Milford-Gaudier Academy [IC, OPEN, Pt. I]

[Chewion]

Ryan Carter

Ryan smiled as he stepped inside. Momentarily surprised by the hug he quickly adjusted to it before smiling at her remarks. Looking at her he held a smile as he said "Well might I say you look nice as well. Yeah, if it still sounded good to you, then I was thinking of going to the diner." Just then Audrey entered, nodding at her he turned back to Sofia saying "If you're ready my Jeep is just outside."

[Armanischa]

Isabel Tietjen
Outside the Gymnasium

Isabel stood nervously as students moved quickly in either direction, passing her without any sort of acknowledgement. She had options as to where she could go, but she was overwhelmed, and very obviously homesick. As she looked at the other students, she quietly cursed in German before adjusting her schoolbag on her shoulder and walking into one of the fast-moving streams of students going to wherever they were going. She was dressed somewhat conservatively, not wanting to make the wrong impression, with a simple light blue blouse over tight-fitting white shorts, which came down halfway on her athletic legs. Moving with the other students, she didn't speak to anyone, not knowing a single person at her new school, in her new country, and it made her feel small as she looked around, her light blue eyes scanning the halls for any sort of indication of where they were headed.

[Elejamie]

Veikko Pääkkönen

As more and more people came into the assembly, Veikko eventually decided not to have the can of beer. Not yet, anyway, especially since the assembly was going to start any second now and not only would it be obvious that people would be able to hear it but they'd probably want some as well. Not to mention that the principal would probably spot it and would want him to give it up. So he decided that he could have it during his lunch break and that, for now, it might be a good idea to take his feet off the back of the chair in front of him. After all, people would probably want to get past. So he put his feet down on the floor but still lied back in his seat, watching all the people walk past him and trying to scope them to see if there were any attractive girls there. There were one or two but they seemed to have boyfriends, so he decided not to bother. He did have limits after all.

Eventually, once pretty much everyone was there, the assembly started. It took a while for everyone to do so, as evidenced by the principal having to raise his voice a little bit and the resulting faint "Perkele!" from a certain Finn who jolted forward so hard he nearly fell out of his seat as a result, presumably because he wasn't paying attention before it and that really caught him off-guard. Fortunately, he found his footing again but remained slouched in his seat, not super interested in what was going on. He did get the name of the principal and that he's been here for over 50 years but that was the rest of it was a massive foggy blur, other than a couple of occasions where he had to give a round of applause to people. It felt more like an obligation but he still rolled with it.

The assembly would finally come to an end half an hour later, which felt like the third-longest thirty minutes of his life so far. At that point, he zipped his bag all the way back up, having forgotten to do so at the start but, fortunately, he didn't seem to find anything missing and no one in the seats around him seems to have touched or move anything. Granted, he couldn't actually tell because he's not that attentive most of the time but it still seemed to be good. He then put it back on his back and headed out of the gym, trying to figure out where to go. However, in the midst of all of this dawdling, he too stumbled into a rush of people. It turned out to be the same rush of people that Isabel got caught up in and, indeed, he had a quick look over at her, trying to not let her know he was looking at her as he tried to decide whether nor not she was girlfriend material. "Terve."* He said, maintaining his usual stoic expression as he tried to get her attention and hoping she would understand him. "Do you know where you are going?"

* "Hello."

[Imperial Esplanade]

Sophia Taylor
Female Dormitories - Room One

Sophia kept her focus oriented upon the boy whom she welcomed into their shared dorm room, only catching a passing glance out of the corner of her eyes of Audrey while she scurried off to collect an object from her nearby bag. She reached back to slightly adjust her pony-tailed hair at the back of her head, breaking into an excitable grin, and nodding her head toward the impressively cleaned-up suitor standing directly before her. She let out a sigh, yet not one of despair - but rather due to a breath she didn't realize she was holding-in these last few seconds as her heart raced and thundered inside her.

"Um. Yeah, sure. That'll be... still cool with me." Sophia answered back, grinning, yet quickly turning over toward Karena and Audrey, hoping to catch their attention and hoping the two of them would have their evenings freed up to join the two of them. "Hey, so both of you wanna come along? We won't be long, and I'm sure we can just meet ya'll there if you wanna split out early." Sophia added, taking a moment to glance at the artwork Audrey left idle on the floor as she spoke.

[Cheveksim]

Зинаида Кирьянова

Zina sat alone in her classroom, looking out at the rows of desks from the front. She let out a sigh, unsure how she should be feeling. Sure, living in a foreign country, teaching students how to make chemical reactions, shouldn't be too much stress. Right? She second guessed herself as she stood, going to the window, looking out at the courtyard. Again she sighed, but it was less a stressed sigh than a sigh of impatience. "I wonder when they'll start coming in," she said to herself quietly as she started towards the door to the classroom, her calf-length black dress moving with her long legs. She walked out into the hall, looking in both directions, a smile on her face as she reminisces fondly on her more positive experiences in school.

[Flattnerk]

Audrey Z

Audrey was caught off guard when Sophia not only acknowledged her but invited her along with her and Bryan. A bit confused she removed her earbuds and stood up, charger in hand. “I mean I’m not really doing anything, but I thought you two might want some alone time on your date..? Or is it not a date? Or is this a double date but between a potential couple and her two roommates so that the third person doesn’t feel like a third wheel? Or is this some weird polyamorous date and we all four are a couple.” Audrey takes a breath. “Or is this not even a date?”

[Imperial Esplanade]

Kimberly Loiseau
Outside the School Gymnasium

Once the entirety of the time had passed, and the Assembly arose to its' conclusion, a female with somewhat of a darkened natural skin perplexion, compared to many others, steps out of the crowd, seeking some quiet personal space to mull over a few thoughts. Part of her dwelled on the realization she was growing closer and closer to closing the next chapter in her life, a semblance of self-realization at how fast everything is coming to her, that her enrollment at Milford-Gaudier was already halfway over and done with. Kimberly wadded her way through the people, and sought a place alone on a nearby bench, spotted by the main building, and huffing audibly as she reached up to bury her face into her palms.

Kimberly straightened herself out, exhaling and staring up at the trees scattered around the quad, separating the extensive buildings of the campus, including the gymnasium and the dormitories. In that moment, it seemed, her retreat for peaceful solitude had been interrupted by, so it would appear, one newcomer who had managed to arrive so late so as to miss the entirety of the thirty-minute assembly and introduction. Not knowing this fact, however, Kim rose an eyebrow, questioning the reason for such a frantic or nervous plea for seeking the office - or how one had missed it, being it was the first thing she would have passed by on her first day. Nonetheless, Kimberly dusted off her pants and slowly arose onto her feet.

"It's, uh. Not a far walk, right this way." She stated, refraining from adding much more, abstaining from sharing a name or much else for the moment, though Kimberly darted a quick look in Damara's direction with an intrigued look on her face. "Is that cosplay?" She innocently asked, forcing out a friendly smile with the hope she would disarm and calm what she perceived was a growing feeling of anxiety within the stranger.

[Chewion]

Ryan Carter

Ryan smiled as he got slightly distracted looking at Sophia. Man is she beautiful. He thought. Snapping back to reality he held his smile saying "Yeah if you two wanted to go to Coney with us that'd be cool." Shifting slightly he brushed his hair to the right side regardless of the fact it was already there. Turning to Sophia he said "Are we still on for the guitar lesson afterward? I don't want to miss out on a chance to learn from the best." Just then Audry replied, looking around slightly nervously he was unsure of what to say so simply looked at Sophia before turning to Audrey and stumbling through "I uhhh... well regardless you can come to Coney if you wanted with us..."

[Imperial Esplanade]

Sophia Taylor
Female Dormitories - Room One

Rubbing her shoulder, silently, and uncertain how to approach the blunt nature of the questions, mentally processing over what exactly was just said, repeatedly, while struggling with formulating an appropriate response. "Nothing quite like having to have a 'define the relationship' talk, with your roommate of all people..." Sophia thought to herself, biting her lip as she looked at the ground, her hands folded together and dangling below her waist as she remained in thought - while Ryan spoke up first.

"I, honestly, just think we're all hanging out. Nothing like a date, just grabbing something to eat." Sophia replied, cautiously looking over toward Ryan as she explained, yet looking quickly over to Audrey. "I mean, if you have someone you'd like to bring along too, by all means you should invite them and introduce them to us." Sophia added, emphasizing on the 'someone' rather heavily, implying of course a relationship with another of an intimate or otherwise romantic sort.

"But no, it's not anything like that between us. I promise." Sophia said with a friendly smile, slowly looking over toward Ryan, and shrugging her shoulders. She looked over at him as she tried to recall what, exactly, he had asked, but then remembered it was involving guitars, from whence she managed to parse together the question. "Yeah, well it all might be a lot for one night, but I guess we'll see what happens."

[Kirstenland]

Theresa Richards
Theresa was feeling highly excited about her upcoming year, although the speech was not one she had loved all that much or the entire assembly to begin with. However, any hard feelings were easily let go once Theresa managed to eek her way through the crowds of students leaving from the gymnasium, the feeling of boredom giving way to a feeling of angst about meeting some of the new teammates later on in the day. Too many seniors had graduated, from last year, to make her feel comfortable that Milford-Gaudier was going to be in as competitive of a position to compete as they had during Theresa's freshman and sophomore years. To distract the captain of the school's varsity soccer team from some of the thoughts that crept to her head, Theresa sought out to walk down the hallways in search for her classrooms, one of them happening to be Ms. Kiryanova.

Theresa gave the young woman, standing in the hallway, a smile and a wave as she approached her, stopping a few feet to grant them an abundance of personal space. "Hi, are you Miss...?" Theresa paused and stared at her schedule, reading over the teacher's name written on it, and looked back up without daring to attempt pronouncing it. "I think you're my science teacher." Theresa said, extending out her hand. "I'm Theresa Richards, so nice to meet you." Theresa said, wearing a letterman's jacket sporting the soccer emblem sewn onto it, along with a "C" captain's patch.

[Cheveksim]

Theresa Richards
Theresa was feeling highly excited about her upcoming year, although the speech was not one she had loved all that much or the entire assembly to begin with. However, any hard feelings were easily let go once Theresa managed to eek her way through the crowds of students leaving from the gymnasium, the feeling of boredom giving way to a feeling of angst about meeting some of the new teammates later on in the day. Too many seniors had graduated, from last year, to make her feel comfortable that Milford-Gaudier was going to be in as competitive of a position to compete as they had during Theresa's freshman and sophomore years. To distract the captain of the school's varsity soccer team from some of the thoughts that crept to her head, Theresa sought out to walk down the hallways in search for her classrooms, one of them happening to be Ms. Kiryanova.

Theresa gave the young woman, standing in the hallway, a smile and a wave as she approached her, stopping a few feet to grant them an abundance of personal space. "Hi, are you Miss...?" Theresa paused and stared at her schedule, reading over the teacher's name written on it, and looked back up without daring to attempt pronouncing it. "I think you're my science teacher." Theresa said, extending out her hand. "I'm Theresa Richards, so nice to meet you." Theresa said, wearing a letterman's jacket sporting the soccer emblem sewn onto it, along with a "C" captain's patch.

Зинаида Кирьянова

Zina had been so deep in her own thoughts that she hadn't even noticed one of her students coming up alongside her. She looks over at Theresa, managing a somewhat awkward smile. "Oh, I'm sorry, my name probably isn't so easy for you. You can just call me Miss K." She reaches out and shakes Theresa's hand, smiling warmly as she notices the captain's 'C' on her student's jacket. Her eyes widen slightly, and it's obvious that she's very happy to meet one of the school athletes. "Ah I see you're the Captain of the soccer team, it's a big honour. I always did track and field, so we didn't have captains in that way, but I always was jealous of full captains." She steps somewhat to the side, her every movement graceful, "Would you like to come into the classroom? I have a very nice view of the athletic fields, with the trees in the background."

[Chewion]

Ryan Carter

Ryan had been trying to find his way around the school to his science classroom. Finally finding it he walked up to the door and peered in noticing a girl and a young adult he presumed was Ms. Kiryanova. He had noticed her... unique name and made an effort to impress her. Walking in he waited for a moment before saying in slightly crappy Russian "Zdravstvuyte, gospozha Kir'yanova, priyatno poznakomit'sya."

[Cheveksim]

Ryan Carter

Ryan had been trying to find his way around the school to his science classroom. Finally finding it he walked up to the door and peered in noticing a girl and a young adult he presumed was Ms. Kiryanova. He had noticed her... unique name and made an effort to impress her. Walking in he waited for a moment before saying in slightly crappy Russian "Zdravstvuyte, gospozha Kir'yanova, priyatno poznakomit'sya."

Зинаида Кирьянова

Zina turns around as she's walking into the classroom, seeing another student standing there. She turns fully to face him, smiling warmly as she takes a step towards him, her hand extended towards him. She starts to speak, but she's cut off by Ryan speaking to her in Russian, which thoroughly impresses her, despite the brokenness of his Russian. Her eyes light up and she smiles again, "Ochen' priyatno, molodoy chelovek, it's very nice to meet you. I'm Miss K. You're welcome to come and sit down in the classroom if you'd like."

[White Bluff]

Kimberly Loiseau
Outside the School Gymnasium

Once the entirety of the time had passed, and the Assembly arose to its' conclusion, a female with somewhat of a darkened natural skin perplexion, compared to many others, steps out of the crowd, seeking some quiet personal space to mull over a few thoughts. Part of her dwelled on the realization she was growing closer and closer to closing the next chapter in her life, a semblance of self-realization at how fast everything is coming to her, that her enrollment at Milford-Gaudier was already halfway over and done with. Kimberly wadded her way through the people, and sought a place alone on a nearby bench, spotted by the main building, and huffing audibly as she reached up to bury her face into her palms.

Kimberly straightened herself out, exhaling and staring up at the trees scattered around the quad, separating the extensive buildings of the campus, including the gymnasium and the dormitories. In that moment, it seemed, her retreat for peaceful solitude had been interrupted by, so it would appear, one newcomer who had managed to arrive so late so as to miss the entirety of the thirty-minute assembly and introduction. Not knowing this fact, however, Kim rose an eyebrow, questioning the reason for such a frantic or nervous plea for seeking the office - or how one had missed it, being it was the first thing she would have passed by on her first day. Nonetheless, Kimberly dusted off her pants and slowly arose onto her feet.

"It's, uh. Not a far walk, right this way." She stated, refraining from adding much more, abstaining from sharing a name or much else for the moment, though Kimberly darted a quick look in Damara's direction with an intrigued look on her face. "Is that cosplay?" She innocently asked, forcing out a friendly smile with the hope she would disarm and calm what she perceived was a growing feeling of anxiety within the stranger.

Damara
Outside of school gymnasium

Damara tilled her head slightly, frantically trying to piece together what the female in front of her was saying. She quickly looked to the girl's body language, noticing her glance over her, some hardened features, and a certain nervousness about her. She then was asked about her clothing, "Cos...play? What is c-cosplay?" She began to nervousnessly trace the henna tattoos on her hands and arms. She slowly began to realise that the girl ment her clothes, "Made by Bunică and Mamă," she smiles a bit, hoping that answered the question. Damara had the dawning thought that she doesn't even know the girl's name, "I Damara," she gestures to herself, then gestures to the girl in front of her, "y-you?" She then smiles again, she once again gestures to herself, "from România, am Romani," she states hopefully that the girl would be satisfied with those.

Bunică= Grandmother
Mamă= Mother

[Flattnerk]

Darren Noble

As Darren had some extra time between classes he looked over his schedule and found a name that was not familiar to him right away. He first was confused but then remember that there had been some new staff hirings to fill in some open positions and this must be one of them. Darren had made it his mission to connect with all the faculty that he could. These people had made it their mission to educate and enrich the lives of these students and that wasn’t always easy. So he thought it would be nice to reach out to the staff members and let them know they were appreciated. He easily found the new teachers classroom and peered inside to find a couple students were already in there. He walked in. “Looks like a party in here.”

[Cheveksim]

Darren Noble

As Darren had some extra time between classes he looked over his schedule and found a name that was not familiar to him right away. He first was confused but then remember that there had been some new staff hirings to fill in some open positions and this must be one of them. Darren had made it his mission to connect with all the faculty that he could. These people had made it their mission to educate and enrich the lives of these students and that wasn’t always easy. So he thought it would be nice to reach out to the staff members and let them know they were appreciated. He easily found the new teachers classroom and peered inside to find a couple students were already in there. He walked in. “Looks like a party in here.”

Зинаида Кирьянова

Zina had barely made it back to the front of the classroom before yet another student walked in. She didn't hear him enter, but she was almost startled by his voice. She turned around, smiling as she sees the three students all in her classroom, seemingly wanting to learn. It made her feel good to know that she might be able to really help her students, and it caused her to blush a little bit. She shook away her sappy thoughts and approached Darren, her hand out towards him, "Hey it's good to meet you, I'm Miss K, the new science teacher here. Feel free to sit down and hang out, classes aren't on yet, but eventually you'll be back in here for some science." She lingers for a moment, then turns back around to walk to the board, where she writes her name in cursive, followed by the word Science, with a heart above the 'i'.

[American Pere Housh]

Darren Noble

As Darren had some extra time between classes he looked over his schedule and found a name that was not familiar to him right away. He first was confused but then remember that there had been some new staff hirings to fill in some open positions and this must be one of them. Darren had made it his mission to connect with all the faculty that he could. These people had made it their mission to educate and enrich the lives of these students and that wasn’t always easy. So he thought it would be nice to reach out to the staff members and let them know they were appreciated. He easily found the new teachers classroom and peered inside to find a couple students were already in there. He walked in. “Looks like a party in here.”

Зинаида Кирьянова

Zina had barely made it back to the front of the classroom before yet another student walked in. She didn't hear him enter, but she was almost startled by his voice. She turned around, smiling as she sees the three students all in her classroom, seemingly wanting to learn. It made her feel good to know that she might be able to really help her students, and it caused her to blush a little bit. She shook away her sappy thoughts and approached Darren, her hand out towards him, "Hey it's good to meet you, I'm Miss K, the new science teacher here. Feel free to sit down and hang out, classes aren't on yet, but eventually you'll be back in here for some science." She lingers for a moment, then turns back around to walk to the board, where she writes her name in cursive, followed by the word Science, with a heart above the 'i'.

Cory is walking in the hall searching for his first class wearing a Alabama Crimson Tide 2018 SEC Championship t-shirt, black jeans and a cross necklace to represent his faith. He walks into the science room early before class and starts looking for a seat. He find a seat next to a girl with a lettermans jacket with a "C" patch on it. He gets all his stuff ready for class before greeting the girl next to him in a light southern accent, "Hello ma'am, I'm Cory Maxwell and I'm new around these parts. What is your name?"

[Imperial Esplanade]

Kimberly Loiseau
Outside the School Gymnasium

Nodding her head, slowly, and curling the edges of her lips to form an awkward, forced smile as an attempt to hide the inner-discomfiture while listening to the response by the Romanian girl, Kimberly glanced over her a couple times repeatedly, gesticulating with a continued nod of the head to display her comprehension.

"Rom... ania?" Kimberly inquired, in a rhetorical sense and tone of voice, following with a slight shrug of the shoulder, and keeping her focus on the equally-sized and height female in front of her.

"Wow, that's quite a far ways from Jersey." Kimberly added, equally as rhetorically, glancing away momentarily toward the ground as she took the lead of their journey to the front-office, as requested by the new-comer.

"Anyway, I'm from Idaho. West of here. Very west, in fact. Close to California." Kim explained, grinning as she looked up from the ground and forward to where she was taking Damara, shooting her a quick glance momentarily, wanting to add a meaningful addition to her statement.

"You know, Hollywood?" She asked, not entirely certain if that explanation was sufficient, or if she were entirely able to understand exactly what she had just said prior, assuming Hollywood was the far more universally-recognized of the locales. Reaching out to open, and hold, the door for Damara, Kimberly eased her smile and pointed toward a hallway that seemed to lead toward another, running perpendicular from their position.

[White Bluff]

Kimberly Loiseau
Outside the School Gymnasium

Nodding her head, slowly, and curling the edges of her lips to form an awkward, forced smile as an attempt to hide the inner-discomfiture while listening to the response by the Romanian girl, Kimberly glanced over her a couple times repeatedly, gesticulating with a continued nod of the head to display her comprehension.

"Rom... ania?" Kimberly inquired, in a rhetorical sense and tone of voice, following with a slight shrug of the shoulder, and keeping her focus on the equally-sized and height female in front of her.

"Wow, that's quite a far ways from Jersey." Kimberly added, equally as rhetorically, glancing away momentarily toward the ground as she took the lead of their journey to the front-office, as requested by the new-comer.

"Anyway, I'm from Idaho. West of here. Very west, in fact. Close to California." Kim explained, grinning as she looked up from the ground and forward to where she was taking Damara, shooting her a quick glance momentarily, wanting to add a meaningful addition to her statement.

"You know, Hollywood?" She asked, not entirely certain if that explanation was sufficient, or if she were entirely able to understand exactly what she had just said prior, assuming Hollywood was the far more universally-recognized of the locales. Reaching out to open, and hold, the door for Damara, Kimberly eased her smile and pointed toward a hallway that seemed to lead toward another, running perpendicular from their position.

Damara
Outside school gymnasium

Damara followed the girl closely, but listened even closer, running her words over in her mind a million times to try to comprehend her words. Her eyes took in the sights of the school as she walked, the gold coins and bells on her skirt still gently jingling with each step, her hand subconsciously plays with her hair in nervousness.

"Da, I-it is f-far, miss it," she thinks back to her homeland momentarily, "I-da-ho?" The state's name sounding strange in her accent as she sounds it out, "H-hollywood?" She tilts her head slightly in confusion. She followed the female though the door, "Th-thank you," she smiles lightly.

[Imperial Esplanade]

Kimberly Loiseau
Outside the School Gymnasium

Maintaining a friendly grin, Kimberly stepped through the doorway and continued to show Damara the way onward to the front-office, now only down a singular hallway from which they stood. Although, rather than outright instructing her, being Damara appeared as if she were still a ways before personally mastering the English language, or to at least speak it proficiently, Kimberly gestured to Damara to continue following her, and conversing while eschewing from speaking anything beyond what is simplistically-needed to convey her points, deeming that to be the most helpful course and method of communicating.

"Yes. Hollywood." Kimberly said, clearing her throat, and slowing her speech. "California? You... hear--uh, know of California? Right? Idaho is... close, to California." Kimberly explained, hoping her simplified speech was sufficient.

[White Bluff]

Kimberly Loiseau
Outside the School Gymnasium

Maintaining a friendly grin, Kimberly stepped through the doorway and continued to show Damara the way onward to the front-office, now only down a singular hallway from which they stood. Although, rather than outright instructing her, being Damara appeared as if she were still a ways before personally mastering the English language, or to at least speak it proficiently, Kimberly gestured to Damara to continue following her, and conversing while eschewing from speaking anything beyond what is simplistically-needed to convey her points, deeming that to be the most helpful course and method of communicating.

"Yes. Hollywood." Kimberly said, clearing her throat, and slowing her speech. "California? You... hear--uh, know of California? Right? Idaho is... close, to California." Kimberly explained, hoping her simplified speech was sufficient.

Damara
Outside school gymnasium

She nods gently, "Cali-fornia, I-it is on o-other side, yes? Many p-people?" She looks over to the girl as she walks beside her, "n-not many people w-where I am from. Only ten f-families, but only h-hour from city, Târgoviște." She fishes through her bag and pulls out a book, a bible, and pulls out a few polaroid images from between the pages, "took these b-before we left," the images show her commune and its people, many of the pictures seem to showcase a single boy whom looks about their age, "Tată go to city, and b-buy camera when I t-turned...t-thir-teen." She puts them away not long after that as they walk to the office, as they stop in front if the door she turns to the female, "t-thank you, you are v-very kind, here, have g-gift in turn," she goes through her bag again and pulls out a beaded bracelet with a coin similar to those on her skirt on it as well, "good l-luck charm, is yours," she places it in her hands, and gives her a nod before walking into the office and handing the front desk person a envelope with all her papers, after what seems like forever as the lady flies her papers, she begins to walk Damara to her first class.

Tată=father

[Corrian]

Before Assembly Speech
Karena Svendsen
Karena turned to the voice that had spoken to her, curious. Sadly for the girl, the girl was straight, however, she was one that wasn't against, well, trying things sometimes, if she got curious. She did seem to calm a bit, at least in that moment. "Hello. You must be new to America, too" She said, emphasizing her accent a little when she said that. "It's interesting so far" She added. Obviously, she had noticed the girls accent, too, though she couldn't place where it was from. She wasn't the greatest at those sorts of things, even if foreigners fascinated her.

[Assembly Reactions General Summary

Since it was now time for the assembly, everyone had ended up finding their way to their respective areas within the bleachers, with a varying degree of interest in what was happening of course. As she was with most things, Cassandra showed little interest. She just wanted to get finished settling in, put some headphones on, blast some metal, and move on, not be required to listen to some boring old man ramble on about the past and the future and how long he's been here. Hell, she thought about skipping straight to the headphones so she could block out the rest of the assembly and the obnoxious cheering around her, or was it screaming? Why girls had to scream to everything like fucking fangirls, she had no idea. She ended up just tolerating the assembly shit for a while, but it got to the point, after the principal stopped speaking, where it just dragged on, and on, and on, and she decided she had enough, and blocked out everything with her music and decided to just stare off into the distance.

Meanwhile, though, Claudia, Karena, and Scarlett seemed a lot more interested. Claudia always got into the school spirit, and inspiring speeches from their principal was no different. Of course, she basically heard this spiel last year, and the year before, but still, it was nice to hear. She knew how long he had been in service to this school, because she tended to pay attention to these things. She liked the fact he seemed to care about them all, and wanted them all to be successful. That was how a principal should be, obviously, but it didn't seem to always be the case, sadly. Or, a lot pretended to care, but she felt like he actually tried his damnedest And that was enough for her. She also liked the bits from the people after him, even if sometimes it felt like things dragged, making the event long.

On the other hand, Karena and Scarlett seemed more fascinated because of the culture shock differences. Karena was just at an American school instead of a Danish one, so she could tell slightly different things about it, like this whole gathering here in general. And the teacher seemed cool, so she liked it and was fascinated with it. Scarlett was still stuck on the fact that she wasn't in some dumpy suburb of Boston anymore, and wasn't in some shitty school with substantially smaller everything, and it all looked run down and in some cases, maybe not a place for a bunch of children. Some of the teachers were great, but as a whole, things were not. Sometimes it was a better place than at home with her fucked up family, but that honestly didn't mean much. In some cases, the school was just a different version of home. Here seemed so grandiose, and nice, including the people speaking, and she kind of liked it, even if she also felt a bit out of her comfort zone here.

Lyanna on the other hand liked the speech, and appreciated the principal, but she was also having a hard time fully focusing on everything. She did her best to focus on the principal, and seemed to do fairly well with that aspect, but the rest she kind of ended up spacing out, despite trying to pay attention, making her miss quite a bit. She'd hear people cheering suddenly and snap into realization that something important may have been said, and would just put on a pretend enthusiastic face and clap along, not because she wanted to fake it, but because she legitimately wanted to feel the school spirit, she just struggled to focus on what had been said. So she looked fake, but it wasn't intentional.

Later in the day

Karena Svendsen
Karena had gotten to meet her roommates, and so far, she was satisfied with them. They seemed...interesting. And nice. And what more could you ask for? The two of them already seemed to get along quite well with each other, as if they already knew each other, so she hoped that she could somehow fit in with ease as the 3rd roommate. The foreign one with an accent, at that. She knew in some cases that could seclude you, but she definitely didn't feel like that would be the case here.

When it came to Sophia and her apparent "Date", Karena was sitting on the couch in the shared living space, listening in on the conversation when Sophia had invited in Ryan, or well, opened the door for him anyway. She was reading something, or at least pretending to, while listening to what was being said, and it was pretty clear there was some sort of crush going around here. After a certain point, she couldn't help herself but chuckle a little, not really caring if anyone noticed. She did manage to keep herself from saying anything, which was probably for the best.

Well, at least, she did for the moment. When they were invited, which seemed to ruin the idea of it being a date, and Audrey said what she said, she had a bit of a change. Audrey mentioned something about it being a 4 person date, and she had to laugh, and make a joke that sounded not serious but was actually a bit serious. "Sounds like fun"" She said in response to Audrey, making herself laugh, and making it appear as a joke. Honestly, being a third wheel, or a 4th wheel or whatever sounded interesting enough to her, and she would love to just get to see around this place, since she was knew here. Before anyone could really finish comprehending what she had just said, she closed her book loudly and hopped up off the couch, saying "Whatever sounds good to me. I want to see the sights here" as she would walk towards them and towards the door, not really paying mind to anything else said.

[Imperial Esplanade]

Times Square
New York City (Midtown Manhattan), New York
Thursday, October 17th, 2019

My Cousin Madeline

Ahhhhh, yes. Times Square. The beating heart, if it were that the Financial District and all of its' towering skyscrapers were its' central nervous system. Thousands, no hundreds of thousands, pass through it each and every day - some of them native New Yorkers, others (if not most) tourists. And alive as the city is during its peak day hours, the high octane lifestyle across the city doesn't miss a beat on a religious-degree of consistency. Evident by the still-shimmering lights and billboards that illuminate New York City's Times Square in all hours of the night. And so, it wouldn't be so much of a surprise that when Kimberly learned her cousin of her adopted family were visiting from Seattle, among the first places they'd visit were Times Square - along with her newly-found best friend, Madison Edwards...

Tossing her silky smooth, rich and wavy and colorfully-scented long blonde hair over her shoulders for dramatic-effect, Madison Edwards posed alongside that of the brunette of similar stature, Kimberly Loiseau, who is sandwiched with her dark-haired cousin, named Madeleine, on the opposing side, awaiting for their picture to be taken by a fellow-passerby. And, once the flashed, briefly illuminated their expressions, Kimberly appreciatively thanked the stranger, who handed the iPhone back to Kimberly. Kimberly then went to look at the picture, smiling gratefully at the image. This was certainly one that she would cherish, setting it instantly to be the backdrop for her phone as a memento for the day they all spent together. That was the life she lived, the only life she's known, and Kimberly was keen on ensuring Madeleine had at least one night of extensive freedom. Madison, meanwhile, just thought it would be comical to watch this girl break out of her shell.

Meanwhile, Madeleine audibly sighed as her eyes looked around the bustling streets and sidewalks, and Madison checked her own phone for notifications while the newcomer's eyes were still widened with sheer awe of the spectacle. Madison lowered her phone briefly, catching sight of the NYC-novice, and chuckled at the spectacle. "This is your first time?" Madison asked the girl, quizzically - having only recently caught the duo's day at the tail-end of it.

Madeleine spun around, face flushed with excitement. "Y--yeah." The dazzled girl said in response, quickly stashing her hands nervously into her pockets. "I just... it's way bigger and more colorful than what the internet made it out to be."

Madison turned over to Kimberly, who was shaking her head and beaming into a grin as she watched her cousin-by-adoption, transitioning into a nod shortly after. "You really look like me the first time I was ever here. I mean, this is only like the fifth or so time I've been to Times Square, and I still haven't gotten totally used to it. But, I'd bet Maddie is probably some kind of a Time Square pro." Kimberly said.

Madison just shrugged her shoulders, looking down at the cement. "Lived here my whole life. It's cool and all, I guess, but I guess it's just different for me." Madison said, looking back up, and leaving a pause prior to continuing on. "Anyway, we ought to start heading back to your place, Kim. People will start coming over in, like, an hour after all."

Kimberly let out a dejected sigh, turned over to Madeleine, and clasped her shoulder. "Hey, it's been cool to hang out with you again, and I'm glad we could catch up over dinner, but it is about that time. Unless, you can come join us?"

Madeleine's facial expressions varied, initially with some sadness, as she knew her parents would want her back at the hotel room within an hour so they can attend a ballet together as a family, yet grew into a mischievous grin as she contemplated skipping out for more promising entertainment. As if she would spend on of her final nights in NYC attending... a ballet, of all things.

---

Kimberly's Loiseau's House
New York City (Staten Island), New York
Thursday, October 17th, 2019

And... The Final Countdown. It begins.

Later into the same evening, following the after-school journey out to the heart of New York City, Times Square, the trio of Madison Edwards, Kimberly Loiseau, and Madeleine Loiseau return back to Staten Island to the home of Madeleine's aunt and cousins, a home that is both fairly spacious and ostentatious, in the Emerson Hill neighborhood that is renowned for its' displays of opulence, near to the extensive parks and rare patches of greenery that graces the upscale neighborhood within the confines of New York City. Being that Kimberly's adopted parents, both, are currently out of town on a pure stroke of coincidence for a business trip in France, as it coincides with Madeleine's own parents taking their anniversary trip to New York City, the three girls were plotting to make the utmost of the opportunity to expose Madeleine to the scenes of debauchery her highly-conservative, strict parents had made certain to crack down hard upon at each opportunity.

Kimberly lied down on her back on the bed centered in the middle of the room and against the far-wall from the doorway, resting her head against her assortment of pillows. The walls of the surprisingly small room, given the size of the home itself, were painted white on three-sides, with a dark-green background that matches with the green comforter on her mattress. Madison and Madeleine, each, were situated comfortably on beanbags seated on the white carpeted floor, on one side - close to Kimberly's desk, and stereo atop of it playing classic soft rock next to an opened laptop with the screen open to some YouTube videos they were watching earlier prior to the NYC journey.

Letting out a small grin, Madison playfully elbowed Madeleine's side and nodded her head. "See, even this girl agrees with me." Madison remarked, turning her head over toward Kimberly. "Pool party. It's not always going to be this warm again much longer. Plus..." Madison pauses, chewing her lower lip while keeping a mischievous grin. "I'll have a little surprise with Darren." Madison adds, ending with a wink.

"Oookay, I'm just going to do us all a favor and not ask, in fact I'll just change the topic back to the party." Kimberly suddenly says, looking away from Madison and toward Madeleine. "I guess we'll go with the 'cousin sleepover out while your mom and dad go out for their anniversary dinner idea,' and I should have the time to take you for swimsuit shopping right after school tomorrow." Looking back to Madison, Kimberly kept going. "I think, 7:30 would buy us plenty of time to get the last of everything done."

Madeleine quietly nodded her head, shyly keeping to herself as she listened along to Kimberly and Madison continue planning things out for the duration of the night...

[Imperial Esplanade]

Milford-Gaudier Academy School Gymnasium
Jersey City, New Jersey
Saturday, October 19th, 2019

The Homecoming Dance

The Bluebirds of Milford-Gaudier Academy, having played through nine games up onto this point, winning each of them -- including their homecoming match-up against Notre Dame, based just outside of the state capitol of Trenton, although the far-more foreboding match-up for the Bluebirds looms just ahead of them, playing against top-10 nationally-ranked St. Frances Academy on their own home-turf next Friday night. Yet, for now and in the midst of enjoying their current undefeated win-streak this season, much of the attention was oriented to the here-and-now, the festivities of the homecoming dance within the magnificently adorned and decorated school gym, appropriately so for the occasion.

On one far-end of the gym, there was an empty space with a DJ's booth near a doorway, while the opposite had tables and chairs on the hardwood of the court, and just past the double-doors behind them in the lobby-area were several tables with trays of food and snacks and drinks alike, with a photography station close to the front-entrance of the gymnasium of which the student attendants would be entering the gym. The faculty present were, of course, present as chaperones to keep an eye on the student body who made their way to the dance. It wouldn't be long before the time struck 7:00PM, and the doors would open up for admittance to the Homecoming Dance...

[White Bluff]

Damara Vladimiri
Milford-Gaudier Academy School
Female Dorms, room two
Saturday, October 19th, 2019

Damara sat in front of her mirror, she was doing her makeup for the dance, she was going even though she wasn't asked by anyone to go. As she finished she hummed a tune and smiled, "Erin, how do I look?" She walked into the open to be appraised by her roommate, she was fond of her roommate, as she was patient in the beginning and helped her learn English. "Do you think s-someone will ask me to dance with them?" She giggles as she does a spin, her mind a bit of a flutter thinking about what the night could have in store for her. She did have a hope that some guy would ask her to dance, as this would be her first homecoming dance.