"Nathan Dyer is almost a foot and a half taller than me." Said Toby in an unamused sort of deadpan. "Let's face it. I weigh about as much as three dachshunds. Even Danny DeVito is taller than me by ten whole inches. I sincerely doubt this coach is going to want me on the team." In his tirade of self-deprecation, Toby had actually proven that he knew a lot of pointless trivia facts. That was just something he was good at other than just soccer. When you have no friends, you've got to do something with your free time.

"But as I said, I guess it's worth a shot to try out. It's better than doing nothing with my whole school year." He sighed, looking down at the ground and biting into his lower lip. He wasn't sure if it was actually worth the possibility of humiliating himself yet again, but if two people were willing to take time out of their day to encourage him to try out for the team, who was he to tell them no?

@KaijuBaragon @Apoalo

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Landon couldn't believe it, Marco had really just -winked- at him. He felt his cheeks turn a little more red and he hid it with a laugh, hoping his boyish dimples and freckles would ensure hat his embarrassment wasn't seen. God he was so cute, and the idea that he had been over the other boy was quickly fading the more he talked to him. He cursed his luck that the boy was straight, but then again he had thought he was straight until a few months ago so maybe there was a chance. He realized he was just staring and he quickly made a statement to try and attempt to not look like a total retard. "I know how you feel in terms of playing a ton of sports. I probably play way to many but It's like an addiction, good thing I'm really good at taking tests or I probably would have flunked Ninth grade, and that would have been terrible." It was true as well, Landon did all the Homework but it was rushed, he just was very good when it came to pressure and so he was able to recall the information he needed from the teachers lecture while concentrating on a particular problem or in English's case, a sentence. "But no, come on and let's go sign-up Marci, I'm sure it'll come right back to you. Toby has to anyway, so we'll get all of us in the same area so hopefully we can get in the same scrim team during the tryout skirmish since last year Coach just split the sign-up sheet down the middle." He then waved politely as Maria left and chuckled to himself, she and Marco were quite amusing when they sparred each other.

As he turned and refocused on the second conversation he heard Toby mention something about having Asthma to and Landon turned to face him after looking Marco up and down for the thousandth time and trying to control his features to not give him away. God was that kid cute, and Toby he was pretty cute to, though it was more of the adorable cute and he honestly got a little brother vibe from him. He glanced down at his feet and frowned looking at the sneakers, that would have to change for sure. He figured that he and Astor were about the same size and heaven above knew that, -that- kid had plenty of old shoes. He would bring a few for soccer tryouts and surprise the smaller boy. As Bruno apologized, Landon chuckled and shook his head. "Come on guys, let's go finish signing up and grab some food eh? Then talk about some strategy for this year!"

Toby nodded, quickly signing his full name on the sheet in the neatest lettering he could manage. There. Now he had to try out, like it or not. He couldn't believe he'd been talked into doing this. Just a few minutes ago he'd thought it was a surefire way to get his ass handed to him on a silver platter, whether he made the team or not. And on some level, he still thought that. But for the first time, he was almost kind of sort of making friends.

Landon mentioned something about getting food. Toby hadn't eaten anything this morning and likely wouldn't eat again until it was time to scrape something up for dinner when his parents came home. All he had in his pockets was a measly dime, a piece of lint and an eraser. That probably wasn't enough to get him anything and he'd die of embarrassment if someone offered to pay for him. They'd probably already guessed at his lack of finances based on his ratty sneakers and not-very-recently-washed hair, but he still didn't feel the need to cement it into their minds that he was... how to put this.... economically disadvantaged.

Anyway, he could probably get by just saying he wasn't hungry or something. It probably wouldn't be a problem, but he was already going through the worst case scenarios in his head. That was just the way he rolled, always preparing himself for the worst possible outcome. Because in his eyes, he was a worst case scenario person. At least, that was how the kids at his old school treated him.

@Apoalo @KaijuBaragon @LostDestiny

Marco shrugged in response to Landon. "Well my better half wondered off. She can no longer stop me from making dumb decisions. Soccer it is. Hope I still have my skills I was a pretty good striker but I was an even better goalie. Let's hope one I am still good at one of the two. He laughed and followed the others over to the soccer sign-ups. He was half teasing Landon about his comment toward his twin earlier and half serious. Maria was one of the main reasons he didn't do half the dumb stuff he wanted to. He sloppily scribbled his name on the paper and smiled to himself. This was going to be one heck of a year if he did swimming, soccer, and acrobatics. Not to mention he was still training himself to be a contortionist. He had better not slack on his school work or he was screwed. "So just a warning, I might be motivated to play sports and do other activities but when it comes to school I tend to procrastinate. Normally Maria keeps me on task but from the looks of things I might be spending less time with her than I am used to. Anybody up to the challenge of making sure I don't flunk out?" He chuckled to himself but he was dead serious. He was easily distracted by anything that wasn't school work. It was though that he may have ADHD or at least ADD but it had never actually been tested.

After a moment of silence Marco turned his attention to Toby. "By the way Toby, I hate to pry but..." He paused for a moment, he didn't want to come off as rude. "Um...do you, have cleats? Ones that aren't held together by duck tape? If not I still have most of my old pairs and they are all in fairly decent condition. We can see if any of them fit you." Again he paused, really hoping he wasn't coming across as rude. "That's only if you need, or want. It's up to you and you certainly don't have to answer if you don't want to. I apologize if I am being rude." He glanced at the boy's shoes for a brief moment before looking at his face, trying to read his face.



Maria wondered around alone for a while before walking past someone who seemed totally enthralled in the music they were listening to. Curios she headed toward him. 'What was his name gain? Think MJ, think.' She thought for a moment before it finally came to her. "Riley." She said out loud when she finally remembered. She smiled to herself before continuing on her path to the male. She silently peeked over his shoulder. "What are you listening to?" She asked, not entirely sure the male was able to hear her.

His accent. Oh. My. Lort. Davina turned her gaze down at her shoes a moment as Dominik spoke, slowly looking back up to meet his eyes again after he was through speaking. "My summer was alright. Took a trip down to California, hung out with some distant cousins of mine that I haven't seen since they all lived in New Orleans when we all used to live on the same block." Suddenly Davina stopped talking, feeling she was rambling. "I'm sorry. Uhm, for knocking into you. My cousin Quinten likes to embarass me. It's a hobby of his." From a few feet away, Quinten's voice could barely be heard over the bubbling talk of the crowd, "You know it!" Davina glared off into the group of people where his voice came from, shaking her head and returning the smile that was on her face before when she got back to Dominik. "So, um.. care for some games?"



Colton smiled cheerfully at Riley as disappeared off into the crowd with his headphones in, shaking his head in thought. 'That boy and his music.' Colton laughed to himself and turned to look at the digital billboard at the edge of the field near the campus gate that surrounded the sports fields. 1030. The day's nearly over, and only seemed like it'd just began. Colton grit his teeth and turned back towards Harley to see what she was wanting to do. Harley looked around, their eyes landing on Riley as his gaze met theirs while he flashed a smile before turning away and wandering off. There'd been no time to return the smile, but Harley was okay with that. They'd be sure to say hi later. "Sorry to do this to you, Colt, but I'm gonna head out, too. Have fun!" With that, Harley turned away and wandered off towards a few booths with some target games. It'd been a while since they'd had much fun, and was about to take full advantage. Taking out her phone, Harley texted Riley and Roxy both in their group chat on Facebook.

ѕo, gυyѕ.. нow goeѕ ιт? ready тo ғ*cĸ ѕнιт υp тнιѕ year?! ;)

Toby blushed furiously, following Marco's gaze down to his decrepit shoes. "It's fine. No offense taken." He muttered, his face mostly unreadable other than his reddened cheeks. "Anyway, uh... I can get cleats if I need them..." He wasn't sure exactly what he meant by that. Probably stealing, because that was the only thing that came to mind. Either way, he was just bullshitting them at this point.

He knew that they only meant to help, but it was still not exactly pleasant to have to be the one who everyone had to look after. He wanted to feel like he could support himself, even if he could barely scrape by on his father's salary. He hadn't been able to get a job of his own, most places not wanting to hire someone who's going to make them look like they subsist off of child labor.

"Let's go, why don't we?" He said curtly, not wanting to dwell on the topic any longer.

@Apoalo @LostDestiny @KaijuBaragon

So far, the morning had been somewhat uneventful. Homeroom had been cringe-worthy, to say the least. That principle of theirs actually used the term shout out, which earned an exhasperated sigh on Roxy's behalf. The assembly had not been much better - mind numbingly boring and a load of bullsh*t. Yeah, like the students were actually going to care about what she wanted the year to end up like. They were going to have fun and there was no way that a few teachers' supposed 'ideals' were going to stop them.

Roxy kept to herself, as per usual. A little-too-bright student or two attempted to talk to her (most likely in the hopes of hearing any gossip), but she merely growled at them and they made a hasty retreat. It was noticeable that she had been consistently drumming her fingers, tapping her feet, or just moving around in general all morning. The truth was that she was dying for a cigarette, but she had managed four days without so much as a drag, so she was determined to prove those disapproving looks wrong.

The girl, upon seeing the unimpressive stalls littered about the field, kept to the very outskirts of the gathering. Being the unsociable little sh*t she was, she made no effort to talk to anyone, despite the growing sense of loneliness. She didn't care about how she looked alone, instead she minded about how she felt alone.

As if on cue, her phone buzzed in her pocket. Roxy's eyes scanned the phone screen for a second before her lips twitched upwards in the ghost of a smirk, her previous feeling of solitude melting away.



Just after hitting send, Roxy's phone almost flew from her hands and her shoulder was pushed aside. Muttering curses, she made an obscene gesture towards her assaulter and debated whether or not she should go and teach this kid some manners. Best not on the first day. Playing off her anger, the pink haired girl unlocked her phone once more and punched in another message to the groupchat.

Bruno felt a little embarrassed as Toby immediately dismissed everything he had said to try and encourage him. But hey, at least he was going to sign up. That was a win in Bruno's book. Maybe Toby would stop being so down because of his height if he made the team. But, secretly, Bruno didn't really have a lot of faith in the much shorter boy. He was sort of right about the whole height thing. The coach probably wouldn't. And off the group went, back over to the soccer signup booth. Bruno watched as the shorter boy signed up for the soccer team, and then he quickly glanced over to the other side of the field. His brother was talking to a girl. Odd. He was never usually seen talking to them, he was usually too shy.

Anyway, he turned his attention back to Toby, who now seemed to be a little embarrassed over his.... shoes? Bruno looked down at them, and realised what he was talking about. They were being held up by duct tape. Ouch. Bruno, of course, said nothing. He didn't want to embarrass Toby like Marco clearly did. Instead, he kept his mouth quiet, and pondered upon the question of where the trio should eat. There were a lot of choices. Burgers, pizza, and-eugh, corndogs. He hated those fried abominations. He ate one once and he felt like throwing up afterwards. Burgers was probably a pretty safe option.

"Should we go and grab some burgers guys? I can see a burger place over there. Or there seems to be a pizza stand a little bit further. I wouldn't mind either, so I guess it's up to you guys."

@Oliver @Apoalo



While Davina spoke, Dominik was unsure whether to look her in the eyes or not. Looking her in the eyes would be weird, and not might show that he didn't care about what she was saying. So, he switched between the two, trying not to look strange as he did it, as he listened to Davina talking about her Summer. It appeared that she had a much more interesting Summer than he did. Then, she suddenly apologised about knocking into him. If it was anyone else, he would have been mildly annoyed, but.... he couldn't be mad at Davina. He was momentarily distracted by a shout at her from a crowd, but quickly turned back when he heard that Davina had finished speaking. A little more confidently than last time, he spoke.

"Your Summer sounds like it was pretty cool! And don't worry about knocking into me, I know it wasn't your fault.

He gave a small smile before Davina mentioned if they should play some games.

"Uh, sure, I'd like to play some games if you want to!"

@A Tattooed Girl

"Nah, I think I'll hold off this time. I'm not that hungry today..." Toby said in the best imitation of a casual voice he could muster. He could already feel the group start to notice his financial shortcomings, and really didn't want to drive the point home any further.

Besides, he was still kind of worried about what he'd gotten himself into with trying out for soccer. He was actually more worried about making the team then not. If he didn't make the team, that would be kind of embarrassing, but he'd get over it in a matter of hours. If he did make the team and the other kids decided they didn't approve of the coach's decision, that would be another year's worth of bullying right there.

He found himself biting into his thumbnail, looking down at the ground and backing a step or two away from the group. Socializing was never his forte. Other kids usually outclassed him in matters of charisma, and usually weren't to psyched to have to deal with someone so clearly their inferior. "Anyway... I guess I'll see you guys around?" He said, getting the feeling it might be best if he left now.

@Apoalo @LostDestiny @KaijuBaragon

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Laughing Landon nodded and winked at Marco, his eyes twinkling as he did so. "All part of my Master plan Marco, all part of my evil master plan." He laughed again and shrugged at him, truly he couldn't believe that Marco was quite possibly going to be on the soccer team. As he let that sink in the next words that came from the boys mouth was that he was going to need someone to make sure he didn't flunk out, and it was like the stars aligned as Landon instantly jumped in. "How about we study at my house? After practice we can head there and then my dad will take you home?" It was at that point Landon wished the Mustang was ready to be driven, but he knew his dad wouldn't mind, especially if that meant that his grades would improve to higher A's. Just the thought of Marco and him hanging out was enough to cause his cheeks to burn a little more but he was saved by the awkward conversation that started up. He winced a bit as Marco blundered into the sensitive subject, Landon was just going to leave the cleats in Toby's locker or on his desk and let the boy do with them as he would. He noticed how defensive he got and sighed, as much as he wanted to help he knew that it wouldn't be easy.

He was a about to agree to the burger idea when he frowned at Toby as he left them. He had a feeling of what it was and glanced over at Bruno and Marco. "Just because you're not eating doesn't mean you have to leave us, unless we're not cool enough for ya firecracker?" He smirked and headed over to the Burger place, letting those who followed him do so and the others wander off on their own path. He felt good, he had come into this year wanting to be his own person instead of just a mindless jock jerk and with his talk earlier with his dad he was happy he was trudging his own trail and he hoped that Marco would be a fixture in it now as well. He'd just have to hope that his natural charm and adorableness got Marco to get a bit interested in him back. He ordered a bacon burger with lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise. Luckily tomato was one of the few foods he wasn't allergic with, and he had double-checked to ensure the burgers didn't have any soy in them, the last time he had soy he had almost died due to his throat swelling up so he was pretty careful now.

He glanced back to see who had joined him, hoping Toby had decided to stick with them.

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"This cursed chord I swear to fucking god I'm going to burn this piece of paper..." The curses were low at first but slowly they were getting louder until Riley, who was sitting on the bleachers at this point alone almost threw his headphones into the stands. He stood seething as he stared down at his sheet music and fought the urge to crumble it up. Everything was perfect except for this bloody chord and he had missed it so now he had to change the entire ending! It was very frustrating but, sometimes you had this happen creating music. He felt his phone buzz and his Game of Thrones text message let him know it was his Facebook Messenger. He swiped his wallpaper away and saw the group chat and chuckled. Just then it buzzed twice more and Riley sent a quick reply as well. "Hey, I'm over on the Bleachers, on the away side. It's nice and quiet over here, come save me before I break something." He hit send and leaned back, letting the wind blow against his form and relax him a bit. He began humming a song from Lord of the Rings by Ed Sheeran, 'I see Fire.' when it came on from his Ipod and then stopped dead when he felt someone peeking over his shoulder, he glanced at her and frowned removing his earbuds. "Erm, hello..." He wondered how much she had heard of his singing and blushed a small bit.

"Okay, fine. I'll stick around. Just thought you were... you know... getting a little tired of me." Toby explained with a shrug, following the group reluctantly. He wasn't sure how he'd gotten himself talked into following this group for so long. He'd never talked to anyone outside his immediate family for this long since... three years ago, when he started falling behind developmentally. He'd lost all of his friends, and hadn't really had any since. It felt weird talking to people like this. He wasn't used to it anymore. Maybe he wouldn't be friends with these people long term --he doubted they'd want to-- but he found it nice to have some company for a change.

He knew he'd lied when he said he wasn't hungry, but he was starting to realize that it might have been a bigger lie than he thought. He supposed he'd just have to tough it out through the day until he got home. Maybe his mother might have done some grocery shopping on the way home from her job interview. Unlikely. Either way, there was no use complaining about it. The last thing he wanted was someone to pity him. Ignoring the lingering sensation of lightheadedness that pervaded his system, he followed the three taller boys.

@Apoalo @LostDestiny @KaijuBaragon

@Oliver@Apoalo@KaijuBaragon

Marco frowned at Toby for a moment before his usual smile returned to his face. "If you ever need anything at all you feel free to let me know. I will help in any way I can. Sorry to embarrass you. It was not intentional." He said in a friendly manor to Toby. He could tell the boy was uncomfortable but he wasn't going to let him escape that easily. Being alone sucked, it always helped to have friends to stick with. He turned on his heel to follow the other two when burgers were mentioned. The red head was always hungry, it was rare to see him without a snack of some sort. Marco followed behind Landon, examining the other male as he walked. It wasn't anything weird it was a simple scan over his features. He was slightly shorter than Marco and definitely less muscular but that didn't take away from the charm he had about him. Marco was sure if he tried Landon could make girls, or gay men, swoon.

He grabbed himself a simple cheese burger with lettuce. He hated the taste of tomato on his burger and wasn't a huge fan of condiments either. Some would say he was weird but he liked himself a dry burger. He also has a minor case of acid reflux if he had tomato or any citrus fruit. It wasn't bad but it made his stomach gurgle rather loudly, which was awkward when with other people to say the least. He seated himself across from Landon and waited for the others to join them. "Oh, by the way Landon, I would love to study with you. Gotta keep my grades up and most of the time it is way to crazy at my house to do any kind of studying. Too many people all at once." He chuckled to himself and took a bit of his burger, happily."Any of you have any siblings? You have a twin too right Bruno?" He asked trying to strike up some simple conversation.



@Apoalo

Maria turned a little red from embarrassment and seated herself beside the boy she was sure she had just made feel very awkward. "Sorry. I was being nosy, I asked what you were listening too. That was, before you stopped yourself from chucking your headphones. You must be working on something pretty good if you got that upset over it." She paused for a moment before remembering he probably didn't know her name. "Oh, sorry, I'm Maria by the way." She gave him her usual smile as she introduced herself. She could have continued on but she decided she should make sure she wasn't overstepping any boundaries before she continued.

Siblings. This Marco guy just had to walk into all of Toby's least favorite subjects, didn't he?
"Uhh... I had an older sister. Up until about a month ago." He answered in a quiet, awkward voice. He cringed back, biting into his knuckles that were already raw and bleeding from earlier. He really, really hated talking about Rachel. He'd rather pretend that she never existed than deal with the fact that he was still plagued with guilt over not interacting with her much while she was alive. Aside from that, these kids didn't need another reason to pity him. He wasn't even sure why he'd mentioned his dead sister in the first place. He should have just kept his mouth shut. Stupid fucking schlemiel He insulted himself in his head, resisting the temptation to slap himself.

Toby looked around at the rest of the group, wondering if anyone else had a less downer answer to Marco's question. He really shouldn't have said anything. It probably just made Marco feel like shit for asking, which wasn't his intent at all. He just didn't have enough time to think things over before he said them. He never really had enough time for anything nowadays.

@Apoalo @KaijuBaragon @LostDestiny

@A Tattooed Girl Colton Kruger

Connor was abruptly roused by his alarm clock, deliberately placed on the far side of the room so he’d be forced to get out of bed to turn it off. He briefly regretted flying back down from Montreal only yesterday, but dismissed the thought an instant later. Worth it for a few extra days at the lake. His parents would be staying there for some alone time for the next few weeks, leaving the house to Connor and Ted. Connor could already hear his friend/au pair bustling around downstairs, likely making scrambled eggs and bacon: the breakfast of champions.

A shower and a bite to eat later, Connor was behind the wheel of his Audi, finishing off a can of energy drank, and quietly singing the Space Jam themesong as he tapped the steering wheel along to the beat. “Come on and SLAM, and welcome to the JAM!” The car had been a gift from his parents, and it was obviously a compromise between them. His mom had doubtlessly wanted to give him a brand new sports car, but his dad was just as determined it would be an old junker. The compromise then had been an old used sports car. Connor’s dad insisted Connor would be paying them back for the car, but his mom was just as insistent that it was a gift. Knowing them, his mom would probably win that argument eventually.

Connor arrived at school on the edge of being late, so he didn’t really have time to seek anyone out. Not that there was anyone he was especially anxious to see: he’d only transferred into Delbrook Academy at the end of Freshman year, leaving him just enough time to make friends before summer began. After all those months away, Connor wasn’t exactly sure where he stood with the people he’d been friendly with before. He wasn’t one to let that bother him though, and when the assembly let out, Connor resolutely set off to sign up for the football team, the swim team, then get a burger, all in that order. It was only after he’d devoured his burger that he figured he might as well see if he could find Colton.

When Toby tried to get out of going to have a burger, Bruno felt quite sorry for the boy. He obviously had some really bad social problems, and based on his shoes, he probably had some problems at home too. Or at the very least, he was very poor. And the fact that he looked like he was around 10 or 11 really didn't help. He must have felt like a complete stranger around everyone else his age, and Bruno couldn't really imagine what on earth that was like. Although Bruno had his insecurities, at least he actually fit in with others of his age. Bruno wasn't sure if Toby got bullied, but knowing kids his age, it was probably very likely.

Bruno felt a little better as Landon convinced Toby to join them, and the four of them began their walk over to the burger stand. Bruno still hadn't decided if he wanted a cheeseburger or a hamburger, but he would decide when they got there. When they eventually did, he decided on a classic hamburger, and began to chomp down on it. The burger was surprisingly good for one cooked in a high school on a field by a bunch of random people. Americans sure could do fast food better than Croatians, that was one thing he had to give them. Marco, the redhead, asked him if he had a twin. Bruno nodded his head and said:

"Yeah I do, but we don't really hang out together that much, he's pretty different to me in terms of personality. He's somewhere somewhere over there but I'm not entirely sure."

Bruno pointed generally over to his left as he spoke, but he couldn't actually see Dominik anymore. Then he heard Toby's response to Marco's question he had posed generally. It wasn't a happy answer, and Bruno shot him a sympathetic look, realising that there was a lot going on in the short boy's life.

@Oliver @LostDestiny

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"Nah, you're cool company Toby even if you don't think so. Besides if we're going to be teammates better get used to each now while we're able to right?" He felt a little bad for the boy since it was obvious his family struggled, he felt very fortunate to have such a good Aunt and Uncle who looks after them and began forming another plan in his mind. As everyone got their burger and sat down he heard Marco accept his offer and a huge jolt of excitement spread all over his body and he smiled happily. He wondered just how crazy it was at Marco's place and began panicking since it was even crazier at his house probably. He decided also to go ahead and implement his plan and made a face as he looked at his burger. "Oh man! I told them no Ketchup!" He had put the ketchup on it while they had been talking but the ploy was hopefully going to work. "It's ruined now, I hate ketchup on my burger." He looked pained and was about to stand and head back to the Burger stand when he stopped. "Toby? You want it, better than wasting it honestly?" He shrugged nonchalantly and pushed it halfway across the table and raised his eyebrows before then looking at Marco. "Umm, well I have two brothers actually, Astor and Corbin. Then of course my Aunt and Uncle, so it can get pretty crazy... Hope you don't mind?" He decided to tactfully not mention anything else about Toby's sister, figuring it was a touchy subject and he didn't want the short boy to feel any worse. He stood and went to go order another burger, keeping the plate pushed towards Toby.

Toby looked down at the abandoned burger. Never, ever in his entire life had anyone ever offered him food. He almost felt bad taking it, even though it wasn't wanted. "Thanks." He said, taking the plate cautiously. He carefully examined the burger to see what was in it, deciding it was sufficiently kosher. Good. It would suck if the only time in his life someone gave him food he couldn't eat it.

Toby noticed Bruno give him a sympathetic look and he blushed slightly, looking away quickly as if he'd seen something he shouldn't have. He hated making people feel bad for him. It was hard not to, since he was such a pitiful human being, but he tried to maintain the image of being self-reliant. The more helpless he appeared, the more he tended to get picked on.

He looked back at Marco, now that everyone had answered the question. He was relieved not to have been the only one to answer; it was best if the fact that he'd recently experienced a family death didn't linger in the air too long.

@Apoalo @KaijuBaragon @LostDestiny

Mrs. Wiley stands at the front of the class beside the door, arm extended out in front of her gesturing towards the wall. "If you all would, please stand against the wall and as soon as everyone is inside, I will start from this desk," brushing her hand over the desk at the front-most corner of the room, "-and go on back. You will be receiving an assigned seat today. Do not blame me if you don't like them, it was put into a generator and randomly made. I am not the villain here, I promise you. There will be no switching seats until next Quarter. We will be switching seats after each end of a quarter." Mrs. Wiley watches as everyone falls into place against the wall, all bunched up together looking like an awkward can of sardines. It made her smile a bit, seeing the newer faces in the group of kids before her, being sure to give them an especially friendly and welcoming smile. Grabbing her binder, she flipped it open and stood in front of the desk she'd mentioned before, reading off the Seating Chart.

"Rumancek." Her eyes scanned the group of kids and smirked when her eyes landed on her first victim as he maneuvered through the others to walk down the isle and set his bag on the table and guitar on the floor snug beside his desk. His eyes finally met hers with a matching smirk, "This is payback for last year, isn't it? You and the computer are in cahoots." The young boy laughed and Mrs. Wiley couldn't help but smile and shake her head. "No such thing, but I'm glad you're up at the front this year. Don't have to worry about you goofing off in back." Mrs. Wiley gave him an 'I'm watching you' gesture with her hand, turning back to her sheet. "Empty seat. Next, Zurancic and Aguilar." A quick protest about which twin it was, and Mrs. Wiley blushed slightly before adding in, "Bruno Zurancic, please." She nodded as the students all took their seats, continuing on. "Next row, Maria Costello, Broflivski, Revels and Kruger." Wiley gave them ample time to find their correct seats, looking out at her remaining students who still stood at the wall. "Empty seat. Danilov, Mitchell. Next row. McQuarrie, Marco Costello. Empty seat. Knowles. Next. Dominic Zurancic. Empty seat. Miland and Rhodes. Last but not least, Devereaux."

Mrs. Wiley watched as each student got comfortable in their new seats and looked around at their neighbors, looking to see who her problem students would be this year. Particularly she was more worried about Harley, Riley and Roxy, being her most rowdy group of kids.. at least, that she already knew of. She then raised both hands, getting the students to quiet down a moment so she could speak. "Alright. I'm sure you're all excited about the weekend. It's only a few hours away! Just because it's the first class of the day doesn't mean you can do what you please. I know some teachers will have some things for you to do over the weekend," a collective groan made her chuckle softly. "We have 30 minutes before the bell will ring and you will get to go to your first classes of the day. It's an Odd day today, since you met with your Even classes yesterday. Don't allow yourselves to get lost and/or be late. As for right now, do whatever you'd like. Read, talk, play games," Mrs. Wiley gestured to the back of the class where the few bookshelves held a number of games and books. "And yes, you can use your phones, if you wish." With that, she sat down at her desk and began typing away at her computer.

Toby had come into school a bit late today. He looked tired and out of sorts, but most notably he was sporting a strip of gauze around his forehead and over his left eye, as if he'd been severely cut by something. That was new. He hadn't had it yesterday, at least, so whatever happened must have taken place last night sometime.

He took his seat, looking around at the adjacent seats. He was sitting next to someone he didn't recognize, a tall boy with brown hair and striking blue eyes. Landon and Bruno were in the row in front of him along with some kids he didn't know, and Marco was in the same row on the opposite side of the new boy.

He had nothing to do, so he rested his head on his desk, hiding his face in his arms. He kind of wanted to talk to the kids he'd been talking to the other day, but he didn't want to approach them directly. Starting conversations wasn't exactly his forte.

Marco chocked a little bit on the bite of burger he had taken after asking his question. Toby's answer had shocked him a little and again, he felt like he was being insensitive. After another second he shook it off, realizing he couldn't have known about Toby's sister and it was a perfectly innocent question to ask. He didn't really say anything in regards to a reply to Toby but rather gave him a slightly pained look. Marco himself couldn't imagine loosing Maria. It was a stroke of luck that they both got taken in by the same family after they were taken from their parents, and the whole situations had brought them closer than the two ever would have been otherwise. His train of thought was quickly interrupted by Bruno who answered about having a twin. "Hey not everyone gets along with their siblings. I am sure if Maria and I had gone through different stuff we wouldn't have been as close, after all our social abilities are the only thing we really have in common. She is the artsy, smart, creatively talented one and I am the dumb, muscle headed jock." He chuckled and shrugged.

It was when he finished speaking to Bruno that Landon faked a ruined burger. Marco had watched him put the ketchup on it, he had been watching Landon pretty much the entire time, through the corner of his eye. Marco only smiled, knowing what the other male was doing. 'Damn this boy is nice.' He thought as he watched Toby mentally debate himself if he should take the food offered to him. After a moment he looked to Marco and he smiled at him. It was then he realized he was the only one who hadn't answered. "Oh, I forgot, I have 4 other siblings beside Maria, she is the only biological sibling I have, the rest are all adopted. Our parents couldn't have kids of their own so they took to adopting a bunch. Maria and myself included. Two are older, and one is out of country on and exchange program for her senior year. Even with two gone it it still pretty crazy. So yea, I am sure your place would be a lot less hectic than mine Landon." He ended his statement by replying to Landon, every last child in that house was troubled in there own way it you could never tell when one was going to blow a fuse and act out on any given day. After that the group went about there day and Marco didn't see Maria until it was time to head home.



Marco groaned when he found out that they had assigned seats. He hated not being able to sit where he wanted. He did let out a little sigh of relief when Landon was put in the seat diagonally behind his. He wasn't sure who the others were around him so he was glad to have someone he knew near him. Be vaguely recognized the male to his right as an old friend of Maria's but other than that he was at a loss as to who this person was. He had pushed a lot of the people the two had known before being adopted out of his life when it happened. He wanted to forget it. Maria on the other had had stayed friends with a few people and he was sure this male was one of them. Toby was seated on the other side of the male which would make it hard for him to talk to the boy. Luckly Bruno wasn't too far away and Maria was right in front of him. This made him feel a little better. When they were allowed to do as they pleased Marco turned to Landon, almost instantly. "So, this weekend, wanna gather the other two and hit the field, gotta see if I still got the skills to pay the bills." He chuckled at his own stupid comment.



Maria couldn't believe that out of all the places she could have sat, she was put right next to Quinten. This alone horrified her, though she tried her hardest to not show it. When they were left to there own devices she glanced over to Marco, who seemed perfectly fine without her. She then turned back to give a rather awkward, but friendly smile to Andreas. She was too stiff at the moment to do much else. She almost agreed with Quinten, the computer and Mrs. Wiley were, in fact, in cahoots. Not that either would know of her crush on the boy she was put by but that is still how it felt. Doing her best to avoid contact of any kind with Quinten she pulled out her sheet music and began scribbling in it. It was a simple violin peace, something she could play easily, but she wanted to jazz it up a bit and now was as good a time as ever.