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August 26th, 2019. Morning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8t8AtV0Oov8 Everyone Your alarm clocks, whether electronic or mental, go off at whichever hour you or your parents set them at, possibly leaving you groggy for the first time in months. Summer vacation is finally over. The start of a new school year is here. Whether you're a student or not, you've left yourself about an hour to prepare for your first day meeting faces both new and old, and coming to terms with the fact that the people you meet during these first five days are people you're stuck with until mid-April. Norton For those without personal transportation, or someone to drive them over, you'll be taking a short walk to a bus stop and getting scooped up along the route to Six Sisters Academy, part of the prestigious Six Sisters system of high schools and universities scattered across the state. As part of what is, effectively, the state's representative school system, Six Sisters benefits from a greater and more lenient budget than most public institutions, provided they continue to have a low student turnover rate and a high graduation rate. As far as you're aware, yours is the only campus in the tri-county area with the name. The amenities are definitely in place: soda fountains with RFID tag readers, a library with several floors of sliding bookshelves, a fully paved and covered walkway that ensures a rain-free entrance to every building on campus (if only from one entrance), computers only one OS generation out of date, and to top it off, each bus is equipped with Wi-Fi. Regardless of your mode of transport, you'll find yourself safely within the confines of the school grounds with about ten minutes to spare before you're supposed to report to your homeroom class. Or you would, if homeroom wasn't cancelled for an announcement in the auditorium. Still, you've got time to mingle, explore the halls if you haven't already done so a previous semester, find out where the rest of your classes are, or find some secluded spot to be a total weirdo at/sneak a cigarette in. Honey Bee Ishinomori High in Honey Bee, on the other hand, is within walking distance, and most of the parking space is reserved for faculty only. The upshot of this is that you have plenty of time to get there. The downside is dealing with the fact that everyone else is going to be walking there, too, removing a lot of the anonymity that'd come from a bus ride. It also means more chatter as people engage in conversation on the way over. Such snippets include... "Hey, did you hear about the old rock quarry? Well, Frankie went exploring there a few days ago, and hasn't come back." "Oh man, really? And the police haven't put in a report yet? Who even owns that place any more?" "That weirdo who owns the big house on the edge of town. Dio or some kinda weird Spanish name like that." "So my dad knows some teachers, and he says they say the school got bought out by some big corporate types over in Norton and is gonna get rebuilt. Hopefully they'll bulldoze it first so we won't have school this year!" Baseless rumors and thoughts of what might yet come to pass continue to fill the air as you reach 'Prestigious' Ishinomori. It amounts to two buildings for classrooms, a library, a small building for the administration, a cafeteria and a gymnasium. There's concrete foundations put down in places where there wasn't last year, though, and homeroom's been cancelled for an announcement in the gymnasium. You've got a few minutes to yourself to do whatever you want, whether that's getting acquainted with your new classmates, running laps on the track circle outlined around the gym, or finding a corner to brood on.
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Sep 10, 2016 15:43
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Sam Whittaker You know what I miss most about Forrest Academy? No commute. You go to sleep on campus, you wake up on campus, it's all as easy as pie. Or at least better than taking the bus all the time. Six Sisters says they have the best buses in the city, but let's be honest. A bus is a bus, no matter how many convenient little add-ons you stick on it. All the wifi in the world isn't going to make the guy I'm sitting next to not elbow me in the ribs every time we hit a bump. But hey, I might as well look on the bright side. At least I got a window seat. --- Most people would be using this time to find their classes. New school, new classes, an assembly you need to attend in ten minutes, you'd be a fool not to do something. Me, I think that's a bit too much work for this early in the morning. That's why I'm just going to loiter over here where I'm out of the way and wait for someone interesting to show up that I can follow to the auditorium and try not to look tired. It's easier than running around campus and staring at my schedule for ten minutes, that's for sure.
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Sep 10, 2016 18:35
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Christie Fairchild I always hated riding the bus at the beginning of the school year. Not because I actually disliked riding the bus, but because I wasn't sure what to do in the meanwhile; a few weeks into the semester, I could be studying my notes or reviewing my schoolwork, but as of now I was being more idle than I preferred. Admittedly, it was a rather silly complaint, so I tried to let myself relax. I wouldn't say that I succeeded, but at least I tried, right? --- Putting aside my curiosity as to what the announcement was about, I decided that since I had the opportunity, it would be smart to go figure out where some of my classes were; I was already fairly familiar with the layout of Six Sisters, so I figured I had the time before I needed to start making my way over to the auditorium. Besides, as I mentioned earlier, I was somewhat restless after having nothing to do during the bus ride over, and this was a productive way of working off that energy. Making sure to carefully keep an eye on my watch, I started my trek around the school grounds.
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Sep 10, 2016 20:50
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James Morganson I say bye to my driver and walk into the main schoolyard where I am immediately set on edge. What kind of idiot plays around in abandoned quarries? Don’t people know how dangerous that is? Why would anyone choose an abandoned, unexplored, untouched quarry when you’ve got a perfectly good forest to explore. You’d have to be pretty stupid to think that some place that's been left on it’s own for years without any people to disturb it would be cool to… explore… God drat it. Now I’ve got the itch. But as cool as it sounds, quarries are still dangerous. Dad owns a few and I’ve heard a lot of horror stories about what can go wrong. Hmm, thinking about it maybe dad knows the owner or hell, owns it himself? No don’t get distracted, that doesn’t matter at the moment. What matters is that Frankie might have gotten himself in trouble and none of his friends feel like lifting a finger to help. Hmm, I know where the quarry is and it won’t take me long to get there after school. Maybe I can head over, look around a little bit? But only to make sure that Frankie guy is okay! If he even went there at all, which he might not of. But still, better safe then sorry, right? The little bubble of excitement and anticipation I’m nursing is almost immediately burst when I hear the second rumour of the day and I nearly scream out loud. I calm myself down enough to just whisper out “That self-aggrandizing, obsessive rear end in a top hat!” before I clamp down fully. I feel bad as soon as I finish; Things are a little bit better between dad and me and baseless accusations aren't going to help fix things. Maybe this has nothing to do with him? Maybe it’s a different corporate group buying up the place? Maybe the school isn’t being bought and the rumours are full of poo poo? I don’t want to get into an argument with dad again, especially if he isn’t even here. I need to have faith that he wouldn’t try this moronic stunt. I have to, I don’t want things to get even worse. I stop to take a minute to calm down, watching as everyone else slowly drifts along to the gymnasium. Getting out always helps calm me down so I end up planning my trip to the quarry later today, losing myself in my head.
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Sep 10, 2016 21:29
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 "Yet another magnificent day!" Viola exclaims enthusiastically as she wanders down the streets in Honey Bee. She catches a couple odd glances for her unusual way of greeting people, but she seems friendly enough, so she mostly leaves behind a wake of people wondering if this is some kind of strange advertisement or if maybe the circus is in town. Occasionally she stops to look at something in a show window, just wandering around without any particular direction in mind. Eventually she notices the small groups of students all chatting, walking in one direction and generally looking like there's something interesting going on thataway. Drawn by curiosity she begins to move in the same direction, bouncing from group to group as she listens to what they're talking about. It's not hard to pick up on the fact that they're headed for school, though why they would seem excited about it getting bulldozed seems odd. Why go if you don't want to? She stops in the middle of the side-walk with one finger raised to her mouth in a thoughtful expression, uncaring or unaware of the fact that people have to navigate around her with a couple "Hey"s and some "Whatch it"s. "It's an quandary. Seems dangerous. Apparently people get lost in those!" she finally concludes and decides to inform some of the students passing her. It seems to be what everyone else is doing and she can personally attest to the fact that quandaries can indeed be devious traps of indecisiveness. Spreading awareness is probably good, lest someone else get lost in one.
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Sep 10, 2016 23:21
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 Another day, another chance to wake up before the alarm clock. Some day I'm going to stop setting alarms and giving myself another headache. And summer classes are over, so no easy walk to Norton Academy for me--Six Sisters is on the other side of town! Times like this make me really wish I had a car, instead of having to curl up in the back of the bus with my head smacking against the window on every bump. At least it keeps me awake? With ten minutes before homeroom--uh, well, whatever this assembly thing happens to be--I need to get something for this drat headache. I think the nurse's office is close enough to the main auditorium that I can go there and not get missed at the meeting. I'd better make sure I'm on whatever lists I need to be on so the nurse knows what to do if something goes...bad.
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Sep 11, 2016 08:12
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Sam Whittaker Hanging around being an anti-socialite tends to attract the anti-socialites. Most of them seem to have kept themselves in line for day one at school, lest they get ejected immediately and have to deal with the shame of being too weird for school for the rest of the school year, but there's always a few screwballs that slip in through the cracks. Case in point, a trading card flies by and lands at your feet. Shortly after, there's this weirdo running over in your direction.  "Aaah! Please don't move your foot, it's a Mythic Rare!" Assuming you don't stomp the card to spite them, they carefully scoop it up, dust it off, and put it back in a protective sleeve along with the rest of their cards. They breathe a sigh of relief, then look back over to you, blushing a bit at how weird they must've been just now. "Sorry about that! That one slipped out from my binder...Oh, I should probably introduce myself, shouldn't I? Sabrina Jimenez, proud collector and president of the unofficial Hobby Club! We meet Fridays for draft games and our weekly tabletop RPG sessions. You're welcome to come by if you want! ...Though it'd probably help if you knew where it was..." She digs around in her coat for something. Eventually, she pulls out a laminated business card and hands it over. It's got Ye Olde English font and is an advertisement for a "Theater of the Mind" game and hobby club. Meets Fridays at 6 in the Arts and Humanities building's study labs. Sabrina's phone number and email are also printed on this, with the "S" in Sabrina stylized to look like a dragon. "There you go! And if you don't like it, um...Give me a second to prove there's no hard feelings!" She rushes off. Shortly after, she's returned with a melon bread and a canned tea from the nearby vending machines. "Here. Anyway, um...shoot, it's almost time for that announcement. Gotta go!" She scurries off. You can probably still catch her if you go faster than walking pace, though.
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Sep 11, 2016 18:16
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Stefan Falco You stumble your way through the halls of noisy loiterers and clogged lines to both the vending machines and the bathrooms. The nurse's office, or rather, "Student Health Services" as it is officially titled, is indeed close the auditorium, in its own sector, but ultimately close to the center of the complex. Presumably this was to ensure that it was an equal distance away from any particular location in which an injury may occur. Inside, there is a reception area with waiting room chairs not unlike a real clinic. As-is, the building seems almost abandoned until you make your presence known, at which point a single red-haired girl in the school uniform pokes her head out from one of the rooms and looks over at you, a surprised expression on her face.  "Huh? Someone got hurt already? School hasn't even started yet..." She moves her way over to the front desk and asks you to sign in. When you do, signing your name and reason for your visit, she takes a moment to look at your name and scroll through a desktop computer right next to it. She's a bit of a slow typer. Agonizingly slow for someone like you. "Falco, Stefan...There we are. Oh!" Her expression kind of droops a little. "Oh...Well that explains that." She looks back over at you.  "Your parents called our offices yesterday to drop off several of your prescription medications as well as any over-the-counter medicine they think you might need. Not that it's entirely necessary as we have aspirin, as well as condoms and other basic medical items available across from the office here. But seeing as they've already provided it, let me go get you something for this...'headache.'" The red-headed student faculty member heads off to another room, holding a keyring as she steps through. You hear the sound of someone unlocking and opening a metal drawer, then fishing through for something. Shortly after, she returns with a bottle of generic aspirin. She quickly scans the side of it, then pops it open and hands you two tablets and a small, 8oz water bottle. "I'm not one of the doctors, so I can't give you a proper exam, but I can give you these. Come back if you still feel any pains; the doctors should be in by 8:30." Unknown Quantity fucked around with this message at 19:33 on Sep 11, 2016 |
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Sep 11, 2016 19:15
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Viola You get some very odd looks, both due to your words and your choice of clothing. There are various whispered responses. Such responses include "Weirdo," "Does that break dress code?" and "What's a quandary?" among others. There's the occasional awkward 'thanks' as well, but mostly, your attention is ignored as hard as possible by speeding up their paces as they head to school. As you seem to be going to the same direction, you'll find yourself merrily skipping along to school grounds. It's a very big, wide place to explore! Unfortunately, your exploration gets cut short when an adult wearing very business-like attire stops you with a hand on your shoulder and asks you why you're not in uniform. You likely have no idea of what a uniform is, or why you need one, so you're sent off to the locker rooms just outside the gymnasium and told to change out of that...whatever that is, and into a uniform. Inside these buildings are showers, lockers, and a box containing gym uniforms, IE gym shorts and t-shirts emblazoned with the name and emblem of the school: "Six Sisters Academy: Honey Bee Division." A bright orange top with dark blue shorts and a matching hat if you continue digging around. You have time to change outfits and possibly freshen up before whatever big event is happening next door occurs. Christie Fairchild You begin your exploration of where your classes should take place, according to the schedule. Your homeroom class is easy enough to find, it's in the Social and Behavioral Sciences building. Speaking of which, your first class, Introductory Psychology, is in this building as well! Considering there's only five minutes between classes, there's only so much travel time they can expect, it seems. Arts and Humanities holds your History course on the second floor, above the student art gallery on the first. A note on the door, however, states that for the first day of class, it will be moved to a room on the third floor today. ...Odd. You keep looking on the map for the "HBC1" acronym, but there's no sign of it. as-is, your third and fourth classes for the day don't show up on the map. What does show up, however, is a schedule for the train line. As usual, it starts running at 5 AM in Norton, takes off and arrives at just before 5:30 in Honey Bee, waits until about 5:30, then heads back to Norton. This process repeats until 2 PM, where it takes a scheduled hour off for maintenance, after which it resumes service at 3 PM and continues until the final train from Honey Bee station takes off at 11:30 PM and is expected to arrive at 11:55 at Norton station. Why this information is on your school's map is anyone's guess, though. "If you're looking for Biology, you're not going to find it here."  A taller man, presumably a professor based on the lab coat, adjusts his glasses and gives you a vacant look. They wear a lanyard holding a small ID card with their picture and their name. It reads "Dr William Cleaver, PhD." "The lab is several miles away. I'd explain more, but Dean Randall would have my gnads in a sling if I didn't wait until after the announcement. Interesting, though: I didn't expect to find someone who cared enough about their studies to go looking for their classrooms ahead of time." He offers a handshake as the clock nears the all-important 8:00.
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Sep 11, 2016 20:15
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Christie Fairchild "Oh, good morning... Dr. Cleaver? I figured I should look for my classes since I'd just be sitting around waiting otherwise." I didn't recognize the man upon first sight, but that was to be expected; there were a number of teachers throughout the academy, after all. Still, you'd think I would've heard of a name like that before. Taking his offered hand, I shake it for a moment before my eyes catch glimpse of the time; I had wanted to ask more about exactly what he had meant, yet we were both going to be late if we didn't move now, and it apparently had something to do with the announcement anyhow. At least I had managed to find most of my classes. "We should probably start making our way to the auditorium, Dr. Cleaver; it's almost 8 already." Honey Bee, huh? I... didn't know much about the small town, honestly, which made me all the more curious as to what the train schedule was doing here. There was a thought or two about what it could mean, but I put them aside; I'd know for sure in a few minutes anyways. TheFireMagi fucked around with this message at 04:01 on Sep 14, 2016 |
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Sep 11, 2016 21:26
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People hurrying away from Viola doesn't seem to put too much of a dent in her good mood. They're probably just spooked by her warning. Which is good! That way no one else is going to get themselves lost. The need for an uniform does indeed escape her, but an important looking man in orderly clothes insists on one, so who is she to argue with him too much, even if he seems to grow exasperated at her seemingly playing stupid. Still, she graciously thanks him with a flourished bow before happily skipping off towards the locker room. Rows and rows of, well, lockers greet her. The repetitiveness stretching out in front of her feeling vaguely familiar somehow. Except this isn't endless, it just stops at a wall after not even that much of a distance. Upon finding the uniforms it finally clicks what the man was talking about. "Oh but of course! I am wearing the wrong costume! How silly of me." One curtain-induced scene transition later she's wearing the shirt, pants and shoes of the gym uniform, bunching up her usual clothes and stuffing them into her hat, the one concession she's decided they are sure to make. After all, she has to set herself apart from everybody else somehow. Plus she doesn't want to leave her clothes behind and thus she firmly pulls her jester's cap - somehow not particularly deformed by holding her things - onto her head. She takes a moment to look down at herself and evaluate her new costume. Good colors, if a little plain. "Whoever designed this dressing room needs to be introduced to the concept of mirros." she shakes her head as she heads out. By now there seem to be significantly fewer people around and the few she spots see to be in a hurry, so she joins them in jogging along towards the auditorium, since that's clearly where everyone is headed.
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Sep 11, 2016 21:55
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 As an upperclassman who lives out in the sticks, even by Honey Bee standards, I managed to snag a student parking pass this year. Still, I don't press my luck, choosing one of the cruddier and most distant parking places -- none of them are that bad, but this one's a little more of a walk, with torn-up concrete that means nobody's coveting it. Sure, my car's paint job has seen better days, but I still don't want any jerks keying it. I'm pretty comfortable with the campus layout by now, and I think I know where all my classes are; if anything, I realize, I've been taking this a little too casually. Fresh uniform and new shoes, because Mom insists and I had a little pocket money for it, and I've got my schedule in my day planner, but... well, let's be honest: I'm late. Not late in the technical sense, but later than I wanted to be. There's supposed to be an assembly in... less than ten minutes. Great. Okay, well, the gym can't be that crowded yet, can it? Probably still somewhere I can sit where people won't be crowding me in too badly. I start hustling out of the parking lot and towards the campus, going straight for the gymnasium at a brisk walk. I probably don't need to run. Well, not yet, anyway... Antivehicular fucked around with this message at 04:38 on Sep 12, 2016 |
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Sep 12, 2016 01:53
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"It's not quite like that, I--" I start to say, but then the nurse asks me for name and reason for visit and starts looking me up. She types so drat slow--is she still using hunt and peck?! I can't really hold it against her, though, since she does get me some sweet relief. It's a wonder I manage to nod and mumble "thanks" before the pills and the entire bottle go down the hatch. Almost immediately the world looks a little less fuzzy, and I manage to give the nurse a smile as I put the bottle in a recycling bin (for some reason it looks like a blue jay with its head tilted back and up to receive cans and bottles in its beak--is it supposed to be calming?) "Thanks, seriously, I really needed that," I sigh as I rub my temple. "Uhm, well, you know my parents dropped off my medication, and I get the feeling I'm going to be seeing you a lot this year. I mean, maybe not you specifically unless you always work the morning shift but, well." There's a moment of awkward silence. "I don't think I ever caught your name?"
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Sep 12, 2016 04:05
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Sam Whittaker Maybe this loitering plan wasn't the best idea. It's been a few minutes and I haven't seen anything that interesting. Maybe I should just get going and find that auditorium... Unknown Quantity posted:"Aaah! Please don't move your foot, it's a Mythic Rare!" I freeze. Here I thought I'd never find anyone interesting and who comes along but the queen of all nerds. This is... actually not what I was looking for at all, but I know literally no one at this school so I'll take what I can get. I reach out to shake her hand and-wait. She has a business card? You got to be kidding me. "I'm, uh... Thanks?" Screw me sideways, this is actually a decent card. The typography's good, they didn't cheap out on the paper, it's actually... Well, it's complete overkill for anything you'd do in high school, but maybe that's just the kind of place Six Sisters is? Forrest had weird actually-true ghost stories, Six Sisters has confusingly high quality business cards. Not that that matters, since Sabrina already ran off while I was gawking at her card, so I better- Never mind, she's back. With snacks? And she just shoved them into my hands and left again? That's... just... "Hey! Slow down! You can't just drop junk food on me and walk off! I'm not that cheap, y'know!" I run after Sabrina and... Okay, she didn't rush that fast. Didn't really need to run, actually. Lesson learned. "I'm ha I'm Sam Whittaker, good to meet ya. I don't have a card to give you, because uh... Because I have dignity, mostly. So, uh... Do you know where the auditorium is? Because I don't."
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Sep 12, 2016 04:26
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Stefan Falco "It's Courtney. And for your information, I do work the morning shift daily." She mutters something while rolling her eyes. "Anyway, you should probably get going. I'll still be here when the dust settles..." Sam Whittaker  "Oops! It completely slipped my mind to ask your name!" She actually stops and does an apologetic bow. "I'm sorry! I-if you need directions to the auditorium, though, I was headed there right now. It's this way." She resumes her speedwalking to guide you along to the auditorium and begins searching for seats. Norton Campus, Auditorium The auditorium is set up to operate like a proper auditorium theatre, with seats up on several floors as well as the chairs directly in front of the stage. Needless to say, you will probably find yourself a seat if only through sheer density of chairs. Getting front row or one not in-between people might be iffy, however. After another minute or two, a tall, dark, but not altogether handsome man in a spiffy suit and slacks finds his way to the microphone and gives it a testing tap. The audio system is definitely set up to be audible no matter where in the auditorium you are. Possibly even still possible to make out while outside as well. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NG6a1oqMh-o "Testing...Good morning, students! This is your principal and Dean, John Randall. If you're newcomers, I would like to be the first to welcome you to our wonderful campus. For those returning, I hope this school year is even greater than the last one. Now, I'm sure you didn't come here just to get a hearty hello. We value your time at Six Sisters Academy, so I'll cut right to the chase: with the opening of the railway between Norton and the nearby community of Honey Bee, we believed there was potential for a collaborative effort that would provide benefits to both cities. To that end, we are excited to announce our newest addition to the Six Sisters university system: Six Sisters, Honeybee Division!" He clicks on a button, and from the rafters, down starts to drape a pair of banners. One of the Six Sisters emblem you normally find, and now a new one featuring an alternate color palette. "The Honey Bee campus will be the site of several of your courses starting today. Now, I know what you're probably thinking: 'but won't we have to pay for our train tickets?' The answer is no you will not! Simply present your Student ID to the ticket stand at any time between the hours of 7 AM to 6 PM, and your fee will be waived. Just one of several benefits to come from this partnership. In the future we hope to have more buildings added to the Honey Bee campus, a larger combined teaching staff, and more student employment opportunities. Now, if you'd all reach under your seats, we can go over the new class schedules." Sure enough, in a small compartment under your seats, there is a chart depicting the map of the two campuses and the train schedule, and more importantly, a time for each class. It seems that your designated times to swap campuses are between 7 and 8, 12 and 1, and between 4 and 5, with the latter being when school lets out anyway. Lunch has been extended to an hour to accommodate the fact that you'll be leaving for Honey Bee at 12 and arrive at around 12:30. "If there are any questions, please raise your hand and I will attempt to answer them as best I can. If not, I will proceed with the rest of your normal morning announcements before dismissing you. Let's all work together to have another great year at Six Sisters Academy!" Honey Bee Campus, Gymnasium The gym's bleachers have been extended outwards. Yup, this is an event alright. You have to cram together a bit, but everyone does manage to fit within the rows of seats alotted, albeit with the staff using chairs borrowed from storage to seat themselves. A single microphone is in the center, on a stand. The noise begins picking up until at last, a perky-looking blonde woman picks up the microphone. "Helloooo students of Ishinomori! This is your Principal, Luna Platt. We've got great news for you! With the train line between our town and the big city of Norton to the west, we've paved the way for tons of opportunities! I won't lie, this campus has always felt a bit small, and that's because for a while now, we haven't had room to expand. But now, I'm proud to say we've set things in motion to change that. And to start, we're giving the place a fresh coat of paint! What do I mean by that? Well I'd like everyone here to know that Ishinomori High School is Ishino-more. We are nowwww..." In a rather odd move, she tosses off her full-length shirt with the Ishinomori high school name and logo to reveal an equal-length, otherwise-identical shirt, except in new colors and with a completely different logo and name. This of course gets some folks hooting and hollering before they realize it's just another shirt underneath. "Six Sisters Academy, Honey Bee Division! Effective today, we are now a part of Norton's Six Sisters Academy and will be sharing classes between the two campuses. And on top of that, we're also cleared to start building new additions to our campus! How's that for more space? We've even made a deal with the train company. Student ID photos will be taken today and tomorrow in place of your first period class. Get your photo taken, receive your ID card, show it to the ticket booth operator between 7 and 6, and your train fee is on us. Speaking of which, we've got a train schedule, updated class schedule, and other goodies being passed around as we speak. If there are any questions, let us know! If there aren't any, I'll read off the rest of today's announcements and then you're free to go to the Library to get your ID photos taken." Currently, a few teachers are passing around, from a box, the new school's T-shirt, baseball caps featuring the logo, the map of the two campuses with train schedule, and a separate document with the class schedules. You take the train either at 7:30 or 1:30, then come back either at 1:30 if you took the morning train or the 4:00 back home. Seems simple enough for a stupidly complex means to force two campuses to work together.
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Sep 12, 2016 06:52
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Christie Fairchild As I had begun to guess, the "HB" meant that my classes were in Honey Bee; what I hadn't expected was the reasoning for it. "Six Sisters, Honeybee Division..." It was...unusual, to say the least. To be honest, I wasn't entirely sure what the point of it was from an academic perspective, but I figured that if the administration had made this decision then they had their own good reasons for it, even if I couldn't understand them. Besides, a change of scenery and some fresh air might be good for me. Studying under an apple tree or by a, a lake or something like that could be nice...? I really had to wonder what the administration's reasoning was. Thankfully the train rides were free, although even I'd have something to say if they weren't. Oh, speaking of, I thought, when was I meant to take the train? If it was my third and fourth period classes then... the 12 to 1 time frame? I wonder what kind of restaurants Honey Bee has? I'd really have to do some research about the place if I was going to be there half of the school day. The principal continues talking, though I only half-listen as my thoughts shift to forming a mental picture of what the town might look like as well as what the people there are like. Making friends outside of the city had a nice ring to it the more I thought about it... TheFireMagi fucked around with this message at 01:14 on Sep 13, 2016 |
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Sep 12, 2016 07:18
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Viola climbs into the bleachers along with everyone else, curious and eager to see what this is all about. The stage is kind of tiny, barely even a stage at all really, but the moment the Principle starts talking Viola is excited. There's someone who knows how to make an announcement! Viola's already laughing and cheering at the Ishi-no-more joke and joins in on the hollering when Principle Platt tears away her shirt for effect, although presumably for entirely different reasons than most. Still, she's having a good time. Following people here was such a great idea. And now they're offering free train rides to Norton! All of this just sounds fantastic and she gladly grabs all the stuff being handed out, even if she's not entirely sure what some of it is. Schedules for more performances of some sort, presumably. That could be fun. And maps, very helpful indeed. Another hat, once again less impressive than her own but she tucks it away anyway, just in case. And finally times for the train. Looking over the train schedule she suddenly frowns. "Five minutes to midnight? That seems like cutting it needlessly close." she mumbles to herself. "Uhm, excuse me, Mister!" she tries to get the attention of one of the teachers handing out things by waving her hand back and forth in the air. "Mister! Sir! My apologies, but I have a question. It's important. What is gonna happen if the last train is running late? Is it gonna stay in Norton for the night?" she asks with some concern, probably sounding like she's worried about getting stuck in Norton. Atropha fucked around with this message at 19:47 on Sep 12, 2016 |
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Sep 12, 2016 18:45
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James Morganson I catch and have to immediately stop myself from texting dad to get him to fix this whole mess.I mean seriously; who thought it would be a good idea to take a whole hour out of the study day to account for travelling? And if that wasn’t enough, if I get stuck in the Norton campus at days end, I have to travel back home again cutting into my time. Ugh. No I can’t tell dad any of this. Hopefully he doesn’t already know or he’ll make some excuse to try make me stay over in the penthouse on Norton days, and that would be even worse! Things are a bit better between us now but nowhere near good enough to spend a whole day together with no me time! Some girl I’ve never seen before makes a point about trains running late. Something to worry about I suppose, but then again I can just pay my driver overtime if he ends up needing to pick me up from the city. Brooding on that additional bit of joy, I very pointedly avoid the T-Shirt and cap a passing teacher tries to foist on me as I collect my new schedule. Time to see just how deep this rabbit hole of an idea goes.
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Sep 12, 2016 22:25
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Sam Whittaker "Oh come on. We have to go to Golden Bee every day? You might as well have dorms at that point..." You know, for a few minutes there I almost thought going to Six Sisters wasn't going to be that bad. Maybe it wasn't going to be that bad here, once I stop comparing everything to Forrest. But no, they decided to do something legitimately terrible and add two hours of bus rides to my day so I could take classes with a bunch of country yokels. What an utter waste of my time. I crack open my can of tea and take a sip to try to relax. (Are there rules against eating in the auditorium? Probably, but no one confiscated my food when I came in so I don't really care.) ... But now that I'm thinking about it, maybe this won't be as bad as I think it is. I mean, they're a bunch of yokels. They probably haven't heard about, you know, everything I said on Twitter about shadows. I'm sure they've heard less than anyone in Norton, at least. And really, isn't that why I'm here? To have a slightly more normal social life? So maybe this will work out fine in the end, despite being incredibly annoying? Eh, whatever. I'll think about that later. For now, the only thing that matters is this free can of tea and waiting for the dean to shut up.
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Sep 13, 2016 03:01
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"Courtney, alright. Thanks again." I nod as I grab my things to head out for the assembly. "See you tomorrow," I say with a little bitterness. ----- Are you kidding me?! The entire reason my parents moved from Honey Bee to Norton is because there's lots more access to technology and pharmacies and stuff to make my life easier here! Now they're telling me I have to go back? Even if it's for a few hours on weekdays I have to go back?! Argh! My headache is starting to come back just thinking about the train rides back and forth. And they'll probably be crammed full and there won't be any reception...aaaaaagh. Who came up with such a stupid, buggy, half-baked idea?!
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Sep 13, 2016 03:35
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Norton Campus Seeing that there are no more questions, the dean smiles. "If you wish to know more about the specifics of the merger, the specifics of why can be found on the Q&A section of our campus' website, under 'Norton-Honey Bee Merger.'" He proceeds to go over the rest of the announcements. An email is sent to your academy email accounts, stating your class number and schedule for this week. It would seem that you are in class 2-B, which starting will be spending third and fourth period at the Honey Bee campus roughly twice a week (Today and Friday, specifically), with the Honey Bee members of your class coming in on the morning train to your campus the rest of the week. The rest of the announcements proceed as normal as you're let out to wander the halls towards your first class, Introductory Psychology. Honey Bee campus The teacher responds with a quizzical look. "The train is pretty much set in stone: you get on at the turn of the hour at Norton, and get on here at the half. Unless you miss the 11 PM to Honey Bee, I don't think you'll get lost." Meanwhile, for the rest of you sans Viola, you find yourself in class 2-B. You'll be heading over to Norton every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, taking the 7:30 to Norton, arriving on campus around 8:20 (you'll be excused for being late to Norton's homeroom as your actual homeroom teacher is over at Honey Bee), and spend the day there, returning at 4. Your class includes a list of all students currently enrolled in the class, not that you'd likely recognize any names. 'Viola' of course is not on said list of students. Still, you're let out after the rest of the usual announcements are made. You've effectively got first period off to go mingle with people after getting your photo ID. An hour and a half of free time awaits, assuming you're quick about getting in line.
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Sep 13, 2016 05:31
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Viola frowns ever so slightly at that answer. She must have gotten something mixed up or the teacher misunderstood her. He definitely did not seem to recognize the problem of the train running till almost midnight, but then he's not in charge of the train anyway, is he? Oh well. She'll just have to find someone who is then. But for now she's decided this whole 'school' thing sounds interesting enough to stick around if the principle's performance is any indication. Very good stage presence and flair. She reads through the rest of the stuff that was handed out as she kinda follows the crowd out of the gym. The throng of people carries her along towards where the pictures are being taken. When it's her turn the photographer asks her name and she cheerfully informs him "It's Viola!" "I'm going to need a bit more than that. Last name?" "None! It's just Viola!" "Who doesn't have a last name? Are you some kinda exchange student? Either way your name's not on here." Well, this is annoying. Why won't they just put her name on the list now? She puts the back of her hand against her forehead overly dramatically. "Oh woe is me, it must have gotten lost! It's just one little name. I only just got to Honey Bee, you know." she starts making a scene. "I was so looking forward to my classes too and now you're telling my they lost my name? Won't you just take my picture and get me that card? I will go and find someone to sort this out, I promise! I've already gotten the right costume too, see?" she poses dramatically so the photographer can read her shirt that clearly says 'Six Sisters Academy: Honey Bee Division' on it. Flashily trying to bowl over the Photographer 11:16 SuddenC .roll 4df+3 11:16 Platonibot SuddenC: 6 (4df+3=0, +, +, +) Atropha fucked around with this message at 17:27 on Sep 13, 2016 |
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Sep 13, 2016 17:25
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The photographer isn't particularly enthused with their job, so the Goal was 3. You Succeed with Style. Note a boost, I'd call it "A special case" and then feel free to use one invoke of it at any point during this school day. We'll say it disappears when school lets out if unused. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGuk_wStoW0 Viola's drama queen act starts getting looks from students. Then the library staff. Then the campus security, who finally steps in. "Is there a problem here, miss?" You explain your sob story directly in view of a now-unnerved photographer. Hushed whispers about how much of a jerk this photographer is being to a foreigner on their first day begin spreading. Tensions begin rising as the security guard begins reading through the list. "What are you talking about 'not on the list?' I found a 'Viola' right here." He points out a 'Viola Capitani,' exchange student of Italian descent. The photographer raises a finger as if to protest, then just slowly lowers it and sighs in defeat. He asks you to take a seat and smile for the camera. Soon after, you're escorted to a line where you're given a small palm-sized card that features "Viola Capitani" and the school logo, as well as a 7-digit sequence of numbers and a strange pattern of lines of varying thickness, as well as one long black bar on the back of it. You appear to have the required card now!
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Sep 13, 2016 19:04
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James Morganson I’m pulled along with everyone else toward the library for the ID photo but I’m jolted out of my I don’t know why but I end up drawing up closer to the exchange student. I don’t really have that many friends at school; when people hear the name Morganson they either get too intimated by it, or they become sycophants looking for an easy ride. Honeybee is too small to find someone who has never heard of my dad or his company, but maybe just this once, Morganson won’t be the first thing someone hears. “Erm, hi there.” I mutter awkwardly to the new girl “Viola, right? Jeez, what a day to start at a new school. I can’t believe it’s the first day and there's already been a screw up. My names James, James Morganson. Class 2-B”
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Sep 13, 2016 19:50
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Success! As her card is being prepared Viola is doing cheerful fist-pumps in the background until she's handed her shiny new card, complete with shiny new last name. "Thank you kindly for your assistance." she thanks the security card and gives the photographer a raspberry before pivoting around on one foot and proudly marching off, her newly acquired ID card held high. At least until she almost bumps into another student who's stopped to talk to her. "Oh! Why hello! Yep, that's me. They had some trouble finding my name, but that's alright, I only very recently decided to go here. How very nice to make your acquaintance James." she says with the tiniest of curtsies. "I'm sure they're doing their very best though. First days can be confusing. And I should know. I'm in class... 5872785." she reads the registration number off her ID card. "Is that right? I'm not sure that seems right... That's probably not right."
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Sep 13, 2016 20:23
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James Morgan “Oh no, that’s not quite right.” I interrupt mildly. I reach for my ID only to realise I haven't had my photo taken yet. “Ah well.” I try to cover my fumbling “That’s you’re student registration number. You need that for exams and things. You’re class number should be on the class schedule… Did you see you're name on the schedule? I mean if they messed up you're name on the ID list, they might have missed it off the schedule as well. Just let me just get my photo taken and we can go and figure it out!”
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Sep 13, 2016 20:53
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 "Certainly!" With nowhere better to be right now Viola waits around while James goes to have his picture taken. Now armed with a last name she looks back through the lists of names again until she finds 'Capitani, V.' on the list under Class 2-B. Bunching up the rest of the papers and stuffing them into her pocket she hangs on to the page with her newly acquired name on it. Odd, now that she has a moment to think about it it doesn't quite make sense how she'd be on there if she hadn't known she'd be attending school herself until an hour ago. "The world moves in mysterious ways..." she concludes. As odd as it is, lists with names that appear when appropriate does not register as too bizarre to her, unaware of how skewed her perspective might be on what's strange and what isn't. When James returns she's holding up the class list and waving it around. "Here, look, I found it! I almost missed it cause till today I didn't have a last name." she cheerfully informs him.
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Sep 13, 2016 21:10
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James Morganson "Didn't have a...? Oh hey” I say, Viola’s infectious enthusiasm distracting me from some of her more odd aspects. “We’re in the same class!” My mood finally improving from this mornings news, I take another look at our new schedule. While I recognise some of these names, a good amount are ones that I’ve never seen before. In a school as small as Ishinomori this would have been unthinkable, but now… “I know some of our other classmates. Well I don’t know them but I know of them. It seems our class has a good amount of students from Norton though… Maybe we should see about gathering up the Honey Bee students of class 2-B together, just to help head off any other problems the school has managed to concoct. You know, unless there was something else you wanted to do beforehand.” Unable to contain my curiosity I also add “If you don't mind me asking, since you’re an exchange student where are you staying at the moment?” OscarDiggs fucked around with this message at 23:15 on Sep 13, 2016 |
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Sep 13, 2016 22:07
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"Sure, let's find some more new friends. The more the merrier!" she nods enthusiastically. "We'll tackle any problems photographers and librarians might throw our way!" she goes on with a broad grin. "And I just go home. I mean, not all the way home of course, that'd be weird and I'm not even sure how that'd work. Honey Bee's my new home anyway, so I stay near the train station now. It's alright, but now that the train's actually going it might be a bit loud... Oh well, thankfully they do stop at night, otherwise that'd be bad."
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Sep 13, 2016 22:39
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James Morganson “I understand. Cheap housing for students probably isn’t a main concern for the town so of course it gets shunted off into the bad parts of town.” Stupid stupid stupid! Why say that James, why? “Well the upside is I know a ton of secluded spots and quiet places, so if it ever gets to busy or noisy near the station you’ll be able to find a quiet place to study.” I breathe a sigh of relief at that successful deflection; hopefully Viola won’t take it badly if she ends up finding out about the whole… fortune thing. “Well, at least you won’t have to walk far when it comes to travelling to Norton. My driver- driv- my driving level of ability is going to be sorely tested on those early morning journeys!” Oh my god! Shut up before you make even more of an rear end out of yourself! “Let’s go find everyone else!”
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Sep 13, 2016 23:12
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Sam Whittaker Alright. First class of the day is intro psych, room 105. Shouldn't be a problem, as soon as I find it. Which shouldn't be that long, since I just passed room 103. And here's room 104, and next should be... room 112? How does that make sense? Alright, let's just check the map and... Wait... How is everything else so expensive here when the map's this bad? You'd think they could afford to make a map you could actually read... Oh screw it, I'm asking for directions. "Hey, you." I wave over one of the other students in the hall. "Do you know where room 105 is?" Which other PC did I just ask for directions?  (But probably Stefan, just so I ask the one who also doesn't know where anything is yet.)
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Sep 14, 2016 02:15
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I'm still stewing in my juices about the crazy plan from on high to force me to die in the sticks when I collapse and the school infirmary is totally underequipped when someone comes up to me asking about Room 105. Wait, that's where I'm headed too. She must be in the same class as I am! "Room 105? The Psych intro course? Sure, it should be...uh..." I try to look at the map on the wall, but it's being crowded around by other students looking for their first classes too. "Crud, okay, hang on...smartphone don't fail me now, I optimized you for a reason..." I pull out my smartphone and call up the Six Sisters website. They've gotta have a visitor's map on there-- "Request timeout?! How many people use their website?! Sorry, this is harder than I thought...son of a..."
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Sep 14, 2016 03:25
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Christie Fairchild Still somewhat lost in thought as the dean ends his speech, it takes me a moment to snap out of my daze, by which time everyone has begun leaving for their classes. Luckily, I already found mine beforehand, so even though I was slow to leave I'd make it on time. As I make my way over to the Social and Behavioral Sciences building, weaving through the crowd of students, I catch the tail end of a conversation between two unfamiliar faces. A conversation about Psychology class, in fact, which meant they were my classmates. Darting my way back through the crowd, I call out to the duo as I approach. "Excuse me! You two said you were looking for Room 105, right? Introduction to Psychology? I'm not sure why when Room 104 is right here, but 105 is down a different hallway." It was rather odd, now that I thought about it. Maybe it had something to do with the construction? Or was it possibly an error with administration? Well, the reason didn't matter, really. Though if it was confusing new students, maybe it was something I should bring up to the dean? Hmm. Shelving that notion for another day, I smile towards the pair and motion at said hallway. "I'm headed for 105 myself, so I can take you two there if you'd like."
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Sep 14, 2016 04:00
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Sam Whittaker "Of course it's down. They spent so much on wifi they didn't have any left for servers." Of course I asked the one person who's just as new here as me. Sure, I'd meet him eventually, but right now he's just useless so... Ugggghhhhh. I'll just look over this map again and hope for the best. Orrrrrr some random guy could offer to help. That works too. "Uh... Yeah? I mean, it's better than staying lost."
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Sep 14, 2016 19:43
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"Huh? Oh, hey." Someone else from our class, thank goodness! And it sounds like he knows his way around. And he doesn't look--I mean, uh-- "Yeah, if you know where we're supposed to be going, lead on. Dang, Norton Academy wasn't nearly this big..."
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Sep 14, 2016 20:01
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After the assembly, I take a quick detour to my locker, which I'm relieved to find is still in the same place and with the combination I expected. I stuff the "swag" in there while trying to figure out just how I feel about this. On one hand, change can't be bad; at this point, anything would beat another boring year at Ishinomori, just plugging away until... college? Work? Who knows. On the other hand, I'm not sure how I feel about the trains. The feeling of going that fast and not being in control? It can get kind of freaky, honestly. I don't like being a passenger. (Well, a part of me does, maybe. A part of me always is a passenger.) Unfortunately, I've got bigger concerns now. Taking the detour to my locker made me late for the picture line, stuck in the interminable near-end, and by the time I finally have my new ID card in hand, most of my schoolmates have already dispersed. Well, great. Looks like I still have a little break time to kill, at least... unless something interesting happens, and it looks like it just might. I glance through the crowd and see... what's his name? James?... talking with a new face, one wearing all of her swag un-self-consciously, and I overhear "2-B" come up in their conversation. That's my class. Time to go make friends, I guess? I make my way through the crowd. "Hey. Are you guys in Class 2-B? I kinda heard you talking, so... yeah." That's the problem, isn't it? I'm so smooth, all my good ideas just slide off. Well, it's worth a shot, anyway...
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Sep 15, 2016 05:29
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James Morganson Oh thank god, someone has come to save me from putting my foot in my mouth any more. I turn around and I’m greeted by a somewhat familiar face; someone I’ve seen around school some but that I don’t know personally. “Er, yeah hi” I sheepishly begin, the earlier awkwardness of my conversation with Viola still hanging over me. “Yeah, we’re both in Class 2-B. We were planning on finding everyone else before the Norton half of the class shows up. My names James and this is a new exchange student that started today.” I turn to Viola to let her introduce herself.
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Sep 15, 2016 09:18
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"Hello hello! Nice to meet'cha. I'm Viola." the girl in gym clothes and with a jester cap on cheerfully exclaims before putting one arm in front of her stomach and bowing down, other arm extended outwards. "Isn't it neat that they're giving us free train rides into Norton? I haven't even gotten to see all of Honey Bee yet and I already get to visit the city. Exciting!"
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Sep 15, 2016 15:19
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Norton It's safe to assume that Christie leads you to your class with time to spare. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UFI0dms5LM There's no pre-arranged seating arrangement as of right now. You are free to align yourselves however you wish. As usual, chatter picks up as more people enter, and more folks start finding other folks to chat with. The topics currently include how they're going to be stuck going to the sticks, worrying if there's any cell reception out there, talk about how the principal over in Honey Bee is supposed to be pretty hot, mostly topics related to the merger. The only one that really sticks out is talk of how there's this broken mirror over in the lady's restroom downstairs on the first floor. Supposedly, if you start doing your make-up in front of this mirror after the sun goes down, a ghost will appear. The story comes from a member of the janitorial staff who saw someone left a compact while cleaning up over the summer, decided to use it, and got attacked. The school hours state that it remains open (albeit with almost all rooms and non-library facilities closed and locked) until around 10 PM, even if classes formally end at 4 PM. Your teacher arrives at 8:40. They're an older-looking gentleman with glasses and...a very blank expression on their face. They approach the front desk, and speak into the mounted microphone. "Hello class. You can call me Mr. Schlaf. I'll be teaching you about how your brain works, and how to use it to alter your behavior. But before we can get into how the chemistry in your brain works, we have to get to how we came to understand these processes." He starts up the computer, signs in, and starts up a slideshow presentation, displaying various informative (albeit plain) slides summarizing what he'll be discussing. "We'll start with the father of experimental psychology, Wilhelm Wundt. The greek philosophers also have several entries supposing that mental disorders have physical causes rather than supernatural, but Wundt was the first to use the label. Wundt was..." His eyes kind of glaze over as he yawns. His pace in the lecture slows until it turns into him taking a seat at the desk and sleeping, his automated slideshow moving on without him. At least until he snaps back awake upon his head hitting the table. "O-oh! I apologize, class. As a practitioner of autohypnosis, during the summer I had set myself to have a nap around this time, during the bus ride I take to my summer job. It seems I forgot to remove it!" He then looks back at his slideshow and tries to catch himself back up to where he was prior. The lecture otherwise continues as normal.  Sabrina, tucked away near the back of the class, seems less than enthused at this display. In a low voice but not as low as she thinks it is, she chimes in. "Amateur. Everyone knows that meditation's how you do that sort of thing anyway. Hypnosis is like magic: 90% placebo effect and easy to misuse." She then goes back to reading back and forth between the course textbook and what appears to be a listing of various magical spells. Honey Bee The Honey Bee Class of 2-B begins the search for other members of their class. Most of them will let themselves be known, but seem disinterested in gathering around since they've got better things to do with their time. Like browse their phones. Or talk to people they actually know. Or go over the rumors that were popular topics in the morning. That said, you continue prodding and searching for unique characters, and someone looks from their phone, looks back down, double takes, then waves over at you before heading over, keeping their phone in their hand.  "Oh! Hi there! Class 2-B right? I'm Flynn. Flynn Morris. Sorry I didn't respond right away. My girlfriend was texting me." He shows off a contact on an instant messenger client on his phone. It is a username full of stars and other cutesy characters used to make fanciful names, and the avatar is of one of those popular virtual pop singers. The latest exchange between the two of them is her thanking him for the new headphones they bought them, along with a sickeningly sweet happy cat emote. "Isn't she just the best? Anyway, uh, what'd you want?" He eagerly awaits whatever it is you wanted to discuss, while looking back at his phone, seemingly expecting it to vibrate in reply at any moment. Unknown Quantity fucked around with this message at 19:39 on Sep 16, 2016 |
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Sep 15, 2016 20:26
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James Morganson Another somewhat familiar face I couldn’t quite put a name to. “I’m James. This is Laurel and Viola, a new exchange student that’s just started.” I indicate to my left and right, introducing everyone. “We’re just going around meeting up with everyone in our class before the Norton half comes over.” I hesitate, Flynn’s attention constantly flying between phone and me is a bit off-putting but I try not to let it show. We’re the ones intruding after-all and he is the first person to really pay us any mind, even if we have to share that attention. “So, erm, how are you and your girlfriend split? Are you in the same campuses at the same time, at least?” I ask with sympathy. This ridiculous plan is just screwing over everybody.
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Sep 15, 2016 23:23
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