Sustaining Reality (IC)

[Katelyn]

The RP is CLOSED


OOC

The video you received as part of your welcome packet:

Dr. Elizabeth Parker stood on the side of the stage, her eyes focused on the widow on the far side of the classroom where the chilly fall air flirted with the burnt orange leaves that had fallen from their host and scattered the ground. The sound of the professor announcing her name and credentials pulled her from her reverie. The students whooped and hollered as she walked carefully up to the microphone, not nervous, but a bit of excitement touching at the edge of her consciousness.

She stopped in front of the microphone and laid down her speech, “Good morning. As Dr. Ashorn already mentioned, I’m Dr. Elizabeth Parker and I’m here on behalf of the Baylor, school of Psychology’s Semi-annual Prolonging Lucidity study.” She paused as the crowd went a little nuts.

She smirked at their excitement. “I take it you’ve heard of it?” She chuckled as did they.

“Let me give you a little back ground and then I will be happy to announce the fall recipients of the grants to attend our study starting Monday morning.” She flipped her page and looked up at the smiling, excited faces. “The study of sleep and REM has been conducted in differing degrees since 5000BC, where findings were documented on clay tablets. The earliest recorded dreams were acquired from materials dating back to Mesopotamia and they were regarded as an extension of our true reality, what we’ve later labeled as our “sub conscious.” Now… I won’t go too far into the details or history, as I would like to save some of that for our participants to enjoy as part of their journey with us. I will tell you that we have been looking at and studying the human mind, the part it plays in emotions and reaction to sensory information, as well as how the dreams of the subconscious have power over all of that for a very, very long time.”

She moved away from the podium, all eyes on her – some interested, some intrigued, some apathetic and some lustful. She smiled and continued, “Some believe dreams predict the future and some believe they tell of the past. But what if they were the true reality of the present? The brain is an incredible – the most incredible organ we have. Dreams and emotional realities play a large part in that.” She paused and turned to take a sip of water.

“We at the Baylor Lucidity Institute have constructed dream patterns that we will administer to each of our participants over a series of five months. These dream patterns, or dreamscapes as we call them are independent of their host and have no bearing on the hosts past, or future. They are farmed or created realities that we will be administering through tiny electrodes that slip under the skin – feels like a pinch.” She smiled as she demonstrated with her fingers spread across her dark crimson hair.

“The purpose of the study is to monitor and measure emotional reaction from the participants in these given situations, both as a physical participant in the dream and an emotional one as you, yourself having woken from a traumatizing nightmare or a love making dream.” She stopped to allow them to indulge in snickers.

She smiled and walked behind the podium. “If you are receiving this video, then you have been chosen to attend our study. Please note that we had over one hundred thousand applicants. Along with this video, you will find information about travel from your destination to Texas, medical release for and lots of informational items for you and for you to fill out for us."

She looked directly into the camera just off to her left, "If you're wondering why we are filming this in a large auditorium full of people, these are the people that have gone before you and participated in the study up to this point. They are just here to congratulate you for joining their ranks today." She smiled brightly as the camera turned and spanned the crowd, people of all ages, races and social backgrounds yelled and whoop'd for the new attendees.

She smiled and clapped with everyone else. “Thank you again for your time and if you have questions about the study, included in your packet is more information, a web address and links to our sites.” She stepped off the stage and the screen went black.

************************************************** ****************

Abby:

Accepted. What a great first word on her letter from the University study. The chance to get the hell out of there for a while and get a breather from everyone’s expectations of her was almost overwhelming. There wasn’t a place in her world that someone didn’t expect something of Abigail Miller. This dream study was her own original idea and one that she’d worked hard to research and gain understanding as to what repetitive characteristics they seemed to select in their candidates.

The study dated back to the mid-fifties and was created by a man named, Arthur Markham, a revolutionary thinker for his time. Abby carefully reviewed all of the participants and dug into their lives, learning them. After having a good understanding of what they were looking for, using simple statistical analysis, she applied and simply twisted a few of her own stories and character traits to obtain entrance.

She needed a break from life and something relatively academic was the only hope she had in gaining the acceptance of her overbearing parents and pushy boyfriend. Their acceptance unfortunately was everything to her. She picked up the letter again, having watched the video three times since receiving the packet in the mail the day before. She pulled the top on her suitcase closed and zipped it, patted the top and made one last sweep around her room before grabbing her bags and wrestling them downstairs.

Her father was a senator from New York and her mother a lawyer for one of the top firms in the city and needless to say, neither were around very much. Her boyfriend, Mark was too busy practicing for the rugby practice later that evening to bother taking her to the airport. As usual, Jenson, their butler, ushered her there and helped her get off and onto freedom for a few weeks.

She thanked him, as no one else in their household bothered to do, and walked down the run way. The flight to Texas would be a little under three hours. She’d picked up a great smut novel and was delighted that she wouldn’t even have to hide it for fear of retribution from those around her. She snuggled into her seat and opened her book, a smile playing on her pretty mouth.

The plane landed way too soon in her opinion, having only read two-thirds of the novel. She sighed, stowed it away and moved with the others off the plane. A young man waiting at the end of the terminal with her name printed on a sign that he held, a smile on his handsome face. Well, what have we here?

She walked up slowly and smiled, “I’m Abby Miller, and you?”

He put the sign in his briefcase and extended his large hand, “I’m Nate Warren. I’m Dr. Parker’s assistant and a grad student. Nice to meet you.”

Abby blushed a little due to his handsome appeal, but shook his hand and cleared her throat, a nervous habit. “Nice to meet you as well. So, we’re off to campus then?”

“We will be shortly,” he said, reaching for her bag. “We’ve got a few more people to get before we leave the airport, but a few of them are already at the dream facility. If everything works out as planned, we will stop off for a quick dinner and then arrive just in time for bed.”

“Sounds great, I’m starved.” Her tummy growled as if it were aware of their conversation over something warm and filing. They both laughed and headed down the long hall to pick up another student, anxiety tugging at the recess of Abby chest.

Freedom, just concentrate on the freedom.

[tirgesfu]

Alroy

It took the whole short flight from Berkeley, Oakland California, to Waco Texas, to get the smell of Alroy’s roommate’s stale flat beer and smoke out of his hair. Even as Alroy stuffed his small bag with everything he had, Duke, his roommate spilled beer on his bed and blow smoke in his face. Duke never even asked where Alroy was going. Ya, that’s how close they were. Thanks all the gods of green he had been accepted.

Alroy sat in the plane and watched the strange land go by under him. It wasn’t very green. Alroy wasn’t even sure where Texas was. Cowboys, right? But then anything had to be better than the totally undisciplined uncaring self-absorbed free sprite of Berkley California. He had made a mistake. At least this study gave him a chance to take a break and get a feel for things.

Besides he knows about dreams. He had been rocked to sleep with tales of fairies and hidden lands. Sleep studies he could handle. The deal looked good to him. Paid study even and he needed the money. So good bye to freakin’ quake ready left coast and hello to cactus and cattle.

After he got his duffle bag inside the Waco Airport and slung it over his shoulder he saw a young man with a sign with his name on it. He was talking to a woman who wore her class as well as her wide smile. He watched them for a few minutes before he walked over and offered his hand to the guy holding his name.“Alroy reporting.” He spoke softly with his strong Irish tone. He tired a big smile but his eyes didn’t quite find the strength to look the guy full force so his grin failed as well. “Never been to Texas.” He had to add just to explain.

[Deamonbane]

Sweat dripping over his forehead, his eyes already closed in intense concentration, so there was no fear that there might be some drops sliding down to sting his eyes. His fingers clamped tight of the pair of bars over his head, his entire body tense with the abuse. Teeth gritted at the burning sensation going over his back and arms, he flexed, grunting a bit as he did, body suddenly going into a trembling fit, but he forced it, steeled it go go back to normal. He breathed out slowly, painfully, every inch that he climbed up seeming like a mile as he felt the veins in his neck bulge, shuddering some more as he finally reached the top. With the last bit of breath, he managed to say," Fifty," And then dropped down quickly. His hands remained in their vice-like grip for a half second, the time that it took for his feet to uncurl from the position that they were in, and stretch out towards the ground. He let go, feel a half foot, and landed, not too hard. He still bent his knees, though, and he looked at his sweaty arms, wincing as the fire still burned and ached at the same time. He walked over to on of the posts holding he bars up, and, gripping it, twisted his body against it slowly, uncurling his arm and stretching the bicep. It was painful, Mike would be the first to admit, but it was the good kind of pain, like the kid that felt after working off a cramp. His arms were puffed up, swollen from the exercise, chin-ups, preceded by long and grueling sets of push-ups, sit-ups, and a good jog. He wasn't a fitness freak by any means. He just liked looking good.

He grabbed a towel, and wiped the sweat off of his face before continuing the stretches, growling occasionally, but silent on the most part. He had jogged around the block a couple times, and since there was a place that had a few cross-bars near his small flat. He had a job, good, by some standards, that allowed him to keep the flat. He never dreamed about having a huge place to himself. So long as it was nice, clean, and not too hard to keep running and clean, he was a happy beaver. He went to a small stand nearby, and got a drink that was supposedly full of energy, and chugged it down on the building that he called home. He stopped by his box a few moments, opening it, and finding a few letters and small packages waiting for him. He grabbed them, and worked his way up to his place. He opened the door, placing the mail on the coffee table, making a mental not to check on them in a bit. There were more important things to be done, after all.

He moved into the kitchen, flipping open the fridge and pulling out a loaf of sliced bread, some tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, baloney and some mayo. It was quick work, and slapping together three cheese and baloney sandwiches, and a carton of milk. He placed them all on the plate, except the carton, which he took with another hand, dangerously balancing with a tall glass, and moved over to the living room. He had a decent sized TV, nothing exceptional, but something that he was proud of. He had earned, with hard work and sweat, everything that was in this small flat. It wasn't fancy, but it was his. Of course, he would have to work off the student loans once he was out of college, but he was already saving towards that end. Life felt good right now. Simple, uncomplicated. His girlfriend was out of town, and he missed her, but he liked having the place to himself a bit. He flicked on the TV, and there was a good series showing, so he kicked back, and started munching.

An hour later, the plate and carton of juice empty, he flicked the TV off. The episode was good, but not exceptional, and he grabbed a napkin and cleaned his lips. Well, he might as well take a look at the mail now, he supposed. Better now than later, since he didn't have much else to do. There was letters from his parents, so happy that he had moved out of New Jersey to study in New York, but that they missed him, and wanted to make sure that he was coming over for the BBQ to celebrate his younger sister's birthday. He placed it aside. Letters from a couple friends, and a few places that had been keeping a close eye on his studies, hoping to nab him before anybody else did once he graduated. He was only a couple years into college, but he was already in the top 2% of his class of linguistics. He had a knack for it, was what he had always said, but he did enjoy studying them.

He came to the last letter, and he didn't recognize the address. He shrugged and opened it. It was a DVD, and he was now curious. It had the name of a institute in Texas, one that he had never applied for, seeming that it was a bit out of his way, and league. He knew his limits, some of them, anyway, and never tried pushing them. That was a whole world of bad luck that he didn't want to get into. He watched the video.

By the end, he was a bit stunned. He moved over to his laptop, and opened his email. Well, so tey wanted him to join? He inspected a few of the sites that they had, and seemed legit. He ground his teeth a bit. He was a bit hesitant, but... well, honestly, it was the chance of a lifetime, and one that he wasn't likely to turn down. He sent them an email saying:

Dear Dr. Parker,

I am very interested with your proposition, and you may count me in on this experiment. However, studies still ongoing, I will need some time to make sure that all is settled here before I head out. I am very excited to be a part of this study, and am looking forward to working with you. I will be there on Friday.

Regards,
Micheal Abbot

___________________________________

The airport of Houston was crowded, noisy, and smelly, despite the workers' best attempts at making it a sanitary and pleasant environment to be in. It was neither, although Mike supposed it would have been worse if the workers weren't there in the first place, but still, he sort of wished that less people cold be travelling in airports, or maybe that they had bigger airports, or even... well, more workers? No, that wasn't a solution. Lots of jobs could be made that way though, and that was always a win, right? He hadn't brought any luggage, since he didn't expect this to be taking long enough. He had two carry-ons: His laptop, and a backpack carrying personal effects and various other items. He moved through the airport, very aware of his luggage. Living in New York made one paranoid about pickpockets, after all. Or was that just him?

He looked around and saw whom he was looking for, a tall young man, with blond hair and intense eyes. He guessed that that was him, so he moved over and offered his hand," Mike, I think you got my email?"

[guinness]

In the middle of the rounded kitchen table sat a white envelop. It's content's both vital and frightening. The day of judgment had come for Tilly. She'd applied for the dream study out of curiosity. The human mind was as fascinating to her as the inner workings of a computer. In her eyes the two were one of the same, each employing a system of subset programs to moderate the greater whole. Every program had it's job, on it's own it may be useless yet when combined with others it created a masterpiece. It was doubtful they would ever pick her. She was too dark or moody as she'd been told by more than one professor at her own university. Part of her wished this hypothesis was correct as she dreaded leaving her parents. Being on her own was a fairly scary proposition, one she might not be properly programmed for.

Her eyes stared at the envelop, hoping to peer into it's contents without actually breaking the seal. Perhaps if she'd been Kryptonian this process would lead to success. Sadly she was no comic book character and she must face her fate head on. At least it would not be alone as both of her parents sat around the table. Her mother had a giddy expression on her face, eyes twinkling with a sense of wonder only seen in children. Tilly wondered if such excitement was due to Tilly getting accepted or Tilly leaving the house. Getting Tilly to act her age or getting her to be more sociable always seemed to be high on her mother's list. The women got on Tilly's nerves far more than she would like, but her mother's heart was in the right place.

Her father on the other hand seemed to understand her far more. He understood her flaws, embracing them as uniqueness rather than attempting to make her into something she was not. You could dress a wolf in sheep’s clothing, but in reality it was still a wolf. As her eyes connected with his he gave a encouraging nod. The encouragement filled her with just enough zeal to reach forward, gripping the envelop between her fingertips. She took in a deep breath, exhaling in a slow and steady pace. She tore open the envelop with the precision and caution of a bomb squad member. It did not take long for her eyes to light up in a mix of excitement and painstaking fear.

The words did not even have time to escape her lips as both of her parents sprang from their chairs, embracing her physically with hugs and mentally with words of encouragement. Emotions seemed to flutter through her body like butterflies, unable to decipher just how she was meant to feel. The emotion of unadulterated joy was decided as she drifted off to sleep that night. Dreams took control of her mind, allowing her time to embrace the inner child that laid dormant inside of her. A child that was leaping up and down, hands raised in the air.

When it came time to leave for her flight the nerves had all but settled. Her father made sure it was clear that they were here anytime she needed them. All she needed to do was call or Skripe them as he called it. Every time he mispronounced Skype it made her giggle a little inside. She wasn't even sure if he was merely doing it on purpose now. In reality she didn't care, the fact it made her feel at ease was what was important. The program controlling her human emotions appeared to be on break as she actually broke down in tears as she left their car. She was going to miss both of them greatly. Hopefully she would be able to adjust to her new surroundings without incident.

The flight itself was a non event which was just the way she preferred things. The seat next to her was thankfully open, sparing her of forced chit chat or the dreaded child who refused to leave you alone. All she wanted to do on the flight was listen to her music and drift off in her thoughts. Thankfully the rather portly man on the aisle obliged, choosing to work feverishly on his laptop instead. Her gaze had caught glimpses of Excel spreadsheets, implying that the man was here on a business venture or work related event. This surprised her given their destination, but she decided to pay it very little mind.

She waited until every passenger left the plane before gathering her two duffel bags of belongings and departed herself. The mass rush to leave was never appealing to her, others breathing down her neck, eyes beading on her, imploring her to hurry up. It was always an uncomfortable experience. She preferred to just wait the extra five to ten minutes, not as if she was in a massive rush anyway. Each duffel bag was clutched firmly in her hands, blue book bag sitting snug on her back.

It hadn't taken her very long to find the person responsible with taking her to the campus. He looked only a few years older than her, surrounded by a thin looking women and another young looking guy. They appeared to be talking amongst themselves, meaning that the other two must have been fellow students. She had hoped to avoid others, but such things were inevitable. Rather then introducing herself she merely dropped one duffel bag on the ground at her side, using her now free hand to tap at the paper containing her name.

[NikoSmith]

He stood at the head of the classroom as he spewed his mantra of artificiality, he didn't believe in the assignment given, the spirituality of all living things. He just believe in what was here and now, because the past didn't matter and the future wasn't seen. But he always had that glimmer of hope inside him, one that he tried to deny to himself in order to keep his cool demeanor kept in tact. The whole room looked with eyes of bore and one boy with unnerving salacity. Kenny knew he was that exotic beauty, a tempter of the sexes, and he used his daunting allure to bewitch those that wished to face him. But even with his chill smile, on the inside was his fragile clock, ticking and ready to fall apart with each number dropping as the hands would begin to loosen. But just like that his chant was over, the class clapped unwillingly as the professor was intrigued and confused by the speech he had just partook in.

Class was over like that, it was always a blur to him. He never found himself grounded in reality because it was always so infantile to him. The colors were always dull as the people always came in hordes of manufactured drones. On his large university campus in Florida he would have never thought an opportunity like this would come to happen, out of all applicants he was able to be apart of this new project that would be the progenitor for a feat of uninhibited possibilities for the next step in human evolution. With every step he took on the concrete stone earth below him the images of being apart of something larger than himself was indeed a jubilee. And not only that, but the chance for his name to get out there and have his work read by the world was even more of an orgasm waiting to drive through him. An uncontrollable smile swept onto his face, his eyes beaming brighter than the sun as a reality began to actually blossom into existence. But only this time he wasn't the only creator of this reality, his mother was the driving force.

Within a few hours he was sitting on the plane, taking off early from his sordid classes to be apart of this world changing event, surprisingly Japan hadn't even succeeded in doing what this Institute was putting forth. He had a window seat, the chilled air phased him not as his eyes began to drift into the very state that was going to be his experiment. But he merely let them close as his thoughts roamed on the packet in his lap...He drifted to sleep in the chair, silently serene as his boyish charm fluttered from the tight jeans, white suspenders, black polo and white bow tie. He disconnected himself from the world around him, the baby crying in the back while the mom focused more on the badly acted movie than her own child. A business man trying to have one fling while his wife sat at home having her own and a teenager scared to death they were flying alone. So many different people, they must have all had different dreams other than Kenny, but yet they all had similiar dreams that contained the same information and answers they every human being had searched for. And he must have been searching for a few minutes in his mind because in real time he had already arrived in Texas, he couldn't feel the air but he knew there was unprovoked heat waiting for him in this new state.

He had never been to Texas before, he wouldn't even know what to do once he got there, except hopefully not get lost in the airport like he usually always did. There was one time he left his bag in the bathroom and thought someone stole it, he followed a guy with the exact same bag and he ended up looking like a fool. And after that he didn't know how to get back to his gate in order to continue his flight. He was a bit of a hectic man, smart, but still a little air headed when it came to some easy applications. His body began to lift itself up slightly, so slight it wouldn't have even been noticeable, but he noticed it. They were descending, he loved that feeling of falling controllably but like a hot sexy night, it was over in an instant and he yearned for the return home flight. Did he miss home already?

He was off the plane in ten minutes, for some reason bitches wouldn't move out of the way so he could get off. What happened to common courtesy? Regardless of that, he had made it, seeing the hub of people, some probably on their way to college and others just going home to sleep like all people do. He had one suitcase, able to fit a ton in a small package, and he began to search for a hope that he would not get lost this time. But now he did...because seeing the people in front of him made his heart stop, he had become nervous like he was back in middle school. Slowly walking towards them, forcing a smile he evidently wanted revealed he brought himself to the four individuals clearly not friends, except for two people who clearly wanted to get to know each other a bit more than just friends.

"Hey ya, I'm Kenny...I think I'm looking for you guys."

[Katelyn]

Nate and Abby walked down the long hall of the terminal, Nate making small talk as he looked around for gate B24. They found it and he pulled out a small sign that said, “Baylor Dream Study” as well as the various participants names. Before too much time passed, a pale young man with brilliantly crimson hair walked up to them and introduced himself as Alroy.

Abby extended her hand, “I’m Abby and I’ve never been to Texas before either, but I hear that we have to try the BBQ and we have to ride a mechanical bull. I’m thinking we should just combine the two and make that a group outing of sorts.” She laughed and moved back to let Nate make his introduction.

“Nate Warren. I’m Dr. Parker’s assistance. Don’t believe anything you’ve heard about Texas. The BBQ is okay and the bull will strip you of your dignity.” He chuckled as they moved down to continue picking up students.

“How many of us are there in total, Nate?” Abby asked as she walked between the two men.

“There are five of you total, and Michael is next on our list.” Nate moved to gate B33 while Abby chatted with Alroy about how great it was to have the weekend to get everything set up before starting in the program.

They walked up about the time a handsome sandy-brown haired male moved toward them, his eyes on Nate as he spoke about his email. Nate smiled and extended his hand. "Yes, I Nate and this is Abby and Alroy. I'm the assistant to Dr. Parker, but these two bright individuals will be joining you in the study."

They all welcomed one another casually and walked toward the next gate, Nate rushing them along as they moved. Nate check his watched as they waited for the next participant, most of the people coming off the plane, causing him to worry a bit that he might have the wrong flight information or that perhaps she missed her flight. He signed with relief when a young woman dropped her bag next to him and tapped softly on the paper.

He extended his hand, “Tilly, I’m Nate Warren and this is Abby and Alroy. We’re glad that you’ll be joining us. You and Abby will be rooming together, so I’m sure you’ll be great friends before long.”

Abby stepped up and smiled at the girl, trying to make small talk as the boys walked in front of them. “Where are you from, Tilly? I’m from New York.”

They continued to move down to the next gate, a handsome Asian boy walking from the plane and introducing himself. They all reintroduced themselves to Kenney and the group made their way out into the warm fall evening to pile into a small bus that Nate would be driving for them.

“We’re going to stop at a steakhouse for dinner and then I’ll take you on campus so you can meet Elizabeth. You’ll all love her… she’s just fantastic.” He smiled, his cheeks coloring just a bit as he pulled out into traffic and turned up the radio just enough to set an energetic mood in the van.

Abby was sitting next to Kenny and couldn’t help but look over at him and giggle a little due to Nate’s apparent smitteness with the good doctor. “Very interesting.”

[tirgesfu]

Alroy


Alroy followed right along with the rest of them. They were herded just like the cattle before they became the meal promised. Texas and steak sounded about right. And truth was he was hungry. Not that he would admit anything. No he just tried to keep that plastered I am friendly smile on his face. He reached silently to offer to take the girl’s duffle bag, Tilly that was her name. He didn’t mean it to be condescending or threatening. It was just manners in his mind. But as his hand reached for the strap he did watch her face to judge. If she let him he would carry her bag. If she didn’t just a smile and shrug given to her would settle everything for him.

He sat in a back seat of a bus, trying to glance out the windows as Texas rolled by. His old scruffy nap sack was in his lap and he might have squeezed it a bit too tight. Small talk, he knew he should be making small talk: something about weather, something about school, just something. But his mouth felt dry and he had a hard time figuring what to say. Tilly was beside him a seat away in the bus, that seemed an over kill to Alroy. There were not that many of them. The distance made him feel weird to talk to her. She didn’t make it real easy. She seemed to want to look away from him. Abby didn't have any trouble talking. But then she was from New York.

With a shy smile Alroy decided to speak and just see who might answer. “Texas” His strong Irish accent came through even in just a word or two. “Makes me think a boots and poker.” He tipped his head and ran one finger in the air right above his red hair as if he was tipping the top of an imaginary cow boy hat.

[Katelyn]

Dr. Parker

Elizabeth spoke quickly with the hostess, a small room that was seperate from the main dining room had been set up for them, one that was readily used for meetings of sorts. She moved just behind the petite girl, her age skinking in as the hordes of younger people passed her by, most glancing her way. Her thick crimson hair fell just below her shoulder, long curls pulling up the length by half an inch, charcol grey eyes set into her olive skin. She was a mixture of italian and irish, two heritaes that called for lots of liquor, fucking and fighting. None of which were much in her scope of reality as of late.

The table in the center of the room was seated for eight, one of the participants coming from their very own school and the rest being brought in from Nate in a few minutes. She walked toward a small water table that was set up in the far corner, the room quaint and quite perfect for their dinner together. She wanted to spend a little bit of time getting to know the participants and then walking through a bit about the study.

Extracting a small pill case from her briefcase, she could hear Nate talking with the hostess as the young woman lead the participants through the interior of the restaurant. Dr. Parker laid out in a vertical line, six colored tablets: Red, Orange, Black, Green, Blue & Yellow. She turned as Nate walked in, a smile on her beautiful face.

"Hello, everyone. I'm Dr. Elizabeth Parker, please make your way over here and choose a colored tablet and then have a seat. Feel free to eat them when you choose as they are just M&M's. The color chosen will designate which dream scape you will be participating in, but I'm getting ahead of myself. All will be explained in good time."

She looked over at Nate and smiled, "Hey there... come over here and just make note of the tablets that are chosen by each participant."



Abby

Abby turned to the sound of Alroy's voice, laughing softly at his comment. "Boots, poker, cows and bull riding. Sounds like a place to get into a bit of trouble and mislabel it as fun."

The ride to the restaurant was quick and painless, the chatter in the van friendly and just barely skimming the surface as far as introductions were. Nate jumped out of the van and held the door for everyone, Abby taking his hand as she slipped out and moving next to Mike as they walked in.

She smiled at him and reached for the door as the first one to reach it. "Where are you from, Mike?"

The hostess greeted them as she and Mike spoke for a moment, Nate moving up to lead the group to the back where Dr. Parker greeted them at the door. Abby walked toward the table and picked up the first M&M that was laying there - black... which was a rather odd color for a peice of candy, but it would work. She held it up as Nate scribed down her colored and moved to take a seat at the table. She noticed eight chairs instead of seven and thought there were six colored M&M's instead of five. "Odd..."

[guinness]

Tilly's ears perked up, face remaining the same, blank and indifferent. Rooming? She was unaware such things would be necessary. In reality it made sense and she silently berated herself for neglecting to realize sooner. Of course the professors would want them to connect with each other, rooming helped expedite this process. Why hadn't she prepared for this scenario? She wasn't ready to live with another person. What if they didn't like her? What if she didn't like them? Their personalities could be so strikingly different that conflict would ensue. She didn't fear conflict so much as wished to simply avoid it. When voices were raised, tension would grow inside her. Often times this tension was let out in violent means.

Calm down Tilly, that won't happen again. Everything will be fine. She will like you and you will at the very least tolerate her. Taking in a deep breath she gazed towards the girl hoping it would settle her nerves. Abby's hair was long, flowing down her shoulders and back, coloring a tad blonder than Tilly's own hair. Her body shape was very similar, thin and lengthy, lacking in what Tilly had been told were curves. It seemed the girl was fairly friendly as she asked where Tilly was from, making small talk as it was known. Maybe things would not be so bad? Tilly's heart slowly began to settle down, nerves subsiding.

“Florida, sun and fun as they say.” Tilly replied, mind racing as she hoped that was indeed what people said. She would not truly know as friends were quite uncommon. Her mind suddenly screeched to a halt, heart sputtering back into high gear as one of the boys attempted to grab her bag. Why was he doing this? Was he trying to steal her things? In a panic she reached for her bag, brushing against his hand. “I... uh.... I prefer to carry my own things.”

That moment remained on her mind, burrowing in like a worm making residence in her brain. She didn't understand why he did such a thing nor did she understand why she was sitting near him on the bus. Was it curiosity? Fear of being alone? None of it made sense. Sliding on her headphones she flipped her I Phone to shuffle. Maybe music would purge her of these confusing thoughts. Slumping in her seat she faded off, disappearing from her reality.

Reality once again assaulted her as the bus came to a stop. As usual she choose to depart last, allowing everyone to gather what they deemed necessary. Another appeared to be waiting for them outside the restaurant. The group was growing larger, easier for Tilly to get lost in the shuffle. This was certainly a good thing. Flying under the radar certainly made things easier especially when their professor was offering them candy upon arrival. It seemed off, out of the norm.

She picked up a red M&M, pinching it between her thumb and pointer finger, examining it. Was this candy simply symbolism or a mean's of something far worse. Would it awaken her to a new reality akin to one of her favorite movies? Tilly's eyes darted towards the professor briefly, tossing the candy into her mouth shortly after. She made sure to take a seat near the end of the table in order to avoid being boxed between two people.

[Deamonbane]

Mike nodded and greeted everyone, but other than that, he wasn't much of a talker. He wasn't an attention grabber, so he remained quiet and in the background. He had always been taught that a person that didn't talk was either mute or smarter than the people that were blabbing on. He learned more about them, and knowledge was power. The fuck? Why was he thinking like this? He mentally kicked himself, but kept on listening, and only speaking when spoken to. Which didn't happen much other than a 'hi, I'm Mike," A handshake, and a charming halfsmile for the ladies, and a respectful nod to the gents. When they mounted the bus, he sat near the middle and behind the driver.

He looked over to the guy that had spoken. He was, well... nah, too soon to be drawing conclusions, so Mike grinned and looked over to him," You should get out more. Texas reminds me of steak, horses, cattle, Stentsons, and big pickups," He winked at Abby at the response, and turned back to facing forward. The ride was quiet, except for the random conversations here and there, and a general feeling of excitement filled the air. This was a new experience for all of them, and they were all excited.

When they exited, he was surprised when Abby came over and talked to him," Hi... uh... I was born in Jersey, currently living in NYC. Well... uh... yeah, maybe living here for a little while. Where are you from?" The conversation went on for a bit until he saw the professor. Frankly, she was a stunning woman, more fit to be posing for swimsuit and men's magazines than being a professor. No disrespect meant, of course but frankly, she was very, very hot.

He moved over to the table holding the tablets. The rest of place held not a lot of interest to him, but these were what he had come here for, he supposed. It seemed odd that she would used M&Ms to do something quite so critical in this project, but he closed his eyes and snatched up the red one, not wanting to eat it before he heard what Dr. Parker had to say for herself. He was just a fan of the color red, and picked it up before anybody else could.