June flinched away from Jin's flinch as if the younger student had struck her with some kind of pyschic blast. June's hand retracted and her fingers grasped at mid air. Bad move. Not right. 14, not 6. Thanks very muchly. June nodded quickly. "R-right. Sorry, sorry. Come, come this way. Follow me. Don't get lost." She said helpfully, and began to lead Jin away, careful to avoid being too directly in the line of sight of any of the Welcome Leaders. 14, they were 14. Almost the same age when June had come here, but Jin seemed suspicious, like she didn't like the place, which was weird. Still, best not push it, she might say or do a wrong thing again.

June brushed a stray hair out of her face and turned quickly over her shoulder as she walked, her ponytail swooshing dramatically. "It's better because it's- the people- they want to help. Not like other places, where they're mean. Well, they're mean sometimes but I deserve it." An ominous sounding statement, but June was just referring to the times where she had misbehaved and was punished or reprimanded. The only difference was most rambunctious students didn't have the ability to seal someone's mouth shut forever, so extra precautions had to be taken.

June blinked at the question, wringing her hands. "Uh, me?" June opened a glass door and held it, waiting for Jin to enter the lobby first, smiling too brightly. She hid half of her face behind the clear glass. "I, uh, I dunno." The woman replied quickly, the nonsensical answer hiding the bad memories. She was a bad liar, and Jin could probably recognize the type of response.

"What's your name? I'm June!" June asked, trying to change the subject.

@Infinite Cosmos

She didn’t put up some kind of friendly front to seem inviting. If this guy wanted to talk to her, he’d do it without some warm stuff thrown in.

“Yeah.” She said, Alice had snuck off to the outskirts of the crowd to be alone, but she was found anyway. She didn’t know this guy, but she just assumed he was trying to make a friend or something. She didn’t even move, just looked him in the face with the most seemingly uninterested look you could make.

“Yeah, this is my first day.”

Time: 5:19 PM -> 5:26 PM
Location: Campus Commons
Interacting: Naomi Johnson @canaryrose, mentions Alice Gray @Blizz

Echo grinned at their incredibly tall best-friend as she crossed the gathering of people to sit by them. As she spoke, they nodded along, popping a bite of melon into their mouth exactly as Naomi mentioned this being her first prank. With wide eyes, they chewed intently for a moment, holding up a finger in pause until they quickly swallowed, clearing their mouth enough to talk. “your first prank? I mean, makes sense. You know they’re gonna say I’m corrupting –" they cut themself off for a moment, cringing slightly at the other implications the word had for Star kids in particular. “That I’m a bad influence on you.” They finished the thought rather lamely, nibbling on a bite of cookie now and not touching the actually-nutritive bits that they had gotten (mostly just to throw off the campus nutritionist – the high schoolers were somewhat more supervised on that front than the college students were, to keep them healthy and their brains developing to their maximal capacity. Or something. The health teacher was always on them, even at events such as this, about their health, wellbeing, and development.)

“I know, this is gonna be so good. I’m so excited. I don’t think anyone saw us, so we… should be good. Hopefully.” Their storm-trooper-helmet-wearing classmate flitted by, making a hand-sign that was attempted to be discreet (and failed spectacularly.) Echo rolled their eyes, giving a thumbs up and a wave.

Theater kids. Most people would give the theater kids a pass.

A particularly orange-haired welcome leader was wandering up towards the stage, and Echo groaned to themself, visibly rolling their eyes. Of course Phoenix got to do the student welcome speech this year, before the faculty came out on the field and spewed a boatload of propaganda and other unpleasantries.

He seemed particularly nervous, just slightly too well put together for the situation. Echo had always found it particularly – to use an internet word with not-great connotations – cringey. But adults and other responsible sorts seemed to just lap it up. He stepped up to the microphone, tapping on it to make sure it was on. It wasn’t; there was a muffled curse from the storm-trooper-helmet-wearing classmate, who bolted towards the soundboard and frantically started pressing buttons, fading out the generic-pop-music that filtered through the speakers scattered around the common grounds and turning on the mics on-stage. The classmate then gave a theatrical thumbs-up, before dramatically ninja-rolling away and making more of a scene than if they had just walked.

Echo rolled their eyes again. Theater kids, everyone.

They didn’t particularly want to pay attention to the goings-on on stage, their gaze flitting around the crowds of people. “So many new students this year,” they stage-whispered to Naomi. “I wonder if there’s any in our classes?” There had been all of one transfer student in their year that they’d noticed so far, but she had seemed a snarky, reclusive sort – though Echo could empathize with that, there was no obvious common ground, and the girl – Alice, they vaguely remembered, from the awkward icebreaker introductions during English seminar - seemed quite unwilling to make the acquaintance of anyone else. That was fine, Echo had been there and done that too… but… still.

They kicked their heels against the retaining wall absently, swaying from side to side and fidgeting with their phone, anxiously counting down the time until the clocks would begin. "I'm so nervous," they quietly whispered, glancing to Naomi.

---

---

Time: 5:20 PM -> 5:26 PM
Location: Campus Commons
Interacting: Everyone!

Phoenix adjusted his blazer once again as he checked his watch. It was precisely 5:20. After a final scan for straggling or struggling young students, he started over towards the stage, making sure his hair was properly arrayed (he bit back his internal annoyances at the wind and other such constructs of the environment) and that his speech cards and other such belongings were exactly as they were supposed to be, though it was purely mechanical.

Of course they were; he was far, far too meticulous to ever lose something so important as that. It wasn’t like he would need them, anyway; he’d had his speech learned since the start of the summer, when Professor Edwards had approached him and asked him to give it. It was a sort of tradition that one of the graduating students, especially one who’d attended for at least the entire duration of their high school and college, give the welcome speech on the first day of classes, and Phoenix (with his upstanding GPA and disciplinary records, his familiarity on campus as a resident assistant, and his very particular aesthetic) had been a quickly suggested choice.

He adjusted the sleeves of his jacket one final time, stepping up to approach the microphone. The stage techs were nowhere to be seen, but that was fine; he bit back his annoyance as he tapped on the dead microphone, clearing his throat and staring pointedly back to the empty soundbooth.

A high schooler quickly leapt into action, pressing buttons and ending the music after far, far too long of a pause. Phoenix rolled his eyes, stepping away from the microphone and pressing two fingertips lightly to the underside of his jaw, swelling the air that formed his words and projecting his (already theatrical voice) out over the entire field. The microphone tech did not take the hint, but that was fine; he angled the shape of the waves to avoid the microphone lest he cause feedback or other unpleasantries.

“My fellow students, welcome to another great year at the Nova Excelsis Institute of Higher Education. My name, as many of you know, is Phoenix Gallagher; I am a student senate member, resident assistant in Carter Hall, and the principal clarinetist of our student orchestra. But beneath all my other titles, I am a student just like you, and I am so proud to have the honor of saying that.” He shifted in place, lightly altering how the air currents flowed and yet again adjusting his suit jacket, shifting to stand as tall as he possibly could.

“Ten years ago today, I arrived on a bus just up the road at the Academy, and my life forever changed. Since that fateful day, I have been able to blossom into a role that I never could have even dreamed of filling with a conventional education. I have been privileged to work alongside the very greatest musical artists, both those gifted with Stars and those without; I have been pushed to the extreme limits of my ability and set up for a world-spanning career in that which is both my passion and my gift. Truly, the limits of one’s potential here are realized only by their wildest imagination.

"I am here to congratulate you all on making the choice to be here today; those of you who are returning students, to thank you for returning to this bastion of learning, and those of you who are new, to welcome you to the greatest place you will ever find. Here, and only here, Starred students are enabled and empowered to explore every facet of their ability, to hone it and grow into more gifted and accomplished individuals than they ever could have been in the conventional world. The world does not understand us, but the Institute does. Our faculty – world-renowned, incredible individuals who have singlehandedly made leaps and bounds in each of their wonderfully diverse social and academic roles – understand us, and are here to help us become all that we can be.”

He absently fidgeted with his suit jacket, reaching into the pocked where he kept his cue cards – more for the familiarity of having them than anything, of course – and managing to pull a perfectly blank face when he realized he didn’t, in fact, have them. No matter. He had his speech memorized. Perfectly, perfectly memorized.

Everything was going fine. He cleared his throat, adjusted his posture again, and put a smile on his face, making eye contact with some of the new students as he continued.

“We sit today at the beginning of what is sure to be the greatest year the Academy has ever known; as for the last fourteen years running, the Academy boasts higher enrollment than ever. In response to this, our faculty has added even more diverse degree programs at the collegiate level, while featuring the nation’s best selection of AP and IB courses -and even more specialized classes specifically taught to the higher achievement of Starred students – at the high school level. Truly, we are on the cusp of an era of greatness, and we will be the future of it.”

After a strategic length of pause, he smiled and opened his mouth to speak again, but found himself distracted by a rhythmic, droning beeping that quickly swelled in volume – an alarm. “Is – Is someone’s phone going off?” he asked distractedly. It was quite far away, at one of the picnic tables near the middle of the field, he thought. He tried to ignore it, hoping someone would make it stop beeping soon. “As I was saying, the future is now; the future is us. Remember this, if you become discouraged. The future of our world can hang in your hands, should you – should you choose to rise to that – occasion.”

A second beeping had joined the first, just a half-second out of phase with it and from a different part of the field. He growled to himself, turning a strainedly bright smile to the gathered students. “Friends, if you could please silence your phones. Please.”

He finally paused in his speech, clasping his hands in front of himself and waiting annoyedly for the sounds to be resolved. He didn’t dare present the professors, not with this cacophony.

Out of the corner of his eye he caught sight of a bright teal flash. His sibling. They didn’t seem at all perturbed by the noise…

He shook his head irritably. Surely they didn't actually know anything. They wouldn’t be trying to – sabotage this event?

@Amethyst

Alice’s eyes locked on with the ones of the talking orange on the stage. He looked right at her, that was weird. She took note of that weird beeping sound that was off in the distance somewhere, frankly it sound like a bomb, but who’d bomb a place like this? Oh well. She twirled one of her earbuds through her fingers while that guy went on and on about himself and how great he was. Cool.

This was boring her, so Alice just kinda zoned out a bit and thought about her classes, some person named...Echo? And some other people she couldn’t recall. She only recalled that one’s name because it wasn’t exactly your average name.

“Get on with it.” She thought in her head.

Time: 5:20 pm Monday
Location: Campus Commons
Interaction: None directly

"Oh-I suppose-..." Roman was saying before the orange haired man stepped on stage to begin his welcome speech. Of course the person they chose to do this has bright orange hair. Basically looking like a traffic cone up there on stage. Student Council, Resident Assistant, lead musician. What else? Its a surprise he didn't say that he was some sort of royalty or high born heir to some fortune.

In any case, the beeping noise that occurred in the background broke Roman's train of thought. The speech was audibly paused, and Roman waited to see what is going to happen next. The beeping noise should be a good indicator that something was about to happen, good-natured or not.

@Zoey Boey
Time: ???
Location: Outside the auditorium
Interaction: June

Jin followed the older woman through the bustling crowd, trying to keep from jostling into other students. The woman prattled on and on about how the school was better than other places where they were "mean". Jin shook her head; they weren't buying it. They'd met "mean" and doubted this clean and organized place would have anything that could really bother them.

Once they hit the auditorium doors, Jin looked back as the woman lied to her face. It wasn't even a good lie; she fumbled it. So - maybe she wasn't all sunshine and roses.

"June, huh? I'm Jin. Thanks for taking me here, now I've gotta find the-"

Suddenly, Jin could hear talking at a distance. They turned around through the same door they'd entered, only to hear someone giving a speech in the middle of the commons. "I thought the speech would be in the auditorium? Shit." Jin looked off, obviously uncomfortable. "Sorry. For making you take me all this way." And then they turned around and fled back into the crowd, deeply embarrassed.

June smiled as Jin told her their name. Well, as if she had stopped smiling. But sometimes it seems like it stuck to her face as a bad habit, the smile didn't always meet June's eyes. But very often something would happen that would result in the geniune smile coming back. So she smiled easily, but it seemed that smiling easily wasn't good enough for June and she wanted people to believe she smiled constantly.

But she frowned as Jin spoke, concerned for her new friend. "No, no, the speech is outside. It's-" June blinked as Jin began to run off and melt into the crowd.

"Hey, hey, Jin! Come back. You're not sorry- I mean, you don't need to be sorry. Jin?" June pursued after them, but she was slower and much clumsier than Jin and had bumped into someone, apologizing. June realised she had quickly become the loudest person around, as everyone was keeping their ears out for something that was about to happen.

"Hello?" The young woman said aloud, glancing around.

Time: 5:19 PM -> 5:28 PM
Location: Campus Commons
Interacting: Echo Gallagher @Amethyst; any observers.

Naomi thought for a moment, drumming her fingers on her thighs. She bit her lip and stared off into space. The exciting feelings that she had felt moments before were abating quickly as the minutes rolled on. It occurred to her, that, if they did get into trouble, and if they were caught, she would just end up making a scene in front of everybody else. Snot, tears, hyperventilation- the whole works. The mere thought filled her with dread. She couldn't bear to be embarrassed like that in front of everyone. Her thoughts went on and on like this, taking her to worse and worse places. In her imagination, she cried in front of the seniors, was made fun of so viciously that she had to leave the school, and, worst of all, went home. Logically, she knew this was unlikely and that, if caught, they would just receive a detention, but her anxious thoughts just ballooned until she felt like she was being crushed by a thousand stones and she couldn't breathe, she couldn't breathe-

Echo snapped her out of it, interrupting her anxious dilemma by asking something that she could actually talk about. "Um, yeah, she responded, gasping for breath a little. "There's, this, uh, this girl in my history class? APUSH, actually, this year. Her name was Alice. Seemed a bit stand-offish... we got partnered together for icebreakers, and she wasn't too nice, but that's to be expected." Now scanning the crowd for any new students, Naomi noticed someone sprinting towards the green from the auditorium. She pointed, directing Echo's gaze. "Maybe we should try to make friends with some freshmen this year?" she suggested.

Just then, the speech started, and Naomi went quiet. "Me too, she whispered back to Echo. As her anxiety rushed back in like a tidal wave, Naomi gripped Echo's forearm tightly with her gloved hands. She didn't let go. She could vaguely feel heat radiating off her in blasts, but ignored it, focusing entirely on the speech. The strategy worked for a minute or two- before the alarm clocks went off. Her eyes went wide in fear, and, then, to her surprise, she started laughing. It wasn't a normal laugh by any means. No, this was a maniacal laugh, a crazed laugh, but she couldn't stop. Her nails sunk into her friend's arm, hands heating up, as she tried to stop, nestling her head into Echo's shirt. She was really hoping that no one would notice, but, looking up, she noticed multiple kids staring at her.

Shit.

Time: 5:30 PM
Location: Campus Commons
Interacting: @canaryrose
Adam flipped through a large book, titled Atlas Shrugged, reading through the first chapter. Upon hearing Naomi laugh, he looked at her.
“What’s so funny?” he asked. Oh, the clocks, he thought. That probably has something to do with it.
“I’m Adam, by the way”he added.

Time: 5:20 PM -> 5:30 PM
Location Campus Commons; Welcome Banquet
Interactions: Naomi @canaryrose and Echo @Amethyst

Aaliyah finally returned from the debate team's booth and started heading towards the field where the opening speeches were to be given. She was a little bit drained - there was only so much she could tolerate from the high school freshman asking questions about the program, but she had managed to find a few hopefuls that seemed like they would be good additions to the team. As she approached the field she heard the sounds of Phoenix's voice - which actually didn't surprise her. Being Professor's Jasmine's personal student probably came with the benefit of being higher up in the chain when it came to selecting which of the college students got to give the opening speeches.

As Aaliyah approached the field she began to notice the sound of ringing - almost as if an alarm clock was going on - echoing across the field. More importantly however - she heard a familiar laugh nearby. Looking over she saw Naomi - one of the high schoolers on the debate team. Next to her she also noticed a teal-haired person that she understood to be Echo Gallagher. She had heard rumors that they were a trouble-maker and began hoping that they somehow hadn't gotten Naomi into trouble as it wouldn't be a good start of the year to lose one of her debaters when things were still up in the air.

She approached the Naomi from behind, gently tapping her on the shoulder.

"Naomi, please tell me you didn't have anything to do with this, and who is your friend here?" she asked.

Alice just say there having literally no idea what was going on. She just slowly dragged her eyes across the room while the music played in her other ear. She was twirling the other earbud between her fingers while sh waited for this to get done. This whole situation wasn’t really her scene. She just wanted to go vibe in her room right now. Maybe talk to her old friends if she had a chance. She noticed a couple of people near gawky-eyes talking about something, probably that beeping noise. Oh well.

Time:5:30
Location:Campus Commons
Interactions:None
Adam scanned the crowd, before returning to his book. He’d never really fit in at Nova, despite living in their care for four years. He found books more interesting than people, to be honest. Books didn’t care about how he was a Star. They didn’t talk back. And with a book, he could pretend to be a normal person. With people, real ones, he’d always be unusual. The Star mark on his back was to blame for that.
Without it, he’d just be another teenager, worried about dates and school. He wouldn’t be as strong without it, not nearly, but he didn’t care about his power. Throwing stuff really far, bending metal, running faster and farther than a normal person, what was that compared to family? Or even an unremarkable life? Adam knew plenty of people envied Stars. To him, though, it was nothing to envy. He’d trade it all for a single normal day.

Mia Zhong

Time: 5:20pm -> 5:30pm
Location: Campus Commons
Interacting: Anyone who wants to help

First days were always a little wild. There was, simply, so much to learn after an entire summer away. The did you hear this and did you hear that which had been ricocheting through the school all day both drove her crazy and made her feel more alive.

She was back.

Tugging her bag more securely over one shoulder, Mia exited the girls bathroom where she had been touching up her makeup and strode briskly down the empty hall. She was late. The cheerleaders’ first group meeting of the school year had ended almost an hour ago, but she’d stayed behind to mark through a few moves and the time had just disappeared.

Nova Infinitum’s cheerleading line was compromised. Each year was always a scramble to get a little patriotic demonstration together, because this welcome thing was always on the first day, yet they never missed it. While meeting over the summer was encouraged, those who returned home for the summer like her couldn't. Today's meeting was the first time they were all together, and they had scrambled to fix the formation with two members graduated and gone. A little wardrobe crisis had presented itself too: Iz had grown quite a bit over the summer and didn't fit into her old uniform anymore. They'd found a spare skirt for her but the shirt was a hopeless cause. Good thing the student council had extra welcome week shirts, and the student overseeing the distribution willing to donate the spares to a good cause.

In other words, they were rolling up and knotting the bright orange shirts to use as their tops this year. It had meant extra work with her makeup to ensure she didn't look hideous--most Chinese had trouble pulling off the color--but it was done. Now all she had to do was actually get there before the speeches were over.

Mia pulled out her phone, skimming over the “where are you” texts that she hadn't bothered to respond to. 5:22. With a sigh, she steeled her stomach and cast her intangibility over herself and belongings. She plummeted through the floor, undoing her intangibility once she was through, and landed in a crouch on the first floor. Faster than using the stairs.

There was a yelp from behind her. Turning, she flashed a wide grin at the shocked newbie, then jogged out the door onto the commons towards the gathered group.

Why was... Mia's grin faded. Phoenix stood up at the podium, but he wasn't talking and the students weren't paying attention. There was an out of place ringing, well audible even with the low buzz of students talking and someone's loud laughter.

"What the..."

Some other students seemed to be catching the amusement too, hiding giggles behind their hands.

Mia cast a look at the students around her. Blinked once. Twice. Then she raised her voice. "...Well, looks like it's a treasure hunt. Someone please find where that's coming from." With that, she took a guess and started off in the direction of one of the alarms.

Time:5:31
Location: Campus Commons
Interacting:@VampireOracle
Adam looked up from his book. Mia Zhong? He recognized her. Some cheerleader type. He’d heard rumors about her being a ghost. He didn’t believe in ghosts, though. Normally, he wouldn’t try to get her attention anyway, but he might as well help her out.
“Hi, I’m Adam. I’ll help you, if you don’t mind.” He then set his book down, glaring at any prospective thieves, and jogged after her. With his speed, he caught up fast.
“So, where first?”

Time: 5:31pm
Location: Campus Commons
Interacting: Adam @Eclipse Tyrant; anyone else

Mia looked over as the black haired teen appeared beside her. Adam was somewhere in the year below her, wasn't he? Quiet guy. She didn't stop walking but nodded quickly at him. “Hey." She waved an arm vaguely towards the picnic benches farther out on the lawn. "I think I hear it coming from over there, so that's where I'm starting.”

But there were two alarms, weren't there? It made her feel like she was walking in the wrong direction because while she felt like it was getting louder, the other alarm was sending a different signal to her brain that she was wrong. It would be nice to think a student had simply set an alarm and then left their phone behind by accident, but… Mia felt a twinge of annoyance. First days were important.

"What's your guess? Prank, or lost phone?"

Mia Zhong

Time: 5:31pm
Location: Campus Commons
Interacting: Adam @Eclipse Tyrant; anyone else

Mia looked over as the black haired teen appeared beside her. Adam was somewhere in the year below her, wasn't he? Quiet guy. She didn't stop walking but nodded quickly at him. “Hey." She waved an arm vaguely towards the picnic benches farther out on the lawn. "I think I hear it coming from over there, so that's where I'm starting.”

But there were two alarms, weren't there? It made her feel like she was walking in the wrong direction because while she felt like it was getting louder, the other alarm was sending a different signal to her brain that she was wrong. It would be nice to think a student had simply set an alarm and then left their phone behind by accident, but… Mia felt a twinge of annoyance. First days were important.

"What's your guess? Prank, or lost phone?"

”I think it’s an accident. A prank isn’t impossible, though.” Adam said.

Time: 5:30ish, Monday.
Location: Campus Commons
Interacting: Naomi @canaryrose and Aaliyah @Aurora Primrose, tangentially with Adam, mentions Mia @VampireOracle, any observers.

Echo awkwardly patted the back of Naomi’s hands with their free one, smiling at their friend and trying to play off the blush that slowly rose up in their cheeks. Oh, god, stop being a dumbass for five seconds, Echo. “Alice, yeah. I think we’re thinking of the same new kid. Is there really only one in our year?”

As the alarms went off, Naomi stiffened, digging her fingers into Echo’s forearm (though the gloves kept it from being uncomfortably warm) and hiding her face in Echo’s shirt. At first, they thought she was crying, but they realized it was a panicked, frenzied laughter after a brief moment. Cursing the awkward buzz that suddenly filled their arms and the heat flaming in their cheeks, they wrapped their free arm around Naomi’s shoulder, mumbling indistinct reassurances and doing what they could to shush their friend before even more people looked over. At least the laughter was spreading; if no one noticed earlier, they might think she was just… overcome with the hilarity of seeing Phoenix faltering and flailing onstage. Briefly, a person – looking to be around their age, but maybe a bit younger - materialized over Naomi’s shoulder. After a moment Echo finally placed who he was – Adam…Edwards? Maybe? He was a grade below them and had been here for at least a couple years; they’d seen him around campus, though they’d never overlapped in classes.

He absently asked what was funny, and Echo hissed “Bad timing, dude,” but he was gone again the next time they looked, run off to join the search headed by – Mia, yes, one of the cheerleaders; typical outgoing cheerleader thing to start. Still, if they were searching, it was only a matter of time before one of the clocks was found.

They glanced to Naomi again, lightly petting their friend’s hair in an effort to soothe the laughter. “What do you think about getting out of here?” they whispered. “We can go watch like…from the library or something, maybe, or…”

Their words trailed off as a shadow fell over them once again. Echo tilted their face up to see a responsible-looking college student. Aaliyah, their brain helpfully supplied. Followed by several expletives; she certainly looked the part of a responsible, snitching-to-professors sort. The newcomer focused intensely on Naomi, only giving Echo a cursory looking-over.

“I’m Echo,” they said helpfully, knowing that if Naomi tried to speak everything would be made worse. “And I uh – I think we have a situation here, is all. You know, I was just likening my brother up there to a traffic cone.” They pointed to the podium, miming Phoenix’s over-pompous compensating for himself, using the moment to take a second to think. “A fancy-dress traffic cone. And apparently the visual from that was just too funny. That’s all.” They smiled earnestly up at Aaliyah.

A third alarm started going off somewhere, relatively close by. Echo resisted the anxious tells that might give away their lie, clinging onto Naomi just as much as she clung to them and focusing their attention on the search that was now underway by several of the cheerleaders and other students.

This is not going to end well…

Time: 5:31 PM, Monday
Location: Campus Commons
Interacting: Aaliyah @Aurora Primrose and Echo @Amethyst, mentions Mia @VampireOracle, any observers.

At Echo's suggestion, Naomi's panic calmed. Going to the library would fix it. Nobody would suspect her if she had simply had to leave the green to calm down, and, plus, she wouldn't have to be around while the prank irritated everyone else. And, when the clocks were eventually found, she wouldn't have to lie when someone inevitably told. Yes, that would fix it. Not completely, but she would feel calmer than she did in the swell of students. She released her vice grip on Echo's jacket and raised her head to sit on their shoulder. Still laughing (well, more like hyperventilating), she took a deep breath. Then another. They were labored, almost gasping breaths, but got in air nonetheless.

"Y-yeah. Pl-please?" she said between gasps. She shut her eyes closed and inhaled shakily again. Why couldn't she just calm down? It shouldn't be that hard. But the idea of getting into trouble petrified her. Every time she thought of it, she felt a rising nausea and an almost uncontrollable urge to flee or cry. Maybe this prank hadn't been such a great idea. But, then again, maybe it would pay off. Maybe she would laugh for real later.

Just as she was calming, Naomi felt a tap on her shoulder. Her breath hitched in her throat and she whirled around, only to see a person who was probably one of the worst people to be behind her behind her. It was Aaliyah Meadows, one of the debate coaches. Fuck. Naomi's expression twisted into one of absolute and utter terror as her laughter (no, definitely hyperventilation) hitched up again. They were so dead. Aaliyah was a college student, and she would definitely tell. Oh, Jesus. She noted cheerleaders behind them, starting to root through bushes and look under picnic tables for the sources of the sounds. They were in for it now.

Clinging to Echo's shoulders even more now, Naomi managed to squeak out a few sentences between gasps. "Aa-Aaliyah! I-I swear, we d-didn't do an-anything, I swear-" Then, her panicked gasps were cut off by Echo and she nodded along to what they said, trying to smile convincingly. They were in such deep shit if Aaliyah didn't believe them.

Time: 5:31pm -> 5:32(ish?)pm
Location: Campus Commons
Interacting: Adam @Eclipse Tyrant; anyone else

The question of prank or accident was pretty much solved when a third alarm started ringing. Oh, geez. How many were there going to be? There couldn't possibly be too many more waiting to go off, right…? Even with more people starting to get in on the search now, it would be a headache if they had to find them all before Phoenix could continue. He was still standing up there, the poor guy.

At least now she and Adam had reached the picnic tables. "It’s got to be around here somewhere,” she mused, more to herself than to anyone else. Then she turned to Adam. "Alright, now we can try to pinpoint where exactly it is. Choose a table and get started.”

Nothing sitting on the table. Not on the bench part. Not under, not around it. Mia moved on to the next nearest table, frowned as that seemed to make the sound grow softer, and backtracked to choose a different one. Half a minute later, she was sure that this was the place. It was definitely loudest here, so…

Where?

That was when she saw it. The alarm was nestled in a small hollow created where a branch connected to the trunk of a tree, one that shaded the table during hot months. It was a splash of bright blue, just at eye level. Mia snatched it out and hit the silver button on its top. Silence, blissful silence from this one, at least. She rubbed her thumb lightly over the writing at the back--room number of its owner?--before grinning and holding it up over her head.

"Found the first one!" she called out. Still clutching the offending alarm in one hand, she let her bag drop roughly to the ground and performed a one handed round off. She landed neatly, and let out a whoop.

Mia couldn't help it. She was a cheerleader, after all, and they had to show a little enthusiasm. The deed done, she slipped the alarm into her bag and prepared to continue searching.

Mia Zhong

Time: 5:31pm -> 5:32(ish?)pm
Location: Campus Commons
Interacting: Adam @Eclipse Tyrant; anyone else

The question of prank or accident was pretty much solved when a third alarm started ringing. Oh, geez. How many were there going to be? There couldn't possibly be too many more waiting to go off, right…? Even with more people starting to get in on the search now, it would be a headache if they had to find them all before Phoenix could continue. He was still standing up there, the poor guy.

At least now she and Adam had reached the picnic tables. "It’s got to be around here somewhere,” she mused, more to herself than to anyone else. Then she turned to Adam. "Alright, now we can try to pinpoint where exactly it is. Choose a table and get started.”

Nothing sitting on the table. Not on the bench part. Not under, not around it. Mia moved on to the next nearest table, frowned as that seemed to make the sound grow softer, and backtracked to choose a different one. Half a minute later, she was sure that this was the place. It was definitely loudest here, so…

Where?

That was when she saw it. The alarm was nestled in a small hollow created where a branch connected to the trunk of a tree, one that shaded the table during hot months. It was a splash of bright blue, just at eye level. Mia snatched it out and hit the silver button on its top. Silence, blissful silence from this one, at least. She rubbed her thumb lightly over the writing at the back--room number of its owner?--before grinning and holding it up over her head.

"Found the first one!" she called out. Still clutching the offending alarm in one hand, she let her bag drop roughly to the ground and performed a one handed round off. She landed neatly, and let out a whoop.

Mia couldn't help it. She was a cheerleader, after all, and they had to show a little enthusiasm. The deed done, she slipped the alarm into her bag and prepared to continue searching.

Adam began searching, looking under the tables as he walked by. He kept an ear out, getting closer and closer to the source of the sound. Finally, he dropped onto his hands and knees and crawled under one table.
”Here’s one!”Adam shouted. Then he crushed the beeping alarm into a ball of plastic and metal.
Whoops, he thought. That was a mistake. He sometimes just did that.
He chucked the ball into a garbage can, and brushed his hands off.
“So, Mia, how are you?” Adam asked awkwardly. He wasn’t great at talking to people in general, but he’d been encouraged to socialize with others.