Monday, Little Haven, shopping center, The Slab, to the Polyhymnia residence, after school - Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets who are (not) a single child.
"Oh, alright, bye everyone!" Lindon said, and the quadruplets waved goodbye to the other students. The quadruplets decided to take what was left of their ice cream to go, and head home themselves.
As usual, the sisters walked in front, one with an eye on where they were going, and the other with her gaze on her phone, reading the directions to get home. The brothers walked behind, both watching their surroundings. None of them said anything to each other, and their steps were in unison, barring moments like having to step up onto a curb or something.
When they got home, they offered their parents some of the ice cream if they wanted to try it. Then they told their parents about their day at school and such. Their dad was especially interested in hearing about the other students, but seemed confused about one thing...
"None of them are psychics? None at all?" Lenard wondered, sounding somewhat in disbelief. "Surely you can't be the only ones."
"Dad, I told you, we're not psychics," Carolyn said, in a grumpy tone. "How many people are going to keep treating us like we're weird freaks? It would have been better if we had just stayed in the same school!"
Lenard was a bit taken aback, almost sputtering as he was about to speak up, but his wife stepped in before then. "Sweetie, please, your dad didn't mean it like that," Emily said, placing a gentle hand on Lenard's shoulder as a way to tell him to let her take the lead. "You are not weird freaks, but you are special. Don't you like the idea of that? Being special, and having something other people don't? Like the X-men!"
"Mom, part of the point of the X-men is how much people fear and hate them and discriminate against them. We definitely don't want that," Linton commented, shaking his head in disbelief. "What we want is our regular life back."
"Come on kids, we've already moved across the country for this. You've gotta give it a shot," Lenard said, sounding a little bit exasperated.
"We didn't ask for you to move us all across the country!" Carolyn retorted, all the quadruplets looking ready to stamp their feet in frustration.
"Kids, Lenard, please, let's all calm down here," Emily stated, in a calm but firm tone, squeezing Lenard's shoulder. "Kids, I understand you're upset, but it's not helpful to take it out on us. Why don't you go calm down, and we can talk about this later," she continued towards her kids, still firm, but with a bit of apologetic in her tone as well.
"... Fine," Marilyn muttered, and the quadruplets turned to leave to their two shared rooms.
"... I think you and I might need to have a talk about this too," Emily muttered after the kids were gone, shooting a disappointed look at her husband.
"Emily, we've already talked about it multiple times; you agreed that this was the best course of action. Plus, you were there too; you know we can't just go back to how things were," Lenard replied, shaking his head. "I mean, what are we supposed to do? Just pretend that we aren't aware of the fact that our own kids have some kind of supernatural ability?" he asked in a rhetorical and slightly sarcastic tone. "Frankly I'm just happy that some secret government organization didn't show up and take them away in unmarked black vans."
"Okay, okay, you're not wrong, it's just..." Emily trailed off, and let out a sigh. "Look, let's just not forget that they're still kids. Our kids. We should be doing what we can to support them, not make them upset. Maybe we can at least try not to draw attention to it all the time?"
"Alright, fine," Lenard muttered, sounding a little bit disappointed in a way...
Monday, Little Haven, Alex's house, after school - Alex Palencia the werewolf who has a big appetite.
Alex let out an enthusiastic bark, as Sandra looked relieved that Coralie was not as panicked. "Okay, good, and if she's going to sit in her own chair, you have to put her down, right, Alex?" Sandra said, in a tone like one would take with either a pet or a young child. Alex looked down at Coralie and tilted his head, then slowly set her back down on her feet. Even once her feet were touching the floor, he kept holding onto her for another second before actually letting go.
With steps that made the floor groan and creak, Alex then moved over to stand next to the table. Sandra put a plate down in front of him, then used a wooden serving spoon to scoop half of the pan of noodles onto said plate. She then grabbed a large handful of the feta cheese, and generously sprinkled it over the noodles on the plate. Then she grabbed the measuring cup and poured a few back and forth lines over the noodles and cheese. "<There, medium cream, extra cheese, the way you like it,>" she concluded in Spanish, taking a slight step back.
Alex leaned down slightly and sniffed it, his tail starting to wag. He moved his hands to the edges of the plate, then started eating directly off the plate, taking big chunks of the noodles with each bite. It took only a couple seconds before he was finishing it off completely, and licking the plate clean. Once done, he turned his head towards the pan where the rest of the noodles were, sniffing intently.
"<No, no, you already had enough! This is for us!>" Sandra said a bit sternly, picking the pan up off the table, and holding it away from Alex. "<Go outside and play!>" she added, waving her hand towards the open doorway to the kitchen. Alex looked at the doorway, then back at his mom, so she repeated, "<go outside and play!>" Finally, the young werewolf seemed to take the hint, and trodded through the open doorway.
Sandra shook her head, placing the pan back on the table. Then she seemed to realize something, and turned to go through the doorway as well. "<Wait, wait, let me open the door for you,>" she said, disappearing into the kitchen. She quickly opened the back door for Alex, then ushered him through it. "<And stay in the yard!>" she hollered outside before closing the door. "<Last thing I need is him accidentally taking it off its hinges,>" Sandra muttered more quietly as she returned to the dining table, then looked at Coralie.
"So, noodles?" Sandra asked as she sat down, and started portioning out half of what was left in the pan to her plate, and the rest to another plate for Coralie. "I'm curious about something," the relatively older woman started to say, putting a light amount of cream and cheese on her noodles. "Now that you've found a way to make Alex transform, do you intend to do anything with that information?" she asked, picking up her fork and preparing to eat.
Friday morning, outside Oddity High - Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets who have been trying to figure things out.
Between Monday and Friday, the quadruplets had been spending a fair amount of their time trying to research the supernatural elements of the town. That meant one or two of them at the local library, trying to look through old newspapers, while another would be on the internet, trying to find credible sources online. The remaining would be doing their homework or something entertaining.
Regardless of how that had been going, come Friday morning the four quadruplets were on their way to school. As usual, the girls walked in front, with the boys a few steps behind. They looked at the other students who were waiting around, and waved hello to them. "Good morning," Marilyn said to the others. They didn't feel all that interested in the small talk, but it presented something to at least occupy their time while they stood around and waited.
Friday morning, somewhere between the Palencia residence and Oddity high - Alex Palencia the werewolf who has a poor attendance record.
It wasn't easy for Alex to keep up with Coralie on her hoverscooter... So he didn't try to.
Since Oddity High had more or less failed to help him with the one thing he cared about when applying, he now felt much the same attitude towards it as he did to his previous school. That being, mostly apathy; he didn't care much about learning, and mostly only went as something to do. That and because he knew Coralie would get really upset if he didn't go at all. Still, given that he didn't care too much about interacting with the other students either- especially Mindy, who he would rather just avoid- his overall motivation to actually go was near zero. The biggest draw, besides Coralie, was perhaps trying to ask Vivian about werewolf stuff occasionally.
Besides, while Alex wasn't trying to actively keep it a secret that Coralie was staying at his place, he wasn't trying to openly broadcast it either. As such, he felt no reason to try to arrive at the same time as her.
Thus, at the same time that other students were already standing around outside the high school, Alex was still slowly walking along through town towards the school. He was in no hurry.
Edited by FirockFinion on Jun 20th 2024 at 2:33:25 AM
You are reading this.Monday
Coralie plopped herself at the dinner table, ready to get stuck into some grub. Immediately, however, she wound up getting sidetracked by Alex, becoming fascinated by observing the eating habits of the common-or-garden werewolf. But then Alex started making trouble, and had to get herded outside by Sandra. Coralie sat stiff in her seat for the duration, teeth bared in an anxious grimace, painfully aware of the awkward situation she'd unintentionally created. Once it was just her and Sandra, Coralie was slow to begin sampling dinner once it was spooned out to her.
"...First off, I'm...really sorry about that," she managed at last. It wasn't often she was genuinely apologetic for her wacky antics, but this was twice in one day she'd been forced to confront her own actions, and this one had just happened to a new friend. "If I'd known that would happen, I'd never have tried to zap him. At least, not for that reason."
She had herself a mouthful of noodles before her foot could get in her mouth again. A few seconds passed of her spooning cream and cheese on between new morsels. But as she frantically fed to escape from awkwardness, more gears began to turn in her head, pathways began to link up, and her feverish mind began to form new innovations.
"...Althouuuuugh...Now that I know what effect the transmogrifier has..." she muttered, more to herself than anyone else. "He could...yeees...I could make a thing, a little thing, that could let him decide when it happened."
Coralie started toying with her food, shifting the noodles around with her fork, as if moulding a model only she could decipher.
"He could control when the changes happened- well, no, maybe he could just start it himself. Wouldn't take much- just a little zap. A device that'd change hair colour, give someone freckles, something like that. That's what it'd do to anybody else! But for him? Oooh, for him. He could just push a button, and it could change him right away! No more worrying about changing if he got too stressy or something- he'd would CHOOSE when he changed instead! But what could it be? A wristband? A collar? YES! Yes, a collar! Or is that too stereotyped? But it could work! Disguise it as a choker or something. Make it a fashion statement. And then? Maybe later on, we add some bells and whistles! Maybe a sensor that picks up when he's getting too stressed. Then it plays calming music! Or maybe jabs him with anaesthetic. Either way! It'll stop him from going wild at random. He'd be in full control! 'Master of his own destiny! Ruler of the universe and conqueror of the common!"
By this point, Coralie was making a bit of a mess. Stray noodles and drops of cream and sauce were getting everywhere as she frantically etched out random patterns in her food, eyes locked onto her plate in a grinning trance.
Friday
"Eh, not so bad at all. Things were rough at the start of the week, but thanks to Alex's help, things have been going up and up!"
"Angelfish?" echoed Coralie, looking between Gill and Mindy with a sly smile, "Oo-hoo-hooo, so things are gettin' serious between you two, huh?"
And a Strange Figure Emerges.Thursday, Store
"Hello!" said someone behind Mindy. The voice was loud enough and close enough to make her jump.
Turning around, Mindy would see an older-looking woman, wearing something resembling a store uniform, along with a lanyard and nametag. (It was one of those standard "HELLO MY NAME IS" nametags, but the section where the actual name would go was blank.)
"What brings you into our store today?" she continued.
Friday Morning, Outside Oddity High
The students waiting in front of the school would soon hear Val's voice (or lack thereof) calling out from a ways down the sidewalk. "...hey, guys..." they said. Apparently they didn't want to be suddenly noticed standing next to the students.
Once they'd made their way to where everyone else was, they stood out front and addressed everyone, trying their best to project their (lack of) voice out so everyone could hear. "...um...so I have this friend who, uh, she said she wanted to come out today and meet you guys...if you were with me at the ice cream place on Monday you might remember her...so, uh, yeah..." They then embarrassedly went to take a seat by the steps.
Suggested wine pairing: pinot noir.Thursday, Store
Mindy jumped upon the woman's presence. HOTCHIE MAMA!!! she shouted. It took everything she had not to smack her in retaliation when she realized who she was. Her heart raced like a stampede. After calming down, she spoke in a low voice. So, uh... I got a date tomorrow at the beach. And I wanted to do a little somethin' special for my guy. Looked all over town and couldn't find anything. So I wondered what was in here. Maybe you have somethin' to get his fins flappin'? She paused upon realizing what she had said. Not literally, of course. Not like I'm datin' a fish or anything. Feeling she was digging herself deeper, she stopped herself. So you got anything or not?Friday Morning, Oddity High
Never been better, Corals! Mindy responded to Coralie. Instead of speaking with her usual harshness in her voice, Mindy sounded mellow. She had been in quite the good mood since last night. Her anger she usually had melted away. At least for the time being. Mindy wasn't sure why she felt this way, but she was happy to roll with it.Then Heidi gave a nudge to Mindy. Normally, Mindy would at best, step back and glare, and at worst shove her off and tell her never to touch her again. She didn't really care for Heidi after trying to get her to start more fires. But none of that mattered now. Nothing was going to ruin Mindy's mood today. She chuckled over Heidi's comment before saying You better believe it, sister. A good man like that, ya wanna mount him on your wall so you can look at him forever.
As if it didn't seem possible, Mindy brightened up over seeing Gill approaching the school. Excuse me, girls.
Mindy swaggered her way over to Gill and wrapped her arms above his waist. Good to hear, hot stuff. Soon, we all gotta hang out together. Me and the boys. Wanna talk with Queens more. But enough about that. She let go of his waist and grasped his hands. I'm lookin' forward to after school. You never looked better and me... She glanced at her backpack before looking right back at him. I got somethin' special planned for later on. She caressed his face before losing herself in giggles. She regained her still-mellow composure. What do ya say? You excited for the beach or what?
She couldn't help but smirk at Coralie's comment. You know it, Corals. And things will really be gettin' serious after school. I don't mean we'll be doin' anything we're too young to be doin'. But it's gonna get serious. She finished off that sentence with a chuckle.
After watching Mindy flirt like crazy with Gill, Layla looked over to the others. She sure seems in a good mood. Maybe she won't burn the school down today, she said, fearing Mindy would do so eventually.
Edited by MatthewLMayfield on Jun 20th 2024 at 5:17:52 AM
Monday afternoon/evening, Little Haven, Alex's house, after school - Sandra Palencia the mother of a werewolf and professional troller of teens.
Sandra had a little smile as Coralie was apologizing, clearly not that upset about the whole situation. Though, the relatively older woman did blink as the young scientist concluded the apology with, 'at least, not for that reason.'
Sandra continued watching in silence as Coralie started quietly monologuing. Sandra maintained a mostly neutral poker face, though some nervousness was slipping through. "Um, perhaps you should focus on getting back to your own universe first?" she suggested, then finally took her first bite of the noodles. Thankfully, the bit of time spent chewing and swallowing helped her get most of her composure back. "Besides, that is my son you're talking about putting a collar on," Sandra then pointed out.
Right after saying it, a thought crossed Sandra's mind. There was the briefest moment of one half of her mouth curling up in a smirk before she suppressed it. She then raised an eyebrow and regarded Coralie with a sort of curious and mildly suspicious expression. "I didn't realize you two were already in that kind of relationship," she said in that flat, mildly disapproving tone of a parent interrogating their child's prospective significant other; the kind of tone where it was simultaneously a statement, a question, and a potential accusation.
Friday morning, outside Oddity High - Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets who thought this day would go better.
The quadruplets watched with only mild interest at the goings ons with the other students, again as simply something to occupy the passing time. Or rather, the sisters watched the other students, while the brothers watched the street and other buildings, on the lookout for anything going on.
When Val 'spoke' Carolyn and Marilyn looked their way, each with a raised eyebrow and a mild frown. "Oh, she's coming here," Marilyn muttered in a less than enthusiastic tone, and started also watching the street and other buildings, figuring an extra pair of eyes couldn't hurt.
Edited by FirockFinion on Jun 21st 2024 at 4:47:50 AM
You are reading this.Heidi grinned and nodded, crossing her arms and leaning back, looking Gill up and down with interest.
"Damn straight," Heidi responded, then whistled a bit. "Have fun on your date, Mindy!" Meanwhile, Gill just grinned and blushed a bit when Mindy got close to him. She wrapped her arms above his waist and Gill took that opportunity to pull Mindy in for a hug, his grin becoming wider. Then he pulled away and took her hands, looking down at her.
"I'm looking forward to it!" Gill insisted. "And yeah! We should absolutely have a day where we all hang out!"
It was then that Gill turned his attention towards Val, who he had just noticed standing there as soon as they raised their voice. (Which was a pretty normal occurrence for Val. He smiled and nodded.
"A new friend? Awesome! I'd love to meet her," said Gill.
"Is she that chick with no eyes?" Heidi asked, raising an eyebrow. "She's all right. Jackie fucked up making friends with her, though, like she does." Then she shrugged.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.Monday
"Oh, yeah, definitely," said Coralie distractedly, not looking up from her mess just yet.
That warranted a glance up and a sheepish giggle before her sloshing and gibbering resumed. "Okay, scratch the collar. Maybe a visit to-"
"WOAH woahwoahwoahwoahwoahwoahwoahwoahwoah!" Coralie sent her fork clattering across the table as she sat bolt upright and held up her hands in a 'back off' posture. After a second's pause, she sighed, making the kind of awkward smile you put on if you want to let someone down easy. "...Miss Palencia," she said at last. "It is...sweet?...that you're so encouraging about your son and girlfriends, but you have to understand that I barely know him. I mean it's not like- Oh, heh, sorry, let me get that."
Having finally noticed the sauce she'd splattered around the table, Coralie got up to find the nearest paper towels, tear off a couple of sheets and mop up around her plate.
"I mean sure, we're both in the same school, the same class and all," she continued as she worked. "But he wasn't one of the ones I generally bounced off or hung out with, y'know? If anyone I spent more time around Gill and Mindy- y'know, the one girl in class that can't stand him! So the fact that after two conversations, Alex invited me into his house and home the same day is...well, it's incredibly kind and generous and I can't thank him enough for that. Beyond that, though, I wanna just get to know him better- platonical, like -before I even THINK about what the heck I'd do in a romantical relationship."
Friday
Coralie stared, dumbfounded at Mindy's newfound chill. "...oookay?" she said, uncertainly. "Well, either finding your soulmate is really that good on its own, or you've discovered a different kind of smoke. 'cause I gotta say, you're more blissed out than the Lotus Eaters over on World-Thirty-One!"
And a Strange Figure Emerges.Monday afternoon/evening, Little Haven, Alex's house, after school - Sandra Palencia the mother of a werewolf with a protective streak.
Sandra smirked a little as Coralie had her outburst. When the young mad scientist got up to find paper towels, Sandra helpfully mentioned a simple, "in there," and motioned towards the kitchen. While Coralie was briefly out of the room, Sandra allowed herself to finally have a full on snicker of amusement.
Sandra's amused demeanor remained, mostly hidden under the surface... Until what Coralie said about Mindy. Sandra stopped moving her fork, and stared across the table with a stony expression, her eyes slightly narrowing, and her brow lowering a little.
"... You get along with Mindy?" Sandra asked after a moment, in a cold, serious tone. She had no interest at that point in the topic of a relationship between Coralie and Alex, platonic or otherwise. "I suppose I can't blame you for that... But is it true, that little gringa wants to hurt my son?"
You are reading this.Thursday, Store
"Get his fins flapping, hm?" said the woman. She paused, seeming to think, before suddenly breaking out into a wide and unnerving grin. "Let me check the back," she said, and walked off.
In an amount of time that seemed far too short for the woman to have searched the back of the store, Mindy once again heard the woman call out from behind her, startling her again. "Will this work?"
The woman was holding one of those fake mermaid tail swimsuits. It was colored deep purple and had cloth scales all along the outside.
She held it out to Mindy and...There was something in the way she was holding it, something in her eyes, that...Mindy knew she had to buy it. There simply wasn't another option.note
Friday, Outside Oddity High
Val looked embarrassed at Marilyn's reaction. "...yeah...I...tried to talk her out of it, but—" Then Heidi interjected with...something about someone with no eyes? "...what?...no, she has eyes...who are you talking about—"
It was at that moment that a person who Heidi was not talking about walked in.
"What's up, guys?" She looked to be maybe 18 or 19. She was relatively short, maybe about 5', 5'1? She was wearing a neon yellow sweater, and had long blonde hair that seemed to stick up, like she'd rubbed a balloon on it. Her voice was deep for a girl, and it had this strange buzzing quality to it, like it was being played from a low-quality speaker.
She stood next to Val and addressed the group as they did. "Nice to meet you all, my name's Liz. Not a new student or anything, just an anomaly enthusiast who felt like checking the place out. Me and Val are friends." She smiled and gestured between Val and herself. "Don't feel like you have to tell me what your thing is, I understand. I don't really feel comfortable sharing mine either, heh heh."
"And, uh, as for you guys..." She gestured at the Lynns. "I'm really sorry about what I said earlier. I've been up all week thinking about it, and yeah, I was just being an idiot. Feel free to angrily rant at me or whatever if you want." She did seem genuinely apologetic, in her own way.
Suggested wine pairing: pinot noir.Thursday, Store
Mindy watched as the woman disappeared, She browsed around the store, hoping she could catch the woman when she returned. Before she could look back at the door, her stomach pushed its way to her chest cavity as the woman asked her question. JEEPERS LOUISE!! she shouted. That was twice now. If it happened again, she didn't think she could hold herself back. But her anger over being scared again melted away as she looked at the mermaid swimsuit.Mindy darted her eyes between the swimsuit and the woman. Normally, she'd ask questions before she would make the purchase. She wasn't one to blindly hand out cash without knowing what she was getting into. But those thoughts didn't cross her mind. At this time, she knew she had to buy it. She slipped her wallet out of her jeans pocket and pulled out some cash. Uh.... uh.... how much?
Friday, Oddity High
Mindy chuckled over Coralie's statements and finger-gunned at the scientist. She was on a roll abd didn't care to question whatever the Lotus Eaters were. New friends, huh? Gill, you talked to me about the whales and the dolphins. Let's go swimmin', shall we? she wrapped her arm around Gill's and rubbed his muscles before pulling him along to where Liz is. How ya doin'? Mindy. Diggin' that sweater, girl. Kinda reminds me of the lights at Citi Field durin' the night time. Back when I used to go to Mets games with my Uncle Vincent. Good times.Layla was apprehensive over meeting newer people. But Liz seemed all right at least. Plus she figured she should meet newer people since she spent the week trying to find her head. She wanted a break. Hello, my name is Layla. I just moved here from Pennsylvania.
Her mind was set at ease over Liz saying she doesn't care about knowing what their oddities are. I know where you come from there. Have you by any chance had a run-in with that boy with the camera. He has no sense of personal space. And he even tried to film me without my consent. I had to call in my father to scare him off with a lawsuit. I've had my fill of people with no respect for boundaries.
Mindy couldn't help but overhear Layla's complaints. That's rough. If that happened to me, I'd shove that camera up his- Mindy, I'm not a savage, she stopped her. While Mindy was more calmer than she knew her, she still didn't fully trust the pyromaniac. I don't like to start fights. You're not startin' any fights here. You're just sendin' a message. Keep outta your space. You gotta stick up for yourself. Don't let anyone push ya around. Layla just stared at Mindy. She wasn't sure how to respond.
Friday morning, outside Oddity High - Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets who thought you would be taller.
Also starring Alex Palencia the werewolf who thought he would be late.
The quadruplets looked a little confused when they saw Liz, and watched silently as she introduced herself. They didn't glare in an angry manner, but they did stare a bit judgmentally, especially narrowing their eyes slightly when she effectively claimed to also be an oddity, but wouldn't share what was her own.
After Liz then addressed the quadruplets, they took a moment to contemplate her words. Carolyn then took a little step forward. "Fine, apology accepted," the red dressed quadruplet said, though her tone still wasn't quite friendly. "Is that all you came for, Liz?" Carolyn then wondered, a hint of suspicion in her tone.
It was about then that Alex was approaching the scene, though he opted to stay a good few paces away on the sidewalk, with his hands in his pockets. He didn't feel like trying to mingle with his fellow students at the moment. He may have felt a little bit curious about who the short squirt he didn't recognize was, but it wasn't worth involving himself yet, as far as he was concerned.
Besides, best to stay clear of Mindy as usual, Alex figured. Especially as he could overhear her starting to sound a bit aggressive about a- wait, camera? Alex blinked and refocused on the conversation, having a sneaking feeling that he knew what they were talking about...
You are reading this.Gill blinked, smiling a little but inwardly wondering what Mindy had planned that had put her in such a good mood. He had never seen her like this, but she was definitely cheerful. When she wrapped her arms around his arm, Gill grinned, as the two of them walked to greet Val's friend.
"Hi there! My name's Gill! You're a friend of Val's?" he asked. "And, uh, that's fine. I'm a little sensitive about mine too." Despite all that had been going on, he was hoping that living with Blake would mean he could finally put the ocean behind him. He still needed to go collect his things from the shipwreck, of course, and who knew how long that would take. He wouldn't be able to take his treasure, not without people asking some serious questions, but he would have to ask Blake's mom how that was done.
Meanwhile, Heidi raised an eyebrow and looked Liz over.
"Oh, you're not the no-eyed chick," Heidi responded. "Cool, new people. Name's Heidi." She glanced over at Mindy and Layla as they talked about someone filming Layla without her permission. "Serves him right, the fucking creep. If it were me, there'd be no lawyer shit about it, I'd knock his fucking block off." Gill winced.
"I understand being upset... but must we be violent about that?" Gill asked, with concern in his voice.
"Imagine someone started filming your oddity and started spreading it around without you wanting it to. Wouldn't you be fucking pissed?" Heidi posed. Gill furrowed his brow.
"I wouldn't be happy, you're right... but I wouldn't want to beat them up..." Gill sighed.
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.Monday
Ooo. That was a bad tone, a very bad tone. Coralie went quiet, and twirled some pasta onto her fork for a bit. She felt a lot like if she'd been walking in a desert, sat on a rock and suddenly heard a rattling sound.
Ah, so that's the impression Alex had of Mindy. It didn't take a genius to know things were bad. It was just a matter of seeing how and why the two angstballs were at loggerheads. Alex, it seems, was afraid of Mindy, and had passed that jaundiced impression over to his mom.
Coralie sighed and shook her head. "You don't need to worry about that, ma'am. Mindy's bark is way worse than her bite. Well, maybe not worse than fire... but nah, I don't think she could really hurt somebody and live with herself."
She ate a morsel of pasta, which was getting lukewarm by this point. "The problem with Mindy," she continued, "Is she grew up in this dog-eat-dog landscape, and she got it into her head that she had to talk a big game, act like she was the meanest and the toughest so she could get along. Now she's out in a small-town world, but she's still stuck in that old state of mind, seeing bullies and backstabbers around every corner, and she'll lash out at anyone who seems to be a threat. Alex thinks she's a thug who wants to hurt him? Mindy's convinced he's a selfish jerk who told Gill he'd never be a real boy. Now I don't have to tell you that Alex is anything but selfish at heart."
Coralie had herself another bite, and almost talked with her mouth full before catching herself. "Mindy won't admit it, but she's got more in common with Alex than not. They're both quick to fly off the handle and get mad at folks, especially over people they care about, but they're only so angsty 'cause they've spent half their life running scared of their own powers. I just hope they quit arguing long enough to find that common ground. Things keep going the way they are, I might have to play mediator, and I really hate being the reasonable one."
Friday
Just up the street, a white car pulled up on a nearby sidewalk. It was an official looking one with a green line running around it, along with the words 'Park Ranger' printed on in big letters. For a moment or two, there it stayed, with whoever was inside having a long conversation. Anyone looking might have thought it was completely unrelated to the school and its pupils.
Coralie snort-laughed at this. "That's our Mindy," she said. Good to know she wasn't completely personality-shifted. Now, on to the latest curiosity, the new arrival outside the school
"Did you say no eyes? She does have eyes, though. Doesn't she? Maybe I need a closer look. Seems normal though 'Cept for the voice. Or is that a medical thing? Never mind. Think that's a rude question." Coralie scurried up to greet Liz properly. "Hey there, name's Coralie! Resident kooky scientist at Oddity High, glad ta meetcha!"
Coralie patted Gill on the shoulder. "That's why we appreciate ya, Gills. Ya got that endearing innocence aboutcha." She turned to Heidi. "I hear whatcha sayin', though, Heids. I'd love to take them creepy snoopers down a peg or two. Why, just the other week, there was this creepy psychic who-"
While the gang was talking, two people came out of the distant white car and approached them. One was a middle-aged man in a park ranger's uniform- brown shirt, wide brimmed hat, the works. He was on the stocky side, with a doughy midsection and a hairline that was so receded it almost circled his hat from underneath.
The other was a teen girl, who the man was reassuringly leading by the hand. She was a skinny little thing, and so nervous-looking she'd probably crumple with a glancing blow. She had light-brown hair, in a tousled pixie cut, and a smattering of freckles over her nose between wide, guileless eyes. She wore a light blue sweater, a pink knee-length skirt, and light brown open-toed heels she seemed remarkably adept in walking with.
"Excuse me!" called the ranger to interrupt. "This is Oddity High, right? You kids know if a teacher's about?"
And a Strange Figure Emerges.Friday
The tall vampire looks down at Liz. Not that she means to, but there's a significant height difference between them.
"Oh hey. Pretty sure we met earlier, but I'm Vivian."
Then there's someone Vivian doesn't recognize.
"Are you a new student? I haven't seen any teachers show up yet, but it shouldn't be too much longer."
Monday afternoon/evening, Little Haven, Alex's house, after school - Sandra Palencia the mother of a werewolf who knows the pain of betrayal.
Sandra was quiet, still staring at Coralie with the same, stony expression. "... Coralie, I understand you are very smart. You know about these... Scientific things that I would probably be lucky to understand if I spent the rest of my life trying to learn," Sandra said, motioning a hand towards Coralie's transformation gun, and at her general, mad scientist-y outfit and vibe. "And you've been to other dimensions, no doubt seeing all kinds of things and places," Alex's mother continued, shaking her head, then put her fork down on the table.
"... But, I think there are some things you simply do not have the experience to understand. Maybe you just haven't been around this particular dimension long enough, so let me tell you a couple of important things," Sandra continued, fixing her serious gaze on Coralie. "It's good to try to give people the benefit of the doubt, but in this world, if someone gives you a reason to be wary of them, then keep your guard up," Sandra explained, then turned her eyes down towards the table. Her lips trembled a little, her fists clenched, and her voice wavered as she continued. "Because sometimes, the people you think you can trust... Turn out not to be who you thought they were..."
Sandra lowered her head and sniffled, using the back of her forearm to wipe the tears that were forming in her eyes. When she looked back up, she had an expression of fierce determination, despite the distinct fear just underneath. "I've already come close to losing my son once. If that little diabla de fuega does hurt my son, then I'll show her what a real threat looks like," she threatened- no, promised, in a harsh tone.
Sandra then closed her eyes and sat up straight, taking in and slowly letting out deep breath through her nose. When she opened her eyes, she was back to a more relaxed composure. "Well besides, I've already taken a precaution about Mindy, so hopefully I won't have to worry about that," she said, picking her fork back up and resuming eating.
Friday morning, outside Oddity High - Alex Palencia the werewolf who has special eyes.
Alex frowned slightly as he listened to the blonde girl and Gill talk. He didn't like the idea of resorting to actual violence, but if they were indeed talking about that same camera kid- and it sure sounded to him like they were- then he agreed that some more... Drastic action was necessary. He had his own idea for that, though it would have to wait for another time.
Alex then turned his attention as the park ranger and some new girl arrived. He looked at her for a moment with his vibrant, orange eyes that seemed more in place on a wolf than a human... Then up at the ranger guy. "Yup, this is Oddity High. No idea if there's any teachers here yet," Alex said in the nonchalant, uncaring tone of a teenager who had no respect for authority or guys in uniform. He even looked away back at the other students as he said it, as if he could hardly care less.
Edited by FirockFinion on Jul 6th 2024 at 1:37:10 AM
You are reading this.Friday Morning, Front of School
Blake had held back mostly out of a desire for Gill to have his moment, after all his new housemate was the one with all the shine to him anyways... His reverie, leaning against the car, is interrupted both by his mom opening the window to softly chastise him for leaning against the car and also by the appearance of Val's friend.
Yellow jumper. Yellow hair with a static electricity frizz to it. The vibrato of a retro speaker set. Blake was about to immediately quip about lightning powers when this Liz person mentioned not wanting to share her abilities.
"Blake, I'm from New York. Before you guess, I don't have superpowers. I'm your uh..."
He fumbled for the right words. The correct one would be "token" but that wasn't the words he ended up using. He'd had things on his mind from Friday, doubts swirling within him that bubbled forth in his phrasing.
"Government-mandated normie."
It's clearly a case of backroom political albumizing.Outside Oddity High
"...Boy with the camera?" Liz clearly had not heard of this person and seemed concerned at his existence. "Was he filming you specifically because you were anomalous? That—Please tell me more about this person."
Carolyn's acceptance of Liz's apology made her brighten up a bit, although she was a bit sad about it not being completely friendly. "Oh, no, I didn't really come for that, even," she said, in response to Carolyn's question. "I came to meet the new peeps in the anomaly community. I just thought it'd be a good time to apologize since I knew you'd be there, it's the right thing to do, yadda yadda."
Liz continued to smile and wave and such as Gill and Heidi introduced themselves (and be slightly confused at the "no-eyed chick" comment), then turned to look at the oncoming Coralie, who seemed the most excited out of anyone to meet her. "Heeeey! Kooky scientist? Girl after my own heart." Liz gave her a little slap on the back, which resulted in Coralie getting a jolt of static electricity. "Oop, sorry. Stupid sweater—"
It was then that the park ranger called out. Liz was about to give a reflexive "just a buncha normal people here" response when she actually looked at the guy and saw the incredibly nervous girl of the same age range as the students and realized what was happening. Everyone else already seemed to have the responses covered, so she just sorta waved and listened to what Blake was saying to her, which...made her freak out a bit.
"What? Goverment-mandated—The government is planting—" "...No, no, wait!..." Val interrupted, somehow. "...He's kidding, he's kidding!...He's the coin guy..." Liz visibly calmed down. "Oh," she said. "Jesus, don't scare me like that."
Edited by TheFullestCircle on Jul 4th 2025 at 7:42:50 AM
Suggested wine pairing: pinot noir.Friday morning, outside Oddity High - Alex Palencia the werewolf not in the loop.
Also starring Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets who expect nothing and are still let down.
Carolyn turned and walked back to her siblings, while the four quadruplets all rolled their eyes. The quadruplets then pretty much just stood around and listened to the other students talk.
Alex was doing the same, still trying to overhear enough to determine if the others were talking about the same kid with the camera that he was thinking of. Then, one other thing he overheard got his attention. "Huh? Blake is the 'coin guy' now? What's that mean?" Alex wondered aloud.
"He's got some coin that lets him see the worst possible outcome of a situation, or something like that," Linton explained in response.
"What? Really?" Alex said, his brow going up, then he looked over at Blake. "Blake, dude! Why have you been keeping something like that to yourself in our school?" the young werewolf wondered in a sort of playfully chastising tone. "Why let everybody think you're just boring and normal? Come on, man."
You are reading this.Thursday, Outside the Store
Mindy payed for the item and exited the store. She made sure to stuff the swimsuit in her backpack. She looked around, making sure no one saw her come out before leaving. She got on her bike and rode down the sidewalk. She hoped she could get home alone so she can model the swimsuit. But right after a couple blocks, a horn blared into her ears. She turned her head to the source of the sound and noticed the familiar green car. It was her mother. Ms. Mercedes rolled down her window and waved to her daughter."Mindy! I got off work early today. Put your bike on the trunk. Let's get somethin' to eat and go grocery shoppin'!"
Mindy grumbled, hoping she could have made it home before her mother. She wanted to try on the suit where no one could see her. But it'd have to wait. Mindy put her bike on the bike rack of her mother's car before entering the vehicle. The car turned around and went back into town.
Outside Oddity High
Layla lowered her gaze away from Liz. She was uncomfortable talking about the camera boy. But other people seemed sympathetic enough over her ordeal. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to talk about it.Monday, I was sitting at the fountain after going across town. And then... he showed up. He tried to rip off my veil, she said, while clutching the veil around her neck area. He told me he tried to take it off because he was curious. Her skin tingled over the thought of the boy. Then I found the camera and he said he was filming me. And I gave him a chance to delete the footage he had of me. But then he said it was his right to do so. He can expose any oddity he wants. She felt like she was starting to say a little too much. So I can't even live without anyone prying into my personal life, it seems.
Mindy nodded along to to Heidi before chuckling. Heidi knows what's up. Lookie here, Layla. Where I come from, if you knock some sense into peoples' brains, they'll get the message. Gonna have to agree with Heidi. Some creep gettin' in your personal space. Tryin' to film ya for God knows why. You don't have to take that. If he did that to me, I'd smash his camera into pieces before givin' 'im a close-up of his own, Mindy said before slamming her fist into her other hand.
But Mindy, is it? My father says violence makes everything worse. Why, had I beat him up, he could possibly get me for assault. It's all about presentation, he told me. I need to look as good as possible should this end up going to court.... plus, I'm not much of a fighter.
It ain't assault. You're not pickin' on some guy outta the blue. You're just sendin' 'im a message, to keep outta your space. If you want, I can show ya some moves my Uncle taught me.
Layla stared at Mindy speechless before saying Uh.... that's okay, Mindy. I appreciate your concern, but father and I have this under control.
Whatever. It's your problem.
At this point, Alex appeared and said his piece to Blake. Normally, Mindy would just shoot daggers at Alex to intimidate him. But seeing as she was still in high spirits, she tolerated his presence and walked over to her fellow New Yorker.
Hey, it's okay. Not everyone has to share their quirks. Oddity or not, Queens is a cool guy. He worked out things with his mom and gave Gill a new home. He's livin' among the people now, aren't ya Gilly Boy? she briefly looked over at Gill's direction and blinked at him with a smile. She turned her attention back to Blake. And as for you, buddy. Seein' how me and Gill are together, I think we'll be seein' each other a lot more often. Been wantin' to hang with ya more. So it works out great. Us New Yorkers gotta stick together, she said before wrapping her arms around Blake in a platonic manner. Think we're gonna be best friends soon.
She walked over to Gill, bringing Blake with her before wrapping her other arm around the merman, only more tightly. Yep, it's us, the three amigos. Can't ask for much more.
As Layla watched Mindy gush over her friends, she noticed the newer student with the park ranger. Uh, hello there. Who might you be? she asked, hoping to break the ice.
Edited by MatthewLMayfield on Jul 13th 2024 at 10:34:32 AM
"No, wait, shit, tell me about the creepy psychic!" Heidi exclaimed, but then cursed under her breath as the attention turned towards someone new. She looked shy, and she was being escorted by some park ranger. Luckily, Alex talked up and told the park ranger that there weren't any teachers out.
"Well hey there, Alex," Heidi said, grinning a cat-like grin and standing, walking up towards Alex. "Don't think we got to really meet for real. Always had Jackie in the driver's seat." She was about halfway up to Alex when there was a short honk from one of the cars. Heidi jumped a little and looked towards her mom's car. Mrs. Stevenson, from the front seat, gave a stone-faced look and pointed sternly at the door of the school. Heidi responded by flipping the car off and continuing to walk up to Alex. "Soooo... name's Heidi. Don't listen to what those others say about me, I'm a real fun girl once you get to know me. You do wanna get to know me, don't you? I sure wanna get to know you..." Heidi said, putting on a smooth tone of voice and a smirk at Alex. She seemed to be completely ignoring the new girl.
Gill just blinked in confusion, but and was about to greet the other newcomer when Mindy put an arm around his shoulder.
"Uh, yeah! Yeah, I am," he said, a smile widening over his face and he hugged Mindy back with his arm. He then turned his attention to the shy girl who had just arrived. "More new people! This is great! My name's Gill!" he introduced.
Edited by AllHailThrall on Jul 12th 2024 at 1:12:28 PM
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.Friday morning, outside Oddity High - Alex Palencia the werewolf who doesn't want to deal with Mindy today.
Also starring Lynn Polyhymnia the quadruplets thinking that they should socialize a little more.
Alex had a slight grin on his face, but it turned into a frown when Mindy brought herself over to Blake and turned the conversation away from his special coin. Of course, it wasn't really the switching of topic that upset Alex. He felt that he owed Blake big time, (because well, he kinda did,) and here Mindy was basically trying to make Blake part of some clique that she no doubt would do her best to exclude Alex from. Not that he really consciously put all that together, because he was an emotional mess of a teenager; he just knew that he didn't like Mindy and didn't want to put up with her right now.
"Bah, whatever," Alex grumbled quietly, starting to turn to go towards Coralie. He wanted to ask her if she knew what was up with the weird quadruplets. Before he could though, Heidi showed up and started putting on her moves. Heidi was about as subtle as someone shaking an open top box full of loose screws, yet with Alex's thoughts elsewhere and trying to fight off a grumpy mood, he managed to miss that she was coming onto him. Yet somehow, someway, as he looked at her with brief, mild confusion, he managed to put two and two together about her comment on Jackie.
"Ohhh right, you transform back and forth between two people, or something like that," Alex thought out loud, his confusion switching to realization and slight interest. "That actually makes the two of us kind of similar," he commented, resuming his slow walk towards Coralie, intending to walk and talk at the same time.
Meanwhile, amidst the watching of the other students, the quadruplets figured they should probably integrate themselves a little more, instead of standing there silently griping about Liz.
The sisters wandered closer to the situation with the new student and the park ranger guy, but they stayed a little bit back and didn't say anything yet. They didn't want to overwhelm the nervous looking girl.
The boys moved around towards where Blake, Mindy, and Gill were standing. "You two both come from New York?" Linton said, in a mildly curious tone. "Our family moved here from Seattle," the green dressed quadruplet added, in an attempt to make small talk.
Edited by FirockFinion on Jul 17th 2024 at 2:40:00 AM
You are reading this.Monday
Ohhhh boy. It turned out that trust issues ran in the family. When Sandra bowed her head and sniffled, Coralie had the feeling she was supposed to comfort her. Instead, she drew away slightly while curling her fingers, and pursed her lips, darting her gaze from side to side in an expression of second-hand awkwardness. Once Sandra drew back up, Coralie quickly slurped up some more spaghetti in an attempt to hide her unspoken opinions.
A klaxon went off in the back of Coralie's skull. She sat staring for a moment, then gulped down her latest mouthful and put on a nervous smile. "...What kinda...precaution are we talking about? Eh heh..."
Friday
"WOO!" Coralie flapped around the hand that had been static-shocked and giggled excitedly. "Talk about sparks flying already! HA!"
"...wwwwWWHEH?" With an intrigued grunt worthy of Tim Allen, Coralie quickly snaked around to loom into Blake's personal space. "Blaaaake, buddy...You GOTTA let me run some tests with that coin. We could be looking at the lynchpin of the Uncertainty Principle. The key to Type-1 Interdimensional Travel! Oooooh the possibilities are endless!"
Around this time, Alex made his way over to Coralie, with Heidi tagging along and trying in vain to flirt with him. "Oh hey, you two! Heids, you said you wanted to hear about the psi-spy?" With one quick step, she zipped from Blake's side to Heidi's. "It was just the other sunday, and me, Gill, and Mindy were hanging out at the beach. I'd just taken a trip home to fetch my...swimsuit."
Coralie paused her excitable monologue and looked into the middle distance with a twinge of sadness. She'd remembered fetching her swimsuit from home, and the argument with her father she'd had for even considering swimming in her regular underwear. It dawned on her now that that row was her last conversation with her parents while she could still get home. Then she'd flounced out the house with scarcely a goodbye, and popped back into this world, still fuming over having had an hour-long shouting match. If she'd only known what would happen later that night...she'd have stayed home the rest of the night.
Layla didn't get a response to that, at least not verbally. Instead, the new girl just stared at her with a strange, wide-eyed expression. She slowly drew closer to Layla, sniffing slightly, leaning forward to examine this veiled young lady.
"Well, glad t'meet you, sport!" said the ranger with a smile. He'd been looking rather cock-eyed at Mindy openly endorsing violence against a stranger, but the rest of these kids seemed reasonable and friendly enough. Hopefully his kid was in good hands. "This here's my ward, Jane Doe. She'll be studying here today, and hopefully from here on out! C'mon Jane, say hello!"
He clicked with his mouth once or twice, and Jane turned around on command. She looked about, suddenly aware and intimidated by these unfamiliar people staring at her. After a moment, she opened her mouth, then paused, as if psyching herself up to do some kind of stunt.
"...HiIiI!"
"There you go, you did it!" the ranger patted her on the shoulder and turned to the rest of the teens. "Now, Jane here's had a unique kind of upbringing. She's not used to a lot of things, including being around kids her age in a school setting. So I don't wanna hear about any of you giving her trouble, all right? You kids take care of her, help her settle in, and we'll all get along just fine."
Edited by LizardOfAus on Jul 18th 2024 at 2:04:16 AM
And a Strange Figure Emerges.Friday
The new girl was even more skittish than Jackie. She was definitely going to have to take extra care not to spook her, she could tell.
"Nice to meet you, Jane. And don't worry, sir, our class is super nice and chill. I bet there won't be any problems at all... well, maybe with Mrs. Hughes, but she doesn't really like anyone."

Gill's eyes were as wide as dinner plates as he was driven to school in Blake's mom's vehicle. He had stayed the night at Blake's house for the past few days. Having gotten some new clothes as well as taken a soothing shower the previous night (they had figured out that showers did not transform Gill into a merman), Gill was looking, feeling, and smelling radiant. Perfect for the upcoming date.
"Aww, gee, thanks!" Gill exclaimed, beaming. When the car pulled up to the school, Gill almost seemed to skip out of the vehicle, moving with a bounce in his step towards the school door.
Heidi, meanwhile, glanced over at the other girls who were arriving at school about as early as she was. Guess she wasn't super early after all.
"Sup, girls," Heidi greeted. "No, teachers aren't here yet. Week's actually been kinda shit, not gonna lie, Mom's been a real bitch." At that moment, she noticed Gill approaching the school excitedly. Heidi grinned. "And the week just got a whole lot better. Hot damn, Gill's looking fine today. And it looks like he got some new clothes!" she giggled. Then she nudged Mindy with her shoulder. "You reeled in quite a catch, y'know that?"
Gill excitedly waved at the girls waiting for school to start.
"Hi, girls!" Gill greeted cheerily. He turned towards Mindy and grinned wider. "Hello there, angelfish. Been staying with Blake for the past few days. It's been great!"
I can still hail the Horde even though the company has shamed us. Strength and Honor even if Blizzard has neither.