Anxiously standing at the back of the room with the other students, Bruno looked around the classroom as he wondered who he was going to be put next to in the seating plan. It was always a bit of a lottery who you got. You could get someone really talkative and friendly, which Bruno hoped for. On the other hand you could get someone grouchy and introverted, or you could get a complete hothead or an asshole. Again, it was a huge lottery. Bruno glanced over at his twin. No doubt that Dominik was much more nervous than he was. Bruno felt a bit of sympathy for his brother and his closed in ways.
But then suddenly, the first seat was announced. It was Quinten, and he was sure to make a snide little remark before taking his seat. Although he didn't really mind him too much, Bruno did hope he wasn't seated next to the other boy. Then his name was said. Well, only his surname. Bruno quickly pointed out that there were two, and the teacher specified that it was indeed him. He took his seat behind Fiorella. He knew she was born in Puerto Rico, which kind of made her an immigrant too, but technically not. But she was funny and outgoing, so Bruno could see himself getting on with her. Riley Revels was placed next to him. He was okay, but he hang out with a group Bruno couldn't really ever see himself getting too friendly with. Too much of a "we cause trouble" attitude, in Bruno's opinion. When everyone had taken their seats, it was time for a do whatever you want session. Bruno turned to Toby, who had been placed a little bit behind him, and greeted him, before deciding to bite the bullet and said hello to Riley too.
The quiet boy stood at the back of the class, feeling utterly wretched and terrified about the seating that was to come. The only thing that Dominik could live with in the seating plan was being surrounded by fellow introverts, or at least people that respected his wish to be left alone. But better than both of these would be sitting right near Davina. He couldn't stop thinking about her or how she had talked to him on the field on the first day. They had played a few games together and Dominik had loved every minute of it. He had really felt sad about going home that day. A first.
Then came the first seat. Quinten. Far too brash and loud for Dominik's liking. His own surname was called out next, but before he could quietly ask the teacher to specify, Bruno did it, and the teacher revealed it was indeed Bruno. Then a whole Plethora of other classmates were called out, including a boy who looked very out of place. Dominik could only imagine that he too was very introverted. Then, his own name was called out. He was sat next to Connor Mcquarrie. He let out a silent sigh. He was extremely loud and obnoxious. It wouldn't take the boy long to find a silly nickname for Dominik. When the teacher announced you could do what you wanted for half an hour, he plugged in his earphones and began to draw, a little aimlessly. He was quite annoyed that Davina was so far away. He hoped they would be toge-, sorry, sit together in another class.
"Hi, Bruno..." Toby mumbled into his sleeve, looking up just a bit as he was greeted. "So, uh... I guess it's Friday already. Anything good happening this weekend?" He forced a smile, which only gave him a pained and awkward sort of expression. It was clear that he was really, really trying to be sociable. But he just wasn't good at it. At all.
He couldn't help but think that he sounded really stupid, but he knew he was just talking to hide his own desire to put his head back down and forget he was here. Pessimists usually weren't very popular, he knew. He fiddled with the bandage over his forehead a bit, awaiting an answer to his question. @KaijuBaragon
Andreas twisted his key in the front door, opening it slowly careful not to make too much noise - he didn't want to wake anyone up after all. A gentle sobbing resounded from the living room, he let out a heavy sigh as he closed the door, the crying ceased, followed up by a number of sniffles. His mother was obviously trying to get herself under control. It wasn't like he hadn't seen her cry before, it didn't mean he liked it though. As he passed by the stairway, Andreas shot a glare up into the hallway, intended for his dad - no doubt sleeping off a hangover. "What's wrong?" He asked, entering the room, dropping his rucksack by the door and closing the distance. His mother, Kaatje was sat on the couch in front of the television, her face was running - she wasn't hiding anything.
"Oh-" She started up, feigning shock, "Andreas, I didn't hear you come in." She uttered, meekly - lies.
"Mum." It was evident from his tone of voice that he didn't want to be treated like a baby, his parents didn't know it but he was making his own money, saving up for a college education and a quality of life; something neither of his parents really ever had. Andreas truly appreciated his parents, even his dad it wasn't like the man didn't try but he let the bottle consume him. "What's wrong?" He repeated, more stern sounding than before. Kaatje looked up at her son from the couch and struggled the hold back the crying again, she brought a cupped hand to her mouth, a cry escaping her throat as she shook her head, unable to muster the words and handed Andreas the letter she'd been holding with an iron grip in her hand. The paper was blotted with tears and he was sure there was a smear of mascara along the bottom of the paper too. "What's this?" He asked. Andreas knew the answer, he didn't even know why he'd asked the question. It was that big scary word right on the header that gave it away - foreclosure.
"Look!" His mother raised her voice, Andreas took a step back before she resolved to holding her head in her hands again, speaking in native tongue; a lot of effing and blinding.
"This is bullsh-"
"They know about my cut in pay, and your father's welfare cut." Andreas frowned when his mother brought it up, she was a hard worker and his dad despite his own faults tried to be a hard worker. That is, if someone would give him the opportunity. "They're going to take the house." As Kaatje finished the sentence she found herself able to hold back waterworks this time in front of Andreas. "Where have you been?" She voiced, her own tone now changing more brash, more normal.
"Where's dad?" Andreas interrupted her.
"Asleep, bu-" She was cut off as Andreas flew out of the room, returning a moment later with his hands in his hoodie pockets. He said nothing, knelt in front of her as she still sat on the couch, staring blankly at the wording of the letter from the bank. From his pocket he pulled a small roll of cash, "Andreas... What is this...?" Kaatje asked, her voice soft but soon becoming ferocious, "Did you steal this!? Where did you get this money!? I-"
"No!" He stopped her - lies. "I've been saving up; for college." Andreas began, shrugging, pushing the money into his mother's hands, "Just it'll help, right?" They say a mother always knows when her son is lying, but circumstances called for her not to question Andreas, not this time. She nodded.
"Yes."
0630h - Bus Journey
Eight-thousand US Dollars, it had taken years to save up that kind of money, and now it was all gone in an instant. He'd had a deposit for a good school in a couple of years after his final exams. He had the money to get himself a car, freedom; instead of being stuck on the bus like he was now. "Fuck." He uttered from behind his hood, getting the disapproving attention of an elderly couple who sat in front of him. Andreas hated this, he hated their position, he hated how unfair everything seemed, he hated the hospital, the welfare and he especially hated the bank.
The bus ride to school was mostly comprised of scheming. Andreas needed to make that money back and he didn't have years, he'd have to make it quicker. Then, he remembered something. Whipping out his phone he set up a VPN and a few other precautionary measures before entering a forum he'd visited in the past. A hacker group, some of those here had taught him a lot, they had an access heriarchy of which Andreas had been granted low-level access, he sent a quick message to someone he'd known before, a user by the name of 'Lulzor'.
Rabb-it says: Are you safe?
Andreas stared, waiting for an answer, nothing - it was probably still way too early, he didn't even know this person's timezone. He sighed, slipping the phone back into his pocket as the bus pulled up at his stop.
0715h - Class
Andreas took his seat next to Roxy Mitchell, he didn't know her too well in fact Andreas didn't know most people too well. His main circle was online and even then other than tags and avatars - he began to think whether he really knew anybody. The thought didn't dwell long, he was stuck on the morning's event, it was obvious he was sour about something. The guy was good at hiding his emotions and feigning others, eight thousand dollars was apparently the price of his poker face.
He smiled back faintly at Maria, he almost hadn't caught it and just scowled - his head really wasn't straight this morning. He raised his hand slightly, gesturing a wave, fingers slightly splayed before his attention drifted to the window, or more importantly what was outside. All that was on his mind now was money and getting back to his laptop. At least it was Friday.
Wiping her forehead once more to get her hair out of her face, Sarah stirred the brush into the now grey water as the sapphire blue freed itself from the bristles, dancing in the swirls before becoming one with its surroundings. Lifting it from the glass, she slid it onto the nearby rack to dry. A sigh escaped her lips as she realized she would now have to clean the warzone that was her room. “I guess you could say cleaning is going to be a real paint. I art to have considered this beforehand.” A small laugh now filled the space as the girl began recapping paints and wiping up spatters from the floor. A wet canvas overlooked her as she worked diligently, its sunset hues of pinks, oranges, and soft ambers promised a bright day ahead.
Just as the last of the dirty rags were thrown in the hamper across the room the sound of her alarm blared itself annoyingly reminding her she needed to shower and head to the joyous prison camp that was high school. Hands delicately opened and closed the bedroom door as not to disturb her mother who had another graveyard shift last night. Sarah moved swiftly, and quietly to the bathroom, much like a ghost, a talent picked up from years of invisibility. The quiet in the mornings, she couldn’t help but wonder when the shuffling of bodies, loud voices arguing over who gets the last biscuit, and the sounds of silverware on plates stopped. Why when her brother went off to college there was no longer a need for spending time together, for waking up to the sound of bacon frying, for a smile and “have a great day”s. Shaking her head as if to shake of the negativity, she proceeded to turning the shower faucet. The only thing we can control is ourselves. The sound of her old English teacher played threw her mind once more. At the same time she caught herself in the mirror as the memories faded into a grin. In all the moving of her bangs out of her eyes whilst painting, her face was now the color of a rainbow or perhaps an advertisement for Skittles themselves. Yes, she needed to look forward, to the day ahead.
6:10
After speeding out the door, possibly tripping in a small hole, and turning over the engine only 5 times, Sarah finally managed to get it together enough to not be entirely late on the first week of school. Windows rolled down, the warm air danced across her cheekbones as her hands tapped the steering wheel along to the beat of the music drifting through the radio. Honestly, Sarah was amazed the radio worked at all.
Gertrude came to her in the form of 300 dollars, belonging to an elderly woman who had a stroke and no longer could drive the poor vehicle. The passenger side window was left half cracked for a year before being passed over to herself, and finally removing the leaves, cleaning the carpet, and making the car smell pleasant again was a chore she’d rather not relive. The replacement of a timing belt, battery, and spark plugs brought the golden granny car back to life, as it was now Sarah’s baby. She’d received a few odd looks from some of the wealthier students in her high school, but she didn’t mind. Not all cars could be as majestic as her own.
Truthfully, the only reason she had a car, aside from the killer price, was her commute to school. She lived so far in the boonies, that when she did take the bus she’d have to be ready to leave by 5. When her school began offering driver’s ed, she broke into her savings account to pay for the classes herself. She didn’t have any problems learning, as Sarah often had to help her dad around the ranch, driving his truck while he dropped off hay bales or picking him up from one of the neighbors. Once she’d passed and received her permit, her dad helped her to find a car. If he wasn’t able to fix Gertrude himself, she’d probably still be looking.
Several loud singalongs later, and Sarah found herself pulling up into the parking lot behind the school. Avoiding the spaces generally claimed by the seniors she found a spot somewhere in the back near the softball field. Grabbing her bag and slinging it over her shoulder, her combat boots slid out onto the concrete. Slamming the door for good measure, she made her way towards the sidewalk, checking her watch for the time. People were still trickling in, she recognized some from her childhood, others were fresh faces. It was only the third day, there was still time to make friends.
7:20
Missing the order of assigned seats, it took a bit of fumbling around to find her own. After getting accustomed she looked to her neighbors, to her left Landon. She didn’t know much about him, but she had seen him play before and as far as she could remember he was pretty good. She didn’t know the girl to her right at all aside from a name Roxy. A smile subconsciously crossed her lips as her brain played associations the Rox in her name and her Rock n’ Roll demeanor that Sarah was able to pick up. Nonetheless, the girl was beautiful and seemed to be equivalently vibrant in personality. Either way, as a first impression, Sarah liked it.
Across from her sat a familiar face, as her smile widened into a dorky grin. Taking her pencil and reaching far she managed to poke the figure in all his nonchalant glory as she began her usual antics. “No fading into space this early in the morning.” . @Apoalo@Filthy Mudblood@SmileyJaws
Andreas checked his phone under the desk, keeping it as covert as possible - the last thing he needed today was to have that taken off him as well. No pings, messages, nothing. 'Come on.' He thought to himself sliding the phone back into his jeans, it didn't take long for his attention to be lost on the window again. Truth be told, Andreas' mind had been so steadfast on taking no heed of his surroundings he hadn't noticed Sarah's late arrival, nor her previous absence.
He moved slightly, squirming as something small dug into his ribs, it wasn't the force rather just the unexpectedness that caught him off guard. Taking a moment to collect himself, Andreas slowly turned in his seat, arm lurching over the back a scowl spread across his face. The scowl quickly turned into a blank expression, reminiscent of his brain at that moment in time. That grin that she always called goofy, it wasn't easy to forget - not that he'd be able to forget one of if not his oldest acquaintance and certainly one of his only friends.
“No fading into space this early in the morning.” She chimed, the usual antics living up to her usual rhetoric.
"Hey." Andreas started, a thin smile pulled at the corners of his lips - it was impossible for him to keep a straight face around Sarah. "Where were you?" He teased, his attention jumping to the clock for a moment before back to his friend, almost no time had passed at all since the beginning of school. He wondered if this day was ever going to end, that was the problem with waiting on something (especially replies); time always seemed to pass much slower when you needed it to hurry along. Andreas shook his head, almost subconsciously, "Boy, is it good to see you." He whispered and that was it, the smile that had been tugging surfaced, thin lips parting slightly revealing some of his teeth. He'd always felt he had an awkward smile but perhaps it was the thought of it being awkward that lead to it being so, he guessed. Thoughts working their ways into actions and things like that. His eyes flicked to Roxy who Sarah was sitting beside, the smile subsided as he remembered himself and those self-demeaning thoughts played on his brain like a pianist - an expert one too.
"I didn't see you over the summer..." Andreas paused and with a shrug piped up, "Andreas the Hermit." He added, raising both eyebrows in a joking manner.
"Landon! Make sure you put your laundry away when you get home or I'm going to throw your underwear all over the front lawn. Don't tempt me mister." Sitting at the table Landon gulped loudly and nodded his agreement. "Alright Claire, jeez." His brothers giggled and pointed at him before he glared and then grinned evilly. They knew that face and instantly straightened and returned to eating. Landon smirked and then looked at his Uncle, "you still coming tonight to the game? First of the season ya know!" Wyatt chuckled and nodded.
"Not only will I be there but Claire got off so we'll -all- be there." Astor and Corbin broke out into huge smiles and started doing a victory dance. They loved going to High School games since the atmosphere was filled with electricity to them. Landon smiled to, his whole family would be there to cheer him on and now he just had to hope that Marco would agree to come and watch him as well. Lately he had been in the zone with his passes and was slated as one of the best passers in the entire District which possessed some of the tightest competition in the Texas league.
"Awesome! Well, Wyatt are you ready to go? I just got to go and grab some stuff. Oh and Astor I took a few pairs of your old shoes if that's ok?" The boy seemed confused but nodded and Landon smirked back at him and ran up to grab a duffle of the shoes and some other clothes that Astor didn't use anymore. He then took off down the stairs and into the car. He and his Uncle talked about Football mostly during the ride over to the school and Landon smiled at Wyatt and thanked him for the ride.
As he made his way towards the front doors he was stopped repeatedly by members of the Football team, cheerleaders, friends, and random kids all wishing him luck today. He hurriedly went to Toby's locker and taped the bag he brought to it and then ran off still getting people talking to him and wishing him luck. A bit overwhelmed he stepped into homeroom -almost- late and glanced around, whoa. Assigned seat time it appeared. Lo and behold he was very close to Marco who was in front of him and to the right diagonally, and sitting beside Davina to his left. He had Harley and Max behind him and he only vaguely knew them, knowing Harley as a member of the more rule-breaking group along with Riley and Roxy.
He looked at Marco after Ms. Wiley let them 'free' and nodded at him. "Heck yea, hey! I was wondering after school would you like to study some and then come to the game tonight? We got practice so I'll be here all night." He held his breath without realizing it as he awaited the reply and noticed the girl beside him poking someone with a pencil. How rude.
The morning was a boring one for Riley, he had somehow managed to make it to school an hour early. Not that he truly minded as it gave him plenty of time to finally finish rewriting the ending to his song. He thought back to the first day of school and Maria who had come to speak with him. He had introduced himself and tried to do some small talk but he had gotten a message from Harley to meet over near the home side bleachers and start some chaos. Shrugging he spent the next thirty minutes on the writing and glanced down at his watch, noticing it was time for class. He adjusted the beanie on his head and trudged to Homeroom, his guitar in his case slung around his back. It was going to be a long day at school since he had practice afterwards and then the big first game of the season. He was determined to do well in that game as well, giving his all in practices. He was lucky to have such a skilled passing Quarterback like Landon since most High School games were won with the running game. It was nice to be able to go to the play-action and screen passes as a threat during third down.
He sat down and glanced around him, and smirked when he saw Roxy beside him, he was about to lean over when he heard Bruno and he said hey back, and smiled a bit. A quick glance behind him saw Colton and he smirked at him as well, "ready for tonight?" He winked at Roxy while waiting for Colton's answer.
“I still don’t understand why I couldn’t just stay back home with Abuela.”
Fiorella Aguilar let out an angry sigh. The girl sat in the passenger seat of her mother’s Black Mercedes, talking to the older woman as she drove her to school. Now, even after having moved to Texas for a week now, Lela was still trying to plead her case: to get her parents to send her back to Puerto Rico with her grandmother.
“Lela, we’ve already discussed this.” Marina Aguilar said to her daughter, letting out a disgruntled sigh of her own. “Abuela’s too old to take care of you.”
“Seventy is not old, ma’.” Lela argued, crossing her arms across her chest. “Plus, I can take care of myself. She wouldn’t be really be taking care of me.”
Marina sighed again. “Fiorella, ya. What’s done is done. You’re here in Texas, you’re going to Delbrook Academy and you’re staying with us, That’s the way it is.“
Lucky for Fiorella, they had arrived at the front of the school just as her mother said those last words. The golden-haired girl, though still angry, gave her mother a goodbye kiss on the cheek before grabbing her bookbag and stepping out of the car. Lela stood for a moment in the sidewalk, watching her mother’s car disappear, before turning to look at what would be her new school for the next three years. Her brown eyes widened at the sight of the titanic building in front of her. Delbrook Academy was huge. How was she supposed to make it to class without getting lost?
The only way to find out was to try.
Lela managed to arrive to her assigned homeroom classroom just in time., after just three times of getting lost Her fellow classmates were all standing up in the corner of the room, and the teacher held a paper in her hands. Fiorella assumed that meant they would be assigned seats, so she quickly took a spot in between the rest of the group and waited until her name was called.
"Next, Zurancic and Aguilar."
With a flirtatious smirk and an aura of confidence, Fiorella swayed her hips all the way to her seat, her magenta skirt dancing at her every step. Once there, she plopped her black Michael Kors bookbag on the floor, gracefully took her seat and took a moment to scan her surroundings. She couldn’t help when her flirtatious smirk turned into her softly biting her lower lip at the sight of her neighbor classmate. Just in next to her sat a tall, blond guy with broad shoulders, sharp jaw, and incredibly handsome face. If her memory didn’t fail her, she thought she’d heard the teacher say his name was Bruno. ‘Well, Bruno, you are a 10 out of ten in my book.’ Fiorella thought devilishly, taking the liberty to shamelessly stare at him for a few more seconds before shifting her eyes to the male sitting in front of her. From what she’d seen as she walked to her seat, this guy was handsome as well. But for some reason, he struck her as somewhat of a fuckboy-type of guy. Maybe it was the outfit, or the devil-may-care attitude he presented. Whatever it was, he was marked as a NO in her list of possible prospects.
‘Hey, not a bad start. Got the back seat so I can text in peace. Gracias a Dios.’
Once all the class was seated, the teacher said a few words before giving them some free time to do what they pleased as long as they stayed in the classroom. Fiorella watched in silence as the rest of her group talked among themselves, and a sudden pang of sadness hit her. She felt so alienated when compared to the rest of her group… If she were back home, she would be chattering away with her besties: making the plans for the weekend, discussing the latest school gossip, asking to borrow clothes and accessories... Back in Puerto Rico, she was basically the Queen Bee of Baldwin School, and everybody knew who Fiorella Aguilar was. But here? She was a nobody. Just some new Puerto Rican girl who probably didn’t know the least bit of English and needed a green card to enter the country.
That had to change. Fast
Having caught Bruno giving her a look, Fiorella seized her opportunity to start conquering some hearts. "Um, excuse me," she began saying, a hint of accent in her sing-song voice, tapping his broad shoulder lightly. "I'm, like, totally new to the country and the US school system. Would you mind giving me a small explanation about how it works?"
It had been five years since Roxy had actually gotten a decent night's sleep. Five years in which she had been woken up at 5AM without fail. There wasn't some medical reason, or some deep psychological meaning behind it. It was just Thomas. The maddening six year old that she had to share a room with. The way in which she was woken up always differed, however. This morning, of all mornings, had to be jumping.
"You little-" the torture was cut short as she grabbed her brother, pulling him down into the bed next to her and attacking him with tickles. If it weren't for them being the only ones in the house, it would've sounded like someone was being murdered from the screaming she got out of the youngster. The pair lay in a fit of giggles for a little while, their laughter dying down into laboured breathing. Roxy broke the silence by clapping her hands abruptly.
"Right. I want you up and dressed in ten minutes, soldier." Ruffling his hair, she jumped up and out of bed - stopping for a second to grab the wall as all of the blood rushed to her head and she was momentarily blind. She knew that it would take him way longer to get his clothes on than ten minutes, but she wanted him to practice doing it on his own.
"Roxxxxyyyyyyyyy." The whining voice caused the pink-haired girl to roll her eyes as she fixed her brother's duvet, which somehow managed to end up tucked down the side of the bed. This must be what mothers feel like, having to answer every single whinge or moan. She pushed the thought out of her head abruptly. She was all that Thomas had, barring their father who was hardly ever home.
"What about breakfast?" The little boy, doing so out of years of practice, rolled out of her bed and started rearranging the mountain of covers and pillows as she did his. It was a little routine they had, and god forbid anything that interrupted it.
"I'll make your breakfast, silly. Come down once you're dressed." She poked him in the tummy as she passed, inspecting her own bed to make sure he had made it correctly. Perfect.
"Now hurry up or your cereal will go soggy." She smiled a soft, genuine smile as the words seemed to spring Thomas into action. How he could move so fast and so early in the morning she would never know, but it still managed to make her smile. At quarter to seven, both Roxy and Thomas stood behind their front door. Roxy fussed over his jumper that he had somehow managed to already get dirty. Satisfied with her decent job of fading the stain, Roxy stood up straight and pointed downwards at a pair of bright red shoes with laces.
"Can you do my laces Roxy? Please please pleeeeeeease?" She couldn't resist. Those huge eyes that reminded her so much of Mum and his tiny hands clasped together. It was a moment of weakness. Sighing in exasperation, she bent down - earning her legs a few cracks - and deftly slipped the boy's shoes on, tying his laces in a double knot and tapping his foot once she was done.
"Why do you dress like that, Roxy? You look funny." The question asked by the high-pitched American voice earned a smirk from his older sister as she glanced down at herself.
"It's my aesthetic." She smiled at her own joke, ignoring the puzzled expression of Thomas and throwing open the front door, ushering him out. Closing the door behind her and locking it with a quick movement, she recognised the yellow bus crawling along the road towards them.
"Right, Tommo. You be good and show all those other kids that you're the best." Roxy lead her brother to the side of the street and wrapped him in a tight hug, much to the protests of him. Planting a big kiss on his cheek, she finally let him go as he scrambled up the steps of the bus and disappeared inside. She felt a familiar pull at her heart as he vanished from sight, but her worries melted away as his little face appeared at the window, waving frantically. Waving back, Roxy watched as the bus disappeared from view, wondering if all big sisters had to do this. School. What a wonderful place. Long gone was Roxy's softness she felt only towards her brother, instead her face betrayed only mild contempt. Sauntering up the corridor, she offered only the odd smile to those she knew. Even then, it was barely genuine.
Homeroom seemed like a mismatched bunch of outcasts, in all honesty, and she kind of preferred it that way. She recognised a few faces, but made no attempt to start a conversation until she was seated next to Riley and some smiley girl she had never seen before. She smirked as Riley shot her a wink, tempted to make some comment about what he would be doing that night, but refrained from it. Instead, she turned to her left to listen in on the stranger girl's conversation with yet another stranger in from of her.
She watched with open curiosity as the boy smiled at her neighbor, but, as if only then remembering that she was there listening, letting the smile fade away. No. she would not be allowing that. One thing she hated more than anything has self-consciousness. May as well let her be comfortable around her, at least.
"Hi." She displayed her sweetest smile to the pair, rested her chin on her hand. "I'm Roxy." She paused once more, her eyes tracing over the two of them, determining whether they were quite ready for her humour. She decided they must be.
"Punk, rebel, opinionated bitch with dazzling good looks." Her eyes sparked with challenge, not necessarily aimed at them - they just tended to be looking for a fight wherever she went. In fact, she didn't even want confrontation today. Not one bit.
"Tae Min! Tae Min! TAE MIN, WAKE UP!" Hazel's shrill southern accent met Tae Min's ears, and he woke up with a groan and a mutter of "Go away, Ji..." "I'm not Ji Yoon. I'm Hazel. If you were awake, you would have known that!" "Damn it! Sorry!" He replied. "Momma's gonna kill and bury you if you swear like that." Came a response from the ten year old, who had now seated herself at the foot of Tae Min's bed. She and Tae-Min's biological little sister Ji Yoon shared the bunk bed across the room. "Okay, gimme a second. I have to get dressed." He said tiredly, to which Hazel responded by leaving the room. Given some privacy, Tae Min quickly threw on some clean clothes, carefully selecting a scarf and gloves he'd made himself. It wasn't terribly cold out, but he wanted to show off his crocheting skills. And hide that nasty tilt in his neck. Tae Min scrambled downstairs to the kitchen, finding his little sisters already dressed and finished with breakfast. His stepmother Sheila was washing some dishes at the sink, her braided black hair neatly tied up in a bun. "Dude, what do I always tell you about sleeping in on school days?" She said, her warm, almost smoky sounding Texan drawl bringing a smile to Tae Min's face. "Sorry, Sheila. I was up late last night." Tae Min answered, smiling sheepishly and grabbing a piece of bread from the refrigerator and toasting it quickly. "Well, you better learn to wake up and get to school on time before your teachers whip your ass with willow branches or whatever it is they do for punishments at that place..." "Riiight. Hey, where's mom?" "Gets to sleep in. She deserves it, ya know?" Tae Min nodded, waving a quick goodbye to his stepmother and the girls before grabbing his shoes and trotting out to the garage to get his bike.
(7:30 AM - Delbrook Academy)
Tae Min got off his bike and locked it up outside the school, running in through the glass front doors and weaving his way up to his homeroom, ignoring the disapproving looks of the hall monitors. He'd missed the first day of school and had been late yesterday as well, so some of the staff was already starting not to like him. But it wasn't his fault if he couldn't remember day to day whether or not he had school....
By the time he got to the classroom, Mrs. Wiley had seated all the other students. "Sorry I'm late!" He said quickly, pausing to catch his breath as he was assigned a seat in the second row from the front, next to a boy who looked way too young to be in high school. Tae Min never liked child prodigies. They made him feel insecure about his already lacking scholastic prowess. But something about this 'kid' told him that there was probably some other explanation to him being here other than being a pompous smartass.
Tae Min casually waved to everyone, taking his seat next to the shorter boy. He didn't recognize anyone from last year. Last year he hadn't been very popular, despite his best efforts to be painstakingly nice to everybody.
The little boy didn't look like he wanted to talk, so Tae Min turned to the other boy he sat next to, who was incidentally a lot closer to his height. He remembered that this was Andreas from last year. They'd taken Biology together, but didn't have a lot of time to talk as they only shared the one class. "Hey, Andreas!" He greeted cheerfully, a warm smile etched into his face. He had neat rows of white teeth, with a slight gap between the front two on the top row. It just kind of added to his slightly dorky appearance. "How're you liking sophomore year so far? Day three, huh? Well, day two for me. Anyway, it's Friday! Excited for the weekend? Sorry, am I talking your ear off? I can shut up It's cool, I'm sorry..." @SmileyJaws
Toby felt an awkward silence start to set in, and he cringed back, running his hands through his less-than-immaculately-clean sandy brown hair. He winced as his little fingers ran over the bandage. Clearly, whatever he was hiding under that was still new and stinging. He was still slumped over his desk, propped up on his elbow as if he didn't have the energy to keep himself upright.
He looked up as a tall boy with light pink hair ran through the classroom door, apologizing to the teacher before sitting right next to him. Great. Toby was now surrounded by strangers. He put his head back down, anxiously tapping his fingers on the surface of his desk.
Amusement swept through her as she watched the gears in Andreas mind turned ever so slowly, mental computers deciphering the odd information they were given. She was just waiting for the wires to click. She hadn’t seen Andreas since the end of last May. No doubt he was trying to take care of business at home as usual, being his calm, collected, withdrawn self. Where is free time went specifically, that was a mystery in itself; she always seemed to forget to ask where he worked, if he was still looking at cars, just happy in the moment to have a quick get together. Her mind going into overdrive on the possibilities, she was pulled back to a smirk.
“Where were you?”
Truthfully, she had a habit of not being on time, which was rather a continuous run of bad luck. Not forwarding those chain emails in middle school seemed to be coming back to haunt her in odd ways. Hand reaching towards the back of her head, an uncomfortable laugh escaped her lips, “See what had happened was…I was kinda sorta attacked by a ghost hole this morning. Totally not my fault!” Coming back from her embarrassment of the venture to school, a quirky smile found its way, shining for a brief second before faltering.
Eyes shifting over towards Roxy, the girl once again found a vibrant personality, this time welcoming her into the conversation. Before she could even stop her brain words found their way out of her mouth, “Are you a beaver? Cause dam I like you already.” Whether this was the conventional way to make friends, the oblivious child didn’t have a clue.
Turning back to Andreas with a newfound burst of energy, she waved off the comment of them two not hanging out over the summer. “My brother was down from college anyway, you were safer on Muppet lane, trust me. Besides, I was working in order to save money to get my permit, and a car. I would have been useless to you.” It wasn’t often she had friends over, living far out it was much easier to come visit people in town. True every now and then people would come over for “pool” parties, which was really just relaxing at the pond and having a cookout. Placing her cheek against her hand, she zoned out on the all the possibilities this year could offer. There were only two left, excluding this one. They’d all need to make them count.
”Oh!” scatter brain coming back to her, she slid around in her seat to properly greet her neighbor, “The name is Sarah by the way.”
“See what had happened was…I was kinda sorta attacked by a ghost hole this morning. Totally not my fault!”
"Kinda, sorta?" He inquired rhetorically, he smiled back, imitating her own. Andreas was the type who even if he didn't notice would mimic body language, tone of voice and emotion - probably because his own GPS was a little off at the best of times.
"Punk, rebel, opinionated bitch with dazzling good looks." Andreas smirked at the quip, he didn't know Roxy well or at all really other than in passing. His first impression of her was that she was definitely a free spirit, no shit taken or given attitude. She seemed confident, a quality that Andreas was jealous of - then again if he could feign it so could anybody, who was to know. One thing Andreas made sure of wasn't too judge too deeply by a cover, everybody has their own demons all of which subjective, or so the forums said.
"Andreas." He replied, there was a moments pause as his brain clicked and told him to try seem a little more open at least, "No label, just your average looking loser." He responded in kind, his tone was confident and friendly, it wasn't clear whether or not he was joking - alter ego shaking his head at him. The problem for Andreas was that feigning the confidence needed would lead him to feel like a bit of a douche bag, he opened his mouth as if about to say something else.
“Are you a beaver? Cause dam I like you already.”
Andreas' expression went blank before he scoffed a mild laugh, "On form anyway." His neck arched to face Sarah, a stupid grin crossing his expression, his gaze began to dart between the two girls, his old friend and a new acquaintance.
"Hey, Andreas!" Andreas jumped a little although it wasn't an outright noticeable jerk. Tae Min, Andreas had met him last year in Biology and the two got along, he wouldn't call them friends but they were certainly on friendly terms. He nodded along as his neighbor got out a bit of a spiel.
"You're fine." Andreas told him with a faint smile in response to whether or not he should stop talking. "Early days yet, I'd rather be at home." He laughed, "No plans, you?" He was referring to what he was going to be doing on the weekend. "Good to see you, Tae."
"Thanks! I don't really have any plans, I was just going to hang around with my sisters. Always stuff to do, you know? Besides, I can't stay out any later than ten, so it's not like I've got a ton of options..." Tae Min said very quickly. He hadn't really had anyone to talk to all summer, so was a bit overexcited at the prospect of possibly having actual friends this year. He shrugged, quieting down. His habit of talking too much and too fast was a problem, and on some level he kind of realized it. If he wanted friends, he'd have to learn to listen instead of just blathering endlessly to himself.
He cast a glance over at the boy on his other side. Broflovski, the teacher had called him... he barely looked awake with his head in his arms, the only evidence that he was conscious being his anxious fidgeting. Tae Min rolled his eyes. Shy people tended to come across as annoying to him. He turned back to Andreas smiling brightly. "Good to see you too. I think this year's not going to suck as much as last year." @SmileyJaws
Marco thought for a moment after Landon asked him if he wanted to study and then come to the game. He had to make sure he didn't have to do anything that night. He chewed on the inside of his lip for a moment and winced when he accidentally bit down to hard on it as he thought. "Ya, I don't think I have to do anything tonight. Friday's are my rest days so I don't have any sort of training to and acrobatics don't start up again for another week or so that should be fine and Dylon doesn't leave for college for another week." He was thinking out loud now. Landon could have wondered off and it was likely that Marco would have continued on. "Sounds good to me. Let me just double check with my parents and make sure it is alright. Don't want to worry them." Marco pulled out his phone and sent a quick message to his mother. She would be more likely to answer than his father so she was his best bet. After sending the text he glanced over at Maria how seemed to have buried herself in her music. She was nervous, after all she had been seated right next to the one guy she had a crush on in like, forever. He felt a little bad for her. It didn't help that most of her friends were in other classes. It seemed that most of the people in this class were in sports. Maria associated with music people, not sport people. He sighed but there was nothing he could do. She would have to figure it out herself this time. His attention went back to Landon just as his phone vibrated in his hand. "Awesome, parental units say it is cool. So yea!" The red head gave the other male a dorky smile and chuckled.
Maria remained silent at her desk, something that was rather out of character for her. Occasionally she would glance over at Quinten as if she was going to speak to him but she would mentally talk herself out of it every time. After a few times of doing this she let out an audible sigh and focused back on her music. She wasn't having any luck changing it up a bit, mainly because she was distracted by the male beside her. Tapping her pencil on her desk she pulled out her phone to look at it. Time was moving to slowly for her. At this rate she would never get to orchestra, the one class she actually cared about. Not that she didn't care about the rest but the only one that interested her was orchestra or anything music related. "Just a little longer, just relax." She muttered out loud to herself without realizing it. Her face turned bright red for a moment as she looked over at Quinten to make sure he hadn't heard her. It was at that moment that she realized he might think she doesn't like him. After all she talks to everyone else but anytime she gets the chance she avoids the boy as if he was poison. He took a sharp breath in as she thought this and really hoped that wasn't the case. After a couple seconds of staring at him she managed to let out a feeble "Hey." Not sure if he noticed or even heard her, however she almost immediately regretted the action.
Almost a full minute had passed since Toby had last spoken, maybe forty-five seconds. Bruno had yet to answer his question, and a few other students had addressed Bruno since. He'd probably want to speak to them first. What Toby had said wasn't really important. He hadn't even wanted to say it really. He was just trying his best to be polite. God knows he didn't really feel like being affable.
Toby sighed silently, the fingers of his right hand tapping nervously on the desk and his left hand's knuckles being savagely bitten. His feet didn't quite touch the ground in his seat and were swinging back and forth rapidly. And something seemed off about his breathing. It was deep and ragged, as if he'd just been running a long distance. He didn't reach for his inhaler, however, too lost in his own thoughts. He had a lot to think about, to say the least.
After listening to what everyone around him was sayjng, Bruno now had to address them all. Being popular had it's perks, but it did get a little annoying when loads and loads of people tried to talk to you at once. He had a pang of understanding for his twin and his ingoing and introverted ways. He addressed Toby first.
"Yeah, it's come around fast, hasn't it? I'm not doing a lot over the weekend actually. It's going to be pretty uneventful, which I guess is pretty nice."
Bruno then was about to try to have a little conversation with Riley, but he seemed to already be in the middle of one with his group. Bruno didn't really want to get involved in all of the shenanigans that they would probably pull off, so he chose to just let it be. Then it was the final person, Fiorella. Bruno said thanks to her remark and blushed a little. Nobody had really called him a 10/10 before, but he kept his composure as she Fiorella plugged in some earphones and began watching something on YouTube.
Toby nodded, feeling a twinge of jealousy at Bruno's statement that having a quiet weekend would be nice. He supposed that if he were the kind of person who had the time, money and friends to do things, he might agree. But as it stood, he usually spent his own weekends at home, alone.
Toby then put his head back down, kind of glad that Bruno had taken the time to answer him even though he had other people to address. He looked down at his old, cracked watch, then up at the clock on the wall, kind of hoping this period would end soon. He now had nobody to talk to and nothing to do, and he was already feeling boredom start to sink in, mixing uncomfortably with his preexisting anxiety.
Noticing that his knuckles had started to drip small amounts of blood onto the surface of his desk, his flinched and wiped the drops of red away, making a mental note to try and leave his hands alone for the rest of the day. Actually, it would probably be best if he kept all his anxious habits to a minimum. He was naturally fidgety and he didn't want people thinking he was even weirder than they already thought he was.
A few seconds later, however, he'd gone right back to twirling strands of his hair and kicking his feet back and forth. His breathing, which was still a bit labored and shaky, was starting to get on his nerves, so he dug into the pocket of his green hoodie for his inhaler. Nothing. Toby growled in frustration, sitting up and checking all four pockets of his jeans for the object and coming up with nothing. He hoped it hadn't gotten lost on the way up to school, because he definitely couldn't afford a new one. I probably left the stupid thing at home again. He thought. At least, he hoped that was what had happened. He sighed, slumping back onto his desk and trying not to think about whether or not he had P.E today. It would be unfortunate if he had to have an attack so early in the school year, in front of everyone. He supposed if he was careful, it could probably be avoided or at least put off until he could get home and look for the small plastic device.
He absentmindedly twisted a lock of his hair between his fingers, watching Landon out of the corner of his eye. Everyone else in the classroom seemed to be occupied by conversing among themselves. Toby wasn't sure if he was glad not to have to have another awkward conversation or if God forbid he was getting lonely. Looking out the window, he contented himself by once again getting lost in his own stream of thought.
It hadn't taken long for everyone to find their seats, and of course, Davina had to be the last one to be seated in her assigned chair. 'Perfect,' she thought to herself as she slid smoothly into her place. Up two seats to the right sat Dominik, Landon to her immediate right and a guy she didn't know too well to her right behind Landon. 'Why couldn't I have at least been closer to Dominik? Like, behind or at least an easy reach away? Ugh.' More thoughts clouded Davina's mind as she took a look around the classroom at both the familiar and not-so-familiar faces. Davina had half a mind to turn around and introduce herself to the Rhodes guy, who she hadn't known the first name of but decided against it ultimately. There'd be time for introductions later.
As Mrs. Wiley let them go to their own devices, Davina slowly rose as the low roar of conversation in the room did, walking to the teacher's desk. Clearing her throat, Davina talked as low as possible while allowing Mrs. Wiley to still hear her. "Are you sure there's nothing I can do to move a bit closer forward? I feel kind of unincluded from the rest of my class." Mrs. Wiley simply looked up at Davina with a soft half-smile and shook her head, giving her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, love. I have it in my notes that we're still expecting more students. I'll be sure to fill in the seats around you, so don't worry. You'll have some new friends soon enough." All Davina could do was smile and nod, giving a short 'alright' before returning to her seat slowly. Her feet seemed to drag as she did so.
While Davina walked passed Dominik's desk, against her usual judgment to leave people alone, she found herself stopping in her tracks and crouching down in front of his desk to get his attention. Blood immediately rushed to her face, but only enough to turn her cheeks a slight pink, instantly regretting the whole deal. 'WHAT ARE YOU DOING!? GO SIT DOWN!' she screamed at herself mentally, but instead choked out a shy question after giving him a second to pull out his headphones from his ears. "Hey Dom. Uhm, I was wondering what you had planned for the night. Going to the football game, or anything?" Suddenly Davina's phone went off with the Walking Dead Savior's Whistle text tone, quickly pulling her phone out of her pocket. She clicked the smartphone and revealed the text on her lock screen. Quinten. Davina shook her head and quickly tapped in a middle finger emoji before stuffing her phone back into her back pocket and focused her attention back towards Dominik.
yoυ нave мe тo тнanĸ ғor тнιѕ, ya ĸnow ;P
qυιnтen rυмanceĸ
locaтιon: Homeroom ιnтeracтιng wιтн: Mrs. Wiley - Toby - Tae Min @Oliver - Maria @LostDestiny
When the jokes were over and the business had been settled about the seating, the class was set about their own antics and Quinten suddenly found himself surrounded by strangers. Well, except for the red-headed girl beside him. Maria. Only reason Quinten had managed to hold onto that name was because it was so close to 'Marie', being the second part of his cousin's first name. Quinten the past.. year, really, had been rough on both him and his memory, anymore. Before he'd found out he was going to be a young father, Quinten usually maintained everything he learned under the sun. Especially names and the faces they belonged to. The girl seated beside him had always acted weird towards him in the years passed, and he didn't know whether to try saying hi or just leave her be, but he chose the latter. He didn't feel like being brushed off today, plus she seemed to be perfectly content with her sheet music. The fact she was working on it made Quinten smile internally. It was good to see someone other than himself working on some form of the arts.
Quinten turned behind him and spread the biggest, best smile he could manage as he held out his hand towards the boy with long dirty blond hair, since the kid sitting directly behind him had struck up a conversation with Andreas. The blond boy having a certain look about him like he might need a friend in his nearby seats. "Hey man, name's Quinten. Seen you at the Carnival the other day. Almost thought you were gonna get into a scrap with Marco." Quinten laughed and jokingly added, "I'd have paid to see that. You could probably kick his ass-" A quick throat clear and an eyebrow raise from Mrs. Wiley shot out at Quinten, causing him to duck his head and mouth 'sorry' at her. He turned his attention back towards Toby and smirked. "Not that Marco can't handle himself, but being of a smaller stature, you could really get in-and-out with jabs and whatnot.""Just a little longer, just relax." Quinten eyed Maria out of the corner of his eye, confused at why she'd said what she did, turning back to Toby. He smiled genuinely at the boy, adding, "I hope this year goes as smoothly as I think it will. It's gonna be a bit of a rough road for me, I think, though."
"Hey"
Almost like a dog, Quinten tilted his head slightly to the side when he heard the voice come from in front of him (because he turned in his seat to be able to talk to Toby, Maria is now directly in front of him), not having heard that voice directed towards him. Ever. Quinten turned his attention towards the red-haired, freckle-faced girl, scanning her face to read her expression. Nervous. 'She's nervous. But why?' he thought to himself before straightening up in his chair, giving the girl a soft, charming smile. "Hey, Maria. What's up?"Had that been too forward? Was it too casual? They weren't exactly friends. Were they? No. She never really seemed to care to give him the time of day, why now? Quinten silenced the voices in his head, slightly gritting his teeth in frustration at his own thoughts.
'Son of a bitch.' Harley grumbled to themselves as they sat there in their assigned seat. The cold, metal seat that she'd be stuck in for the next 30, long, miserable minutes. Luckily, Roxy was not too far away and Riley was just on the other side of her. Mrs. Wiley- or rather, the computer- made a grave mistake. Harley couldn't help but smirk to themselves, looking out towards their two partners in crime, seeing both had struck up a conversation with friends and potentially new ones. Roxy's response to the two kids staring at her almost made them laugh aloud but only let out a soft snort, shaking their head at their friend.
Harley found themselves turning to look beside them at the guy they didn't really know, raising an eyebrow slightly. The guy didn't seem too amused by the class, almost as much as Harley was. Sighing heavily, Harley turned themselves towards the guy and gently kicked the leg of his desk. "Hey. I'm Harley. Haven't really seen you around these parts. Been around here long?"
colтon ĸrυger
Dark blue jeans with red converse and football jersey #17 ->
locaтιon: Homeroom ιnтeracтιng wιтн: Mrs. Wiley - Riley (Ho-ho, look at me. I'm a rhyming prodigy!)@Apoalo
Colton had barely managed to drag himself out of bed, let alone to class. He'd stayed up most of the night stressing over the game they had tonight and whether or not they'd beat The Pioneers. As much as Colton had grown up going by the rule 'don't worry about winning, it's about having fun', Colton loved to get a few wins under his belt before colleges started taking a look at them. Hell, college recruits were probably already looking at Riley and Landon. From in front of Colton came a familiar voice. Riley. Colton gave a half-smirk and nodded. "You know it, bro. We Wides got this!" As much as Colton's thoughts told him otherwise, he wanted to believe they'd win tonight. He really did. "What do you plan to do after the game, man?" After-game plans were the only thing Colton could think of to get his mind off his growing anxiety about the game. The kind of panic no one ever really knew he experienced because he always kept a cool-guy look to his face, but inside he was killing himself 10x over.
Landon watched his every single move while waiting for the answer, smiling softly to himself at the biting of the lip and then frowning when he noticed the red head wince. The frown was short lived however when even the possibility of Marco coming were realized, the memories from Middle School came running back to him and smacked him in the face and he realized that once again he had a major crush on the cursed red haired boy/god/classmate. As he heard Marco's schedule was cleared he jumped in just to make sure and made a quick suggestion that he hoped didn't sound lame... "Yea! Maybe you could hang out with Dylon at the game to, before he heads back. My family will probably take the left most top spot in the bleachers to if you want to meet them since you'll probably get to know them when we study anyway. Just be careful for Corbin, he's erm... Well he's insane." He was rambling as well and he vaguely wondered if either of them really heard anything the other said just then. He made a mental note to try listening better from then on and then watched as the Red Head began texting.
He felt his breath being held once again as he listened to the conversations around him. It seemed everyone was slowly integrating though he did see Toby who looked like he had seen better days and he frowned, feeling quite bad for the boy and hoping his little gift at his locker would make him feel better. He made a decision to try and talk to him before the end of school and to invite him to the game as well. He was just going to shoot his two prize receivers a wave when he heard Marco and instantly broke out into a similar goofy smile, his brain stonewalling when he saw Marco's own. He just stared awkwardly for a moment and then let out a small whoop. "That's awesome!" He held out his hand for a high-five and hoped Marco didn't think him to much of a kid.
Landon had been referred to as boylike all his life thus far, the more feminine French features such as freckled nose and cheeks along with a dimpled smile that combined with fairer complexion just made him someone that looked like a boy... He hated it.
Riley could tell Colton was nervous, shoot -HE- was nervous as all hell. First game as a Varsity receiver and where the scouts start really taking you seriously. Or not, he shrugged nonchalantly trying to play it off but he could tell a moment passed between them where they understood each other. They were the prime targets for Landon to throw to, he had done it all month in practices and with his passing Riley was expecting he, Bruno, and the other receivers to take the main bit of pressure to perform. Not that the rushers were going to be slacking either since most of them tended to be bigger to protect Landon's pocket better and give him more time to throw. He just hoped that they would be able to play their game. "I'll probably get together with Roxy here." He pointed to his left where she was talking, "and Harley and do something. Why, do you have an idea or something?" Colton was one of those guys that Riley could definitely see knowing what was going down during the weekend, and knowing himself and his friends they would want in on it.
"Uhh..." Toby looked a little lost. He wasn't really expecting to be addressed so suddenly, and having the events of a couple days ago brought up sent unpleasant memories coursing back through his mind. He sat up and cleared his throat, readjusting the bandage over his eye which had started to slip, showing the corner of what appeared to be a large gash across his forehead and over his left eyelid. "I guess so. I mean, are school years ever 'smooth'?" He laughed quietly to himself, looking just over Quinten's shoulder rather than directly at him. "Anyway, I dunno about being good at fighting, no matter how bad Marco is. I've been in a few fights in my lifetime... which is to say I've lost a few fights in my lifetime. Besides, Marco and I aren't even mad at each other or anything." Toby wasn't quite so sure about the last part. At least, he hoped that Marco wasn't cross with him for being kind of rude the other day. He hadn't acted like he was. Toby coughed harshly, once again instinctively fingering through his pocket for his inhaler even though he knew it wasn't there. He wondered if anyone in this room had a dog or something. That would explain his asthma acting up. Either way, it probably wasn't a big deal and he intended to ignore it as long as he possibly could. He turned his gaze back to the floor, occasionally glancing up at Quinten who seemed to be talking to someone else now. That 'someone else' he recognized as being Maria from Wednesday at the carnival. Funny how all those people he talked to happened to share homeroom with him, he thought, looking out the window with a slight wince of discomfort. @A Tattooed Girl
Marco flinched when Landon's hand went up for a high five, not fully processing what the other boy was going to do at first. It was a reaction he had to almost all sudden movements. Something that hadn't gone away since he was a child. Mentally shaking it off his goofy smile returned and he high five Landon. "Yea, Dylon will probably have to be the one to pick me up from the game, he is pretty cool, but don't talk about food. He is a chef at heart though he won't admit it." He chuckled knowing it was true. Dylan loved food so much he could name the ingredients in almost anything. One was in good hands if they were allergic to something with him since he would know if the food had even a trace of the allergen. He was that passionate. "Anyway, do you have any other plans for the weekend? I might head to the pool and get a few laps in. Swimming is a great full body workout. You are free to come if you would like, but don't expect to win in a race." His face turned a little red at the sight of the slightly freckled boy's smile. Landon had this charm about him that Marco almost couldn't resist. And he was just so nice on top of it. Some would say a sickeningly sweet kind of nice, but Marco liked people like that. He didn't have to worry about much from them.
Maria turned bright red, almost matching her hair, which, despite being naturally red, was dyed even more red, almost the same she as Ariel from The Little Mermaid. She couldn't believe he had actually heard her. She had said it so quietly that she was sure she couldn't have been heard. She was also a little embarrassed that she seemed to have interrupted a conversation between the boy that she had briefly met at the carnival. She couldn't quite remember his name. She felt bad for that. "Oh...sorry. I didn't mean to interrupt." She muttered not really knowing what else to say. "I'll just go back to my music, continue on." She felt stupid for even trying to talk to Quinten. She was sure he thought she hated him, and it didn't help that he was the one person she couldn't talk to normally. She glanced over at Marco for help but he seemed to be enthralled in his conversation with Landon. This made her smile a bit. She knew Landon had a crush on Marco at one point, and she was the only one who knew that Marco was Bisexual. She sure as hell was going to play match maker for the two, though honestly they seemed to be doing that themselves. She could always give them a little push though.
After a moment or two of watching her brother and Landon she glanced back at Toby, who seemed just as uncomfortable as she was speaking to Quinten. Though she knew it was for an completely different reason, it was then she remembered his name. Though she did decide to throw in a bit of input to the conversation of Toby fighting Marco. "Oh, by the way. Toby would win simply because Marco wouldn't fight back. Not unless there was good reason Marco is hates violence and stays out of it as much as possible." Her comment was more directed to the air and she didn't really look at the two boys when she spoke, but rather scribbled on her sheet music. She had managed to speak in a normal tone, mostly because she wasn't looking at, or directly speaking to Quinten. She really hoped he didn't notice the difference in her speech. Though she was sure he would.
