[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/lu0cWBn.png[/img][/center]
[b][color=40C19D]Time:[/color][/b] 4:56 PM -> 5:15ish PM
[b][color=40C19D]Location:[/color][/b] Campus Commons – Welcome Banquet
[b][color=40C19D]Interacting:[/color][/b] Naomi Johnson [@canaryrose]

The afternoon had been an uneventful one for Echo Gallagher. They’d spent much of the day climbing about in the theater catwalks, organizing boxes and boxes of dusty props that had been shoved up there at the end of last year’s productions, like they always were. Technically, they weren’t involved in leadership of the club, yet. That was mostly the college kids. They just had a knack for knowing where everything went, and with no afternoon classes on Mondays, the club’s advisor had tasked them with beginning the annual inventory. 

They were startled out of their cleaning (which was really more haphazard than such a word would imply, more a squirrely flinging of things into piles and scribbling of illegible notes into a Steno pad) by their phone quietly beeping, and for the moment they ignored it, letting it beep for approximately three minutes before they remembered how important today was.

They’d had the foresight to set their alarm for 4:40, to give themself just enough time to get to the commons without too much rush – or being too conspicuously early. Echo was [i]never[/i] early to anything. They hadn’t accounted for being in the middle of a project, however, nor that they also had to stop and pick up their… accomplices. 

Without bothering to remove the flower leis from their neck, or the variety of spangled bangle bracelets stuck from their wrists to their elbows, they scurried out of the theater, leaving their project strewn about. After the festivities, they’d be right back to finish it, and didn’t trust themself to remember how they’d put things away. 

A quick knock on the door of the costume lab, and two of the underclassmen flailed out into the hallway to meet them, trailing all manner of absurdist disguises. One sported a dollar-store “disguise” mask – the plastic ones with the fake glasses and nose and mustache - under a comically oversized and slightly squished fedora, and the other a stormtrooper helmet in fairly rough condition, likely all pulled from the same bin of props. 

“What’s the plan, boss?”

Echo snorted at the use of “boss”, running their fingers through their freshly-shaved hair absently. [color=40C19D]“Now we go find Naomi, grab the payload, and then…”[/color] they rubbed their hands together evilly. [color=40C19D]”Mischief.”[/color]

The three of them got some strange looks from the various faculty and staff, strange looks that were quickly averted. The faculty members were no strangers to the [i]weird[/i] shenanigans that theater kids often pulled, and the trio of eyeliner-sporting, brightly-dyed-hair-wearing teens left little doubt in anyone’s minds about their affiliations. Usually, it was best to let such individuals be about their own business, so long as there was no chance of rulebreaking. And none of them seemed to have anything particularly, overtly rule-breaking on their person.

They arrived at the field and quickly scoped out an unoccupied corner, tucked behind some less-well-manicured shrubberies and near to some of the old oak trees. There, they waited for Naomi.

They only had to wait for a few minutes. The tall girl all but sprinted over, panting and mumbling about band letting out late. Echo wasn’t surprised; the music kids always were kept over-time, and the building was clear on the other end of campus. [color=40C19D]“You’re fine,”[/color] they said, giving a reassuring, toothy grin to their best friend. 

Their eyes went a little bit wide at the sheer absurdity of the assembled alarm clocks. [color=40C19D] “Did you have to sacrifice a clarinet for this one? Jesus Christ, Naomi. You weren’t kidding that they’ll do anything for the meme…”[/color] They’d gotten the high school theater kids to contribute a modest number, 10 in addition to their own, but Naomi had outdone herself. This was going to be good….

When Naomi turned to address their help, they nodded seriously. “And distract any of the welcome crew or faculty who come to see what we’re up to, please!” they added quickly, then motioning the others to scatter.

They knelt beside Naomi, scooping as many wireless alarm clocks as they could fit into their bookbag. [color=40C19D]“If we get caught, you know I’ll take the blame. They’ll never believe sweet ‘lil Naomi Johnson did anything bad… But we won’t get caught, not by anyone that matters. It’s not like we’re hurting someone, it’s just – a little fun. This week hasn’t been nearly fun enough!”[/color]

Having grabbed several of the small clocks under their arm, and about a dozen and a half more stuffed into their messenger bag (which they carried half-open, readily accessible, just for this purpose) they blew a kiss in Naomi’s direction, as they often did to most of their friends, immediately chucking one of the clocks underneath a nearby shrubbery. [color=40C19D]“Meet you in a few minutes!”[/color] 

They continued on mostly around the perimeter of the field, placing alarm clocks in inconspicuous locations – among rock beds and under shrubberies. After several minutes of this, they put their shoulders back, a big smile on their face, and plowed into the gathering masses of people, attempting to sneakily drop alarm clocks just hidden behind the legs of tables that were unoccupied – or else where the occupants were too busily conversing to notice them. 

Naomi was going to put clocks around the speaking podium, nestled in among the sound equipment, so Echo was going to put them around the food line. Students were already beginning to filter through it by this point (though any of the faculty remained to be seen) so Echo got into line, absently checking their phone while nudging a clock under the first table with their boot.

5:12. The first of the clocks would start going off in fourteen minutes; they were set to varying times until 7:30. Some would go off at the same time, most with a couple minutes between, though sometimes as long as ten minutes, just to make certain that people were caught unsuspecting. 

As college and high school students are prone to doing, most of the students around them were hyperfixated on the food. They took a risk and placed one of the clocks on a table, mostly hidden between two bowls of various chips- they knew that most students wouldn’t be paying attention, and at quick glance it could’ve passed for a paperweight used to hold down the tablecloth. Another two were nudged into place under table legs, and one behind the enormous cooler full of sodas and ice. 

Food in hand, and alarm clocks depleted, Echo scurried off to find a table. They failed at finding one that wasn’t occupied, and so perched on the raised edge of a flowerbed, balancing their plate in their lap. Acting nonchalant was difficult, but they did their best, though all they wanted to do was giddily flail about what was about to transpire.

A thought idly flicked across their mind that they had no real idea of how they were going to [i]retrieve[/i] these devices, nevermind ensure they remained in working condition, but such pragmatic thoughts were quickly banished.

This was gonna be so [i]fun.[/i]