOC: Okay, now what I was initially going to say; I truly don’t know what (RP) time it is, she have been wondering around long before she ran into Esteban (you said you had him out there 20 minutes into class right?) I’m pretty sure the little conversation didn’t take forever, but I wanted to know if she should go back to class now. I could wait for people to fully settle into class, and send her in at the end, but I wasn’t too sure with the timeline.

Oh and sorry for ignoring your guy gears7667 she’s kind of emo… really emo (must be a flue going around, a lot of people are moody today), you can still approach her again (she's not in the building yet), she’s just being a baby.))

[Dreamydre]

Professor Application -
Name:

Mr. Jonathon E. Todd

Age:

46

Classes taught:

World History, Civics and Economics, U.S. History and African American History

Sponsor of:

School Newspaper


Brief History/Personality Description:

Mr. Christopher Todd was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, the son of Betty Sue Palmer (née Wells), a waitress, and John Christopher Todd, a civil engineer. He has one brother, Denny, and two sisters, Tramaine (now a famous actress) and Katherine. Todd has German, Cherokee (mostly from a great-grandmother), and Irish ancestry. According to biographies, the Todd family originated with a French Huguenot, Pierre Todd or Todde, who settled in Virginia around 1700.

Mr. Todd and his family moved frequently during his childhood, and he and his siblings lived in more than 20 different locations, settling in Miramar, Florida, in 1970. In 1978, Todd's parents divorced. He engaged in self-harm as a child, due to the stress of dealing with family problems and his own insecurity. At the age of 17 he overdosed and nearly killed himself, he claimed to have had a near death experience that changed his life for the best. Up until that day he settled on becoming a Civil Engineer, following in his father's footsteps, but after his Near Death Experience he aspired to be a Psychiatrist. He got a degree in History and Psychiatry but later use the former degree to become a History teacher at Brooklake High School, which is where he currently teach, although he has moved on from History and ventured into teaching the School Newspaper.

In 1990 he married his wife Saye Todd (nee Bündchen) (http://www.porhomme.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/bar-refaeli-si-swimsuit-issue-2009-5.jpg) a former Israeli fashion model. In 1991 they gave birth to their son Dylan (http://images.starpulse.com/pictures/2008/02/20/previews/David%20Henrie-CSH-039494.jpg) , followed by their daughter Samantha (Sam) (http://cdn.picapp.com/ftp/Images/f/e/f/9/Selena_Gomez_shows_dae6.jpg) born in 1993 and in 1997 gave birth to Identical twin girls Autumn and Serenity (http://www.childrenofsalem.com/days/soapkids/bb/bbkeatonkylietyndall.jpg) and their last son Leonardo (http://z.about.com/d/pediatrics/1/0/F/L/too_young_advair.jpg) in 2004.

Mr. Todd is currently in charge of the School Newspaper.

Anything else you might want to add?:

Mr. Todd has a strong sense of right and wrong and despises discord and confrontation. He is a tactful person who approach life with a bit of sugar-coating to make the ride less bumpy for himself and for those around him. Mr. Todd innately and often unconsciously strive for balance and serenity in his life, sometimes going to extremes to maintain the peace despite the ups and downs inherented in everyday living. He loves his family as well as his students, as a child he wished to have a big family with many children and now not only does he have his own children but his thousands of students as well. Mr. Todd can be easy going around his students and is often goofy and fun, but when it's time to get down to business and with a strict deadline he can get stressed which will lead to him being pretty serious and *all in your face* about meeting the deadline.

Picture:
http://i42.tinypic.com/20gnq53.jpg


(((OOC: Wheere is says "Classes Taught" I didn't understand whether is meant classes he taught before or classes he currently teach but I thought it was the latter one. )))

[Alissa888]

"I think the guy you're looking for is over here.”

Much to his surprise, Josh found himself in receipt of a reply through a feminine voice, rather than the deep voice that he had been expecting. For a split second, he wondered whether the guy he’d been partnered up with was some stoner, or some guy who just couldn’t speak for himself, and therefore, a girl next to him had had to point him out to Josh, but there was that slight wryness in the tone that he’d picked up on, that told him that he wasn’t going to get let off the hook quite so easily. In fact, it told him that he was well and truly caught on the hook.
His gaze tracing the direction of the sound soon enough fell upon the visage of a beautiful young lady, her dark chocolate hair cascading down her softly rounded shoulders with the sort of sheen that spoke loudly of the sort of care she invested into it, her incisive, piercing brown eyes poised at him with an insulted disapproval, her clothes, her posture speaking of the kind of company that he had grown accustomed to.
Jesus, he’d really shot himself in the foot now.

Alright, turned out that Carter DuPont wasn’t a foreign exchange student, wasn’t some social recluse, or a stoner or just someone who couldn’t speak up for themselves, or even a guy, but rather a very attractive girl who was clearly used to being made aware of that fact, and clearly used to getting her way. In a way, Josh almost saw Marie-Elisabeth sitting exactly where Carter was. Oh man, if Carter was anything like what he saw at first glance, he was going to have a lot of issues where she and Marie were concerned.

However, he was being unfair; he’d just met her, and she’d already scored quite a few points as far as company went. He’d called her a guy – something most girls would have gotten entirely freaked out over – and she’d taken it with a lot more grace than she could have and he respected that, he really did, to the point where it brought about that ever so slightly bashful, yet utterly charming smile onto his lips as he made his way towards her, eyes a meridian between amusement and apology.

He really should know better than to judge people at first glance – after all, his entire experience with Matt was a grand warning against judging people at first glance. Just because someone dressed or looked a certain way didn’t neatly sort their personality into a particular category; everyone was different. Though… preps did have that clone thing going, but then again, it was possibly just on the surface. Plus, there had been that other girl, Natalie, who despite looking every bit like a prep, really didn’t see fit to act like one, and Katie, who despite being a cheerleader, didn’t take it on herself to look like one. He’d give Carter a chance – he did owe her one after calling her a guy, after all.

“See, that’s the thing about making mistakes,” he spoke, nearing the desk with his blue eyes flicking appreciatively over her – he was a guy, after all, and where there was beauty, he most definitely appreciated it – as he came to a halt, head tilted with a small shrug in an almost resigned way; “Sometimes you’re very pleasantly surprised.”

“I’m Josh,” he introduced, holding his hand out to her.

(((OOC: Hope this works for you :)
And thanks for the app, he looks great :D
Ahem, Depp - lol, no wonder Natalie was so eager to be the school paper editor ;) )))

[Dreamydre]

(((OOC: Thanks, Johnny Depp is smexy :p Can you make him apart of the NPC staff?)))

[elpemmy]

"Okay, so I'll do the lettering and artwork." Katie said.
"Umm... so what am I supposed to do?" Asked Lea wondering if this girl was for real. She's stunning, thought Lea, but she seems a bit of a snooty b****.

"So... you dance?" Asked Lea. She was staring, slightly obsessively at Katie's folder. Almost... hungrily. "I think I saw you in that one... Swan Lake? Couple years back." said Lea trying to make it sound as if she was mentioning it offhand, and all too aware that she was failing.

The thing about getting a crush on someone, is all too often, it's on a person you're permanently embarressed about. Of course, if it was female, then that just made it worse, didn't it. Lea reminded herself of her resolution to get a crush on a cute boy, and desperately scanned the classroom for one. Failing, she turned her gaze to Katie again, and was surprised by how, still, Katie was so beautiful. Lea shook her head slightly, trying to get rid of the thoughts revolving round her head.

((OOC: Let me know if that's all okay. :S ))

[FurryPanda]

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that doodles was the worst thing for him to have picked. Now, on the off chance that she ever looked over his shoulder, there would have to be something vaguely incriminating in there- other than crummy, hard to miss photocopies. He could probably get his sister to practice her penmanship- she'd taken to copying passages out of books to improve her penmanship, and discuss it in exhaustive, mind numbing detail- in his notebook, and pick something sufficiently dorky that he would want to hide it.

Even if it was a lame excuse, and even if Dylan thought he was hiding something- and she'd have to be a super idiot not to- he wasn't going to sell out Terry, pathetic nerdlette that she was. There were some levels he wouldn't stoop too, and getting a skittish goody-two-shoes in trouble for something helpful was one of them.

She got up to come to his side of the table, the skepticism in her eyes perfectly visible, but with Mitch's ability to rationalize his own actions, it was acceptable. “Is it football?” she asked, making a joke of it, and Mitch's opinion of her soared. Whatever she actually thought was in his notebook, she wasn't asking for elaboration, and that was worth major points.

She brought over some blank looseleaf and was drawing circles and squiggly lines, and numbers and rambling something, reduction division, and maths, and S-phase of interphase... and he really hoped he wasn't getting a glazed look, though he suspected that he was.

Maybe she noticed, or maybe not, but he blinked back into some semblance of focus when she laughed and said, “Okay, I think I'm rambling,” Well duh. She smiled brightly, and Mitch decided it was too much effort to retain his usual amount of cynicism, and he really did try to pay attention as she drew an X on the paper with a circle in the middle. That was probably a chromosone or something, did meiosis have anything to do with those? Yeah, she'd said something about cell divisiona dn it was like a cell brain... or something.

“Do you wanna label the parts? Or we could do it together, whichever.” He didn't let it show, but that was kinda awkward. On the one hand, the fact that he really didn't know much about the stuff wasn't helping anything, and the way she'd phrased it that she would show him, "do it together" would usually result in him making a vaguely flirtatious comment, that everything's better together with a lovely lady. If she and Mark were still dating he would have said it, and as a joke, and if she were someone he'd never touch in a million years, he'd say it to be creul, and legitimately flirting with any other girl. But with the girl who'd jsut broken up with a close friend in the past hour or two? That'd be crass.

It was such an ingrained reflex that he sort of half got into a flirting expression before he decided not to, and then, with what he thought was a good bit of poise he changed his glance to a seamless transition to being focused intently on the diagram and took his own pen.

"Ah, this is the centromere," he said, marking the one thing he did know, the circle in the middle of the X, the center, and then he was guessing from vaguely remembered words that all started with chrome, but had nothing to do with cars. He put a bracket above the top half of the X and hesitantly labeled it "sister chromosone" and, at a loss to remember what the other one was called, he labeled the other half, "brother chromosone". He was fairly certain that that was wrong.

He glanced up with a vaguely apologetic look, knowing full well he was wrong, and if he was honest, he didn't care that much. What did it matter what brother and sister chromosome did for a football player? That was the one problem with tutoring sessions, it was sort of obligatory (and obvious) if he didn't pay attention, and his own idiocy tended to shine through to him a lot more clearly.

((OOC: Bleh, that wasn't particularly good.
And, as a heads up, he is right about the centromere, but its the vertical side of the X (this -> [X ) that is the sister chromatid and there's no such thing (officially at least) as a brother chromosone/chromatin/chromatid
And lastly, hope that was okay with you?))

[FurryPanda]

Katie had once, and only once, been the significantly dumber girl on a group project. She had had a very bad cold, it was a week before a recital and she had been so hopped up on fever reducers and cold medicine that she couldn't even spell her own name right. In that vaguely coherent state, she had been indignant that her partners wouldn't let her do anything, but eventually realized that since they weren't letting her do anything, she could relax. It was slightly liberating, and as she looked at Lea she saw she was in the pissy, wants-to-help stage.

"Umm... so what am I supposed to do?" She shrugged, and hoped that the eventual revelation that sitting back and doing nothing was glorious would come quickly. While she waited for Lea to come to grips with whatever her own mediocrity was, she started sketching the anterior superficial curve of the tibia a third of the way from the edge of the paper, her pencil strokes short and sure, she would ink over the better ones later.

As she finished the tibia and slightly darkened the lines, and then started doing the actual knob of the joint, her partner said, "So... you dance?" Katie's pencil stilled, and she glanced at the other girl, seeing if she was setting her up for something.

She looked all the way up, seeing just how Lea was looking at her, but then she realized that she was looking at her folder, and that made sense. The studio was so exclusive, everyone wanted to get in and do something other than those idiotic classes.

"I think I saw you in that one... Swan Lake? Couple years back." Was this for real? Did she seriosuly right now have... a fan? Katie smiled shyly, not the same electric smile that had made the boys in that number drop their partners, but still, it made her already nice face glow.

She wasn't buying it wholesale though, they'd done Highlights from Swan Lake two years ago, and she'd just been in the background, with one short solo, not that memorable. "Yeah, it was Highlights from Swan Lake" she said, much less snotty than before.

She shaded a section of the knob, and then awkwardly asked, "Did you enjoy it?" She almost immediately regretted it. her dancing was the one thing no one ever insulted, because no one who didn't know all about it, know intrinsically how great she was ever talked about it. And now she'd all but asked this girl to put her down on the one thing where she was... perfect.

[elpemmy]

Lea watched as Katie glanced up at her. Katie smiled, and said "Yeah, it was Highlights from Swan Lake." Lea was amazed. Katie actually seemed nice... not nearly so up herself as Lea had thought.

"My old carer took me." Lea blurted out, pleased to be able to tell someone. "She was real nice, but I had to move on." She paused, remembering.
Katie took the opportunity to ask, somewhat awkwardly, "Did you enjoy it?"

Lea paused, thinking deliberately before answering. She didn't want Katie to think that she was... well, that she felt the way about Katie that Lea in fact, did. But she didn't want to blow it by saying something dismissive. A friend like Katie could be great. But only if I keep under control, Lea reminded herself.

"To be honest? It was the only ballet I'd ever been too.... and it was amazing. I'd love to go again, but I don't have the time." Lea paused, and shrugged. "How did you learn to dance like that? It must've taken a lot of dedication." Said Lea, tentatively letting the admiration show in her voice.

Lea waited, praying she hadn't been too forward. There was a thin line between friendly and creepy, she knew that from experience. She relaxed, and settled back to let Katie do the work, while they talked.

((OOC: Hope that's okay, Panda. I'm not at all sure about it, but let me know what you think :) ))

[AtropaMandragora]

(((ooc: Yey, internet connection is finally working again. For now.)))


The funny thing about cliques, is that even though many of those belonging to them chose not to move outside their particular one, and thus don't really have all that much first-hand experience with the other ones, there still resides a sense of bitter rivalry and antagonism between some of them, that not only simply exists, but actually thrives. Sometimes it even runs so deep that it seems to be a natural law, like that in the animal kingdom, between predator and prey. Or, perhaps more befitting the high school scene, two different types of rivalling predators.

It would seem a fact of life that overachievers and stoners didn't get along, and that there was no love whatsoever lost between the preps and the troublemakers. The preps looked down on the troublemakers for being a noisy, often uncultivated and quarrelsome bunch that just wouldn't fall into line with the rest of the student body in the general adoration of the preps, and the troublemakers loathed the preps for being superficial airheads with nothing on their minds except intrigue, gossip and ensuring popularity by stepping on others.

Now Leigh, while she wasn't very proud of it, knew that in many ways, she was no exception. She did judge based on appearance, and did tend to write off those who clearly sided with the preps, whether they were truly preps, or just prep hang arounds. Though unlike some, she didn't do it just because that was the way "things worked", but because she did see how many of the preps targeted others and treated them badly, and often made themselves out to be perfect saints. And she didn't like it.
Still, that was why she disliked the preps as a group, and didn't really explain why she was currently focusing quite a bit on Matt Sidle. Because truth be told, she didn't really have all that much first-hand experience with him to fuel her contempt towards him in particular, and so her reasons for disliking him that much could hardly be called personal. She was hardly one of the many girls he'd scored and then gone on to promptly dump. He'd never hit on her, nor had he ever even given her the kind of appreciative glance that he would shoot most anything female on two legs. Then again, girls like her just didn't come with brand names such as Gucci, D&G, DK, A&F, or something else along those lines attached to their clothing, and so as far as girls like Leigh were concerned, that was probably a natural repellent to the Homo Superbus, a.k.a. the prep. In fact, Leigh remembered very vividly one time in the cafeteria, when for some reason or other, Matt's friends had indicated Leigh and her friends to Matt, by pointing them out to him. He'd turned his head, given them a look filled to the brim with distaste, and then announced that he wouldn't be caught dead hitting on "one of those skanks".
Although, Leigh did suppose that did qualify as a bit of a personal reason, since even though it was a relief to know she wouldn't have to endure his two-faced sweet talk, she didn't much care for being referred to as a "skank". Especially not by pond scum like him, and his friends, who really were no different, only with different people.

Plus, Sidle was one of the prep figureheads at Brooklake, so in a way, an attack on him would be pretty much an attack on all the other preps, especially since the satire J.D. had drawn of him mostly depicted him as just a symbol for his entire clique. So yeah, all in all, Leigh did have her reasons for wanting to go after him, and she couldn't wait to see him on the receiving end of Natalie's plan.
But, that was also just the thing; it was Natalie's plan. Not Leigh's, and not J.D.'s, and loyal though she was to her own, she did recognize the risk Natalie had taken in trusting the two of them, and so consequently, she found herself feeling rather torn, wanting to share it all with Lilith, but doubting that Natalie would appreciate it very much. After all, Leigh could imagine that she herself, and J.D. especially, would not be all too thrilled if they were to find out that Natalie had shared details of the plan - such as who had made the drawing, since J.D. didn't want it known - with some of her friends.

It was indeed quite the predicament, and not one made easier by Lilith, since she still obviously smelled a rat about the whole thing, and just wouldn't let it go.

"Anyone who doesn't buy into the Matt Sidle cult of personality bullsh*it definitely earns some brownie points from me", she smirked in response to Leigh's assessment of Natalie's intelligence, but then went right back to further investigating the pretty brunette's affiliation with the various troublemakers; "Oh yeah, I saw her heading straight for Ty's table right after she was done talking to you guys. What was up with that, do you know?"

Well. How did one respond to that, without lying? Had Natalie chosen another time to approach Tyler, the connection wouldn't have been as easily made, if at all, and it wasn't as though it would seem like she'd just had enough of Leigh's and J.D.'s company, and simply gone off to sit someplace else; the end of lunch had been fast approaching, and the cafeteria had already started emptying out by then, so there had been other empty seats available at several tables other than Tyler's.
No, it had been quite evident that Natalie'd had a real purpose with approaching him, and even though most who might have been watching would probably think it had to do with her buying something from him, such as booze, and that she'd been directed to him by Leigh and J.D., Leigh just wouldn't lie to Lilith.
Instead, she glanced over at J.D., as if to see where he stood on the matter. Unfortunately, his mind seemed to be somewhere else entirely, and so Leigh's gaze returned to Lilith, without her having received any assistance whatsoever.

"She needed his help with something", she thus said, and gave a casual shrug.

However, she knew that would hardly be enough to sate Lilith's curiosity, because frankly, it wouldn't have been enough to sate her own, had she been in Lilith's shoes, and so with a small sigh of resignation, she gave in and stopped a mere few feet from the door to Biology class.

"Alright, look", she said, her tone speaking louder than words that she didn't enjoy being secretive towards Lilith, but that she felt obliged to not spill all the details of what she knew. "She had this idea for a prank, that me and J.D. are supposed to help her with, and... I can't tell you what it is, right now, because it was her idea, but you know that if it was up to me, I'd let you in on it in a heartbeat. Heck, I figure we could even use your help. But yeah, we're all working on a bit of trust here, so I'd rather not piss her off."

[AtropaMandragora]

(((ooc: slytherin - Congratulations! :D )))


This couldn't be happening. It just couldn't be happening. It had to be some mistake, or some kind of joke. A really, really cruel joke.

Ever since Marie-Elisabeth had first dropped the bomb, those were words that had been constantly echoing at the back of Matt's mind, through everything that she had said, through everything that he had said, and even through the complete and utter disarray of panicked thoughts darting hither and thither in his head. He struggled to try and grasp them, to understand them, at least to the point of being able to look at them rationally. But for the life of him, he couldn't. He just couldn't. Shock was still claiming both his wits and his tongue, making him ultimately unable to be all that lucid, to maintain the same level of... well, not calm exactly, since Marie-Elisabeth too was clearly upset, but at least - between the two of them - the closest thing to it, that she portrayed.

Unlike her, he hadn't had a chance to get used to the idea, to ponder it and the many possibilities and circumstances surrounding it. He hadn't been part of it when the suspicions had first emerged in Marie-Elisabeth's awareness, he hadn't had time to worry about whether the cause for said suspicion was real or not, and he hadn't been part of it when she had been given the confirmation that it was. He hadn't had a chance to sleep on it, or even toss and turn in bed because he couldn't sleep because of it. All the time and all the opportunities Marie-Elisabeth had had to mull it over, for Matt, had been bunched together into this one concentrated moment in time. And so this was it. All the anxiety she had felt since she had noticed that something wasn't right, for him had been rolled into one single moment, and one, single blunt confession, and hit him over the head, like a bolt of lightening out of a clear blue sky.
Was it any wonder that he was reacting the way he was?

Judging by Marie-Elisabeth's approach, then why yes, one would think it was, since after reprimanding him for having trouble breathing, and making a point out of informing him just how inconvenient it would be for her to deal with the consequences of her own rather callous approach, she went right on to keep lecturing him, and in a tone that almost reminded him of his mother, too:

"First of all, she started listing the points she wished to make. "Josh does not know yet and I haven't thought about what I'm going to do about it. And even if I had wanted to do that, which I don't, it would be impossible. When this thing pops out in like 6 or 7 months, people are going to be able to count backwards and realize I sure as hell wasn't with Josh nine months beforehand."

Apparently, she wasn't familiar with the age-old trick of claiming the baby was premature. And even so, after how she'd been going on about how she basically wasn't all too happy about Matt being the father, how was he supposed to know she wasn't planning on trying to make it all work with Josh, and have him take the place as a father, regardless of who the real one was, and regardless of whether other people knew who it was as well. Everything was already "Josh this, Josh that" with her anyway!

"Secondly", she continued, illustrating the next point she was about to make by adding a finger to the one she had already been waving around. "Never call me a hag again. You haven't exactly been a paragon of niceness lately either. And just so you know I MEANT to say that we're not eachother's favourite person right NOW, but I kind of have bigger things on my mind than that. For some strange reason I do actually still consider you a friend, although whether I will when we get out of this closet or not is debateable."

Those were words that, even though he was still standing slightly slumped against the wall for support, earned her a pitch black glare from Matt, as even amidst all this chaos, he still had not forgotten exactly who it was that had started treating who like crap. She'd called him a liar, dismissed anything he'd had to say about it, and she'd turned her back on him and walked away. She'd had the nerve to treat him like she treated most everyone else, and was apparently also under the impression that like most everyone else, he'd actually just accept it? Oh, under those circumstances, "hag" had been one of the nicer things he could've rightfully called her.
Though trust Marie-Elisabeth to conveniently disregard what she herself had done to antagonise him in the first place, and even go so far as to make it sound like she had reason to re-consider their so-called friendship!
Wasn't that rich?!

"Thirdly and lastly", she carried on. "Don't think for one second anything you say is going to make me change my mind about getting rid of it. Don't you think I already thought about that? If I went through with that it could damage me for life. I could never be able to have kids again afterwords, or I could even f%*king die Matt. Die, and is no longer be breathing, take a dirt nap, six feet under DEAD."

There she paused just for a few moments, and raised her hands to start massaging her temples, because apparently, being melodramatic was highly headache-inducing.

"Look", she said. "I'm not saying you don't get a say in anything, I'm just saying that I'm not going to kill the thing okay?"

As if there was a whole lot else he could have a say in? What, he'd get to have a say in picking the name for the kid he really, really didn't want? Oh, wasn't that generous!

However, while he was still in shock - and not likely to come out of it any time soon - Marie-Elisabeth's tirade had actually managed to temporarily snap him out of the worst of it, by p*ssing him off. Starting with the CPR comment, followed by dodging her responsibility for their dwindling friendship, and then a dramatic performance that almost ought to earn her an Academy award, she had managed to gradually push his temper into flaring. And while shock and emotional turmoil were states he didn't handle all that well, anger he could do, and do well, partly because it kicked his focus and mental sharpness into gear.

"Are you f***ing kidding me?!", he exploded, and straightened himself up out of his slumped posture. "Jesus Christ, Marie! 'Die'?! What are you, the fifth horseman of the fr*ggin Apocalypse?! Where do you think we are, in some underdeveloped Third World country?! It's not like you'd have to go to some quack to have it done! We're in the US! Girls like you have abortions every day here, and they're fine! Plus your family is loaded! Just hire some world specialist or something! And if you’re so worried about dying, why are you even considering giving birth?! More women die doing that, or have complications from it, than they do having an abortion!"

That said, the initial burst of rage seemed to begin to dissipate, and Matt ran a hand through his hair and took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself.

"It would be for the better, can't you see that?", he then continued in a tone that even though it still carried strong elements of desperation, for the first time since the door of the summer sports closet had closed behind them, sounded like an attempt to actually reason with her. "You're talking about killing, and murdering" - terms that now actually had him begin to question whether she actually had thought about abortion at all, since they were hardly words used by anyone who was even remotely open to the possibility, which in turn started stirring his anxiety once again - "but even if it was, don't you think being unwanted is worse?! You don't want it, you said so yourself, and I sure as h*ll don't want it! And I know you, Marie, you'll hate being knocked up every step of the way! Do you honestly think that won't matter?! That it's healthy?!"

[AtropaMandragora]

When it came to pranks, Tyler usually wasn't all that fussed about trust. Mostly because it tended to be a basic element anyway, since unless he operated alone, he operated with likeminded individuals, such as Lilith, Leigh, and a couple of friends outside of school, who all got their kicks from the same kind of mischief he did, and who had a sense of loyalty towards "their own". But even when for some reason - usually money -he was operating with others, whom he didn't know that well, or even at all, he still tended to be fairly laid back about the concept trust. Pranks were pranks, and usually no more serious than being worthy of anything more than detention, or a couple of days suspension at the most, from the school officials, and possibly a brawl or a revenge prank from whoever might have been negatively affected by the prank.
No biggie.

However, that was only as far as pranks were concerned. If one was to take things a little further, that would have us crossing the border of harmless fun, and land us in the area of actual criminal acts. And where the latter was concerned, to Tyler, trust was no longer such a light matter. Though most tended to think it was, due to his reputation and general attitude of having nothing to loose. The thing was, while he didn't mind the threat of not graduating, or even having to repeat a grade yet again, Tyler did have quite a bit to lose, if the law got on his case. Well, more than it already was anyway. With a known connection to one of the bigger fish in the pond, he'd had his share of encounters with the police, and seen the inside of a jail cell on a couple of occasions, though so far, they hadn't been able to make anything stick. But if they ever did, the consequences could be dire, since not only could he be sentenced to serve time, but he might also loose the one thing he treasured above all others: Tara, his fourteen month old daughter, and the apple of his eye. The very apple of his eye that very, very few knew about, and thus the reason why most were still under the impression that he didn't really care if he ended up in jail, since it seemed to be more a matter of when than if, anyway. And Tyler was just fine with leaving them with that misconception, because those who had nothing to loose, tended to be thought of as dangerous, and thus having people think twice about messing with them.

It did not mean, however, that he would leave them with the additional misconception that he was completely careless, and didn't value the concept of trust, or something akin to it, when dealing with those he had little to no experience with. After all, just because he might be seeing a jail sentence waiting on the horizon, it didn't mean he would run towards it with open arms, rather than try to keep it at the horizon.

The problem here was, Natalie wasn't all too willing to play ball, because even though she replied to his inquiry, she didn't really answer it;

"Mostly just me", she'd said, after what had seemed to be a minor and most brief inner debate. "Leigh Grayson suggested you'd be able to solve the issues with getting Laramie's card."

Now, even though it wasn't anything he hadn't already figured out, it was still something, he'd give her that. And in a way, it did work to her advantage, for two reasons. One; he'd seen her coming directly from Leigh's table, which would suggest that she wasn't just throwing Leigh's name around in order to mask that she had already known about his reputation and the services he was known to provide, for a small fee, and two; if Leigh was involved and had recommended Tyler, that meant she thought Natalie was okay, and for girls, Leigh's approval wasn't easily earned.

But, even so, Natalie's reply was still lacking, because even though Leigh obviously knew what Natalie's business with Tyler was about, it didn't guarantee she knew what it was for, or who else was involved. Because Natalie's reply did hint at that much; there were other people involved. And that was what had Tyler shooting Natalie a somewhat sceptical look, carrying the message that he would have preferred more, and wasn't too thrilled about getting involved on those conditions. Though he did chose to leave it that, and so didn't comment, because he had to admit, it was rather refreshing to deal with someone who practiced true caution and intelligence, unlike most, and the fact that she covered for who else was involved, did suggest that she'd be inclined to do the same for him.
And besides, it wasn't as though there weren't other ways for him to take the precautions he deemed necessary.

"As for a diversion", Natalie continued, "did you have anything particular in mind?"

Yup, he most certainly did. Never having been a slow planner, he'd had it in mind since before he'd even brought it up. The thing was, this would have been the second part where knowing who else was involved would have come in handy, because the type of diversion he had in mind, didn't suit Natalie's character, at all. Plus he'd require her elsewhere, since there seemed to be some trust issues between them. And since she was unwilling to divulge who else was already involved and thus available to help out, Tyler would just have to sort out that minor kink himself, by bringing in someone he knew he could trust.

"A fight ought to do the trick", he thus said with a curt nod, yet his tone remained ever casual and relaxed, as did his stance. "There's been a lot of them lately, so Laramie's bound to want to do something about it. And since I don't know who else is involved, and you kind of don't fit the part of a fighter - no offense - I want the liberty to bring in someone who does. Alright?"

Though he didn't wait for Natalie to agree, since frankly, the diversion was his operation, and a bit of a stand-alone one at that, which meant that whoever he decided to approach about it, wouldn't need to learn of any part of the deal other than that particular one. Natalie's involvement would be an entirely separate matter.

"However", he continued instead. "With Laramie on scene, that means whoever I pick to be in charge of the diversion will probably get in trouble with his cranky *ss, so... Price is a hundred and thirty bucks. A hundred for me, thirty for them, to make it worth their while. And you, beautiful..."

A brief pause, while a disarming yet roguish smile tugged at his lips, informing her that the term was a compliment and not a direct come-on, and mischief added a twinkle to his eyes, as he concluded;

"You'll be coming with me."

Where you don't have trust, you gain leverage instead.

It was only fair, after all, that since she wouldn't reveal who else was involved, he would up the risk for her a bit, thus ensuring that she'd have even less of a reason to rat him out, should the thought ever cross her mind. Not that he thought she would, because she seemed like a bright kid, but bright kids sometimes did stupid things, especially when under pressure, and so the best way to counter that possibility, was to add a bit of pressure from the opposite side.

[AnalynneHopes24]

Melissa continued doodling, wondering if she should start working soon. She drew a heart when she heard her name being called, her head snapped up immediately and noticed the teacher pointing at her. She looked around causally and saw people working in pairs. I should find my partner soon…she thought and as if on cue, a brown-haired boy walked towards her.

“Hi, I'm Judas." he greeted as she drew elaborate wings on her heart. She dropped her pencil and couldn’t help but smile at how bright he sounded.

“I’m Melissa. And I’m guess we’re partners.” she stated, and regretted saying that. Obviously, he already knew who she was, or he wouldn't be here. She let an inaudible sigh and picked up the pencil, twirling it between her fingers and watching as he sat down and placed the paper in front of them. He seems enthusiastic…that’s good she thought.

"I can't draw.” he said a little louder than he meant, causing people around them to laugh. In his defense, she glared a little at them and glanced back at Judas and shrugged.

“It’s fine, we can just tilt it a little, add bright colours and call it abstract art.” she said with a grin, hoping to make him feel better. There was a small pause and she started drawing a blue jay, and at the corner of her eye, she watched him curiously. He was looking at her doodle-filled journal, and his eyes fluttered up then down at the journal again.

"I can do all the research and writing if you could draw." he said with a hopeful tone. Her eyes widen in surprised, she couldn’t let him do all the work without feeling bad. She hated it when she had to do the work herself in projects like this and simply couldn’t bring herself to that level. She tapped her pencil on her cheek, thinking about what he said.

“Maybe if we both do the research, you can write and I’ll draw,” she slowly offered, comprising, “What are we doing anyways?” She closed her notebook and grabbed her textbook.

[addict12]

Name: Jacob Gallagher
Age/Class: Sixteen, Junior
Clique: Normies
After School Activity: Art Club, Part-time Foreign Language Club member; Occasionally submits comic strips to the school’s newspaper.

Brief History:
Originally he attended art school in Germany, however due his mother’s transfer in jobs, they obviously were forced to move into the states. Jacob was never very outgoing in school. He tries to go unnoticed and simply pass his classes. If it wasn’t required, Jacob wouldn’t attend any after school programs; such as clubs. His father and mother were married for nearly twenty years before divorcing. This event didn’t have any real affect on him. Although he acknowledges that they’re his parents, Jacob doesn’t have a very close relationship with either parent and vice versa. His mother been working most of his life and is rarely around, though she (by some miracle) won custody of Jacob. Yet, she doesn’t show much interest in other aspects of his life expect for his grades. Good grades equals little parental contact and wandering rights. Since the move, he hasn’t heard from his father, Harold, who is apparently slightly more interested in Jacob's well-being compared to his somewhat icy mother.

His family is not practically rich. He comes from a average family who receives an average, yet, good enough income. His only real talent is his artwork. Though he can play the Villon and dance Ballet, he tries to kept it secret. Only showing his sketches and paintings to his most constructive of friends and trusted art teacher. In his past, he did have a near death experience. The building he lived in, while in Germany with his parents (of coarse), was set ablaze and he was trapped in his bedroom. There were horrid burns on his hands from trying to open the window on his own. The metal part of the handle was extremely hot, thus burning his small hands instantly. Though he was saved, Jacob had to be sent to emergency room for inhaling too much smoke. This event shaped his personality greatly and scared him emotionally. His hands did heal up good; thanks to the consistent visiting of the emergency room. However, his hands are slightly discolored; a few tones lighter than his already pasty pale skin.

Next, Jacob has a thing about his secret, that he’s a closeted homosexual, and tries to make very little friends. His greatest fear is being rejected. Mainly his from his friends, which are the people who shows more compassion for him compared to his parents. Basically, he uses his friends to make up for the “love” that’s missing at home. But Jacob does not make friends very easily. His shady personality and clumsiness, along with his intense aura, makes people think he’s as awkward or just another loser. Sometimes, people see him to be very intimidating. Currently, Jacob is on the search for “self”. Trying to discover his true potential and a meaning to continue living. This prompts him question a lot of things. Though, he’s careful about sharing his ideals.

Personality Description:
He’s really quiet and tries his best to hide in a crowd. Along with that, he has plenty of phobias. He’s acrophobic (having a fear of heights), agoraphobic (fear of open spaces or of being in crowded, public places like markets - leaving what is considered a safe place), brontophobic (fear of thunder and lighting) and catagelophobic (the fear of being ridiculed). Jacob tries his best not to crack under his own ridiculous fears; trying to function like an sane human being. When he feels as if he is going to snap, Jacob makes up excuses and tries to find a fairly isolated place to breakdown. Occasionally, it’s the opposite. He would become very intense, which is sometimes enough to make anyone leave; mumbling things to himself. Which can be a disturbing sight.

Anything else you might want to add:
He has slight panic attacks during gym and doesn’t pay much attention to trends involving fashion. He’s clearly new to the school. Thus, Jacob would cut classes to explore the floors to get familiar. His English is great, but he still has his slight rough German accent. When it’s lunch he would sit closest to the nearest door or window, for an quick escape I guess? Unless you talk to him first, he won’t acknowledge your existence (because he’s really shy, not mean) and is very observant. Don’t be fooled, he is paying close attention to what is being said and is passing judgment. This is just his way of protecting himself. On the down-low, he plays online games, and is quite addicted. This addiction sometimes cause his grades to drop by a few points. Mostly from lack of homework. Sometimes, MMO gaming weakens his IRL (In real life) relationships. He also deals and smokes weed secretly. He does this to avoid contact with his mother (asking for money, or help, etc).

Picture:
http://i711.photobucket.com/albums/ww119/MekinChan/Untitled.jpg
Open to Storylines, Connections, etc. :3

[addict12]

Jacob sat outside of the building. It was slightly sluggish of him not to notice that yards were empty of students and staff. Though, his mind was consumed of thoughts of his next creation. He couldn’t stop sketching. The boy sighed softly with a smile. Jacob was enjoying the product of his work. Jacob stopped for break. He reached over for his sandwich, which went untouched for whole lunch period. He took a huge bites; finishing it rather quickly before drinking some of his coke. After a long series of satisfying burps, he instinctively checked his digital wristwatch. “What the-!?” Class had already started and he was late. Jacob didn’t particularly enjoy the “Wonders of Biology”, but grades are grades. He needed to keep his grades decent and above. Or he would loss some of his “artistic freedoms”. The thought of it made his spine tingle. Jacob shoved everything into his book bag, even his own trash and jumped over the yard’s gates; entering the school though the back doors. Jacob, although he was in this school since sophomore year, he still wasn’t familiar with all the floors, stairways, rooms, and etc.

Looking around frantically, Jacob randomly chose a staircase and ran up to the second floor. Nothing was familiar here. Jacob strolled down the hallway. He figure he would eventually find it? Right, the school wasn’t that big. At least he had avoided the deans. The last thing he wanted was to have detention after school. He had stopped in front of a classroom door, whose sign clearly read, “Biology.” He sighed. He was feeling silly since Jacob nearly passed the room. He opened the door. It was clear that he was embarrassed. “You’re late.” He hated when teachers stated the obvious. Like, yeah b***h, I’m late. What of it? He glanced towards an empty seat silently, but nodded at Mrs. Jaym. The women sighed. “Take your seat…um…” She checked her student list. “Jacob Gallagher?” He nodded. “I don’t believe I had you as a student before.” He stood silently; staring emotionlessly at Mrs. Jaym. Jacob just wanted to be seated. “Well, please sit at any empty seat.” Mrs. Jaym appeared a tad bothered by his silence. He sat nearest to the windows.

((Approachable.))

[Alissa888]

When it came to working with someone else, Dylan wanted equal work shared. She knew that there were people who worked at either extreme of the scale; either doing everything or doing nothing at all. And while the two extremes may work well together, it still wasn’t ideal. The first sector was entirely unfair, both on the person doing all the work, because they really shouldn’t have to, and on the person doing nothing might actually want to do something. The second extreme forced the other person to do all the work because the first person did nothing at all, and the unfairness in that was entirely clear to begin with.

Hence, in suggesting to Mitch that they label the diagram together, Dylan wasn’t entirely sure what she was doing. Mainly, she wanted him to label it, so that she could get a grasp of how much he understood of it and therefore, she’d set the “test”, but she hadn’t wanted him to feel… pressured and hence, she’d offered to work on it with him. The problem was, he had to know that she already knew the stuff and therefore, she didn’t want it to be the case of him giving up and letting her do it because he knew she could. Or, in the case of a couple of other people she’d helped out, they just let her do it because they couldn’t be bothered and they didn’t learn anything and it was back to square one.
Dylan didn’t really want to be the teacher, she wanted more to be a academic peer supporter. She really didn’t want it to be awkward for him either.

Oh, no, maybe it was… because there was that slight shift in demeanour as if he was going to say something and then fluidly nothing at all as he reached for his pen and shifted his concentration to the diagram as if he was going to say nothing at all. Oh. Maybe it was just her imagination then….

"Ah, this is the centromere," Mitch announced, correctly marking the centre of the X with a circle, eliciting a small, encouraging nod from Dylan. Good so far…. Not so good after that as he started labelling the identical halves of the sister cromatids together by separating them out horizontally rather than vertically. But that was okay, because judging by the look in his eyes, he did realise it was wrong and that was a lot more easier to correct than someone who absolutely believes that they were right.
That said, he had nothing to apologise for; this was a tutoring session after all, and he was perfectly entitled to make mistakes here and learn from them.
She paused for a moment, figuring out the best way to phrase things.

“You’re right about the centromere,” she congratulated with a smile, and then carrying on, commending him before correcting; “And you’re right, the halves of the chromosomes are chromatids.”

“But, the chomatids are identical, so there’s no brother/sister thing,” she said, then her gaze drifting momentarily to the side, vaguely amused by a twin analogy that sprung up in her mind and then deciding to go for it. “They’re sort of like conjoined twins. Like…,” she drew one vertical half of the X as she spoke. “This is one chromatid, and it’s completely identical – has the same DNA sequences – to it’s twin,” she drew the other half of it, completing the X. “And they’re joined at the centre, the centromere.”
She looked back up, meeting his brown eyes with an encouraging smile, glad and thankful that he was making an effort in this, then attempting to dispel any inferiority he may be feeling.
“But there is a brother/sister association between homologous chromosomes, because you get one from the maternal side and one from the paternal,” she affirmed, making an effort to give a reason for his mistake and indicating that he wasn’t completely off the map with his suggestion. “It’s okay, I used to get confused too, but once you get the hang of it, it’s easy. Oh! And just feel free to jump in and ask questions.”

(((OOC: Welcome, Addict! :bunny: Sounds like a great character, will add him to the list as soon as I can :D

Furry - thanks for the heads up and I hope this works for you? :) )))

[Alissa888]

The thing about wielding power is, you’ve got to realise that you never have all of it. It’s a strange thing, that the moment you have all the power, people start grouping together and biting back, and therefore, if you’re in a good place as far as power was concerned, you don’t have all of it. You have most of it. This was something Natalie knew rather well… well, Natalie knew enough to write a book on these matters from the times in which she had had to make sure people knew better than to mess with the influence she had over everyone else.

These days, she was more the observer than the implementer and this were more obvious than ever. Granted, she had to admit that it sort of sucked to be a nobody, but that was alright, it was her choice. If she wanted it changed, things could be very different, because the idea of her and Matt working together – it had to be admitted that Chicago Natalie really would have been his complement – wasn’t exactly unfeasible if anyone knew what she’d been like. She was trying to be different; that’s the thing about control and power and adoration, it gets to your head and you’ll do anything to keep it, and at the end of the day, the joke’s on you because none of it actually means anything once the “lesser people” realise the joke.

Thus, right now, in this situation, she saw the division of power exactly how it was. Natalie controlled the main theme of the prank – well, you had to take it as an act of making a statement rather than pulling prank, because the latter suggested that it was frivolous; Natalie wasn’t going to invest this much on something trivial – while Tyler’s input kept the boat afloat. Needless to say, she did want this to run to perfection and therefore, Tyler’s input in keeping the operation on the go was definitely mandatory. Hence, it was clear to Natalie that she was the one who needed Tyler’s services rather than him needing her business and so, she’d respect that division of power and influence without trifling with it.
Of course, she wouldn’t let him dominate her. Hence, his part of the operation – getting Laramie’s card – was his call, and would happen how he wanted it. The greatest risk was the one he was taking, after all.

“A fight ought to do the trick,” he said with a sort of relaxed attitude to it that almost had Natalie shoot her eyebrows up in question. Natalie wasn’t violent, and therefore, the idea of fights did hold more of an effect to her than it was bound to for Tyler, but really, he was expecting her to start a fight? Well… she had to admit; it really did not appeal to her… she could take on some cheerleader or wandering weirdo and most definitely win, but there was just something really crass about physical altercations that Natalie didn’t feel comfortable doing. So, she wouldn’t. End of story, and he’d have to work around that.
However, she didn’t interrupt, because she could very well be jumping the gun.

"There's been a lot of them lately, so Laramie's bound to want to do something about it,” he pointed out and she had to agree, apparently, according to Leigh there was some fight between the usual guys this morning and then there was Mark getting his pride shredded and handed back to him by Esteban yesterday, and given that that one involved hospitalisation of one of the school’s star players, Laramie was bound to get worked up over it. “And since I don't know who else is involved,”
Right… yeah… there wasn’t much room to manoeuvre with that one; she couldn’t tell, her hands were tied. And… was this the point at which he asked her to start a fight, because it really wasn’t going to happen. It just wasn’t.
“And you kind of don't fit the part of a fighter - no offense,” he carried on. Oh. Well… she did jump the gun, then, and it was rather pleasant to have him figure correctly that she wasn’t the fighting type and therefore, there was the slightest laugh from her in meaning of “None taken”, while he carried on outlining his terms. “I want the liberty to bring in someone who does. Alright?”

Yeah, she figured as much. Good thing was that he wasn’t insisting that the one of the persons she hadn’t mentioned had to get involved to sort out the issue of needing someone to start a fight, because she’d just have to decline to outrightly involve them for the time being until she’d checked it with them – Leigh, in this case – but the bad thing was, she didn’t know who he’d be bringing in. Well, honestly, it wasn’t bad, because he clearly trusted this person, and therefore it was fine for this half of the operation, because said person didn’t have to know why anyone needed Laramie’s wallet, or who it was that needed Laramie’s wallet. Besides, it’d be interesting to see who Tyler called his partner in crime.
Hence, there was just a small nod in agreement.

"However,” he continued. "With Laramie on scene, that means whoever I pick to be in charge of the diversion will probably get in trouble with his cranky *ss, so...,” Well, no-one was forcing said person to be involved and it was entirely their choice – unless of course, Tyler planned on intimidating someone into it, which didn’t fit his character and would be counterproductive given that said intimidated person would be more likely to sell him out to Laramie – and hence, Natalie didn’t feel bad about it.
“Price is a hundred and thirty bucks,” he offered. Yeah, that was fine; $130 was entirely affordable for Natalie and frankly, it’d cost a lot less than paying for the copies herself. She nodded again in full agreement; payment was not a problem.

“A hundred for me, thirty for them, to make it worth their while.”
Ah. Partner in crime, then.
“And you, beautiful...,” he moved on, pausing as a gust of mischief infused itself into his fetching looks in a way that made it a light-hearted compliment rather than anything condescending or sleazy like a lot of guys managed. Matt calling her “babe” – entirely condescending. The majority of the jocks and their oh-so-affectionate names for her – honestly, apparently sports dulled the ability to learn the name “Natalie” – were just completely sleazy and honestly, they had more chance of scoring with each other than with her.
Well, actually, after the previous evening’s revelations, Natalie wasn’t sure whether that statement stood for anything at all. "You'll be coming with me."

Why?
Oh. Right, he wanted her at his side so that she had reason to keep shut should there be any reason for her to spill the beans. Being there when the theft occurred was enough incentive, if being the contractor of said theft wasn’t. Fair enough, he didn’t know Natalie all that well, and thus he didn’t realise that she really did not crack under any sort of pressure. Fine, being there with him was only slightly more risky than what Natalie was already on board for, and he already had too much to lose by screwing it up and she could handle herself, and so, that would be fine.

“It’ll be a pleasure,” she thus conceded effortlessly with a smile, then moving on to ask after a couple of details. “Mind if I ask who you’re bringing in? And… when does payment have to be made?”
The way the questions were structured made their differing importance clear; he didn’t have to tell her who he was bringing in – besides, Natalie could just find out anyway by other means – but, for obvious reasons, the details regarding the payment had to be discussed.

(((OOC: Hope that works :) )))

[addict12]

((Alrighty~! :3 Note: I was in the old RP but, for personal reasons, I had dropped out. This time, there shouldn't be any problems. :3 ))

[elpemmy]

((OOC: Is there room for another troublemaker? :D If there's not, tell me and I'll remove the app :P))

Name: Alice Davisson
Age/Class: 16, Junior.
Clique: Troublemaker (ex-prep)
After School Activity: Music Club
Personality/Bio:
Alice Davisson has always found it tough, ever since her dad left, aged 15. Up til then, she'd been a prep- not one of the most popular, most known ones, but up there, all the same. After her dad left, her life was in turmoil. Arguments with her mum over why her dad left led to more and more attitude in the classroom. For her 16th birthday, she got an eyebrow piercing and a tattoo, causing more arguments. She ditched the preps, with their cheerleading attire, and began to spend more and more time either on her own, or with other troublemakers. She kept her clothes, her miniskirts and tight tee-shirts, showing off her long legs with high heels. Unlike most of her peers, and although she'd never admit it, she's kept at least some of her "innocence" intact, despite the fact that she takes drugs whenever she has the cash. Her take it as you like it attitude doesn't actually extend to her inner feelings. She worries about what people think, and is always suspicious of compliments. She tries her very best to wind up the teachers, taking pleasure in someone else suffering, but unlike most trouble makers, she prefers to work alone, avoiding attachments as much as possible. She's always afraid of getting close to people, because she doesn't want to be hurt like she was when her dad left. She writes songs in her free time, when she's not stoned or in detention. She writes them about her family, and the pain that she feels ever since her dad left, a pain which has intensified since her mum got a boyfriend and she lost all hope of him ever coming back. She's never shown the songs to anybody, for fear of being judged. Maybe, one day, if someone gets close enough, she will.
Anything else you might like to add:
Her favourite colour is dark blue, and she smokes cannabis when she can get it. She skips a lot of lessons, and she hasn't been seen in Maths all year, as it's her least favourite subject.
Description: (since I don't have a picture, apologies) Alice has bleached white hair, with black tips. She wears heavy mascara, and that's about it in terms of makeup. She has middish coloured skin, not tanned, but not pale either, and she usually wears her hair in a ponytail or just lets it hang naturally. She has a gold ring in her eyebrow, along with three piercings in each ear. She has vibrant green eyes, with streaks of grey. Her skin is mercifully clear, with not a spot to see on her broad face or sharp nose.

Available for storylines etc.

[AtropaMandragora]

Being pretty darned familiar with how the "big boys" played the game, since he himself had participated quite a bit over the past few years, it always amused Tyler when his fellow Brooklake students, clearly aware of his reputation, tried to play that same big league game with him when approaching him for business purposes, thinking that since he was used to tougher rules and conditions, he wouldn't take them seriously if they didn't. What they didn't seem to realize, was that it was exactly that kind of behaviour - acting as though a million dollar bank job was at stake, when what it really was all about, was nothing more than a petty crime, such as lifting someone's homework so that Tyler's "contractor" could copy it - that had him having a hard time with it in the first place. He appreciated discretion, but for pampered teenagers with no bigger problems than a possible failure in one of their classes, to act as though they thought the cops might have them under surveillance... It was a lot like seeing a child trying to walk, using his daddy's all too big shoes; they just couldn't fill the part.

In situations such as that, Tyler would sometimes have a hard time keeping a straight face, and had, on occasion, told the drama queen of a contractor to relax, and informed them that this wasn't Hollywood. As much as they wanted to live up to their own idea of the people Tyler was used to dealing with, or h*ll, even if they just wanted to add a bit of a dramatic flair to their mundane lives, there simply would be no car chase with the cops if they were found out, or even a police raid at their house. Discretion was desirable, and often required, but not to that kind of "secret agent" level. In fact, there often was no more obvious sign that something was going on, than some kid glancing around to make sure no one was watching, because if nothing fishy was going on, then why would they do that?

However, while what he was planning with Natalie wouldn't be anywhere near the worst thing he'd done, and thus didn't, as far as he could see, require the adopted need-to-know-basis treatment, with a side dish of evasiveness - seriously, if there was something that she for whatever reason didn't want to tell him, then she could at least be straightforward enough to tell him that - it did still involve a crime that could have serious repercussions, if they were caught. And since actual trust had yet to be established between the two of them, he could still understand her chosen approach, with not wanting to give away her other accomplices. Didn't mean he agreed with it, but he could understand it, as well as respect it. She didn't seem all too used to making similar arrangements, and so if it gave her comfort to be this secretive, then by all means. She'd be the one making up for it anyway, having to put herself a little more on the line by accompanying him, since he did need some kind of insurance that neither she nor her accomplices would get him into trouble. And thankfully, after what seemed like a moment's afterthought, Natalie herself understood that as well.

"It'll be a pleasure", she agreed as though she was welcoming it with open arms, and shot him a smile that would've made it difficult for any young man not to fall victim to it's charm.

Had it not been obvious to Tyler before, it would have dawned on him right then, that Natalie Cardew (that was the last name of the editor of the school paper, right?) belonged to the most dangerous category of girls; the one that would have boys, and later in life men, gladly throw themselves head first into trouble for them, with little more reward or incentive, than such a smile.
Best keep on your toes around this one too, Young.

"Mind if I ask who you're bringing in?", she continued rather boldly, considering her stance on her own accomplices - though he couldn't blame her for trying - but then moved on towards a conclusion of the deal being made, as though suggesting through action that she was well aware that an answer to her first question might be too much to ask, and thus gave Tyler the option to simply ignore it, should he want to; "And... when does payment have to be made?"

Now, Tyler was a believer in the concept of treating others the way they treated him. But only to a point. He knew when it would be foolish to do so - such as when he'd had to take quite a bashing from his employers after having p*ssed them off; it'd be downright stupid to try and get even for that one - and he also had no interest in sinking to the childish levels of "Nuh-uh, you wouldn't give me yours, so I'm not giving you mine". But, in cases such as this one, where trust was still a concept yet to be proven real, and information had been deliberately withheld by the other party involved, it would disturb the delicate balance as well as be considered quite careless, to give Natalie full insight, where she herself provided very little of the same. So, in the name of fairness, as well as to respect the rules she herself had been the one to set; she'd keep her accomplices to herself, and so would he.

"Let's just say it's someone I know I can trust", he thus answered her first question.

Of course, it wouldn't be very difficult for her to figure out who it might be - they WOULD be starting a fight, after all, and fights did tend to send the rumour mill spinning - but that would all be only after the deed had been done, and by then it would be too late to cause any possible inconvenience for them, should that, contrary to what Tyler believed, for some reason be what she had in mind.
Not even if he was to approach his intended accomplice straight after leaving this restroom, and Natalie saw them talking, would she have much to go on, because Tyler being seen talking to Lilith - someone with whom he'd pulled off a few successful pranks in the past and thus knew he could trust, someone whose company he enjoyed quite a bit, and the one he had in mind for creating the diversion this time - would be nothing out of the ordinary. They did move in somewhat similar circles, and were known to associate with one another on occasion, and if Tyler wasn't mistaken, Natalie had noted his interest in Lilith prior to telling him about this prank. So, taking all that into consideration, even if she did see him talking to Lilith, it would in no way suggest that it had anything to do with said prank, rather than his already existing association with Lilith. And since Natalie was obviously a clever girl, he figured she would be clever enough to realize it.

"And as for payment", he continued, while shoving both hands into the back pockets of his worn jeans, assuming another casual posture. "Half up-front, half after the job's done. Sixty-five bucks and an hour or so to set things up is all I need, and then I'll be good to go. So whenever you're ready."

[elpemmy]

Alice scowled. The bell had gone ages ago, and frankly, she wasn't bothered. Might as well stay out here til after school, she mused, before realising that she had f*** all to do, and no weed left. Need to get some more from Tyler, she reminded herself. She rummaged in her bag, finding a pen and some scraps of paper. After staring at it blankly for a while, she shook her head, and stood up. Pulling gently at the bottom of her skirt, trying to at least give the impression of remaining decent, and wrapping her arms around her, she strolled up towards the building and wandered in.
She spotted her room, and lazily ambled towards it, walking in and looking for a free seat.
"You're late." Said the teacher, presumably Mrs. Jaym.
"Your point?" Asked Alice. She spotted an empty desk towards the back and made her way to it. She slumped in her seat, rolling her eyes as she glanced at the fellow students. Biology. Why would you even try to learn? It's all s*** is what it is, she thought.
She glanced around. Oh no. They were doing some stupid project. Lab partners. Alice almost walked out right then. No, she thought, I'm going to stay in at least one lesson today. Regardless of how much work gets done. She smirked, and pulled out some paper from her back. She began to write, elegant loopy text not befitting of her clothes.

((OOC: Approachable :D))

[robokitty]

He winces when the stupid brat stumbles and falls backwards flat on her a**. Even that is cold for Esteban. Sure, she was irritating as f***, but he hadn't meant to shove her that hard. Must be the booze from earlier.

She gets up, dusts herself off, and--oh, what the f***? Was she crying? An jolt of paternal instinct rips through Esteban's heart. The guilt lingers several seconds before he forces it away. Wait, why the f*** did he care? The dumb, little b**** can't keep her balance. It's not his fault she was so goddamn irritating and clumsy!

“You shouldn’t express yourself with physical contact; it’s not very nice.” The little girl glowers at him. Actually, it's kind of funny.

He scoffs dismissively. Chupamela.

“If that’s what you wanted, then say it.” The little girl squeals at him.

Ugh, when will this brat get the hell outta here?

Not soon enough, apparently. Cuz the girl steps up, and drags her elf heels through the puddle, sending a spray of cold water at Esteban. From his perch on the rail, all he can do is lean away from the splash as it smacks him ice cold across the cheek and soaks into his jacket. And more importantly, as it snuffs out his cigarette in one soppy sizzle.

Okay. Now, he's mad.

He snaps to glower furiously at the girl. And Esteban doesn't hit girls, but ay dios mio y todos los santos putos he will slam with special needs b**** into a goddamn wall if that's what it takes. His eyes burning pitch black, he shoves himself off the rail and straightens himself to his full height.

It's as he's taking his first intimidating step towards the girl that some kid interposes himself between them. Four eyes. F*****y white boy piercings. The maricon offers the girl a tissue and asks "You okay?" After handing it to her, the kid gives him a look like Esteban just punched a kitten. Esteban gives the kid a look like he could break him in half and s*** on his corpse if he wanted to. Christ, what a p****.

"I'm okay," The girl starts as she wipes the tears from her stupid fat cheeks. "Hey your hair's red too. I heard that..."

Oh f*** it. F*** it. If this maricon makes special needs stay longer and keep blathering on, there's gonna be trouble.

Luckily, the girl trails off, changing her mind, and heads back to the school. Oh thank Jesus.

As the girl's form disappears in the distance, oddly enough the maricon doesn't leave. Instead, he wordlessly lights up a cig and offers it to Esteban. Esteban gets a strange feeling of deja vu, and for some reason he thinks of a movie he saw where time travelers placated angry cavemen by waving a lighter in front of them. He hesitates suspiciously, then flicks the soggy one in his lips to the ground and accepts the new one.

It's as he's chasing the cold from the water away with his first drag of his third--or was it fourth now?--cigarette that the kid shoves something else towards him. A flask.

At that moment, Esteban decides he can be bought.

He swipes it up, unscrews the top, and waves it under his nose, taking the scent in his nostrils. Hard alcohol, charcoal, strong anise, and something like frat boy armpit. Whiskey. Without stopping to think, Esteban knocks one back. The moment it splashes against his tongue and burns refreshing clean through his sinuses, all his muscles relax.

Ahh. Maybe this f***** ain't so bad after all.

Esteban zips off his jacket and throws it over the rail, waiting for it to dry. Then he leans against it and takes another swig. The hostility leaves Esteban's voice and glare, and he snorts distastefully. "Chicks." It should be obvious what he's talking about, right?

He passes the flask back to the kid and asks, "What's your name?"


((OOC: Sorry about the tremendous wait! I was on vacation this weekend and didn't get a chance to take a crack at this! Btw, the description of Elysia => "Wendy" is LOL. :D Anyway, I hope this works for everyone and apologies if Esteban is being a total douche. :) ))

[robokitty]

"Hello," Nora chirped in response as she hurriedly pushed aside the miscellany she had scattered over the desk. Donnie nodded in appreciation of her gesture, though from the corner of his eye he could see corners, odds, and ends of her clutter still resting across the meridian between their desks, encroaching on his space.

He registered the mild exasperation in her sigh, though this task was not difficult. In fact, "exasperation" was its most salient characteristic. Suddenly, Donnie felt the need to explain himself more thoroughly, so as adjusted the poster so that it faced him completely parallel, he said in a mildly apologetic tone, "It's faster if I just show you rather than spend time explaining."

Then, Donnie began rubbing sections of Nora's drawings into nonexistence, carefully brushing his eraser dust off the desk each time. As his hand moved back across the desk, he nonchalantly pushed Nora's items across the boundary between their desks so that their corners were no longer occupying his table space.

"Is there anything you'd like me to do?" Nora asked.

"Yes," Donnie responded immediately. He reached into his bag to produce his tablet PC and carefully handed it to Nora. "Ask Mrs. Jaym if you can use her printer to print up my notes on the kidney and resize them to 275% for the poster. They're located in Documents\Science\Anatomy\Excretory System\, and the name of the file is renal_sum09.doc." As Nora accepted the tablet into her hands, Donnie added, "Thanks."

She took a sip of her iced coffee. Donnie had already finished his from lunch, and he was adamantly opposed to food and beverage in laboratory areas, so he merely continued to tweak Nora's proportions. As he was finishing the curve of the loop of Henle, he heard Nora pipe up again.

"Are you going to the dance this weekend?" She asked with a somewhat uncertain look displayed across her brow.

Donnie halted pensively, putting down his pencil and eraser to interlace his fingers on both hands together, resting them on the desk. Was her previous sipping at her iced coffee a result of channeling her discomfort into a soothing action, the same way that people chew their nails when they're nervous? Then what was the cause of her unease? Nora could be timid at times, and asking about the dance could imply romantic interest. Perhaps Nora was embarrassed that he might misinterpret her intentions? Or perhaps Nora was embarrassed because she didn't have a date?

"I'm covering it for a story in the paper, so I'll attend." Donnie replied matter-o-factly. As he finished his statement and turned to get back to work on the poster--he hated wasting even a minute in class--it occurred to him that, given Nora's apprehension regarding the question, it might be rude to turn away from her without asking what about you?

Once again Donnie stopped, and in a quick staccato he turned back to Nora and asked, "Why? What about you?"

[addict12]

(( To Robokitty: Can Jacob interact with Esteban at some point? I like Esteban's character. >:3 PM me if you make up something, e.g. they were friends and blah. ))

[Alissa888]

Trustworthy playmates are hard to come by. Firstly, you have to give them enough incentive to be trustworthy and secondly, you have to ensure that their trustworthy attitude wasn’t just an act.
Natalie, so used to seeing whether her most recent playmate checked out alright, suddenly found herself reviewing things from the other side of the fence. In Chicago, everyone knew who Natalie was and therefore they had no reason – nor right – to see whether she was worthy; she just was, end of story. Everyone wanted to get into her good books and they wanted it desperately. Right now, the tables had turned and it was her being evaluated by her playmates. Well, she said playmates, but them regarding her as a playmate was a bit of an assumption for Natalie to make.

J.D…. Natalie was wondering whether he regarded her fixatedly pursuing to get him to consent to having his work published in the school paper – involving both Leigh and Lila to sway his final decision – was actually going to prove counterproductive and generally pretty detrimental. Maybe it would have been, had it not been for the aforementioned girls, but so far, it wasn’t detrimental. Another thorn in Natalie’s side was the fact that he hadn’t seemed too enthused about this plan – though, she figured he most probably should be, given that the drawing itself portrayed the amount of contempt he had for Matt and this way of getting to Matt had some chance of getting J.D.’s interests – and therefore, she wasn’t entirely sure where they stood. She’d figure that one out later; first things first, after all.

Leigh. Now, Natalie didn’t know that much regarding Leigh and the reputation that the girl had, seemed to be the extreme compared to the face that Natalie had thus far experienced. The pretty ravenhead actually seemed to be quite a bit of a fun and rather sociable at that too. She did have a tendency to get violent, and therefore, Natalie would have to keep from giving her reason to get violent. But what did that involve, exactly? Natalie knew she clearly cared about her friends and it was somewhat of a close knit thing – the dynamics between her and J.D. seemed to be entirely exclusive to each other and bore few or no elements in common with their interaction with others – but what else? How do you play nice here?

Tyler… Now this one was like playing with fire and being a little unsure whether it was fire and whether you were playing at all. He didn’t have a reputation that painted him out to be a really dangerous or unstable person to be involved with, but that was it, he didn’t have a tangible reputation, but he still had all the benefits of it. Like something quite so potent that people know better than to gossip about it. If Natalie had been hiring him to say, break into someone’s locker, that was fine and unimportant, but she was getting him to commit a criminal act against the school Dean and therefore, it was in all of their best interests to have this go well. Furthermore, his response to her proposal was to simply take it in his stride without an eye-blink which really just spelled it out to Natalie that he’d done this and much more and he still managed to not let it get to his head and throw his weight around.
Dangerous, but oh so appealing. Dangerous people with actual brain power knew to be careful when stakes were high.
And she’d made him somewhat wary by not telling him the names of the others, hadn’t she?

"Let's just say it's someone I know I can trust,” he offered, being gracious enough to answer her first question instead of taking the out that she’d provided him with and ignoring it.
Or was he making a point there? Someone he could trust. Was he highlighting the point that she hadn’t shared and therefore, it required someone he could trust to be in on the operation, just in case the people Natalie was working with were those who wanted to bury a hatchet in his back, because honestly, Natalie had no definite knowledge of what else he was involved in. But he did take Leigh’s approval of Natalie as a good sign and therefore, that was definitely a step in the right direction.
No problem, Natalie could find out who it was after the operation was carried out… and he had to know that…. So, he wasn’t keeping the identity of his accomplice a secret indefinitely but only until business was over?

And then there was that, the step after getting Laramie’s wallet, the distribution of the copies. Leigh did mention Tyler was exceptionally proficient at picking locks and if J.D. disabled the cameras for a fixed amount of time, they’d need someone like Tyler to ensure access to all areas of the school building. So, yeah, Natalie would have to bring that up at some point, but she figured she’d get this stage done with first and seeing how it went – though, her confidence in the matter was definitely improving since meeting the guy – before bringing that up. However, if and when he was involved in that he’d most likely want to know who disabled the cameras and J.D.’s name would come up and Tyler already knew about the sketch and if he knew enough about J.D. to put two and two together… well, Natalie did offer J.D. anonymity and she intended on keeping her word on that and so….
Well, approaching Tyler about the second stage of the plan later, she’d have enough time to sort out the situation with J.D. and if J.D. really didn’t want it to be known, she had enough time to figure out a solution. Good for now.

“And as for payment,” he addressed the second question, taking a more casual stance as if signalling that the previous question hadn’t had a casual answer. Maybe he’d have shared if she’d shared? “Half up-front, half after the job's done. Sixty-five bucks and an hour or so to set things up is all I need, and then I'll be good to go. So whenever you're ready.”

Right. Natalie wanted this to go ahead as soon as possible because… well, she’d wanted to get at Matt for so long and here was a stellar opportunity and she wanted it done before anyone changed their minds regarding it.
$65… okay, she had about $35 in her wallet. She’d have to get to an ATM to withdraw more and she couldn’t waltz out of school right now and paying Tyler now gave him the hour he wanted and hopefully they could get this stuff done during clubs, right?
Oh, wait! Mom had this habit of keeping a hefty Contingency Fund – well, in a bank account – aside from the normal fund and she implemented that habit in the little things, namely, making Natalie stash some emergency money somewhere about her person since she was about seven years old. Of course, that’d seen quite a few notes go to their watery deaths in the washing machine, but these days, Natalie had a wallet and therefore, that was no longer happening.
Added to the $35, Natalie had $50. Okay, that was good.

She momentarily rummaged through her bag for the purse, finding it and going through the inner lining – the best way to ensure that you don’t spend the contingency fund was to keep it out of sight… but that had the issue of her forgetting that she even had it when she actually needed it… but her brain just magically started working when she needed it – to find the $50 and then combining it with $15 from the $35 to extend the three notes out to Tyler where he stood.
“Ready,” she declared, eyes bright and mischievous grin on her face.

(((OOC: Atropa - hope this works for you :D
Elpemmy - great app! :D )))

[robokitty]

"I hope you realize the sheer irony in this!" Frankie barked as the door slammed in her face. "Tyrant!"

"I take it that didn't go well?" came a softly amused voice.

Frankie's head snapped to face Miss Latimer. The receptionist had the look of a nuclear fifties mom, with her Elizabeth Taylor looks and pristine makeup. She looked like the type of woman who'd been asleep for the first, second, and third waves. Frankie scowled through her glasses.

"Freedom of speech is a fundamental right chartered by the Constitution, yet it's withheld from 20% of the population due to this ageist bullsh--"

"Just sign here, okay honey?" Miss Latimer interjected, pushing a parental notification form forward on her desk.

Honey? Frankie's expression darkened as she strode to Miss Latimer.

"Please don't call me that," she replied icily as she scribbled the aggressive curves of her signature onto the paper.

"Sorry, I d--"

"I don't like diminutives," Frankie cut her off. Then, she thrust the form to Miss Latimer conclusively. "Hall pass?"

Miss Latimer quietly rolled her eyes when Friankie looked away, then handed the dour student a small, pink hallway slip.

"Thank you," Frankie replied curtly.

She pivoted on her soft combat boots and marched away from the Dean's office. Frankie was wearing her usual holy trinity (http://www.teewu.com/simages/clothes_frankie1.jpg) --combat boots, Castro hat, and oversized military jacket--over her outfit (http://www.teewu.com/simages/clothes_frankie2.jpg) today, which was outspoken as usual. When she was a safe distance away from the Dean's, she looked down to glare at the thick masking tape covering one of the buttons adorning her outfit.

That hypocritical, sexist, pig-headed fascist!

As she made her way to Biology, Frankie indignantly picked at the corners of the tape. Upon entering the classroom, she finished peeling off the last layer of tape to reveal the message on her button (http://www.teewu.com/simages/clothes_frankie3.jpg) underneath. She wasted no time in tossing the ball of masking tape into the garbage then took a look around the room, and there was one thing she noticed immediately.

Mitch wasn't there. She always noticed when Mitch was around or not.

Frankie arched one supercilious brow. Maybe that chauvanistic screwhead knocked his teeth out on a keg stand last night, she mused to herself dryly.

She proceeded to collect her assignment from Mrs. Jaym, pulling one slip from the hat, checking it, putting it back, and pulling a different one instead.

Female reproductive anatomy. Perfect.

Frankie turned to survey the room. Because she was late to class, most of the partners had already been chosen. However, she noticed a quiet, dark haired boy sitting by the window who didn't appear to have a partner yet. Grabbing a blank poster first, she strode to his desk and announced:

"Hey, I'm Frankie. Do you have a partner?" She turned the desk in front of his around and sat in it so that she was facing him. Then, she informed him nonchalantly, "We've got vaginas. Can you draw?"



((OOC: To clarify, Frankie is approaching Jacob. Hope that's okay.))

[FurryPanda]

((OOC: Penny, I am so sorry that this sucks, took forever and a day, and was preceded by my disappearing off the face of the earth. I'll tell ya about it later))

Katie knew that she wasn't an easy person to hang around with. She was a lot smarter than her peers, and not in an approachable, occasional awkward conversational tidbit way. She had an ego to go with it, and doubtless between the fact that she wasn't that interested in much other than birds, science, and dance, and the fact that she had something of a superiority complex, she really was not that approachable.

So any opportunity for friendship, for casual conversation, even on stuff she wasn't interested in, was grasped at. At least, in her own shy way. She watched as Lea told her about her carer... and what was that? Was she an orphan? Or some rich brat with a PC name for her nanny? Was it appropriate to ask? She went back to working on drawing the femur's insertion behind the patella, and she finally made a snap descision, all without looking up, to ask about what she'd thought of the show.

Or... why would Lea have even remebered her? She'd been one of the background girls, dressed all alike. The costumer had complained her hair was too dark, it would make the head piece look funky, so for the performance she'd just had a silver hair ribbon, and she and a girl who'd had dyed black hair had stood out, but not that much, and she'd had a forty second solo that had been quite impressive... but over two years, to remember one of thirty solos in a different hat? She didn't know what to think of it, so she just asked if she'd liked it.

The other girl seemed to be giving the question a great deal of thought, and Katie's heart sank. She was trying not to offend her, trying to come up with a way of politely saying, "your creative medium is obsolete and demeaning, grow up nerdling". "To be honest? It was the only ballet I'd ever been too...." of course, because she'd been so terrible, because one of the other background girls had missed a step, because the prince had walked across the stage as the curtain shifted...

"and it was amazing." Wha? This girl didn't think she was awful! Didn't think that she was trying to blend in despite her oppressive nerdiness!

"I'd love to go again, but I don't have the time. How did you learn to dance like that? It must've taken a lot of dedication." Katie had finished shading in the lower femur, and had outlined the patella, and she put the pencil down and answered, trying not to sound too fervent.

"Are you sure? There's lots around. My studio has a performance every couple of weeks, the college's dance troupe has a new one every few months, and the Santa Fe Ballet is in town this month..." she trailed off, realizng that even if she wasn't sounding fervent- and she was- that it was really nerdish, really weird, for her to know all of that.

She glanced away and picked up her pencil again, adding in lettering which she knew from memory and tried to think of how to address the second question. How to explain that making her body do those impossible things was such a high that it didn't matter that it had taken her years to learn how to execute everything, and even now it took her twenty hour weeks to be able to flawlessly execute her routines, and she loved it, and it didn't feel like work, it was... it simply was.

She realized that she'd labelled five structures, whatever window of polite time there was had doubtless passed, and she was obscurely grateful. Her reasons were her own, and they'd stay that way if she could help it.

Which meant she had to fill the silence that was brewing. "I'm going to the Santa Fe troupe's performance on Sunday, I can get you tickets," she offered lamely.

((OOC: Alissa, I'll get a post up soon, and penny, was the above okay with you?))

[addict12]

(( o.o;; Sorry for the late response. *Been all up in sim story land* It's short, I know, but I have to go. :3 ))

"Hey, I'm Frankie. Do you have a partner?" She turned the desk in front of his around and sat in it so that she was facing him. Jacob absentmindedly stared at the female who approached him. It was apparent that the boy was slowly returning from the ‘high’ lands. Yes, he was daydreaming. It didn’t take any longer for him to finally acknowledge Frankie. Jacob gave a small smile and nodded. “Sorry, right, I’m Jacob.” He said plainly; his strong accent making him sound slightly congested and somewhat older. "We've got vaginas. Can you draw?" We’ve got vaginas? I know you do…wait…this assignment is about vaginas? He glance down at the assignment. Oh, so it is…interesting. Jacob didn’t care much for the anatomy or anything relating to science. “Yes.” He answered. He looked up Frankie. This time, their eyes met. At least she’s pretty and not squeamish. He smiled coyly. Jacob thought drawing a female vagina would be easy anyway. It’s internal and looks like a ‘W’.

[maeve.2.0]

Lacey had actually always thought multi-coloured hair was very innovative. You had to be quite creative, didn't you, to refuse to settle for only one hair colour and insist on two, despite nature's limitations. Yes, you had to be quite the artistic soul to paint your hair two different colours.

So when she saw the girl* slumped in a seat in the back, doodling something on a sheet of paper in front of her, excitement bubbled in her stomach. She moved her eyes from the girl's scowling face to her extraordinary hair - snow white locks with inky tips, like a black-and-white movie, or a chess board. Or a skunk.

You had to be really creative, Lacey thought earnestly as she determinedly marched towards the girl's seat, to choose black and white as your multi-colours. It was such a contradiction. So terribly original.

The girl's lashes wore a heavy layer of mascara, coating a gaze that was not actually particularly friendly. Lacey turned her bright beaming smile up a notch.

"Hi there! I'm Lacey, do you want to be partners?" she said cheerfully, her old Australian twang only seeping into her speech a little bit.

(( * girl = Alice. Anyone else still partnerless for darling Natasha? ))

[AtropaMandragora]

Money is a drive. Always has been, always will be. Those who don't have it strive to get some, and those who do have it, usually strive to get more. It's simply the way of the world. The western one more so than anything.

Tyler, although still only eighteen and already living on his own, without a big inheritance or wealthy parents to support him, made fairly good money. He had been since the age of thirteen. It was what first had appealed to him about his current "job", since to a thirteen year-old, having money of one's own to spend on what one liked was nothing short of awesome. And to get it just for running a few errands? What a piece of cake! For no matter that the errands sometimes included delivering stuff that was more or less illegal to have on you, no one expected a thirteen year-old to have it, and even if they did and he got busted, there wasn't all that much they could do about it. Well, not the authorities anyway. His employers, now that was a different matter, because getting busted meant the goods would be taken away from him and never see their intended destination, and that in turn wouldn't make Tyler's employers all too happy. And when Tyler's employers weren't happy with him, it tended to hurt. A lot. Tyler knew from experience.

Luckily, it didn't happen very often - so far, they had only been displeased with him to the point of bloodshed twice - because Tyler had become quite talented at what he did. And the money really was good. Which was pretty much the main reason why he was still doing it. Because to a thirteen year-old, living on the edge was cool and exciting, and it made you feel like a Someone, but as an eighteen year-old, even though it did all still hold a certain thrill, Tyler had become somewhat more aware of what he stood to loose, should he continue along the path he was currently on. Not that he wanted out or anything - at least not yet - because to him, just like to most people, money, especially easy money, was a drive, and Tyler had become accustomed to having it. Thus, giving it up really didn't appeal to him.

Furthermore, he kind of really did need it. With mom labelled an unfit one, step-mom off the deep end and daddy being so very busy caring for sister dearest, Tyler'd had to learn how to fend for himself, and thus money had become quite the necessity. He now had an apartment to pay for, and, although unbeknownst to most, a daughter to help support, and there was no way in all of H*ll that he would ever come asking his father for money.
Consequently, he saw to it to make money where he could, and in that regard, there were quite a few students at Brooklake High who were most obliging, by approaching him for loans, substances, or services. Such as right now.

"Ready", Natalie announced with a beaming smile, when after a bit of rummaging about in her bag, she handed over the sixty-five dollars, much to Tyler's satisfaction without even trying to haggle or otherwise bargain for a better deal.

Granted, he was used to it, since a lot of the students he dealt with on similar matters knew better than to try it on their very first time striking a deal with him, since he had that most convenient reputation for being best not toyed with. But, while Natalie didn't seem anywhere near a fool, she sure as h*ll didn't smell of a pushover or fraidy cat either, and so the way Tyler had seen it, there had been a 50/50 chance that she might try pushing for a better deal, or for splitting the payment differently, with a smaller amount up-front.

Though he did have to wonder just how long this plan had been in the making, because it wasn't exactly the norm for a sixteen year-old to carry around sixty-five dollars while in school, which suggested that Natalie could have been prepared to approach him already when packing her bag this morning before school.
But, then again; rich kids.

"Alright", he said, while shoving the three bills into his back pocket, and then went on to retrieve his phone from one of his front ones, adding with another roguish twinkle in his eye; "And your cell number? I'll text you the when and where once I'm all set up."

Thirty seconds later, and with Natalie's number added to the contact list, the phone was returned to the front pocket of Tyler's jeans, the knife jamming the door shut was removed, and Tyler was giving a sloppy semi-salute in parting, before pulling the door open, and exiting the girl's bathroom. Only to end up almost face to face with that ditzy redhead who was always - except now, of all times - following Marie-Elisabeth Normandy around like a dog.
Though it didn't really bother Tyler much. Or frankly, at all. So, instead of freezing on the spot like some people tended to do when caught doing something they shouldn't be doing, he merely went on to calmly remove the black and yellow 'Out of order' tape from the door, and as he turned to leave, locked gazes with the slightly stunned redhead, and just for the fun of it, gave her playfully mischievous wink, to confirm the less than pure suspicion he could tell by the look on her face was darting through her head.

Just how long it then took her to come out of her staring and actually blink, Tyler didn't know, because he simply turned his back and took his leave, heading back down to the ground floor, in search of what he hoped was his soon-to-be partner in crime. Lilith.

Considering the time, and that the last bell had sounded a couple of minutes ago, it was difficult to tell just where she'd be. She might be in class, but she might also have decided to simply skip it in favor of a smoke or just plain not going, and since Mrs Jaym was hardly likely to let him just pop in to see if Lilith was in class, and then leave again if it turned out that she wasn't, it was better to explore the alternative first.
Thus, as he reached the ground floor, he made a detour on his way towards biology, taking the time to stroll by the lockers of both Lilith and Leigh, but without coming across either of them. It wasn't until he started nearing Biology class, that he finally set eyes on them, standing outside the class room along with J.D. Harper.
Good. It saved him the trouble of having to either wait until after class to talk to Lilith, or trying to have a private conversation in class, where there were far too many pairs of long ears around to listen in on what was being said.

"'Ey, Lilith", he thus called out as he started nearing the trio. "A word?"

[Alissa888]

(((OOC: Siesieim - firstly, a very warm welcome to the RP :) Will add your character to the list, but please do add a name in the application.
That said, please don't quote the post you're responding to, and if the post you're responding to has been posted a while back, please check whether the character has already been approached before posting. In the above cases, Jacob was already approached by Frankie, and Carter is already paired with Josh. I'm not saying you can't approach them, but it's good form ask the players before intervening :)

Also, please don't double post for the same character and use the edit button function ;) )))

[robokitty]

Jacob seemed shy, but then again, when you're as outspoken and self-assured as Frankie, everyone seemed shy. His terse responses came in a thick Germanic accent, which piqued Frankie's interest, though she knew better than to openly freak out over every foreign exchange student who breezed through Brooklake's double doors.

As soon as he asserted that he could draw, Frankie replied with a chirpy "Great!" and slapped a book onto their desks. She flipped it open to its female reproductive anatomy diagram so that he could copy it. The whole picture was reminiscent of a deer chewing on a carrot, with its fallopian tube antlers, uterine head, and long vagina textured with light ribs. Frankie scrutinized the picture closely, then frowned. No clitoris.

"Ugh. How utterly typical of them to exclude the one part that actually results in any pleasure for women," she said, rolling her eyes as she passed the book to Jacob.

Then, Frankie began sorting through her notes, picking out the most important bits of information and organizing them for the poster. Unlike most girls, her handwriting was not the best, and while she didn't want it to seem like she was unloading all the work on the new student, she simply was not good at these sorts of visual projects--unless she could use a printer and pictures off the internet.

Thus, after she picked the pieces of information she wanted on the poster, she hesitated and checked to see Jacob's progress on the drawing. And as she waited for him to finish, she casually asked, "So... you're from Germany? When did you move?"

[Ghanima Atreides]

Lilith, with Leigh and J.D., then with Tyler


Trust was such a complicated concept. Pure, genuine trust, not the kind either bought or instilled through fear, was as precious as it was difficult to find, or told apart from the false pretense many people used to disguise their true motives. During her so far rather short existence, Lilith had come to the conclusion that no-where was that more true than in highschool, where superficial friendships were made and broken on a weekly basis and backstabbing was the norm, particularly in some circles. One had to wonder, truly, if popularity was worth the price of having to constantly watch your back even among so-called friends, but Lilith knew very well that deception existed everywhere. Even among troublemakers.

Rebels with or without a cause, troublemakers had to rely on a bit more trust and cohesion than most, because they had much more to lose as a group if someone decided to turn coats and sell them out. Therefore, outsiders were regarded with suspicion and members were generally bound by a sense of loyalty if not necessarily mutual like, just out of the principle of knowing that even the guy you didn't care too much for wouldn't rat you out given the chance; those who did, were instantly shunned, and would heceforth have to survive highschool faced with the combined wrath of all troublemakers. More than anything however, trust was earned, a tenet Lilith adhered to in her personal relationships as well. She didn't have many friends, but believed herself capable of depending on those she did have, and vice versa. On a more childish, selfish note, there was also the half-conviction that she'd earned the right to be trusted more than just any random kid who happened to come along, and that their long history of pranks and general mischief meant that whenever something was in the works, she would be one of the first to know.

Lilith didn't like to think of the possibility that her very best friend would push her aside, or even worse, downright lie to her; an uncomfortable chill that had nothing whatsoever to do with the temperature shot down into the pit of her stomach as she noted Leigh's gaze shifting ever so slightly in J.D.'s direction and the glaring hesitation that followed. Lilith was willing to bet anything that she was right about that rat she'd smelled all along, and a sickening feeling of foreboding assailed her as the words began forming on Leigh's lips:

"She needed his help with something", was the unsatisfactory reply which to Lilith felt something like a punch to the gut. No f***ing way.... The corners of her mouth were already curving in an incipient scowl when Leigh stopped suddenly just before the door leading into the Biology classroom.

"Alright, look", she admitted at last and not without some discomfort, "She had this idea for a prank, that me and J.D. are supposed to help her with, and... I can't tell you what it is, right now, because it was her idea, but you know that if it was up to me, I'd let you in on it in a heartbeat. Heck, I figure we could even use your help. But yeah, we're all working on a bit of trust here, so I'd rather not piss her off."

It sounded reasonable, fair even, but Lilith took it with a mouthful of salt. She wasn't even sure what peeved her more: the way Leigh and J.D. had kept on dancing around the issue for as long as they could or how her friend talked about trust when clearly theirs was not good enough. So, a preening princess like Natalie could just waltz in and act like she owned the place, deciding who got to know what, and Leigh and J.D. just accepted it? Also, was it Natalie who had risked many a detention or worse at their side? Was it Natalie who had kept her mouth shut when she was hauled before Laramie and questioned? Eh?!

Yes, she was fuming and sulking at the same time. As several seconds elapsed and the flames of Lilith's anger mellowed down somewhat, she was finally able to wrench her darkened gaze away from the tiled floor, where she had been staring in an attempt to keep it from burning a hole in Leigh's forehead. Her expressive mouth, previously twisted in a grimace, assumed a more neutral expression as she she locked eyes with the brunette standing before her:

“Guys, it's me”, Lilith declared as though making an obvious point. “It's not like I was gonna tell anyone that I knew...”

Okay, so she did, sort of understand where Leigh was coming from...trust, wasn't it? When looking at it from Natalie's perspective, she had to admit she didn't like what she saw: she was taking some serious risks by approaching the troublemakers, and it made sense that she'd want as few people in on it as possible, meaning that she also expected them to keep their mouths shut to everyone else. Lilith knew her reaction was hypocritical, though it made her realize something else too: it wasn't about the prank at all, it was about friendship. What had really prompted that burst of anger was the fear of being excluded, of being cast aside by her friends.

Pathetic, thought Lilith and scowled again, this time at herself. When did she become so...needy? So she was going to miss a prank, big deal, she could do with staying out of trouble for a while. Nevermind that now she was beyond curious, and that with Tyler's involvement it had the potential of being epic...

Speaking of the devil, Lilith was distracted from her thoughts by the sound of footsteps echoing in the silence of the corridor and raised her gaze to observe Tyler's steady approach.

"Ey, Lilith" he called when close enough. "A word?"

Glancing momentarily towards the closed classroom door, beyond which she could hear Mrs. Jaym's voice, then to J.D. and Leigh at her side, Lilith shouldered her bag; she'd sat through maths, right, she could afford to skip Bio. Plus, it was only the second day of the semester, she had plenty of time to catch up.

“Listen, I'll catch you later, okay?” she told them with a nod and a look that seemed to suggest she considered the matter dropped, albeit reluctantly. Flattening herself against the wall as the door opened in order to avoid being spotted by Mrs. Jaym, Lilith waited until it was safely shut before departing in the direction of where Tyler was currently standing, waiting.

“All right, your word,” she commented as she crossed her arms expectantly, yet not without a hint of interest. “Let's have it.”


((ooc: ahh, the joys of being a moody teenager! :jest: Hope it works!))

[Slytherin-Girl]

(((OOC: Siesieim1

Right from the first page/post of the rules -

+ You may apply for three characters maximum. Special allowance may be made in the case of teachers. You've applied for four all together.

Also, this isn't really a fantasy type RP where vampires would be accepted. I think we had someone app. one before and Alissa asked for it to be changed.

And as the HeadCheerleader, there's no way she'd be letting a six month pregnant girl be on the squad. Far too dangerous for everyone involved.

Okay, all that being said, I know I've been really neglectful lately. I just haven't been feeling inspired for ME lately. It's no one's fault but my own, and I'm doing what I can to try and get that inspiration back. It may be a bit before I can get a post for her, because I don't want to just plop something up there for the sake of making a post. I apologize to everyone this affects and I'll do my best to get her back ASAP. After all, can't leave the school without its' HBIC for too long ;)

[FurryPanda]

Mitch had to give Dylan some credit. They'd been sitting there, right next to each other for almost half an hour now, and he was as dumb as a post about this stuff, as usual, and she didn't seem impatient, peeved, or like she planned to drop the whole tutoring thing like a bad hair cut.

And she was a lot clearer than some of the other tutors he'd dealt with, he finally understood- meiosis was mitosis twice! Why didn't anyone just say that? He didn't understand quite how that worked, but he wasn't going to tell her that, because his brain was quite done with being expounded upon, thangyouverymuch.

She seemed willing to talk about other things, so he did, not openly flirting, after all that would be in awful taste, but he wasn't going to not be his usual utterly charming to the ladies- that he hadn't yet ravished- guy that he was.

The conversation turned to idle, rather joking gossip about the various cliques, and it suddenly occured to Mitch. There was a dance on Saturday. Dylan was hot. Said attractive girl had just broken up with her boyfriend, and doubtless was not full of plans for the dance, and being a cheerleader, was probably going.

Mitch didn't have a serious girl friend, and didn't have any close, single female friends that he could have gone with, so he'd happily accepted Gavin's invitation for a stag party, just a couple close, currently dateless friends. Jacqui, Gavin, Mitch, Elly, who had been going out with some nerd on again off again since freshman year, and claimed that this time, they were really broken up. A few of the cooler nerds, and some of the lacrosse team were coming, and Mitch had magnanimously invited Terry and Gina, one of her friends and his conquests. The plan had been to get a limo, but it had fallen out and they were going to pile, in full formal wear, into two mini-vans.

There was room, especially if Elly got back together his nerdliness and left... but then again, it would sound far too forward, and be a d*ck move to Mark if he brought it up out of nowhere. So he wouldn't.

He then made some dumb joke about how all the cliques dressed alike, the goths in their blacks, and the oddballs in their retina scorching combinations. It was like a tagging system almost.

He knew he had no room to talk, so he gave a sly smile at her and gestured lightly at his own outfit, football jersey and jeans and shrugged. It amused him a little to, in slightly intellectual situations, play hypocrite, as if the team was showing any less in the way of herd instincts than the goths by wearing team colors or jerseys.

At least her reply wasn't immediately dismissive, just another joke. ""Oh, I can only think of a few; some cliques are allocated certain colours though. High school holy law, I'm afraid. I could just dye it, I guess"

He smiled at that, it was a pretty bad pun, but then again most of the girls he hung out with couldn't have come up with better. And hey, there was an opening. "I dunno," he mused, "dyeing a pretty dress would probably mess it up. I'm having a stag party on Saturday, you're welcome to show off whatever you decide to do with it."

Not the best line he'd ever come up with, but not terrible, and at least it wasn't dirty at all.

((OOC: Alissa, was that okay with you? I had to tweak the line you gave, and if you want me to change it, I can, no prob))

[Dreamydre]

Hey guys! Sorry for the hold up but our Internet was down for like fucking ever!

[siesieim1]

Name: Jennay Robinsom
Age/Class: 16, Junior.
Clique: Prep
After School Activity: Cheerleader
Personality/Bio:
Jennay was born on a Saturday morning on August 17th.Her name being confusing she ussauly has to abreviate.Jennay is pronounced Je-Nay.Her Mother,Lila Robinsom,was amazed at Jennay's looks even as a newborn.The hospital called her "Beautiful Flower".Being born in Germany is unusaul for a preppy girl.Although she comes across as a normie she actually does have an inner core that is,well,preppy.She likes wearing Hollister,Aeropostale,and American Eagle.She has a chihuahua named Taco,with a purse to match.The whole preppy package in one girl,how great.

With her life details she was pretty normal (and beauitful) until age 7.She was in the grocery store with her Mom Lila when she got lost in the aisles.She soon went to a Man for help and he ended up abducting her.He trapped her in a closet for 6 days with mucky water and old,fly infested food.She escaped by finding out how to work the lock (that works from the outside) to open.With a old metal scrap,fake nails,and carboard she got out and escaped thorugh the open window.Her Mother was so worried about her and spiled Jennay for the rest of herl life,including now.Jennay will never forget those 6 cramped days.

For her personality she is pretty shy.She doesnt like being alone with boys in fear of scorching herself of embarrsment.The best thing for her is to have a pack of 3-7 girls all walking in cue to the tap-tap-tap tempo.She is a great listener but is fidgety.Her grades are average except in Science which is off the charts in.If you need help she will come to your feet.Service is important to Jennay.

Picture:

http://i988.photobucket.com/albums/af7/x3bbz/site%20model%20icons/qre.jpg

[FurryPanda]

((OOC: Is anyone still without a partner? I realized that I forgot to ever have loren arrive at class...))

[addict12]

Jacob studied the picture himself. To him, it looked more like the central map of Six Flags. Though the clitoris was gone, he didn’t care much. Jacob figured he would draw it on when he was about finish. However, by her attitude, he thought she was some extreme feminist. The type that takes the slightest comment and such up the a$$. Jacob was halfway done, making as detailed as he could, when he was interrupted by Frankie. “So…you’re from Germany? When did you move?” Jacob, for the second time, stared directly at Frankie. “Yes. Only recently…I haven’t been here very long.” He glanced at her note. Her hand writing cause him to twitched awkwardly. He could read some of it, so he didn’t bother to say anything. After all, Jacob didn’t want her to feel as if he was trying to insult her.

“We had to move here because of my mother’s job.” He added shortly. “What about yourself? I’ve never seen you around before…” Jacob became quite accustom to many faces to the school. Recognizing people although they didn’t know him. However, Frankie was a new face for Jacob.

[elpemmy]

Alice raised an eyebrow as the girl approached her. She looked like a weirdo, Alice thought, as the girl studied her hair with a wide grin on her face. Alice's scowl only deepened when she realised that this girl wanted to talk to her. Great.
The girl smiled as she opened her mouth to speak. Alice wondered what rubbish she was going to come out with.
"Hi there! I'm Lacey, do you want to be partners?" Lacey said.
Alice glared at her.
"Alice." She murmured, and glancing round the classroom, realised she didn't have a choice. Pretty much everyone else was in pairs. She pointed the chair, saying lazily, "Do you want to sit down, or what?"
She frowned. F***ing Bio.

((OOC: Hope that's okay, Maeve.2.0... Panda, I'll try and get something up for Lea later, sorry for taking so long.)

[DeathGAWD]

Student Application -
Name: Joshua Watson (Josh)
Age/Class: 16/Junior
Clique: Normies
After School Activity: Drama
Brief History/Personality Description: He was born in America, he did a bit well upon his days in Elementary school, he took up books and studied, but he could never be part of the "Achievers", in Middle School, he took up acting, and it became a hobby for him. He did well in school plays, and people enjoyed his acting, but he didn't become popular, hence most of the people didn't like his Drama Performance. When he went to High School, he had to get glasses since he became near-sighted. He ended up getting B's and A's in High School, he was doing great. When he became 16, he saved up enough money to buy a DeLorean, he and his Dad were big fans of Back to the Future, so they worked together and made an exact replica of the DeLorean in that movie.
Anything else you might want to add: He drives in a DeLorean XD
Picture: (Pending)

[elpemmy]

Lea watched as Katie gently shaded in the diagram.
"Are you sure? There's lots around. My studio has a performance every couple of weeks, the college's dance troupe has a new one every few months, and the Santa Fe Ballet is in town this month..." Katie said, sounding eager, and yet embarressed by her own eagerness. She trailed off, and fell into silence.
Lea had to smile. Katie obviously really enjoyed it, and yet she somehow didn't want to seem as if she was so obsessed with it.
Lea opened her mouth, to ask about tickets, but Katie managed to answer the question without it being asked.
"I'm going to the Santa Fe troupe's performance on Sunday, I can get you tickets," Katie said.
"You could?" Asked Lea, surprised. Not stopping to consider how weird she might come across as, she burbled on, "I'd love to go. Just watching it is amazing. I can't imagine what it would be like to take part." She grinned eagerly.
((OOC: I am aware that it's awful, but oh well XD. Hope it's okay, Panda.))

[AtropaMandragora]

Given Natalie's mention of Leigh Grayson as having been the one to have pointed her in Tyler's direction, figuring that Leigh was in on the rest as well wasn't a very far-fetched idea. Leigh was always up for a good prank - if that was indeed what this was all about - and judging from what he'd heard of the plan so far, it seemed like it was something right up her alley. She'd pulled quite a few of them in her day, and far from all of them had been particularly nice or funny to those who had wound of playing the part of the targets. After all, who could forget how at the school dance last Halloween, she'd slipped a dish made of ground up dissection specimens from Biology onto the table of various Halloween-themed foods? It may have taken only a few tastes before being discovered, but by that time, the damage had already been done to those unlucky few who had tasted it, and most of them had been sick and left the dance promptly. Some had even stayed home for a week before being able to even try living down the shame of having fallen for it, and tasted raw frog.

But even so, regardless of Leigh's predilection for pranks, Tyler was still reluctant to make the assumption that she and/or J.D. Harper were somehow involved in this particular one, and part of the 'we' that Natalie had mentioned. Especially since Natalie obviously would prefer not to reveal the names of her partners in crime, which Tyler had decided to respect.

So, when finding Lilith, and regardless of it being in the company of Leigh and J.D., he figured it was better to go about it based on what he did know, rather than what he was suspecting, and thus treat things with care, and secrecy. Leigh and J.D., or anyone else for that matter, did not need to hear what he had to talk to Lilith about, and so rather than just approaching the group, he'd called out to Lilith with the intention of bringing her aside for a brief one-on-one talk instead.
Luckily, Lilith didn't seem too excited by the Biology class ahead of her, and eager to go in there, nor did she seem all too reluctant to part with her friends, and so Tyler did get his chat with her.

Having made eye contact with him when first he had started nearing them and uttered his request, she turned back to Leigh and J.D. just long enough to finish up whatever conversation the trio were having, and then kept herself carefully out of Mrs Jaym's perceptive sight, until the door closed behind her two friends, and Mrs Jaym's voice could be heard through it, reprimanding the two of them for being late, again. Only then did she head towards Tyler, who had pulled to a halt - also safely out of sight from the class room - along with his request for Lilith's attention, and was now waiting for her to approach, casually leaned against one of the lockers to his left.

"All right, your word", she commanded upon arrival, arms folded across her chest in anticipation of what he had to say. "Let's have it."

Wow, that sounded... rancorous...
Ah well, nevermind. Had it been personal, Tyler trusted that she would've been upfront about it, and not been dropping acidic hints like some girls tended to do, and then get even madder when after asking them what was wrong, you'd gotten the reply "Nothing!" and actually believed it.
And if it wasn't personal, it simply wasn't his business.

"I need your help with something", he thus said, with that mischievous twinkle in his eye usually present when he was up to something, and in a low voice as to not be overheard by whomever might be strolling or patrolling the hallways. "In an hour or so, I'm gonna try and get into Laramie's office, and I could really use a diversion to draw him out. Like a fight or something. You interested? I'll make it worth your while."


(((ooc: Sorry if it's incoherent. My mind is still a bit foggy from the past two days. :D )))

[Alissa888]

Life’s a lot like chess; you study the board, you decide on the best move and you make plans for all the counter moves that your opponent makes and if you’re really good, you control the moves your opponent makes. Then you take out the king.
Granted, Natalie knew how flattered – or possibly not, because he did see it as assured anyway – Matt would be to know she found one scenario to refer to him as the King (though, right now, he was more the queen), but as far as metaphors went, that was pretty apt. And she didn’t want him dead either; she just wanted him locked into checkmate and she wanted him to see what he was doing to everyone else.
She knew how it’d go once the sketch was out in the open – she’d make sure it went that way – and she’d ensure it got to checkmate.

However, she wanted it all at very little cost to herself. She didn’t want to land herself in trouble, and hell, she’d make sure she didn’t. That said, when you want something bad enough, you learn to take a few risks for it and make a few compromises and her deal with Tyler was exactly just that. She knew the risks she was taking, starting with possibly playing with fire – though, she did get the impression that things were rather pleasant if you didn’t give reason to turn it unpleasant – and then agreeing to jump into the lion’s den in agreeing to go along with him when Tyler swiped Laramie’s wallet. More risks than she’d have liked, yeah, but Natalie still controlled her pieces of the chessboard and for now, that was good enough. You give a little to take the rest.

“Alright,” he agreed, putting away the first instalment of payment, then a playful light dancing in his eyes as he verbalised what was going on in his mind; “And your cell number? I'll text you the when and where once I'm all set up.”
Hmm, there was the possibility that that cellphone had the numbers of everyone who’d ever sought out Tyler’s services and decorum aside, that was a little black book goldmine. Not that Natalie was going to do anything about it, but yeah… that was interesting. Oh, unless he deleted the numbers once he’d finished the job, that is.
But yes, she wanted to know when they were getting started because she didn’t want to be the one holding the show up and therefore, she agreed, giving him her number without delay, then staying put and watching him as he shot her a mini salute after removing the knife that had been jammed in the door, receiving a smile and single wave from Natalie before he opened the door and swiftly made his way out.

She turned her eyes back to the mirror, taking few moments to consider what she was going to do once she had Laramie’s wallet, remembering to get the sketch from J.D. before the end of the day, wondering how to approach Tyler regarding the second phase of the prank, ironing out the kinks in how that was going to go down without any repercussions and that’s when Caroline the Chihuahua waltzed into the place, looking as ditzy and dazed as she actually was.
Her eyes locked onto Natalie, standing alone in the bathroom, apparently fixing her makeup, recognised her and then widened. Honestly, it wasn’t like they’d never seen each other before and yes, Natalie was a girl and therefore she was likely to use the girl’s restroom. Wow. Surprise!

Oh.
Oh, wait. How long had she been in the hallway? Because for her to make her entry now, she had to have been out there when Tyler left and… jeez, what was she thinking? Did she think Natalie wanted something from Tyler or that she was getting it on with him? Cheerleaders did have a one track mind and therefore, Natalie decided to play on the fun option, turning back to the mirror to trace off her lipgloss as if it’d smudged and she was just finishing fixing it.
Then, she pivoted on her heel and started making her way out of the bathroom, all the while sensing Caroline’s eyes still surprised and fixed straight on her.

“I know I’m awesome, no need to stare,” Natalie shot down before exiting the restroom, leaving Caroline all by herself. She knew the rumours would be rife within the hour and she’d know – judging by whether they were regarding Natalie needing Tyler’s services, or it being more pleasure oriented than business – what the likely consensus of being spotted with Tyler Young was, what the popular crowd thought of her (just for curiosity’s sake), and what it was likely to mean for the prank.
Then, she swiftly made her way down to the biology classroom, not wanting to miss any more than she’d already done, catching Tyler taking to that redhead from before…. Was she the distraction, or was he talking to her before he’d most probably wanted to talk to her before Natalie had distracted him?
It didn’t matter, for now.

She made her entrance into the class, catching Mrs Jaym’s less than impressed attentions, smoothly turning it around to say that she’d been dealing with some stuff for the paper and that of course Biology was more important, and that it won’t happen again, and that, yes, she’d love to be involved in that competition and she’d totally find some time to do a piece on the Bodyworlds exhibition while it was near enough for people to go visit.
Oh, yeah. Three mintues and Mrs Jaym had that smile back on her face.
Then Natalie was told to go get acquainted with her partner, the new guy with the name of….
Jason Lambert.

No. No way. Really? Jay?!
Jesus, she hadn’t heard from him in what, months and months, now! Christ, what were the odds of…? But then, Jay did seem to move around quite a bit anyway, so it was less of a coincidence. But wow!
Heh. Suddenly she felt a little bad for not having kept in touch. But then, Natalie’d lost contact with most of her old “friends”. Jay was… not like the others. He was more about the fun than the desperate manipulation and ego boosts. Her eyes locked onto the familiar, chiselled features, predating her association with anyone else in the room, a genuinely pleased smile growing over her lips as she made her way over to him, wondering whether he knew she’d been partnered up with him.
There was something sneaking with that; partnering up the new people with those most likely to be nice to them.

“Hey, stranger,” she greeted smoothly, grin playing out over her lips as she leaned on one arm pressing down on the table. “Is this just a coincidence, or should I be flattered?”
She did flirt with him most of the time and he had to know she was joking, and so, it was all good. Though, God, what was he doing here? Not that he wasn't welcome; he most certaintly was.

(((OOC: Atropa and Laughy, hope that works for you guys :)
DeathGAWD – welcome! And will add you to the list as soon as I can :D )))

[Alissa888]

Mitch seemed to be a lot nicer than a lot of people gave him credit for.
One thing Dylan had learned was to not pay much attention to most of the girls’ opinions of a guy. Firstly, they seemed to see them in an almost angelic light where the boy in question could do nothing wrong, regardless of what he did, and that all lasted up until the break-up or the one night stand’s aftermath, where it was weeks and weeks of complaining about everything that he said or did, and everyone he got involved with.
That was what Dylan was used to when it came to Mitch, coupled with Mark’s own observations which were hardly impartial and incisive. Having spent the better part of an hour in his company, she was moving to believe that he was really a lot nicer than most people judged him to be.

And quite bright too, because the refusal to take much interest in it save for wanting to get the grades aside, he didn’t have problems understand things when they were made understandable and he really did communicate his difficulties and triumphs really well and he was very pleasant to deal with and it all made it a really nice experience for Dylan, making her want to put more effort in as they went along. It was nice being reciprocated.
And it wasn’t just that he was a good tutee – that was a word, right? – but actually also fun when it came to conversation and general banter and lifted her underlying anxieties about any awkwardness because of Mark during any other tutoring sessions.
And he knew how to poke fun at himself – always a sign of a good self-assurance when someone knows how to do it in moderation – because it got onto the topic of colour coding the student body of Brooklake – as if that wasn’t the case already – and he said that you could always tell them apart with their scary dress routines, then gesturing to his own team tagged clothing. Then it got onto the topic of clothes for the dance, and Dylan had also mocked herself for it.
By saying the dorkiest thing ever. But he seemed to find it amusing and so, she decided to go with it, matching his smile with a small laugh. He looked pretty damn cute when he smiled.

"I dunno," he contemplated for a second. "Dyeing a pretty dress would probably mess it up.”
She laughed again. It seemed to be the kind of thing that the oddball clique did a lot of the time – where else were they likely to find clothes in those colours – but then again, she, as a prep, was forbidden by high school law to do it, right?
Oh. She should so wear a tie-dye dress. Homemade, of course.
“I'm having a stag party on Saturday,” Mitch carried on, her gaze now locking onto his; “You're welcome to show off whatever you decide to do with it."

At that, Dylan’s lips took on a delighted smile; so, she hadn’t been that much of a bad tutor that he was desperate to get rid of her then? In fact, quite the opposite, given that he was inviting her to a party. She and Mitch didn’t hang out beforehand and so he probably wasn’t doing it out of obligation and Dylan really did like parties and it’d be really nice to get to know the guy some more; he seemed quite sweet, actually.

“Would love to,” she beamed before quirking a mischievously determined brow in regards to his comments about her potential attire; “I’ll let my creative side loose; totally mess up the colour coding system. You want in?”

(((OOC: Furry - hope that's all good for you? :) )))

[Ghanima Atreides]

Lilith and Tyler - Near the Lockers


When Lilith decided to eschew her academic responsibilities in favour of a chat with Tyler, and rather gladly so, there had been more to it than just wanting to skip a class. Traces of resentment over the entire prank issue lingered in her mind despite her decision to respect Leigh and J.D.'s position, because let's face it, the fact remained that her friends now shared something that she was excluded from. And...it stung, Lilith couldn't help it: it stung. Knowing herself as well as she did, and being quite aware of Leigh and J.D.'s own temperaments, she anticipated that being stuck together in an enclosed space for an hour was likely to draw out the tension in all of them, potentially sparking off an argument – either that, or they'd end up ignoring each other and/or avoiding the subject altogether, which was almost worse. Lilith groaned internally at the thought: it was just a stupid prank, so not worth it....but goddamnit, what she wouldn't give for a smoke and a valid reason for skipping Bio, because she'd rather bite her tongue and endure the most awkward class in history than storm off like some dramatics-prone prep. Luckily, Tyler arrived in the nick of time to furnish the perfect excuse.

Initially relieved at the timeliness of his intervention, Lilith began wondering what Tyler had to say to her that was so urgent and couldn't wait until after class. Her question was aimed at discovering just that, but apparently some of that enduring irritation remained to taint the tone and choice of words, which ended up sounding rather brisk and imperious. From the vague look of surprise that emerged ever so slightly on Tyler's features Lilith was able to discern that he'd certainly sensed the underlying current of anger still coursing through her and was wondering what had prompted it. Damn. It was true, Lilith could be a bitch at times, but she generally was one to those who deserved it – shafting people for the hell of it wasn't her style. Gah, this day really wasn't getting any better, was it?

Tyler, however, didn't seem inclined to comment on either fact: instead, he leaned closer with a conspiratorial glint in his eyes and, lowering his voice, explained:

"I need your help with something", he claimed. "In an hour or so, I'm gonna try and get into Laramie's office, and I could really use a diversion to draw him out. Like a fight or something. You interested? I'll make it worth your while."

...Holy. S**t.

Tyler's words registered in Lilith's mind along with a sudden and compelling connection: this had to be related to the mysterious prank Natalie had Leigh and J.D. helping her with! After all, Leigh had only given in after Lilith mentioned seeing Natalie talking to Tyler, which clearly implicated him and now here he was talking about diversions and breaking into Laramie's office. What were the odds of the two being entirely separate matters? Slim to none, that's what. The irony of it all was quite spectacular to say the least, almost causing Lilith to chuckle, but she restrained herself: Tyler didn't know she had some inkling into the whole thing, and she'd rather not mention what had passed between her and the other two troublemakers. Tilting her head to one side, she gave him a long, persistent look as she appeared to be considering his offer, carefully weighing the facts. All other things aside, what he was proposing sounded fairly serious, and if she were to venture a guess, Lilith would assume Tyler was planning to swipe something out of Laramie's office (or maybe plant something?). But what, and why? As for the fight...yes, it sounded like a pretty good way of drawing Laramie out, and Lilith had staged fights once or twice before, but only for a distinct reason – so, his had better be good, considering it would be a sure ticket to Detentionville for her. This warranted further investigation.

“I might be,” Lilith replied, slyly narrowing her eyes up at him “If I knew what this is about. Breaking into Laramie's office...that's pretty heavy stuff, Ty.”

And it was: especially if this did involve some kind of theft, Tyler would be risking quite a bit more than a detention. On the other hand, since she was guaranteed a punishment, she felt entitled to a bit more information before making a decision.

[Dreamydre]

Carter waited until Josh looked in her direction, she wanted to see the expression in his eyes when he figured out that the "dude" he was looking for wasn't really a dude. Despite the fact that her name was pretty masculine, Carter wasn't use to being mistaken for a boy. The last time anyone made that slip up, she was in Kindergarten, but then again Augustine Country Day School was the only school she'd ever been to, well...up until now.

She could see the faint speck of surprise in his eyes as they settled on her which for some reason unknown amused her, she could feel the chuckle as it made its way up to her throat but she painfully held it in and replaced it with a smirk. She wanted Josh to feel embarrassed for mistaking her as a guy and she didn't want to ruin it by laughing, despite how amusing it was to her.

She could also tell that Josh was checking her out...perfect. Did she already have him on a hook? Well, their was only one way to find out.

"See, that's the thing about making mistakes," he spoke as he neared her desk, his blue eyes looking her over appreciatively; "Sometimes you're very pleasantly surprised." But Carter wasn't hearing anything he was saying, she was tranced by his hypnotic blue eyes.

Before he could finish speaking, she had lunged on him. Crushing her lips onto his, he kissed her back; tenderly, adoringly; for a moment she forgot they were in a classroom, she forgot they were in school, hell she forgot they were even on Earth! She ran her fingers through his brown hair, clinging onto it tightly for dear life, tasting his minty breath and feeling the soothing touch of his warm lips. He picked her up and roughly placed her on the desk, hovering over her. "TAKE IT OFF" she yelled, he pulled his shirt over his head and then eased-

"I'm Josh," he said holding his hand out for a genuine handshake. Carter's fantasy came to a sudden halt as she realized she was only daydreaming.

"Umm...h-hi. Nice to meet you Josh, I'm Josh" she said a bit disoriented.

Never in her life had she ever fantasized about a guy in such a way, usually it was the other way around and this made Josh seem a bit intimidating to Carter. Intimidating because she didn't like the feeling she just had, intimidating because for once in her life she felt vulnerable and out in the open, intimidating because she didn't know what to expect next. Her plan was falling apart, she wanted HIM to fall for HER, so that she could use him to boost her reputation but she found herself falling for him instead.

"Uhh...excuse me for a second" she said shooting up from her desk, grabbing her purse and lunging out the door.

She had to get her thoughts together, she had to shake the feeling she had off and in order to do that she had to get a new lab partner and just avoid Josh for the remainder of the month or so. Could she do that? If she had any chance of not falling head over heels for Josh...it was her only hope.


(((OOC: Sorry if its short, I think I had a writers block plus I was beginning to get bored with the storyline so I tried with a little effort to twist it a bit. Hopes that alright with you Alissa!)))

[AtropaMandragora]

If ever asked who was his preferred partner in crime, as far as pranks went, Tyler would need no more than a few seconds for one particular name to surface in his mind. Lilith Fitzgerald. Putting aside for a minute that there weren't all that many students at Brooklake High that he trusted to begin with, Lilith had proven her place among the troublemakers time and time again, and established herself as someone who would have your back if you needed her to, and would never sell you out, even when put under pressure by the teachers, or even by Laramie himself. Despite the two of them often hanging out in somewhat different circles outside of school - due to Tyler's tendency to "socialize" with people long out of high school - they had still operated together on quite a few pranks, and not once had Tyler been disappointed, or made to regret it. Where pranks and general mischief was concerned, he knew Lilith as someone who could be counted on, someone who was good at what they did, and who would try their hardest to keep their accomplices out of trouble, even if she herself would get caught. Someone like... well, him.
Of course, there was also Leigh Grayson and one or two of the other troublemakers that were fairly similar to him in that regard as well, but still... Lilith was the one most established as an occasional accomplice, and thus was the one he felt the most comfortable working with.

That all was the main reason why her name came so easily to mind. There was also a second one, which admittedly was pretty darned irrelevant to the matter of talented, trustworthy accomplices, but that regardless of all that was still a small factor nonetheless; Lilith was someone on whom Tyler had just the smallest of crushes. Well, sort of, in lack of a better term, since "crush" was something Tyler tended to think of as a kid's concept. Perhaps 'infatuated' was a better word, although that too seemed a bit strong.
Ah, f*ck it, he liked her, it was as simple as that.
Though he'd never told her, despite the fact that they had slept together a couple of times over the last few months. Heck, in a way it was probably even why he'd never told her. He was no fool, he could tell when sex was just sex, without any deeper feelings involved, and he was also very much aware of Lilith's tendency to not stick to just one guy, which to him suggested that she wasn't all that interested in having an actual relationship with someone. Added to that, and believe it or not, Tyler himself could be somewhat shy when it came to girls that he actually liked. Not in the sense that he'd turn into a bumbling fool who would trip over his own feet when around them, but more in the sense that he would rarely say something, but rather keep his feelings to himself, and venture further only if given the indication that the feeling of interest was mutual.

But anyway, the bottom line was that for several reasons, Lilith was his preferred partner in crime when it came to school pranks, and thus, she was the one he'd had in mind, and the one that he chose to approach with this particular one. A prank that, judging by the slightly astounded look on her face as he presented it to her, she realized the gravity of, and needed a few moments to consider.

"I might be", she said at length, her pale green eyes narrowing in what seemed like wily contemplation, making him sense that there would be certain conditions, just a moment before she continued; "If I knew what this is about. Breaking into Laramie's office... that's pretty heavy stuff, Ty."

Ah, she wanted more details. Well, fair enough, he supposed, even though the "heavy stuff" was limited to his part in it all, and wouldn't be easily linked to the part she would play, if she agreed. It wasn't like he was asking her to leap blindly into trouble without knowing what she would be risking. In her case, it was a few hours of detention at the most. But yeah, if knowing a little more would help getting her to agree, then fair enough.

"Well, you know me", he said with a slight grin, as out of the corner of his eye, he registered the graceful swagger of Natalie as she neared Biology class and entered. "I'm always up for a challenge. Makes life more interesting."

Having said that, he fell briefly silent again, as the door that had fallen shut behind Natalie only a few seconds earlier, suddenly flew open again and a pretty brunette* stormed out into the hallway, drawing a quirked brow from Tyler over the dramatic (to say the least) exit, before he turned his attention back to Lilith, with a slight shrug, as if saying "Girls; who gets them?".

"Anyway", he continued. "Someone thinks it's about time that Laramie sponsors part of our education out of his own pocket, and who am I to disagree, right?"

Reaching into his back pocket, he then produced two of the three folded, now rather crumpled dollar bills that Natalie had paid him, and held them up in front of Lilith's face, between his index and middle fingers.

"Thirty bucks", he offered. "Fifteen now, fifteen later. What do you say?"

(((ooc: *Carter)))

[Alissa888]

Josh didn’t like intimidating people, he didn’t like confrontation, he didn’t like conflict. Confrontation… being a guy, and being a jock at that too, happened more often that he’d like it to and, just like this morning, he didn’t rise up to it and instead handled it with decorum. Conflict often accompanied, rather foreshadowed, confrontation and that too was solved by just being civilised people instead of resorting to punches and slaps. Not that he didn’t think Gavin deserved the slap he’d received from Abby this morning, but yeah… could have been handled better as a whole.

When it came to intimidating people, he was even less of a fan of it. Being the football captain, he got assigned this character he was to play; threatening, heavy handed and thuggish to the guys, total sleaze to the girls and regardless of how far he ventured from it, in everyone else’s eyes, he got dragged back to that picture and was made out to play the part. Josh never threatened to beat up anyone and, yeah, he liked the girls – he was a guy, he really liked the girls and he knew that they liked to be appreciated, in a chivalrous manner – but he wasn’t going to go around being seedy about it.
Some girls figured that was what he was going to do anywhere and either stayed away or gave him a hard time even before he’d done anything at all.
He wasn’t sure what Carter’s deal was….

"Umm...h-hi. Nice to meet you Josh, I'm Josh," she introduced, her pretty face bearing signs of not being all in reality. For a second, Josh was standing there, slightly confused, and then figuring she was getting back at him for the “dude” thing in some bizarre way and then even that didn’t make sense, because she didn’t try make an impression of Josh whilst doing it.
Heh. It’d be nice to have two of him; he was living a double life anyway. He wasn’t going to look at Matt. He just wasn’t. He wasn’t in the wrong.
Well, maybe it was a slip of the tongue or something in Carter’s case?

"Uhh...excuse me for a second," she exempted, suddenly rising up from the table as if she wanted to get away from him as soon as possible, darting out the door before he could say a single word. Oh, man… what had he done this time?
He wasn’t sure what to do… girls do have their “ladies problems” and… they get a bit crazy, but this was a whole new level and he wasn’t even sure what set it off – she was doing fine until he’d moved over to her.
Then there was the awkwardness of standing in the middle of the classroom, looking like a confused puppy after his lab partner just stormed out on him and he couldn’t help it, he got self-conscious and looked around to see who had their eyes locked onto him. A lot of people.
Jesus, he was gonna end up looking at Matt, wasn’t he?
Or not. His blue eyes scanned the room again, this time searching. No Matt. And he’d looked for the familiar cascade of golden locks and Marie wasn’t anywhere to be seen either. Why were they both not there? Were they together? His heart quickened into his throat.
…Were they back together?! Oh, Christ, did he tell her about…?

“Mr Brennan, I see you’ve made quite an impression on your partner,” Mrs Jaym’s voice cut through his paranoid panics as he turned around to face her, towering over the 5’ 2” little lady. Yeah. No kidding. All three of them.
Carter just stormed out, Matt probably hated him, and Marie… he still had to check she was alright. She didn’t look particularly happy this morning.

“I, uh… I’m gonna go make sure she’s alright,” he excused himself off, only to receive a condescending nod from Mrs Jaym before he took off out the door, following Carter, finding no-one except that guy that Ricky seemed to eager to please and… Lily or someone, outside.
No Carter. Josh had already taken out his phone, flicking to Matt’s number, hearing the couple of rings and then voicemail… God, what if Mark’d found him? Josh had no idea how Dylan had ended that conversation and he didn’t recall seeing her in class either and Mark… Mark could get badly out of control.
But then, maybe – hopefully, at this point – he was with Marie? And hopefully she was okay…. He tried calling her and –
Text message;
You excited for the dance yet?
All I’m telling you is blue and strapless, but you’ll love it I promise ;)
Sorry we didn’t get to talk this morning, we’ll have to talk after lunch okay?
Love you,
M-E

Okay. She didn’t sound upset… but that’s the thing with Marie – with most girls – you never know until you ask, they say ‘nothing’ and then you ask again, and then you’ve put your foot in it. He tried ringing her. Nothing.
She’d look gorgeous in blue, he’d have to remember to tell her that.
Where was Carter?
He walked down out into the hallway, finally catching her out there, only to stop in his tracks momentarily. He didn’t know what to say. Hell, he didn’t know what was wrong.
He hadn’t apologised for calling her a guy, not directly and… yeah, this was a bit of an overreaction, but maybe that was it?

“Hey,” he approached, voice soft and yet casual, blue eyes locking with her earthly gaze, at a loss for things to say. A wry smile played at the corner of his lips. “If it makes you feel better, you can call me a girl.”
Maybe he should have just kept his mouth shut. A momentary pause followed.
“You okay?”

(((OOC: Hope that works for all those involved. :)
Gears - oh, no! :( It'd be so sad to see you go, I really will miss you and your characters! I hope things lighten up and you're more than welcome back anytime you want :) )))

[Ghanima Atreides]

Lilith and Tyler - the Corridors, and then an empty classroom


Having Tyler Young as something of a partner in crime had its advantages when you were a Brooklake student with a taste for mischief. First of all, you got in on pranks generally reserved for the small group of individuals Tyler trusted, and secondly he was a nice guy to be around once you got over his reputation. A nice guy who could also provide you with booze and the occasional joint and, as Lilith knew from personal experience, fun to have in your bed. The two of them did not hang out together enough to be called friends or even friends with benefits in the true sense of the word, which Lilith supposed was for the best. Tyler moved in fairly different circles outside of school, as for their intimate encounters, they'd mostly been dictated by mood and chance with no strings attached. It was fun, and she liked him, so it was great. Did that mean she had feelings for him? If anyone asked, Lilith would reply with a curt “no, I don't” - she could enjoy a guy's company both in and out of the bedroom without turning into a soppy, googly-eyed mess, thankyouverymuch.

The usual thrill of anticipation shot through Lilith's veins as Tyler prepared to explain what the plan was, jokingly commenting on his love of challenges. Oh yes, he liked them alright and in this case the most dangerous task rested in his hands, but Lilith wasn't about to be all “oh, okay, sure I'll help you commit a felony, no questions asked.” To her, part of the incentive was envisioning the goal of each prank, and the ensuing hilarity. That's what made it fun, after all. However, from the very beginning this felt different – more dangerous, and no doubt with an outcome to match...if they didn't get caught.

Before either of them could add anything else, the door to the Biology classroom burst open and some girl Lilith hadn't seen before dashed past them and disappeared down the corridor, leaving the two conspirators to exchange glances: Tyler gave a shrug that said it all and Lilith rolled her eyes, expressing just what she thought of such dramatics.

"Anyway", Tyler brought them back to business, "Someone thinks it's about time that Laramie sponsors part of our education out of his own pocket, and who am I to disagree, right?"


Hmmm...right. Lilith's brow furrowed thoughtfully, a picture at last taking shape in her mind: so, this was about getting Laramie to pay for something, was it? Unwillingly, obviously, which meant that Tyler was indeed planning to steal something from his office: money. It was one more piece of the puzzle which now clearly showed that it went beyond the scope of the usual school prank, and in a way it was an even bigger lure: the thrill of danger, mingled with the anticipation of something Brooklake hasn't experienced in a long time, if ever. Though Tyler had refrained from being at all specific regarding the part of their “education” Laramie was going to forcibly sponsor as well as who this “someone” was ( Lilith had a pretty good idea about the latter), she could tell it was going to be good. He wouldn't risk it otherwise. Though, where did it leave Leigh and J.D, if their involvement even extended further than mediating between Ty and Natalie? It remained to be seen. What had previously been just gossip between friends was becoming something else, Lilith's demeanour shifting accordingly: she wondered how Tyler was planning to get in, not to mention to get away with the whole thing, but she supposed he knew what he was doing, he generally did.

Tyler then produced two crumpled dollar bills from his pocket and held them before Lilith with a simple offer:

"Thirty bucks. Fifteen now, fifteen later. What do you say?"

She didn't get to say much, because the very next moment another student burst through the door at the end of the corridor: this time a boy, none other than Josh Brennan, Brooklake's Glorious Captain of the football team himself. Lilith knitted her brows together in annoyance at the way all these people kept coming and going: first of all, the two of them would be seen and later remembered. Not a big problem so far. It only became one if one of these yahoos happened to overhear something they shouldn't or Mrs Jaym decided to pop out, in which case she'd spot them.

“This place's turning into the freaking interstate,” Lilith commented under her breath and moved closer to Tyler, placing her hand around his arm as she eyed one of the empty classrooms across the way. “Let's go in there, it's quieter plus I wanna be out of Jaym's view range.”

Once safely behind closed doors, Lilith plopped herself down into one of the empty chairs and, chin in hand, reviewed the facts:

“I should arrive first, and wait for a suitable, err, candidate. I'd rather not pick a fight with just anyone at random, it'll be more believable that way. I hope Helena de la Tour and her flock are around...it would be perfect. Either way, I'll be able to find at least one prep willing to take the bait, and then you're good to go.”

A smirk accompanied that last remark: ruffling preppy feathers was something she did very well. Sometimes, all she had to do was walk close enough to a group, looking at them in a certain way for snide remarks to follow. For this purpose, it would be enough. As for Helena...she was a bonus.

“How does that sound?” Lilith asked and held out her hand for the promised reward if Tyler was in agreement with her plan.

[Dreamydre]

As Carter exited the door of Mrs. Jaym's room, she didn't dare look back at the lost expression on Josh's face. Just the thought of it made her heart flutter; her breath was heavy as she paced the hall of Brooklake High School, her french heels clacking rhythmically on the tiled floor. She was searching, better yet she was hunting for the Girls Restroom, if she could just get to the restroom she could calm herself down.

Carter had never had a true crush on a guy before, she never experienced the so-called "puppy-love". Every guy that she had dated was chosen, only to make herself look good, only to build her reputation. Up until now, Carter thought of guys as nothing more than mere toys. Reputation, obviously was a very important factor for Carter, she was taught by her parents that reputation was to be valued above everything else, including material wealth. Reputation was at the heart of the DuPont family, it was in their blood to have, not a good social status, not even a great social status...but a prestigious social status. It was all about the DuPont family, all about the DuPont business, she was pretty tired of hearing it all. Did she ask to be born into this family? What about what she wanted? Her parents were always doing what was in her "best interest"...to hell with that! Does it even matter what she thinks? Obviously not, and arguing to her parents wouldn't help either, she was so tired of rules it was all stupid anyway; and what was even more stupid, was how dramatic she was being right now. So what if she did like Josh? Its not the end of the world...maybe...just...maybe-

"Hey," came a voice from behind her, that was oh so familiar to Carter by now. She bit into the flesh of her bottom lip tasting the sugary coating of lip gloss and slowly took a few steps in the opposite direction of the voice. Maybe she could act as if she didn't hear him, as if that wouldn't be obvious. She was being a chicken about this whole thing, and Carter Eleanora DuPont was no chicken.

She turned around to face him, his eyes looking dead into hers. Those eyes, those very blue eyes were a constant threat to her. She couldn't look into his face and say his name at the same time, matter of fact she couldn't look into his face and say ANYTHING at the same time. She was at a loss for words, her brown eyes were wide and piercing, she was nervous and no matter how hard she tried...it showed. Sunlight peaked through one of the school windows and for a moment to Carter it seemed like they were in a spotlight. But of course it was just her doing that daydreaming thing again, at least that's what she thought. No matter how hard she tried she could not escape his gaze, for a very quick moment she did look down but then back up into his eyes again.

He smiled. Did he know? Could he tell she had a crush on him? Was she that easy to read?

“If it makes you feel better, you can call me a girl.”

Was that suppose to be funny? Was it suppose to brighten up the intensity in the air? Because if so, it worked. Although Carter didn't laugh, she wanted to, instead she held it in and smiled, her eyes staying fixed on his pretty blue irises. Their was something more to Josh than Carter had thought, he seemed to care unlike the average Jock.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice soft and adoring with an almost angelic facial expression.

"I'm fine" she said, with a heartfelt smile.

Their was something special about Josh Brennan indeed. It was everything about him, his height, his eyes. He was slender, but his muscles were firm and sculptured proportionately,along with his finely, detailed Abs. He was a Greek god, and was all Carter's. She walked over to him, standing lightly on the tips of her toes so that they were even in height. Their lips touching ever so lightly.

Carter caught herself before the fantasy could escalate.

"Okay, okay, here's the thing Josh" she said as she walked closer to him, hoping he would smell the aroma of her lavender perfume. "I like you, I have a crush on you and right now I could kiss you, right now I WANT to kiss you. But that doesn't mean I will because I'm not going to and I know you probably already have a girlfriend anyway, that's fine. I just want you to know that I am attracted to you, I am VERY attracted to you and you smell really good right now and its making it very hard for me to say this right now."

Carter cupped her hand over her mouth, looking down at the ground as if she regretted what she had just said, after all she didn't mean too; it just sort of, well...blurted out. She looked up to read the expression in Josh's eyes, if anything he'd probably let it go to his head...this probably wasn't anything new to him. Carter was sure he had heard it all before by countless other girls, but those girls were looking for something more, those girls WANTED him to date them but she didn't. No matter how attractive she found Josh, she was in control of herself. She was actually glad to tell Josh the truth, it was as if weights had been lifted off her back. But out of nowhere almost, a gush of tears were forming in her eyes. She held them back but now her eyes were glossy, could Josh tell that she looked as if she wanted to cry? The reason behind the tears were because for once Carter couldn't get what she wanted.

"Go ahead and gloat to your friends about how the new girl has a major crush on you...I know you want to." Their was a brief pause and then, "I'm going back to class now". Carter clutched hard to her purse as she walked past Josh and headed back to Biology.

(((OOC: Gosh, it took me like forever to do this. I tried to use more imagery. :bunny: )))

[Elice]

After a few squirrels and colorful shades of brown birds crossed her path, Elysia finally managed to collect herself and make it into the school building. It didn’t hit home that she forgot to sign in until she was already down a few class hallways; finding the front desk again wasn’t as easy as she thought it to be. At the front desk, Elysia gave a silent praise, though she slightly feared of what would become of her when class is over.

“Hello, I’m Tordill E. or Elysia T. or Tordill, Elysia; I’d give you my student I.D, but I don’t know it at the moment.” Elysia said, laughing as if it was a joke.

The woman gave her a friendly smile and checked on her computer; Elysia bobbed on her heels as she waited patiently. “And there you go… all signed in; you start in biology—Mrs. Jaym.” She told in between typing and smiled once done. She then wrote something down and handed her a pass, “You’re a little late, but this should explain everything.”

Elysia had to look on the passed to figure out the room number, after circling the halls a couple of times; she finally managed to find the class. She then stalked straight up to the teacher who had her back turned, she backed up some, because people usually turn around without looking back, and she always find herself being bumped into, which wasn’t an exception here.

“I’m here.” Was all Elysia could think to say as she gave the startled teacher her slip.

Mrs. Jaym explained the project; “… find a partner and pick an organ.”

Now Elysia was lost once the teacher turned from her, and did, whatever it is teachers do at this point, she didn’t know if she should find a partner and pick an organ like she was told, or pick the organ now and find a partner later. Elysia looked around to see that everyone were either paired up, or were they neglecting class and talking? She fiddled with the bottom of her tucked in shirt (http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g42/Rayka_Sannada/1040whit.jpg) as she stared intensely at the box; this was just too much pressure for one person!

((Approachable and defiantly partnerable… if that’s a word))

((OOC: Awe, we’ll miss you gears7667, your character will be missed too; you have no idea of my mad obsession of men with red hair.

Elysia is without partner FurryPanda, or anyone else for that matter, I would approach but I don’t see anyone free… or so I think…))

[AtropaMandragora]

The downside of doing business in school, was that even places that were supposed to be deserted, sometimes ended up being far from it. There were kids that for various shady purposes would sneak around in the basement and other areas of the building that were really off-limits to the students, and make them not as private as Tyler and the small number of kids he did business with would prefer. There were the hall monitors, and the students that just "had" to go to the bathroom during class, as had been perfectly illustrated by Normandy's little lapdog only a few minutes ago, and possibly by that melodramatic brunette as well, considering she was in such an apparent hurry. There were the ones that behaved badly in class, and were sent away from it in order to go to the Principal's or the Dean's office for a lecture. There were the kids that, like Tyler and Lilith, were skipping class altogether for whatever reason, and last but not least, the ones that, as seen by the captain of the football team just as Tyler was offering Lilith the "down payment" for her participation, left the class room in order to maintain their oh-so-precious social life, with the help of their most prized possession; their cell phone.

Thankfully, Tyler had become something of a resident expert on keeping things of a sensitive nature rather inconspicuous. The very moment that Brennan had opened the door to the class room, Tyler had flicked both dollar bills back into his hand, which, as a result, would conveniently have it look like he was putting the moves on Lilith, with his hand that close to her face and all, as though he was about to caress her cheek. And when next Lilith slipped closer to him, it only went on to feed the illusion of something of a romantic nature going on, rather than the propositioning of helping to commit a crime. To anyone who didn't know the two all that well, it would only make sense, since even if they hadn't heard the gossip about how Tyler and Lilith had hooked up at this or that party, it still wasn't the least bit far-fetched to imagine two troublemakers being interested in one another.

It was the perfect cover-up. Even Lilith's annoyance fit the bill, because who really wants to be interrupted, possibly by an angrily ranting teacher, when they're trying to have some alone-time?

"This place's turning into the freaking interstate", she grumbled as her fingers wrapped around his arm, drawing a faint smile from his lips, and then guided him over and into an empty class room across the hall. "Let's go in there, it's quieter plus I wanna be out of Jaym's view range."

Yeah, that was probably a good call. Especially considering that Tyler too could do without getting Mrs Jaym on his back at the moment, as well as the fact that his proposition for Lilith was turning out to be the subject not of immediate agreement, but of discussion instead. The longer they lingered in the hallway to have said discussion, the bigger the risk that someone would happen across them and overhear something they shouldn't.

"I should arrive first, and wait for a suitable, err, candidate", Lilith started outlining her plan once Tyler had shut the door behind them and then perched himself on a nearby desk, while Lilith herself sat down at another one. "I'd rather not pick a fight with just anyone at random, it'll be more believable that way. I hope Helena de la Tour and her flock are around...it would be perfect. Either way, I'll be able to find at least one prep willing to take the bait, and then you're good to go."

Tyler didn't doubt for a moment that she would, and frankly, had he not been otherwise engaged by carrying out what called for her to create a diversion in the first place, he would have enjoyed sticking around just to watch. It was bound to be good.

"How does that sound?", Lilith then asked, extending her palm for Tyler to place the bills into, should he accept.

He did. With a bit of a satisfied smirk curving his lips, he once again produced the folded fifteen dollars, and put them in her hand.

"Deal", he announced, and then couldn't help but to add, as the smirk grew into more of a mischievous grin; "Wish I could be around to see it."

Particularly if it all ended up involving Helena de la Tour. Not that Tyler knew much about the girl, or what the deal was between her and Lilith, but he did realize that Lilith really wasn't fond of her, and so was bound to not hold back on the venomous provocations he knew she was capable of.

"Hey, by the way", he said while the two of them then started preparing to leave the class room again, and slowed to a halt as something else had just occurred to him, where Lilith's company was bound to be most enjoyable. And with the two of them currently alone, now would be a good time to bring it up. "What are you doing Saturday night? Cuz I figured I might check things out here for a bit, liven things up. Wanna come with?"

[robokitty]

Frankie noticed the twitch in Jacob's eye after they ventured over the chicken scratches that were her notes, but it failed to register with her. It was about as important to her as a fly buzzing at her heels. Because when you're as infamous and outspoken as Francesca Meir, you either start with a thick skin or you develop one fast.

"Yes, only recently. I haven't been here very long," Jacob replied.

Frankie nodded as she glanced at her notes to scan them over. And as Jacob continued explaining his move from Germany, she drew little stars next to points along the page. And though it might've seemed like she was ignoring him, she listened closely the entire time.

"...What about yourself? I've never seen you around before..."

Frankie snorted loudly. She was the kind of girl who threw her head back when she laughed, chuckled in bursts, unapologetically loud. "Ha!" She laughed, "You must be really new then! Almost everyone here knows about me, but most of 'em probably wish they didn't," she explained in good humor.

Frankie handed her notes over. Her words flowed from her lips with easy fluency, and she changed the subject without skipping a beat. "Here, copy down the parts I starred," she said naturally, as if it wasn't an order, it wasn't a request--it was merely the way things would be. And if she knew she was being bossy, it didn't show. "My handwriting sucks."

After Jacob had some time to adjust and reorganize, Frankie rapped her fingers on her desk, looking for something to do. She needed to be busy at all times. In short time, she got up unannounced from her seat to requisition a set of markers and colored pencils from the teacher's supplies. She couldn't draw or write neatly, but she could color, right?

Frankie sat down in her seat again and asked, "What color do you want the uterus?"

After Jacob's reply, she started coloring in the diagram. As she worked, she thought of all the difficulties of being a new student in a big school--especially moving from a place like Germany. No friends. Nothing to do on the weekends. Then, she chatted, "So, you're new here? There's this really stupid dance this weekend, and I have to go because of Stuco and do menial labor like refill punch bowls. But if you're not doing anything else, you could join me. Maybe you'll meet some more people from the school there. I swear I won't even be offended if you ditch me while we're there. Think about it."


((OOC: gears!!!! AWWWWW!!! Just when I was about to have Esteban find his inner mariposa and go for hot slashy fun with Preston!!! :cry:

Also, addict, sorry again about the huge delay. Hope this works))

[FurryPanda]

Nerdiness: n. of or relating to a hobby that is not shared by the mainstream, or looked down upon by the mainstream.

Katie had long since come to grips with her own nerdiness, but the fact that she was trying, for once, to be pleasant and sociable and likable sort of meant that she had to tone it down. And by rattling off every ballet company in the tri-city area, she had pretty unequivocally made herself... thoroughly nerdy. D*mmit.

As she trailed off she glanced at her companion, and was heartened to see her smile, and then, for some reason completely unknown to her, she invited Lea, almost a complete stranger, to come. She knew a guy who knew the guy who owned the auditorium, and so tickets were never a problem, but this was something that, as far as she knew, friends did. Was Lea her friend? Was she Lea's friend? She wasn't close with many people, one or two girls at the studio, formerly Natasha and Jude, and this didn't feel at all the same, but...

She would deal with it. If this was what it looked like, if she had a friend who wasn't a freshman, and went to Brooklake, then she could deal with it. And if she was wrong, as she usually was in these situations, then she could deal with it like she'd dealt with being wrong all those other times.

With a new hypothesis as to what was going on, that they were friends, or starting to be, or something, Lea's reply was a lot less startling than her previous ones in the same vein had been. "You could? I'd love to go. Just watching it is amazing. I can't imagine what it would be like to take part."

She sounded half breathless with excitement, and Katie grinned, the sort of smile that she almost never gave, the kind that had boys at the studio drop their partners on their bottoms and had led to some of the worst poetry that she had ever heard, which she thought, then and now, was a creul joke of some sort.

And besides which, she was completely right. Seeing a real, proffessional ballet, the kind that Katie dreamed about being a part of on the few days she wasn't deliriously happy with her science, was a joy. The other girl's anticipation after only having seen the studio's was gratifying, and she was extremely confident that her socks would be knocked off.

"Awesome!" she said, her voice not the obnoxious chirp that it would have been if this were a teen-drama on TV or somewhere, but she hoped it still conveyed that she was sincerely pleased about this.

She didn't know what she was supposed to talk about dance now, since a minute by minute dissection of what kind of choreography they might expect would be a bit fruitless with someone who didn't dance, and gossip about the infamous lead ballerina and the troupe's tenor for their questionable operatic numbers was... not for polite company.

So... change of subject. "So when did you move here?" she asked, actually interested, though she wasn't sure if that would be conveyed by the fact that she had turned away and was now drawing an anterior view of the knee.

((OOC: Penny- that okay with you?
gears- AWWW! *huggle-glomp-tackle hugs* I hope you feel better, and we'll miss you, and so on and so forth and bwah!))

[elpemmy]

Lea was stunned by Katie's smile. She stared, her heart beating faster.
She stared. Stop it! She told herself, knowing that she couldn't, but wanting to anyway. Lea needed all the friends she could get, as she was well aware, and she knew she wouldn't get them by getting crushes on every girl she shared more than half a sentence with. She'd let that happen before, and it had not gone well. Lea remembered the teasing, the namecalling, the endless abuse. That was why she moved, she couldn't handle that anymore. She used to be good at making friends, but then. Well, then she became a teenager. Damn hormones, thought Lea before being brought back to reality.
"Awesome!" said Katie, and Lea remembered the conversation she was in. Oh s***, she thought, desperately feeling for a hold on the conversation. She frowned, wondering what to say, and seeing no suitable options, other than the ever awkward, "So... when should we meet?" she settled for silence.
Thankfully, Katie seemed to want to move on too, and so the subject was changed.
"So when did you move here?" Katie asked.
Lea paused. "Not that long ago." She shrugged, wondering what else to say, before adding "I've been moved around loads, ever since..." Lea trailed off, biting her lip, and discretely wiped away the newly formed tear.

((OOC: Hope that's okay. :S))

[Slytherin-Girl]

Marie-Elisabeth had recently decided that when she had been born, she had been given an extraordinary amount of self-control. It rarely showed itself, that much was obvious, but it had to have been showing itself now. There was no other explanation she could think of for why she hadn’t yet tried to bash Matt’s pretty little head in.

While she listened to him rant and yell about abortions, and how ridiculous she was being about it, she just kept repeating to herself, “Someone has to stay calm, someone has to stay calm”. The fact that she was also picturing kicking Matt in a particularly sensitive area helped a great deal too.

She almost felt relieved when he calmed down a little. Not that she’s admit it, but being inside a confined space with someone much bigger than you yelling and screaming 20cm away from your face wasn’t exactly un-scary.
Marie-Elisabeth had to give him some credit for trying to reason with her though; she’d had virtually the same conversation with herself on the way home from the doctor’s office last night. She still wasn’t exactly sure what she was going to do with it once it was born, but she really didn’t feel like thinking about that at this point.

“You don’t think I wanted to do that” she said, her hand absently twisting the necklace she wore around her fingers “That was the first thing on my mind when I got in there. If I was pregnant, they were going to get rid of it and I’d never have to think about it again”.

Dropping the necklace, she looked straight at him and continued. “When they told me I was, they did an ultrasound to see how far along it was, which is why I knew whose it was because the said it was a bit short of three months.” She momentarily glanced down at the ground before taking a deep breath and continuing.

“I expected it to look like one of those stupid little blobby things like they show us in science books, you know like some kind of f*%ked up alien looking things. I could have gotten rid of that but it…it looked like a person Matt, a person” she said, almost as though she were still explaining it to herself “It had a little head, and arms, and legs, and fingers and a tiny little nose that turns up like mine does. And they used some other machine thing and I…I…I could hear its’ heart beating”.

She didn't know what it was, but something about that had gotten to her. She had absolutely had every intention of getting rid of the baby, even after she had seen it on the screen, but something about hearing the heartbeat just...well she didn't know what it was about it, but she knew then she couldn't go through with it, no matter how much being pregnant was going to suck.

She bit her lip took some more deep breaths before she finished. “So yeah, I am going to hate it. I’ll hate every god damn minute of it, and I’ll probably make everyone else’s life a nightmare because of it. But I don’t care how much people completely rightfully call me a heartless bitch, I can’t kill a living thing.”

(((OOC: It’s my BIRTHDAY TOOOODAY, and I’m typing a post! WOOT WOOT

Also, girly putting the moves on Josh better watch herself, because if the HBIC doesn’t get her first, Matt probably will :P

And Atropa, I was re-reading the meeting of Cesar and ME, and dear lord I almost died laughing. They were just SO much FUN to play with)))

[FurryPanda]

A pick-up line, as Mitch had learned a long time ago, was not an exact science. There were certain things about them that were true, such as cliche' lines never working, but a little bit of creativity, bordering on bluntness was surprisingly effective.

Like now. He didn't really expect Dylan to accept his invitation, after all, cheerleaders ran in packs, and a few of them were single, or they had been the previous day, and probably had their own party which was their go-to. Nonetheless, it was a subtle enough way to compliment her, and he had enough of a reputation as a flirt, as the current lady of the hour would say, or a man-whore, as any other conquest would say.

She laughed at the dumb joke he made, and it sounded sincere, rather than just being reciprocal for the fact that he'd enjoyed her, equally bad, joke. And then when he asked her to come to the stag party, she smiled, most prettily, and he smiled back at her, brown eyes sparkling, marvelling at his good fortune that that had been so easy. Just the look on her face, like she was flattered and pleased, was enough that he was able to tell what her answer would be.

“Would love to,” she said, and, keeping on with the joke, “I’ll let my creative side loose; totally mess up the colour coding system. You want in?”

Another point in her favor, his usual female friends wouldn't take a joke and run with it, thinking too literally to be funny, or worse thinking that he was being completely literal. Unless she actually was being literal which... was probably good to know if he was dealing with a closet odd ball.

"I'd love to," he said, unconsciously imitating her turn of phrase. "Think matching rainbow striped tuxedo and gown would go over well?" he mused, keeping his voice so that she could interpret it either way. If she was a nutter than she would be all excited about matching eyesores, and if she wasn't, then she would think he was continuing to play along with the joke.

((Bleagh, that was not particularly good.
Penny- will reply eventually
Elice- I'll put a post for Loren up sometime tonight or tomorrow))

[FurryPanda]

Loren had asked Lacey to be his lab partner, which was pretty logical, given that they usually were partners. When he actually looked a bit more closely at what everyone else was doing, he revised his strategy of having a pleasant day.

Artsy fartsy projects in non-art classes were stupid, as far as he was concerned. He watched through the door for several long moments after the bell rang, and then shrugged and wandered down the hall to the auditorium, where he went into the lighting booth and had some candy.

His arm was burning like crazy, but with a bit of sugar and less than half an hour of class left, he figured that he could suck it up and make an appearance. He really couldn't stand biology; Mrs. Jaym was such a pain in the butt. She had no appreciation for artistic enterprise, and thought that his occasional bouts of staring into space were completely worthless. So it wasn't usually in his best interest to go to her class, especially when it was busy work like today, but whatever. He was out of candy.

So he went to class, trapised in, and was told, in no uncertain terms, that if he was late one more time he was getting suspended. She had said that so many times it had lost all meaning.

Whatever it was was a partner activity, and the room seemed utterly empty of people not working together, busily combining their efforts to make something nice. He supposed that he could cut Mrs. Jaym some slack, the fact that this was a little creative, that people were collaborating to make masterworks telling the world about biology and how stuff worked...

Maybe this wasn't too stupid, but he still wasn't really willing to do a great job, to produce a masterwork of his own, strictly as a matter of principle.

Finally, after digging through the slips of paper for something easy- larynxes- he saw a girl with bright red hair and a slightly lost expression who didn't seem to have a partner.

"Hey," he said cheerfully, waving. "I think we're supposed to partner up? Though really, the bell will ring and I don't think this is getting graded."

He affected a thoughtful pose, like it was a deep revelation that laziness was doable, and then pulled out a chair at an empty pair of desks for her to sit in. It occurred to him that Mrs. Jaym would notice that they didn't have a poster board, but if red-head wanted to actually do the assignment, he was willing to help. Initiative just wasn't going to happen today since he had just had a huge number of Twix bars and his arm hurt from his adventure in the locker the previous day and even though larynxes were an easy topic- he acted, he acted frequently, therefore he knew plenty about vocalization- it was the end of the day and he had Rocky Horror to think about.

((OOC: That sort of died towards the end, but I hope its okay with you Elice? Also, red-head= Elysia))

[Elice]

Elysia turned on instinct; yes it was conceited to assume when someone say ‘hey’, they’re referring to you, though she was right in this case, which doesn’t happen often. "I think we're supposed to partner up? Though really, the bell will ring and I don't think this is getting graded."

Though holding in a squeal of joy, it wasn’t hard to tell the girl was giddy at the friendly face. Nearly skipping over to the table the boy sat at; she hopped in the chair to pull it closer to the table. Elysia leaned over the table to look at the paper he held but pulled back quickly, was it rude to look over someone’s shoulder without knowing their name first—or even them not knowing hers?

“Hello… my names Elysia,” She introduced, “—what’s yours?” She was a little edgy with the last, ‘lately’ people didn’t seem to want to give her their names, maybe they just didn’t think she was interested. She’d already saw that it was the larynx; though, for fear of intrusion, she’d pretend she didn’t, “Male larynxes are bigger than female’s; that’s why typically males have deeper voices. It’s called the Adam’s apple when it protrudes from the throat because it looks like a small bite of an apple, which goes with the religion on Adam and Eve; though Eve doesn’t have one, and she was the first to eat the apple, so why is men being punished to have the apple get stuck there, unless it was man who enticed women to eat the forbidden fruit first…” D*mn it all, “—W-um, which… I heard someone talking about… outside…” Nope, no going back from that.

((OOC: Hope that's okay FurryPanda, sorry I didn't really push it along too much.))

[Ghanima Atreides]

Tyler and Lilith - Empty Classroom


It was funny, the way the course of events could be altered so unexpectedly within a short time. Just when Lilith had mostly decided not to give any more thought to the prank Leigh and J.D. were cooking up along with Natalie Cardew, the fourth of the conspirators intervened to offer her the chance to participate after all. In the meantime, Lilith had done a bit of thinking, logically constructing the bigger picture out of the facts she knew and the assumptions surrounding them. What did she know for sure? Well, for once, it all began with Natalie glimpsing one of J.D.'s drawings which prompted her to propose that he contributed his work to the school paper, and he accepted. That alone had struck Lilith as very strange given J.D.'s reserved attitude towards his art, strangers and the fact that everyone knew the school paper was one of Laramie's propaganda tools – that being before she knew a more devious plan was in the works. Now she smelled a pretext. Leigh had admitted that the prank was Natalie's idea, who seemed thrilled with J.D.'s satirical depiction of Matt Sidle. Surely the two – the prank and the drawings – couldn't have been unrelated, just like Tyler's need for a diversion to get into Laramie's office and obtain his “contribution” had to mesh in with the rest of the plan somehow. So far so good, but Lilith still lacked the final piece of the puzzle, the thread that linked all the bits and pieces together in a way that made absolute sense. Theories, she had a few, but they were just that: theoretical.

Curiosity was deeply ingrained in Lilith's nature, though this time she kept her questions to herself. The petulant disappointment she'd felt when faced with her friends' reluctance to include her in their latest dissident activities had mellowed down, partly because Tyler offered her just the opportunity she'd wanted, proving that her insight was valued and her expertise wanted. Much like anyone would, Lilith enjoyed doing things she was good at, having those skills recognized and admired by others, and since she shone neither as a student or a member of Brooklake's popular crowd, her reputation as a seasoned troublemaker was something she secretly felt rather proud of. Then there was the tiny spark of satisfaction at knowing that out of all the accomplices Tyler could've approached, he chose her. That was not to say, however, that Lilith hadn't felt any doubt whatsoever towards the risky plan outlined by him; to put it plainly, it wasn't just a prank, it was a crime, with consequences far more dire than a couple of hours of detention. Granted, the danger hovered above Tyler's head most of all, which truthfully had her a little worried, but even a flawless execution involved 1) Picking a fight which in itself was nothing she did for fun and 2) Getting on Laramie's black list – again. If not for the tempting glimpses of the outcome revealed by Tyler, as well as the fact that Lilith was not about to imply she didn't have the stomach for it, she might have decided to back out. As it was however, her thoughts were already given to the specifics before she'd even said “yes”, envisioning the exact steps needed to make the most of this diversion. Nothing like planning ahead, after all.

Declaring it a done deal, Tyler lowered the money in Lilith's hand, who pocketed it: the thirty bucks certainly didn't hurt.

"Wish I could be around to see it." he confessed with a devilish grin, to which Lilith gave a snort and a sideways glance: he wanted to watch the catfight, eh? How typically male. However, if she managed to get her claws on dear Helena, it was likely to get uglier and that alone was worth the scrapes and bruises she might get, as well as the detention. She'd been waiting for an opportunity to get even after a certain...unpleasant event, for a long time.

With their discussion concluded, the troublemakers rose to their feet, ready to depart from the empty classroom; Lilith sashayed alongside Tyler, bearing a content little smirk on her lips that would play directly into the assumptions of anyone who might be passing by as they opened the door.

"Hey, by the way", Tyler interrupted all of a sudden "What are you doing Saturday night? Cuz I figured I might check things out here for a bit, liven things up. Wanna come with?"


Lilith stopped abruptly, the thick soles of her boots scraping across the wooden floor. She frowned up at him with an expression of incredulous distaste: was he talking about that idiotic Winter Formal?

“What, you mean Prep Central? You do realize it's basically just an excuse for rich chicks to compete for the most outrageously-priced dress and which guy gets to fondle them later in the carpark, right? Get this, I heard they actually have different color codes for each clique!”

[FurryPanda]

Katie had reasons not to smile often that were strictly logical. For no reason she could fathom, it made people drop people, which, having had happen once or twice, was not something she'd wish on anyone. Maybe Her Royal Bitchiness. And then they wouldn't dance well and keep looking at her. She didn't mind being the center of attention, but furtive glances, hopeful looks and who knew what else to characterize them as? Besides which, she only rarely was happy enough to smile openly, and when she was, she was dancing and she'd been told several times to "wipe that damn grin off your face and stop disrupting the line".

Lea's reaction, a long, befuddled stare like the boys gave her was reason enough for it to slide off her face, leaving her expression cheerful, if not stunning. She went back to her sketch, this view taking a bit more thought, since she had trouble with the perspective of a front view, should she shade the top of the depressions in the patella, or... and as she devoted a portion of her attention to that, she asked about when Lea had moved.

"Not that long ago." she said, her voice soft. There was enough of a difference for Katie to pick up on, and she stilled for a bare instant, wondering whether she was supposed to make eye contact, or wait for her to regain any composure she had lost, or...

She didn't know what was appropriate, but she kept on with her sketching, knowing that when she had a momentary lapse in her self control, she wanted to be left alone.

"I've been moved around loads, ever since..." Katie glanced up, now very much interested, pathos was pathos and she had mined her own pretty throughly. If Lea wanted to share some dramatic, real pathos, and golly did it look like there was something, than Katie would be delighted to listen and make polite noises.

She didn't seem like she was going to continue on her own, and Katie knew that, at least with her own problems, she hated talking about them, and didn't want to pry because of that, but... on the other hand... she really wanted to pry.

She looked at her for a long moment, and then turned back to the poster, wondering if asking if she wanted to talk about it was as obnoxiusly cliche as she thought it was. Well, at the beggining of the week she'd decided she was going to be more forward, so just as they were approaching awkward silence she asked, "Since what, if you don't mind me asking?"

((Blearggle vug))

[AtropaMandragora]

Knowing Marie-Elisabeth as one of his best friends for a long time now (although maybe not for much longer, considering how things between them had been developing, or rather deteriorating, over the past twenty-four hours), for the life of him, Matt just could not understand how on earth Marie-Elisabeth could all of a sudden be anti-abortion. To someone like her, who considered those who stood in her way a nuisance and nothing more - something to be dealt with and made to go away - it ought to have been the first thing to go through her head, when finding out she was pregnant! To get rid of it, to erase all traces of it and forget it had ever existed in the first place! She always did what was in her own best interest, and never apologized for it, morally questionable or not, because she usually found some way to justify it. And even if she didn't, who would dare question her? She was the Queen Bee of Brooklake!

He didn't get it. He just didn't. It didn't make any sense. She had said herself that she had actually thought about it, about getting an abortion, yet following that statement had been a bunch of half-*ssed excuses that were just... unreal! Unbelievable and completely exaggerated for someone in her position, with loads of money at her disposal and thus the best doctors in the world, should she want them. All she had to do was snap her well-manicured fingers and Daddy Dearest would take care of it!
What was the matter with her?! Did she no longer recognize reason and pure logic, even when it hit her over the head with the force of a sledgehammer?!

Well, as it would turn out, and to Matt's great horror, reason and logic had apparently nothing whatsoever to do with it. As Marie-Elisabeth began explaining, talking about how the blob that was supposed to have shown up on the screen during the ultrasound had instead looked like a small human being, and how she had heard it's heartbeat, it all suddenly dawned on him. She wouldn't be reasoned with, because her determination to keep the thing had nothing to do with reason in the first place! She had already gotten emotionally attached, and so there really was nothing whatsoever that he could possibly say to argue her decision! Nothing he could do to change her mind! And the worst part of it all was that somewhere deep inside, underneath all the inner turmoil that currently had him thrown into such a frenzy of nausea and panic, he couldn't blame her! He himself had had to fight the urge to cover his ears like some petulant five year-old when she was telling him about the human features and the heartbeat, just so he wouldn't have to hear her. And he hadn't even been made to look at or listen to the real thing, like she had! He hadn't been made to listen to it, and yet it was all still too much for him. He couldn't stand hearing about it, and the only thing that in the end had kept him from actually trying to block out her voice himself, was sheer willpower and the sudden and aggravatingly chipper melody coming from his back pocket, piercing through the jumble of nonsensical thoughts spinning in his head.
Though while it had brought his focus from Marie-Elisabeth's voice and dragged his attention away from what she was saying, even if ever so briefly, his hand had still just shot into the pocket, his fingers amazingly finding the right button and rejecting the call. Instinctively, because he could handle no more. His mind had been flooding already, with thoughts and impressions, and couldn't bear any more.

He was staring wildly at her, as it was all sinking in; the realization that for once, he was completely powerless against another person. That for once in his life, there was nothing he could do to get his way. He couldn't exercise his status, he couldn't argue, couldn't manipulate, he couldn't even bribe her! He could try, but it wouldn't work. Not any of it. From the moment Marie-Elisabeth had started talking about the thing as a little human being, it was clear to him that it would do no good.

His head was spinning, the feeling of someone choking him returning. There was an iron band around his lungs, that tightened without warning and squeezed the very air out of him. The smell of old sweat and other indefinable odours from the equipment around them, even Marie-Elisabeth's sweet perfume, thickened around him, thrust themselves into his throat, suffocated him. He couldn't breathe.

Eyes still on Marie-Elisabeth, he fumbled desperately for the handle of the door he was leaning against. He had to get out of there! Finally, he managed to find the lock and turn it, and stumbled out into the hallway as the door swung open. He had to get out of there! Greeted by an empty hallway and the sound of only his own footsteps echoing back at him, he scrambled along the lines of lockers, not quite running, but with his feet carrying him swiftly, as though in a hurry.
He had to get out of there!


(((ooc: Sorry, crappy as hell. Not feeling well atm, and really struggled with it, so... But at least it's up.)))

[Alissa888]

(((OOC: Ah, yes, I was hoping to post that with my Josh post, but I'll just say it now and edit this post later with Josh.

How does everyone feel about moving on to clubs on the 27th July? Does that give everyone enough time, or would you guys like more?
Let me know! :) )))

[robokitty]

((The 27th sounds good with me. That should give me enough time to get up my Esteban slash post where I mercilessly GM the hell out of Preston. :D I kid. I kid.))

[Elice]

((OOC: ^ That sounds hot robokitty XD. But yeah, I'm good with that too; I'm not to sure how the role playing world goes, since I never RPed with a time line :lol: I wasn't sure how we move through classes because I've seen there was a home ec one too, do we just ignore the other classes and post what we're going to do in biology--since that's the main topic--or is it that this thread would fill up so much that we won't have to worry about going to the other classes yet? Can someone PM me the fixings?))

[FurryPanda]

((OOC: The 27th is fine, earlier is better, for me at least, since I have gotten through all the story lines I wanted to during biology.
Robokitty- Words do not describe how comically upset I was when I read the "just kidding" at the end of your post))

Loren was pretty pleased that his de facto partner didn't seem to be the morose gloomy type, he had the pressure burn on his arm and a great deal of Antici----PATION to deal with. A dull, bored person would be hard to deal with, or even someone who wasn't completely cheerful and proportionally focused on their work.

But this girl seemed as excited to have him as a partner as he was about the school doing Rocky Horror, practically skipping over to take the seat he offered. He took the desk in front of her, while she introduced herself, and looked at the slip of paper with their assignment over the desk and his shoulder. Good for her, it was so nice to deal with someone who was direct and didn't try and dither, like the preps who would never be the perfect example of that, since their entire manner was either really obviously fake polite, or a more convincing, but couldn't possibly be authentic dislike.

He was about to introduce himself when she started talking about the project topic. So much for a leisurely half hour. “Male larynxes are bigger than female’s; that’s why typically males have deeper voices. Well, that was common knowledge, and he did know about the stuff, but she sounded truly interested, and Loren loved to listen to people talk about what they liked, it gave him so much fodder. He nodded and was about to interject some sort of agreement, but she kept right on talking without taking a breath.

"It’s called the Adam’s apple when it protrudes from the throat because it looks like a small bite of an apple, which goes with the religion on Adam and Eve; though Eve doesn’t have one, and she was the first to eat the apple, so why is men being punished to have the apple get stuck there, unless it was man who enticed women to eat the forbidden fruit first…”

He nodded, sincerely interested, since he never really thought about the philosophical implications of larynxes, he just knew how to manipulate his own to project better and help with diction. She suddenly paused for breath, and Loren didn't chime in, knowing that when he got into a subject, such as the social implications of a principal approving a production where half the characters were half naked most of the time, he didn't want to be interrupted.

“—W-um, which… I heard someone talking about… outside…” That was a change in voice that anyone could have picked up on, let alone someone who paid so much attention like Loren did. Nervousness? A possible lie, since Loren knew that most of the people who spent a great deal of time outside during class were smokers, stoners or nerds having panic attacks. And they didn't tend to talk about larynxes. But he didn't want to generalize and he didn't know her at all to be able to guess if she had a reason to lie.

She seemed to be done talking so he said, perfectly confidently, as though he wasn't concerned that she had simply run out of oxygen and was about to talk and then he'd be interrupting which was horribly rude and something he tried to avoid, "That's all so cool! And that sounds like an awesome conversation to have overhead, normally its not at all interesting, and voice boxes are really cool, it's where you control your pitch see, and it works like a resonator, like some people put in their cars to make it backfire when it starts, or like in the auditorium, the whole thing's a resonator on the stage." He took a breath, no where close to out of comments about larynxes, but wanting to give Elice a chance to respond.

"Oh yeah, forgot to introduce myself, sorry about that," he said sincerely, "I'm Loren."

[elpemmy]

Lea watched as Katie turned away. Silently praying that was the end of it, she almost winced when Katie asked "Since what, if you don't mind me asking?"
Lea frowned, and settled into an awkward silence, while she bickered internally with what she wanted to say. As much as she wanted to get it in the open, it was ever so slightly awkward. You can't just say, "Oh, my parents died" she reasoned. Saying it so bluntly makes it seem like a non-event, like you don't care. But at the same time, you don't want to seem emotionally challenged. Lea scowled, and decided being a teenager was too complicated.
Out with it, Lea decided, and simply said. "A couple years ago.... my parents were in a car crash." She shrugged, and fell into silence. She chewed her lip, refusing to look at Katie. She shut her eyes, remembering the numb feeling she'd felt on the way home from the hospital, in her grandmothers car. Tears started leaking out of her eyes, and she opened them and blinked rapidly. She refused to let herself cry. Risking a glance at Katie, she saw that Katie had her back turned, and was doing the work.
Katie was Lea's friend, one of her first at Brooklake. Lea knew that such friendships weren't to be risked, especially not on the first day, even if they couldn't really be called friends. So quietly, she began to rifle through her bag, wiping back the tears discretely as she did so. She looked up, having not found the packet of tissues in her bag, and realised that Katie had subtly placed a tissue on the table. She smiled, gratefully, and took it, gently wiping her eyes.
Lea knew she had to stop being so weedy weepy weirdo about this, she knew she had to stop crying every time she had to mention her parents, but hell was it hard.

((OOC: I'm away on the 27th (summer camp, leaving on saturday WOO!), but I should be able to get a post in a few days after, so that's fine. ¬¬ The tissue is not GMing, because we discussed it previously, and uh... hope that's all okay, Panda!))

[Alissa888]

Why was he chained to the idiot ball? Why was it that, since this damn term started out, he managed to upset just about every single person he’d spoken to? First Marie, by speaking to Katie, then Katie, by speaking to Katie, and then Matt, repeatedly, then Abby, then Gavin, but Josh didn’t really care about that one, then Leigh, then Mark, and he probably had upset Dylan too, but she was already upset when he’d turned up on the scene and so, he really couldn’t take credit for that one.
Now Carter.
Honestly, why? What was wrong with him, or with everyone else?

Though things were making a turnaround in Carter’s case as Josh thankfully witnessed a small smile light up her pretty features as she seemed to find some sort of amusement in his attempt at bridge-building. That was something. He still had no idea why she stormed out, but hey, here was hoping that it was first day nerves, or just that he’d called her a guy on her first day, or something that could be rectified out here in the corridor because he really wanted to. Firstly, he wanted her to feel welcome at Brooklake, and secondly, she had a very softening smile.

"I'm fine,” she replied with another upturn in her full lips and – he knew it was too good to be true, but he couldn’t help it – Josh thought that was the end of the problem, for a split second, before it became clear that it really wasn’t.

"Okay, okay, here's the thing Josh," she started, advancing towards him, a feminine perfume filling the air around him and he knew it, he knew it was one of those instances where you ask a girl whether everything’s alright, and then you might ask them again, but either way, if you had to ask to begin with, chances were, things were not alright.
He didn’t know why he’d never learned that lesson.
“I like you, I have a crush on you and right now I could kiss you, right now I WANT to kiss you,” she declared and Josh, for the life of him, couldn’t process it and just stared for a split second. Alright. He hadn’t seen that one coming, he had to admit. While he was no stranger to having girls crush on him, he really hadn’t expected it, and especially not from Carter – she seemed to be the sort of girl who chewed men up and spat them out, and that aside, she’d met him five minutes ago.
But wait, girls… who understood them?

“But that doesn't mean I will because I'm not going to and I know you probably already have a girlfriend anyway, that's fine,” she elaborated and he wasn’t sure whether to be shocked, approving or disappointed. He was a guy, and all things aside, she was really hot. But he had a girlfriend, whom he really cared about, and a boyfriend, whom he really cared about, both of whom were currently missing. That aside, he didn’t want Marie to set her crosshairs on Carter for this… or vice versa, actually. “I just want you to know that I am attracted to you, I am VERY attracted to you and you smell really good right now and its making it very hard for me to say this right now."

…He really was at a loss of things to say and his eyebrows, which had been travelling further and further up his forehead as she’d been speaking, dropped down suddenly at the sight of her brown eyes glistening with sudden tears and it finally hit him that she was being serious. All the impracticality aside, it was difficult to tell someone you liked them – if they hadn’t been drunk, that kiss between Matt and himself would have never happened – and for her to come out and say all of this… that took guts.

"Go ahead and gloat to your friends about how the new girl has a major crush on you...I know you want to," she accused, waiting for a moment and he was still at a loss for things to say and so, she carried on, walking past him; "I'm going back to class now.”

Alright, he couldn’t just let her go without saying anything, and he hated the fact that she was upset and more so that he really didn’t know what he’d done to cause it and therefore couldn’t do anything to fix it. And given his track record since the beginning of this term, whatever he did say was likely to make things pretty bad and that was the last thing he currently wanted.
But he couldn’t let her walk away, upset like that….

“Hey wait,” he started after her, hand gently grasping her elbow before letting go with a soft “Sorry.” He didn’t know how she was with physical contact.
“Look, uh…,” he really did not know what to say… say something, anything… “I’m really flattered. I am. I mean, you’re hot and beautiful but I have a girlfriend,” And a boyfriend. I hope. “I’m not… I’m not gonna gloat to anyone, I’m not… like that.”
He took a pause, taking in a deep breath, a sincere smile growing over his lips.
“I would, however, like to be friends with the new girl, she seems pretty cool,” he offered, because the slight neurosis aside, she did seem pretty interesting. A mischievous grin spreading over his mouth, he added, with a wink; “Hey, you never know, knowing me might be a total turn off.”

(((OOC: Hope this works, he's just confused :D

Robokitty - awww! I was totally looking forward to the slash fiction!)))

[AtropaMandragora]

(((ooc: 27th works for me.)))


Formal dances and troublemakers don't mix. A common generalization, and one often supported as well as maintained by people on either side of the fence; the troublemakers themselves, and those who tend not to think very highly of them, which are usually the ones with whom formal dances do mix. I.e. the preps. Events that seemed to go hand in hand with hour upon hour of grooming and preening in front of the mirror to look one's best, parading in front of your friends to be admired and reassured that you were a knock-out, and possibly having a meltdown at some point because two of the hairs on your head just wouldn't stay in place, just weren't the troublemakers' usual idea of a good time. Unless, of course, their participation involved showing up just to stir the pot, either by causing general mischief and consequently a couple of hissyfits because things didn't go exactly like planned, or simply p*ssing off the preps by having the nerve to show up in the first place, more often than not looking like something the cat had dragged in. Or "eyesores", to use a phrase common among their natural born enemies.

In all honesty, it wasn't something Tyler would have usually been interested in. At least not the formal dance itself, and not just because he was lumped together with the troublemakers - and rightly so - but also in part because he didn't do "formal", and in part because unless it was the type of staggering around in circles that was so common among teenagers, while letting hands and lips wander over your partner, he just didn't dance. He'd always preferred to mellow out in a corner somewhere, over bouncing around like a bunny on speed to the beat of the latest mind-numbing radio hit.

So then, you might ask, why was he even taking an interest in the upcoming Winter Formal at Brooklake, if he didn't dress up, didn't dance, and was part of a crowd that usually shunned that type of event?
The dirty, unaltered truth?
Business.

There were many types of events that, especially when arranged and thrown by the school, usually tended to be veritable goldmines to someone such as Tyler, regardless of whether it was a dance, a class trip, or heck, even a football game. During such occasions, there were students bound to be on the lookout for a bit of extracurricular fun in the form of drugs and/or alcohol, and with the only beverages provided by the school and the dance committee being non-alcoholic punch and the like, those wanting the harder stuff would know that Tyler was the guy to go to in order to get it. For a fair price, of course.
And since he was planning on making an appearance, why not make the whole thing more entertaining by livening things up a little? Cause a little innocent mischief, perhaps try and spike the punch a bit, and hopefully have someone - say, oh, Lilith? - along to enjoy the ride with.

Though unfortunately, it would seem Lilith wasn't all too keen on the idea, leaning more towards seeing the whole thing as a waste of time rather than a playground;

"What, you mean Prep Central?", she said with obvious disapproval at the thought, after having come to an unceremonious halt as they were making their way out into the hallway again. "You do realize it's basically just an excuse for rich chicks to compete for the most outrageously-priced dress and which guy gets to fondle them later in the carpark, right? Get this, I heard they actually have different color codes for each clique!"

Well, he really couldn't blame her. After all, his feelings about the matter would have not been all that different, had he not decided to make an actual effort to see it all in a different light, just so that he wouldn't perish with boredom while hanging out there strictly for business purposes.
Though at the same time, he wasn't the type of person to try and persuade others to do something they didn't want to do - unless, of course, it had to do with business, and he was being owed the very thing he wanted from them - but... Lilith being Lilith, and someone who actually would make it all the more bearable and entertaining just by being there, Tyler was willing to make an exception. Sort of.

"Just a suggestion", he said with a shrug, yet still with a faint smirk on his lips. "Figured things would be far more interesting for everyone with us there. Including us. For a number of reasons. You know how I hate to let things remain dull."

It was just the most subtle of hints, of his intention to bring what among most teenagers seemed to be a requirement for having a good time - namely booze - but it was one he figured Lilith would be clever enough to catch.

[Elice]

"That's all so cool! And that sounds like an awesome conversation to have overhead, normally its not at all interesting, and voice boxes are really cool, it's where you control your pitch see, and it works like a resonator, like some people put in their cars to make it backfire when it starts, or like in the auditorium, the whole thing's a resonator on the stage." Oh, she was really going to like this guy.

"Oh yeah, forgot to introduce myself, sorry about that. I'm Loren."

“Nice to meet you; you seem to really know a lot about the larynx!” Pausing, Elysia looked around to get a feel of the class work, but nothing gave her any idea. “Where do we begin? Should we draw first, or write it out? Are we even drawing…?” The last she mumbled, they didn’t have the poster yet, but it wouldn’t matter if she was to just sketch it out first, but then she’d need a visual, something…

“… Can I feel your larynx?” It sounded better in her head, it actually sound cool when she said it, but as she thought it over, it started to sound less… intelligent, especially when it echoed in her mind. Someone wised once told her to never explain why for the expanse of seeming suspicious, or in her situation, crazy; her comment was strange in on itself, but how could she explain touching things helped her picture the said item in her mind?

((OOC: Ah -_- I’m running out of things to do, so I added in some of her oddness :lol: , I hope I didn’t jump to far here again FurryPanda, her mind kind of wonders.))

[Alissa888]

As far as social codes went, Dylan wasn’t too fussed. Being a girl – being apparently deservedly sorted into the prep category – she was of course, concerned about her appearance, she did like looking pretty, looking attractive and she did take effort to do it. Maybe that said that she was superficial, because she wanted to look good, but Dylan was comfortable with that. She didn’t however, begrudge other people for not giving their personal appearance the ultimate attention; in all honesty, it wasn’t the most important thing, and the amount of effort that a person puts into looking good (or bad) should be a personal choice and respected as a personal choice.
However, unfortunately, most of Dylan’s friends didn’t see it that way. For them, looking good was paramount and there was no hint of self-depreciating humour, because they fully needed to look good to feel good.
Mitch, thankfully, seemed different;

"I'd love to," he agreed to her proposal in much the same way she’d agreed to his and for a second, she wondered whether he was – light heartedly – making fun of her. "Think matching rainbow striped tuxedo and gown would go over well?"

Okay. See, there was a difference between self-depreciating humour and actually being serious and the way in which Mitch had said what he’d said, Dylan wasn’t sure how to take it. Hmm… she might be persuade to do what he suggested just as a joke, but yeah… just as a joke, not anything serious. Nah, he had to be joking, and even if otherwise, she’d just go with it as that.
If he was joking, she had to appreciate the repeated demonstration of his enchanting ability to poke fun at himself, as if he was assured enough to not have to play along to everyone else’s games and it was such a refreshing change from the others, who had to conform and be top of the pyramid to feel good about themselves.

As for the idea of him in a rainbow striped tuxedo… firstly, that’d severely impair Dylan’s ability to keep a straight face for the entire night, though, admittedly, his was a form that would make just about any male item of clothing look good, and secondly, she could just about imagine the looks on everyone’s faces if they did it. And hmm… rainbow… was he intending on making a statement about homosexuality, or was that just a random pick? She decided not to ask; the guys were really uptight about sexuality.

“Mmm, I’m not sure about matching,” she deliberated, eyes narrowing in jovial contemplation. We’ll be running the risk of setting up our own clique. It’d be so counterproductive.”
She bit her lip slightly, eyes flicking over his form as if she was imagining it in her head before she declared; “I think you should go for plaid.”

She tilted her head slightly at the question brewing in her head, wondering whether it’d be impolite to ask it, or whether she’d make him uncomfortable, before deciding to just go for it; what harm could it do, right?

“I really hope you don’t mind me saying,” she started, with a semi-apologetic, awkwardly curious smile. “I’d have thought you’d already have a date for the dance…?”

(((OOC: Hope this works, Furry :D
And great, 27th it is! )))

[FurryPanda]

Katie was not just a dancer. She was not just a braniac, although that did make up a lot more of her mindset than any other factor. In addition to all of that, she was a writer, with a book done and published, a second in the pipe, and a third on her computer. That last part of her had probably taught her more about how to deal with people than anything, because simply watching what non-braniacs did, what didn't elicit strange looks so that her characters could copy them, was enough for her to pick some things up.

Lea's face was completely unguarded, which elicited a sudden and inexplicable sense of protectiveness in her, it was just so different from the cheerleaders who always were so very calm seeming or utterly sneering in dislike, or fawning over some guy. There wasn't anything so... open.

She didn't look happy or vulnerable or anything like what would elicit that kind of sensation, but nonetheless it was there, which made it all the more poignant when her face relaxed and she said, "A couple years ago.... my parents were in a car crash."

Ah. Katie figured that it was safe to extrapolate that her parents had died, and even with Katie's admittedly mixed feelings about her own disinterested and overbearing parents, she figured that it would be awful to be without them, and with ones that the daughter cared about?

Lea had turned away, and Katie couldn't help but notice that she was crying, just a little. She reached over into her backpack to get a tissue, knowing that before she had toughened up enough to be able to tolerate anything for long enough to get to the bathroom, she would never want to be without a tissue. Rubbing one's eyes with a tissue wasn't nescessarily about crying, it could be allergies, or itchy glasses, not that she wore them anymore. A tissue wasn't a great thing to hide behind, but it was better than a sleeve or a choked sob and fleeing.

She did take the tissue and dabbed at her eyes, and Katie politely looked away to keep working on the poster until she didn't see any sudden movement like someone holding together a sodden and disintegrating tissue.

That still left her with what she was supposed to say. She wouldn't want to talk about it if the situation was reversed, but she was hardly normal. Platitudes annoyed her, no matter how sincerely they were meant, but she couldn't think of anything other than a change of subject, which could imply she didn't care.

Well, maybe she'd bought a faux pas of some kind with the tissue, back when she was a lot more sensitive she would have forgiven a lot for a gesture like that. "That stinks," she said, almost immediately berating herself for understatement. "Umm, if you ever want to talk about it, I'm here." D*mmit! That was why she hated platitudes, they made no sense in conversation and even though she meant it, and she did, it sounded so bloody weird.

Subject change. And screw faux pas, Katie felt like she couldn't dig herself a deeper hole than the one she was in now. "So, on Sunday, can you meet me in front of the school"- after her house had been tee-peed every week in middle school, she stopped letting people know where she lived except in very special circumstances- "and a freind of mine from the studio can give us a ride." Actually her parents were perfectly willing to drive her up, extra curriculars look so good on college applications, but she didn't want to be seen as gloating right now that oh look, she had parents. It would not be a big deal to convince them to let her go with Corey, one of the choreographers who was going anyway.

[Ghanima Atreides]

Tyler and Lilith - Empty Classroom


It was a known fact that highschool life was surrounded by a certain set of practices and beliefs that most kids incorporated into their own behaviour, even if one group had a different interpretation than another. Some of these had been elevated to the rank of traditions over time, such as the fact that no self-respecting prep or anyone who aspired to be one would dare to miss any important social event organized privately or by the school, and indeed would go out of their way to dazzle and impress and become, if only for another week, the name on as many lips as possible. Sometimes that didn't go quite so well for those seeking to hog the spotlight, for any flaws or mishaps were just as likely to be noticed, if not more, and many a girl had been reduced to tears as she stormed out of such a gathering.

Lilith disliked these pretentious so called “formal dances” more than others because they were a veritable personification of the core highschool dogma she hated: kids who were already popular got to behave even more vainly and obnoxiously than usual, and those who aspired to be like them had the chance to kiss enough ass to possibly partake in some of the attention. It was then of no surprise that Lilith didn't list the upcoming Winter Formal on her list of priorities, and wasn't too thrilled by Tyler's offer. At least at first.

"Just a suggestion", Tyler claimed in his usual laid-back manner, "Figured things would be far more interesting for everyone with us there. Including us. For a number of reasons. You know how I hate to let things remain dull."

Now that was a thought, Lilith mused, her imagination stirred by the subtle insinuations of that particular comment: she knew Tyler fairly well, and knew that where there was a large congregation of alcohol-starved teenagers he was likely to find quite a few “customers”, so she supposed it should've been the first thing to come to mind when he mentioned wanting to go. Booze did make just about everything more bearable, but Lilith was also beginning to envision a method of her own to contribute to that “interesting” factor he promised: oh yes, she thought with a widening grin, just the thing to provoke a few gasps and stares from the obsessive fashionistas that would be attending! Color codes indeed! Seen from that perspective, going to the dance didn't sound too bad after all – plus, she didn't actually have any plans for Saturday.

“And I'd hate to place that responsibility on your shoulders alone,” Lilith commented, her lips curled slyly.

She chuckled quietly to herself as they neared the door, stopping one last time with her hand resting on the handle.

“All right then, it's a deal. You've successfully plied me with alcohol and smooth talk” she added in a jovial tone not altogether free of that irony which often permeated her tone. It was clear however that she'd warmed up to the idea. Glancing at the small round watch she bore on her finger in the form of a ring, seriousness momentarily overtook Lilith's features as she considered something else:

“Hey, do you think we can still make it to Bio without Jaym taking our heads off?”

Although she'd planned on skipping this one, Lilith figured that the less attention they drew to themselves before the grand plan, the better.

((ooc: I hope this works, and feel free to move them forward, Atropa!))

[Alissa888]

(((OOC:

To everyone,

Regarding the dance on Saturday, I'm definitely looking forward to RPing it, and moreover, I'd like to RP it sometime this century (as are other people, I'm sure ;)), so it really is best that we skip a few days in the week to fast forward to Saturday?
At present, I think it's best if we skip Wednesday (i.e. "tomorrow") and then RP Thursday, and then skip Friday to move on to the dance?
What does everyone else think? :)

Also, the character list has been updated to include new characters (and to remove the dearly departed) and would like to apologise to Elpemmy, Addict12 and Siesieim1 for the delay :) )))

[robokitty]

((That sounds fine to me, Alissa.

And btw *points at sig* for anyone who hasn't noticed, I finished my asylum/zombocalypse!))

[FurryPanda]

As far as Loren was concerned, meeting new people was the height of fantastic things, because no matter who they were, no matter what eventually happened, there was that initial time of endless curiosity and an almost information overload about them.

Elysia not only had all of that new-person stuff going on, she seemed legitimately awesome in her own right. She wasn't looking like she wanted to be somewhere else when he talked about voice boxes, and he knew intellectually that she might just be being polite like he might have seemed to be, but he didn't really care, nice was nice, regardless of motive.

“Nice to meet you; you seem to really know a lot about the larynx!” she said cheerfully, and he couldn't detect a single iota of sarcasm, not that it even occured to him to look for it. He did know about the larynx, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with stating the obvious, especially with someone so awesomely philosophical as this girl!

She looked around, and Loren hoped very much that she was about to provide more philosophical discussion on the subject of voice boxes, since it was so rare that he could see how someone else looked when they talked about philosophy, and it annoyed him when in his acting he had to imitate his own mannerisms.

“Where do we begin? Should we draw first, or write it out? Are we even drawing…?” Or not. As he'd told her, he really didn't want to do the project, and even though Mrs. Jaym couldn't stand him, didn't have the artistic vision to be able to be a teacher he could like, he really doubted that his openly not doing the project would alter the general trend in the class away from graded work.

The fact that she didn't seem certain would have been enough for Loren to say that they weren't drawing or writing, but Loren wasn't quite that much of a slacker, and if she wanted to make a good impression as a new girl, he was perfectly okay with that. He knew full well that teachers' opinions were important, he only tried to make sure that the opinions were, for the most part, low.

As he was trying to figure out a way of saying that he really wanted to wait out the bell, his omnipresent grin lessened in intensity to an almost neutral expression, and as he was just about to come out and say it, having realized that this never ended well in a play, she said, “… Can I feel your larynx?”

Blessed relief! It didn't even matter what she had said, the bell was going to ring any minute, and they weren't doing this project next class. "Go right ahead," he said, smiling cheerfully again and tilting back his head so his adam's apple was right there. He wouldn't have minded either way, the only way he'd been able to learn to sing with the range that he had was feeling a girl's throat muscles as she sang a scale and imitating those muscle contraction. If Elysia wanted to learn about resonation the same way, he was happy to oblige.

((OOC: Alissa, I think we should just skip to Saturday, does anyone have anything they need to get done before the dance that couldn't be worked out as a single recap post? Because Monday ended February 25th, and started September 7, a span of a little over five months. Teusday started february 25th and is not over at July 24, a span of five months. So if a day takes five to seven months, if we do one more day (assuming clubs takes a month and a half, not an unreasonable assumption) which lasts 5months, then Saturday will start in early 2010. Whereas if we start at noon on Saturday, the dance can be over by early 2010. </math>))

[robokitty]

((Furrypanda - There is definitely some stuff that should go down before the dance. But to speed things along, another possibility is that we could shorten Thursday to a "half day" or whatever? Maybe only do 1 period + clubs?))

[AtropaMandragora]

(((ooc: Yup, I agree with robokitty. There are things planned for some of my characters, that would need to be RPed, before Saturday. Though I think half a day might work to sort that out.)))


In high school, with hordes of teenagers trying to find themselves and fit in, often through the approval of others, cliques were a fairly common occurrence. Kids sharing certain key qualities tended to be drawn to one another, flocked together for safety, and then slowly over time started conforming to what they thought their peers expected them to be, seeking to be confirmed and acknowledged as individuals, yet often enough going so far that in the end, what they truly turned out to be, was little more than copies of each other. Looking the same, walking the same, and talking the same, often even shunning those who didn't fit the pattern.
It was quite ironic really; they set out craving a sense of individuality, and yet, individuality was what they end up fearing instead. Being different and alone, belonging nowhere... It was many teenager's worst nightmare. And so they huddled together - though some hid it better than others - finding safety in numbers and in resemblance.

It was part of what made the various cliques so very easy to tell apart from one another; they all seemed to have their own batch of distinguishing features. Their own typical way of dressing, certain places they would hang out, and, because of their unity and time spent together, often seemed to develop something of a language of their own, whether it was through words or gestures; verbal expression, or body language.
In some cases, that language had become so widely known that most anyone would recognize it on sight as well, but in others, it remained so subtle that you would have to be part of the very same clique in order to catch it all.

Right now for instance, in the hallway, right outside junior biology class, there was a smile growing on Lilith's lips that some, had they seen it, would have been sure to interpret as being one derived simply from Tyler asking her out (kind of), or - to those with dirtier minds - the two of them having just exited an empty classroom together, while others might have eventually realized it all had to do with something a little more sinister. But, as part of the same clique as her, and thus familiar with the expression of a plan forming in a fellow troublemaker's head, Tyler instantly knew when Lilith's mind about attending the dance started to change.

"And I'd hate to place that responsibility on your shoulders alone", she conceded as though out of a sense of duty.

Yet to Tyler, who knew that mischievous streak of hers well by now, there really was no mistaking the nature of the smirk descending upon her lips.

"All right then, it's a deal", she declared. "You've successfully plied me with alcohol and smooth talk."

Having said that, her attention returned to the present and, more precisely, the ring watch she was wearing, and the smile took flight again, leaving her expression now a somewhat grave one.

"Hey, do you think we can still make it to Bio without Jaym taking our heads off?"

At that, Tyler followed her gaze, his eyes landing on her watch as well, and the hand on the door handle that once Lilith turned it, would most likely have them come face to face with a not-so-happy Mrs Jaym. To be perfectly honest, he didn't find it a very tempting idea. He didn't care all that much about his grades, and the fact that he'd had to repeat his sophomore year didn't bother him any, but now really wasn't the time to get himself slapped with a round of detention. Not today, with what he had planned. It would probably be better then to just cut class altogether and only risk getting caught by a hallmonitor, and sent to detention, than to step inside Mrs Jaym's classroom and have her slap it on him for sure. Him and Lilith both. H*ll, knowing Jaym, she'd probably end up personally escorting them there.

"Uh-uh", he said, shaking his head. "Not a chance in h*ll."

He then glanced at the clock on a nearby wall, since frankly he hadn't been close enough to tell the time on Lilith's small one, and upon discovering it wasn't all that long until the bell would announce class over, tilted his head suggestively towards the nearest exit.

"C'mon, let's have a smoke instead."

[Alissa888]

(((OOC: Alright then, we'll do half of thursday - morning, skip lunch/lesson 2 and go straight to clubs. That way, we technically RP the whole day, but it'll be cut down quite a bit.)))

[FurryPanda]

The one advantage to exclusively pursuing either stupid or timid girls was that they were mostly predictable. They would hardly ever react positively to any kind of an intelligent joke, so he didn't make them. Of course, most of his cohorts on the football team wouldn't get anything other than a filthy joke either. Which meant that for the most part, he didn't know how far to take a slightly surreal joke, and even though he knew the general vicinity of the line he'd be crossing, he wasn't sure exactly where it was.

Judging by her reaction, he had gotten very very close. Just that slightly amused, vaguely appraising look was not something that he could easily interpret. So, that meant that if she didn't provide a change of subject, he would, and he would ask one of the other cheerleaders if she'd mentioned what her dress was. She wasn't his date, but that didn't mean that a matching tie would go over badly.

Of course, it took him only the barest instant to realize that maybe the kind of appraising look she was giving him was similar to the kind of appraising look that he gave girls more frequently than he or any of his lovers would like to discuss. He didn't have enough of an ego to be able to support that one though, so he wasn't going to act on it.

“Mmm, I’m not sure about matching, We’ll be running the risk of setting up our own clique. It’d be so counterproductive.”

That actually startled a bark of laughter out of him, that was probably the first part of this exchange that was actually legitimately amusing in its own right. Her look became much less ambiguous for the slightest instant, too short for Mitch to decide if he should react to it, and what she said didn't make it any clearer. “I think you should go for plaid.”

It seemed like he was going to either have to continue working this joke to death- and he would be wearing a black suit, period, thangyouverymuch- or find some way to change the subject when she was possibly getting a vivd mental picture of him in plaid. The kind of mental picture that he thought she was getting, not that he would act on the thought, generally involved black clothes, and a lot fewer than a suit, but whatever floated her boat.

“I really hope you don’t mind me saying,” she started, giving a little smile, one that wasn't quite sincere, but was definitely not fake, yet another point in her favor, that there was something in between, and a very attractive something. [i]“I’d have thought you’d already have a date for the dance…?”

Oooh. Well, he had pried a little bit about Mark, so he supposed it was reasonable that she ask, but he couldn't tell her the truth about the matter- it was purely a matter of strategy. There were as many girls who went stag or by themselves to these things. Almost to a one they felt wretched that they hadn't been able to get a date. If they were feeling wretched, and he was acting chivalrous, his chances of getting lucky were pretty good. But if he had a date, then he couldn't, in good conscience, ditch her to scout the field. That was not something you told a girl however.

He knew that if he stayed quiet then she would know that he was thinking his answer through, that he had something to hide. The fact that he did did not in any way mean that she need to have a hint of that. So, with just the right interval as though it was still an emotional issue he said, "Well, Gina and I..." and he let his voice trail off, desperately trying to come up with some reason as to why he and Gina weren't dating even though they still screwed fairly often.

"She just wasn't ready for a serious relationship. It was awkward." he finished, not hiding that he was uncomfortable, not from deep angst about not being with Gina, quite frankly he would avoid her like the plague if she didn't put out, but because he had to lie, and make sure that Gina would back him up, which would be far more awkward than maintiang their casual state as f**kbuddies.

She had been quite shy and flattered- and virginal- when Terry had introduced them, but after a couple weeks she had mellowed out a lot and quite cheerfully told Mitch that he'd be her between-boy entertainment. He didn't object, and thus they were quite friendly, even if they weren't on the most intimate terms at the moment. It sometimes gave him pause to wonder if between Terry and himself Gina had, as Terry called it, sluttified, but he wasn't going to worry about it, he'd never forced her.

None of which Dylan needed to know, so he just smiled vaguely at her, hoping that she would pick up the hint that he didn't want to talk about it. And besides which, by saying that Gina wasn't ready for a serious relationship, she might interpret that as saying that he was, but he'd deal with that when the time came. So far, she didn't seem like the plastic, good-for-one-thing-only type of girl he interacted with so often.

((OOC: Wow. This guy needs a slap in the face <3.
And that kind of went way tangent all over the place, but at least its up.
Hope it's okay with you Alissa?))

[Alissa888]

(((OOC:
That's all good with me, Furry :) Will have reply posted up soon

The bell has rung, biology lesson is now finished and everyone can now move on to clubs or thereabouts :D )))

[Alissa888]

Dylan wasn’t a huge fan of asking people awkward questions. This was an effect that transferred onto subject that the other person brought up – like when one of her friends needed a shoulder to cry on after a break-up or a really bad row, Dylan found herself being very hesitant in asking certain questions, even only had to do with consoling the person at hand. She didn’t want to breach their privacy and make them feel obligated to answer, which they weren’t, but she didn’t know whether they knew that and so, it all got a little convoluted.

With Mitch, it just occurred to her, after she’d asked the question, that it might be one of those situations where it wasn’t so much a case of not having a date to go with, but rather not wanting one because the person he would have taken as a date was unavailable. That was severely awkward because she knew that he, as a guy, probably wouldn’t want to admit something that personal to him and yet she’d gone on and inconsiderately put him on the spot about it and now she felt a little awkward about the question, to say the least.
However, Mitch did go ahead and answer and just as she thought, it did seem to be an emotional thing that kept him from brushing it off.

"Well, Gina and I...," he hesitated as his voice died down and at this point, Dylan wondered whether she should intervene and tell him that he really didn’t need to answer at all. "She just wasn't ready for a serious relationship. It was awkward."

Really? Well, judging by his demeanour, she could tell that it was awkward for him or maybe it was awkward because he thought he’d made to answer or maybe he hadn’t actually given her a real answer at all in his books.
But wait, Gina wasn’t ready for a serious relationship? Dylan always thought she was a shy sort of girl who’d head first dive into a serious relationship… oh! Did Mitch mean that she wasn’t ready for a physical serious relationship? Dylan knew all too well that the general clash between male and female paces at that raked up considerable problems but that was a terrible reason to break-up with someone. But then again, if that was the case, Mitch wouldn’t have mentioned it like that… then again, he hadn’t mentioned it like that. That said, just because a guy wanted sex in a relationship didn’t make him a letch; everyone wants sex and rejection does involve emotional hurt. Or maybe, worse yet, Gina hadn’t wanted a serious relationship with Mitch?
Dylan couldn’t really imagine why that’d be the case; he was cute, funny, engaging and smart and he’d gotten through the entire hour without living up to the jock reputation.
She decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, and that aside, his awkwardness made her regret asking the question even more.

“I’m sorry to hear that,” she said softly, her hand delicately resting over his for a moment, not quite giving sympathy, but more understanding; it was a little unfair how everyone figured break-ups were by default easier on the guy. With that, her features brightened up, encouraging smile trickling over her lips as she gazed into the complexity in those deep brown eyes. “These things always work out.”
The intrusive cut of the bell rang through room and she drew back, gaze flicking down to the files lying on the tables, her memory consolidating all that they’d managed to cover in the last hour and the resulting accomplishment fuelled the smile over her face further as she looked back up at him.

“So, um… I guess I’ll catch you later?” she offered, leaving the timing entirely open, in case he wanted to catch her up in the halls or whatever, rather than just restricting it to the biology sessions or the dance, before carrying on to explain why she had to dash off quite so quickly; “I’ve got to run… I missed, like, all of practice yesterday and don’t think it went down well… and I should get there and explain.”

Goodbyes said, she left, moving over to her locker, stashing away the books, and then moving on to the girls’ locker rooms, catching the few cheerleaders who’d made it there already, then changing to her uniform, tying up her long blonde locks in a ponytail and then making her way into the sports hall, neither Mark nor Matt being in sight (yet), and so she couldn’t ask after, or apologise respectively and started up the stretches, making small talk with the other cheerleaders, and then it occurred to her that Mitch, being a jock, would have been headed the same way anyway… then again, she didn’t know he was heading straight to practice. Well, she was in a hurry, after all. She hoped he didn’t take offence, or anything.

(((OOC:
I hope that’s all alright with you, Furry? :)
Approachable)))

[Elice]

"Go right ahead," Elysia was surprised to hear him agree to it, and if her ears served her right, she detected no sarcasm; she waited as he tilted his head back to give her full view of his neck.

Slowly raising her hands, she lightly clasped her index and middle fingers together and raised them to gently touch the side of his neck as if testing for a pulse. “I’ve never really touched an adam’s apple before; except for my father’s though, but he says I’m being weird and tells me to go outside and do something.” Elysia mumbled, realizing that she was awkwardly leaning over the table, she released him and scooted her chair to where she was more on his side and lifted her hands once more, but then the bell went off.

“Uhg! So annoying…” The it was a again, that blast it ringing; though, she did notice some people lift out of their seats, looking more than relieve, and exit the class. “I guess everyone’s done here; hm… we’ll finish next time then…” The only problem was where does she go now, she did know she had art to go to next, but her sudden fear of the new hall ways loomed over.

((OOC: This was a little rushed, sorry for the late post FurryPanda.))

[Ghanima Atreides]

Tyler and Lilith - the Corridors ---> Outside


If asked to best describe Lilith, most people would have had a difficult time doing so, if they even went beyond a shrug and a “who's that?”. She wasn't exactly notorious and her infamy extended mostly to “that chick who broke a dude's nose once” and the various (often exaggerated) rumours of her wild side. Those who met her for the first time, or even first few times, tended to leave with the distinct impression of not quite “getting her”, whether it was due to her blatant disregard for school “traditions”, clique dress codes and the all-important teenage social status, or her very personal brand of eclectic humour. More often than not, people were first exposed to the latter, for rarely did Lilith refrain from making a certain sly comment or crack a well-aimed joke that challenged the thickness of one's skin. Even the signature smirk that was never far from her lips tended to put people off, thinking she looked mighty smug while wearing it, mostly because they weren't privy to the joke.

There were, however, a few who did manage to pick up on the various changes in her demeanour and interpret them quite accurately, as well as recognize the fact that Lilith's sarcasm was not always malicious. In fact, it only was malicious when provoked, in which case it became far less subtle. Among them was Tyler, who of course was quick to notice the transformation of her scowl into a smirk, and if Lilith knew him as well as she thought, he'd already sensed the presence of a mischievous idea underlying her comment, a comment which may have given the impression that she'd conceded to go with him to the dance out of shared duty, when as they both knew that in this case “duty” meant fun, and of course Lilith couldn't possibly refuse to do her “part”.

As the two of them made their way across the corridor, Lilith was beginning to have second thoughts about attending Biology; for once, the girl who could produce a pretext to suit nearly every situation couldn't think of a plausible excuse that would appease Mrs Jaym at that point. Tyler, it seemed, was of the same opinion:

"Uh-uh", was his verdict. "Not a chance in h*ll."

Yeah, he was most likely correct; she'd be quite furious and possibly end up punishing them herself, which defeated the purpose.

"C'mon, let's have a smoke instead." the young man offered, Lilith needing no further encouragement. Together they moved away from the classroom and towards the nearest exit point while keeping an eye for any hall monitor who might spot them. Fortunately, they encountered only a janitor on their way and before long Lilith was leaning against the outer brick wall of the school, secluded in the out-of-the-way corner where students gathered to smoke, about to light a cigarette. Several minutes passed as the pair of troublemakers smoked and chatted, during which the distant sound of the school bell rang out, announcing the finish of current classes. For the Juniors, only the various clubs remained and it was the signal Lilith had been awaiting.

“Shall we get this show started, or what?” she asked after a short while, glancing up at Tyler with a questioningly raised brow.


((ooc: I wasn't sure if you wanted to say/do anything before starting the prank, let me know if it doesn't work and I'll change it. :) ))

[siesieim1]

Jennay sprinted into the crowded school,making her way towards the Cheerleader group's practice area.She swerved in between people and around staircases finnaly arriving at her destination.Out of breath,she went into the Female locker room to discover many girls already in uniform,and some of them leaving to the gym.Jennay slowly made her way to her locker,opening the door.She grabbed her uniform and took off her shoes,socks,pants,and shirt.

She wasnt worried about her appearence without the clothes that covered her stomach and thighs,because her body was like a sculpture.Curvy,yet small.A perfect cheerleader.She was strong,and isnt afraid to demonstrate.But as she pulled on her cheer outfit something happened to her.A little bit of paranoia,and a little pinch of jelousy.She quickly turned around to find soem girls leaving again,some others giving her a smile,and some being like her...Dressing themselves quickly.

She pushed on her shoes once again and started for the door.About 3 other girls followed her,and they all made their way to the Gym.As soon as Jennay got into the gym she started to "get in the game" as her Mom called it.She stretched,jumped,and ran around,showing all her years of athlectic ability.Some girls looked at her in disbelief,like she was a show-off,but others looked on amazed at her gazelle-like strides.She took pride in the looks and continued until her heart's content was filled.

She walked over to the water fountain and took a couple sips,and then ran towards all the other girls.A fairly new girl,but the biggest B in history.
(((APPROACHABLE)))

[FurryPanda]

((OOC: Robokitty, I'm leaving her where I'm leaving her until elpemmy gets back, but as soon as she gets a post up, I'll have Katie head your way, k? And I'll be gone from Thursday to Sunday for a lengthy outing))

Katie's sense of timing failed her even more epically than usual today, not only had she just made a platitude and then changed the subject and probably drawn even more attention to it, she did so right before the bell rang. She put down her pen and started rolling up the poster to turn in, and said apologetically, "I have to get to the gym, otherwise madame cheerleader stereotype will have my head."

She didn't know if she was supposed to wait for an answer, if the sudden addition after Lea had doubtless revealed something vulnerable, but she didn't know, and she did know she shouldn't be late to practice. So she got up and handed Ms. Jaym the poster without a backwards glance, and walked out of the class towards the locker room with her backpack over one shoulder.

Even though her and Lea's conversation had not ended on a high note, she was in a pretty good mood because of it. Yeah the morning had been pretty awful, what with spending most of lunch in a closet in not fantastic company, and the morning with Jude which was... not worth thinking about, but three years of high school cheerleading had taught her to take her happiness where she could, and ignore everything else.

Of course, it had not taught her how to make the best out of an awful situation. Such as entering the locker room. And finding brightly colored fabric all over everything, in the same blue of her favorite sweatpants. And finding an intact logo from the restaurant she had gotten the pants at in her locker.

She stood in front of the locker staring at the ruins of her sweats, and half heartedly flipping the few scraps of fabric over to find that everything other than her full uniform, which she never wore except for games and pep rallies, had been cut to ribbons. A few girls were looking at her and grinning like fools, and for them, Katie didn't react any more than her hands shaking slightly and her jaw clenching as she pulled on the oh so demeaning leotard-shirt-skirt that hit would hit mid-thigh if she were several inches shorter, and left absolutely nothing to the imagination up top, despite the high neckline. At least she had a sweatshirt, which she pulled on over the uniform, which left her in a big, baggy college sweatshirt and a skirt-leotard that barely peeked out of the shirt bottom.

As she laced up her sneakers and then put her bag in her locker, she tried not to think about how very ridiculous she looked. As she walked up to the gym and no one seemed to stare at her, she managed to half convince herself that it wasn't too bad, that the sweatshirt cancelled out the whole "sexy stupid screw" persona that her uniform would project. As she entered the gym and some guy whistled, and two girls laughed, she blushed crimson and started warming up, and tried to convince herself that the girls were laughing at that idiotic new kid prancing around like she thought she was all that and not her.

((OOC: Approachable briefly
Elpemmy, talk to me before you post, k?
Sorry for the double post, but it wasn't letting me edit the previous one, or show it on the forum. If it was never there, then disregard
ETA: There was some small site borkage, is fixed now, and the previous post is deleted))

[Slytherin-Girl]

Never, not in a million years, would Marie-Elisabeth have ever considered chasing after Matt.

Not that she didn't chase after boys, quite the opposite in fact. When she was single it was one of her favourite passtimes. But right now, as she watched him fumbling for the handle of the door, she knew he was going to run and she knew she sure as hell wasn't going after him.

She had almost expected him to run, and was mildly surprised he hadn't done so earlier. It was a situation he couldn't bribe, charm, or blackmail and threaten his way out of, which were both his and her own usual methods of dealing with problems. "Oh well, I did what I set out to, what he does now is his own damn business" she thought, taking a few minutes to collect herself and make sure she looked ok while the bell signifying the end of class rang in her ears.

Marie-Elisabeth carefully poked her head out of the door, into the mercifully deserted corridor. She eased her way out of the closet, shutting it behind her. She walked down the hallways towards the girl's changerooms, usual ever-present confidence on her face. Thankfully no one would ever suspect what had gone on at lunch from how she acted, and she knew Matt wasn't going to say anything either.

Kicking the changeroom door open with an expensive boot, she came across Sienna and Caroline already changing and quickly followed suit. She had gotten a new uniform for herself the night before, and the slightly larger size concealed any evidence of the few extra pounds she now knew she was carrying around.

Changing done, Marie-Elisabeth strode into the gym, ahead of everyone else as per usual, and made her way towards the bleachers flanked by Caroline and Sienna. She settled herself down about half way up the bleachers, with one of the girls sitting on either side of her, and watched as people started to file in.

"Show off at 10 o clock" said Caroline, snickering and pointing to a girl jumping up and down and running around the gym like some kind of spastic animal. Sienna echoed the snickers, saying "Oh my god yeah, I saw her in the locker room earlier, she looks like a complete idiot".

Marie-Elisabeth smirked and rolled her eyes. "That just means we've got an extra aquatic distribution engineer at games girls" she said, stretching her hands out and cracking her knuckles "Though at the rate we're going, those of us that are real cheerleaders are each going to have our own personal water-b*&ch by the end of the semester".

That brought a fresh wave of snickering and giggles from the other girls, as Marie-Elisabeth looked towards the boys locker room entrance, waiting for Josh to come into the gym. She really did need to talk to him, and the sooner the better.

(((OOC: Hope it's OK I used poor much missed tanosaurus rex in my post! ME sorta kinda maybe a little itty bit would miss her so.....:P

And I seriously think the phrase "You will always be my friend...becase you know too much" SO applies to ME/Matt.

Approachable by tall brown haired football captains named Josh ;) )))

[AtropaMandragora]

(((ooc: slytherin - Well, I kinda imagined they would have been real friends, but I can't say ME's acted even close to it in the RP so far, neither through action, speech nor thought ( :p ), so now I'm not really sure how to RP Matt's stance on it all... And I thought Josh would be in detention, following this morning's fight?)))

[siesieim1]

(((OOC:Is anyone's character approachable?Jennay's partner-less! xO)))

[robokitty]

((OOC: Ok, Furry. Thanks for the heads up. Enjoy your outing :) ))

Jacob's response was lukewarm, and so Frankie dropped the issue altogether. Shy kids were always tricky for her. She had trouble toning her usual gregariousness down to make them feel comfortable. Some people were drained by social interaction, and some were invigorated by it. Frankie was unquestionably the latter.

They finished early, and after they had turned in their poster, Frankie left class to run errands around the school. With a march to her step, she strode through the hallways straight to the teacher's workroom. The teacher acting as chairperson for StuCo had given her a key, and so she unlocked the door and let herself in to the darkened room.

There were no windows, save the small panel in the door that gave a tiny glimpse of the hallway. From it, barely enough light filtered in to shape the dark silhouettes of the antiquated photocopy machines and long work tables within. Her fingers found the light switch and flicked it on. Flicker. Buzz. She was alone.

She approached one of the machines that was actually halfway reliable and with the punch of a few buttons, set its size to enlarge. Then, she pulled out several design mock-ups she'd made earlier that week and fed them through the machine. It groaned and slowly churned out poster after poster. And as Frankie waited for it to finish, she absentmindedly began drumming her fingers against her thigh. A melody was playing through her subconscious and spilling out to her fingertips, to the tip of her tapping toe. And when they failed to contain it, she took a deep breath. Her lungs filled, and the low dulcet tones of her voice (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1HrLHtCuRE) filled the room. And she was surrounded.

As she sang, the copier finished its work with a heavy wheeze. She gathered up the posters and several other materials on a cart, flipped off the lights, and left the workroom. As she strolled down the hallway, she lowered her singing to a soft hum. Frankie knew she was an exceptional singer and she loved an audience, but it wasn't something she expected the students of Brooklake to appreciate. They were more likely to snicker at her unusual facial expressions or scratch their heads at it and wonder why she didn't try singing Destiny's Child or Paramore instead.

She lost track of time as she worked. Gandhi Awareness Day was this Friday, but that didn't mean she couldn't get started early on putting her posters (http://www.kittyklan.com/images/fun/antigandhi_2.jpg)up. When the end of the last period arrived, she had just started putting her posters up in the gym. Her lips tightened at the sound of the bell. S***, that meant the gym would soon be suffering from severe case of testosterone poisoning and filled with ditzy girls complicit in their own gender subjugation. And Mitch.

Ugh. Great.

Frankie dug into her bag for her water bottle, sipping it to rinse away the bad flavor tickling the back of her throat. She had been Mitch's tutor in previous years, and it was an experience she wished she could completely wipe from her memory. He'd gotten to her. For some reason, she let that stupid, insufferable, cro-magnon s***head get to her. Her stomach tightened. And he was a total jackass after all of it too!

Frankie slammed the staple gun into the wall. Metal crunched into drywall. Her arm pumped like it was reaching out to punch someone each time--bang, bang, bang! The poster was secured. Several students had already started to filter into the gym, so she let out a controlled breath and moved to the next spot.

Mitch was just some dumb jock, really. She shouldn't have been surprised by anything he had done. And frankly, the world would be better off if socially and intellectually retarded people like him didn't exist. He was insignificant, a speck. Someone best ignored and forgotten about because it's not like he was going to do anything all that great with his life anyway, was he?

No.

Her face scrunched as she positioned the new poster (http://www.kittyklan.com/images/fun/antigandhi_1.jpg) against the wall. Slowly, a haughty curl found its way over her lips. And raising her staple gun to it, she took aim.


((Hope that works for all involved. And Frankie is approachable by a certain primitive screwhead jock :D ))

[robokitty]

Esteban has three stages of drunk--the happy high, the boiling rage, and the bitter depression. Katie pushed him through the first stage, and special needs barely scratched the surface of the second. Really, he wanted to slap on some knuckledusters and put a few dents in a dumpster, but he wasn't the type to bring weapons to school. Too many ways that could f*** him over. Besides, all in all the kids at Brooklake were pussies. It wasn't like that at the other school, the correctional one. Over there, reputation was king. It was everything. It was the only thing you had. And here? Everyone had too many fears and too much to lose to be a serious threat.

Just now, he could feel himself slipping into stage three. He doesn't want to play share and tell with some fresa he just met, so he sends him on his way, letting him know he'll give his flask back tomorrow. It's not a request. He sits there on the rail surrounded by cigarette butts from several weeks of chain-smoking, all in various stages of decomposition. Like a dark, brooding dragon guarding over its hoard and filth, he sits there and he thinks.

Esteban washes down another shot then turns the flask to examine it. His mom hated this s***. Said his dad loved it more than her. Said he'd be like him if he wasn't careful, but f*** it. Esteban never planned on living past forty anyway. And kids? Forget it. He'd probably just irreparably f*** them up for life. It kills brains cells, she said, but if Esteban knew anything it's that no matter what he did--he always did it better drunk.

Should he even be drinking now? He had duty at the hospital later tonight. A strong desire to call in sick gripped him, and he tried to push it away. Volunteering there had its rewarding moments, like times when he'd help translate for some of utterly confused immigrants, but mostly he hated 95% of the people who walked in through those doors. He wasn't stupid. He knew he was better than most of the mouth-breathers at Brooklake, but some of the faculty he'd met at the hospital made him feel like he had the mind of a guey in comparison--the same way he sometimes felt when checking his work against Katie Byrd's practically perfect homework scores. He never concentrated on how far he'd come--only on how far he still had to go. Was he ever good enough for her? Would he ever have been?

That last bell rings, and he's still got one-half left in the flask. He's got work to do.


((... ... ... bleh. Approachable by Katie.))

[addict12]

Jacob just nodded and began rewriting the notes. She seem quite okay. Although, he wasn’t sure about her entirely make any final judgments on her character entirely. “What color do you want the uterus?” He was a bit put off by her question.

Does it matter? He simply smiled and said, “Whatever color you want.” Jacob didn’t really care about the color or such. Just as long the project was done on time, he was fine with almost anything. Except her writing. It made his skin crawl. Mainly because he was under the impression that most females had very neat, curvy type of writing. She was proof that making assumptions like that can back-fire.

"So, you're new here? There's this really stupid dance this weekend, and I have to go because of Stuco and do menial labor like refill punch bowls. But if you're not doing anything else, you could join me. Maybe you'll meet some more people from the school there. I swear I won't even be offended if you ditch me while we're there. Think about it." Jacob looked up from his page and gave a small grin. She sounded a bit unsure. Kind of nervous about asking him to join her. Well, it’s not a date. So… Jacob nodded at Frankie.

“Sure. I have nothing to do this weekend. I hope I‘ll make it fun for you.” Jacob continued to write until he was finished. Once done, he appeared lost. To pass the time, he watched Frankie color. The bell ringed and Frankie had rushed out. Jacob didn't mind. He just stood and began packing his belongings. What now...?

((Does this work? What's happening. D: Sorri, Kitty. I was busy...))

[FurryPanda]

((OOC: Robokitty- I had a post written up. I probably had less than a hundred words left to write. And then I accidentally pushed the button that I had no idea what it did on my laptop, and it went back and the post was gone and... I'll have both posts up on Sunday/Monday even if I have to stay up til two to do it, and I'll try to get them up during my trip, but I doubt I'll be able to. Sorry.))

[Dreamydre]

(((Sorry for the hold up, I've just been busy with school and crap.)))

[robokitty]

((OOC:
addict - Yup, that's fine.
FurryPanda - No worries. Enjoy your trip. :)))

[siesieim1]

(((OOC:When's the dance?)))

[AtropaMandragora]

Smoking was something Tyler rarely did these days. Quite frankly, despite having done it since the age of thirteen, he nowadays thought of it as a bad habit, and had cut down on it quite a lot. Mostly because of Tara, sure, since even though he might not be the most responsible parent to have graced the face of the earth, he did still find it most inexcusable to subject a small child to passive smoking. It was one of those things you just didn't do as a parent, and something Tyler didn't do even to other people's kids. Well... Anymore, anyway.

However, Tara, his precious daughter, wasn't his only reason for semi-quitting. She was the first and main one, but not the only one. As Tyler had started cutting back on the number of cancer sticks he inhaled per day, he had eventually started noticing the difference it made to his health and his sense of smell, among other things, and how, for example, kissing a smoker would hardly make for the most delectable experience one could wish for. Inhaling nicotine and tobacco was one thing; tasting it on someone else's lips was quite a different one. Not that he got around all that much - unlike many of his peers he didn't try to get laid every chance he got - but he did like to spoil daddy's special little girl, and shower her with hugs and kisses every other weekend, and only sometimes in between; on those all too rare occasions when he got to see her.

He did still smoke, but only occasionally, such as at parties and, like now, when he felt a need to calm his nerves. Standing outside the school in the winter chill, chatting with Lilith about various stuff that came to mind and just waiting to have the shrill signal of the bell cut through the stillness to announce that it was time, it was a good way of relaxing. Cooler and more collected than most other kids would be in his position - due to the factor of usually not having all that much to loose, as far as pranks went - the upcoming venture was still quite a bit more than just a prank, and while Tyler was no stranger to crime, this was a situation where he couldn't have as much control of the circumstances as he usually made sure to have, by moving to known desolate places in order to do business. This time, the scene of the crime was not a mobile concept, nor was it as deserted as he might have preferred. And even though that did add to the thrill of it all, it also added to the pressure. Tyler could feel the tension building inside of him, as though it was coursing through his very veins, tightening his muscles like a coiling spring, and easing only when it filtered out of him along with the smoke from his lungs, to mingle with the steam of his breath in the chilly air in front of him. Or maybe it was just the visual itself that helped him channel it in such a way, and the comfort he felt was just the one of familiarity; of doing something he knew well, before doing something where the outcome still lingered in uncertainty. Either way it helped, and the only thing giving away the fact that he was getting restless, was the way he glanced at his watch two or three times during the last five minutes of class.

Then, finally, the bell rang, and the stillness from before was lost as the school once again came alive with activity.

"Shall we get this show started, or what?", Lilith suggested and offered Tyler a glance, ready for action.

She received a curt nod in response, as Tyler took one final drag on the cigarette, and then dropped it on the frozen ground to crush it under his boot, as the last of the smoke filtered out from between his lips.

"Yeah", he said and reached into his pocket for his cell phone. "Just give me five minutes, and then feel free to do your thing whenever you're ready."

While speaking, he flipped open the phone and went on to start typing a quick text message, his thumb darting deftly across the numeric pad as he did. Though halfway through the message, he glanced up at Lilith.

"Oh, and Lil?", he said. "Good luck."

That said, only finishing the text message remained. The text message that once he hit the last button in the sequence, was sent to the number Natalie had given him earlier, and that read; "Waiting in the parking lot. Five minutes, or plan is a no-go."
Though despite the terse tone, it wasn't meant as neither a threat nor an order. Just a plain statement, since Tyler couldn't possibly know when exactly Laramie would be leaving his office, and since if Natalie wasn't there when he did, Tyler wouldn't go through with the venture. Not that he couldn't do it without her, but because a deal was a deal, and this one involved Natalie being made an accomplice to the actual break-in. And as for the meeting place he'd picked... From there, it wasn't too long a walk to a position from which they could make sure there was no activity outside of Laramie's window, for whatever reason. Plus Tyler needed to get something from his car anyway, which alone made it a better meeting place than any other, in order to save time.

[Ghanima Atreides]

Name: Faye Griffith

Age/Class: 16/Junior

Clique: Odballs, with a bit of achiever in there

After School Activity: School newspaper (has just begun)

History/Personality Description: Faye lead a fairly conventional life until the age of 6: she was the only child of a well to do couple, bright and happy and sociable. Everything changed when her father came out of the closet, kickstarting a chain of events that would change everything, forever. He opted for a divorce from the doomed marriage, leaving a very young and confused Faye behind with her mother who could offer no adequate explanation as to why her daddy had left them. The girl knew nothing of her father and his new boyfriend until a year later when, while driving home from the supermarket, her mother's car was hit by a speeding SUV, killing her instantly. Faye miraculously escaped with her life, and later fully recovered, though to this day a scar halfway across her back bears testimony to that terrible event. Once she left the hospital, Faye was placed with her remaining parent, a decision hotly contested by her dead mother's relatives, and thus began a very different life indeed. Unlike her withdrawn, melancholy mother, Jason Griffith was a kind man with a wonderful sense of humour who adored his daughter and set out to give her the best life possible. In time, Faye's emotional scars found healing as well as her physical ones, the bond with her father growing stronger with each year that passed; his boyfriend was of course part of the family and in time the girl came to see him as nothing short of her "other dad".

Growing up as "the girl with two dads" hasn't always been easy, however: within their home, Faye was happiest, but that was not to say that the unusual family didn't attract a fair amount of negative attention. For the most part, Jason and his boyfriend shielded the young girl from people's prejudice, but she was on her own at school. She was bullied mercilessly during the first few years, but with her father's continuous help and advice she grew in her confidence and gradually became capable of standing up for herself, which slowly brought back the old sociable disposition of her early childhood.

Nowadays, Faye is sociable, outspoken and incredibly opinionated, particularly regarding hot issues in her life (such as gay rights and bullying), and generally welcomes anyone's company. Because she's endured prejudice first-hand, she tries to treat others the same whether they're geeks or preps or troublemakers, as long as they give her no reason to be anything but friendly. Those known to pick on others for various reasons however find her far less amicable, and she prefers avoiding them, unless she happens across them in "action", when it would be unlike her to look the other way.

Anything else you might want to add: Faye is a good student particularly in history, languages and literature, and an avid reader of the science-fiction and fantasy genres (though she'll try anything that looks interesting). She commands an ever-expanding knowledge of cult movies, obscure or otherwise non-mainstream books and comics, infamous historical figures and regularly uses the internet for research on these subjects and more. Her love of writing has so far produced several notebooks full of short stories and other literary snippets that Faye feels unusually protective of, and has shown to only a few: her greatest dream is to write, and publish, a proper novel one day. Despite this, she maintains a rather active social life as well, enjoying "hanging out" with her friends, outings and parties as much as the next teenage girl, and she isn't overly concerned about her grades in the manner of the true achievers.

Standing at a mere 5'1'' with her slim build and youthful features, Faye often gets taken for a girl 1,2 even 3 years younger, especially since so many of her peers smother themselves in makeup and wear clothes meant to make them look older. Her dress style is difficult to describe and changes often, though usually features jeans, chucks or other flat shoes and comfy, but well-fitting tops that often bear slogans and inscriptions referencing one of Faye's favourite authors, books, moves and the like.

She has a part-time job at a local thrift store.


I'm always open to storylines and connections, in fact I'd love some! :)


Pictures:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/Ghanima/RP%20Contests/Faye1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/Ghanima/RP%20Contests/Faye2.jpg


((ooc: I didn't really plan on having a second character, but this girl made her way into my head and wouldn't come out :giggler: ))

[Alissa888]

(((OOC: YAY!!!! :D She sounds lovely, Ghanima, can't wait to see her in action, and will add her to the list as soon as I can!)))

[Alissa888]

The reunion with Jay somewhat tentative – for her, at least, given that questions were bound to arise about why she wasn’t playing up to her usual tricks – Natalie was glad to just get on with the project and get it over with rather than discussing the whys and hows of things as they were. She didn’t particularly want anyone to know she used to be Marie-Elisabeth amplified and made more dangerous, and that too at a level that had bitten back at her. Hence, she was somewhat glad when the bell rang and she didn’t waste much time in making her way out of bio, mainly because she just found it as boring as hell today, and also because she was itching to have the plan set to go.

Also, there’d been that weird interlude with Brennan and some new girl storming out of the classroom – what, couldn’t the guy keep it in his pants, he was doing two people already. And that had gotten Natalie noticing that very surprisingly, dearest Matthew was AWOL from the scene. Now wasn’t that interesting? And somewhat of a disappointment because Natalie had never really noticed Matt’s reaction to Brennan and the Peroxide Princess’s sickly mush of a relationship, because she hadn’t known about Brat and the Captain getting it on behind the bleachers, but that really would be interesting. Did Matt actually care about Brennan, or was it just some outrageous experiment?
Anyway, that she’d see when the opportunity arose.

Then there was a text from Tyler, stating that he was ready – as semi-authoritarian as that text sounded, she had to hand it to the guy, he knew how to get the ball rolling. So, Natalie figured that the person who was going to be starting a fight was likely to be Little Red that he was talking to earlier, or at least someone she knew, because he probably hadn’t wasted time talking to someone when he was busy getting the plan going, unless said person was part of getting the plan going. So yup, he’d done his share, and Natalie would comply.
But wait… five minutes to kill and her eyes spied Matt standing there against the lockers, looking like he might just catch something if he ventured any closer to the people in the hallways. Or worse yet, their bad fashion sense might rub off on him. Oh, dear. The tragedy.
Of course she ventured closer, and… got a little concerned, because she understood that something was clearly wrong with the guy. She’d never really seen Matt get agitated before – something she frankly had to appreciate, especially now knowing the extent of his secrets – but he definitely had it going now. What happened?
…Did he see Brennan and that girl, or…?

“Skeletons in your closet?” she asked entirely casually, walking up to him, eyes flicking over his form and a phantom of an entirely amicable smile upturning her lips.

(((OOC: I couldn’t help it :P I hope this works for you, Atropa :) )))

[Dreamydre]

(((OOC: I'm sooo sorry for holding Josh and Carter up, I just don't wanna rush it you know? I want it to be good!!)))

[Ghanima Atreides]

Faye - near the main entrance


While most students took refuge from nature's elements within Brooklake's walls, Faye Griffith enjoyed the feeling of fresh air in her lungs, no matter the season. A bit of a tomboy even at that age, she was very much an outdoorsy type of person who liked to hike and went camping each summer break with her two dads, a well established “family ritual” for years.

Afternoon found her and two other girls, a Freshman and a Junior, soaking up the warmthless sunshine not far from Brooklake's front entrance; a bitter wind whipped their faces and transformed their breath into vapour, but as long as she was dressed for it, Faye didn't mind. She wore a pair of faded vintage jeans and a blue striped sweater just peeking out of her warm winter hoodie. One of her favourite pairs of shoes, a pair of fold-over argyle chucks bought in England, encased her tiny feet as for the rest, a collection of Faye's many accessories hung about her neck, wrists and waist. She loved to accessorize, today's selection including a silver maple leaf pendant and one circular one bearing the word “Dream”, a set of gold-engraved bangle bracelets and a discreet belt which was more for show than anything else. (Faye's outfit (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v48/Ghanima/RP%20Contests/FayeOutfitDay2.jpg))

Having recently left Biology, Faye and her other Junior friend, Kelly, reminisced on their collaboration for the organ project devised by Mrs. Jaym. Faye was not particularly good at drawing so she'd left that part to Kelly; on the other hand, her handwriting was neat and, when she tried, not unlike Victorian calligraphy. The girls felt rather confident it would secure them at least a B+, at which they left the topic of Biology behind and launched a more light-hearted discussion revolving around usual teenage girl gossip, weekend plans and future outings. When the Winter Formal Dance inevitably came into focus, Faye refused to let her spirits be dampened by the fact that she had no date, which probably wasn't going to change. Kelly had a "not quite" boyfriend but Anna, the Freshman girl, did not and the two friends made a pact to scr*w it and just go together: they were going to have a good time and that was that. Who needed men, anyway?

On that note, the trio parted ways: Anna was going home early, while Kelly left for the Drama club of which she was a member. Recently departed from there herself (she had tried, for Kelly's sake, but she really was no actress), Faye had recently signed up to become part of the school paper team which she hoped would better suit her talents and interest. At length, for she was in no particular hurry, she turned towards the entrance, one hand absently fiddling with the MP3 player hanging about her neck as she popped the headphones in each ear. A moment later, her awareness was flooded with the clear sound of a feminine voice singing the beginning to Ashes in the Brittle Air, performed by the band called Black Tape for a Blue Girl, and one of Faye's favourites.

Ashes in the brittle air....the odd combination of words evoked a wintry landscape not unlike the one surrounding Faye, and yet so very different: not the familiar school grounds, but something remote, ethereal and otherworldly. At once she stopped in her tracks, dropped her bag and began rummaging inside for the notebook she always carried with her to record random thoughts and ideas that one day might contribute to a story, or even that book she dreamed of writing. Sitting down on the bottom of the stairs, Faye opened her notebook and began scribbling.

((ooc: not the greatest post, but I wanted to place her out there.

She is approachable :) ))

[FurryPanda]

The problem with using one or two girls as a blanket explanation for lack of a serious girl friend was that the girl in question had to agree to it. With Gina that was no problem, and he did her the same favor, and they had plenty of fun, even if she was at the same time getting kind of dull and starting to turn into the kind of sl*t that he tried to avod for fear of getting a disease. It was quite strange what a difference a few months made.

Either way, it was pretty easy to explain why they weren't dating seriously, she was as interesting to spend time with fully clothed as a mannequin, and she told him- after she'd started acting a bit disturbing- that she didn't want to get any sort of baggage associated with her fun, which Mitch was happy to agree to. Of course, to an outside perspective, like Dylan's, it wouldn't seem like a casual, mutually beneficial relationship, especially with how Mitch was spinning it.

He knew full well that how he had spoken, even though he hadn't actually said anything, was going to give Dylan the impression that he cared about Gina beyond being marginally protective of her from where she would be getting those diseases. Which was actually kind of counterproductive, given that if she hadn't just broken up with one of his best friends he would probably be trying to pick her up.

Or not. “I’m sorry to hear that,” she said, very softly, and not sounding too overwhelmingly sorry, as if she actually cared about his opinion on the subject, and then her hand covered his for a moment, and he thought that maybe, just maybe she resented Gina's place in his affections. Maybe. Doubtful. He didn't let that thought linger, he didn't have enough of an ego to support it, and he didn't think that Dylan was enough of a free and easy girl to be quite ready to rebound after, what, two hours? She was probably being quite sincere and merely sharing sympathy that high school romance is a pain. She would know after all.

She gave another one of those gorgeous smiles and added, “These things always work out.” He tried not to let any confusion or interest show. That was pretty darn close to a pick up line he had used to get rebounding girls, and if she was actually intending it that way, regardless of whether it was a joke or not, it quite possibly made her even more attractive than her smile or clothing would indicate.

Before he could decide whether to come up with an answer to what she said as a pick-up line, as an actual comforting thing or as just a way to fill the silence, the bell rang, making her draw her hand back, and he looked away, vaguely missing the sensation of her hand on his, but focusing on getting the stuff neatly into his binder. For an extra few minutes of work it impressed the sh*t out of his teachers and tutors for his binders to be meticulously organized.

When he glanced back up she was smiling just as much at the table as she had been at him, and he was irrationally reassured. She was insipid enough to smile at a table, just like all the other attractive girls. “So, um… I guess I’ll catch you later?”

He nodded, concentrating on getting the last sheets of paper neatly seated in his binder, and on not thinking about what he was trying to convince himself he wasn't thinking about about one of his best friend's exes.

Before he could offer to walk her to practice, or even get the door, she continued talking and started walking out, something about having missed practice yesterday. Well, that explained it completely. He would never cut practice for fear of having to run laps for... ever, Outside. On the track, regardless of where practice was. He didn't know if the cheer captain insisted on that, though he'd heard she was nuts enough to do it, and honestly he couldn't remember if Brennan had ever actually sent someone to run laps or just claimed to use the previous captain's policy, but Mitch had had to run three miles on the track in the middle of winter once, and he would not repeat the experience. So he wasn't ever late, and wouldn't begrudge anyone leaving to make sure the same was true of them.

He was packed up anyway, so he went to his locker to drop off his backpack, knowing he didn't have any homework, and then walked down to the locker room to get changed. It was only a couple of minutes past the bell when he got to practice, but everyone was already there, except Brennan. So Mitch went over to Gavin, seeing that Mark was talking to Coach Benwick, the cheerleaders were not doing anything overly provocative at the moment and... aww sh*t. Mutton was in the gym.

Mitch did not claim that he tried to be pleasant to everyone, and no one would make that assumption. He would beat up on nerds, or idiots who were asking for it, and on people that absolutely did not know their place. Guys only, of course. But for the most part, as long as someone wasn't a complete stereotype when he met them, he'd give them the benefit of the doubt, and his tutors also got some decent initial treatment.

With Frankie he'd initially been quite put off sophomore year because she was so rotund and... talkative, and he still had no idea how they'd managed a semester of tutoring without killing each other. And then, something had come over him, he didn't know if it was that he was a little bit hung over, or that he'd just gotten an A in history, the only one that year, or what, but he'd kissed her. The next day the guidance counselor had gotten two notes, one saying he refused to be tutored by Frankie, the other saying the reverse. Mostly he tried to avoid her, as she tended to be a b*tch, but every once in a while, when he needed to give someone who absolutely did not matter a low blow, Frankie was appropriate. Fat chicks, as he'd extrapolated from dealing with her, hated having the obvious pointed out.

Either way, he was in a good mood, and thus she wasn't worth his time at all. So he told Gavin that Dylan was coming along to the stag party, and what little he knew about her and Mark's break-up, and Gavin thought the entire thing was hysterically funny, but agreed to not mention it to Mark. Mitch had known he would, but it was a good thing to hear.

And not a moment too soon, since Mark came on over to tell them that Brennan had gotten himself detention and divide the team up for drills. As Mitch was about to go with his group, he heard a very feminine, very unmistakable squeak, and felt a large weight thud into his back and squeal, very loudly, into his ear, "Mitchy-poo!"

Mark and Gavin turned almost in unison and had the same deeply amused expressions on their faces while Mitch grabbed Gina's arm to spin her to face him. He kissed her, not chastely, but not enough to get the guys to actually start cat-calling. "I talked to Elly and Jake and they're both not coming with us on Saturday, can I invite someone along?"

Mitch looked at Gavin, who said there was room for one more, and then Gina hugged Mitch hard enough to make him wince and wandered off, whistling some song he didn't recognize. Gavin and Mark were both grinning in deep amusement and Mitch shrugged. "She may be nuts, but if you were getting that... aw crap". His voice had trailed off when he saw just who she was going to talk to.

Mutton.

He wasn't going to dash to any girl's side, let alone Gina's, but he also wasn't going to let her invite Mutton to what was supposed to be an enjoyable pre-dance-party. Mitch started walking over, seeming perfectly calm, but inwardly seething over his idiot of a screw. Mark had taken one look and went back to tell the freshmen what they were doing wrong, and Gavin followed a few feet behind him.

((OOC: Alissa, Robokitty, I hope that's okay with you? You can GM him arriving if you would like. I would have gotten him there, but I figure that Frankie would answer Gina or something.
And bleh the first version of this was much better))

[elpemmy]

Lea was left on her own, staring into space. She'd just revealed something about herself that normally took a lot more trust for her to tell... and what had she got in return? Platitudes. Well, it's nice to know who your friends are. She scowled. Pulling herself up from her slumped position, she picked up her bag, stuffing the now crumpled tissue in her pocket. She pulled her bag over her shoulder, and quietly walked out of the room. Dazed, she wandered along the corridor before realising where she was meant to be heading.
Ah, newspaper club. Well this was going to be hell on earth. But hey, she might meet someone new. Another friend. If she could call anyone she met on her first day a friend. She frowned, and began to walk towards Newspaper club.
Keep walking, pretend you've got a purpose. It doesn't matter that you're alone, she told herself as she walked. She looked up, and spotted a brunette girl, with some awesome bangles, sat at the bottom of the stairs scribbling furiously. Lea chewed her lip. Would it seem to forward to approach her out of nowhere, or would it just be friendly? Realising she'd never make friends if she shyed away from strangers, Lea approached the girl.
"Hey." She said, coming to a halt in front of the girl. "Whatcha doing?"

((OOC: The girl is Faye. Hope that's okay, if it's not, let me know and I'll fix it. ))

[FurryPanda]

Loren's philosophy about class was really fairly simple. He wasn't going to go out of his way to make it unpleasant for anyone, he wasn't going to get grades good enough to make people have to revise thier opinions of his brainpower, and he was going to get as much out of it as possible. Mostly what he got was free time to work on his script, and memorize lines for plays he was in, but if his lab partner wanted to actually learn about biology, it didn't even occur to him to try and impede that.

Even though actually doing something in class was not his usual way of operating, it didn't do him any harm to let Elysia feel his voice box, and quite honestly, it hadn't occurred to him that it was at all strange. That was how he'd learned to sing, after all.

But the way she was leaning over the table, and babbling makes her sound really nervous, “I’ve never really touched an adam’s apple before; except for my father’s though, but he says I’m being weird and tells me to go outside and do something.” He hoped she wasn't nervous, he really never wanted to intimidate people.

He also didn't quite mean to try and stare down her shirt, or let any disappointment show when she was wearing a primly secured button down one. The thought hadn't occurred to him as he'd told her he didn't mind, and in some degree of embarrassment he looked at anything else. There was a diagram of the human skeletal system behind her right shoulder and that seemed like a safe enough thing to look at as her hands moved on his neck.

All of a sudden the small pressure on his throat removed itself and he glanced down, moving his eyes only, and saw her scoot around the table so she was right next to him. He sighed internally. That wasn't helping why he figured that she figured that this was awkward.

Then the bell rang, and Loren dropped his head down to hear her say, “Uhg! So annoying…” He shrugged and rubbed the back of his neck, standing up and noticing that no one was turning in their posters except a few nerds. Good. She stood up too, and Loren was reassured to finally noticed that she hadn't unpacked anything from her bag either. “I guess everyone’s done here; hm… we’ll finish next time then…”

"Okay," he said, knowing full well that he was able to keep someone distracted enough for a class period without trying. He almost never walked to rehearsals himself, and he glanced around looking for Lacey or anyone, and saw that they'd already left. "I'm going to the auditorium, wanna come with?" he asked pleasantly. He didn't know what club she was actually in, but he planned on hiding out in the lighting booth picking an audition piece and eating Twix bars for the afternoon, and the auditorium was all the way on the other side of the school, so chances were she would find her club going with him.

((OOO: I am so sorry this was so late, I hope that was okay with you? And she's free to go with him or not))

[Ghanima Atreides]

Faye and Lea - Near the Entrance



Unlike many people, quiet and solitude weren't absolutely necessary when Faye needed to focus on something or other; for as long as she could remember, she'd been able to sleep with the TV on, have telephone conversations in a crowded place or do her homework with the stereo blaring in the background. Chatter, light, music, movement....all these and more she could expel from her mind if she tried hard enough, leaving her senses free of distraction or, alternately, her mind blissfully void and ready for relaxation. It was a useful skill for any student hoping to catch a bit of last minute revision during breaks, add a couple of finishing touches to a piece of homework before class, or, like Faye was currently doing, be busy ignoring the hustle and bustle of Brooklake in favour of something that currently held her full attention.

Among the things that Faye would find herself drawn into with uncanny ease, writing was foremost. Not always; at times, she could spend hour upon frustrating hour chewing on the end of her pen and barely writing half a page; when her Muse willed it however, thrilling ideas spun into motion, merging and expanding into unguessable new scapes, characters and universes just waiting to be birthed on paper. They beckoned her with the ultimate creative lure which refused to be denied, entrapping Faye within her own imagination.

Beginning with the idea of an otherworldly wintry landscape, Faye expanded further and further, adding texture and colour to the scene, outlining soaring ziggurats of wholly alien architecture whose jagged tips pierced through the swirling clouds, and the strange, semi-corporeal race that inhabited them. One figure could be seen treading through the mist, a long, thin shadow with five spindly legs, which...

"Hey." greeted a voice. "Whatcha doing?"

The words, coming not from a far-away world existing in Faye's imagination but from the lips of a girl standing right in front of her, shattered the image to pieces and returned her abruptly to Earth, and to the present. Blinking away, Faye instinctively snapped the notebook shut in the second before awareness fully took over and reality once again made sense. As she raised her gaze to meet the newcomer's , an expression of dazed surprise clung uncertainly to Faye's delicate features, her thin fingers with their short, clean-cut nails drumming idly on either side of the folded notebook.

However dazed she could be when torn out of one of her creative reveries though, Faye was quick to recollect herself, and she generally welcomed company, even the unexpected kind. Therefore, it didn't take long for a slight smile to find its way on her pink lips:

“Oh, just jutting down a couple of things”, she replied, giving the book on her lap a brief self-conscious glance. “In case I forget them; it's a useful trick if I plan to write something later. I swear, I get my best ideas when I'm on the bus or something!”

Faye gave a brief laugh; she wasn't exactly secretive about the fact that writing was her hobby, but she didn't like giving too many details, particularly specifics of the stories she had written already or her ambition of becoming a published author. The first was due to a sense of odd protectiveness, partly because they were reflection of her innermost thoughts and ideas and partly (a large part) because she feared they would not rise up to expectations, and would be dismissed. As for her dream, she kept it mostly to herself because people tended to sneer whenever a 16 year old made such lofty claims. At her age, it was very much like saying you wanted to become an actress, or a model; many kids did, and few managed it, cheapening it down to a kind of frivolous fantasy.

“I'm also about to be late for the newspaper club,” Faye added with a glance over her shoulder, “On my first day, too.”

Standing up and shouldering her bag, she was now able to properly look at her, though her diminutive stature still created a difference in height.

“I'm Faye, by the way.”

((ooc: I hope this works, elpemmy. I took the liberty of assuming Lea is taller than 5'1'' :lol: Let me know if anything needs changing. ))

[FurryPanda]

((OOC: I thought I actually had to wait for elpemmy's post, but we had a miscommunication. I am sorry robokitty for the unnecessary delay))

Kellie was not a total b*tch. Katie would give her that. Yeah she was probably being corrupted more and more daily by her royal b*tchiness, Sienna the Irradiated and the others, but there was still some spark of humanity in her that made Katie willing to put up with a lot from her.

Check that. Put up with a lot from her most of the time. If she was already dressed horribly, had had a bad morning, and was guilt-tripping herself over how she had treated Lea? That made it much harder. Katie didn't acknowledge Kellie's presence when she started stretching next to her. When she asked how class had been, Katie answered in monosyllables, but she always did that. When she asked what the heck was with that hideous sweater, Katie froze in the middle of a moving stretch and almost fell over, forcing herself to breathe, to not say what she thought of Kellie, to not tell her that if the studio was open at this time of day she wouldn't be here ever, to not say what she thought of the whole d*mn cheerleader stereotype that Kellie so squarely fit into.

She muttered that it was clean, and Kellie said something about it being a shame not to have clean laundry, her voice so very condescending, as if this idiot thought that she was better than Katie Byrd. It was enough to make her clench her hands into fists and wish she could be anywhere else.

And then it occured to her. She did have somewhere to go. Esteban had said he'd show her how to fight if she wanted to come. In a split second she decided. She told Kellie she would go get the cooler, and then stalked off, her head held high, her full attention devoted to bringing herself back to a full, serene state of calm. She knew him well enough now to realize that it would be shattered inside of five minutes, but it was such a force of habit, to approach everything as calmly as possible, that she did it anyway.

As she strode out of the gym and down the hallway she realized that he hadn't mentioned where he was going to be. The thought of peeking into detention was not appealing to her, and while she could say that Mrs. Caterby, the guidance counselor needed someone to do heavy lifting, he would probably resent that, and that was as much of a good idea as she could come up with.

She found herself by the front doors and walked outside, the wind biting her bare legs, but she was too lost in thought to notice that she hadn't changed, and that her skirt was riding up so that all it looked like she was wearing at first glance was a sweatshirt.

Maybe he was outside, where she'd seen him and JD yesterday? It was worth a shot, and her body wanted to walk, even if her head wasn't realizing that she was cold. She walked around, her mind now as ordered as it had been before practice, except that she was now looking forward to this.

She'd mostly expected him to be behind the school, after all, since he hadn't specified it was a safe assumption, and she now had a great deal more evidence that he wasn't stupid, in addition to his grades, which she wasn't supposed to know about in the first place. Not in her league, but not stupid. Given how she tended to describe anyone she disliked as stupid, that was higher praise than it sounded.

Nonetheless, when she did actually see him she was fairly pleased, but only for a moment. He was sitting on the railing, staring at the ground and holding a flask. So he hadn't gone and gotten lunch and clawed his way to sobreity like she had. Then again, he'd had three times as much as she had, so maybe he had and this was where he wound up? Yesterday she would have scoffed at herself and said she was being too charitable. Today she was seriously trying to convince herself that it had just happened to happen, entirely unconsciously, driven by drink.

She crossed the last few feet and stood there a moment, a foot or two back in case he face-planted getting up. She doubted it, but it only had to happen once at a party before a girl learned to stay a few feet away from a drunk guy. "I'm here," she said, quite unnescessarily, but it was too quiet for her tastes behind the school. There wasn't the overwhelming sense of claustrophobia and terror that she'd had in the closet pressed between him and the shelf that morning, but at that moment she started to wonder what exactly she was doing there.

((OOC: asdfjkl;, hope that was okay with you))