[IC] Caelbury Academy

[Lilacs]

Non scholae, sed vitae discimus

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Monday

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Welcome back to Caelbury for those of you returning, and welcome as well, to those who are new! I hope you had a wonderful summer! Be sure to tell me about it later, okay? Another school year is about to begin, and I can't wait to get to know each and every one of you.

Okay, now getting into business... Since you're reading this now, you've probably already got the key to your dorm. Make sure that everything is in order before you settle in, I checked the rooms over, but I could have missed something. Also, be nice to your roommate! You guys are going to be best friends.

However, if there are any serious issues regarding the room, or your roommate, please be sure to let either the Principal, Mr. Aldrin, the Vice Principal, Mr. Hawthorne, or one of the Student Council members immediately. Hopefully, there won't be any major problems, but you never know. If you can't locate any one of us, please just leave us a quick note in the Student Council room in the main building (Room 2301).

Okay, so now that the boring stuff is out of the way...

Caelbury Academy will be having our annual pre-school picnic on Sunday! The teachers will be there, most of the students will be there, and there will be a lot of great food. We will be having a barbeque, there will be games, and just plain hanging out before school starts. (Don't tell the teachers, but there will be a dunk tank!!). It would also be great if you could bring your own food to share with everyone, it doesn't matter if it's homemade or store bought. It's going to be super fun, and everyone will be so sad if you're not there!

Okay, that's it for now. Come see me if you have any questions, my dorm room is 286.

Looking forward to a great year with you, and hope to see you around!

Acacia Hawthorne
Student Council President

---

"The most difficult part of attaining perfection is finding something to do for an encore."

Many students are upset as they realize that the end of summer vacation is nigh.

Not Acacia.

Being at school granted her an escape from the stifling environment that the Hawthorne family lived in. She was always watched, by her parents, by the media, by the various maids and servants that worked at their home... Summer wasn't a season that Acacia looked forward to, and she was only too happy that the transition towards Autumn was beginning. The school years granted her a much needed respite from the watching eyes of her parents and the rest of the world, and although she's still watched by her peers, the scale is completely different. There was so much less pressure. School gave her something to focus on, something that she could excel at. It was a safe haven for Acacia Hawthorne.

She wandered through the empty hallways of the dorms, taping a piece of paper onto each door. Although it was a full week before the school year would commence, people would start trickling in soon to settle in their dorms. Acacia was the first student here, making sure that everything is in order for her fellow students. She had already peeked in all of the rooms, making sure that it was nice, and now she was putting a letter welcoming everyone to Caelbury, and a notice for the annual pre-school picnic that would take place on Sunday.

The pre-school picnic was a tradition that took place every year a week before school started. The Student Council and teachers set up a picnic consisting of barbeques, sandwiches, pop, chips, and it was one of the few times that food wasn't prepared by gourmet chefs. Teachers and students alike brought store bought, or homemade food, making it into a large potluck. Although attendance isn't required, every year most of the students and teachers would make an appearance, to catch up with old friends and find new ones before the school year started. And besides, the food is pretty good, unless someone brought over burnt, homemade cookies. There were games to be played, food to be eaten, friends to be seen, and one year, there was a food fight. Point is, the picnic is fun!

As soon as the last piece of paper was attached to the last door, Acacia did a quick pirouette to make sure that no rooms had been missed. Having finished her work, she went into her room to retrieve a plate of cookies she had baked earlier. Being at Caelbury Academy for three days without any of the other students was quite boring, giving Acacia ample time to simply lay around and do nothing. There was only so much preparation she needed to do, and she laid everything out into the schedule, and that left hours of free time to do nothing. So, she baked, wrote, skated... Anything to occupy her time.

Carrying the cookie plate, she headed out of the dorm building, walking the short distance to the large school building. Making her way easily through the school which she had spent three years in, Acacia entered the teacher's lounge, placing the cookies onto the table. Plucking one from the plate, Acacia bit into it, sitting upon the table with her legs dangling in the air. It was a tradition, baking cookies for the teachers, and it saddened her that this would be the last time.

---

"Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you'll land among stars"

Alli Kendrick. Age 24, teacher at Caelbury Academy.

Who would've thought? Definitely not Alli at age 16, that's for sure. If you told her that she would be a teacher here--a history teacher--she would have laughed at you, presumably drinking an alcoholic beverage at the same time. You really didn't know where life will lead you.

Alli ran her finger across her desk, inspecting her finger for any accumulated dust specks. Her desk was spotless, actually her entire classroom was spotless. Of course, it was Caelbury Academy. The school was probably cleaned thoroughly during the summer. The school literally shined right now, everything was so squeaky clean. Look, The gum that students stuck to the bottom of the desks were scraped off, leaving no trace of their disgusting remains. Thank God, Alli hated accidentally touching them. Gross. And the janitors even left a vase of fresh flowers upon her desk! How nice of them.

Leaning her chin on her hand, Alli looked around the classroom, feeling a slight sense of pride. She was doing something worthwhile with her life, and at times it was hard to believe. She had hit rock bottom, and managed to claw her way out of it. It was a miracle, and she was thankful for it. Now, she could make sure that people had the chance to right their own path. Well, as much as she could as a history teacher anyway.

Her phone buzzed, alerting her to a text message. "Alli! u have 2 come 2 the party 2nite on the beach!"

With a soft smile, she typed out a quick reply to her friend without using the texting shorthand. "Sorry Meg, your parties get a little wild. And I'm at work. Have fun!"

Who would've guessed? Alli Kendrick, turning down a party invitation.

---

"Expectations hurt, always expect the unexpected, life is a surprise, live it, learn from it, never let yourself be fooled by the world."

Brenden was feeling nervous. Very, very nervous. It was strange, anxiety was an emotion foreign to the confident man, but the stakes were a little different.

He was the principal at a school that he wouldn't have ever even dreamed of attending, it was so far out of his league. And it's not like he had earned the position either, he was just here because his friend wanted him to be his successor as the principal. Nobody had questioned the previous principal, but Brenden couldn't help but feel out of place. That doorknob probably cost more than his suit and car combined. That flower probably got more care than a flower in an old lady's garden, and that's saying a lot, obviously.

As he looked up at the main building, he swallowed nervously, his throat feeling extremely dry. This... This was a school right? Not a castle? It was probably the most majestic building that Brenden had ever seen, and now he was running it? That's a little unbelievable. Straightening out his tie and smoothing out his crisp suit obsessively for like the 50th time now, he willed himself to step in the school.

Yup, any minute now, he's going to walk forward, open the door knob and go into the school!

Yeah, sometime this month would be great Brenden. Go... Now!

Or now!

Fine, don't go now. Jeez.

Wuss.

Why was he having such a hard time going into the school? He'd been in there a few times to familiarize himself with the building and teachers, so why was it so hard now? The answer was simple: Going into the building meant accepting that this was happening, shouldering the responsibility of an elite school. This was so stupid, why was he scared now? Brenden Aldrin doesn't quit, and he doesn't back out because he's scared. He's a winner.

With that simple pep talk, he walked forward and opened the door.

[MULTI_MEDIA_MAN]

Jacob closed the door on his parents' van for the last time, all of his belongings having been brought up into the dorms and unpacked. The letter on his door from Acacia was a nice touch, and before he'd explained to his parents that the same letter was literally on every door, they'd gotten the wrong idea. "Besides, dad, she's the Hawthorne's kid. Nothing against myself, but I wouldn't be surprised if her parents were already thinking of some way to marry her into some other politically powerful family." Chuckling, Jacob's dad tussled the nearly non-existent hair on his son's head.

"You know, Jacob, I wish you'd have let your hair grow out, just for the summer. Your mother and I missed you running around, getting your hair all messy."

"Sorry dad, but I didn't want to break the habit. Gotta look good now that I'm the big guy on campus." He smiled, something that was unusual for Jacob. At least, it was when dealing with his parents. There was always tension in the Rockwell family, and Jacob's parents knew that he partially blamed them for his troubles. "Anyway, thanks for helping take everything upstairs, old man. Even if your back's half-broken now that you're sixty." This time it was Jacob's father who smiled. The elderly man wasn't very sensitive when it came to his advanced age. He was constantly mistaken for Jacob's grandfather, and for good reason.

"Ahhh, that's it Jacob! Right here, fight me!" He mockingly put his fists up in a boxer's pose and exchanged light-hearted jabs with his son before Jacob's mother started shaking her head and laughing. "Just remember to take your medicine, Jacob. And your appointments are on Sundays. Bye now, be good, and remember, we love you." In an instant, the tension was back. Being at home reminded Jacob of everything he wanted to forget, every wound he wished had never opened.

"Uhh...yeah...I'll remember, dad." Jacob tried forcing his smile to last, but it was hard. Constantly being reminded that he was someone who had to be worried abut annoyed him. As his parents drove away, he turned back to face the dorm building as his face dropped back to its usual, neutral position. Jamming his hands into his pockets, he went back to his room and looked in the closet at one of the few things that still brought him joy and pride.

"Ahhh, my uniform. Crisp, clean and fresh. The only thing that makes me stand out in this damned place. It's nice to be smart, but when everybody else around you is just as smart or rich beyond your wildest dreams...it loses its charm. But this..." He felt the uniform lovingly. "This is different." Closing the closet again, he sat on his bed and looked up at the ceiling. Might as well go see whoever else has shown up. Probably wouldn't be many people, really. He and his parents both knew that he wanted out of that house ASAP, and they all did their best to make it happen.

[Bird]

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...........................August Marco
=======================================================

“Hey, Mom?”

“Yes, August?”

“I can't breathe.”

The boy squirmed out of his mother's grasp. He had gone home over the summer, of course. It was nice to be home for a while, just being able to relax. He spent most of his summer in the pool. (He actually just ended up putting board shorts on in the morning, so that he didn't have to worry about changing.) Autumn crept up quickly, and before he knew it, he was stuck on a four hour car ride with his mopey mother. Of course, his parent's had insisted that they rent a nice, fancy car to bring him back to the Academy. It wasn't really a limousine, but it might as well be. He hated when his parents did that. He honestly preferred the Jeep, but no.

His mother sighed and smoothed August's hair. “You are a mess. Why didn't you let me get your hair cut?”

“I'll get it done before school starts.” He assured her, brushing her hand off. She had been fussing over him the whole way, just like she always does. His father would just occasionally glance at him and smile sadly, as if sympathizing with his son's predicament, but had said virtually nothing.

They pulled up outside the dorms, and August quickly climbed out of the car. He loved his mother dearly, but he couldn't wait to get away from her. He insisted on getting his own stuff out of the trunk while his mom looked on with distaste. “Is that all you brought?”

“What do you mean, 'all I brought', Mom? You practically had me pack my entire closet.”

“Don't be ridiculous. You couldn't possibly fit your entire closet into a single backpack and suitcase. What if you run out of underwear? You always leave it at the pool...”

“Mom!” August almost wailed. “I'm a big boy, I can handle it. Can I please go now? I want to unpack and find some food.”

His mother sighed once more. “Yes, yes.” She hugged him tightly, her eyes a little wet. Man, she was so embarrassing! His dad simply patted him on the back and told him not to set the school on fire. He watched them get back into the rental and waved as the driver pulled away and out of sight.

'Finally!' August thought, relieved. Although he knew they were the whole reason he was even able to attend Caelbury, he wanted nothing more then for them to step back a little and let him take care of himself.

He followed the instructions he was given to his dorm. He stood in front of the door for a moment, a little hint of butterflies in his stomach. What was up with that? He never got nervous. He stuck the letter from Acacia – man, he really missed her! - back in his pocket. He knocked on the door before using his key, sticking his head in. “Hello? Anyone home?” He called. He didn't want to barge in and piss his roommate off the first day, so he'd try and contain himself.

[ice2365]

Vladimir Kalkovich's plane landed a week before Caelbury Academy started. The long 12 hour flight left him with jet lag and an empty stomach. "God damn airplane food," Vladimir always thought when eating it. The sandwich he had was by far one of the worst things he had ever eaten. After taking the first bite, Vladimir promptly spat it out in the barf bag and drank his diet coke. All in all, the flight was, as Vladimir called it, "Hell on Earth." Vladimir was never a huge fan of flying, but since he was in the U.S. he would have to do it more often to visit Ana, his caretaker, who happened to be his mother's best friend. Vladimir's thoughts led him astray, he hated thinking about his mother and "him," so he quickly returned his mind back to food. After the agonizing wait in Customs, Vladimir went to a McDonalds, having never ben to one before he didn't know what to get so he bought a burger and large fries."Holy shit this is fucking good." Vladimir said aloud in his thick Russian accent, in which he got a few dirty looks from mother's of young children. After eating his fill Vladimir needed his bags from baggage claim, thus he started the walk through the airport.

When arriving to baggage claim, the carousel was already moving and dropping bags out. He quickly retrieved two suitcases he brought. He set them down and waited for his two most prized positions: his acoustic and electric guitar. One case, his acoustic guitar, moved up the little ramps and fell onto the carousel and Vladimir retrieved it setting it next to his stuff. He waited for his electric guitar for half hour until the carousel stopped. "You must be joking with me." Vladimir said. "Poimet!" Vladimir cursed in Russian. He dashed to a cart to dispenser thrusting the currency in and angrily yanked a cart out of the dispenser. He loaded his luggage onto the cart and stormed off to the baggage claim office. Luckily enough for him there was nobody waiting in front of him. Vladimir calmed himself down and went up to the woman behind the desk. "Excuse me miss, all of my luggage has not come through yet and the carousel has stopped. I must know what happened."

"What did you loose darling?" The Woman asked.

"My guitar has not come through." Vladimir replied keeping calm.

"Well I'ma gonna make a few calls and you just sit tight honey."

After waiting another hour Vladimir learned the Airport in Moscow lost his guitar, as it was routed all the way to Japan. Vladimir had to fill out a bunch of paper work of where the airport should send his guitar when they received it. Vladimir put the address of Caelbury knowing full well he would have to explain a guitar should be coming for him to the front office. "This day has become shit." Vladimir muttered while walking out of the airport. He hailed a cab, threw his suitcases in the back and put his guitar in the back seat with himself as if he was protecting it. Vladimir asked the cabbie to drive him to Caelbury Academy. Vladimir's cab pulled up to the huge campus of Caelbury. Vladimir got out and took in his surroundings. "Beautiful Vladimir thought as he got his luggage out. He was told to go to the dorm buildings to get settled in. The cabbie got out, "I'm assuming you wanted to go to the dorms, so I brought you there." he pointed to a nearby building. "That will be $96.67 by the way."

Vladimir entered the building to the dorms. He approached the woman at the front desk, "Vladimir Kalkovich. I require my room key." Vladimir said. The woman looked at a list and handed him a key without saying a word. "203." the key read. Vladimir rolled his suitcases, with his guitar on his back to an elevator. He hit the second floor and the elevator rose. He exited and turned left, where all the odd numbered rooms were. His was the second room in the long hallway. He saw a note was posted to his door, explaining something about an all school picnic. "Sounds fun I guess Vladimir told himself. He inserted the key and opened the door. "My roommate is not here it looks like" Vladimir said. He quickly found a room and put his stuff down. He didn't feel like unpacking at the moment. Vladimir made sure he had is key and walked out of his new room deciding to tour the campus. He walked out of the dorm building realizing that he still had his guitar on his back. Vladimir had a better idea. He sat down on a bench outside of the dorm building and started to play a song. He then started to sing.

---

Alice Profit, for once in her life was ready to go back to school. Now that her drug operation was finally going to kick off. She knew for a fact rich kids would be all over her goods that she was bring to Caelbury. Alice was in her father's car looking out the window. Her father was lecturing her about how she needed to get better grades this year to actually get somewhere in life. Alice glared at her father after his long ramble. "Shut the fuck up! You've never cared, so fuck off let me live however the fuck I want. Christ!" She straightened her glasses and went back to staring out the window. Alice felt that her father was dumbstruck. Of course he was, he always thought Alice was a good girl. Little did he know. "Alice, sweetie, is there something you want to talk about?" Alice ignored him. She just kept staring at the passing senerary. "Let this Hell ride end already. Sweet Jesus please let it fucking end soon." Alice thought she tuned out the voice of her father's even though he was trying to get her attention.

"Alright, I guess you're ignoring me to spite me, whatever. But just try, and don't get in any trouble. For me and your mother..."

Alice cut her father off, "Are you kidding me?! Do shit for you two? Really? Wow!" Alice was pissed off she wanted to hit her father, but that would get her nowhere except on the side of the road in a burning car. "Fuck...Fine whatever you say father dearest." Alice said in a very condescending tone." Alice was itching to for a joint, or a pop, or just something to get her mind off her father's lecturing. He finally shut up. When her father pulled over at a gas station Alice opened the car door grabbing the backpack at her feet. She stormed into the bathroom locking the door behind her. She opened her backpack, which it's contents would surprise any police officer for a 15 year old girl to have. Multiple illegal drugs were in her bag. She took out a little bag of cocaine that had a razor blade and a little straw inside. She poured some onto the counter and cut it into a line using the razor blade. Then Alice used the straw and snorted it up her nose. She put the bag back into her backpack and exited the bathroom. Alice got back into the car and her father speed off. "Fuck him, I'm better than him. I can do everything better than him. I've made more money than him when he was a kid. I've worked my ass off for a lot of my money. He can go to Hell" The rest of the two hour car trip was full of silence, but Alice felt aware of everything and everything her father did just made her angry.

Soon, the effect of the cocaine wore off and they arrived at Caelbury. Without a word to her father Alice got out of the car making sure she slammed the door. She grabbed her two suitcases and her backpack from the trunk and stormed off to the dorm rooms. Alice went through her mental checklist. "One, get in my room before my roommate, two, hide the product from my roommate, three, scope out the students at the start of school picnic four, sell to those students, five profit and have fun." When Alice approached the dorm building she heard the sounds of someone singing and playing a guitar. Alice glared at the boy on the bench, "Jesus Christ! Why, why play that garbage in public?! You have no respect dumbass!" She entered the building without looking back at the boy. "Alice Profit" she told the lady at the front desk. She was given a key and went to the elevator. "210" Alice thought reading her key. She quickly opened her room door and called out "Hello!" When nobody answered she immediately started to scope out where she could hide her drugs. In one of the rooms she found a loose floor board under the bed. With out a second thought Alice but all her luggage on the bed and opened the floor board. She then emptied the contents of her into the board. Alice placed the wooden piece back in place and hopped on her bed. She needed a nap. Alice dosed off in a matter of minutes looking forward to the coming year.

[Sixsmith]

"The world will break your heart ten ways to Sunday..."

---

The perks of having dogs.

Or rather, the cons of having dogs.

They were walking alarm clocks.

Feeling the pressure of two fifty pound balls of white fur was enough to wake almost anyone up. Add to that excited panting and hushed barks, and it was nearly impossible to go back to sleep, no matter how many pillows there were. Barely able to see through the flurry of white, Hayden Hanse Hawthorne sneaked a very inhibited peak at the clock on his nightstand.

5 A.M. was way too early.

With a deep groan, he forced the two dogs from his back, flopping them panting and writhing onto the hardwood floor below. The rest of the morning was an absolute lull. Get up, get dressed, run hand through hair, jog around the block, more work outs, shower, shave, brush teeth, run hand through hair—no gel required for assembly—fix breakfast, scoff at the taste of orange juice, feed the dogs, deep sigh, remember to walk the dogs, groan as one of the dogs defecates on someone's mailbox, head back home, get fully dressed in a nice three-piece suit (Ralph Lauren with freshly polished Oxfords), run hand through hair one more time, remember to put deodorant on, get redressed, hop in the car, run to Starbucks to get a mocha chai tea latte grande with extra sugar and vanilla and cinnamon, and then finally arrive at the school.

Hayden was among one of the few teachers who actually lived in the apartment complex not too far from the Academy. He spent all of the school year living at his home away from home. Actually, the fact that he lived there for a little over three-fourths of the entire year should make it his actual home. In fact, he spent both Christmas and New Years in the apartment, usually with Acacia, since she couldn't handle more than summer vacation back home with the parents. He'd do his best to make her feel at home, but just being with her brother seemed to be enough. She'd always tell him, "Just being here is the best gift you could give me," to which he'd smile, blush a deep red from flattery, and insist she open her presents.

Smiling at the thought, he noticed the newest arrival standing rather rigidly by the entrance. This wasn't officially the principal's first day of school, but it would be his first day seeing any of the faces that would be attending Caelbury. Walking up to him, Hayden stopped to gather himself, actually looking into the shiny part of his suitcase to make sure there was nothing in his teeth before continuing up to the entrance. Brenden had already made his move inside as Hayden approached, coughing slightly and putting the hand that held his coffee to his chest.

"M-morning..." he cleared his throat, "Morning, Mr. Aldrin. Let me get that for you."

Placing his hand just above Brenden's, Hayden pushed the door forward the rest of the way to let the man in. A sheepish grin was plastered onto his face as he moved in front of Brenden, though he paused in his turn. "Hayden Hawthorne," he greeted, finally facing Brenden with his hand outstretched, suitcase clenched under his armpit, "We met a few days ago. I'll be yours... your... uh, Vice Principal and colleague, as you already know."

That was awkward. Bad second impression. His stark blue eyes shifted to the side and his outstretched hand moved to gesture down the hall. "I, uh, actually can't talk right now. Your office should be across from mine in the administration building. I have to, um, see to something, really quick. It was nice meeting you," he spoke as he was leaving, yelling the last bit as he disappeared around a corner, mumbling, "You're so stupid," repeatedly as he did.

Pretty much running down the halls now, Hayden rounded another corner and into the teacher's lounge, immediately greeted by a familiar face. The breath he hadn't realized he was holding was released in a long, loud huff. None other than Acacia, whose appearance brought a bright smile to his face as did the cookies, was seated casually atop the table. In the split second he recognized her, Hayden made a quick move toward the plate of cookies, setting the coffee and his suitcase beside Acacia. Not a word was spoken as he shoved everything back and sat right next to her, bringing the plate on to his lap as he brought his head down onto his sister's shoulder. His height didn't help, but he managed whilst silently chewing on the cookie in his hand, sipping his coffee between bites.

---

"Fact: bears eat beets; bears, beets, 'Battlestar Galactica.'"

---

Flynn, unlike many other people, was almost always the earliest arrival. This year was no different; he had to get Oedipus settled back into his makeshift home, of which he did in a snap.

The cat crawled onto the wooden desk placed in the far corner of the room. It was out of the way, hidden, almost, behind a massive bookshelf; the computer on it did well to actually conceal him, despite his height. The room itself was crowded with desks all arranged in a tight-knit circle situated near the large whiteboard. Most of his classes were that of participation, with essays on the side, which was the cause for the arrangement. The janitors knew how he taught and got used to it, often making a nice arrangement before the day started. Due to the mobile nature of teenagers, it was all in vane; the desks would soon be scattered who knows where in who knows what fashion. How they all managed it with his eyes on each individual was one of the few mysteries he had yet to solve.

A soft mewling caught his attention, accompanied by a furry underbelly situating itself atop his outstretched hands. The cat nonchalantly turned to look straight at him and his smiling face—a rare occasion. That was Oedipus' way of gathering attention and the fatter he got the more efficiently it worked. He'd have to catch his students before they fed him anymore treats. If you'd asked him at the beginning of his first year he'd scoff at the idea of making such a rule, now he couldn't live without it: Oedipus had gained approximately ten pounds every year. For a cat that was a damn lot.

Standing, Flynn straightened out his dull grey suit, pulling the black tie taught as he moved toward the lone cabinet next to a smaller bookshelf. He gathered the materials for the cat's breakfast, a bowl and his actual food—the water he'd have to get in the teacher's lounge—and set them beside his desk. Another mewl as he sat the food down and grabbed the other bowl, making his way outside. The cat followed in hot pursuit.

It was a sight for anyone to see: one of the taller men in the Academy, whom people could barely find anyhow, trailed by a large white cat that whined and complained the whole way down the hall. He didn't appreciate leaving the confines of Flynn's room—the cat, that is—and he made it known to everybody. It was actually the one time out of any that people could locate Dr. Zimmerman, who always had a deep frown ready to flash at anyone who dared look at him. He didn't like attention, preferring the walls he'd always stuck to as a child. But, with no one yet around, save a few teachers, he was happy to ignore the cat's constant wailing. Well, until he ran into people inside the teacher's lounge.

"Hayden," he muttered upon entering, accompanied by a loud meow, "Acacia."

One of the Hawthornes smiled as he lifted his head from the other's shoulder, gesturing for him to take a cookie. Nodding, he did and then silently worked his way toward the sink. Oedipus, having somehow snatched a cookie for himself, was fiddling around next to the faucet, making a mess while he ate and stared at Flynn. With a roll of his eyes, he waved and departed with both the cat and the water. Setting everything down upon entering, he moved behind his desk and simply sat, looking over lesson plans and whatever else he could find on the internet, while he ate the cookie he'd been holding in his mouth.

Oedipus didn't touch the food he poured out before sitting down, too preoccupied with the treat. The cat would regret it later and he'd happily tell him, "I told you so."

Now, though, he was quietly waiting for a call from his mother.

---

"Just because it is, doesn't mean it should be.'"

---

Bed made, rigorous training finished, panting breath, and ready for a shower. Just how he liked his mornings.

Saul stepped out of the bathroom smiling brightly after his routine grooming, not clean shaven as usual—years in the military made him adore keeping his facial hair afterwards, to an unhealthy degree—but well groomed and slightly trimmed, he moved from his bathroom and immediately into his kitchen where he made sure to stock his fridge full of the best organic food and drink he could. Organic because it was healthy and not because of some damn lifestyle or some shit, and his own well-being actually required it. He liked veggies as a kid and now he loved them, but he also had a deep romantic interest in various, delicious meats, including, but not limited to steak, sushi, ribs, wings, schnitzel, pot pies, turkey. If not for the diet he was forced to adhere to, then he'd most likely splurge on whatever he could, not because he used to, but because he hadn't had the pleasure in a long, long time.

After fixing breakfast, he dressed himself and ate, his eyes on the news and weather blaring in his living room. All routine, like usual.

Gathering Dallas and Esther, he drank the last of his shake and headed into the hall of his complex and out the door. The ride to the Academy was a short one and he would have almost caught the two at the door, if not for his own bag spilling out its contents into his trunk. Whispering various curses to himself, he gathered his supplies and the birds and made a dash for the doorway, rounding the corner in a slight hurry, only turning to lock his car door. Of course, he seemed to have only missed one individual, being greeted by a rather friendly, though nervous looking face in front of the entrance.

Hand containing the bag outstretched, he introduced himself, "Saul Krischenzweig. Last name's hard to pronounce so Saul or Kirsch is fine." He paused for a second, looking the man over to scrutinize him. "You look really young for a principal," he said with a slight frown that immediately disappeared, "but, I guess that can be a good thing. I'll reserve any judgment until later. I'm Caelbury's drama and theatrical teacher."

One of the birds squawked, catching the Sual's attention. He quickly apologized, excused himself, and made his way to his classroom. The room itself was situated in between the amphitheater and dance studio, where most of his classes would be held. The room was designed for some of the other subjects he taught, but it held all the necessities for a class suited for his line of work. A large wooden door led to the expansive backstage of the theatre, situated so that it wasn't quite in the way, but it was still obvious enough to find easily. Opposite that door lay another identical one, leading straight into the dance studio. His desk was shoved into a corner, next to a large whiteboard where the projector on the ceiling was faced toward. All of the desks were shoved a bit back, almost near the entrance, to allow for a large vacant space between the first row and the board. The room itself was rather large, held various shelves of artwork and posters of varying design, usually of Broadway famous plays, but also of various movies. Behind his desk sat a more impressive array of playbills, the only odd one being a Marine Corps poster. Everything else was designed just as anyone would think a drama class would, with various theatrical decorations and various shelves holding what looked to be books and movies. It was all very organized, tidy, and exactly how he left it last year, but cleanlier and more polished.

This was exactly how it should feel, organized, clean, shining, and something to be proud of. Saul smiled brightly as he set the bird cage down on the stand just behind his desk, finding a fresh bag of bird feed right below. He'd have to thank the janitors sometime later. Saul filled the small bowl inside and did the same to their water dish. Finally, with everything finished, Saul let himself relax into his chair, ready to once again look over his schedule for the year and any other formalities he may have missed.

[YipeeXD]

Cole had obviously returned home for the summer. It had been great catching up with some old friends again, and spending some quality time with his family. However, he missed the academy. Although he never really did much there, it was nice to know your every need would be pandered to, and if something was bothering you, it would be fixed instantaneously. Cole had chose to be driven to the academy via taxi, as he hated the way his parents embarrassed him every year at drop off time.

As the tires of the taxi screeched against the surface of the car park, Cole got out and retrieved his luggage. He didn't really bring anything extra than normal. Only his Skates. He carried his stuff up the large marble steps into the main student housing block. He smiled at the desk before retrieving his room key and making his way down the corridor.

Something played on his mind though. This year, he had to share a room. He had no idea who it was with, but it couldn't be that bad he guessed. He arrived at his room in good time and realised that the door was already ajar. 'Here goes'. He shouldered the door open as he was still carrying his bags and quickly slumped them onto the empty bed. On the way in he noticed how nice the rooms looked this year. It was wonderful. He had almost forgotten about the bulky guy across the room. He gulped before coughing. "Sup... looks like I'm you're room mate. Name's Cole, Cole Grimoire." He extended his hand. Maybe this could get off to a great start.

[Chezka]

Perfectly manicured fingers (today, her nails were a bright pink with a slight hint of glitter) gingerly wrapped around the smartphone charging on her dock, turning the alarm off before it began to buzz and ring. The still groggy brunette let her eyes slowly adjust to the light, hesitating momentarily before scrambling off the bed with a stifled yawn. Catherine Sinclair had to resist the urge to jump back on the warm inviting bed, her bed, fluffy and soft and hers. It was one of the things she missed when she had to shoot on location, which had been for most of the summer.

As soon as Caelbury had let out for the summer and up until a week ago, Wren had been working on the first installment of a planned trilogy. It was an answer to the young adult, dystopian, book-to-movie hype. There was a lot of debate that had come up after she was announced as the lead, so Wren was naturally beyond motivated to prove any doubters wrong. She worked her ass off these past few months, and didn't allow herself to relax until after the wrap party four days ago.

It wouldn't be the end of the world if she slept for a few more minutes, right? Wren looked at the clock (only 5:45!) and back to the bed impishly, weighing her options before diving back on the bed like a child. "Just five minutes," she assured as she closed her eyes and indulged herself just this once.

… ★ …

This time, she woke up to the unfamiliar blaring of her second alarm. Wide eyed and slightly panic-stricken, Wren hopped off her bed once again and headed straight to the adjoining room. Her closet, just as big as her bedroom, was filled to the brim with clothes and shoes but she developed an infallible organization system to easily sort through them. Wren quickly navigated to what she labeled as the 'fitness corner' and grabbed the first pair of workout clothes hanging. She would normally be more meticulous with her choice—they were dependent on weather and type of activity, naturally—but it was already 6:25 and she was behind schedule.

Wren had to do a shorter but more intense workout to make up for the lost twenty-five minutes, but she was back in schedule by the time she finished showering. Choosing an outfit normally took longer, but she had been so excited to go back to the academy that she already planned out everything. For today, she would be wearing a simpler piece: a beige lace back playsuit and white leather pumps with two inch heels. She went with a natural look for her makeup and styled her hair in a neat braided crown. Wren checked the mirror for the umpteenth time, checking and rechecking if the ensemble worked, before smiling in approval and heading down to eat. Breakfast with her family was as delightful as always. There were always funny work stories to share and hilarious, nonsensical hate mail to poke fun at. Her brothers went home for the week just to spend some time with her, so the day was even better.

With morning preparations over and done with, Wren was finally ready to go. Her suitcases would be handled by her PA, so she didn't have to worry about settling in her dorm room. Like last year, everything would be arranged for her before she even entered the room. It made her feel a little (okay, a lot) pompous, but she hated unpacking so she didn't mind too much. She bade her parents farewell and promised to check in with them at least every other week, and gave her brothers a long hug. They would be going out of the country for a few months, so she won't get to see them for a while. After another mirror check in the living room mirror, she was off.

The drive to Caelbury took only thirty minutes. She was free to stroll around campus before most of the students arrived, although she was certain there were already others unpacking in their rooms. Instead of heading straight to her room, though, Wren decided to walk along the dormitory building's foyer, before the building split into the girl's and boy's side. Finding out who her roommate was going to be was one of the surprises she liked to hold on for as long as possible. It was a bit silly, but she liked the reveal part. There was something about the first time you make eye contact with your roommate that appealed to her sense for drama. After a while, Wren sat on one of the plush velvet sofas available and pulled out her phone, checking her twitter feed as she waited for other students to arrive.

[spooner]

Julie shivered as she walked down the street towards the coffee shop she worked at “The Mug” which was located a couple of blocks away from campus, it was the perfect place for her to earn some extra cash because it was mostly visited by business men and people trying to write their own screenplays. Most of the Caelbury students obviously prefer the Starbucks closer to campus then this stuffy little place. Julie loved it though, she thought it had charm and they let her study during the slower hours. Julie had decided to arrive a week early to settle in and also get a few extra shifts in before school started, this morning she had to open and she was not that happy about it.

She stood in front of the door to the coffee shop for a minute to inspect the reflection that stared back at her. Puffy eyes, tousled hair and a bitter look on her face, she sighed and fished the keys up from her bag and unlocked the door and stepped inside. Julie took a deep breath and took in the most intoxicating smell she knew, coffee! That was one other advantage of working here, free coffee to feed her addiction, and also remedy her late night study hangovers, she had stayed up until 3am trying to grasp the Japanese alphabet hiragana. Julie made herself a double shot espresso and then she got to work with all the opening preparation, when the she checked her watch and saw that it was 8 she went and turned the sign at the door that indicated that they now where open. At once the regular customers started to file in in a steady stream and Julie didn’t even have time to feel tired.

The morning went by in a blur and finally the queue was gone and people started to leave. Julie started to clean up and getting ready to leave. Just as she had crouched down to put out the powdered doughnuts a guest said “Thank you…” as he left and not thinking about the tray she had in her lap Julie stood up to say thank you back resulting in her getting all the doughnuts all over her. “Oh Jules, maybe it’s time for you to end your shift.” It was Julies boss Philip peering down at her from behind the counter with a grin on his face. “Yes… yes it is Philip!” Julie said with a sigh as she stood up trying to brush the powdered sugar of her skirt. “Yeah, but thank you for opening for me, I owe you one!” Philip chuckled and walked behind the counter. “Oh Philip, you know I’d do anything for you.” Julie smiled and patted his cheek and then left for the back room to clean herself off before heading back to Caelbury.

The walk from “The Mug” to campus only takes 25 minutes and it had warmed up since this morning so the walk was pretty pleasant and put Julie in a good mood. She kept brushing her skirt to get of the last of the powdered sugar as she walked. Soon Caelbury Academy came in to view in all its glory, Julie strode over the little courtyard and went in to the main building. She waved and smile at the secretary as she passed her to get to the stairs that led up to the second floor. Where the administrating offices where and also where the teacher’s lounge was located. She had to turn in an activities list for IntCom to the student council. As she turned the corner in to the hallway that led to the teacher’s lounge and the offices she was met by the tall and looming figure of Dr. Zimmerman carrying a bowl of water. “Oh! Hello there Dr. Zimmerman.” Julie said as she passed him, she turned around and added “Say hello to Oedipus for me!” she smiled as she continued down the hallway. Where was the student council mailbox located now again? Julie wondered as she scanned the room.

To her surprise she saw that she would not need it, because there she was the president Acacia Hawthorne and Vice Principal Hawthorne. Julie smiled as she walked over still trying to brush the last of the powdered sugar of her skirt. “Hi Acacia, how was your summer?” Julie said as she came to a stop in front of them “Hello Mr. Hawthorne.” She said with a nod of her head, she never really knew how to act in front of Vice Principal Hawthorne, since he was an authority figure but still so relaxed and… young. “I have this list of IntCom activities that we need to get approved by the student council, and I thought that I could give it to you, go straight to the source you know! Eh, not that you are the entire council, but I mean… you know.”

Julie could feel herself getting flustered and started to dig around in her bag after the list. When she finally found it she handed it to Acacia and smiled nervously “Well thank you, I guess I’ll see you at the picnic later.” Before she turned around she bent her knees and curtsied, as she sped down the hall she mentally beat herself up DID YOU JUST CURTSIE?! WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU?! She yelled at herself internally all the way over to the dorm building.

As Julie entered the building she spotted Catherine Sinclair, which she knew from before but Julie also knew that they were assigned as roommates for this year. Okay Julie, do not I repeat do NOT say something stupid! She though as she walked over to the sofa “Hi Catharine, you’re my roommate!” Julie blurted not really knowing what to say which earned her another mental slap from herself.

[MULTI_MEDIA_MAN]

Just as Jacob was getting up to walk around campus, he sighed as his stomach grumbled. "Damn, I gotta eat..." Looking around, he tried to force himself to remember where he and his father had put his snacks. He wasn't ready to get back to the Caelbury life just yet, and eating low-quality processed and packaged foods actually made him feel better than the 5-star meals the cafeteria served, but only sometimes. Other times he felt like being pampered, and that was when he got as much as he could eat at the cafeteria. He needed the food anyway, because for some godforsaken reason, he would actually lose weight if he didn't eat like a monster. Considering that he was already underweight, this confused most people, Jacob included.

After grabbing a packet of pop tarts, Jacob ate the pastries right out of the packet, making sure to pick up any crumbs that fell on the floor. His roommate was coming eventually, and he didn't want to be caught looking like a slob. About halfway through, he grabbed a bottle of water and his pill bottle, unscrewing them both and setting them down on the desk where he'd put his laptop. Grabbing a single pill, he glared at the tiny medicine capsule before putting it into his mouth and drinking a gulp of water, swallowing the liquid and the pill down. Closing both bottles, he finished his pop tarts off and sat down on his computer. He was suddenly lacking the desire to leave his room. Not a big surprise, just taking his pills was enough to make him a little depressed.

Shrugging off his annoyance, Jacob went onto the internet and started browsing his frequently visited sites, eventually settling on listening to music and singing out loud to it. "What have I become...my sweetest friend...everyone I know...goes away...in the end..." Every song, most of which were depressing as all hell, let him release the pent-up emotion inside of him. A few salty tears started streaming down his face.

And then a knock at the door. As he turned his head, the door opened and the harbinger of the apocalypse poked his head inside. August...MARCO?!?!? Oh....oh fuck no. His eyes were as large as a pair of plates, and he knew it. He couldn't stop himself from jerking his head back to his laptop, the sappy sad music playing in the air. His eyes darting between August and the laptop, he sighed and paused the song. "Hello....so, looks like...we're gonna be rooming. Yeah..." He looked back into the room and decided he'd just get on with it. "So...I brought a TV and some video games with me. You, uh, you can play them if you want..." He gestured sluggishly to the 48" TV on a small table near the wall, with a pair of video game consoles under it. "I don't know if we've really formally met...I'm Jacob." He offered his hand, sighing a little. There was no point in faking it in front of August now. His eyes were still probably red, and he could feel the tears still gathering. Wiping his eyes with his free hand, he tried to wave it off. "The music reminds me of an old friend...he ain't around any more, though."

[Lilacs]

"Certain flaws are necessary for the whole. It would seem strange if old friends lacked certain quirks."

Acacia knew that Hayden would show up sooner or later, it was part of the reason why she was relaxing in the teacher's lounge.

However, she wasn't expecting Hayden to burst into the room, a frazzled look overtaking his usually calm features. Her eyebrow raised at the unusual demeanor, the slight twinge of regret in his eyes, and the sharp exhale... Hayden was acting like...Hmmm, what exactly did he remind her of right now? Acacia's mind traveled back to her middle school years, when one of her friends chickened out in giving her crush something for Valentine's Day. The way she ran away from him after stuttering a bit, it was almost identical to the way Hayden was when he entered the room.

Oh... Oh! Acacia knew what happened now.

As he took a seat next to her, Acacia popped the remainder of her cookie into her mouth, brushing off the crumbs from her fingertips as she felt his head rest on her shoulder. That feat was quite impressive, considering that he was a full 10 inches taller than her. She glanced at him with that knowing look in her eye--the one that probably annoyed him to some extent--and she dug her elbow into his ribs gently. She knew that her brother would immediately understand what she was conveying without words, she's only been incessantly repeating the action ever since a certain new Principal arrived in their lives. Her lips twisted upwards into a teasing smirk, looking at her obviously smitten brother with amusement.

Acacia's gleeful gaze was torn from her victim when Mr. Zimmerman came into the room. Not a man of many words, was he? After an entire summer of not seeing his favorite student, the only greeting she gets is 'Acacia'?! Okay, fine, Acacia probably isn't his favorite student. But still, it wasn't like she expected a conversation about how the summer went, it was the enigmatic Ethics and Philosophy teacher after all. So she offered a simple nod and smile in return. If anything, he would probably appreciate her silence. Oedipus was lounging about now, and wait, was that one of Acacia's cookies? When, and how did that happen?! And furthermore cats can eat cookies? Well, if Mr. Zimmerman wasn't doing anything, it probably wouldn't kill Oedipus... She cracked a smile at the kitty, lifting her hand to waggle her fingers at the animal while the aloof teacher retreated from the room.

The next person to enter the room was someone Acacia didn't expect to see in the teacher's lounge, but welcome nonetheless. "Julie!" Acacia exclaimed with a wide grin. "My summer was great! And you'd better come to the picnic, you know I'm going to be mad at you if you don't." Acacia knew that Julia wouldn't notice the miniscule hesitation between the words 'was' and 'great'. Having dealt with pushing down her emotions and lying with a perfectly straight face, lying was second nature to her, especially with a tiny little white lie.

The Student Council President took the list with a slightly surprised expression. Wow, Julie was on the top of her game, already submitting an events list. Acacia looked up to thank her, but Julie was already rushing through her words, before she left hastily, curtseying as she did so. She couldn't help but chuckle at how flustered Julie had gotten. "Oh Julie, you're so cute."

Then Acacia turned to Hayden. "And you're cute too, acting flustered, exactly how Julia was like, five seconds ago!" She exclaimed with a trilling laugh, poking at his forehead.

[Bird]

=======================================================
...........................August Marco
=======================================================

'Aw, shit.'

So that's why he was nervous. He knew something was up! He closed the door behind him awkwardly and placed his suitcase on the floor by his feet. His new roommate, Jacob Rockwell, looked just as distressed as August felt. When he looked at him, all he could think about was how pissed Jacob had been after the sprinkler incident the end of last year. They hadn't talked much before then, but after that, they seemed to have a mutual dislike for each other and August did his best to stay away from him. He respected the guy enough, but they just didn't mix well.

August glanced at Jacob's laptop, which was playing some gloomy song before he paused it and sighed. He didn't look to hot – his eyes were glassy and red, like he had been... he wasn't.... crying, was he? They looked at each other stupidly for a second before Jacob gestured to the TV and game systems, offering to let August use them. “O-oh, awesome, thanks. I've... actually never had a system, 'cause – ah, anyway.” He was about to say 'Because my parents thought I would break it', but he figured that wouldn't be a wise thing to mention. He made a mental note to be extra careful around Jacob's gadgets.

Jacob extended his hand, and August shook it tentatively while forcing a friendly smile. “Um, yeah. I'm August.”

When Jacob started to wipe at his eyes, he explained the song had reminded him of a friend who wasn't around anymore. Curiosity tugged at August's thoughts, but he didn't ask what happened. Just by looking at his reaction, August figured it wouldn't be something his room mate wanted to linger on.

August politely adverted his eyes. “I'm sorry to hear that.” He said. He meant it. He had never lost anyone before. Well, with the exception of his grandmother, but August was only three years old at the time. He was sure it hurt, even if he didn't have any way to relate to how Jacob felt.

“Have you been here long?” He asked, changing the subject. It looked like Jacob had already unpacked and settled in. 'We probably would've gotten here at the same time if mom hadn't been such a pain in the butt.' He thought. It was probably for the better that they didn't arrive at the same time. Settling into a new place always left him a little frazzled and short tempered. His entire life, he hadn't lived in any one place longer then eight months, so he had no tolerance for it anymore. And this time, he was moving in with a guy he didn't always particularly get along with.

'It'll be fine.' He told himself, 'Maybe it won't be so bad. I never really got to know him, so....

After talking with Jacob briefly about how his summer was, yatta yatta, August said he should go unpack. With another smile awkward smile, he picked up his suitcase and located the empty bedroom. It was pretty nice. It wasn't to big, so it had that homey feeling to it, unlike his room at his parent's house. The bed was freshly dressed with clean, pale blue sheets, and the smell of clean laundry lingered in the air. The thick carpet muffled his footstep as he walked across the room and deposited himself face first into his new bed.

'So fluffy!

He inhaled deeply through his nose and smiled genuinely this time. He kicked off his shoes and rolled over onto his back so he could stare at the ceiling. A small fan was mounted above the bed, and it spun in a almost hypnotizing way. After he lay there for a short while to settle his nerves, he sat up and began to unpack his things.

[k6xx]

~Rayne Sierra McCutcheon~
"Well. Looks like it's back to the grind. Class is my free time, and my free time is class. Back to hell, I go."

The ride to Caelbury was perfect. Rayne somehow managed to get her father to allow her to ride her new toy there. That was surprising. Hell, she was surprised he even let her buy the damn thing. "You're going to kill yourself on that," he had said. He still let her get it, though. Weird. Well, it was cool. She'd always wanted a Harley. Now, she had one.

It's not like she got to really ride it, though. Isaac made sure that she followed his Hummer the entire way there, and he drove slowly. Still, just being on the back of a bike - her first legal bike - was the best feeling in the entire world. It was a long drive. They stopped a few times. She'd always gun it around the Hummer just to watch her father's face turn bright red.

They finally arrived at Caelbury, and they stopped at the dorm building with Rayne, once again, passing her father as they pulled up.

"Rayne Sierra McCutcheon, do you have to insist on trying to kill yourself every five minutes, or can you at least wait until all of your damn things are in the building?" Isaac was exasperated. Sometimes he just didn't know what to do with his daughter.

She didn't respond for a minute. Simply put the kickstand down, turned her bike off, removed her helmet and looked at him. Finally, "Well, you let me buy a bike. Did you expect me to just put around like a fat old man? She's got 830cc's of pure hell yeah in her, and you won't even let me get over 3rd gear on the damn highway." Rayne sighed and set her helmet on the seat, and the two stared at each other for a very, very long five minutes. "Well, are we gonna unload, or are you just gonna keep standing there thinking about all of the reasons you're excited to get rid of me for a while? Don't you have a meeting tomorrow that's, like, five hours away?" Just like always, he only really came out here with her if he had some reason to be passing through the area. There's always new musicians to meet with, new bands to sign, and more money to make that Miranda can spend on absolutely useless clothing items or things for the twins.

"Yeah, don't remind me that I had an insane lapse of judgment and let you buy a death trap."

Rayne furrowed her eyebrows. "Her name is Shelby. And she's my baby."

The unloading of all of Rayne's material possessions took a little less than an hour. Her roommate wasn't in yet, so she took the liberty of picking which room she wanted and dumping all of her things in there without a second glance. I'll unpack later. I wanna find Acacia. I know she's here already, somewhere. As soon as the load was out of the Hummer, Isaac turned to leave. "Just...promise me you'll actually attend at least one of your classes this term. Please. I'm paying a lot of money for you to get a good education, and you're really not taking advantage of it. At all," and he was gone.

As soon as she was out of his line of sight, Rayne took advantage of the fact that the only person around was a guy who seemed entirely lost in his own music, which she was definitely into, sat on the curb by her bike, and lit a cigarette. This year would be good. She had friends - well, friend (and, come on, it's not like she wasn't perfectly capable of making more!) - and she had Dr. Zimmerman again this year. So, maybe, she could promise her father that she'd attend at least one class. ...But probably just one class. She had a reputation to uphold. Truth is, she really did love her reputation. Everyone knew that Rayne was the kind of girl who wouldn't take shit from anyone. Guys didn't really try to mess with her. Girls didn't try to pick fights with her. The only person who seemed to really like her was Acacia - everyone else seemed kind of afraid of her or generally opposed to the idea that she almost never went to class, therefore looking like an ungrateful little shit - but she was fine with that. Having a lot of friends has it's appeal, but it always seemed like more work than anything else, in Rayne's mind. So she sat and watched the smoke float up from her cigarette, and, when it was done, crushed it beneath her boot. She swung her leg over the bike and turned her head to the guy playing guitar and singing, "Hey, dude, you're pretty damn good. Keep it up. Maybe you'll be famous someday." then put her helmet on, started the bike and sped the literal five minute's walk to the school building. I don't even know if I'm allowed to ride here. Oh, well. Can't do much to stop me, now.

Rayne headed into the building, helmet under her arm, and navigated her way straight to the teacher's lounge and headed right for her best friend at Caelbury. "Acaciaaaa. Babe, how was your summer? Dad dragged us all to Tokyo and it was...less awesome than I expected?" She sat down on an actual chair - not a fan of table-sitting, Rayne. Something about being irrationally afraid that it would collapse under her weight. "Also, I got a new toy," she presented her helmet as if it were the sword someone was about to knight her with. "Oh, hi, Dr. Hawthorne."

[Phloem]

"Do you have your glasses on?"

"...Yes?"

"For God's sake, James. Put them on!"

"Alright, alright! I'm doing it right now!" James retorted and set his phone aside for a moment, fishing out a brand new pair of spectacles he had gotten over the break from his coat pocket. Somehow, his eyesight had gotten worse and the old ones just didn't suffice anymore. Which was probably something he should've seen coming, since his glasses were usually left in a forgotten corner to collect dust. And his nearsightedness wasn't about to go away just by ignoring it. He first noticed the change for the worse while he was out with a couple of buddies back in his hometown on his last week of vacation. They decided it would be absolutely hilarious to shepherd James straight into a solid brick wall which he swore had magically apparated out of thin air. It was, for a time, rather hilarious, because truly, there was nothing funnier than taking advantage of a friend's blind (excuse the pun) faith in those around him. James snorted derisively to himself. He really was as blind as a bat. It was like in Scooby-Doo, when Velma drops her glasses and is out of commission for two hours. Except in this case, he was Velma.

"There! I've got them on. Happy now? Or do I have to send you a selfie to prove it?"

"No, that won't be necessary." the tinny, female voice emanating from James' phone declared. His aunt had made it a point to call at least five times per day in the three he'd been here. Which was tolerable enough at first but quickly grew torturous, especially since it was the same questions every single time. He knew that it was just because she worried about him but in all honesty, it was starting to get a little out of hand.

"Did you remember to bring your suitcase?"

"Yes, this is the sixth time you're asking me. Anyway, I've gotta go, don't want to be late, right? Okay, love you, bye." James quickly hung up before his aunt went on any further. Taking a moment to psych himself up, he rounded the corner to enter the school compound with his guitar slung across his back and his suitcase wheeled behind him. James made a beeline for the dormitory building, hoping to make it to his assigned room before anyone spotted him. Stepping into the building, he made quick work of collecting his keys and unpacking in his room. Thankfully, whoever his roommate was, they weren't here yet, so they wouldn't be around to see him with his really high degreed glasses on. On the bright side, he thought to himself, at least this pair didn't look like they belonged to someone's grandfather. But all in all, they were still pretty bad. Now he was going to look like a pretentious hipster douchebag instead of an eighty year old man, which really wasn't much of an improvement. He obviously didn't think it through when he bought them. Flopping rather unceremoniously onto one of the sofas in the living room, James decided to wait and see who he'd be sharing his room with for the rest of the year before doing anything else.

---

Seth was, most decidedly, not having the best day. And that was putting it gently. First, he had to turn his entire apartment upside down in a search for his in search of the a decent looking jacket. Which he didn't even manage to find, and he ended up having to settle for a ratty, old jacket of grey tweed that he'd owned since his college days. Secondly, his car broke down. Maybe the battery died or the engine overheated. He didn't know how it happened, but it happened. And finally, to put the icing on the cake, the cabbie that drove him to Caelbury had to be the single most xenophobic asshole to walk this earth. Seth was actually impressed that the cabbie was able to drive him all the way to Caelbury without blowing a gasket. But that was probably because he wasn't about to say no to money. A bout of annoyed coughing shook him from his thoughts and he noticed that after what seemed like an eternity, he was finally at the school. And of course, the cabbie was none too patiently waiting for him to pay his fare. Despite Seth's disdain for the taxi driver, he fell over himself, checking every coat pocket, every cranny of his wallet to scrounge up the exact amount in coins and rumpled notes, even spewing out a few hasty apologies when he realized he was taking far too long. 'Well, then. There goes my dignity.' he thought to himself, inwardly facepalming. Handing over the money, Seth quickly gathered up his belongings and hopped off, wisely ignoring the dirty look that the cabbie shot him when he slammed the door shut.

Taking a deep breath, Seth started to head towards the main school building. The grounds were kept in pristine condition, as always and some students were already starting to arrive. He noticed a few familiar faces, some his colleagues, other his students, but he decided against it. He still hadn't had his morning coffee yet in his rush to get here on time and would prefer to not look like a corpse in front of the general public. Despite having taught here for a year already, he sometimes still found the school compound difficult to navigate, but thankfully, the route to the teacher's lounge was one that he was familiar with. He took a short moment to inspect himself in the reflection of a window. Tweed jacket, with matching grey trousers, white dress shirt, navy blue tie and a pair of Ralph Lauren wingtips. His shoes were probably the only expensive things in his outfit, unlike some of the other teachers here who came to school decked out head-to-toe in branded goods.

Deciding that he probably shouldn't stare at his reflection for too long, lest some passersby think he was some sort of narcissistic freak, he entered the building through the main doors. The very thought of freshly made coffee put a spring in his step and he quickened his pace. Soon enough, he had reached his destination. Pushing the door open, he spotted the coffee machine. The coffee machine here was a thing of wonder, all sleek lines and complex buttons that looked like it was designed by Tony Stark. Unlike the coffee machine in the previous school he taught in; it had been in the ground-floor break-room (which was actually a repurposed walk-in supply cupboard, with just enough room for the sofa and nothing else). It wasn't nearly as well equipped. It was old. And cheap. And it produced the most appalling coffee Seth has ever had the misfortune of drinking, including the swill he drank at university that came out of the instant coffee dispenser where all the cockroaches lived. This coffee machine produced the most delicious, wonderful coffee that met even the most exacting standards.

So it was to his complete and utter dismay when he discovered the coffee was lukewarm. It was clear that someone had been here before him. It was also clear that he had failed to notice the three other people in the room in his search of a cup of hot coffee right up until he spun around to face them. "Oh god. Sorry, I didn't even... see you guys there." said, making some sort of apologetic hand gesture. "Just here to get some coffee." Sluggishly, he turned back ground to pour himself a cup of the caffeinated beverage, dropping in two sugarcubes instead of the usual one. He was gonna need it.

[Chezka]

As she scanned through her feed, pointedly ignore the hate tweets that popped up every so often, Wren started picking up on the music playing outside. It was a familiar sound, something she'd heard often during her freshman year. Oh! It really was Vlad outside, wasn't it? She had been so engrossed with the familiar sight of the dorms that she just walked past the boy with the guitar sitting outside, brushing it off as a fleeting memory she'd just conjured up in nostalgia. Wren always seemed to miss school the most after an extended period of filming, but the same was also true the other way around. It was probably some sort of balancing thing. She needed some normalcy—school or other teenage stuff—after being in character for a long time, or she would probably end up in that character's mindset for quite a while.

Before she could think to get up and greet Vladimir outside, a familiar blonde had walked in the dormitories looking just a smidge troubled. Wren smiled as she approached, imagining what awkward adventures Julie Scott went through today. She and the older girl didn't get to hang out with each other all that much last year, but she knew her well enough to know about her frequent social missteps.

"Hey there, Jules," she greeted, standing up and waving amiably. She and Julie ended up greeting each other at the same time, but all Wren really comprehended was what Julie said, blurted out more like, next. Roommates. Well, that mystery didn't last long. She laughed a little at the irony of her purposely waiting outside in order to prolong and dramatize her roommate reveal, only to have said roommate meeting her there by chance. It sort of counted as an exciting reveal, though. She totally didn't see it coming. And besides, it was also pretty good news. She dreaded for a moment that fate would try to mock her and assign Alice Profit as her roommate, which had been the only she was really against, just so she would break her promise to her brothers. Julie was good… no, even better than good.

Wren noticed that her new roommate seemed to be emitting some awkward signals, so she thought her first act as most-awesome-roommate ever should be to make her feel comfortable around her. It wouldn't do for Julie to constantly look like she's berating herself over trivial conversations like these. Smiling, she tried out some words she learned in French, hoping the multilingual girl would feel more comfortable in the area she knew the best."Um, is it c'est merveilleux nouvelles?" she said, in an exaggerated accent that was undoubtedly wrong. She tried again, this time with a slightly better accent, then giggled playfully. "Well, however you say it, it's the truth. I hope we'll have some fun roommate adventures in the future!" she said with a wink and a genuinely excited grin.

It was then that another student walked through the dormitory entrance. He was all too familiar, with the jet black hair and the telltale guitar slung across his back, even though the glasses sitting on his nose was something new. Luckily, he was too far to charm her dignity off her, because she didn't want Julie to get the wrong impression. She can't go off looking like a silly schoolgirl, now could she? She contemplated on calling out a greeting, but he was in a rush to go somewhere, so she let it go. Better she didn't tempt fate. She turned her attention back to Julie; in fact, her whole digression took place so fast, Julie probably wouldn't have noticed she'd momentarily gotten distracted.

"So, wanna check out our room? I haven't gone there yet.” Ignoring any personal boundary standards Julie might have or what her answer would have been, Wren liberally hooked her arm around hers and began leading (or rather, almost dragging) her to the right wing, where all the girl's rooms were.

She made idle chitchat as they walked along the hall, asking her about her summer and what classes she had for the year, until they reached their room. 222. By then, Wren had released her, as nonchalantly as possible, noticing belatedly that her controlling side was kicking in again. Was Julie even on her way to their room? She assumed she was because she entered the building, but to be honest, she'd just dragged her here on a whim! What if she start thinking she was annoying and overbearing? That was the exact opposite impression she was hoping to make.

Wren tried to laugh her blunder away, but she had enough humility to look sheepish. "Sorry, Jules, got a bit carried away. The first day back always gets me overly excited. I hope you don't mind." She pressed her hands together in a cutesy apologetic manner, but her words were sincere. To make up for her earlier pushiness, Wren presented the lavishly-designed, as expected only from Caelbury, door to their room with a theatrical gesture and an impish grin.

"After you?"

[ice2365]

Vladimir played his music transitioning from grunge rock to folk rock songs. People started to pass him, some he knew and the majority he didn't, but they all seemed to enjoy the music he was playing. Obe girl with pink hair actually sat near he motor bike and lit a cigarette. "Classy. I guess you can say might get smoked out by the teachers....Shut up Vlad, that was a stupid pun." Vladimir finished his song when he heard the girl with pink hair speak. "Famous..." Vladimir muttered. He watched as she started her bike. "I'd like to try at least!" Vladimir called not sure if she heard him. Vladimir pondered who she was. He knew for a fact that he had seen her around, but her name he could not remember for the life of him. "The damn hair should give it away." He sighed. Vladimir decided to go back to his room to check to see if his roommate had arrived. Vladimir set his guitar back in it's case. After zipping the case up he put the case on his back. Vladimir checked his pockets. After making absolutely sure he had all his belongings, Vladimir entered the dorm building. The atrium felt even emptier to him. He glanced at the desk and saw that the woman at the front desk was gone. Vladimir strode over to the elevator and went up to the second floor.

When arriving at his room he saw the door was left ajar. "Looks like my rommate finally arrived. Well I'm surprised at least he showed up...there's still a week before school." Vladimir entered his room. Vladimir called out. He placed his guitar down on the sofa. A boy approached him and offered his hand. Respectfully, Vladimir shooked his hand. "Cole, I'm Vladimir, Vladimir Kalkovich. Yes I'm Russian. And what you have heard about Russians probably is true. For example, we all love Vodka. It's the only thing I drink. So I'm drunk all the time. All Russians are resistant to the cold. I have never owned a winter coat...ever. We're born hot blooded..." Vladimir smiled a bit. "Sorry, I usually tell sarcastic jokes. It's just who I am." Vladimir felt a little unnerved by Cole. Something about his ethos pissed him off. "Well, we're roommates now, so let us have a good time." Vladimir smiled. "I'm actually going to see if anyone I know has showed up. I only came last year after Christmas, so I'm bot familiar with everyone. You're welcome to join me, but I understand if you would like to unpack."

Vladimir exited his room, patting his pockets reassuring himself his key was in his pocket. As Vladimir msde it to the elevator hallway, he looked down the right wing and saw two familiar faces standing by their room door "Catherine and Julie..." Catherine had sat next to him in math his first semester at Caelbury. Julie on the other hand was president of the international club. She helped Vladimir with the transition from Russia to America. They had both been very nice even though he showed up half way through the year. Vladimir walked over to them. "Hello my friends, Julie and Catherine. It has been very long time." Vladimir said brightly. "How are you two doing?"

---

Waiting for Ex before posting for Alice.

[spooner]

Sitting up straighter in his bed as he read the last few lines of Killer by Jonathan Kellerman, Max closed the book and threw it back on to his nightstand. He shrugged and stretched his arms up in to the air as he wondered why that book belonged on the New York Times bestseller list. He ran his hands through his hair a couple of times before he decided to jump out of bed and get dressed. Is wearing a tie when arriving to private school a bit to pretentious? Max thought as he stood looking at his reflection. He decided to keep it on just to please his father one last time before he left. Before he headed downstairs he checked his twitter feed on his phone and smiled as he read the small night tweet from Wren. He typed a tweet to reply to her.

Max Wallenberg @wallenburger
@wrenegade you should try Twilight it’s pretty HORRible #punny

At the Wallenberg breakfast table there wasn’t much talking going on at all, there was just more of an awkward tense feeling hovering in the air, which is not how a family breakfast should be. The reason for this is that the Wallenberg children to be completely honest scared of their father Peter. For good reason too, Peter Wallenberg was almost as wide as he was tall and he just commanded a room when he walked in to it. Growing up with him as his father had left some deep scars for all the siblings, Max had tried to remedy this now that he is older; he cleared his throat as he stared at the back of the newspaper that his father always had in front of him at the breakfast table. “If you have something to say, spit it out Max.” His father grunted, “Well since I’m leaving today, someone has to take Elin to her dance recital and mother can’t drive, maybe it would be nice if you could take her?”

Max turned towards his younger sister to see her almost choking on her waffles wide eyed, he winked at her. His father folded his newspaper and stared at Max from behind his thin rimmed glasses. “Max, you know very well that I do not have time for something as trivial as some dance recital. When she graduate as an honor student then we’ll talk.” He flicked the newspaper up and disappeared behind it again. Max wanted to retort but seeing his sister hang her head and poking at her plate made him bite his tongue, he gave her an apologetic look and she shook her head. Max scoffed and stood up and started to say good bye to his siblings and his mother, before he left he turned to the newspaper and said “You know I’m graduating this year right? You can swing by if you want to!”

He grabbed his bag that was lying at his feet and started to walk out, his mother yelled after him “Max nu håller du dig I skinnet!” Max smiled sheepishly as he walked out of the huge house. The navy blue truck had been packed the night before so that the trip would go as fast as possible; Max jumped in and started the four hour ride towards Caelbury.

The drive went by relatively fast, but Max was really glad that he finally got to drive up and park at his parking spot right in front of the main building. Getting the keys and all the information he needed was a mild annoyance since it was full of freshmen trying to show that they belonged by being here early. When he finally got his room key and the folder with all the important papers Max headed over to the dorms. He unlocked the door and opened it slowly; he spotted James on the sofa and cracked a smile “Hey! McNamara, didn’t we hit the jackpot eh?!”

---

Julie sighed in relief when she saw that Wren took her outburst in a good way, she smiled at her and fixed her hair looking down at her skirt that still had some damn powdered sugar on it! Julie tried to brush the remnants of this morning’s doughnut cavalcade. She didn’t want Wren to know that she was a waitress and she also didn’t want her to mistake it for some other white powder. “Oui, il est vraiment merveilleux nouvelles! But you’ll have to work on you enunciation.” Julie chuckled “And yes I’ll bet we’ll have a really great time!”

Noticing a slight pause in the conversation Julie turned around to see what had caught Wren’s attention and saw him James McNamara, she rolled her eyes when she saw the way he walked with his guitar slung nonchalantly over his shoulder, and was he wearing thick rimmed glasses? They probably don’t even have any strength in them Julie thought and scoffed as she turned back to Wren.

“Oh, yes well I’ve been here for a couple of days already… I had to… uhm register for extra courses!” Julie lied as Wren grabbed her by the arm and proceeded up the stairs to the girl’s wing. As the girls walked through the hall they chit chatted about their summer “Well my summer was pretty good, me and my dad were going to go to Italy. But it fell through because dad couldn’t really afford… to take time off.” She felt herself getting flustered, for some reason she still felt ashamed of her father’s economic status. Deep down she knew that she shouldn’t care what people thought but being back here made her feel lesser already, add on to that her roommate who came from money that Julie had never ever even seen. She cleared her throat hoping that Wren didn’t notice her bad save.

Julie laughed as Wren apologized about being too excited “Don’t worry about it! This place always evokes feelings in me that I can’t keep in either!” Julie enthused as she put the key in to the door, when the door opened it revealed what looked like a small penthouse. “Well I guess you’re used to this by now, it’s the standard CA dorm. And I hope you don’t mind but I picked that room” She said and pointed towards the room located on the left side of their apartment. “Anyway the apartment has been inspected by Acacia so everything should be in order!” Julie said and sat down on the big white sofa. “Maybe we can go walk around the courtyard when you’ve gotten unpacked, get to know each other you know?”

When Wren got back from unpacking Julie stood up and opened the door “Did you want to come for a walk?” she smiled at her new roommate and stepped out, then she heard a familiar deep accented voice. Julie turned around and saw the big bear of a boy she knew as Vlademir Kalkovich, she lit up and grinned “Vlad! Как ты был?!” Julie had to stand on her tippy toes to reach up to him as she hugged him.

[Stephanie96]

5.30am found Celia Honey on the jog she took every morning. Since she’d come back from her parents’ house, she’d had no choice but to force herself out of bed in the morning; she couldn’t rely on her mother to do it anymore. It was strange to get up and see herself in the mirror. For a year, she’d been a pale and skinny individual with straggly blonde hair and roots that reached her ears. Now, when she looked in the mirror she started to see the colour creeping back into her face, her hair had been dyed back to the honey and caramel shades that she favoured, and that she’d paid through the teeth for. Once again, her cheeks were pink and her eyes were starting to sparkle. She still wasn’t 100% herself, but she would be there eventually.

Once she dragged herself out of bed, Celia slipped on her shorts, sports bra and running shoes and, for an hour, she was gone and running. Her route usually took her around the block a few times and past the juice bar on the way home. Today, on her first day back to work, with her mind on the day ahead, Celia lost track of where she was heading. Her feet made their own way across the pavement and she soon found herself in a neighbourhood she found unpleasantly familiar.

Staring up at the house that she’d spent some of what she saw as her happiest years and the first few of her worst months, before they’d sold the house and she’d moved out of it. Celia had kicked Charlie out the day she’d discovered him with Miss Sports Illustrated. Standing there, she felt a sudden chill come over her and suddenly wished she’d worn her hoodie. She folded her arms and sighed, turning on her heels and taking off the way she’d come, at twice the speed.

Walking into her flat, Celia went straight to her fridge, pulling out the half empty bottle of wine that she’d left there last night and put it to her lips, swigging half of the liquid that was left. She rested her head on the top of her refrigerator and set the bottle on the side, wiping the back of her hand across her mouth. The sweet taste of the wine remained on her tongue; the burning in the back of her throat was a pleasant tickle accompanied by an equally hot feeling of shame. She spent twenty minutes brushing her teeth; she didn't want to take the chance of someone smelling the wine on her breath.

---

It had been too long since she had been back here. Come to think of it, however, she’d probably spent too much time here as it was, but she’d missed the place like crazy. She missed the halls and the classrooms. She walked down the hallway, peering into several of the classroom, trying to find any familiar faces.

She pulled at the hem of her pale pink top , the neck of which was just high enough to be acceptable yet low enough to be flattering. She wore tight black trousers with it, and delicate pink heels that clicked on the floor as she wondered through the halls. She nervously pulled the back of her top down and adjusted her necklace before walking into the staffroom. Unsure of who she was about to be confronted by, she peered around the room and smiled when her eyes fell on the first familiar face in the room.

“Hayden!” She greeted him, moving across the room to hug the gentleman.

"Whoa, what a surprise. Nice to know you're back, Celia; everyone's missed their favourite counsellor. How's everything? Better now? Never mind, we can talk afterwards over a nice bottle of wine... or whiskey. I prefer the latter." He offered her a cookie from the plate she was holding before hugging her back.

“Hey, girls.” She smiled and offered a wave to Acacia and Rayne, unsure of whether the two of them would remember her. She noticed that there was someone in the room behind her and turned to see a teacher she didn’t recognize; he was either new this year or last, and considering he seemed to be quite comfortable in his surroundings, she’d hazard a guess at last year. Walking over, she held out her hand and offered one of her usual, thousand-watt smiles.

“Um, hey, I’m Celia. Celia Honey. I don’t believe we’ve met.”

[Phloem]

"Max!" James greeted cheerily, yanking his glasses off as soon as he identified who the newcomer was in one swift movement, a wide grin on his face. Thankfully, the school administration didn't decide to shove him together with someone he hated; which it was known to do on occasion. It was kind of like russian roulette, either you got what you wanted or you died. Okay, so it wasn't the best simile. But that was besides the point. Getting up, he covered the distance between him and his new roommate in a few long strides. James pulled him into sort of a semi-hug that couldn't have lasted more than a second, ending it with a friendly slap on the back. "It's good to see you, mate. How've you been?"

"Oh right! I called dibs on the room on the left, by the way. I mean, I've already unpacked and everything. So yeah, hope you don't mind. The rooms are pretty much exactly the same, anyway." James made a dismissive gesture with his hand at the aforementioned room. Surreptitiously slipping the pair of glasses into back into his coat pocket, he brought up the note that was pasted on the room's front door.

"They're having the picnic again on Sunday, apparently. Don't know if you saw the note on the door, but yeah." James shrugged and absentmindedly ran his fingers through his hair. The annual picnic was a thing they had every year; as implied by the fact that it was called the annual picnic. Usually, it was just lots of eating and catching up with friends after the holiday break but this year, it seems there was going to be something new -- a dunk tank. It was pretty unexpected, but James honestly wasn't surprised; the Student Council had a way with coming up with something new every year so nobody ever got sick of the same stuff happening over and over again.

"Anyway," James started, "We should probably go find the others when you're done unpacking."

---

When he heard someone new walking into the teacher's lounge, Seth made it a point to studiously avoid making eye contact with whoever it was. He was basically trying to blend into the background like some sort of oversized, strangely humanoid chameleon. The last thing he needed right now was for even more people to see him faffing about whilst looking like a person close to death. Honestly, his coffee dependency was quickly spiralling out of control. Stirring his cup of miserably lukewarm coffee until the last of the sugar dissolved, Seth was interrupted when he spotted a hand out of the corner of his eye.

Deciding that simply ignoring it would be a rude and hilariously stupid thing to do, he looked up from the coffee. Standing in front of him was a blonde woman, maybe about twenty-five years old if he had to guess. He had no idea who she was, well, at least up until she introduced herself. The name was vaguely familiar, if his memory was correct, she used to teach literature at Caelbury before taking a break because of personal reasons. Abruptly remembering that he was probably meant to shake the hand that was offered to him, he quickly set the coffee down and shook it.

"Ah, right. I'm Seth. Seth Kabhsenuf." He introduced himself, even managing to muster what he hoped was a polite smile. Though he was pretty sure it was nothing compared to hers. How anyone could so chirpy in the morning would remain forever beyond his comprehension. "And, uh, we haven't. Met, that is. I only started teaching here last year. I heard you teach Literature too?"

[Lilacs]

---
Sunday

---

"Smile at the camera!"

There was still an hour before the picnic was officially scheduled to start, yet there were already people trickling in. This was, of course anticipated, so everything was already set up. Right on schedule. It has been a busy day for the Student Council. Although there were already picnic tables set up in the large, grassy field, there was still a lot to do. There were the easy tasks, like covering all of the table with tablecloths and laying out picnic blankets, and then there were the harder ones, like sneaking a large dunk tank into the school grounds without being seen by the teachers--it was supposed to be a surprise!--but they managed, because hey, anything is possible when you're a student at Caelbury!

Speaking of dunk tanks, this year's picnic featured a lot of water-based activities like launching water balloons, and a large variety of water guns. This was due to the particularly hot weather, despite the rapidly approaching fall. The weather forecast predicted that the temperature would fluctuate between the upper 90's and lower 100's. (about 35 degrees Celsius for you non-Americans). Even the modest Acacia was showing more skin than usual as she wore short shorts and a tank top in response to the high temperature.

There were plenty of other activities to enjoy too, outside of the water-activities. There were flags available for Capture the Flag, various types of balls including footballs, soccer balls, and volleyballs. And of course, the point of a picnic was to consume food, and it was a potluck, so nobody ever really knew what assortment of food there will be, but the basics were laid out. There were plastic silverware and cups, paper plates and napkins... And of course, everything necessary for a barbecue was present as well, including charcoal, the meats and vegetables, seasoning... Everything was ready.

After everything was ready, Acacia returned to her dorm to bring out her final contribution to the picnic: 2.5 dozen cupcakes! A fourth of them were vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting, 6 of them were chocolate cupcakes with vanilla frosting, a half dozen were vanilla cupcakes with vanilla frosting, another grouping of 6 were chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting, with the remainder being simple, plain cupcakes. All the cupcakes had various smiley faces drawn upon them in pink icing.

No school year would begin without the picnic! It would be a great day. She just knew it.

[YipeeXD]

Cole had decided to not go with Vladimir that day. He felt bad for not trying to make friends early, but he sensed that the vibe wasn't good between them from the start. However, he felt he could salvage something at the picnic on sunday.

Today was the day. The pre school picnics were always quite fun, but Cole never really got into them. As much as he found them fun, he could never force himself to join in with the other kids. Cole sat in his room staring at the wall. It was a beautiful day, and Cole knew how hot it would be. In this case, he decided to wear sports shorts and a normal t-shirt, because he would probably join in with the football and soccer if he was given the chance.

He sighed as he fixed his hair in the mirror. He missed the rink. The slicing of the skate blades on the ice was magical for him, but it wasn't to return for another week. He stared longingly at his skates through the reflection in the mirror, before giving his hair a final fix and leaving his room, nodding at Vlad on the way out. He knew exactly where he was going. He made his way through a number of corridors before coming to his desired door. He knocked twice and waited. Nothing. He knocked again. "Acacia, it's Cole... do.... you need any help setting up?" He didnt even know whether she had returned to her room for some reason, or was at the picnic already. But he thought he'd offer anyway. He knocked again. "You there?" He sighed. Probably not. He turned and started to shuffle away.