Silver Carrot

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

Natalie Ellis

---

---

Archie replied with a smile, and a nod, and began conversing with the other girl, Lynn. Natalie wanted to join in. To say something. But she didn't know what. The only conversations she'd had in the past two years were scientists or therapists asking her questions, and all she had to do was honestly answer. Trying to talk to people her age? This felt so much more complicated. But she didn't want to just say nothing and let everybody else talk to each other. She wanted to talk to people. She wanted to feel normal for once. Still, she listened. Maybe the things Archie was saying about where he was from, or the fact Lynn's hair had changed color, were things she could talk to them about sooner or later.

Then another girl joined the table. At first, Natalie was glad that there was somebody else to talk to, but then the new girl started to talk. She talked about the 'kumbaya crap' that a few moments ago had almost brought Natalie to tears of happiness. It was clear that this girl had joined them because she didn't want to fit in and though hanging with them, hanging with Natalie, would be how she'd achieve that. Natalie's jaw tensed, and she looked Amelia straight in the eyes.

"Maybe some of us want to 'get with the program'," she said, in a noticeably louder, more confident and confrontational voice than she had used to greet Archie. "Maybe I want to join in with the 'kumbaya crap'. Do you know know how much I'd give for one chance?" Her voice was growing louder, and more emotional by the second. "Even just one day of being able to fit in and have a normal life?!"

She was interrupted when her collar made a beep and the green LED on the side turned orange. This calmed her down. She looked down at her clenched fist, and slowly opened it. A metal fork dropped to the table with a clatter, and it was crumpled and dented as if it had been made out of putty. Natalie didn't look surprised or shocked by this, just mortified and sad. A bright red flush had formed on her cheeks and her shoulders slumped. She refused to meet the gaze of anyone around her.

The light on her collar turned green again.

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

Natalie Ellis

---

---

There was a little conversing around Natalie but the only attention she seemed to get were people curiously looking at her collar. One girl, with bright yellow hair and a moody look on her face sat a few seats away as if to avoid her, or just avoid anyone. It was hard to tell. She heard mutterings from other students about why she'd need to wear the collar if their powers were being nullified. They really had no idea. Natalie hoped it would stay that way. Here she was, in a place full of people with powers, and she'll still be the lone, single outcast if anybody had found out what she had done, and what she was like. It wasn't fair.

That's when a boy sat besides her, between Natalie and the yellow-haired girl. Even though she was watching him, and could see him reaching out, she still jumped when his hand touched her shoulder. And then he told a bad joke, and Natalie looked away and gave a single dry, humorless chuckle. But at least she was almost smiling now. Her mouth was in a slightly different position than it was, now looking more like a squiggly line than a frown. He then took his hand away and asked for her name.

"It's Natalie," she replied in a very quiet, soft voice devoid of confidence and clearly not used to being used. "Hi, Archie."

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

Natalie Ellis

---

---

Natalie woke up in full restraints, unable to move any part of her body. For a few seconds, she panicked, and struggled, but she wasn't budging. Then she looked around. The wild, crazy look of a cornered bull left her eyes as her brain kicked in and she remembered where she was. She was safe. They had assured her she'd never be subject to those operations, experiments or tests ever again. They told her she'd be going somewhere safe. More people began to enter the room. Most of them looked under 25, if not even younger. What exactly was happening? She noted that she wasn't the only person that she could see who was restrained. That said, she wasn't able to look behind her, only in front. Other people sat close to her and gave her wary looks. Natalie honestly couldn't blame them.

A man called Elias then briefed them on the situation, and asked them if the wanted to leave. Natalie was silent. She'd miss her family, but the truth is, she couldn't even remember her parent's faces anymore. And they'd probably mourned her a long time ago. Hopefully, someone would let them know that she was alive. All her home, nay, all Earth held for her now were horrific memories. When the countdown started, Natalie braced herself. She wouldn't be able to grab onto anything like this. She hoped the dolly would hold her tight, but considering she hadn't busted her way out of it when she woke up, it was very sturdy stuff. During the journey, a memory came back to her from her childhood. She'd always wanted to go to space and be an astronaut as a young child, and now here she was doing it. She started to sob, and laugh to herself, and the people around her gave her an even wider berth. This attracted the attention of a wary-looking staff member who had her hand on some kind of object attached to her hip. Natalie couldn't see what it was. Natalie apologized, and asked them if they could dab her eyes. They did so with all the care somebody would take if they were petting a wild tiger.

When they landed, which seemed no time at all, a man came over with a clipboard, glanced at it, back at Natalie, and unlocked her restraints, before asking her to present her wrists. She did so, and was cuffed with two very thick, sci-fi looking bracelets joined together with an equally tough looking pole. Now she could look around, she'd see that the other people in dollies had also been released, but she couldn't see any who'd been cuffed immediately afterwards. He motioned her to walk, which she did, gladly. She hadn't been this 'free' in almost two years. Even though she was cuffed. Even though she was surrounded by security and had been sent to a facility in space, this was the best she had been treated in a long time. She followed the arrows with everybody else and was stunned to silence when she emerged from that corridor into a large room filled with people. This wasn't a prison! It was almost a...a space school! Natalie could help herself from smiling. While other people from her ship mingled freely, Natalie was directed to some personnel, who fitted her with a thin metallic collar, and then removed her cuffs, before nodding, smiling, and welcoming her to The Promise. She rubbed her wrists, still beaming, and thanked them profusely.

"Don't get too excited now," one of them explained, pleased to see that she was happy. "You might set your shock collar off. We've heard about your past, and we're so terribly sorry for what you've been through. But we've been sent records of your recovery and rehabilitation. We see it wise to take this measure for now...at least until we're sure you won't hurt anyone else. You understand, don't you?"

Natalie nodded. She guessed she did, though her joy had evaporated. At least she was calm now. But even here she supposed that she was still too different. Once that business was concluded, she joined the others at the food table, and nibbled at a few things. There was one thing everyone else around her had in common; they weren't wearing a shock collar. She wasn't hungry, and gave up eating after a minute.

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

Natalie

Natalie Ellis

_______________________________________________ Natalie Ellis _______________________________________________ April 11th | 18 | White _______________________________________________ Single | ♀ | Bisexual _______________________________________________ High School Education | Unemployed _______________________________________________ Physical Profile ___________________________________ [+] //Basics: • Height | 5'-5" • Weight | 113 lbs • Build | Skinny • Hair Colour | Black • Eye Colour | silver

Appearance Details ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Natalie looks like a girl who's not wearing much makeup but has very nice skin, and this requires quite a lot of makeup. She didn't choose the 'pale with thick eyeliner' look for aesthetic purposes, but to hide the signs of her past that were prevalent on her face. Her fatigue. Her lack of sleep as a result of two years of little sleep. All things she wants to hide from the world. Her eyes have always been a naturally vivid grey, which aid with her look. Her hair had always been too limp and mousey to maintain well, so when it came time to care about her appearance, she got it cut short, and to a style that fit her new ensemble. She didn't choose anything overtly 'gothic' in her wardrobe as that was not who she was, or what was comfortable to wear. This she wears sweaters, cardigans, vest tops and either jeans or skirts. When it comes to footwear, there are no rules, though if she's wearing a skirt, she will probably wear boots. Personality ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Natalie is a quiet, frail individual, who shies away from conversations but never comes off as rude or reclusive. She always gives the impression that she wants to talk to you but can't. Though she enjoys her own company, she longs for the feeling of allowing herself to be part of a group. Whenever there's a group at work who want to go out together, she will join them and follow at a distance. At heart, Natalie is, and has always been, a kind person, who could never bring herself to hurt an innocent person. She likes to think this is still who she is, but her traumatic experiences, as well as her powers, have changed her. She no longer knows exactly how kind she still is, so fearfully avoids ever being in a situation where she might have to find out. Again. She has been officially diagnosed with PTSD and psychotic episodes but Natalie knows that her problems are bigger than that. Her psychosis and her powers are a terrifying mixture.

_{Character Synopsis
^{▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔}}

Natalie was born with extremely strong bones. These had little to no impact in her life except for possibly making her more reckless and adventurous as a kid. Of course, that was until other children started to find out and she became something of an outcast as a child. She would go out of her way to find other children who also had these 'powers' as she innocently called them. Due to this, most of, of not all of her friends, were online and she developed something of a shut-in life.

Natalie's story could have ended there, but for the evil of men. Many powerful men, some of whom criminals, did not have these superpowers, and wanted them. The amounts of blood money poured into the illegal research of superpowers and how to grant powers to those who would otherwise never have them. And they needed test subjects. Police knew this, and if a child was ever born with, or developed any ind of advanced healing capabilities, they were watched very closely, if not outright detained for their own protection. Natalie's power slipped the notice of suck people. But it didn't slip the notice of Project Lion.

One day when she was sixteen, she was walking hone from school. It's still not known where to this day, but she was kidnapped in broad daylight. Not much is known about what happened to her during the next two years, or about Project Lion, but one day Police raided their facility to find the scientists there had been slaughtered. Some were ripped apart, some had their chests or faces caved in. It was a bloodbath. Twenty miles away, Natalie was found unconscious at the side of the road, covered in blood that tests revealed to belong to the scientists. After being detained, the authorities noted that she now had superhuman strength, and was prone to snapping. When she snapped, at least one bone was broken per attempt by staff to restrain her. However, when she didn't snap, she was observed to be a quiet, polite and kind girl who'd always inquire into the wellbeing of people she hurt with genuine concern. It was decided that the facilities were inadequate to hold her for questioning. Besides, it was fairly obvious what had happened. The decision was made to send her to The Promise.

_{Abilities & Skills
^{▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔}}

_//Abiliites:

Super Strength | There are two key, complimentary factors that make up Natalie’s power as a whole. One is that she has incredible, superhuman muscle strength. She is able to lift cars above her head with ease, and punch through inches of reinforced steel. The other is related to this, and allows her use her powers without causing injury to herself. The power that she was born with, however, was that she has very strong reinforced bones that can withstand a great deal of impact. Without this ability, punching a brick wall would likely break her arm. With it, she could jump twenty stories and land with no damage to her legs, or stop a moving car with her bare hands.

Limitation(s) | Natalie can comfortably exert enough force to lift 1.5 tons, and can lift 2 tons at a struggle. Her punching and kicking strength are a reflection of this, though she has never tested them to max as the skin on her hands and feet is not any more durable than regular people's. She can easily punch through a brick wall but it would hurt her hand and bloody her knuckles. Her bones can withstand a force of also two tons, not including the force of her muscles acting in an opposite way to the incoming force. If she were to attempt to catch something weighing four tons or more, her bones would break from the impact. Her stamina is decent and ordinary, as she was and still is a recreational jogger. Nevertheless, she has not trained her body for prolonged periods of intense physical strain, so if she were to fight somebody capable of going toe to toe with her from either strength or skill, and they had trained their body for the strain, she would be at a disadvantage on the stamina front, and would run out of breath before them.

Weakness(es) | Natalie is not just an ordinary human besides her muscles and bones, she's of a more frail build than normal. This makes her perhaps more vulnerable than the average person to bruising, internal damage, and any attack that ignores her bone strength, such as being shot or stabbed. She also has ordinary reflexes, and a complete lack of combat expertise, skill, or talent. If she can't rely on her strength alone to win a fight with a more skilled opponent, she will lose unless she can find a lucky opening.

The Promise - Second Star to the Right, and Straight on 'til Morning.

Natalie

Natalie Ellis

_______________________________________________ Natalie Ellis _______________________________________________ April 11th | 18 | White _______________________________________________ Single | ♀ | Bisexual _______________________________________________ High School Education | Unemployed _______________________________________________ Physical Profile ___________________________________ [+] //Basics: • Height | 5'-5" • Weight | 113 lbs • Build | Skinny • Hair Colour | Black • Eye Colour | silver

Appearance Details ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Natalie looks like a girl who's not wearing much makeup but has very nice skin, and this requires quite a lot of makeup. She didn't choose the 'pale with thick eyeliner' look for aesthetic purposes, but to hide the signs of her past that were prevalent on her face. Her fatigue. Her lack of sleep as a result of two years of little sleep. All things she wants to hide from the world. Her eyes have always been a naturally vivid grey, which aid with her look. Her hair had always been too limp and mousey to maintain well, so when it came time to care about her appearance, she got it cut short, and to a style that fit her new ensemble. She didn't choose anything overtly 'gothic' in her wardrobe as that was not who she was, or what was comfortable to wear. This she wears sweaters, cardigans, vest tops and either jeans or skirts. When it comes to footwear, there are no rules, though if she's wearing a skirt, she will probably wear boots. Personality ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Natalie is a quiet, frail individual, who shies away from conversations but never comes off as rude or reclusive. She always gives the impression that she wants to talk to you but can't. Though she enjoys her own company, she longs for the feeling of allowing herself to be part of a group. Whenever there's a group at work who want to go out together, she will join them and follow at a distance. At heart, Natalie is, and has always been, a kind person, who could never bring herself to hurt an innocent person. She likes to think this is still who she is, but her traumatic experiences, as well as her powers, have changed her. She no longer knows exactly how kind she still is, so fearfully avoids ever being in a situation where she might have to find out. Again. She has been officially diagnosed with PTSD and psychotic episodes but Natalie knows that her problems are bigger than that. Her psychosis and her powers are a terrifying mixture.

_{Character Synopsis
^{▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔}}

Natalie was born with extremely strong bones. These had little to no impact in her life except for possibly making her more reckless and adventurous as a kid. Of course, that was until other children started to find out and she became something of an outcast as a child. She would go out of her way to find other children who also had these 'powers' as she innocently called them. Due to this, most of, of not all of her friends, were online and she developed something of a shut-in life.

Natalie's story could have ended there, but for the evil of men. Many powerful men, some of whom criminals, did not have these superpowers, and wanted them. The amounts of blood money poured into the illegal research of superpowers and how to grant powers to those who would otherwise never have them. And they needed test subjects. Police knew this, and if a child was ever born with, or developed any ind of advanced healing capabilities, they were watched very closely, if not outright detained for their own protection. Natalie's power slipped the notice of suck people. But it didn't slip the notice of Project Lion.

One day when she was sixteen, she was walking hone from school. It's still not known where to this day, but she was kidnapped in broad daylight. Not much is known about what happened to her during the next two years, or about Project Lion, but one day Police raided their facility to find the scientists there had been slaughtered. Some were ripped apart, some had their chests or faces caved in. It was a bloodbath. Twenty miles away, Natalie was found unconscious at the side of the road, covered in blood that tests revealed to belong to the scientists. After being detained, the authorities noted that she now had superhuman strength, and was prone to snapping. When she snapped, at least one bone was broken per attempt by staff to restrain her. However, when she didn't snap, she was observed to be a quiet, polite and kind girl who'd always inquire into the wellbeing of people she hurt with genuine concern. It was decided that the facilities were inadequate to hold her for questioning. Besides, it was fairly obvious what had happened. The decision was made to send her to The Promise.

_{Abilities & Skills
^{▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔}}

_//Abiliites:

Super Strength | There are two key, complimentary factors that make up Natalie’s power as a whole. One is that she has incredible, superhuman muscle strength. She is able to lift cars above her head with ease, and punch through inches of reinforced steel. The other is related to this, and allows her use her powers without causing injury to herself. The power that she was born with, however, was that she has very strong reinforced bones that can withstand a great deal of impact. Without this ability, punching a brick wall would likely break her arm. With it, she could jump twenty stories and land with no damage to her legs, or stop a moving car with her bare hands.

Limitation(s) | Natalie can comfortably exert enough force to lift 1.5 tons, and can lift 2 tons at a struggle. Her punching and kicking strength are a reflection of this, though she has never tested them to max as the skin on her hands and feet is not any more durable than regular people's. She can easily punch through a brick wall but it would hurt her hand and bloody her knuckles. Her bones can withstand a force of also two tons, not including the force of her muscles acting in an opposite way to the incoming force. If she were to attempt to catch something weighing four tons or more, her bones would break from the impact. Her stamina is decent and ordinary, as she was and still is a recreational jogger. Nevertheless, she has not trained her body for prolonged periods of intense physical strain, so if she were to fight somebody capable of going toe to toe with her from either strength or skill, and they had trained their body for the strain, she would be at a disadvantage on the stamina front, and would run out of breath before them.

Weakness(es) | Natalie is not just an ordinary human besides her muscles and bones, she's of a more frail build than normal. This makes her perhaps more vulnerable than the average person to bruising, internal damage, and any attack that ignores her bone strength, such as being shot or stabbed. She also has ordinary reflexes, and a complete lack of combat expertise, skill, or talent. If she can't rely on her strength alone to win a fight with a more skilled opponent, she will lose unless she can find a lucky opening.

Let me know if I need to change anything. I might have missed something from the SC sheet.

The Promise - ASTRO-NUT

I'm in of course

Revenant: A Sci-Fi Adventure (Always Accepting!)

Prison Freighter, Designation: Knoxx
Holding Cell 4

Taleste listened to Grayson's plan. She kept quiet because it didn't matter either way, but there was no point in looping the security footage. They'd be fighting their way out and raising hell shortly anyway, and it won't even help keep the records clean because they'll all likely be captured on every other security camera between here and the Security Center. Even if they aren't, their cell will be empty. It won't take a detective to work out that this group were the culprits of the mayhem that they're about to cause. The rest of the plan was solid. Risky, but a lot better than getting the prospect of getting sent to the Kyln. There would be no getting out of there.

When Crusher began to hack, Taleste changed her mind, and still appearing to be restrained, wandered over to him. "There's no point in looping the camera, mate. The seconds it will buy us before we start making noise isn't worth the time it would take to set up a loop in the first place. Just saying," she spoke quietly, before moving back to Grayson's side.

Once they were all ready to go, Taleste slipped off her restraints and pulled Grayson to his feet, and putting his arm over her shoulder. The door finally gave way and exploded off it's hinges. Everyone burst out before her, and she and Grayson slowly ambled their way behind the rest, who fought a path for them. Taleste had never been a big fan of fighting, but her recent time with the SKaldrum hve given her an appreciation for the sheer visceral joy of combat. The moment she saw something she could use as a blade, Grayson was getting passed on to somewhun else!

♦ A New Era ♦ - A My Hero Academia RP

Kasuke Mina

Location
Girl's Common Room
@Melpaws@pkken@Zeroth@Aerandir

---

Mina tried to ignore the nonsense for as long as she could but enough was enough. She stood up, and charged right up to Kenichi. She pointed to the exit behind him. "Get out," she commanded icily. "This is the girl's common room in the first place but when you're throwing people at upperclassmen, a line's been crossed. Or stay. I don't care, but if you're going to stay and listen to our senpai talk to us, sit down and shut up."

She left Roy where he was. He was probably fine. She returned to her seat and listened to Yamada. As such she was the first student to answer the question. "I wasn't there but the fact that it could have happened to me was shocking, and scary. I've noticed everything's been a lot more quiet, for the most part." She stole a glare at Kenichi. "I've been trying to pretend nothing ever happened. I know from the capture-the-flag incident that the last thing they need is heaps of attention, sympathy or pity."

---

Maeda Hitomi

Location
Infirmary
@Conscripts

---

Hitomi wasn't surprised, or shocked. Still she wasn't ready for Tomoe going there at that moment. She blushed in spite of herself and pinched her nose. "No, we haven't 'done it' yet, Tomoe," she replied slowly and in a low voice, before her expression switched almost as fast as her friend's did when she saw Tomoe look upset. What? Of course not! Why would this mean I have to change rooms? We're roomies forever! Well, not forever, but for this year at least. You know what I mean. And going out sounds like a lot of fun! We should all go out one day! Sure!

When Tomoe reconciled with Acion, and he tuened to her and asked 'Right?', Tomoe nodded and smiled in response, before joining in the hug.

X-Men: The New Era - Issue II: Avalon Rising

Heidi Williams

Heidi

Name

Heidi Williams

Nicknames/Aliases

Nerd, Genius

X-Men Code Name

Brainchild

Gender

Female

Age

15

Physical Description

Height: 5'1"
Weight: 113 lbs
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Brown
Clothing Style: She often wears cardigans or sweaters, and jeans.

Personality Traits

• Humble
• Assertive
• Patient
• Empathatic
• Determined

• Easily flustered
• Reclusive
• Meek
• Cold
• Prone to stress

Mutations

Heidi's brain processes many, many times faster than normal. This gives her a memory that even 'perfectly photographic' wouldn't do justice to. She can remember every detail of every second of her life. The smells, the temperature and wind direction, and exactly what she was thinking about and knew at the time. It naturally vastly increases her ability to learn, meaning she is very knowledgeable in a multitude of subjects and can speak every single language on the planet, but her ability to calculate at such a high speed means that she can predict the physical future to an extent (if she has enough data at her disposal) Eg. she sees a guy firing a gun, taking note of the gun model and bullet size, as well of the feel of the wind on her skin telling her the wind direction and strength. She therefore predicts exactly how fast the bullet will travel and exactly where it will hit.

The downside to this is that all her senses are in overdrive 24/7, and she can overthink the most basic of social interactions so therefore dislikes them. She is also completely deaf and if a sound is made, may not notice.

Background

Heidi grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland, to a pro-mutant registration family. She believed in her parents' Anti-Mutant rhetoric to a degree. A dangerous and untrained powerful mutant keeping it a secret shouldn't be allowed come to a school full of non-mutants. There are enough accidents and incidents to show that this isn't just bigotry, but cold hard logic. They need protecting from themselves. They need guidance and education. Not just the lucky ones who are located by Cerebro, but all mutants need this, and only the government could provide such an extensive service. Government registers must become the new Cerebro.

Heidi lost her hearing in an explosion after a pro-registration conference her parents were attending was attacked by mutant extremists. Her mother died in the explosion and her father lost the use of his legs. Heidi's mutant abilities begin to manifest in the following weeks, and she confided in her father. Full of grief and hatred at mutant-kind for taking his wife, he cuts off ties with her and she soon went into foster-care, where she was soon scouted by the Ashford Institute when her incredibly high intellect and academic accomplishments had attracted their attention. Her life at the school was fairly normal and she bas beginning to get accustomed to her new life, and her powers. And they they went out to the club one night.

The 'Nocturne Incident' gave Heidi a lot to think about. It gave her a newfound respect for several of her clammates, but also highlighted the dangers mutant posses, both when they use their abilities for ill purposes, or simply don't have proper control of them. The experience only further bolstered her beliefs and opinions on mutant registration. Mutants should, by law, be required to be taught how to control their powers, and be taught how to use them for good at not for ill. For their benefit, as well as the benefit of everybody else, this should be compulsory for all mutants. Of course, she doesn't share this view with her classmates. She cannot join them in their praise of reckless vigilante activity, as opposed to what a Superhero should be doing first and foremost; protecting people.

Recap Of Your Mutations Awakening

Waking up one day, still getting accustomed to being deaf, and learning that it was permanent, and having a brain that is so fast you can do a day's thinking in a second, is disorientating to say the least. Heidi's memory was suddenly so good that she could hear voices again, albeit voices from her memories. She could remember every detail of every second of her entire life. All at once if she so wanted to. She was a mutant, albeit not one whose mutations posed an immediate threat. Completely losing control only made her dizzy, or shut down and stare into space. She couldn't hurt anyone with her mutation. Even so, after telling her father, he didn't see it the same way. She was 'one of them'. That's when she realised that her father may have had good ideas but his motives were out-and-out racism. He didn't care if his ideas would benefit mutants as well as non-mutants.

Even in the weeks, following, during and after her application to the Ashford institute, she found new things her powers could let her do. She could stare information, and develop it in her mind. If she so wished, she could get a Doctorate level of understand in any subject in a single day of study, but she doesn't feel ready for that kind of pressure. She just wants to enjoy school normally, and go through it as the same rate as her classmates.

CANCELLED.

---

---

_{A @Silver Carrot & @Bee collab
Featuring: Charity Spencer and Lawrence Townsend
Location: Empty Classroom}

---

---

A lot was on Charity’s mind right now. The newspaper was in a mess right now and Charity had heard the Principal was thinking of shutting it down. And on top of that, her conversation with Trent at the church was bothering her. She hoped she could resolve this matter peacefully and simply but for Trent to say those things to her, in a church no less, was unforgivable. She was now convinced that he had no virtue, humility or respect. He was no Christian. He was a bigot who uses Chrisianity like an excuse and discards it when it’s not convenient. The worst kind of person in Charity’s eyes.

As she was walking down the corridor, she spotted Lawrence Townsend. For a brief moment her brain knew that she needed to talk to him about something important, but it took a second longer for her memory to kick in. Of course! When she had lunch with Lauren a few days ago, and spilled the beans, Lauren had advised her to talk to her brother about it! Maybe he could help her deal with Trent! Her pace picked up as she approached him.

”Uh, Lawrence? Hi. It’s Charity. I’m one of Lauren’s friends. I, uh, need a favour. Could I talk to you somewhere quiet?” she asked, choosing not to mention that she wrote for the paper. Given recent developments, that might be a minus instead of a plus.

Lawrence was minding his own business and making his way to his next class. It felt good to be back even if he wasn’t away for that long. It felt like he had been away for months on end, even though it’d actually been a week or two. Nobody actually noticed that he’d been gone for that long. Some would just assume he was sick, and the people he wanted to know knew what was going on.

He was caught off guard all of a sudden when someone approached him, getting in front of him. ”Oh? Uh, sure?” It was a weird request and a really unexpected one, but if Lauren had sent her his way then it probably was something dire and something he could be of use to. It was the unspoken code between the twins, so this must have been good.

Lawrence looked behind him, before gesturing for Charity to step into an empty classroom. ”C’mon.”

Charity entered the classroom, closing the door behind her, then took a breath. Here goes nothing. ”Okay, this is a long story. During the party on that boat, I ran into Trent and Miriam. Don’t know if you know they started dating, but I sure didn’t. I was only there to cover it for the newspaper, mind you!” she added at the last second. Charity Spencer going to a late night party wasn’t an everyday occurrence and did need explanation. She had a reputation to uphold.

”So I cornered Miriam, and asked her about this, and she confided in me that Trent is blackmailing her with something, and that’s why she’s agreed to date him. I don’t know what leverage is but I don’t want to make this situation public until I know. It must be something Miriam doesn’t want known under any circumstances.

Then, I caught up with Lauren for lunch yesterday, and confided in her what Miriam had confided in me. I know it was a secret but this situation won’t get solved if nothing is done about it. She recommended I ask you for help as you’re on the football team. I was still hesitant about involving more people so I decided to try and talk to Trent alone first. I couldn’t get anything out of him. In fact, he insulted me. In a Church, no less. That’s when I decided I needed your help after all.”

Listening to Charity intently, Lawrence nodded. Truth be told he didn’t hear much besides the fact that there was something about blackmail and this had to be kept lowkey. That was fine with Lawrence. He hated blackmail. Anyone who held things over people’s heads were the highest degree of pussy and he was willing to do whatever it took to take them down and drive the idea that sort of stuff was not acceptable. ”That’s fucking shitty… Lawrence shook his head, before looking back at Charity, ”I’ll help you out.”

”Great!” She replied, looking relieved, before stopping to think and frowning again. ”But I’m not sure how. I mean, I don’t know what the next move should be. Obviously the first step should be finding out what he has over Miriam, and then trying to take it or delete it, or at the very least, knowing what it is could help us. Do you have any ideas?”

”Nah, I don’t, actually. I’m not really good with stuff like that. I just... use my muscle, y’know?” Lawrence shrugged. ”Can’t you find a nerd or something to suss it out?”

”I don’t want to get more people involved than I have to. There’s one other person besides Trent who knows what he’s blackmailing Miriam with, and that’s Miriam. I’ll try and get it out of her again. Just keep an eye on Trent. Maybe he’ll let something slip. If I get any ideas, I’ll call Lauren and ask her to pass on a message. It means a lot that you’re willing to help.”

”That sounds like a plan to me.” Lawrence was wondering just how bad the information that Miriam was being blackmailed with was. If Charity was willing to involve so many people and go this far to make sure it didn’t reach, it was surely something that would wreck a lot of lives. ”Be careful, though. Sounds like some heavy stuff.”