Coastal Daytona Academy: A High School RP [IC|DEAD]

[Imperial Esplanade]

WELCOME TO COASTAL DAYTONA ACADEMY
THE HIGH SCHOOL ROLEPLAY
In-Character

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OOC-Thread | >>>IC-Thread<<< | Classroom-Thread | Special Events-Thread

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Note: Please DO NOT post in the in-character thread until your character has been officially approved.

"High school is worse than having to swim through multiple piranha filled lakes, and that's before the truckload of homework." -Taylor Gaskins

1.) OP word is law. Follow it. Life will be far more easier. I am, along with my Co-OPs, far more enjoyable to deal with than the NS Mods. Shocker, I know, but it's true. Let's not test it out to see.
2.) Post when you can, tell us when you can't. General expectation is set at a minimum of one post per week, though it is presumptive that personal lives can, and will, occasionally interfere with RP-activity. If a player is ever worried about being unable to met the aforementioned quota, for any reason, it is preferable that such a warning is provided prior to sudden inactivity. We will gladly accommodate and work around your schedules. This will not be a particularly rigidly-enforced rule, but we do not want to have lagging conversations between characters spanning over weeks. Please, out of respect for everyone involved, just communicate with us about your situation.
3.) Please put forth a degree of effort in posting. While we are relatively lenient in this regard, and some interactions may invariably consist of a simple one-liners during conversations, it is highly-preferred to keep said one-liners to a minimal. Laziness is a bad habit to develop. You can thank me later.
4.) Respect thy fellow players. Don't act immature and don't be like a jerk. You're not nearly as cool as you think you are when you act like that. Got it? Good.
5.) No perfect characters. Give them a degree of flaw. It's such a boring world when everyone is a bland and perfect Mary-Sue. Spice it up a little. Make things realistic.
6.) Cheat-editing, godmodding, and metagaming are strictly forbidden. Having your character be aware of knowledge that is, frankly, impossible for said character to be aware of in an IC-context, editing posts following a fellow player's posts to contain any reputable damage or harm, or controlling any character's actions or circumstance aside from your own in any way, shape, or form are all strictly forbidden. The only exception to this is if there is an arrangement between the players of two characters, and it is preferable that the OP is informed of said arrangement in order to avoid any misunderstanding, confusion, and/or drama.
7.) Keep OOC and IC-posts separate. There are threads for both for a particular reason, utilize them as such. This is not an anarchy.
8.) Keep roleplay PG-13. If you are wondering if you are crossing a line, it is best to ask in the OOC first. There are rules to posting on NSForums and Telegraming alike. Follow them, you dastardly cretins.
9.) Abide by your character application. While some variance between application and roleplaying is to be expected, to accommodate ones' own RPing skills and tendencies, anything too out-of-character will likely be retconned.
10.) Abide by your character commits. While there is no character-limit, whoever you create will be yours to control throughout the RP. Please do not attempt to ditch them.

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Twitter Account Name
@TwitterHandle

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Blah, blah, blah! Look at me, I'm tweeting!

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Current IC Date Range:
Friday, August 18th, 2017 - Friday, September 1st, 2017

[Imperial Esplanade]

DAYTONA, FLORIDA
Campus of Coastal Daytona Academy

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Wednesday, August 16th, 2017
08:00

The sun was shining brilliantly, showcasing the crystal-clear baby-blue skies above the Florida beach-town on the late take-in day that full of hopeful optimism for some -- and dreadful skepticism for others. "First Day of School," as it has become colloquially known. The cheerleaders, student council, football team, and other volunteers have all been busy during the days prior in setting up spirit-banners around campus to welcome back the returning students -- and those that also welcomed, in particular, the many new faces a brand new school year would also generate. Buses would perform the first of many morning pickup routines across the city, and in some instances even a bit beyond; many other students, who were old enough to drive, preferred to take their own vehicles to campus; and still others decided to utilize the affordable boarding options that Coastal Daytona Academy offers its' students.

Students mingled as they arrived, welcomed each other back, and greeted the first-timers warmly. Many were excited to see what this football season had in store, as the Bravehearts are eight-time state champions in the state of Florida, six of which having been won by teams lead by Coach Carl Taylor, and this varsity team looked just as good as any other that Coastal Daytona had ever had. Other students were excited about a more short-term occasion, the traditional (and certainly unofficial) beach party that is typically held by one of the more "elite" students of campus. Regardless, everyone was given plenty of time on this first day to wander around, personalize and decorate their lockers, talk with old friends, make new friends, and hang out with the first scheduled event being an opening school-wide assembly for 9:30 to greet everyone, new-comer and returning-student alike, to the place they'll call home for the 2017-2018 academic school year...

[Imperial Esplanade]

The Taylor Residence

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Wednesday, August 16th, 2017
06:30 (AM)

"Wakey-wakey!" Exclaimed Aunt Madeline, in her thick Tennessee-accent from downstairs in the kitchen. "Get your bums up for breakfast, girls! And before it gets cold this time!" She added, as Sophia and Sydney had stayed up late two nights ago while Sophia face-timed with her friend, Eric Stevens, and had missed out on the next day's fresh breakfast of waffles. This morning, however, the entire house would fill with the aroma of freshly-cooked eggs, bacon, and biscuits in the wee morning hours as their Aunt Madeline was kind enough to wake up so early to cook them breakfast before school. Thus has been the morning routine for them since the month of May, when her nieces and nephew had moved in. Sophia was the first to meander her way down the stairs, her hair all bundled in a mess and her eyes still straining as she makes her way over to the coffee-maker.

"Good morning to you, Miss Little Sweet Sunshine." Madeline said with a grin on her face, standing over a white metallic stove, and glancing over as Sophia opened an overhead cabinet in search for a coffee mug to use. Sophia, after finding the one she normally uses, slowly looked over with a semi-sleepy facial expression, yawning, and nodding her head. "Morning to you too... Aunt Madeline..." Sophia looked back toward the coffee-maker and was pleased to see Madeline had already filled the coffee pot for them. Madeline chuckled, and turned off the stove fire once she was finished probing the eggs to make sure they were all well-scrambled. Madeline made phenomenal eggs, which isn't a particular secret to anyone who knows her -- being she had once been a culinary arts student, yet is now just a housewife. "Made with extra-love for you, as usual, sweetheart." Madeline said, grinning, as she untied her apron. She took particularly good care for all of them, ever since their father passed away from that deadly car accident which left them without a home -- taking them in and treated them as if they were all her own kids. Sophia smiled, as she poured out her coffee into her cup. "Thank you so much, Aunt Madeline." Sophia's response this time was a bit more lively, as she had awoken a bit more in the second or two since her previous reply. After grabbing a sugar pack, opening it, dumping its' contents into her cup, and mixing it around with a spoon, Sophia walked over to grab from the stack of plates that was sitting next to the pan of eggs on the stove. Sophia had a slim figure, and a slightly small frame, yet one would be impressed with the amount of food she'd normally consume. This time, however, Sophia only took a small portion since she was the first one in-line, making sure to leave more than enough for Sydney. Sophia, after the eggs, laid a couple slices of bacon on her plate and then grabbed a couple of biscuits, some blueberries, and an apple before sitting down at the breakfast table to join her Aunt Madeline. Just as Sophia sat down, she looked up to see Sydney walk into the kitchen and wander around like a zombie as she also fixed her plates. Sophia and Madeline awaited while the final one took her time, slowly stacking her plates with a satisfactory quantity of nourishment, and moseyed her way over. Aunt Madeline lead them in a prayer of thanksgiving and blessing once the three of them were seated, and then they all consumed their meals in near complete silence. It would only take a cup of coffee, however, for their conversations to liven up. Sean had already woken up, and left early with Daniel for morning practice -- with Carl, the head coach of the football team, having left home even earlier for Coastal Daytona Academy. Sophia and Sydney finished their breakfast, went back upstairs, took turns showering, gotten dressed, and came back down to give their Aunt Madeline a hug before going off to school, first day of the year. Aunt Madeline made sure to tell the girls just how much she loved them, how proud she was, and reminded them that their parents would have been so proud too. If only mom and dad were still around, though...

Though, of course, this one was different. New school, new city, new people. Fortunately, Sophia happened to have made a new friend already, before even stepping a foot on CDA's campus for the first time. Though Sophia promises it to be a truly platonic friendship, and nothing more, Sydney suspected it to be the start of something a bit more from the beginning since they met at the nearby Volusia Mall in mid-June. Sophia was certainly quite excited to meet up with him again, but she was also trying to be as upbeat as possible and trying to be as positive and optimistic to the idea of a new school toward her younger sister, Sydney. The pair road to school in Sophia's orange International Scout, which was passed down to her following her father's premature demise -- and was a particularly prized possession of his. Sophia parked in the student parking lot, and she typed up a text to send to Eric, just as she stepped out of her car. Sydney stood just off to the side, shaking her head. "Seriously? All your friends are right here, Sophia. And then there's me." Sydney said, cracking a wry grin. "Sush you." Sophia said, not breaking her eyes off the screen, but certainly not able to help herself but to smirk after Sydney's snarky quip. Alas, she sent the text a second later, and the pair made their way toward the front office. Sophia glanced down at her phone, just as she was making her way toward the facade of the main building. The latest message still being the one Sophia sent mere seconds ago.

Hey dude, I'm on campus. Want to chill out somewhere?

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The Main Lobby

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Wednesday, August 16th, 2017
08:06 (AM)

Julia Winters shook her head as she was seated on the side, across from a pair of senior boys. "No. Not a snowball's chance in hell." The pretty brunette senior crossed her arms, and did not allow her facial expression to betray her words -- keeping a stern face as she glared at her blonde friend, Madison Perkins. Madison looked over, her brown eyes meeting those of a couple of guys who were winking at the pair of them. "What, suddenly not attracted to men anymore or something?" Madison asked back, returning with a smile of her own toward the flirtatious boys. Julia sighed, watching Madison encourage their sophomoric attempts at wooing them. "I just have better taste." Madison didn't break from her sunny disposition in spite of her best friend's rather blatant dig. "Ouch, at least say that about me when I'm not right next to you. Bitch." Madison maintained her grin, and kept her focus on the eye-candy in front of them. "I mean, sure their personality is probably shit. Their looks aren't even that great. Probably dumb as fuck too. But, you can tell their bodies are going to be ten out of ten." Julia rolled her eyes and let out a sarcastic sigh. "What?" Madison asked. "You think I'll actually do something more than just wave and wink at them? Don't be so silly." Julia looked away, and just as she had done so had made eye-contact with Daniel Taylor. He maintained a neutral facial expression, but he quickly made his way over toward Julia and Madison, wearing his sweaty grey t-shirt and blue CDA gym shorts with a duffel bag hanging over a shoulder. "Morning, ladies." Daniel said, adjusting the shoulder strap slightly before stopping just a couple of feet from their presence. Madison smirked, stealing a few looks over his figure while Daniel focused on Julia. "I, um, I never heard back from you about Friday." Daniel remarked, finally letting out a smile. "Oh, you mean the party?" Julia inquired. "Yeah, wanna go?" Julia slowly turned to look at Madison, who simply glared back at Julia. "Of course you're going, Miss Julia Winters." Madison then looked over toward Daniel. "She's going." Julia shrugged her shoulders, laughed, and shook her head. "I guess this is why I keep her around." Madison gave a wide, enthusiastic, and sarcastic smile as she leaned over to give Julia a big side-hug, practically a cuddle, and looked over toward Daniel. "She's all mine! No boys allowed! Move along now!" Daniel chuckled, glancing out toward the front door, and then back toward the pair of girls before him. "I'm actually here to see if my cousins stopped by yet, but glad to see you. I'll text you later tonight, okay Julia?" Julia smiled widely. "Yeah, sure. Talk to you later, Danny." Daniel then walked over toward the front door, patiently waiting to greet his cousins into their new school, and Madison looked over toward Julia who was starting to blush. "Yeah, I'd rather hold off for Danny too." Madison said, turning her head to glance at the previous pair of flirtatious boys, who were not looking at their phones. Julia shot out an elbow, playfully jabbing Madison's side. "Shut up." Julia said, to which Madison doubled-over and chuckled loudly for nearly everyone to hear. "Oh man, okay. Yeah. I, uh, I probably deserved that one." Julia looked back, giving Madison a wink. "Damn right you do." Julia then looked back at Daniel, a guy she really started developing tremendous feelings for since he had asked her to Junior Prom last year -- and if the rumors are correct from certain sources within that locker-room, the feeling is rather mutual between them. She watched on as Daniel waved toward a pair of girls, and continued to do so as the three of them embraced after the girls walked in. "Huh, must be his cousins..." Madison rolled her eyes. "Alright, Sherlock, I'm going to see what's up with the cafeteria. I'm hungry. Wanna come?" Julia looked over toward Madison, and nodded her head in agreement. "So, you go for Daniel Taylor, and I go for Eric Stevens. How's that for a game-plan?" Madison said, sticking her tongue out. "Oh my God, Maddy, shut up about it already! Let's go!"

[Segral]

Lawrence "Larry" Colbourne

The alarm went off in the dark room, shrill cries emanating from the device sitting atop the nightstand next to the single bed. The cries seemed to echo through the small, dark room, until a spidery hand, slipped out of the covers, scuttling its way over to the alarm, before gently pressing the snooze bar, leaving only the eerie ring of silence. It was like a twisted version of a Maya Angelou poem, "I Know Why The Caged Bird Cries", or something like that. It was fitting for the boy underneath that twisted cocoon of blankets, except he never cried or screamed or yelled. In fact, he made very little noise at all, when he did speak. His name? Lawrence Colbourne.

Larry pried the covers delicately off him, untangling himself from the web. Sitting up, he began to rub the grogginess out of his eye, stretching and lightly yawning. He was still in his nightclothes, staring around the simple room. It was cluttered with all of Larry's artifacts and pursuits, such as his easel and canvas, next to his desk, his guitar leaning against the small, thin dresser in the corner, the few, sparse posters and pictures plastered on the walls, the jumble of hand-written music and lyrics on his desk, more crumpled up in his overflowing wastebasket, ideas and potential never realized. It was his home, his sanctuary, his asylum from the insanity of life. He was an insane man hiding from the insane.

The sun hadn't even peaked over the horizon, having yet to shine through the small high window in his room. But football practice had been scheduled at its regular ungodly hour, and he was expected to attend. He had already packed his roller bag full of clothes, comics, toiletries and his 3DS, his duffel bag stuffed with his pads, cleats, helmet and #47 jersey. His guitar was strapped in its case, Lucille, his saxophone which he had inherited from his grandfather also ready to go. His knapsack was full of a haphazard collection of books, binders, and writing utensils, all in one jumbled, heavy mess.

Larry lumbered out of his bed, leaving the whole thing in one, unmade heap, making a beeline to the washroom to have a quick brush. He enjoyed the sensation as the brush moved across his teeth, the minty toothpaste cleansing the foul odors accumulated overnight. By the time he was spitting and rinsing, his stomach had begin to grumble slightly. Larry had a strange appetite pattern. Sometimes he couldn't even eat an apple, sometimes he could finish a porterhouse in one sitting. Breakfast had to be made, sooner or later, hopefully sooner. Finally rinsing out, he padded back to his bedroom to change into a new T-Shirt and some sweatpants, throwing the dirty clothes aside, coming to rest overtop of his unmade bed, before heading off to the small, metallic kitchen, taking care not to wake his grandparents. He loved them and appreciated what they had done for him, but they were a bit overbearing and smothering, and Larry just wanted to be alone. It was where he was happiest, most at peace.

He grabbed an apple, as well as a granola bar after doing some rummaging through the kitchen, before grabbing his wallet and keys. It was still dark outside, stars shining with wonder and little twinkles as he piled into the old, rusty Chevy Impala he had recently been given by his grandfather. It was a 1965 model, with various dents and bumps, a scratch here and there. But it got the job done. It seemed like he was inheriting a lot from him. Apple still in his teeth, he made several trips back and forth from the house, filling it with all his luggage. He shoved the knapsack in the passenger seat, the guitar and saxophone in the back, along with the duffel bag, and his roller in the trunk. When everything was all said and done, the engine started with a few spluttering coughs, like a man with pneumonia on his deathbed, before pulling out of the driveway, and roaring down the road in search of its new destination. That destination? Coastal Daytona Academy, Home of the Bravehearts.



A Couple Hours Later...

Larry clomped out behind Danny, staring at his back the whole time. He had tried to go as fast as he could out of the locker room, as he wasn't one for post-practice gab. Or any gab, for that matter. He just wanted somewhere to just get some peace and quiet and paint or play or write or something like that. But, look who it was in the lobby, surrounded by the regular crowd of dumbfuck males, Madison bloody Perkins. They didn't get along....ok, scratch that, they apparently completely and utterly despised each other. Issue; Larry had a reason. Madison did not. She hadn't exactly made life fun for him in high school, so he had taken to hiding as much as he could. But here he was, a gazelle right in the lion's path...

[Imperial Esplanade]

The Main Lobby
Madison Perkins and Julia Winters

Coincidental as it may be, Larry happened to be right smack in the way of Madison Perkins and her friend, Julia Winters, as the pair began to make their way to the school cafeteria -- which was serving a rather large array of snack and breakfast options to any hungry, or bored, students. Madison beamed after she had gotten that last response out of Julia, and she turned to see Larry standing nearly right in front of her. "Jesus, weirdo!" Madison remarked, bluntly, in a disgusted tone-of-voice, and immediately as her eyes detected the junior who was caught before her. Julia, standing just to Madison's left, simply nudged Madison with her elbow. "C'mon Maddy." Madison didn't break her gaze off of the quiet boy. "Who decided to let you--" Madison was nudged, once again, by an increasingly frustrated Julia. "What?" Madison barked back, turning to look at Julia. "Yo, the food is this way, remember?" Julia replied, wanting to divert Madison's attention away from Larry and to avoid yet another litany of verbal abuse hurled at an unfortunate victim of Madison Perkins. Madison glanced over toward Julia, and then toward Larry. "Ugh, he's not worth it anyway." Maddy remarked, pointedly, about Larry and began to walk straight past him. Julia paused, and was left with Larry for a second. She simply smirked at him, with a re-assuring and friendly facial expression, but then started to walk away to follow Madison away from the scene and toward the mess hall.

[Segral]

Larry Colbourne

Larry hadn't even been paying attention. He was just trying to scoot out of the crowd's way discreetly, get to his car, unload, and register. That's all. He just wasn't paying attention to the way he was walking, had gotten lost in the surroundings. He did it sometimes, and this had to have been one of the worst times he had done it. Because he accidentally ran smack dab into the very people he was trying to avoid. Chance was a bitch.

He braced himself, ready to take the verbal torrent of abuse that was soon to follow. He just blankly stared somewhere to her left, trying to avoid any eye contact. In all honesty, he wasn't sure why he just let Madison walk all over him. If he ever wanted to, he could've easily punched her lights out. He was almost half a foot taller, and and he knew a thing or two about punching. Boxing was one way he relieved himself when he was stressed out to the point of anger. He was someone different inside that ring. He wasn't Lawrence, he was...Larry. But this wasn't the ring, it was Coastal Daytona Academy, and for now, punching her face to oblivion would get him expelled and she had the social status and ways to make his life worse than it had to be, so for now, he didn't have much choice. And even then, he just didn't like to pick unnecessary fights.

Suddenly, he heard another voice. His head snapped in its direction, and it faced Julia Winters', Madison's "friend", apparently. Although from Larry's experience, psychopaths and bitches didn't have many friends, but that was beside the point. Luckily, she managed to distract Madison from Larry and get her to head to the mess hall with only a snide remark coming out. Honestly, he didn't care, he didn't exactly want to be worth something to that idiotic princess. He was just glad to get out of it unscathed. Sighing a breath of relief, he quickly gave a nod in Julia's direction before heading out to the sun-lit parking lot to retrieve his stuff from his car. It would be a lot to haul, and he had to dodge the occasional oncoming car driven by some rich, daydrunk teenage driver. He even had to dodge a few idiots on the way to his car, complimented by loud, obnoxious horn-honking that really wore on your ears as time went on and on.

[Charlia]

Hypothetically, there were worse things to do than start one's first day at a new school by running straight into someone. In fact, Eleanor could think of several off the top of her head, though none of them were very pleasant and as such she preferred not to think about them. She certainly hoped they wouldn't apply to her situation any time soon, if ever. Running directly into someone, on the other hand, very clearly did, and she took a quick step back, looking at the boy she'd encountered with some apprehension.

"Apologies," she muttered, and then seemed to realize how quiet her voice was. "I wasn't looking where I was going," she added, a little bit louder. "It was my mistake. So, I apologize for running into you... it was entirely unintentional."

I need to hurry inside... it'd be frustrating to get lost on my first day.

Despite her thoughts, she stayed where she was, seeming to be waiting for acknowledgement of her words before she moved on.

I'd call it bad luck, if I believed it...

[Segral]

Larry Colbourne

Larry had been dashing across the lot, eyes scanning the rows of cars for his beaten-down one. It was almost there...he was unlocking the door, dodging silver luxury car after black luxury car. The feeling of crunching gravel and asphalt under his feet, pebbles skittering away. The sun beat down, although he wasn't worried about it. He was in the zone. An odd time to go in the zone, when you're sprinting across a Floridan high school's lot to try and unlock your car, but hey, whatever.

And then, for the second time today, not looking where he was going, and...running into someone. He had a bad habit of that.

He staggered back some, almost tipping over the hood of some kid's Ford Galaxie. He didn't even see what hit him for a second. He looked around, only to see a thin, slightly shorter girl also staggering some distance away. She quickly started uttering out a string of quiet apologies, a hint of British accent audible in her voice. Larry froze slightly, unsure of what to say. Talking wasn't his strong suit.

Eventually, he managed to utter out a string of garbage that sounded somewhat similar to: "Uh...yeah, fine, it's alright, that's fine. Wasn't your fault, I wasn't...looking where I was going. My bad." Then...awkwardness. Neither was moving, as if they were both waiting for something. He then tried to idly chat a little.

"So...why were you in such a hurry." His voice almost as quiet as hers, dryer monotone than your average Cake song.

[Charlia]

Larry Colbourne

Larry had been dashing across the lot, eyes scanning the rows of cars for his beaten-down one. It was almost there...he was unlocking the door, dodging silver luxury car after black luxury car. The feeling of crunching gravel and asphalt under his feet, pebbles skittering away. The sun beat down, although he wasn't worried about it. He was in the zone. An odd time to go in the zone, when you're sprinting across a Floridan high school's lot to try and unlock your car, but hey, whatever.

And then, for the second time today, not looking where he was going, and...running into someone. He had a bad habit of that.

He staggered back some, almost tipping over the hood of some kid's Ford Galaxie. He didn't even see what hit him for a second. He looked around, only to see a thin, slightly shorter girl also staggering some distance away. She quickly started uttering out a string of quiet apologies, a hint of British accent audible in her voice. Larry froze slightly, unsure of what to say. Talking wasn't his strong suit.

Eventually, he managed to utter out a string of garbage that sounded somewhat similar to: "Uh...yeah, fine, it's alright, that's fine. Wasn't your fault, I wasn't...looking where I was going. My bad." Then...awkwardness. Neither was moving, as if they were both waiting for something. He then tried to idly chat a little.

"So...why were you in such a hurry." His voice almost as quiet as hers, dryer monotone than your average Cake song.

"Well--I should have been keeping better track of my surroundings," Eleanor replied, clasping her hands behind her back. "I'm a new student, you see, and I was hoping to get a feeling for the layout of the school early on, so that I don't get lost and end up late to a class."

This time, nothing's going to go wrong. This time I won't cause any problems.

This time, I won't... I won't let anything happen.

This time you can be proud of me.

[Segral]

"Well--I should have been keeping better track of my surroundings," Eleanor replied, clasping her hands behind her back. "I'm a new student, you see, and I was hoping to get a feeling for the layout of the school early on, so that I don't get lost and end up late to a class."

This time, nothing's going to go wrong. This time I won't cause any problems.

This time, I won't... I won't let anything happen.

This time you can be proud of me.

Larry Colbourne

It seems like his failed attempt at idle chat was actually turning somewhat successful. Apparently, she was a new student, or something like that. Maybe she had just moved from Britain? But she looked somewhat uncomfortable, and so was he. He wouldn't want her to miss a class or anything, nor was he an especially good tour guide, nor did he like to interact with people.

"Alright then...well, you do that, but, if you ever need help navigating, let me know if you can find me. Name's Larry by the way." He started to kind of lean towards his car, not trying to bolt unless she still wanted to talk. He was introverted, but not impolite.

[Charlia]

"Well--I should have been keeping better track of my surroundings," Eleanor replied, clasping her hands behind her back. "I'm a new student, you see, and I was hoping to get a feeling for the layout of the school early on, so that I don't get lost and end up late to a class."

This time, nothing's going to go wrong. This time I won't cause any problems.

This time, I won't... I won't let anything happen.

This time you can be proud of me.

Larry Colbourne

It seems like his failed attempt at idle chat was actually turning somewhat successful. Apparently, she was a new student, or something like that. Maybe she had just moved from Britain? But she looked somewhat uncomfortable, and so was he. He wouldn't want her to miss a class or anything, nor was he an especially good tour guide, nor did he like to interact with people.

"Alright then...well, you do that, but, if you ever need help navigating, let me know if you can find me. Name's Larry by the way." He started to kind of lean towards his car, not trying to bolt unless she still wanted to talk. He was introverted, but not impolite.

"Eleanor," she responded, nodding slightly in acknowledgement. "Eleanor Moran." This is far enough away that you won't know who I am, right? Please don't recognize that name. Please... The last thing she needed was to have the incidents at her past schools following her at her new one. She was going to have a fresh start here--she had to. Things had to change.

"I appreciate your offer," she added, inclining her head in a grateful nod. "I don't want to be an undue burden, but it's good to have as an option if necessary."

[Song-Lu]

Luke Lennox

Some Random Motel
5:00 AM

"Beep-beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep..."

Luke opened his eyes at the poignant and cacophonous melody of his phone alarm and squinted in the hazy darkness of his motel room. The smell of tobacco, alcohol and semen permeated throughout the whole room. His stuffy eyes struggled to open as it adjusted to the gray light of dawn filtering to the blinds. His body felt like it was made of lead and his head felt like it was stacked with at least five bricks.

"Beep-beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep..."

Luke rubbed his eyes and yawned as he clambered out of his bed. His heel snagged on the sheets, almost tripping him. But for some reason, he didn't, but somehow jolted him from his mostly-sleepy state. He removed the bed article from his right heel and made cautious, minced steps towards his phone, which lied in a desk in front of the bed and still emitting digital alarm.

Beep-beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep. Beep-beep..."

Luke flexed his fingers and twisted his neck left and right for a little bit even at the shrill voice of the alarm. He unlocked his phone and shut down the alarm. With his phone still on his hand, he stretched his arms to the white vinyl ceiling, stood his toes and yawned once more. Finally he set down his phone back on the desk and turned on the lamp beside his bed. After a two-minute warm up he started doing push ups. It consisted of five sets and forty reps. After taking a short break, he started stretching his body. After a while, sweat coated his half-naked body and his muscles felt warm and taut; it felt good.

After downing what left of his half-empty Gatorade bottle, Luke went to the shower, immersing himself with tepid water, then switching to cold water within 15 minutes. He ate his already-cold McDonalds takeout, which is basically a Big Mac with fries which he bought the night before after he stepped out of the shower, still clad in a bath towel on his waist. Afterwards, he got dressd for his first day on Coastal Daytona Academy. He wore black jogger pants, a white loose-fitting t-shirt with a faded Van Gogh painting and of course, his favorite white headphones on his neck and a gray beanie. Luke fixed the bed before he checked out of the motel. He grabbed his stuff, which consisted of a moderate number of clothes, shoes, books, and other stuff, which made him looked like a hipster hiker. He finally departed the motel after checking out, and rode a bus towards the campus of Coastal Daytona Academy.

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8:00 AM
Coastal Daytona Academy
Main Lobby

Luke's back slightly ached at the weight of his stuff after getting out of a bus. He was pretty sure some students and teachers glanced at him with strange looks, while he spotted a few girls giggling at his direction. Despite feeling weirded out and having mild locomotion problems thanks his pack, he didn't complain, for it wasn't in his nature to complain. Luke suddenly reminisced his mother's lessons about manners and Zen as he walked towards the Main Lobby, which provided him a sense of relief and courage now that he is away from his parents back at Chicago.

He swore he looked like a penguin as he attempted to open the Main Lobby door and walk in without being clumsy due to his pack's weight and his pack hitting the doors and other students, which would be mortifying. He thought of asking directions for the dorm room, for he needed to get rid of his heavy pack from his shoulders as it was starting to bother him, if walking towards the campus and opening the Main Lobby door wasn't bothersome yet. He scanned for people who seem to be eager to give directions to the dorm. He finally found one.

Larry Colbourne

It seems like his failed attempt at idle chat was actually turning somewhat successful. Apparently, she was a new student, or something like that. Maybe she had just moved from Britain? But she looked somewhat uncomfortable, and so was he. He wouldn't want her to miss a class or anything, nor was he an especially good tour guide, nor did he like to interact with people.

"Alright then...well, you do that, but, if you ever need help navigating, let me know if you can find me. Name's Larry by the way." He started to kind of lean towards his car, not trying to bolt unless she still wanted to talk. He was introverted, but not impolite.

He saw a rockstar-looking dude conversing with a girl, perhaps a new student and perhaps was also looking for the dorms. Luke thought it would be a swell idea if he could ask for directions with the duo. He stood for a little while, thinking through the right words so as not be impertinent towards the conversing trio, especially the ice queen. After thinking through the right words, he finally took a few steps towards the couple. He rendezvoused towards the couple.

"Yo, excuse me," Luke piped in with eerie calm and coolness in his voice, "would you guys mind if you could give me directions to the male dorms?"

[Segral]

Larry Colbourne

"Nice to meet you...Eleanor" he said as quietly as ever, one eye rolling in its socket to clap its gaze on her, glass eye staying forever rooted in its position. the pause before reaffirming her name, unbeknownst to Larry, could be interpreted as one of faintly recognizing her name, enough to be potentially unsettling to Eleanor. He grasped her hand in a light, small shake, before dropping it to his side. Her palm was rather cold, it wasn't the most comfortable thing to shake. There wasn't much else to say. Stepping back slightly, he awkwardly ran his hand through his hair, unsure of how to best end their little chat.

He then jumped slightly as he heard an eerie voice behind him. It had a strange coolness to it, almost detached. He was a tad shorter, and looked extremely casual in the sun-lit lot. It took a second for Larry to even process what he had been saying, before he realized he'd been just standing there, silent. "Ugh..." he muttered to himself, almost inaudibly, "Pull your shit together."

"Uh...male dorms? You're in the wrong area, they're inside." he said with a light chuckle. "Uh...go to the lobby, and uh, couple stairs some distance away, take a few lefts and a right, and you should find the J C Adams Hall."

[New Flattnerk]

Eric Stevens
The blaring of the all too familiar sound of Eric’s alarm filled every square inch of his rather large rooms. Though thankfully for others soundproofing was added so his family was spared from being woken up before the sun had started to rise. Eric woke with a jolt as he quickly sat up. Allowing for the alarm to continue to blare he rubbed his eyes then took a wild guess and slammed his hand down on what he expected to be the alarm clock. It wasn’t. No, instead his hand found the edge of the nightstand and his hand hit with a thud. A small curse word may have been uttered as he hit the snooze button with his good hand then proceeded to hold and massage the hand which made the rather unfortunate collision. Erics hands fell to his side, as he leaned his head against the back of his frame and closed his eyes. This wouldn’t last long as Eric was not the only one in that was awoken by the alarm. No, the other occupant woke up as well. This occupant was much more excited for the day and nearly jumped off the bed. Did some stretches and when she saw that Eric was back to being asleep. She got real close, really really close… and licked his face. She continued to lick until he woke up for the second. “Ok ok ok. I’m up. Im up.” Eric said as he lifted her off of him and ruffled the fur on top of her head. The dog wagged in tail in happiness and tried to follow him as he headed into his restroom for a shower. The rest of his morning went as planned as Eric got himself ready with quick shower, got dressed in black gym shorts and a gray shirt, moved his stuff into his car and sped away to what would be his home away from home for the next school year. Coastal Daytona Academy. Braveheart territory.

A few hours later
New jersey. New team. New school. Eric’s mission was the same. As much as he wanted to make it to the state championship. Due to his recent luck with injuries. He would be lucky if he made it through the regular season with no issues. Him being injury prone was what landed him at this school along with the fact that Eric’s father opened a branch of his car dealerships here. He transferred midseason last year after dealing with shoulder issues and found some success with continuing to play at a high level despite the physical toll the injuries took on his body. He used the off season to continue to develop his skills and get in the best shape he’s ever been in. Hopefully now that his physicality is on par with his skills he won’t have to deal with any further injury.

Bzz bzz bzz Eric took his phone out of his shorts pocket and smiled when he saw who it was from. Sophia Taylor. He had met her earlier in the summer and they had become pretty good friends, so he quickly typed up a response as he drew closer and closer to the school. The text was then sent as Eric quickened his pace. He then arrived and opened the door to see familiar faces, alongside with some new ones. Eric made his way through the crowd of students ,trying to get to Sophia, one of which. Was former girlfriend Madison Perkins.

That sounds great. I’ll meet you in the lobby. Be there in a minute

[Imperial Esplanade]

The Main Lobby

The trio of cousins laughed and conversed some more, and then Sophia felt her pocket vibrate once Eric had finally replied. Like Eric, she couldn't help herself but to smile as she saw who it was. Everyone knew what was going on, everyone. Sydney knew, Sean knew, Daniel knew, but Sophia seemed rather oblivious even as her sister continually poked fun at the budding romance the two were nurturing. Sophia kept insisting that they were just friends, that Sydney was speculating too much on them hanging out one-on-one, etc. Even their Aunt Madeline came to suspect something was different about Sophia's friendship with this boy, Eric, despite not ever actually even meeting him -- and Coach Carl was certainly kept out of the dark, at least for now. Sophia looked up, as Daniel and Sydney both turned their attention to the suddenly-beaming Sophia as she read over a text. "Hey, I, uh, I think I should gussy up. I'll be right back." Sophia remarked, glancing toward Sydney for the non-verbal cue, and then walked away toward a nearby girl's restroom, typing up a response to him. Sydney shook her head as she watched on. "Let me guess, boy-wonder is texting her again." Sydney said, ending with a chuckle. "Alright, I'll see you around Syd." Daniel added, leaning forward to give his younger cousin a friendly hug before the two walk away from each other -- Daniel to the parking lot, to fetch some thing, and Sydney to the girl's restroom to help save the day. Again.

Looking forward to seeing you!

A couple of seconds later, Eric happened to walk into a hallway that leads to the lobby -- and into, perhaps, the one girl he'd rather not be seen with. Madison Perkins. With Julia tailing her, just before turning the corner to the cafeteria, Madison grinned widely as she caught sight of the muscular quarterback, and ex-lover. Part of her missed their relationship, the "intimacy" they had, despite it being a somewhat unhealthy relationship for the two of them. Madison was demanding toward him, controlling, and even manipulative. Madison was always jealous, always weary of other girls trying to steal him away, and thus perhaps unknowingly (to Eric) slandered many a girl's reputation in his mind. Julia's head just dropped as she witnessed Madison kick into flirtation-mode. Oh no, not again. Julia thought to herself. "Hey, how's it going stud?" Madison inquired loudly, adding a wink at the end, as she aborted on the cafeteria idea for now to attempt swinging Eric back toward her. Little did she know that he had another in-mind, and little would she care, either, that he did. Julia crossed her arms and sighed, almost loud enough for the two to hear. "Hey, Eric. How's... how's it going?" Julia asked, in a far less enthusiastic tone -- yet friendly nonetheless. "Have any plans for this weekend?" Madison asked, as she stopped a few feet from in front of her target, eyeing up his budging chest and hidden figure under his shirt."I was thinking we can go to that beach party together, that ought to be fun right?" Madison added, giving Eric a pat on shoulder. "You and me. Just like old times." Julia, meanwhile, reached up to rub her forehead in disbelief that her friend Maddy would even be so bold to suggest such a thing.

[New Flattnerk]

Eric Stevens
Here we go again Eric thought to himself as Madison approached him. He couldn’t help but smile and shake his head as he found the whole situation to be humorous based on their previous relationship. Madison was always being overprotective of him and thus strained his friendship with others. He heard from one of his teammates that Madison was also trying to slander his reputation, spreading rumors to the other cheerleaders. So, all this of this combined caused the relationship ended rather ugly but here she was again. Clamoring for more. “Im doing fine Julia how are you?” He said as he waved a hello to Julia as she tried to hide her embarrassment of her friend. Eric then turned to Madison and spoke. “Madison.. You are as.. Spunky as I remember, but you know we can’t go to the party together. Yes we had a lot of fun but we didn’t work out last year.. What do you think changed from then to now?” While he chatted with Madison he kept an eye out for Sophia.

[Imperial Esplanade]

The Main Lobby
Madison Perkins and Julia Winters

Madison crossed her arms, rather unimpressed with Eric's answer. She cocked an eyebrow, particularly, after that final inquiry. "Apparently your sense of fun and excitement?" Madison let out a sigh, and looked down toward her feet. "Do you really think you'll have that much of a better time with another girl, even if you wanted to?" Madison looked back up, and forced out a flashing of her impeccable, cocky smile. "Eric, C'mon.." Maddy circled around Eric, walking around him and stopping just behind him. "You realize how lame it would look if you just... showed up by yourself? You'd really want to do that?" Madison then walked back to where she was, and looked over toward Julia. "Daniel just asked Julia out on a date, ya know." Julia shot a look over at Madison. "What? No, it's totally not, actually." Madison simply chuckles. "Yeah, sure sounded like one to me. Just you wait." Then turns over to look at Eric, and giving him a nod. "And I'd suggest you don't. Wait too long, and I'll just go with someone else. Oh, I can only imagine how awkward that would feel for you." Madison said, maintaining her grin, as she awaits to see if the boy she is going after has anything to say.

The Girl's Restroom
Sophia and Sydney Taylor

As if by some miracle, Sophia managed to find the girl's restroom empty. That was a good thing, as Sophia was moments away from having an anxiety attack. She starts with looking straight into a mirror, toying with her hair, and begins to think all sorts of things. Gosh, am I really going to make friends here? Am I pretty enough? Last thing I want is to deal with that stupid drama. Does Eric even like me? No way he does. He hasn't asked me out yet, and he's known me ALL summer. Ugh, what am I going to do? I barely know anyone at this stupid place, and--and... Sophia clutches the sink, leans forward, and closes her eyes as she shuts her internal monologue for a second and just breathes. No thinking, counting the breaths and trying to collect herself. The door soon opens, and Sydney walks in to Sophia having a mini-anxiety attack. Sydney immediately walks up to stand right behind Sophia, and softly places a hand on her older sister's shoulders. "Hey, you okay?" Sydney asked, rhetorically. Sophia just looks at the reflection in the mirror of Sydney, and forces out a smile. Sophia reaches up to touch Sydney's hand, and she looks back down toward the basin of the sink. "Yeah, I just needed a moment." Not a second later, Sophia turns the knob and splashes some of the running water against her face to help calm her down a bit. "Thanks." Sophia said, simply, before turning the knob. This wasn't the first time Sydney saw Sophia like this, but it nearly breaks her heart each time. As happy and optimistic and energetic she has been lately, the recent changes have taken a toll on her. Severely. Everyone had to uproot themselves to go to a new school, and while Sydney and Sean were going to go through this phase anyway -- Sophia wasn't prepared to lose all her friends back at her old school. Everything they knew, everything they loved, and everything period. Gone. All because of a single, stupid decision their father had made. So many questions, so little answers, so little to make sense out of all this. And now? She was about to start the year off with spending time with the only friend she has, who isn't related to her. "Please don't screw this up..." Sophia said, glancing down at her phone to re-read that last thing Eric sent. Sydney watched on, perking an eyebrow. "Dude, you'll be fine. Just, be yourself. You're awesome, he loves you for it." Sophia glanced up, confused. "That's... not what I meant. it's not, him." Sophia then turns around and smiles at Sydney. "But, thanks. I, um, I think I'm good now." Sophia kept her true reasoning for saying that to herself. Sydney smiled back, and the two then shared a hug before Sophia stepped away to head back out into the hallway, looking for Eric.

[Kwadai]

Yusuf Erkan

In the distance the pale pink glow of the morning sun shimmered on the waves and the dark outlines of palm trees created a scene reminiscent of a painting, toward which Yusuf Erkan was walking. The streets here were different to the suburbs of Seattle in which he had grown up, less trees more holiday apartments. The differences didn't bother him though, it felt nice to have the change of the scenery. Since his arrival here he had been waking up early to walk while the sun rose. That had always been a habit of his, and not one that would be ending anytime soon, walking always seemed to provide a sense of peace. He had become somewhat familiar with these new surroundings having been in Daytona just under a week now, initially with his older brother Mehmet who had last night flown to San Diego where he was now living. His relationship with Mehmet had deteriorated over the last year despite having been exceptionally close when they were younger. Yusuf's coming out was the reason behind their falling out as the older brother found it difficult to comprehend. Recently though Mehmet had started speaking to Yusuf again and even wanted to help him settle in to his new home and school in Florida, a turn around that was definitely a pleasant surprise. As for the rest of his family, he didn't miss them, to put it bluntly.

He had been outside for over an hour by now, aimlessly strolling down different roads that all seemed to look identical. At this stage he knew that he would be needing to head to the school if he intended to be there at the right time. Turning up late on the first day would hardly set a good example. Multiple lefts and rights later Yusuf appeared in the correct street with the modern CDA building visible two hundred metres away. Exhaling a final breath of smoke from his cigarette he discarded it and continued for the final stretch. He should really stop smoking, but that too was was not one of his top priorities. All morning he could count on two hands the amount of people he had seen, but now the sidewalks were dotted with students of different ages all heading for the same destination. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, already aware of who it was, the boy rolled his eyes before sliding the phone out, tapping in his passcode and opening messages. As expected it was his father. "What the hell is he doing texting me so early?", Yusuf sighed, replying to the text with only a single word; anlıyorum (I understand). He didn't know why he bothered, but then he remembered this was father, the type who always wanted to be ahead of everybody else. One of many traits they did not share. He smiled at his sister's text however, a quick bout of encouragement and the ubiquitous "I miss you". Pulling his headphones from his ears, he pushed them delicately into his pale blue backpack, his morning walk was officially at an end. But this now meant his first day at CDA had begun.

He had been pleasantly surprised when he first saw the building he would be going to school in for the year, far nicer than he had been expecting, only hoping the same could be said for the students. His last school was a bit of a mixed bag, most students were tolerable and tended to leave him alone (a big step up from middle school) and of course there were his two best friends Jennie and Diego. He distinctly recalled meeting them and how from their first interactions the trio just stuck together. Then to no one's surprise there were the straight football jocks and their girlfriends with whom his only contact had ever been fleeting and irrelevant. The sun had now completely risen when Yusuf strolled around the edge of the car park and to the school's entrance. He felt his stomach rumble a little having not eaten anything that morning, but he ignored it knowing he had food in his bag for when he felt hungrier later. Not recognising or knowing anybody, Yusuf made the decision to look around the school a little before he had to go anywhere. Or at least, those were his intentions.

[AHSCA]

The Main Lobby

"Pleeease papa pleaaaase" it took a lot of begging pleading and sucking up to her dear father but now here she was in the USA at last. While she had hopped for somewhere fancy like NYC or LA but Daytona Beach seemed like a nice place to be. It wasn't terribly different from her home in the Philippines. She knew, she researched it, right down to the hurricanes. She wasn't really anticipating one but she'd been through a share back home, it was good to be ready. But her mind was more focused on school, a new school meeting new people. Americans were usually friendly she'd been told, she'd also been told they were violent and gun happy and a small girl like her would be eaten alive over here. She was a little nervous but more excited to be here in America at a foreign school. Still ti was going to be strange. Her phone rang

"Hello? Oooh papa!"

"Wanted to check up on you, did you make in yet?"

"Yeha I just arrived in Daytona Beach now. It was really easy to get down here, just took train from Orlando."

"good good. So you're settled in?"

"I haven't found where I'd be staying yet I thought I'd explore the school a little." Actually she didn't even know who her roommate would be if she had any. "Okay I love you too, papa bye bye"

She took to her phone again "Might as well let everyone else know" Many of her friends back home were eager to follow her trip she she set up a Twitter to post

Twitter Account Name
@Elly Venecia

---

I'm finally here, finally made it to America! Checking out new school now!

[Imperial Esplanade]

School Parking Lot

---

Wednesday, August 16th, 2017
08:08 (AM)

Daniel Taylor had a wide grin on his face, donning a lightly-shaded goatee-beard, as he stepped out of the doors of Coastal Daytona Academy, his home away from home. His particular enthusiasm would stem from recently conversing with Julia Winters -- a girl who not just appealed to him, physically, but she espoused a sense of emotional and intellectual maturity that was quite the rare find in those at that age. Yet, despite all the wonderful things he had to say of Julia, Daniel never understood why she hung around Madison Perkins and certainly wished she would just ditch her as a friend. After everything that the wicked girl did to his friend Eric Stevens, such as gossiping about him to guys and girls alike, and her tendency to incessantly bully other girls, Daniel was dumbfounded as to what Julia saw in Madison to warrant a desire to have that drama in her life. For reasons he didn't quite understand, Julia was loyal toward Madison -- and yet strangely enough, Madison was loyal toward Julia. Despite the odd arrangement, Daniel had always suspected it to be a temporary one, partly wondering if the day was coming when Madison finally does something unbelievably treacherous against her close friend. Alas, however, such a day has yet to arise.

Daniel stood at the edge of the curb, casting his eyes out toward the parking lot, and thought for a moment about genuinely asking Julia out. Madison suspected it, that much has been clear to him for awhile now, but Daniel continued to struggle with gathering the courage to ask Julia out to a date. He slowly pulled out his phone, and looked at it blankly for a few seconds. Daniel just shook his head, and began to type up a message.

Eric, can we talk sometime today? I've got something no my mind. Figured you might be able to help. Thanks, pal.

Daniel then slid the phone back into his pocket, sighed, and scanned the parking lot again to recall where he had parked. Ever since the school had expanded the parking lot about a year ago, they had decided to invest in solar panel car-ports to serve the dual purpose of providing both shade to parked cars against the blistering Florida sun and to provide some power to the school. Turned out to be a successful investment, as the school would tout on social media -- even if the solar panel car-ports weren't exactly the most visually appealing of sights.

Daniel felt a vibration in his pocket a second or so later, and glanced down to pull out his phone -- expecting a quick reply from Eric. Rather than it being his teammate, Daniel saw a text from his older sister, Emily. Emily had texted him with a question if he could help move a desk around in her classroom. Daniel, looking down and reading the text, bit his lower-lip as he mentally contemplated an answer. This was Emily's first year at the school, having graduated from it years ago, and was happy to return back to her roots in Daytona Beach -- and to her alma mater, as both an assistant to the band director and an english teacher. Daniel typed up a rather quick reply, saying he would be happy to oblige, and then slid his phone back into his pocket prior to stepping out into the parking lot to fetch his school bag and some clean clothes. Might as well wait to put on fresh clothes, after helping Emily out. He found his car, in the maze of a parking lot, and grabbed the belongings he sought. Then, once he was finished, Daniel locked his car and set the alarm as he walked away with a school bag on his back and the duffel, now stuffed with clean clothes, in his hand.

As he was wandering back toward the campus proper, Daniel spotted one of the younger teammates, Larry Colbourne, chatting up two new faces to the school. Daniel cracked a wide grin, and waved over to Larry. "Representing Coastal Daytona's finest is..." Daniel exclaimed as he walked over to the trio, of Larry, Luke, and Eleanor. "Mr. Larry Colbourne!" Daniel kept walking, up until he was only a few feet away, and then shot out a hand to offer either a handshake or a high-five to the Sophomore tight-end, beaming with a wide smile in the process. Despite being a starter, and captain, of the defensive side of the ball, Daniel made sure to treat all of his teammates, regardless of their age or grade, as if they were his own brothers. To Daniel, they certainly were. The expectations of being the son of a former NFL player, and to have that same former NFL player serve as your high school football team? That carries an extra abundance of weight for Daniel to carry around, and thus he was always relying on his brothers both on the field and off.

[Vaquas]

Jackson Brady
6:50 AM
August 16, 2017

"Take it easy man." shouted Jackson's summer host, Tyler, waving goodbye as the former strode out of the front door, backpack slung over his shoulders. "I'll do my best." the darker adolescent replied with a smile, surveying the picturesque upper class neighborhood he had been residing in for the past three months as he approached his Silverado. He'd received it as a gift from Tyler's family because, granted, they were making the way for Tyler's dad's new car, but it was still an incredibly generous gesture. He'd grown to love the vehicle despite the twinge of guilt he received every time he remembered that he hadn't really worked for it. Throwing his backpack into the passenger's seat, he turned and waved back before climbing in himself, slamming the door shut behind him on accident.

As Jackson began his journey to CDA, he thought about the circumstances that had brought him here, wondering how his parents were behaving back in Mississippi, or if they even knew today was the first day of school for him. He decided not to dwell on it too much, dispelling other rising questions and opting instead to focus his attention on the road and the large number of incapable motorists that were hijacking it. People need to learn how to drive he thought silently to himself for the umpteenth time, maneuvering through traffic and making his way a few more streets over to the parking lot of the Academy.

Putting it in park next to a rather pitiful looking yellow smart car, Jackson descended from his vehicle and fished out his bag, as well as a poster he had rolled up in the backseat. While not necessarily overjoyed to be back, he was more than ready to return to a dorm, if only to have a space of his own again. Well, not of my own. One person is an alternative to 6 though. He reasoned, tossing the rolled up poster around in his hands before settling on the left one and using the other to retrieve his phone. He had not yet met his roommate, and the name on the information page staring up at him from the screen below was not particularly insightful.

Roommate: Yusuf Erkan

He only hoped this Yusuf was not as intrusive as his last counterpart had been. Approaching the front of the main building, he paused, taking a long moment to once again admire its modern design and sleek exterior before continuing on. He decided to have a walk around and see if he bumped into anyone he knew, he had plenty of time after all.

Here we go again.

[New Flattnerk]

Eric Stevens
Eric shook his head in disbelief as Madison made her circle around him. He made eye contact with Julia as if to to say Is she forreal? Then when Madison was back in front of him, Eric put his hands on her shoulders. Looked straight into her eyes and spoke. I'm sure I'll just be fine. You will be to. We both just have to move on. See other people. This is your last year here, next year you'll be in college surrounded by hot college guys. You wouldn't me holding you back. Eric removed his hands then continued. So, I won't but I hope we can still be friends. Or at least coexist peacefullt without any grudges he turned to his back to the pair of friends and walked away in search of Sophia.

He didn't have to wait long because as soon as he replied to Daniel Taylor's text and looked up. There she was. His heart started to beat a little big faster and even got butterflies in his stomach. It had been awhile since he felt like this around any girl. She was truly special. Sophia was actually sweet and sincere. She cared about people and their feelings. Her beauty was truly inside and out. Sophia was accompanied by her sister Sydney who Eric already started forming a bond with as well. He couldn't help but smile as he walked up to them after making eye contact with the pair. "Hey you two. Welcome to the chaos. Sup Syd? Eric said as he put his fist up for a classic bump.

Yeah, sure whatever you need. Wanna talk before lunch?

[Imperial Esplanade]

School Hallway

---

Madison Perkins and Julia Winters

Julia Winters shook her head, yet did so while Madison Perkins was looking the other way to make sure she didn't catch wind of Julia's disapproval of her antics. Julia actually really liked Eric Stevens, as a generic friend, and the two seemed to get along quite a bit. Eric was always nice to Julia, and she to him, and Julia seriously hated the idea of Madison trying to manipulate him. Julia eventually tried to get Madison to stop, seeing the insecurity in Madison's attempts to control him, though the relationship inevitably fell apart on its' own merits, or lack thereof. Thus, it wasn't exactly surprising that Julia remained silent as she watched the cheer-team captain attempt, and fail, at wooing Eric again. In fact, Julia was secretly happy to hear Eric had moved on, perhaps even to another girl, after watching what Madison did to him. Julia hated being a witness to the dysfunctional relationship they were in, and she was tired of trying to play counselor to Maddy (and sometimes Eric) when things were rocky between them during their brief stint as a couple. Though Madison, meanwhile, continued to remain unamused at Eric's preference to keep his distance from her. Madison dropped her jaw, in her typical and overly-dramatic fashion, as Eric turned his back on her to walk away after reasoning with her -- there was usually no way of accomplishing that with Madison anyway. Did that asshole really just friend-zone me? Madison thought to herself, slowly turning to look at Julia, who had to muster every bit of strength to keep herself from grinning -- somehow mustering a neutral facial expression. "C'mon, Maddy. Let's just get some fo--" Madison angrily shot a look over toward Julia, whose soft and pacifying tone clearly didn't have the intended effect. "No!" Madison barked back, enraged. "What in the hell does he even mean by 'moving on' anyway? Woah, wait, is... is he... is he really seeing someone else right now?" Madison looked back over toward Eric, astonished and pissed at the fact he flat-out rejected her. This wasn't the first time a boy rejected her advances, rare as it may be, but she genuinely thought she had him. Madison believed Eric to be an easy bait, and she wasn't prepared for the reply she had gotten from him. Her breathing intensified as she watched on next to Julia, who simply stood still and silently rubbed her arm. Madison's anger only boiling more as she saw Eric smile, and greeting two girls. "Oh. My God. Who the hell are they?!" Madison loudly inquired, exclaimed really, as she watched Eric's interactions with Sophia and Sydney. "Is she... is she the girl who... who is replacing me?!" Julia knew Madison was about to do, or say, something she was going to regret at the rate this was unfolding. Julia glanced toward the cafeteria doors, and then back toward her fuming friend. "I don't know, Madison. But, look. Nothing good is going to come from this. Let's just go." Madison shook her head at Julia's attempt at de-escalation. "Nothing good for those bitches, that's for sure." Julia sighed, looking down at her feet, and then back up toward Madison. "I'm going in the cafeteria, you coming?" Madison looked on for a few seconds longer, engraving the faces of the pair of girls Eric elected to fraternize with over her, then sighed herself. Madison realized Julia was right, and looked over to her friend. "Whatever. Yeah. Let's go."

Sophia and Sydney Taylor

Sophia stepped out of the bathroom, and to the side to lean against the wall rather shyly as she scanned around the hallway, as Eric and Madison were ending their conversation, with the former starting to walk away. Sydney, standing right next to Sophia, spotted Eric just as he was pausing to glance down to pull out his phone. "Oh, hey. There he is." Sydney commented, glancing over toward Sophia and nudging nudging her older sister as she was looking in the completely opposite direction. Sophia redirected her eyes toward Sydney, who rose a hand and pointed at Eric. Sophia looked toward Eric, cracked a grin, and immediately started to walk toward him. "Oh, and thanks! You're the best, Sydney!" Sydney said, sarcastically, with a smile as Sophia stepped away. Sophia twirled around and winked at Sydney as she kept backstepping. "You're the best, Syd! Now c'mon, you slow poke!" Sophia exclaimed with a chuckle. The two meandered through the semi-crowded hallway, making their way over to Eric, who was beaming with excitement at the moment he saw them. After everything they went through, it was great to have a friend like Eric. Ever since that fateful day when Sophia, Sydney, and Sean were hanging out at the mall, eating pizza, with their Uncle Carl, and Eric decided to approach and greet the coach, Sophia and Eric seemed to hit it off as friends -- especially when Sophia would occasionally stop by after football practice, and had gotten to know all the guys on the team. They exchanged numbers, hung out a good bit over the summer, and grew to become close. Sophia never really had a guy best friend, but Eric more or less became just that over the span of the summer. After everything that happened in her life in the months prior, it was a good thing for her too. The two sisters grinned as Eric approached them, and Sydney threw out her fist for their usual, customary greeting. "Nothing much, squirt." Sydney responded, throwing his playful nickname for her back at him, and then transitioning the fist-bump to a simple handshake. "What's up with you?" Sophia stood by, crossed her arms, and chuckled in amusement as she watched on. "Hey Eric, great to see you as always."

[Segral]

Lawrence "Larry" Colbourne

No sooner had the half-mutters half-words escaped from Larry's mouth, ones that contained slightly ambiguous and hazy details on how to find dorms, when he heard a very energetic and loud voice exclaiming Larry's presence that was nowhere near his voice box. No, it belonged to the voice box of one Daniel Taylor, son of Coach Carl, that one former NFL player that schedules extremely early practices, middle linebacker and defensive stud of the Daytona Beach Bravehearts. Normally, Larry would have strong distaste for someone like Danny, but Danny always treated him with respect and friendliness, something not many people could say they've done. Obviously, he considered his teammates his "friends", but at the same time, he was never one for celebrating in the locker room and partying with the rest. But, Danny needed him and he had a lot to live up to, and Larry was happy to oblige.

Larry turned to see Danny's winning smile and outstretched hand. "Hey, Danny. How're you?" he asked as quietly as ever, hair still obscuring his eyes slightly as he grasped his hand in a shake. Danny's hand was strong and knobbly, his was thin and spidery. His grin practically beamed light and radiated confidence, Larry's was faltering, thin and often wry, with more self-mockery and awkwardness being portrayed behind it. There were so many difference between them, but Larry still preferred his company over the other football players. "How're your cousins?"

[Corrian]

Agatha Amalric
While they were driving from their fairly new home in Florida to drop off Agatha at Coastal Daytona Academy, she was staring out of the window, and she seemed to be a bit nervous. This was the first day of high school, and it was rather nerve racking. And she was just thoughtful about a bunch of things at once in general, all involving school. She started to chew her nails absentmindedly, a bad habit of hers, which especially kicked in when she was thinking, stressed, or just traveling for a long while at once and there was little happening. Her parents however didn't notice, and neither did she for quite a while until she caught herself a few minutes later. Things were relatively quiet at the moment in the car, a nice change from earlier.

But that also changed not too long later.

"Are you sure about this?" Agatha's mom asked after they had arrived to the school, and Agatha rolled her eyes for probably like the 50th time today at her parents. Her parents were so against her getting away from home, but their almost seemingly excessive insistence at wanting her to stay was almost why she decided to leave in the first place. Sure, they just loved her, and didn't want to see their daughter disappear for so long, but it didn't accomplish much when all you did is just annoy your daughter into not wanting to stay even more.

"Yes, I'm sure" Agatha said in a voice that was clearly annoyed. Her parents looked so pathetic, trying to protest her leaving for the 50th time today, even after they had already paid for her boarding here and everything. They weren't happy with their daughter leaving home already, clearly, and she was just fed up with dealing with them trying to convince her to stay over and over again today. Pretty much everything in her body made her want to just get the hell out now. She was always a bit of an independent girl, but in about the last year of her developing into a teenager, it had become even stronger. Before, she was always kind of independent, but now she got to the point that being around her own family was almost taxing on her, and she just wanted to get away and have a new adventure in her life. The mundane day-to-day crap of normal school life and living with parents was getting boring. Not to say that the new school year wouldn't be a whole lot different, but it would still be different enough that it would be refreshing to her, at least for a while. She wasn't much for making friends, though, and didn't have any up to now, so she would likely continue the trend of keeping other people at a distance for a while, just because that was how she was. She pushed people away, for whatever reason or other. But even she, like almost anyone, needed people in her life nonetheless. It would just be a while for her to admit it, if she ever did.

"You could change your mind at any time" Her father said almost hopefully, and Agatha rolled her eyes again.

"Well, I'm not going to, as I already said about 20 times today" Agatha shook her head. She started to grab her things and ended up just starting to head towards the school without a goodbye or a hug or anything. For one, she didn't like hugs anyway. Hugs were awkward and uncomfortable. And she wasn't a huge fan of goodbyes, either. But especially when her parents were being annoying...And then her brother just had to add to the annoyance.

"Don't get yourself pregnant" Her brother said stupidly, and he almost snort laughed at his own "joke". Agatha stopped in her tracks, stood there for a moment, and slowly turned around to look at her brother, and she gave him a look that pretty much said "Are you an idiot?", and her words weren't much different.

"Are you freaking kidding me right now? I barely plan to associate myself with people, which, by the way, you guys wonder why. Oh, I can't freaking imagine why" Agatha punctuated that by looking at her brother, "But yeah, I barely plan to associate myself with people, yet alone DATING. God no. So your "joke" falls flat and you look really stupid. Good job, brother. Now bye" She huffed, turning back and wandering off without much as a word. Her brother seemed to be frozen at his sister snapping at him, though he was kind of used to it because it was generally in her nature to behave like that, and her parents mustered a "Goodbye", and she just put her hand up into the air and said "Bye" dully, and continued on without another word.

Once inside, she just headed straight to her dorm room to drop off everything that she had with her, not really paying mind to anyone, including whoever her roommate may have been. She just wanted to get her stuff dropped off, then sort it out later. So she had thrown it all on her side of the room, or specifically on her bed, then just left it there for the time being while she went out and about to aimlessly explore the school until class started, where she would probably just be bored out of her mind, but hey, still a break from being with parents and she could still more freely do what she wants. Right now, though, she was simply checking out the school.

Cassie Kennington
The people taking Cassie to the school from the Hospital eventually arrived to the school, Cassie sitting in the back seat, barely even there. She was frowning deeply, spacing out, lost in the depths of her depressed, traumatized mind. She was also having a panic attack inside the car. This being her first time in a car since her accident, it wasn't really all that surprising. After having a serious car accident fresh in your mind, it was understandable to be a little uncomfortable by being in a moving vehicle. But mostly, she was just not doing very well mentally at the moment after everything that had happened recently. A little less than a week in the hospital wasn't remotely enough time to heal the scars that ran a lot deeper, and it wasn't like life was exactly peachy before then either.

As the car came to a stop, she came to, being rattled out of her daze by the car coming to a stop. It then occurred to her that they were at the school, and she looked out the window, taking note of the school briefly but not thinking much of it. At least it was something. And hopefully it would be better than her previous school before the recent tragedy that had occurred. Almost anything would be better than there...

The people that had brought her there opened the door for her, and she grabbed her crutches and used them to push herself out of the car, thanking the women who opened the door for her. From the car accident, her fracture was still not fully healed, so she had to support herself because she couldn't walk on her leg yet. If she put weight on her bad leg, it was not pleasant. So she preferred not to do that if she could help it...Of course, accidents happened if you liked it or not sometimes. Her leg was still in a cast, and probably would be until it was certain that her bone was in good shape, which would still likely be a few weeks from now. There were various other smaller injuries as well, but the worst was her right leg and the gash on said right leg which was a big part of what fractured her leg in the first place.

Cassie started to walk with her crutches to her room, the others taking her luggage for her, since she wasn't really capable of doing so right now. They walked ahead of her, but slowly, since they knew that she couldn't get around well. They wanted to make sure that she got to her room, and all of her belongings from her house that she wanted made it there, too. But once that was done and past, they would head to her room and start to unload her stuff. Though she generally just told them to put her stuff in the room that she claimed, and she would sort things out when she felt like it. There was some various other small things to sort out, explaining details to her on medicine usage, how to not put much weight on her leg, and so on and so forth. When it seemed guaranteed she understood everything, they would depart, and she thanked them for all the help. Now, she was by herself, and she just kinda laid there right now, taking in her room and thinking about what exactly she wanted to do right now, if anything at all.

Edgar Sullivan
"Yeah, I'll be fine" Edgar said quietly to his family as they fussed over him as they had arrived to the school to make sure that he looked "proper" and ready for the school year. His mother was straightening out his outfit for the day, and fixing up his hair to make sure that it looked presentable. He had no ill will against his family, but of course being fussed over could get irritating. And he simply wanted to reassure them that everything was fine. He had his usual nervousness at the whole school thing, but beyond that, everything was just fine. Getting started for the year would be easy, and once he was situated, he would just meet up with friends again, or just relax and wait for school to truly start.

However, who he seemed to be set on saying goodbye to the most was his younger sister. As far as siblings went, they were close to each other. And so when it came to the departure for the year, it was actually a sad occasion, which was shown on her sisters face as she frowned at her older brother. They would get the chance to visit multiple times of course, but it was still different. "You know I will keep in contact, sis" He said to her when she was frowning, but it didn't really help her any. She kept frowning, and just put her arms out, to which he gave her a big brotherly hug. "I'm going to miss you" She said, and he responded with "I know. I'll miss you too. Just text me any time you need to talk". She gave a nod of her head, and this exchange went on for a bit more, and then he stopped hugging her and ruffled her hair in a very sibling like manner, then said his goodbyes to the rest of the family and headed off to school, his stuff pulled behind him and his backpack on his back, waving back to them one last time before entering the throng of students settling in for the day. Which immediately resulted in him getting social anxiety because there were so many people in one place at once, making him feel constricted, but he just trudged through it.

Karena Svendsen
Karena had recently landed in America, going through all the lovely things to make sure that she was legally allowed to be here in America as a foreign exchange student, like her passport and all that. For the first day of being here, she stayed in some basic motel by herself, doing nothing beyond really catching up on much needed jet lag sleep. It made her feel refreshed when next day she showed up and she was ready to arrive and board at Coastal Daytona Academy. How she got there was by an Uber, as she figured that was the easiest way to do so when she had no semblance of a vehicle for traveling places. And once she did, she took all of her bags out and brought them inside to her dorm room, setting her things up on her side of the room, then like some of the others, would proceed to aimlessly wander the school, though she made more of an adventure out of it than anything, and wasn't at all against chatting with some people along the way if it came to it.