Marwick Academy for Gifted Youths {IC}

[Teen Idle]

MARWICK ACADEMY FOR GIFTED YOUTHS
In Character | Out of Character | Character Archive
Gamemasters: Teen Idle & TopHat
__________________

It had been a long day.

Alex had torn the strip of his letter during the early hours of the morning, having endured a painful debate with himself as to what he should do. When these Marwick people said twenty-four hours, they really meant it; and Alex was woken from his sleep by a car pulling up outside. He peered out of the window; there it sat, a dark, black sedan with tinted windows. He glanced at the clock; 3:21am. Fuck.

Alex had already packed his belongings, and so he slid out of the house in just his underwear - which he had been sleeping in - and a bathrobe, not wanting to keep the chauffeur waiting. He thanked the well-dressed man for assisting him with his four cases of luggage, but clothes and art supplies took up a lot of space. He slung his keytar, Lucina, over his shoulder and picked up a smaller travel-case of clothes he had intended to change into at the airport; he would wear these now, instead. Glancing up towards the top of the stairs, where his parents room was, a tear slid down his cheek as he closed the door of the large stately home - a thin drizzle of rain falling from the skies as he made his way to the black vehicle.

***

Alex mused as the vehicle he was now in - again, another black sedan - carried him up the steep, lush mountainside. He had no idea where he was, as he had been transported through private jets and other shady goings-on, but wherever it was, it was simply beautiful - with beautiful green forest as far as the eye could see. He wondered why such a wondrous beauty would be kept hidden behind security, as even now as they ascended the cliffside they were forced to stop every ten minutes or so at 'check-points' in which all of the baggage and personnel within the vehicle were inspected.

Needless to say, thanks to Alex's 'essentials', this was not a swift process.

***

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, a jet-lagged Alex was dispatched from the vehicle - leaving him to carry all four of his suitcases, his keytar and his travel-bag alone. His platformed footwear did not make this feat any easier, and the physically weak teenager heaved his luggage up the path which lead to the doors of the academy. The campus was stunning; it was like the grounds of an aristocratic estate - with sprawling fields, red-bricked architecture and a merry stream which ran right through the campus, which was surrounded by woodland... And a 10 foot high fence beyond that.

He didn't stop much to admire the complex - suffering from immense fatigue following his 20-hour journey, and also not really wanting to involve himself with the other students; he'd already received odd looks for his outfit today, which was relatively tame, if he said so himself. Instead, he hauled his luggage - two cases in each hand, his travel-bag over one shoulder and Lucina over the other - directly into the building, where he met a large, mahogany-and-marble lobby - with a reception desk, behind which a busy-looking secretary sat, speaking on the phone.

As he was engulfed in his new surroundings, he felt a force behind him and fell to the ground as the door he had just entered through swung open once more, knocking him several feet forward and causing his suitcases to fall like dominoes in the lobby. This was followed by a flurry of abuse from the lizard-like aggressor, to which Alex just looked down in shame as he tried to regather his baggage.

"I'm sorry, I..." he trailed off, seeing the uselessness of his sincerity as he struggled to lift the cases up. It was hard enough to pull them on their wheels, but standing them up was a whole other task... He needed help from someone stronger than him, but was too proud to ask; so continued to struggle by himself.

[Barsavis]

"Take this, pancreas!" The emotion was thick but volume was low. People wouldn't have even cared had it not been for the bizarre statement. Arrow wondered into the foyer on her way through the building. She chugged the most sugary drink she could find, with a fist full of candy in the other. "Your coup to overthrow the brain will not be tolerated, next time try doing it yourself instead of sending one of your sweetbread assassins. Arm, give her another dose!"

*Slurp*

"Aaaa! No! Stop!"

"My lady, she's had enough."

"I will say when she's had enough! Do it again."

"I…"

"I said do it again!"

*Sluuuuurrrrrrrrr........p*

Arrow stopped realizing that she had once again included the entire public in with her ridiculous imagination. She tried to think this sort of thing was normal but then again she hadn't ever caught anybody else doing it. Attention was not her intent; she was just doing her thing. This was not the best first impressions, coming across as someone having to be in the spotlight. She paused the episode playing out in her mind like the TV was too loud and she had just turned it on.

One piece of candy was tossed into her mouth. She walked out of the room until realizing that fresh blood had arrived. She re-entered the foyer stepping backwards to do so in order to observe.

[TopHat]

Florence got cosy in the seat of the sedan she was in, one foot resting on a suit case. Another adventure, going to some sort of mutant...superpowered...posh person boarding school. Thingy. Sounded cool at any rate, and it would be something different compared to what she was used to.

Plush she'd probably get more inspiration for her works seeing some of the cool freaky shit that her fellow students could do, that'd always be fun.

As the car came to a halt the young redhead, formerly blonde, hopped up and grabbed her bags. The young woman gave a hum and focused, seeing this as a chance to test her powers out. A large group of vines grew from the ground and formed into some mass of tendrils which plucked her bags up and carried them behind her.

Florence paused as she moved up to the school and found herself walking behind a young man who was clearly struggling with luggage. "Need a hand?" she asked cheerily, one vine stretching out and lifting the luggage slightly.

[LJCOMICS]

The car pulled up in front of Aunt Marie's house at around two in the afternoon. Luca had been expecting it since he summoned it the day before. Packing had been easy. He was an old hand at moving, and had very few personal belongings. Just a worn suitcase full of clothes and a tennis racket. Saying goodbye to his current set of guardians had been even easier. Luca had told them that he had been accepted into a private school with free tuition. Not a lie. But that was all that he had told them. Neither his aunt nor her husband asked so much as the name of the school, much less questioned the authenticity of the offer he had received. Luca didn't really blame them. He was out of their hair with absolutely no effort on their part. He wouldn't expect them to look a gift horse in the mouth.

His chauffeur seemed a bit surprised by Luca's lack of belongings, but didn't comment much on it. Luca climbed into the passenger side of the car, buckled himself in and rested his head against the window as the car got rolling. The driver, a genial, older, black gentleman, tried to make small-talk, to which Luca was not particularly receptive.

"So, those your parents that waved you off?"

"No."

"Ah. Alright then. Well where are your parents, if you don't mind me asking?"

"No idea."

"Huh. Not much for talking, are you?"

"Sorry."

"Hey, don't mind me. Your business is your business. Excited about attending our fine institution?"

"I guess." Luca sighed and sat up straight in his seat. "Not really."

"Nervous?"

"Maybe. I feel more like I'm dreading it, to be honest."

The driver smiled, having finally coaxed a complete sentence out of the boy. "Hey, we all have our doubts and anxieties. But try not to get worked up about it. You made the right call, believe me."

"I hope so."

The two were silent for the rest of the drive. Atlantic City International Airport was reached soon enough, and Luca was sent on his way. The flight, while long, was mostly uneventful. He was landed in a private airspace in a location he could not identify, and then driven up the slopes of a mountain. There were a few checks along the way, but his minimal luggage made the journey quite painless. Soon enough he was deposited in the middle of a campus, suitcase in hand and cased racket slung over his shoulder. The grounds were nice, Luca supposed. It wouldn't be an unpleasant place to live, or at least he hoped that much.

Continuing through the grounds, Luca noticed a rather outlandishly-dressed young man struggling with a preposterous amount of luggage. Feeling a bit worse for the wear by his extensive journey, Luca desired relief from his own, admittedly minor, burdens. Though having been given no direction after being deposited on the campus, he had no idea where he was to take his belongings. As a result, he stood in the middle of the grounds looking around confusedly.

[Kirra]

It was in the middle of dinner when a knock was heard at the front door which broke the quiet, almost somber atmosphere of the room. Even without going to the door, Zoey and her family knew what awaited them since the villagers were accustomed to entering the house as if it were their own home. Across the table she saw her twenty-two year old brother tense up, the only one in her family that was strongly against her choice on going to the school. “Zoey, you can change your mind. Are you sure you want to do this?” The raspy voice of her brother said as he avoided looking towards the door. “Yes Chris, I want to do this.” The four of them moved to the door and after saying her farewells to the villagers and her family, she got into a vehicle that waited for her. It was a bittersweet moment as the car drove away, starting a new adventure for her.
~~~~
It was a long trip and Zoey was relived when she stepped out of the car door. Placing her backpack on her back, Zoey headed towards the building at a leisure pace. The sheer size of the building gave her a sense of awe as she remembered the building back a home. Not only that, but the grandeur of the school grounds astounded her. There was a sense of longing as she wished she could stay outside and admire the scenery but she knew that it would be best if she headed inside. She a few students passed her as they headed into the school and she followed suit. The interior of the building was a grand as the out, she surprised to see how people were able to splurge so much on appearance but she didn’t give it much of thought as she turned her attention towards the students. There were many bizarre looking people, some due to them being a mutant but she had a feeling most were due to the student’s choice in style as she saw one guy with an almost abnormally large sized ear piercing in his ear. A girl that came to his aid as the guy struggled with is luggage had a fiery red hair. Another girl that seemed to be mumbling to herself had a streak of pink in her bangs. As more students started to arrive at the school, Zoey wondered what she should be doing. Deciding to head back outside, she noticed that she wasn’t the only one that appeared to be confused. There was a guy about her age that seemed to be in the same boat as her. Without a second thought, Zoey headed towards the guy to start a conversation. “Hey there, you seem to be a bit out of place as well.” Zoey said cheerfully as she extended her hand out for the blonde haired boy to shake. “I’m Zoey, Zoey Wyatt.” She said with a small smile on her face being slightly more proper and formal than what is normal for a common teenager.

[Nosuchthing]

She woke up drenched in sweat, the dreams had come again and she grimaced as a sharp pain flashed through her temple. She stumbled out of bed, moving along a path long since committed to memory, one she could follow blind, and had for years. She found the medicine cabinet as another crippling flash of pain burned through her, and she almost collapsed, holding onto the sink for support. She gasped for air, pulling a bottle out and rattling two pills into her hand. She dry swallowed them, forcing them down what felt like a hard unyielding tube rather than her throat. She tried to fill a glass, managing to get a little in from the tap and moistening her mouth and throat with what felt like pure nectar.

Then she heard the engine rumbling outside. It was quiet, quiet enough that it hadn't woken her parents. She stripped off the clinging pajamas, pushing them into the wash basket, and dressed quickly, grabbing her small suitcase and the rucksack. She paused at the door to the kitchen, then dropped the letter onto the kitchen table. It was the first thing she'd written without braille, the writing was messy, ill-formed and spiky. She almost ran out the door, but had that familiar feeling opening the door, seeing it open before she'd moved, that sudden moment of terror that it would hit her and jerking back before it had gone an inch. She blushed in embarrasment at the guy in the suit waiting outside, he took her bags and she got in, lying back and letting the numbing wave of the drugs wash her slowly down into dreamless slumber.

She woke on a plane, she couldn't remember getting on, maybe they'd carried her, maybe she'd still been half asleep. Regardless, she'd ended up here, and there had been no nightmares, no dreams, it had been her first dreamless sleep in a long time. Maybe it was a sign that something was changing for the better. They landed ten minutes after she woke and when she got off the plane she couldn't help feeling optimisitic about what was to come.

That soon vanished during the brutal drive up the mountain, checkpoints every ten minutes and harsh suspicion on every guards face. When she was dropped off outside the school she felt small, unimportant and intimidated.

The house itself was huge, not a house, a mansion. An enormous, imposing, gothic mansion. It was surrounded by trees on every side, isolated in the vast grip of nature. Inside it was just as impressive, all dark mahogany and cut marble. She stood in the doorway, rucksack over one shoulder and the suitcase containing her clothes resting beside her. She watched open mouthed as one girl helped a boy pick up his cases with a cluster of vines. She wasn't alone here, but she couldn't help but feel out of place, alone. She suddenly felt very small.

[Xionist]

Tobi sat at his laptop listening to music as he browsed the internet out of boredom. He really should be looking for a job, as he was just recently fired from his most recent one for falling asleep on the job. He used to work at a Home Depot, and one day he was told to move some supplies out of the way so some forklifts could get through. All that was left in the end was a large crate filled with boxes of nails. In all honesty Tobi should have asked for help, but instead he took the foolish way through and decided to use his powers to lift the crate while nobody was looking. The weight proved too much and drained most of his energy as he set it to the side. Just wanting to take a quick breather, Tobi sat down on the crate and zoned out. Next thing he knew, he was on the floor being woke up by the manager sporting his signature beet red bald head.

Tobi is an eighteen year old boy who is just fresh out of high school and already living on his own. He currently lives in a studio apartment in Seattle. As of now his monthly rent has been paid, but he knows if he doesn't get a job soon he'll have to sell his keyboard and other valuables to pay his next rent. Either that or live on the streets, neither of which sounded appealing.

"Ugh.. Damnit Beet-face. Couldn't just give me a second chance, could'ja?" Tobi said to himself as he pushed himself away from his laptop and walked across the studio. In reality, this was the third time Tobi was caught sleeping on the job because of his abilities and the amount of energy is taxes from him when he uses it.

Grabbing his sweatshirt, which was purple on the outside and black on the inside and also had a hood on it, Tobi headed out of his apartment and down to the mailboxes to check if he had any mail waiting for him. Down at the mailboxes, his landlord was waiting there for him knowing that Tobi always checks for mail at this time.

"So, I heard from one of your friends you were fired. What're you going to do about your rent? Your month is going to end soon, Tobi."

Mrs. Smith was a kindly landlord, but when it came to rent she could be a demon if you tried pushing your luck. The situation wasn't good, and Tobi was left wondering who ratted him out. Some friends those were, man. He thought as he quickly thought of a bullshit backup story to please Mrs. Smith.

"Ah, don't worry. I'll definitely have my rent in on time. I'm currently looking for a job right now. As you can see, I'm geared up to go on a job hunting spree. Don't I look nice?"

He ended with a smile, however unconfident it was. His hair was messy as ever, and his sweatshirt was half on, as he was in the process of putting it on as he went down the stairs. Mrs. Smith clucked her tongue and shook her head with a sigh.

"Just make sure to pay your rent on time, alright? You're way too young to be living on the streets. If times get rough, you always have your family to house you."

Tobi's heart sunk at the mention of family. He knew Mrs. Smith was just trying to be nice, and didn't know about his situation. Moving over to his mailbox, he unlocked it not really expecting anything. Out of pure habit he nearly shut the door when he noticed the letter inside. Pulling it out, he noticed it felt very odd and realized the paper was one of those expensive brands that is apparently very professional to use.

"Oh? What's this, Tobi? Did you get a scholarship to a school? Looks important."

Turning the letter side to side, Tobi tried to figure out who had sent this letter. All he saw was the address label and something called Marwick Academy on the front.

"Well, I have no clue what this is Mrs. Smith. Seems I'm not going out today, haha." Tobi said as he promptly turned back and hurried back up to his studio apartment so he could read the contents of the letter.

Quickly shutting his door behind him and rushing over to his desk, Tobi tore open the envelope and pulled out it's contents. Inside was a rather formal letter with a red strip on the bottom. Tobi has to read the entire letter multiple times to grasp what it was saying. Even so, he could barely believe what he read.

Woah, what? This Academy is a school for people like me?.. There are others!? How come I never knew about this? Wait, these others are probably like me and hid their powers from others. It makes sense that I'd think I was alone on this.

Tobi shook his head and rubbed his eyes, putting the letter down. Pacing his apartment, he thought things over. This school sounded just perfect for him. He need to go to college, but it struggling to keep a job. Let alone pay rent. The one thing that was bugging him the whole time was the concept that this could be just one big tease. One of his buddies from work could be messing with him, but then how would they know to send a letter like this. Why would they go through the money to buy such high quality paper and envelope.

Well there is only one way to find out. He said as he picked up the letter and yanked off the red strip on the bottom of the letter. There he stood, the letter in one hand and the strip in the other.

"Heh.. Guess I should get packed, prank or not. Just in case."

------------

Nearly two days later, Tobi was woken up by the halting of the vehicle he was riding in. He was rather sore, and had to stretch when he exited the vehicle. He had tried to sleep in between checkpoints, and the constant stopping and waking up wore him out. Between the jet lag from the airplane ride and the car ride, Tobi was left half asleep. He was awake throughout the entire plane ride because of the fact that he was highly aware of the machinery around him and all the moving metals of the plane engines. It bugged him to no end, and it refused to let him sleep in peace. The car ride was at least comfortable, except for the checkpoint stops.

As he stretched outside the car, Tobi gazed across the lands that now sprawled in front of him. Everything just screamed money. The grand building sitting in the middle of a dense forest. The calm serene atmosphere that covered the area. The lush gardens. Everything.

"Daaamn. I was expectin' something grand, but not this grand. Jeeze." He said as he strolled down the path down to the enormous building. Having lived in Seattle all his life, he knew how big buildings could get. This may be no skyscraper, but this building had so much detail put into it and was huge as well.

Trying to juggle his keyboard and his luggage case was difficult, but in the end Tobi was just grateful that his luggage case had wheels. That was he could hold his keyboard under his left arm and hold onto his luggage case handle with the other hand. Entering through the front door, Tobi was left staring at the grandeur of the inside. Having zoned out, Tobi had forgotten where he was supposed to go and started to wander.

Oh crap.. I think I'm lost already.

[Deathmaker]

Xavier's bandaged feet along with leather sandals, trudged slowly towards the building. His family had sent him here and for a very good reason. His uncontrollable 'disease' has led many of his friends and families wounded, and one thing that's sure, he didn't want it to happen again. Already he noticed some eyes placed at him. It wasn't that shocking, considering a guy bandaged almost everywhere aside from his face. His light steps arrived at the main hall as he saw the majority of the students carrying their luggage. Well heck, the only luggage he had was a medium sized leather, brown colored sling bag. He was wearing a short sleeved hoodie that revealed his bandaged arms.

"Will this place really fix my disease?" Xavier sighed as he looked at his bandaged arms. He muttered some curses as he looked around. Perhaps he was lost actually. In the first place he didn't know which way to go or was he even planning to go somewhere. Honestly, he didn't think he'd make it that far, Xavier thought he would evolve somewhere in the journey.

Xavier felt the bandages on his limbs got too hot and realized that the bandages had begun to lose their suppressing capabilities. Without hesitating, he searched for the nearest bathroom. Wherever that is. Aimlessly marching through the halls, Xavier was not really paying attention to where he was going and suddenly bumped into a girl who was as confused as he was(Victoria Hale). Letting out a small cry of alarm, Xavier rubbed his forehead as he looked up and saw the girl.

"Oh sorry... Didn't see you, was too busy trying to find a bathroom. Do you happen to know where one is?"

[Wayward]

The black Sedan rolled along the rough mountainous roads as it had for the past hour or so. Stretched quite easily across the bench style seat in the back, Sarah Sukai was half asleep.

Unlike many other students headed to the "Marwick Academy," she hadn't had the pleasure of getting a flight on any leg of the trip. She had spent well over sixteen hours curled up on the Sedan's back seat in silence. The driver had tried to strike up a conversation with her in the earlier legs of the trip, but had given up in frustration when he realized that she wasn't much for conversation. Why should she have any care to talk to him? He was a stranger, and he was trying to pry into her past like it was canned food. If she hadn't needed him to get to her to the Academy, she would have flipped and beat him senseless.

As the car made its way up that winding, bumpy road that was presumed to be that final leg of the trip, Sarah contemplated showing him what for as soon the both got out of the car. She wouldn't need him to help with her luggage. She could get that on her own, as it was actually quite a meager weight to be carrying; everything she possessed that she could bring was comfortably packed in a small school backpack. Besides what she was wearing, she had two changes of clothes, a pair of shoes for the inevitable physical education-type classes, and a bath towel.

"We're almost there, Ms. Personality," the driver said dryly. Clearly, the man still hadn't forgiven her for ignoring his attempts to be friendly.

Not breaking the trend of silence, Sarah merely poked her head up to look through the front window. They had turned onto a smoother road of compacted dirt surrounded by a grassy field with some forest around in the distance. Not far, and growing ever closer, Sarah could see the large mansion that was to be her new "home," if she could stand her time there. Contemplating her surroundings, she concluded that there wouldn't be anywhere else worth going now that she was there; there was no city nearby, or even a town to speak of. Just fields and forests to get lost in.

The car ground to a breaking halt right outside what Sarah guessed was the school's front entrance. Even as the driver said "out" she was already sitting up right and opening her door, which seemed to have annoyed the driver a bit more. But she didn't care; she didn't need some suit-wearer opening her door. She placed her feet down on the driveway, stood up, and slung her backpack over her shoulders.

She looked up towards the entrance to the mansion, where there stood two others about her age, apparently having just met. If their attention were drawn to Sarah for whatever reason, they'd be looking at a young Asian-American girl, with a look of mild poverty. She wasn't very well kept, her face and hair being quite messy as though they had never really gotten a real washing. Her clothes were hand-me-downs from other orphans who had either been adopted or found work to support themselves. A more than broken in pair of high top Converse shoes kept her feet from the ground below. A pair of beaten black jeans, slightly ripped and a bit of a tighter fit for her covered her legs, tucking into the tops of her shoes. She wore a faded, dark gray zip-up hooded sweatshirt, with the hood drawn up partially over her head.

The small girl began to walk toward the mansion, and stopped suddenly at the sound of someone clearing their throat behind her. The driver of the Sedan stood by his car, with a strict look upon his face as he pointed to the message on the side of the car that read: "Drivers work for tips."

The anger Sarah had nearly gotten over from earlier in their trip boiled back up instantly when she read the words. How insensitive... how unobservant of him. She snapped at the driver, loud enough for anyone just inside the building to here. "YOU PICKED ME UP FROM AN ORPHANAGE ASSHOLE!" she shouted before turning around and shoving her way by the two by the entrance on her way into the main foyer.

[Thrawn]

*** 28 minutes ago... ***

Ka-thunk. Ka-thunk. Ka-thunk.

Weston grimaced as his body was jostled around, back and forth in the backseat. He had already been feeling ill since first stepping foot on the plane earlier this morning, and this horrible car ride up the long, twisting road certainly wasn't helping. Especially seeing as every few minutes they were forced to stop as the entire car was searched by nameless security guards.

Ka-thunk. Ka-thunk. Ka-thunk.

Why the car needed to be searched a half dozen times, West didn't know. It's not like we've stopped anywhere. I mean, we're on one big freakin' road. What do these idiots think, we somehow stopped by Mexico and picked up a few pounds of meth since the last check point? Weston groaned as they pulled up to another check-point and a man in black stepped up to the vehicle to begin the search.

And as if the plane ride and the hours in the stuffy sedan weren't bad enough, their right rear tire was unfortunate enough to encounter a rogue nail, or rock, or some sharp object. Either way the car had a flat. A flat which resulted in a repeated bouncing movement under West's seat. Suffice to say, this wasn't helping his queasiness.

Ka-thunk. Ka-thunk. Ka-thunk.

What the hell do they even need this much security for - or any security for that matter? West thought as the sedan slowly rolled away from the check-point. This is supposed to be some preppy school for talented kids, not a maximum security prison. Although, I guess I don't really know much about this place. I mean, all I did was read a letter. I didn't research this place or anything. Jesus, what if this... what if this is... I don't know, some kind of sick, perverted sex trafficking thing... or something. Weston quickly dismissed this as a ridiculous notion, actually laughing out loud at his idiocy.

The driver glanced in the rear view mirror. "Everything alright, sir?"

"Uh, yeah, thanks. Just nervous I guess."

"That's understandable, sir. Attending a new school, especially one like this," the man let a smile pass his face. "Well, you have every right to be nervous."

"Hey, uh, what can you tell me about this school? I mean, I don't get what the big deal is with all this security. And I really don't get why I was picked to attend here; it's not like my grades or anything are all that great."

Ka-thunk. Ka-thunk. Ka-thunk.

This time the driver turned his head around, confusion etched on his face. "Didn't you read your invitation, sir? I thought it was supposed to be explained in the letter."

"Oh, you mean the whole 'government-funded academy for mutants to maintain secrecy' and all that nonsense? It's a nice PR stunt, but I don't see how that explains anything."

"Sir, I... perhaps it's best if one of the academy faculty members explain things to you. I don't think I'm quite qualified."

Weston was about to push the matter but the driver quickly announced they had arrived. Not a moment too soon, he thought, clutching his stomach in a futile attempt to put it at ease.

West looked out his window. "Oh, that's big."

Big was an understatement. The Marwick Academy for Gifted Youths was a mansion so large that it probably had it's own zip code.

"Jesus Christ, who owns this place, Bill Gates?" Weston directed the question towards the driver, but he was more or less speaking to himself. "Scratch that, Bill Gates would probably have this place completely run on artificial intelligence. I'm guessing closer to Stephen King. Yeah, definitely getting a Rose Red vibe off this place. Please tell me there aren't going to be any creepy cherubs overlooking my bed."

West didn't wait for a response, already opening his door to get a better glimpse at the huge manor. He shook his head at the ridiculously lavish estate. Rich people. It's like they tear the word 'practical' right out of their dictionary.

The driver approached Weston carrying a blue duffel bag and a ratty looking, black backpack. "Your luggage, sir."

"Oh, right, thanks. I guess this is it, then. Thanks for the ride. It was, uh, eventful." Weston said, still clutching his queasy stomach with his free hand while the other gripped his duffel. "So, what now; I just go in the insanely big door?"

Weston didn't get a response from the driver who had already turned his attention to the luxury vehicle, probably to get the tire replaced.

*** Now... ***

Weston tapped his foot impatiently against the expensive wood paneling. The cute, young English receptionist had told Weston he could wait in the lobby room, but after five short minutes he already found himself bored out of his mind. He wanted, no needed, something to do. Here he was in this large mansion with probably countless rooms for him to explore, and all Weston thought to do was sit idly by until someone came to tell him where he was to go. This was all new to West, he had never been to a school like this and he wasn't sure what exactly it was that he was supposed to be doing.

Giving up on the whole patience thing, Weston stood up on sturdy legs - his travel sickness having passed by now - and walked the short distance back to the reception area where he had spoken to the receptionist. He intended to speak to her in the hopes of weaseling some information about the school out of her. Instead, as he turned the corner, he nearly walked into a young girl who seemed to be walking backwards while popping what appeared to be candy into her mouth.

"Oh, sorry. Didn't see you there." He looked the girl up and down. She was smaller than he was with bright red hair, except for a section that was dyed pink. Freckles dotted her face, and West was pleasantly surprised to see she hadn't plastered her skin with annoying make-up. He much preferred the natural look.

"Are you new here, too?" He asked.