Emotionally Attuned

The first signs of those distinctive red and brown hues were the first signs- an unmistakable chill offset the warm weather of Callow's Park, signaling what could only be the approach of fall. The lively spontaneity of easy-going, carefree summer slowly transformed to fit the seasons. The whistling winds that carried along leaves in the distances carried a sense of nostalgia along with it, as students already counted the 180 days until their next vacation.

It was only a matter of time until school started- friends met up with each other once more, regaling their tales of their perfect summer as they walked towards the newer school year. Some were indifferent, while others could barely wait to experience the new adventures that the school year would bring forth for them.. yet, something was off, from a different stand point. The spontaneity and excitement that many had expressed years prior seemed to have.. dwindled. In short, things seemed to be a bit too calm... regardless of the sleepy season. An overall lack of enthusiasm showed more and more as the days went on.

Only a few minutes before the actual school day started, the bright sunny sky heralded a premonition of new beginnings for the students- pooling around within the front entrance, they talked among each other, granting each other warm welcomes with each greeting- yet, no one seemed to have an idea as to the misfortune that'd affect so many.

Out of all the teachers to have arrived, one seemed to be one of the latest- brown haired tied into a bun, she held her handbag over her shoulder, greeting the students that moved to give her the right of way a warm, inviting smile. She pushed her glasses up onto the bridge of her news, casting a soothing attitude among all those she passed by- Mrs. Madeline was one of the more well-liked teachers around here, and her mannerisms seemed to show why. Passing into the school, things returned to normal once more, as the wait to their first, most eventful school day would soon start.

edited 4th Oct '16 3:37:16 PM by LimeKid

Lola paced the schoolyard, bursting with energy. She'd milked the last day of summer to the final metaphorical drop, and she planned to do the same for the first day of school. But there was something other than her little regular mood swing making her so jumpy.

She'd noticed a fairy ring- a ring of mushrooms- in her backyard- they'd noticed her. They knew she knew they knew they were watching. But she was prepared- she had remembered to pack a salt shaker today, just in case. Everyone knows salt burns fairies after all. They may mean no harm, but that's exactly what they cause, so it was good to be prepared.

Lucky couldn't wait for school to start again! He was always an excitable kid, but today especially got him going. It's been so long since he's seen his friends, and he wants to know what they've been up to! Although, he's never seen the schoolyard this... calm on the first day. Maybe he was imagining things, but he could have sworn things used to be more hectic last year.

Oh well.

Lucky looked around to see if he could spot any of his friends, only to remember one sad little detail. It was part of his master strategy as a freshman to become friends with upperclassmen. Unfortunately, in a small cloud of stupidity, he only befriended seniors. As such, they all graduated. Back to square one, it seems. Maybe, if he makes a good first impression, he'll have a strong start with all new friends! Yeah! Despite having literally no friends, this was gonna be a good year! Nothing can keep the Luckster down!

edited 4th Oct '16 6:30:04 PM by BaconZorp

Crash was around the schoolyard ready for another year of facing the facts. The facts that he's gonna bare coasts by while making people laugh.

Crash his self was chuckling watching a lowerassman known as Lucky, he admired the kid who as a freshman surrounded him self around seniors, and Crash being friends with just about everyone decided to see if he could make Lucky have a good time. That's the motto The Crashter lives by,Smile all the time it's what your made for.

He aproaches Lucky "What's up? You look like your having a good time."

Lola stopped for a moment, when something caught her eye. In one of the trees, there were some knotholes. But not just any knotholes- these ones had something shiny around them! Fairy dust! It must be! This very tree must have been hollowed out and is currently inhabited by...

Without properly thinking through what she had seen, which may have only been some reflective light or a bit of glass, she ran over to the nearest students- which happened to be the older students Lucky and Crash, waving her arms about to get their attention.

"Guysguysguys you have got to see this! They called me mad even! But seriously, you have to see this!"

edited 4th Oct '16 6:40:45 PM by BlizzardeyeWonder

"Hey hey hey, whats up? The Crashster has gotta see what your so excited about?" She has Crash's attention has he moves to her following her a bit. "What am I supposed to be looking at?"

edited 4th Oct '16 6:46:09 PM by YOLOisfox

Lola grabbed Crash's arm and started pulling in the direction of the tree with the knot that she was sure had fairy dust on it. Once they got there, she pointed at the knot in the tree, not realizing whatever had sparkled before was gone now.

"And they said fairies don't exist! See? That's fairy dust on that knot!"

edited 4th Oct '16 6:48:17 PM by BlizzardeyeWonder

Bam! See? Two minutes in and Lucky's already got a posse! But it wouldn't be a proper posse if he didn't know who these people were. That blonde guy is Crash. Apparently he made a pretty big debut and is decently popular. Easy enough. But this girl... Lucky's never seen her before. Whatever, he's sure he'll get to know you over the school year.

"Crazy? Why? Something happen?" He asked, following closely behind them. Oh man! This is gonna be big! It's gonna be... A knot in a tree... "What... eh... Why are we looking at a tree?"

"Fairy dust! On the knot! It...."

Lola trailed off as she glanced back at the knot, now realizing it wasn't sparkling anymore.

"B-b-but how?! I swear it was sparkling a minute ago! I saw it with my own eyes!"

He looks at her and the looks back at Lola "Right, of course they do. You know I bet you could find some gnome too, don't they like hate each other or am I thinking of something else?" He dosent sound condescending at all, he is actually being nice and is talking genuinely.

"Hey, ya know what? You'll get 'em next time, I'm sure!" Lucky said, trying to comfort her. He had absolutely no clue who "them" would be in this situation, but clearly she wanted something bad. "Look at me, I'm a total stranger trying to comfort another total stranger. My name's Luke Motif, but my friends call me Lucky! Who are you two?"

"Yeah don't worry about it we believe ya." He says ruffling her before giving Lucky the finger gun sign "Names Crash, Crash Pundson."

"Well..." Oh man, here we go! "I guess you could say..." It's gonna be good! "You crashed into my life just now!" Lucky spouted out with the goofiest smile possible. First pun of the year and it was a home run! He fist pumped to himself. "Get it? Because your name is... Aw jeez I just killed it." Lucky looked back over to the girl. Okay, he can recover from that horrible pun accident. "How about you, lady? What's your deal?"

Sitting in the shade of a large tree in the schoolyard, Jack Osborne watched students make their way around. "Something seems...different." He thought, and his perpetual glare sharpened further as he tried to figure out what it was, only to draw a blank.

"What is it...damn it...damn it!

Jack realized that he was now scowling, and shook his head, forcing himself to calm down as his expression defaulted back into mild irritation. New voices nearby alerted him to unexpected company and craning his neck to the left, Jack spotted several unfamiliar faces; two guys around his age talking animatedly with a slightly younger girl.

Cool air on the wind. Cassander felt it coming in, washing away the heat of the summer. He breathed out a long breathe, savoring the feeling.

It had felt like an eternity since he had been here, Callow's Park High. He remembered last year; when he and Anton brought cupcakes to class for Ethan before he moved out of state, when that one girl asked him out (he still wasn't out yet and had to let her down a bit awkwardly), when school was canceled due to a freak storm, when Anton had forgot to take his phone back from him and Cassander had read through all his texts before giving it back. The memories brought a smile to his face.

He was relieved to see none of the freshman had taken his customary spot by the front entrance. He liked to look at all the faces coming in and out. A lot of students he recognized just by looks by now. Besides, he had to learn the freshmen's too. Of course, there was a specific face he was looking for; Anton's. Sure, he had gotten to see him plenty over the summer, but he always felt uncomfortable when he spent a few days without Anton, and it had been almost a full week. Even now, his right hand rested on his pocket, waiting for a text, something like 'Where are you?' or 'Just getting here." His left hand twitched a bit, a nervous tic. The first day always kept him on edge, even if he always looked calm outwardly.

Crash chuckles at the pub finding it funny "Hehehe, that's a good one Lucky, gotta use that one day." Crash looks at the girl oddly "Look don't be nervous we don't find you crazy or anything."

Then Crash's eyes wander to Jack he noticed the guy before an unpleasant fellow people would call him, but Crash does not know of unpleasant and gives Jack a friendly wave.

Gracia Hathaway nervously walked up to her favorite spot outside of the school, a large tree with a nice amount of shade. She could feel her scars itch at the thought of fighting her way through another school year and needed to relax before her first class.

(Don't worry you got this, just take things slowly and everything will work out.)

Rounding the tree she felt a stab of panic at the sight of an underclassman viciously glaring at a group walking towards the school and immediantly began to freeze up. (Why does he have to do that here???)

edited 4th Oct '16 9:15:44 PM by MockingOne

Jack looked at Crash and gave a curt nod in reply. Another rustle of movement from right behind him made him wonder just how these people sneak up on him as he turned to face-

"Oh Jesus, she looks like I'm about to mug her. I know I always look angry, but this is starting to get annoying..." Jack thought. "Wait, crap. Don't scowl! Think calm thoughts..."

"You can relax, ya know. I'm not angry at you. Or anyone right now. I just look that way." He said to Gracia. "So...take it easy, please?"

(It's alright just another student, no need to worry, right?)

Gracia apprehensively drops her bag down on her side of the tree.

"Sorry about that I can be a little jumpy at times.... that scowl of yours is really terrifying you know?"

Jack let out a short laugh. "Yeah. Not much I can do about it though, considerin' I was born with this face." He said with a shrug. "Besides, ya haven't done anything to give me reason to be mad..."

The boy paused and cleared his throat, realizing he was starting to ramble. "By the way, my name's Jack. Jack Osborne."

Gabriel Drummond was just watching everything. He didn't move to speak with anyone at all. He frankly wasn't sure how to. He knew most of their names, but he didn't know how to actually talk with any of them. In fact, he was more content to sit and read. Instead, he just sat by the school wall, reading A Game of Thrones. Well, re-reading it.

As he turned to turn a page, he glanced up, and noticed her. And of course, like every other time, his heart started pounding in his chest. He had a crush on her for ages now. A big one. He could never talk to her. Every time he did try, he just froze up, unsure of what to say. That's what happened when you could feel emotions stronger than other people. You just shut down as a defense. She was with the rest of the people there.

Closing his book, he put it in his schoolbag, and walked over to the group. He heard one mentioned his name was Jack Osborne. "Osborne? As in Ozzy Osborne? Bit anyone's head off lately?"

"Gracia Hathaway, I'm one of the seniors here."

She gives Jack feeble smile, sitting down and leaning onto her backpack.

"Sorry not really good at the whole small talking thing, but something on your mind? You seem a little out of it."

As the sun rose up and students started arriving in droves, Masumi took a moment to detach herself from her tree of choice and stretch out her weary bones. Making sure to keep her balance steady, of course; the kids passing-by under her would have a heart attack if she were to suddenly erupt from its plumage.

Or maybe they wouldn't. That was the problem, the mystery she was here to investigate. She'd been there since some inconceivable time in the morning- before any of the staff arrived, let alone kids- and the sugar rush keeping her awake was starting to wear thin. Popping another high-sucrose, low-taste lollipop into her mouth, she finally pushed off from her vantage point and went over to make herself comfortable against the school entrance instead.

"Hey there." She was busying herself with her camera, so it wasn't obvious she was addressing the olive-skinned boy already perched at the entrance until she continued. "You've been people-watching, right? Mind if I ask a question?"

Noah ran a hand through his hair as he weaved and circled through the crowds to reach the entrance, avoiding the more confident and familiar members of the student body; being accosted for news of uncaring ex-lovers or answers for tests which haven't even been conceived is not the ideal start to the year.

That said, he couldn't help but route himself close to the startled commotion. After all, any budding journalists would pay an arm and a leg for an interesting story to start the day off. So he stopped, and stared, and almost caught himself smiling at the simplicity of an impulse-driven life.

As he quietly watched the scene unfold, he considered what he'd do for his final year at this school. Perhaps join an authoritative body within the school; it'd make for a change of pace. Oh, but nobody liked the thought of such a cold figure in charge.

"Nice to meet ya Gracia. Welcome to the club." Jack replied with a smile that looked more like a smirk. "Hm? Oh, sorry 'bout that. I've got ADD, so my mind's always a little...all over the place."

Jack bit back a snappy retort to Gabriel's question, and settled for a flat stare. "No.I'm not related to Ozzy Osborne." He replied. "And do you mean that last part metaphorically or literal...doesn't matter, answer's no either way."

edited 5th Oct '16 2:29:29 AM by svenorzokarkoff