[IC] Delbrook Academy Senior Year

<sup>"Delbrook Academy of Long Beach, California - and, of course, home of the Rising Tides..!

Today we welcome back familiar faces to a new year, and with them, a new wave of students into the sandy halls of D.A. Whether you choose to spend your time rushing the field with our five-time National Championship lacrosse team - Go, mighty Tides..! - or rocking out in the quad to the sweet rhythm of the jazz band; with more than enough extracurricular sports, activities, and clubs on offer, you're sure to find the right place for you, surrounded by like-minded peers who, despite differences, come together to create a close-knit and welcoming community.

So now that's out of the way, let's get down to the four-one-one on how your first day at Delbrook is going to go.

Today is all about getting in the groove; and no, I don't just mean with the dance squad or the cheerleaders... No. Today is going to consist of familiarizing yourself or re-familiarizing for our returning tides, with the school. This morning you'll attend your homeroom, where you'll meet your classmates and teacher before heading to the auditorium where our mighty Poseidon - our principal, for those of you who might not know - will address the school and give us a brief rundown on what the new year is going to look like. But once that's done... light that bonfire, and get ready for a luau; because the sharks, along with our amazing seniors, have prepared one hell of a welcome home party for us all..! So be sure to head on out to the lacrosse field and check it out..! There are food trucks, carnival games, rides, and booths- make new friends, meet the clubs, and prove yourself a tide to be reckoned with. And why not..? After all; new year, new you, right?

Let's make this year our most memorable yet!

For Delbrook Academy; your resident chatty dolphin, signing off..!"
- Christina Monroe, ASB President</sup>

🌊 First Day of School: Senior Carnival
Pages 1 - N/A

🌊 Do You Party With The Devil?
🌊 It's Wednesday, my dudes!
🌊 -TBD-
🌊 Homecoming: London Calling

[Rightful Heir]

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______________________________________	______________________________________________________________________________________ Location: School's Front Gate → Lacrosse Field Festivities Interactions: Mother → Jory (security guard) → Brandon Murphy → Samantha Rhodes → Jaidyn Murphy OTD: ♛ ______________________________________________________________________________________

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It had been an hour since he arrived and he'd been about 8 minutes too late to sneak in the front gate. In his haste out of the house, he'd forgotten his school I.D. on his desk - and to make everything worse, the security guard who'd been responsible for breaking up most of the fights him and his cousin fought the year before was the one sitting at the gate desk this morning. If Carlos remembered correctly, the dude's name was Jordy - or something like that. Brody? Whatever. As easy as it would be for him to just go home and get the damn thing himself, the security guard insisted he couldn't let Carlos leave the school campus and had to instead call his mother to bring it to him. So there Carlos sat on the curb with his phone in his lap waiting for his mother to arrive. The sound of shuffling feet and the sounds of voices carrying over to him from behind the gate caught his attention, peaking over his shoulder to see a group of students filing into the 300 building. Just as the boy was turning back to face the street, he could see his mother's black Cadillac turning the corner before coming up the road. As she neared, Carlso stood himself up and dusted off his rear as he tucked his phone into his pocket, stepping down into the street when she pulled up beside him.

"Aquí tienes, mi amor." She held out his school I.D. by the lanyard to him, holding her free hand up against her forehead to shade her eyes from the sun as she squinted up at him.

"Thanks, mom." A quick glance over his shoulder at the security guard, Carlos' eyes came back around to meet his mother's. "Odio este pinche lugar."

"Aye! Language." After the boy muttered a quick apology, she simply nodded as she looked past her son at the man sitting at the gate desk. "It's one more year, mijo. Just get through it, mm?" She reached out and gently squeezed his arm before pulling back to roll the window up and drive off, leaving Carlos standing alone in the street. The boy stood there watching his mother's car pull around the corner at the opposite end of the school she came from until the car was out of sight, turning back towards the gate as he shuffled his way to the security guard's desk to hold up his I.D.

"A'my good to go in, now?" The boy's tone dripped with venom, he didn't care much if he came off as rude or disrespectful. The guard's eyes tilted up towards him, looking back and forth between the I.D. card and the boy a couple times before he sat back into his chair, folding his arms over his chest.

"You know you're late, right?" As much as Carlos was sure he was trying to hold it back, he could just barely make out a smirk tugging at the corners of the guy's lips. The boy's jaw clenched before dropping open slightly, his tongue pressing to the inside of his cheek before trailing the inner lining of his lower lip. Carlos closed his mouth shut just as he let out a hefty sigh through his nose, side-eying the guard with what could only be described as pure exasperation. You gotta be fucking kidding me.

"My mom's already gone, bro. What do you want me to do?!" The two stood there a few moments in a silent stand-off. The guard shifted in his seat before shaking his head, turning back to his monitor.

"I really don't appreciate your t-" Jory's voice was suddenly cut off by a familiar, booming voice behind Carlos.

"Ey Jory! I got this one, man. He's mine," the voice called out, firm hands clamping down on Carlos' shoulders before pushing him on through the doors. Carlos didn't even have to turn to know who it was that was manhandling him through the school gates and out of earshot of the other guard, a smirk covering his features as the tall, dark-haired young man came from behind Carlos to finally face him. ∞ Brandon Alexander Murphy. Bran shoved Carlos' shoulder playfully as he chuckled, folding his arms across his chest to stare at the boy before him.

"How've you been, shithead?"

"Was about to ask you the same thing, cabrón. Knew your middle brother came back but I didn't figure you would. The fuck you doin' here?"

"Oh, you know," Bran smirked, looking at some some girls passing down the hallway, flashing them a charming grin. "I'm just here for-"

"Look, I get it. I love the game too, man, but these are a bit too young for you. Mess with the wrong girl and you'll find yourself a one-way trip, Murphy."

Bran laughed, shaking his head as he brought his attention back to the boy before him. "Not here for girls. I just... when Jai told me he was going to come back to finish out his and Danny's senior year, I wanted to be sure they had backup if they needed it. Whether they know it, or care to admit it, I love 'em. I might be an asshole, but I'm a lovable one."

Carlos shook his head, "Yeah, I don't know about that bro," the boy laughed, peaking over at the clock that hung above the doorway into the offices to check the time, turning his eyes back on Brandon. "So you here for the year, or..?"

"Yeah," Bran, too, glanced at the clock a moment before pulling his phone out, his eyes widening slightly before his stance shifted. "Hey, look I gotta go. You'll see me around, I'm sure." Bran hit knuckles with Carlos before turning to walk off towards the 400 buildings, calling over his shoulder, "Try not to make a habit of being late from now on, eh?"

Carlos could only assume he'd gotten a message he wasn't happy about, or something. Maybe it was urgent. The boy shook his head at Bran's exit comment, turning to pull at the glass door that lead into the 300 building, taking the stairs to the second floor before rounding the corner before running smack dab into someone. Carlos stepped back and looked the girl over. She looked familiar. Loud girl, always had a camera around her neck. He couldn't remember her name, but he remembered her from the year before when she was a T.A. for the Spanish class he took with Ms. Goldman to get an easy A in a language class. The boy sighed softly, slipping past the girl with a gentle 'S'cuse me,' muttered just loud enough for her to hear. He was about to push his way through the second set of glass doors that lead across the bridge to the 900 building till he heard her voice call after him from behind.

"Carlos, right?"

Carlos turned to face the girl, his hand still holding onto the door's bar handle. "Santi, but yeah. That's me.. why?"

"Right. I remember you from last year. I heard Goldman call your name earlier when she was taking attendance. Don't bother going to the room, the class is down at the lacrosse field already." The girl turned and rounded the corner to head down the staircase, ultimately disappearing from sight. The boy nodded to himself as he pushed his way out of the glass doors before taking a hard right down the staircase, heading down the walkway beside the 300 building towards the auditorium and 800 building where he'd hang a left and head off towards the lacrosse field to join the rest of his class. As Carlos made it onto the field, he searched the immediate area for any familiar faces before pulling his phone out to type out a message to his best friend as he headed up into the bleachers to find a spot to sit down.

𝚂𝚑𝚒𝚝𝙱𝚒𝚛𝚍💩🐦 𝚂𝚊𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚊𝚐𝚘 - 𝚠𝚢𝚊 𝚑𝚘𝚎?

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______________________________________	______________________________________________________________________________________ Location: Lacrosse Field Festivities → Southern Momma's Funnel Cakes Interactions: A few friends (NPCs) OTD: ☬ ☬ ______________________________________________________________________________________

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Danny's mom always said the boy had a tape worm with as much as he could eat. The fact of the matter was, he wasn't outright starving, but he definitely could still eat. Having already eaten breakfast before he'd come to school this morning, it wasn't about to stop him from eating some good ol' carnival food. The smell of funnel cake was calling to him. Looking around, Danny finally spotted his best friend Damien and their friends Ruby, Brockton and Jace. Slipping past a few people, he stepped up beside his teammates with a small grin.

"Bran told me from his first day of his senior year they had a lot of good vendors. I doubt they changed the list very much in the last two years. You guys eat this morning, at all?"

"I could go with a bite to eat. Passed on breakfast for a few extra minutes of sleep. Totally worth it." Of course Damien did. Danny couldn't blame him, though. The boys had talked about how the last week had been rough for him getting to sleep at night. After having Sam over to sleep beside him all summer long, then reverting back to sleeping alone.. it'd been hard for D, and he wasn't afraid to admit it to Daniel. He missed his girlfriend. Danny, of course, could sympathize.

"I can't believe you'd skip breakfast, Damien. Hey, any specific recommendations from Brandon?"

Daniel shot a half-smile Ruby's way as he opened his mouth to speak but heard a familiar voice behind him, stopping himself as he peered over his shoulder. "Hey guys, getting ready to sign-up for everything? Heard there's a couple of new clubs that just started this year! There's a D&D club I'm really wanting to check out. Think that Foley girl is running it..?" Luke. Danny tilted his head up in greeting to the boy, noticing that his words were more directed to the Brockton and Jace before turning back to address Ruby. "Well, actu-" It was then Danny realized Jace had been saying something behind him in response to Ruby, but it wasn't until he could feel Jace shove into his shoulder that he really noticed him. "Come on, they gotta at least have some Memphis Barbeque, right..?"

Danny rolled his eyes and laughed, reaching over to shove back at the other boy. "Can you give me a damn minute and I'll tell ya!" He shook his head, smirking as he glanced around at his friends that were now surrounding him.

"Hey." Daniel peaked over his shoulder to see Theo had joined the group, shooting a smile and a peace sign up at the boy. "Hey man," he spoke in quick greeting before turning back to Ruby to address her question as the group pushed through the other seniors on the field.

"Brandon always goes for turkey legs and the deep-fried Oreos when we go to any carnival. Personally, if I can find a food truck that does funnel cakes? I'm set. A turkey leg does sound pretty good, though." Danny side-eyed Jace, raising a brow at the boy. "And yes, they have a barbecue truck."

Daniel took a look around, his eyes grazing over all of the club booths as they migrated past them. 'Wonder who's working Sawyer's club booth,' he thought to himself. He probably got some Junior to work it for him while he fooled around and ate his heart out. That boy was definitely food-motivated. When food was involved, it was like he had tunnel-vision. Though, Danny couldn't judge. As he caught a whiff of what he was pretty sure was funnel cake, his stomach rumbled furiously. His eyes scanned over the crowd of kids at the number of food trucks lined up along the back fence of the field, smiling as he landed on a small black trailer with orange signs and red lettering. Southern Momma's Funnel Cakes. 'Funnel cakes. Lemonade. Deep-fried Oreos'. 'Yes.'

It seemed everyone else was busy making their own decisions on what they wanted to do while Daniel's mind was already made. He slipped his way through the crowds till he was standing in the line at Southern Momma's Funnel Cakes, preoccupied with the menu as he looked it over with a small smile pulling at the corners of his lips. There really wasn't a point in looking the menu over. The boy knew what he wanted. Classic funnel cake with powder and fresh strawberries on the side. None of that fake strawberry syrup bullshit. That stuff always ruined it for him.

[LostDestiny]

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_{Location: Home -> Delbrook Academy
Interactions:}

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The twins had arrived at the school together as they had for their entire lives. Though Marco had almost made the two of them late. He hadn’t wanted to leave his bed and it had been a fight to actually get him up and moving. A fight Maria was, of course used to, much to her annoyance. Though their almost tardiness didn’t matter too much today since the beginning of the day would be spent at the Carnival.

Marco pulled his sister along to one of the many food trucks, deciding he wanted pretzels and she would be coming with him. Not that she really had plans to do anything else, though she kept an eye out for their friends as he pulled her along. It was hard to find anyone in this crowd of people, if they wanted to find anyone they would probably have to text them.

“We should have messaged everyone and come up with a meeting plan before all this started.” The female redhead muttered, her statement falling on deaf ears.

“Hm?” Marco questioned, having clearly not been paying any attention to his sister, who rolled her eyes.

“You really are useless, you know that? Should we text Danny and see where he is at, maybe we can get everyone together.” She suggested only to have Marco, who after receiving the pretzels he wanted, proceeded to stuff his face like he hadn’t eaten a huge stack of pancakes this morning, all the while shaking his head no. He finally managed to swallow.

“Nah we can find them, or they will text us, what’s the matter, don't want to hang out with just your brother?” He teased her before taking another big bite of his pretzel.

Maria rolled her eyes. “What, the fact that we live together isn’t enough time for you? I'll wait till you have finished stuffing your face and if we haven’t found them by then I am sending Danny a message. Nobody else needs to watch you unhinge your jaw like a snake to shovel pretzels in your face…” Her last statement earned her a hurt look from her brother, even though he nodded in agreement, though probably not to the snake comment. At least this would give everyone time to get food if they wanted and then they could hit some of the rides. But she was going to go crazy if it was just her and Marco the whole time. She needed the buffer of the group, or she might end up becoming an only child.

[Vicier]

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___________________________________ C O L L A B O R A T I O N B E T W E E N ∞ Tanith Aine Foley | @Vicier ∞ Allister Hugo Demoin | @LostDestiny L O C A T I O N ∞ Delbrook Academy | Lacrosse Field A C T I V I T Y ∞ First Day | Welcome Back Carnival ___________________________________ ___________________________________ I N T E R A C T I N G W I T H ∞ Each other S P E C I A L M E N T I O N S ∞ Davina Devereaux | @Wolf Mother ∞ Riley Revels | @Apoalo ___________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________ D E L B R O O K A C A D E M Y | F I R S T D A Y - W E C O M E B A C K C A R N I V A L Tanith’s arms working their way up the length of her body, it was only after she’d laced her fingers together that she was rewarded with the soft, satisfying ‘pops’ and ‘clicks’ of her joints expelling the little air bubbles trapped between them. Assembly’s. Gods, she hated them. They were just so long, and monotonous, and the majority of the time, they really had nothing of value to anyone other than a select few. And she was very rarely included in that few category, she honestly didn’t see the point anymore. Hands breaking apart, causing her arms to flop back down to her sides as she gave her back a break, satisfied now that she had finished cracking it, the young redhead cast a quick glance around. And hands drawing together, she gave very little attention to her flannel. Tightening it around her waist as she rounded the corner, wandering out into the fresh air and sunlight of the lacrosse field side by side with one of her three best friends. Allister Demoin. Where Dav and Revels were, she had no idea. Her phone hadn’t gone off in a few hours, but bets were both were off doing things for their various clubs. She couldn’t help but to scrunch her features up slightly at the thought that she should probably be doing the same. "You know I actually have responsibilities at this thing this year..?" Closing what little gap was between them, there was no hesitation in the girl's actions as she snaked her arm around his back. And making herself comfortable at his side, slipped her hand down into the back pocket of his (no doubt designer) jeans, "Got my own booth and everything. Guess I should probably swing by it at some point, huh..?" Allister’s eyes were scanning the crowd of students milling about before they eventually landed back on Tanith as she put her hand in his pocket. His own arm naturally moved to wrap around her shoulders. He, admittedly had not been paying full attention to Tan when she started talking but his brain managed to put enough of it together to formulate a response. “You and I both know you would rather spend all your time hanging out with me rather than standing around at a boring booth. That is, after all, what you have lower classmen for.” He winked at her and smiled continuing on his path which, admittedly, was to one of the food vendors. He had left the house this morning without eating since he ended up waking up late. At that point he was already committed to picking up Tanith and he was not about to cancel on her. So, knowing there would be food he opted to not eat. Not that he would tell his companion that, as far as she was concerned he was simply still hungry. “Though I suppose if you really have to swing by the booth I guess I have no choice than to come with you. You know, to make sure you don’t get too bored and or lonely.” He ran his free hand through his hair as he teased his friend. He knew she had other friends she could talk to, but that wasn’t going to stop him from bothering her as long as he possibly could. “But after I get myself a funnel cake or a pretzel or something. I want some carnival food. If you want anything it’s my treat.” He knew she would probably argue with him about spending money on her but he didn’t care. He was going to do it anyway and she really couldn’t stop him. The sound of Tanith’s laughter got lost in the crowd around them, she couldn’t help but roll her eyes. And really, the boy had a point. Unless they were really diligent, the majority of Seniors running clubs had blown off responsibility by putting underclassmen in charge of running their booths. And they both knew she was certainly no exception to that. "Well, I mean… till this year, I wasn’t running DnD as an ‘official’ club. Just a hobby for those who were interested. Dunno how the others talked me into it; but payback is they can run the booth while you and I stuff our faces." Tongue poking out from between her lips, Tanith was more than willing, and used to at this point, Allister taking the lead. Allowing him to move her in whichever direction suited him in the moment, though as the smell of food washed over her, she gave it her attention. Not so much as bothering to argue with him on matters of money as she took a moment to eye off the menu, "Ooo… might take you up on a funnel cake. I’m starving. All ready to cook breakfast this morning, and my phone starts ringing. Next thing I know, I’m sitting at the table, drinking a coffee, while your mother ‘reminds’ me that I have to make a good impression for Senior year, so I should dress to impress." Allister’s jaw tightened at the mention of his mother calling Tanith. It was one thing for her to put her unrealistic standards on him, but he hated that she did it to Tan also. “Sorry about her…” He muttered through gritted teeth. He had thought he heard her going on about keeping up standards and 'dressing to impress' but he hadn’t realized that she would be so bold as to try to control other people’s kids too. “Yea, I can get you a funnel cake, I think there is a vendor this way.” He turned in the direction of the stall. He was abnormally quiet as they stood in line. His brow was creased in thought, before finally he spoke again. “We can end this fake thing we have anytime you want. If my folks get to be too much, just say the word and I’ll pull the plug.” It hadn’t been the first time he had reminded her of this and it wouldn’t be the last. The two of them had decided to pretend to date to get Al’s parents off his back. They hated that he used to bring a different random girl to various public functions, told him it made him look like a sleaze and wasn’t good for the 'brand' so he’d decided to just start asking Tanith to come with him. Which was when his parents got the idea that they were together, and the two of them just went with it. Allister kind of felt bad subjecting her to his family, but at the same time, at least he didn’t have to deal with them alone. “Anyway! What do you want to order? Anything you want, milady.” He winked at her obviously trying to change the subject so he didn’t bring the mood down. Already having opened her mouth to respond, Tanith instead ended up closing it. Lips pursed slightly. He was, as usual, trying to change the subject. And she could understand why. This was a conversation they’d had before- it was one they’d had a few times over. And each time, the result was the same. If she could help him out by getting his parents off his back, even for a little. Yeah. Then it wasn’t even a question. Letting it go, however, Tanith allowed herself to be distracted by the menu hung up beside the vendor they were currently queuing in front of. Her sparkling blues roaming over the words written, there were a few moments of played up, intense thought before, eventually, she turned her gaze back to him. A warm smile breaking out over her features, "Classic funnel cake. All the way. .. at least to start." A smirk spread across his lips. “To start, you say? What makes you think the offer stands after the first purchase?” He teased, though he had no intention of letting her spend her own money after she told him his mother pestered her. If they were going to give Tan a hard time he was going to spend their money on her. Was no skin off his back. They finally got to the front of the line and he ordered both of them their funnel cakes. He ended up just copying Tanith, because he honestly hadn’t been looking at the menu, and whereas normally he wouldn’t have had a problem holding up the line, he knew his companion would tell him to stop being a prick. “Care to find a place to sit? Perhaps the bleachers where it’s mostly empty and all the inferior beings can look upon our superiority?” He was mostly joking… mostly. Al did like to stand out after all. He pointed to a spot that was mostly clear, more or less leading her toward it, unless she objected. "Mm..? Nghmm…" The food hadn’t been in her hands for more than a few seconds before Tanith was biting down into the sweet, gooey goodness that was fried pastry smothered in banana slices, and drizzled rather liberally with caramel topping. The mere taste was enough to have her eyes rolling back into her head, while from behind her sealed lips came a notable moan of satisfaction. Orgasms in general were good; food orgasms though... they just hit different. Once more happy to follow her feet, her body giving no resistance as he turned it to whatever direction he wanted to go in, Tanith didn’t seem to really register where they were until it was too late. And climbing a few rungs up the bleachers, she took a seat. A single leg folding up underneath her as she turned to face him. Giving the all too familiar field her profile as she chuckled, "Careful, Ali-boy… your ego is showing." Rolling his eyes as he chuckled. “My ego always shows doll, it’s part of my charm. Helps me pull the ladies. After all, women like a man who knows his worth. Worked with you, right?” He sat down beside her when he got to where he wanted to sit and took a bite of the carnival food that was now in his lap. “Do you need to check on your booth after this? I was serious when I said if I had too I would go sit over there with you… just make sure nobody thinks I am into your nerdy shit.” He glanced over at her knowing he would probably get smacked for that one, even though she knew he was mostly joking. “If not then I say we find some rides, or something to go on. If I’m forced to be here I might as well have some fun.” He honestly would have skipped the first day entirely if he hadn’t agreed to pick Tanith up. He also would have attempted to convince her to skip as well if he wasn’t already aware that she had a booth set up for her club. He would rather be asleep at the beach house, which was where he would have gone after leaving the house to “go to school”, than be here at the school, but it seemed he couldn’t say no to the redhead that sat beside him moaning at funnel cake. "Rides. Hands down. My vote is on rides- or games. I wanna see you try an’ win me a stuffed teddy." The bridge of her nose wrinkling lightly, Tanith’s tongue slipped playfully out from between her lips. Though it was only for a few moments before it was gone. Disappearing back into her mouth, as she drew the food back up and took another bite. Eliciting another moan, however this one was not quite as long. ".. Mm…." Pausing, hand falling away from her make-shift breakfast, she brought the back of her knuckles against her lips. Using her hand to cover her mouth long enough that she was able to finish what she was currently eating, before lowering it, and the rest of her funnel cake, down to her lap, ".. like you said, I got underclassmen to work the booth. We can just dip through later to see how things are going, Besides… if they really need me, they have my number." “Rides and maybe some games, you know they are all mostly scams though right? And the prizes are actually ass in terms of quality.” He didn’t know where his hatred for carnival games came from. Maybe it was simply because they had them at the scare attraction he worked during Halloween so he knew how trash they were. He honestly wasn’t sure. He just knew if she really wanted a 'Stuffed Teddy' as she called it he could get her a much better quality one for far less effort. He supposed she simply wanted to watch him struggle at the games that were pretty much rigged from the start. He took another bite of his cake and squinted at Tanith. “Tan, if you don’t stop making those noises at your food I am going to lose it…” He scanned her body briefly with his classic smirk. He would, in fact, not lose it, and they both knew it but still it was fun to give her a hard time. Tongue working its way into her cheek, Tanith’s brow arched. Her piercing gaze locked with his, almost as though she were sizing him up, though after a moment, she began to shift. Both legs drawing up to cross underneath her as she grew more comfortable, it was only once she was settled, facing him, that she leant herself forward. And making the gap between them smaller, lifted the food back to her lips. Giving a show of taking yet another bite, the moan purposefully louder and more drawn out than before as she maintained their eye contact. ".. Nghnn… so good…" Allister couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Could you be any more of a brat while you are at it?” He whispered to her now that she was so much closer to him. He was egging her on at this point, his eyes locked with hers. But his hand reached to grab a piece of her funnel cake while she was distracted. He quickly pulled a piece off with his fork and shoved it in his own mouth before she could stop him. “Wow, yours is so much better than mine, no wonder you’re moaning so loud, I get it now.” He chuckled softly and stuck his tongue out at her before sliding back a bit to get some distance once more, mostly to protect his own fried and sugared treat from being seized in a similar manner. "Ah..! Rude much..!" Tanith’s mouth fell open, and flicking a hand out, it was with a light ‘smack’ that she playfully backhanded his chest. The corners of her lips playing in a smirk as she once more lifted her food from her lap. Already getting ready to take another bite, "Fucking dick. You are so lucky that I love you…"

[AlteredTundra]

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______________________________________	______________________________________________________________________________________ Location: Home Interactions: Buzzkill McGee (Malu - NPC) ______________________________________________________________________________________

^{______________________________________________________________________________________________________________}

”Kyle, breakfast!” Malu, Kyle Vass’ younger sister of two years called for her brother, angry feet going up each step, turning a corner as she made a beeline for her idiot older brother’s room. “Dumbass! I said it’s breakfast time!” Not having any respect for whether or not he was still asleep, but knowing her brother like she did, he was. The turquoise-colored door flung open, slamming against the wall behind it.

But to the surprise of the younger Vass girl, Kyle wasn’t here.

“Seriously? He’s up before seven?”

As a genuinely shocked Malu was about to exit the typically messy pig pen her brother called a room, curiosity and her typical nosey personality took over as she looked around, going to the window and she saw Kyle going for a swim.

“HEY KYE KYE!”

As Kyle was mid-jump into the pool in the Vass home backyard, he heard that godawful name and immediately rushed up above the water. “Maluuuuuu! Come join me for a quick swim before school!” Kyle did the backstroke, shirtless a she always was during swims (and generally he always wore no shirt while at home), he swam with very little care.

And that’s always been the flow of Kyle’s life. Like the backstroke, he never was the type to care much about anything that didn’t bring him joy. He loved his sister, but she was a buzzkill sometimes. And so very vulgar. It was so shocking how someone with such a big brain could be such a big pain in his ass. He didn’t want to let that ruin his vibes, though. Kyle loved to look at every positive of every situation that came his way. Waking up before seven was just one of them.

Oh, he hated waking up so early, but what really made it worth it was being able to catch a swim right before school. Had he woken up an hour earlier, then of course, Kyle may have been able to venture to the beach and really do what he loved.

Surfing and food were among two of many things that brought him joy, but as long as he was able to be near water, no matter how chemically-based they were, he’d take advantage of it.

Kyle got out of the pool, grabbing the towel that was on the sidewalk, near where he exited from, he dried most of his body off. It took him an extra few moments to get his silky hair completely dry and an additional half minute to completely dry his lean body and hairless legs (Kyle liked to shave). As soon as she finished, he saw his sister walk his way with that typical nasty expression on her face.

“Why so sour, little sister?” He asked, bearing a smile, proving yet again he was the complete opposite to his little sister.

“Did you not even hear me earlier?” As Kyle shook his head, Malu sighed with great frustration. “Breakfast. Now.”

He thought about joking around, but she had him at breakfast. That swim he just took had worked up quite an appetite. “Well, why didn’t you say so?"

Malu was seconds away from smacking Kyle over the head, but before he could, Kyle tossed her his damp towel and ran towards the house. He knew exactly what was for breakfast: rice, some steamed salmon, and fried eggs. If there was anything his parents knew how to do the best way possible, it was making the best breakfast every day. Whether it was on a rainy day, which in Long Beach, really didn’t matter much because it was hardly like most places, or now on a late summer morning when he had worked up quite the appetite, Kyle was going to pig out to the point his sister would likely kick him in his exposed shin.

One was not like the other.

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^{Location: Delbrook Academy - Homeroom, then fredommmmmm!
Interactions: The Castillo Twins! @LostDestiny
OTD: ♛}

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“Freeeeedommmmm!” Kyle called as loud as he could.

As he left homeroom, he didn’t think that torture would ever end. He had the shortest attention span, especially after he heard that there was going to be a carnival. And with food trucks galore.

God, he loved this school so much.

Eyes as wide as they could go given…well physics (not that Kyle ever absorbed as much as left him whenever Malu tried to tudor him). He ran his way to the lacrosse field and, if there was ever a moment where Kyle Vass would become like a real-life anime character, this would be the time. As food-obsessed as he can be most of the time, there was just something so cathartic of looking at the rows (or was it lines?) of food trucks all around. School could be hell, but right now, Kyle felt like he was in heaven.

For a few minutes, Kyle roamed around. He didn’t have any specific direction or interest he was aiming to go for, or at least not right now. He felt overwhelmed by a lot. By the games. By the food trucks. By the people. Not overwhelmed in a bad way, though. Actually, he was enjoying himself a great deal. Kyle loved things like this. He didn’t go to carnivals a lot. Whether that was due to the amount of surfing he did both for the surfing team and his own personal pleasure or the amount of time spent filming stuff for Tik Tok and his Youtube account, Kyle didn’t have enough free time. But he always made it for his friends.

Wait, speaking of. “Where is the gang? Soy? Maria? Marco? Oh, Danny too!” Kyle said out loud, thinking as he always did…out loud. He looked around and around and around. And his head was spinning right round to the point where he had to take in a few deep breaths. “Focus, Kyle. Focus.”

He’ll just text them.

Taking his phone out of his pocket, Kyle was going to text them, but then he saw a couple of them by one of the food trucks. The one that was apparently selling pretzels. “That’s a good place to start!” He didn’t have a plan yet, but Kyle was going to do a tour of all his favorite foods: fried and baked stuff with cheese and grease. Pretzels would be the first on that agenda.

As he ran over, which for him wasn’t an issue. Kyle liked to run. With his long legs, he cleared a great distance with relative ease. “Yooooooo!” He called out, waving an excited arm at the gingersnaps! “M-Squared! How’s it hanging!” As always, Kyle was grinning widely at them. “I was literally about to text everyone in the gc and then I saw you two! I’m so happy!”

[Rightful Heir]

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___________________________________ 𝙲 𝙾 𝙻 𝙻 𝙰 𝙱 𝙾 𝚁 𝙰 𝚃 𝙸 𝙾 𝙽 𝙱 𝙴 𝚃 𝚆 𝙴 𝙴 𝙽 ⊁⊁⊁ Sawyer Lockwood | @Her Hiraeth ⊁⊁⊁ Eretria Simmons | @Vicier 𝙻 𝙾 𝙲 𝙰 𝚃 𝙸 𝙾 𝙽 ⊁⊁⊁ Delbrook Academy | Lacrosse Field 𝙰 𝙲 𝚃 𝙸 𝚅 𝙸 𝚃 𝚈 ⊁⊁⊁ First Day | Welcome Back Carnival ___________________________________ ___________________________________ I N T E R A C T I N G W I T H ⊁⊁⊁ Each other S P E C I A L M E N T I O N S ⊁⊁⊁ Daniel Murphy | @Her Hiraeth ___________________________________

____________________________________________________________________________ 𝙳 𝙴 𝙻 𝙱 𝚁 𝙾 𝙾 𝙺 𝙰 𝙲 𝙰 𝙳 𝙴 𝙼 𝚈 | 𝙵 𝙸 𝚁 𝚂 𝚃 𝙳 𝙰 𝚈 𝙱 𝙰 𝙲 𝙺 | 𝚂 𝙴 𝙽 𝙸 𝙾 𝚁 𝙲 𝙰 𝚁 𝙽 𝙸 𝚅 𝙰 𝙻 Sawyer slowly cracked the locker room door open, peaking around the corner and off down the corridor to make sure the coast was clear. A boyish grin crossed his features as he reached back behind him, searching for Eretria's hand, lacing their fingers together once he found it. If they were quick, they'd be able to slip right in with the crowd and blend in with the masses that were heading off towards the lacrosse field. "Come on," the boy muttered, flashing his smile at the girl he was sneaking about with. Catching her eyes out of the corner of his brought a bit of color to his face before he turned back as they fell in with the other students, following the smell of funnel cake, kettle corn, turkey legs, barbeque, and many more amazing foods. It was enough to make Sawyer's stomach growl quite loud, though the sound was lost among the ruckus around them. Soy carefully switched hands with his best friend, pulling his phone out of his back pocket to check texts as they walked out onto the lacrosse field. 𝙳𝚊𝚗𝚗𝚢𝙱𝚘𝚢 - 𝙷𝚎𝚢 𝚍𝚞𝚍𝚎, 𝚠𝚎'𝚛𝚎 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚏𝚒𝚎𝚕𝚍 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢. 𝙶𝚘𝚗𝚗𝚊 𝚐𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚐𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚜𝚘𝚖𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚗𝚗𝚎𝚕 𝚌𝚊𝚔𝚎😜 Sawyer chuckled softly, shaking his head as he stuffed his phone back where he'd pulled it from. "Seems as though the boys are on the hunt for some food, so... uhm," Soy slowly pushed his way through the crowd till the two teenagers made it to the side of the foot traffic, turning to her as he spoke up again. "Have you eaten this morning..? Or-.. Do you need to meet up with the girls. I-I remember you saying something about needing to meet up with them sometime today." Out of every lesson she'd learnt throughout her life thus far, there were three in particular that she found were invaluable. First was to always wear a pair of shorts underneath your dress or cheer uniform- she'd learnt that one the hard way. Second was to always have a comfortable pair of shoes on standby whenever you wore heels for long periods of time. Because it didn't matter who you were; breaking in heels was a nightmare, and blisters were, and always would be, a bitch. The third..? A small smirk dancing across her glossed lips, Eretria's soft laugh was lost practically to all but the boy she was closely pressed against. The gentle sound warm, and as he switched hands, she couldn't help but lace their fingers together. Giving his hand a comforting squeeze while he took the time to read through messages that he'd missed while the two of them had been together. Barely a few hours into their first day of school, and already, the two of them were having trouble keeping their hands to themselves- sneaking around... having a bit of fun. Whether it set a precedent for how the remainder of the year was going to be, she wasn't sure. But she also wasn't complaining. Lesson three, after all, was if you had the opportunity to have fun with the one you loved... take it. Shaking her head lightly, the bottom of her pony tail brushed over her back, and as Sawyer turned to face her, Tria responded in kind by drawing herself even closer to the boy, ".. The girls have waited all summer; it's not gonna kill them to wait a few more hours. Besides... I'm starving and that cotton candy over there looks really good." The boy's face scrunched up in playful disgust. Cotton candy. ...not as bad as candy corn or black licorice. but it was still up there. "Well.. okay then. Let's go waste some money on some sticky, sugary air!" Sawyer laughed, walking over to the vendor nearest them that was selling cotton candy, looking around at everything surrounding them as they waited in line. The boy's head whipped around as he got shoved slightly by someone passing by, glaring at the back of their head before turning his attention back to Eretria with a shake of his head. "And yet, people wonder why I hate people.." A slight part working itself between the seam of her lips, Eretria's soft gaze followed after the figure that had rudely pushed their way past. Watching, for a moment, as they took off, once more disappearing into the thrum of the crowd. Okay, so yeah... the lacrosse field was busy. Really busy. But what did people expect..? It was always like this when it came to the welcome back carnival. That wasn't exactly an excuse to simply act like an asshole. Shaking her head lightly, even after having heard his words, Tria turned back around to Sawyer. Her touch was light and comforting as she brought her hand to his shoulder. Softly rubbing at the place he'd been his, ".. Forget about them. It's probably just some Freshman who has yet to have the reality of high school set in. It's our first day of Senior year, let's try and enjoy it. Please..?" Her head drew to a light tilt, and the small, playful pout worked its way over her lips, she reached up to lightly poke at the corner of his with the tip of her pointer. Sawyer smirked a bit, looking down at her finger poking at the corner of his lip before drawing his eyes up to hers. A soft chuckle escaped him before he spoke. "Tria, I'm good." The boy gently urged her to step back as the line moved up, seeing that they were next he decided to fish his wallet from his pocket. Looking at the menu on the side of the trailer, there were quite a few tasty items on the menu that had Soy's mouth-watering, though what he really wanted wasn't listed. They'd have to go to a different vendor to get the barbeque he was after. "Meant to ask... what classes did you get this year?" ".. Uhh... on top of cheer and tutoring, I'm taking mythology and photography - yes again. Don't roll your eyes, I love photography." Eretria couldn't help the way her own eyes rolled at the boy. Her delicate features scrunched up playfully, and as her hand fell away from his face, she instead used it to give his chest a light backhanded tap. So she'd taken photography almost every year since freshman year; so what..? It just meant that she really enjoyed the class, "I'm also taking school yearbook, early childhood education, and works of Shakespeare. What about you..? What classes are you taking this year..?" Even though he was told not to, the boy couldn't help the eye roll that followed the mention of photography class. A soft smile tugged at the corner of his lips as he looked down at her. It wasn't like he would ever make fun of her for taking the class - even if it was for the fourth year in a row - he knew she loved the hobby more than anything, and I mean, if you can take a class you enjoy that isn't gonna torture you for the entire year... go for it, right? "Talk about an overachiever." Sawyer smiled wider, poking at her side playfully. "Well, I'm taking..." the boy made a face as he fished out the folded-up piece of paper with his schedule typed out on it, his smile shifting to a rather shy one as he'd already forgotten his schedule. "So, besides Lacrosse and Dance... obviously. I have Algebra 3-4, Chemistry, Latin, English 4.. and lastly Sociology. Dav and Danny got in, as well." ".. Obviously." Her soft chuckle filling the air as she made to tease, Eretria's interest was piqued, however, even before he'd managed to get through the remainder of his sentence. And holding his gaze with her own, curiosity burning behind them, she gave a light tilt of her head, "You're taking Latin this year..? I thought you said something about wanting to take Japanese..?" A small smile pulled at the corner of his lips. She'd remembered he'd wanted to take Japanese even though he probably only talked about it once, maybe twice. Strictly for cosplay purposes, and the fact that watching animes would be a helluva lot cooler if he could watch the original versions and not the English-dubbed versions. The boy shrugged lightly and rubbed at the back of his neck, staring off at nothing in particular as the words fell from his mouth softly. "Eh, I tried. The spots got filled quick, and I didn't get in. So my I got my backup class. I mean, it's all good though. You can help me when my stupid brain can't figure shit out," the boy chuckled, giving the girl a wink and a playful grin.

[Apoalo]

^{Location: Tanith's House -> School -> Lacrosse Field}

^{Interactions: None, Mentions: @Her Hiraeth, Tanith}

Wha?! Was that the sun? Oh, right. Riley Revels, a seventeen-year-old senior and musical savant, suddenly shot up and blurrily looked around. Absently, and blindly, he began searching for his phone which was lost somewhere in the tousled blankets and sheets. "Ughhrghh." Came the unintelligent sounds of a teenager first waking up, and finally, a hand made contact with the phone, and with a press of a button Riley's eyes widened as the time was brought up in the blocky white text. "Fuuuck." And with that exclamation, the relatively slow wake-up became a dead sprint. Riley jumped out of the borrowed bed and made his way over to the drawer that his clothes were on. He grabbed something simple before rushing into the bathroom and starting a shower. As the water was warming Riley randomly started one of his Playlists and blasted it.

The shower was quick, and Riley was ready in record time. He came downstairs, eyes searching for Tanith, and frowned when he didn't see her, or any sign that she was there. "Tan? Tanith? I thought you were making breakfast?!" He chuckled to himself and shrugged as he grabbed a bowl and some cereal and then proceeded to speed eat while looking over some of his compositions. "You owe me breakfast Tan." He mumbled through a half-full mouth. When he was finished he made sure to wash his bowl and spoon then put everything back exactly where it came from, grabbed his keys, and then ran out to his car.

Traffic. Was. Terrible. Riley, having run slightly late despite his rushing, got stuck on the way. So, he made the most of it. If he was going to be late, it might as well be worth it.

He ended up being fifteen minutes late. It wasn't anywhere near as bad as it could've been but still. He was late. He quickly parked in the Senior lot and then made his way to a particular security posting. "Alan? Hey! My favorite Security Officer. Have a good summer?" Alan, who was looking down at a schedule smirked and then looked up.

"Mr. Revels, already filling up those tardies?" There was mirth in his eyes though as the man eyed the cinnamon roll and large coffee that had suddenly been placed before him. "Bribery eh? I guess some things never change." He trailed off and then made a gesture to move on in with his head. "Straight to the band room, and if you're caught I know nothing." And with that, the guard chuckled again and began unwrapping the sticky sweet treat.

"Thanks, Alan!" Riley called as he sprinted into the school grounds proper. He waited for the first bell and then snuck into the band room, going through the instrument hall to avoid being spotted, and then entering the office where the band staff did their work. Finally relaxing, Riley brought out his composition and began doing what he did, and loved best. Creating music. His current orchestration was a reimagining of the How to Train your Dragon music.

He was just finishing up the final edits to the overture when he heard someone entering the room and looked up to see one of the staff peering at him with surprise. "Day one? Really? You know you can't do this every day right?" Riley gave a nod and held up his work.

"I just HAD to finish this overture, it wouldn't go away in my head." The staff member took a single glance at the work and couldn't help the impressed look that came over his face.

"Just don't make it a habit Riley. Free periods, lunch, before school, and AFTER school is already plenty of time. Now, I suggest you move yourself to the auditorium for the assembly currently being held."

"Assembly? Ohhh crap, right. I'm on it. Thank you!" He called again over his shoulder. He gave a wave to the Choral and Orchestra directors and then ran to the auditorium. He slid himself into the very back row of seats and once again shook his head. Late at the start meant a butterfly effect of trying to catch back up.

But an opportunity to do just that was about to present itself. As the Principal began to wrap up his speech, Riley slipped out and went ahead and made his way down to the Lacrosse field.

He waited just a moment so it wasn't too obvious he had come early and then grabbed a few snacks and a drink before climbing up into the bleachers and started claiming territory. He spread out his work, making sure it was secure and wouldn't blow away in any wind. He also made sure to save a spot for Tanith and anyone else that wanted to spend their time listening to various bits of music over and over with only slight variations.

Finally. He could relax.

[Apoalo]

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______________________________________	______________________________________________________________________________________ Location:Home -> School -> Carnival. Interacting With: Marco Costello, Maria Costello @LostDestiny ______________________________________________________________________________________

The house was on fire, barely seen through the smog but on fire nonetheless. Screams could be heard from all around, some Landon knew but many were just unknown. He stood in the hallway of his old house in England surrounded by police, his mother, his father, and his brothers. Even Marco was here standing beside him, the boy who currently owned Landon's heart. Women and men ran through the entrance, panic from all around, some being chased by figures shrouded in darkness. None of these people's features could be made out and Landon felt terror in his heart, but also determination. He needed to protect his family! He rushed forward and shouted an order to get out of the house, with himself forming the wedge point towards the floor. It was hard to move but the group crashed into the opening. But the doorway was locked and wouldn't open. Terrible cries of "Help! We're trapped! LANDON!” Landon did what he could, pounding at the doorway and kicking at it, but it refused to give in. Giving it up as futile, Landon maneuvered his family and friends behind himself, facing the incoming flames alone. Boiling temperatures assaulted his skin, and he let out a yell before unconsciously moving backward. He turned to expect to see everyone else still trying to get out but all he saw was a single mask-clad man holding a pistol. With a deep voice filled with malice and hate the man spoke. ” You failed Landon, everyone is dead because of you. You couldn't save your parents. You won't be able to save anyone. You. Are. Pathetic." A loud gunshot rings out followed by screaming, the same that Landon had heard all those years ago. The screams of his parents.

Landon awoke with a start, chest heaving and eyes wild. He glanced around his room and jumped up as if he had just been scalded. The walls, filled with various posters, didn’t seem to have any answers, and other than his breathing, all was quiet. Instantly, Landon controlled his breathing so he didn't end up having a panic attack and used the techniques his therapist has taught him to calm himself down. He gave an exhausted sigh and slumped back onto his bed, sprawling across it and staring up at the ceiling. His eyes closed and his breathing slowly settled down before he shook his head and groaned, wishing he knew the time. It didn’t really matter, but he was trying to get a number on how much sleep he has gotten over the weekend. With the start of school came the nightmares. Doctor Winslow, his therapist, had told him that it was the stress of a new year mingling with his fears of someone else he cared about getting hurt. This of course made sense, but Landon wished that said nightmares would be more considerate and at least let him get a few hours of sleep in. Now functioning normally, for the most part, Landon clicked his phone and groaned when he saw how early it was. It couldn't be helped though, and Landon knew that he would be unable to get back to sleep even if he tried. So, instead, the soon-to-be Senior stood and dressed in some workout clothes and silently made his way through his home. It had taken Landon some time to actually be able to call it that, his Aunt and Uncle's house had been seen as nothing more than a cheap replacement, a sick joke that the world had played on him. Even more so when his mother's belongings were shipped there and his Uncle placed some of them around. But Landon had come far, and now as he tiptoed into the kitchen and spotted the cookie jar from his early childhood he just gave a soft smile. He patted the top of the jar and then left through the kitchen door, which was the most silent exit. He locked it back behind him and then turned and quickly sighed.

It was morning, that time when you can just tell that night is ending and yet the darkness clung to the existence, trying to remain for as long as possible before the sun eradicated it. But, inevitably the light would come and the birds knew it as they began to softly chirp and wake up in preparation for another long day. Landon began to stretch, yawning as he did so. A morning run was exactly what he needed. He started off in a jog around the house and then after that circle, he entered the sidewalks properly. The world was slowly coming to life, and Landon let a smile across his face. It was his favorite time of day, the time when the world became aware once again and the animals started getting restless after a long night of quiet and relative stillness. Cars lazily drifted by him, a far cry from the constant roar that would come in a few short hours. Early birds, or perhaps some people like him struggled to get sleep sometimes and needed a morning drive. All in all, the morning was a time of serenity and peace, life just going about things as normal and if Landon was forced to pick a time out of the day to last forever it would be now. He passed by the spires of the local cathedral and headed for his now usual running spot. It was a road consisting of two different hills with a flat spot in between.

Before he knew it he had run five ‘laps’, consisting of going down and back up the hill and his breathing was becoming heavier and heavier. He could keep going, but for a simple exercise, he didn’t need to exhaust himself as he knew the rest of the day was going to be quite long. He started walking to pace himself and replayed the last decisions of the day to re-plan themselves out. Homeroom, assembly, and then festival with football meeting after school and then interview for the lifeguard position. All in all, it was a full day and by the end, he would -definitely- need a soak in the bath to relax. He shook his head and finished his walking lap, grabbing his discarded shirt and wiping off his face and neck. He placed the now-soaked shirt around his neck and made his way back towards his house, the exercise working well to make his morning better.

It was still early but Landon must have been out for longer than he thought as the kitchen door was unlocked and standing in the middle of the room was his Aunt Claire who was moving about getting things ready to start breakfast. She turned as she heard the door open and gave a wide smile. "Well, good morning. Scrambled ok?" She didn't comment further, no 'why were you up so early', or 'are you ok?' And Landon loved her for it.

"Scrambled is fine. Thanks, Aunt Claire." He gave her a quick hug and a return smile and then chuckled as she pretended to hold her nose and point at his sweaty shirt. "Yeah, yeah I'm gonna shower. Gotta get in there before the terrible two wake up." Claire chuckled again and continued her work. Landon moved past her and took the stairs back up to his room, making sure not like to make too much noise. His little brothers could be and usually were a handful and Landon had no desire to hear them incessantly knocking upon the door and yelling to be let in. He entered his room, put together a quick outfit, jumped into the bathroom, and started the usual morning routine. Shower, teeth, hair, moisturize, the works.

The timing was perfect, as the second Landon exited the now steamy bathroom he could see Astor leaving his room. "Morning Astor, want scrambled eggs? Aunt Claire is making them." Landon got a single bleary nod in return which Landon smirked at and couldn't resist tousling the already tousled bedhead. "Cya downstairs, and no fighting with Korbin." Landon then entered his room again, threw his workout clothes in the hamper, and grabbed his backpack, along with his other school items. Once he was content he wasn't going to forget anything, Landon closed his door and headed back downstairs where the smells of food were now prominent. At the table in the kitchen sat his Uncle already munching on some toast and bacon while opposite him, Claire was finishing up Landon's own plate. "Morning Uncle Wyatt, and thank you, Aunt Claire. Er, Astor said he wanted his eggs scrambled as well. I didn't see Korbin but I would assume the same." He smiled as he sat down and took a deep smell of his breakfast. Claire was a great cook and knew exactly how he liked his food. Astor came in some ten minutes later, Korbin following some fifteen after that. Landon was glad he would get to see both brothers before he left. Usually, he didn't mind, but since it was the first day it was different. "Morning Kor, got everything good to go for the new year?" The boy looked over at him and rolled his eyes but nodded.

"Yes Landon, and yes I brushed my teeth before you ask." He was sitting down when Claire called behind her.

"And did you and Astor pick up your dirty towels from the bathroom floor, and actually replace your toothbrush in the cup?" Her voice was amused, not nagging and Korbin instantly looked like a cat who swallowed a canary.

"Oh. Absolutely Aunt Claire. Though I think I did forget... Something, I'll be right back!" Landon simply chuckled and stood with his plate, moving past his Aunt and hugging her side as he placed his plate in the dishwasher.

"Alright, I'm off for school. Going to get there a bit early and see if any of the team is hanging out before the carnival. I'll see you all later. Oh, I probably will be later than usual. I'm going to go down to the beach and see about doing some Lifeguarding there. Marco is also going to see if he can transfer there. Anyway, love ya." He gave a quick wave and then ran out of the same kitchen door he left out earlier, but this time he made his way to his car. The mustang fastback was Landon's pride and joy, a car he worked on with his Uncle when he was a Freshman. Placing his backpack in the seat behind him, and then hopping in the driver's seat, Landon started the car up, found a decent station, and then smiling, pulled out and drove the memorized route to school.

It didn't take long. Traffic had yet to truly pick up to usual levels and after three years, Landon knew all the various shortcuts and detours. Sooner than he expected Landon was pulling into the School senior lot and claimed, as a perk of bringing early, a nice close parking spot.

The rest of the Morning went by fast. Homeroom was simple, and Landon made sure to note down important information. The assembly was well... An assembly, and while Landon respected the staff of the school he figured that some of them could benefit from some public speaking seminars or at least some about keeping teens engaged. Regardless, after the assembly, Landon was torn on where to go next. The carnival certainly, but as the captain of the football team, he figured he should stop by their booth briefly and at least check in. Nodding, Landon headed to the Lacrosse field. As he went he pulled out his phone and sent a quick text to Marco. [b][color=DEA2FF]"Morning! I'm going to stop by the football team's booth and then find you. Don't start overeating without me!"[/b][/color] Smirking as the text was sent, Landon spent some time finding the team's booth and waved at the coach who was placing out some papers.

"Morning coach, did you want me to man the booth? Or did we get some underclassmen to hold the reigns?" The coach looked up and smiled a bit as he saw Landon and shook his head.

"You're fine to enjoy the carnival, Landon. But thanks for checking in. I and the other coaches are going to man it this year. Going to talk business as we do and make it a meeting at the same time. Just stop by my office later today, I want to discuss the offense. Anyway, enjoy yourself, Miland. I still hate this will be your last year, but I can tell you that plenty of scouts have told me they plan to be at our games for you. I know it's some pressure added, but you can handle it. You're a great player Miland and a great student." Landon was silent for a moment, processing everything his coach told him, and then just forced a smile.

"Thanks, coach, I'll continue doing my best. I'll see you later." He rushed off quickly, wanting to be out of that situation as fast as possible. This year was going to be interesting... He made his way back into the mass of seniors and started looking around for red hair. He briefly saw a flash of red near a corn dog vendor. But it was just Jeremiah. Landon glanced down at his phone and then felt someone run into him. He barely managed to hold onto his phone, and he turned to see who had collided with him. "Oh, er. Are you alright?" It was a smaller boy, one that could in no way be a Senior.

"Yeah, sorry. I'm supposed to be at the band booth, but I wasn't paying attention, and I'm late since my first-period teacher didn't believe me." The boy looked up at who he had hit and his face grew scarlet. "Oh, you're Landon Miland. The captain of the football team, oh please don't have your team members stick me in a tuba case again."

Landon raised his eyebrows and shook his head. "Er, I am Landon yeah, but why would I- wait? Again?" The boy nodded and shrugged.

"Yeah, last year, the seniors." He trailed off.

With a sigh, and shake of his head, Landon just pointed. "We're not that team anymore. If you have any issues with anyone on the team bullying you, you come straight to me. I'll handle it. Now you better head off." Landon shook his head again in disbelief, not believing his previous teammates could do something like that. He looked around, trying to figure out where he was now in the carnival, and smirked widely as he saw Marco and Maria standing near a pretzel vendor. Landon maneuvered his way over and tried to sneak up on them. "Aha! Found you!"

[Akayaofthemoon]

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______________________________________	______________________________________________________________________________________ Location: Lacrosse Field Festivities → Southern Momma's Funnel Cakes Interactions: N/A ______________________________________________________________________________________

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She wandered through the festivities only pausing here and there to check out some of the booths along the main strip, taking in the sights with a dazzling smile painted on her lips, finally cheering up after the morning from hell. To say she was surprised was an understatement. Sure, she had listened to what to expect but when you hear school carnival, this was hardly what she had in mind. She thought they had just been exaggerating to make it sound more inviting. This all really was a whimsical rush of fun, adding to the enjoyment of her return to public education and helped relieve the building doubt that perhaps she had made the wrong choice. It was honestly just the pick-me-up she needed today between her mothers continuous threatening or insulting texts and the fact she had completely missed her homeroom class between convincing one asshat guard she was a new student, getting the needed lists, schedules, ID, locker assignment and map from the front office. Charlotte had barely made it to the assembly in time, sneaking in with the last of the crowd to the fairly boring event. If she had known assemblies were such a snore-fest she might have just skipped out and pretended to be lost if caught but at least a set of headphones plus her music had been the saving grace.

The moment she hit the field though, the music had instantly been abandoned to her pocket, a bubble of excitement growing the more she explored with vigor and hoped to see anyone she recognized. While she hadn’t been able to personally see her friends in years, she had done her best to use technology and message when she could to keep in touch. They kept up their daily lives here and there or the important moments as much as possible with the wall and distance her mother had forced her to create in the unapproval of her chosen friends. Charlotte had actually worked extremely hard to surprise them that she would be here for the year. The media had been so focused on other aspects of her family lately, she had been able to avoid this little venture relatively easily. She hadn’t had any luck so far in reuniting but she kept on the positive, figuring it would only be a matter of time. Her phone chimed once again, a wave of exhaustion hitting her as she gently rolled her eyes as she thought sarcastically, ‘Oh, I wonder who on earth could that be?’, before digging her phone out of her pocket.

A sense of dread still hit her and it felt like rocks were sinking into her stomach as she looked at the title name of who had texted. It wasn’t much of a surprise but it still made her shake a bit in fear as well as anger as she gathered up the courage to at least look at the new text that had followed a string of others sent that morning. Charlotte glared, quickly hitting delete on the message chain before turning it on do not disturb and jamming her phone back into her pocket. She did not need to get in trouble with the constant texts on her first day so better to take care of the issue now while she could still use her phone. She also wasn’t going to dignify an answer to such a stupid question presented in said text. Her mother was clearly still in her own world and thought she had done nothing wrong to her daughter growing up, that she was just being hard on her to encourage her to be her best self. Yeah fucking right! That was definitely not how it was in everyone else’s eyes. Crazy bitch was just lucky that all she wanted to do was wash her hands of it all instead of going to the police or the media.

Charlotte wanted to text back a snippy reply, to tell her that her decision wasn’t a fucking act and that she was simply done being the woman’s whipping post but that would just make it worse. She would never see reason and a reply would just give her more ammo or worse, think she had won in some way by dragging out a reply. She didn’t need the headache which a conversation would absolutely bring. She took a deep breath, instead of letting the woman get to her, she decided to think of what fun and distracting thing to do next. Her stomach suddenly gave a harsh growl, reminding her of the lack of breakfast in her nervousness and dash to school. She felt a blush light on her face as not only the noise but feeling silly that she hadn’t thought of food first since that was literally the best part of a carnival. It took a bit of shuffling through the crowd but finally she saw the most beautiful sign around ’Southern Momma's Funnel Cakes’ and she made sure to pop in line pronto, giddy to have found one of her favorite sinful treats. ”Finally! Glad they had one…”, she muttered to herself, the smell making her mouth water. Charlotte glanced at the menu while she waited and raised a brow in curiosity at deep-fried Oreos. ’Huh, maybe I’ll get one to try. I do like sweets after all and how bad can it be?’, she thought to herself, her mind already made up on the other items. Honestly, who didn’t love a funnel cake piled with fresh strawberries and lemonade was always the best combo with anything strawberry.