[IC] Academy for the lost (orphans)

[FireHeartWolf]

Evelyn was caught in the middle of the wave of people leaving their dormitories to get to their lessons. She tried to keep her head low, afraid that it would be blatantly obvious she was lost from her anxious expression planted on her face. There were so many orphans, more than she had imagined. 100 or so? She wasn't sure.
Evelyn carried on swerving around people, unable to see where she was. She sighed and looked at her map. Not concentrating, she tripped over and slammed her head on the jagged pavement. The majority of people walked past her, oblivious of her existence. Nothing new, thenshe thought. She felt a drop of warm trickle down her face. When she wiped it away her hand was covered in crimson blood. Great start, Evie she felt like crying.

[Zordon]

Dakoda shuffled through the crowd of students with her trusty campus map in hand, silently taking in the beauty of the day. ''Thank you Sisters for having started that fund for me." she thought to herself, recalling for a moment how the Nuns of the Holy Trinity Church had put her on display to the congregation Sunday after Sunday to have happy families donate to the future of an unfortunate Orphan. So lost in her thought, Koda stumbled over her own two feet and almost toppled directly on top of... a young girl?

Brushing the shock from her face, she could see the girl was bleeding slightly and immediately offered her hand. "Oh my goodness. Are you alright?" she asked, a warm genuine smile crossing her face. The poor girl looked as though she was on the verge of tears and Dakoda couldn't let that happen. "Please don't cry. I won't be able to stop myself from joining you if you do." she half chuckled at the confession, helping the girl up. "I'm Dakoda, but you can call me Koda for short." She took the chance to glance down at her map once more. "It looks like the nurse is near the dormitories. May I accompany you there?"

[FireHeartWolf]

Evelyn brushed herself down, and blinked away the feeling of crying. A crimson blush formed on her cheeks. "Thank you." She looked at her feet, not sure how to act- she hadn't had a conversation with another teenager for years. She was scared she'd mess it up. Eventually, she said "Yes, please do! I am really lost..." A drop of blood touched her lips and she wiped it away. She reckoned she looked really strange. Oh well, at least I'm not being ignored! she thought, following the girl. "I am Evelyn by the way..."

[Meowmix]

Ava and Josh walked together toward the school. Ava was chattering away about how happy she was to be there, and off the streets, while Josh didn't bother pretending to listen. Ava stopped talking when she saw the injured girl. She saw that she already had help, but couldn't keep from butting in, anyway. "What happened? Are you okay?" she asked with genuine concern. She had taken care of Josh when he was hurt, which was a lot, for most of their lives, and her protective instincts kicked in when she saw the girl.
Josh rolled his eyes and kept walking on without Ava. He didn't want to go into the school without her, but he didn't care enough to stay while she fretted over a stranger. He shoved his hands in his pockets and kept his eyes locked in front of him.

[FireHeartWolf]

Evelyn nodded. "Uh..yes, I think!" Her smile was broad- her prayers had been answered. She finally existed, not ignored. This was the best feeling. Someone who CARES.

Ashlyn sat in a tree, spying on all the new kids. She spotted a boy her age, looking a little lost. At least he isn't in tears! Ash jumped from the treebranch, landing on her scarlet Converses with a gentle thud. She strolled up to him. "Hey, newbie! 'Sup?" Ashlyn certainly though of herself as 'one of the boys', a tomboy by nature. "My name's Ash, you?"

[Meowmix]

Ava smiled warmly. "Good, we really need to get you cleaned up. I'm Ava, bye the way. And that's my… brother," she started to say, before she realized he'd dissapeared.

"I'm Josh," he replied, stopping in front of her. He glanced back to see if Ava was still talking to the other two. He figured she would be a while, so he didn't have anything better to do than meet new people. The thought didn't thrill him. Still, it might not be a bad idea to meet someone who knew this place. "I assume you're not new to this place?"

[FireHeartWolf]

"Nah. Been here a while, three years? At first it seems like HELL but you get used to it." Ashyln followed Josh's gaze. "Oh, is she your girlfriend?"

[Meowmix]

Josh shrugged. "It's got to be better than being homeless, though," he said. It was uncharacteristically optimistic. "No, that's my sister. She's the one that found out about this place."

[FireHeartWolf]

Ash studied Josh and Ava, then smiled. "I see it now! What have you got first? Maybe I could show you there..?"

[Meowmix]

"Um, chemistry I think," he replied with a hint of dread in his voice. Ava had been trying to keep the two of them caught up in school even while they were living on the street, but Josh just wasn't academically gifted like she was. He knew he was pretty far behind, especially in math and science classes, that the idea of them was nerve-racking.

[FireHeartWolf]

"Me too! Seems like we were made for each other!" Ashlyn said, nudging him and grinning cheekily. She lead Josh through the narrow corridors. They swerved past pushing kids until they reached a roomy science lab. Smells of burning still lingered. "Here we are!"

[Meowmix]

"Hm," was all Josh said in response, and followed her own the hall. He looked into the room. "How many kids are in the classes?" he asked, noting the size of it.

[FireHeartWolf]

Ash caught his drift. "They're huge, I know. Only 12 or so in a class." She entered, muddy converses dirtying the impeccably clean tiled flooring. "We're quite lucky, considering we are orphans..." She turned to Josh.

[Meowmix]

"I guess you could look at it that way," he said. He was relieved that the number of students wasn't too large. He'd had very little social interactions apart from his sister in a long time, so this was going to be a big jump for him. Already going this long with another person instead of her was a pretty big deal.

[FireHeartWolf]

Ashlyn looked at him closely. "Well...we could skip if you feel so..." She gestured to him. "Anxious? I mean, if you don't mind ruining your reputation." She thought for a moment. "Unless your reputation IS not giving a s**t. That's certainly mine." She smiled. "I have an awesome place to hang for a couple hours. Except..." She glanced back to Ava.

[Meowmix]

"Ava will be pissed…" Josh thought for a moment. "But she would fill me in on the entire class whether I stayed or not, so I may as well go." Josh knew his sister had a habit of sharing every bit of new information she learned. He didn't mind so much. Though it annoyed him, he was glad she was so passionate about something. And he was doing just fine without her now.

[FireHeartWolf]

Ashlyn smiled. "C'mon then! You won't believe this place I found!" Without thinking, she took his hand and ran out of the school.