Elmyra — Roleplayer Guild

Olive - Band practice room, college campus

The banging of the drums and high-pitched screams could already be heard from the floor below the practice room the girls were in. It was just a small, cramped place with fading wallpaper and less-than-ideal sound-proofing, but it was one of Olive favorite spaces to be in. Others might consider their music chaotic and too frantic, but playing the drums is when Olive feels most at peace and relaxed. It allowed her to let go of anything that was bothering her, channeling those emotions into something creative and at times even liberating. Lately however, she had been preoccupied with stuff she had no clue how to deal with and that was honestly just...extremely unsettling.

As the song they were currently working on came to its end, Olive could feel her t-shirt sticking to her back, caused by all the sweat from playing the drums combined with the summer heat. The room didn't have any sort of AC or even windows, so playing their music became really exhausting during these hot months. On one especially broiling day, Rebecca had had enough and decided they should end band practice early and instead get a drink somewhere. Although they had a few usual hangout spots, there was a new place that had been getting some buzz throughout campus: Grace's Grotto, a cozy and somewhat particular cafe that was supposed to have the best coffee in town. Olive wasn't a big fan of coffee, but she expected the shop to have a number of other drinks she would enjoy. As soon as they entered through the doors, Olive was immediately enveloped by a sweet-smelling combination of coffee and vanilla that invited her to sit down and let go of all her worries. Although she had never been there before, the place instantly gave Olive a feeling of familiarity and coziness. This feeling was only heightened as the sweet-looking lady approached their table to take their orders.  

"Hellooooo, someone home in there Olive...?" She blinked twice as Rebecca's question abruptly brought her back to the real world.
"Oh yeah, sorry, was just remembering something...not that important." She replied, the memories of Grace and the smell of coffee fading into the background of her mind. "Well, I was just mentioning how you said you had to leave practice sooner today, so I thought we can stop here. Really liking how the song is coming along!" Her friend exclaimed with a smile addressing the band. "You don't wanna miss your little weirdo meeting, right?" She added in a lowered tone so that only Olive would hear, a sly smirk on her lips. "Oh shoot thanks, I forgot to check the time!". Olive wasn't a forgetful person per se, just chaotic and somewhat unorganized. She quickly got up and hastily threw her things into her backpack. Her phone display told her she still had almost 30 minutes until the meeting was supposed to start at the library, more than enough time to make it there. "And please don't call it that, that makes you the weirdo" she whispered back with a teasing tone as she grabbed her stuff and headed towards the door. "See ya tomorrow, gang!" Olive called out as she left, her thoughts slowly returning to Grace's Grotto, but also wondering how true Rebecca's comment regarding the upcoming meeting would turn out to be.  

Once she stepped outside the building, Olive was immediately hit by a strong breeze and refreshing droplets of rain. She allowed herself a few seconds to enjoy the luke-warm water washing away some of her exhaustion, but decided it was better to hurry up and avoid showing up like a wet poodle. As she took out her umbrella and started walking towards the town center, Olive couldn't help but think how glad she was she hadn't been completely honest to Rebecca regarding the flyer and Grace's Grotto in general. She had flashes of remorse about keeping those things to herself, but the weirdo comment was proof enough for her that Rebecca might not understand or believe what she was going through. 

Neither Rebecca nor the other girls had ever made any curious comments about that sweet little coffee shop or their drinks, which enforced Olive's belief that something had affected her differently. "You look like someone with a big sweet-tooth, right my dear?" Grace had asked her on their first visit after taking everyone else's order. Before Olive could even react, she continued "I have just the thing for you, a nice Chococino Delight, yes! Don't worry, it's mostly hot chocolate, whipped cream, some cinnamon and just a splash or two of espresso, you'll love it" she said, as if she already knew about Olive not enjoying the taste of coffee very much. 

That Chococino Delight was easily one of the tastiest things she had ever tried. Grace hadn't exaggerated, the drink was sweet and you could only taste very light notes of espresso in it. They had been back to Grace's Grotto a few times after that, and every time it felt like the Chococino tasted even better than the last. Olive was also convinced that drinking it lead to a tingly sensation emanating throughout her whole body, an intense feeling she hadn't experienced before and that she was sure couldn't just be blamed on the little amount of caffeine inside her drink. And then a few days later came the...vibrations. 

The first time it happened was the most surreal feeling Olive had ever gone through. She got frustrated working on an assignment, which was nothing too unusual for her, but the way her feelings behaved as she was about to voice her frustration definitely was. The anger started to pulsate, as if moving through her body, starting from her stomach area and extending to her extremities. As soon as those weird pulses reached her fingertips, it felt as if the frustration was being ejected out of them - and suddenly the loose paper on her desk was blown away in a windy breeze. Other similar incidents kept piling up after that, Olive would get mad or worked up about something, and a few loose items in her vicinity went flying. These...powers also have to be connected to Grace, right? Does that mean the other people at the meeting have some sort of ability as well? The thought sent a shiver down her spine as she rounded a corner and the library finally came into view.

Interestingly enough, it had been through Rebecca that Olive first found out about the flyers. "Have you seen these around campus? Sounds like crazy talk, no?" Rebecca had asked, showing her a picture of a flyer on her phone. Ever since they were kids, Rebecca loved to get involved in any sort of gossip involving the town. They joked about the proposed meeting and that Grace's Grotto had been some sort of cover for a secret government agency, but on the inside Olive felt worried. 

She had always been curious about the occult and creepy and loved magic systems and supernatural powers in fiction, sure, but those were things that had nothing to do with real life. The flyer however meant her experiences at the coffee shop and maybe even everything that had happened after were not unique to her. There was at least one other person out there trying to make sense of it, and that person had been determined enough to create the flyers and set up an in person meeting. No one would go this far for a joke or some stupid conspiracy theory, right? As these things go, everyone in town had an opinion or theory about the disappeared coffee shop, but none of that could truly be taken seriously. After a restless night of back and forth with herself, her curiosity won in the end, and she nervously decided to attend the meeting and at least find out who was behind it.

Olive walked up the library steps and entered the building, shoving her thoughts about the last few weeks to the side and trying to focus on and prepare for the meet-up ahead. Please don't let there be too many weirdos...I don't want Rebecca to be right she thought as she greeted Ms. Winters and started walking towards the back where the study rooms were located. Olive was not a regular visitor of the library, but had been there plenty of times as a high schooler. It didn't take long to find study room c, especially as it was the only one currently in use. To her surprise, she could see there were already 4 people gathered inside the room, even though it wasn't 7pm quite yet. She hadn't been sure what to expect, but seeing a number of people already there helped calm her nerves. Alright then, let's do this She encouraged herself, grabbing the door handle and taking a deep breath, stepping into the room. "Hey, uhm, you guys are meeting because of the flyers right? Sorry if I'm late...

I'm in Europe so UTC+1 for me as well. Spent a year in the states as an exchange student and have consumed way too much media, so my grasp on American culture and history is pretty well-rounded, but I might get details wrong (like the community college thing :D). So feel free to correct me if I do make any blunders! I'm most active during the week, periodically checking the site throughout the day depending on how busy I am.  

First IC post was really good at setting the mood and getting me excited to discover Redstone! I'll slowly start working on mine, but won't rush it. I totally get what you mean by the order of meeting/introducing characters in group settings, but I think we'll be fine. If it does happen that 2 people post shortly after each other, it could be amended with an edit perhaps. 

Does the college have dorms? Olive would probably live there if it's an option.

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