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

[Imperial Esplanade]

Welcome to Milford-Gaudier Academy
OOC-Thread | IC-Thread | >>>Class-Thread<<< Discord

---

"Education is the period during which you are being instructed by somebody you do not know, about something you do not want to know." -G.K. Chesterton
Note: Please do not post in the Class-Thread until the application for your character you are applying for has been approved.

[Cheveksim]

Miss Zina Kiryanova
Science Classroom

Zina stood in front of her classroom proudly, trying her very best to hide just how nervous she felt about her first real class. Dressed in a beautiful, although way too expensive, dark blue dress, her hair back in a long ponytail, she looked more of a young model than a teacher. Yet still, she stood there, waiting for the rest of the class to arrive. The few students already in her classroom seemed to be conversing amongst themselves, so she decided not to interrupt them as she leaned against her desk, biting her lip nervously as the clock ticked down.

[Vaquas]

Rachel Epstein
Miss Kiryanova's Class

Throughout her educational career, Rachel had always been punctual, sometimes to the point of absurdity, and this first day of the 11th grade was no different. It was her first class of the day, and, to her understanding, also the first time the teacher, Ms. Kiryanova, would be giving instruction. Thus, it was no wonder Rachel was the first to show up, hoping to make a positive first impression and placing her things on one of the desks in the center of the room. She smiled at the instructor and took a seat, glancing about the classroom to examine the posters that were generally the hallmark of a freshman teacher.

Withdrawing her pink binder from her pack, Rachel dilligently opened it up to the syllabus she had picked up from the Administration just before the start of the semester, glancing over it before turning her attention back to the front of the class, her eyes hovering around the board behind Zina's desk.

[Imperial Esplanade]

Sophia Taylor
Miss Kiryanova's Science Class

Following having been enjoying a lunch with some newly-found friends, on what was quickly becoming an incredible and hard-to-beat first-day experience, Sophia Taylor was the next one to wander into the classroom. When Sophia had entered, she discovered it to having already been mightily buzzing with activity, and among more than a few familiar faces, at-that. She felt comfortable that, despite it being a large school as it was, everyone mostly attended the same classrooms together to provide some semblance of normality in what could have easily been a tumultuous, anxious scenario. In fact, Sophia's greatest fear was struggling to make genuine, lasting friendships and relationships in such a gargantuan sea of people, yet her fears so far have proven to be unwarranted.

Rather than sulking or keeping to herself, Sophia found herself beaming and enjoying every moment of the day. In fact, Sophia grinned especially wide when she spotted Darren in her class, immediately throwing up a quick wave toward the boy she awkwardly literally bumped into first thing in the morning, as they made eye contact, then skirting her way around a growing crowd to pick out a viable place to sit down while the teacher appeared preoccupied with introductions to each student who walked into the classroom. As awkward as that first encounter was, Sophia was happy they hit things off real well. Sophia also spotted Ryan chatting with the teacher, though she waited to say anything or wave to him until he was finished conversing with her. The rest of the class, so it would seem, are all foreign to her.

[Vaquas]

Liam Blackwell
Miss Kiryanova's Science Class

Today was proceeding as planned, Liam Blackwell thought as he maneuvered himself through the hallways of Milford-Gaudier to his Chemistry class. Friends were still friends, the paper was on track to exceed previous levels of interest, and the Bluebird Dems were receiving more attention than ever before, given the wide array of candidates in the field. There would be no shortage of extracurriculars to go on college applications, he had long ago decided, and he was on track to keep the self-made promise without any room for debate. Glancing down at the class schedule on his phone, Liam reacquainted himself with his instructor's name, one he had not seen before among the school's many teachers, before striding through the open door to her class.

Both adhering to his personal preference and hoping to make a positive first impression, Blackwell took a seat at the front of the class, giving his instructor a smile and a nod as he did so. He had always found it easier to retain the information in any given lesson if he had a vivid mental image to pair with it, and as such, he made an internal note that his new teacher looked particularly nervous this morning. Cracking open a black notebook and slipping a pen out of his pencil bag, Liam proceeded to date the first page at the top and indicate that this would be the very first class of the new school year. He glanced around to see which other students had arrived before taking the pen between his fingers idly and looking expectantly at his lecturer.

[American Pere Housh]

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?"

[Elejamie]

Peter was the next to arrive after a short walk. Taking out his iPod out of his pocket, he quickly paused his song and took his earphones, wrapping them around the iPod before he stuck it in his jacket pocket. He looked around the room, mostly to get a good view of his surrounding but also to figure out who would be in his grade so far. And, indeed, so far there weren't that many people that he found interesting so far. There was a jock who seemed to be chatting up the teacher, another jock hanging around and a jockette who was just talking normally to the teacher. On the non-jock front, there was a guy having a conversation with the jockette, some girl who was getting herself ready for the lesson ahead, a guy who was doing the same thing and another girl who seemed to be waiting for something. There were probably other people there but he paid no attention to them. He just picked a random seat, out of the way of everyone, and started getting out a pen and one of his many notebooks, though he picked one out at random and, using the pen he took out, wrote "science" on it. It wasn't as neatly done as the way Miss K wrote it on the board but it still served as a reminder to use it for science work. Once he was content with what he had done, he put the pen down on the table and buried the side of his head into one of his hands, resting the elbow of the arm it was attached to on the table, waiting for the lesson to finally start.

Erin followed shortly afterwards. Though she was a bit disappointed that Karena didn't reply to her, she realised that there were probably a good reason for it. Maybe she didn't hear her or couldn't understand her accent but didn't want to be rude about it. Or a third reason that she couldn't think of at the moment but was sure she could think of later. Either way, she calmed herself down and made her way inside the room. Also taking a look at her potential classmates, one of them stood out in particular. Sophia, to be precise, who was one of her neighbours. Smiling a little as it's near a vaguely familiar face, Erin took a seat in the same row but a few chairs away, just so she wouldn't crowd the poor girl but also so any friends she has or her roommates could sit down next to her. Getting out a small notebook exclusively for science as well as a pen and a pencil for just in case, she opened it up and wrote down the date. She thought about saying something to the girl not that far from her but, in the end, decided not to as she simply didn't know how long she had and, even if she did have plenty of time, didn't want a repeat of what happened earlier.

[Kirstenland]

Theresa Richards

Theresa kindly shook the teachers hand, smiled, and stepped inside of the classroom and took her place at one of the desks. She was relived that Miss K seemed so cool and nice, because there are so many other teachers who aren't always that way that she had during her high school years, but before Theresa could have gotten off another word, another student happened to jump in to introduce themselves to the teacher shortly after. Seems like Miss K was popular, or at least it might be just because she's young and super pretty that is causing a lot of the guys to flock to seek her attention.

Either way, it was funny to watch one of them speak to her in Russian, or at least Theresa thought, but she was certainly distracted for a moment when Darren Noble, of all people, happened to walk into the room and announce his presence in grandiose fashion. A total heart-throb for sure, and Theresa having caught sight of Sophia's subtle reaction left her smirking, knowing exactly what feelings she had gone through. As much as she enjoys her frequent intimate evenings spent with Dean, Darren was someone Theresa had always had eyes for.

Theresa spent a second or two gawking at the sight of Darren, a beautiful man she hadn't seen since their sophomore year together before summer break, only to snap out of it as Cory turned over to speak to her. Theresa flushed a smile, clearly still blushing, and reached out her hand to shake Cory's. "Theresa! Totally nice to meet you." She replied back, taking in a moment to look over his large frame, and nodding her head. "Football guy, huh?" Theresa asked, pointing at the Alabama t-shirt he proudly displayed.

[Cheveksim]

Miss Zina Kiryanova
Science Classroom

Zina shook away her nerves as the clock in the classroom struck the hour, signaling that it was time for her class to start. She stood in front of the students, trying her best to look calm and confident, but still it would be obvious that she was pretty nervous. After a small brush of her hair behind her ear, she picked up a stack of papers from the desk next to her and gave the students a big, friendly smile. "Good morning everyone, my name is Miss Kiryanova, but you may call me Miss K. Welcome to Chemistry I, where we'll be learning some pretty cool stuff." She did her best to get the students excited, smiling and making sure to be warm and welcoming. "I'm going to pass out these papers to each of you, and I hope you'll look over them. These papers are a course outline, where all of your homework assignments and projects for the entire year are already written down. It's just dates, but at least this way, you'll know when to expect exams." She started to walk down the rows of desks, handing each student a course outline with a smile and a friendly nod of her head. She also took the opportunity to look at her students, and see what sort of people she would be teaching. It was clear that some were jocks, and some were intellectuals, but overall everybody had friendly eyes and seemed ready to learn.

After passing the papers around, Miss K went back to the front of the classroom, leaning against her desk. She made her best effort to look casual. "I'll start off by telling you all some things about me, so you can know a bit about Miss K. I was born in Suzdal, in Russia. I was always good in science class, and I was an athlete, so eventually I got to leave Russia to come to America. I only just graduated, but I'm very excited to teach you all about chemistry, because it's a very cool subject! We get to do all sorts of experiments in here, and I'm going to do my best to make it fun." She smiled and took a deep breath, looking around the room. "Now I'd like for each of you to say your name, and maybe something fun about yourself. If you play any sports, or have any hobbies. Anything to help us all get to know each other better."

[Flattnerk]

Darren Noble

As Darren welcomed the new teacher and spoke to her about her origins Darren noticed the room was starting to fill. He took that as a sign that class was about to start and dismissed himself to take a seat. He spotted many familiar faces within the crowd and the search for a seat began. He made eye contact with Sophia Taylor and Theresa Richards as they walked in. He had always liked Theresa as a friend and they both enjoyed sports and things of athletic nature. He had once beat Theresa in juggling a soccer ball and it had become something they hung out to do throughout their high school years. This year he hoped they would continue that as he enjoyed the time they spent together as well as getting the chance to beat her in anything. Then there was Sophia Taylor. To say there was spark in his heart when he first laid eyes on would be an understatement. The feeling was more of a shock. Sure it might have been infatuation but he sure as hell wanted to get to know her. In the short time they had to talk he had discovered that her beauty went further then her skin. She was a kind, humble and genuine human being. He looked around looking for Madison. If she was in this class he would have no choice, but sit next to her, but she wasn’t. He beamed a smile at Sophia and a wave as he started towards her. As he passed Theresa he waved her way. “Next time you want your butt kicked in soccer let me know.” He then reached the seat next to Sophia and sat his bag down next to the chair. “Fancy meeting you here. May I?” Darren said gesturing to the empty chair next to her.

[Khasinkonia]

Edward T. DuFour
First Class

Junior year's first science class, spectacular. Everything had been going better than I could have imagined—in fact, the whole affair had been going absolutely flawlessly as far as I was concerned. It was all giving a me a lovely flush of confidence that I was not much accustomed to. I felt inclined to just go and...introduce myself to the teacher. To say: 'Hi, Miss So-and-So, my name is Edward DuFour. I'm eager to begin learning...so on and so on...what have you'. Hopefully a less obnoxious and awkward introduction than that, but that was the general sentiment, anyway.

Not that I really had the chance to give an introduction, as, by the time I got myself settled, Miss K, as she introduced herself, got the ball rolling for introductions—something I was sure the day would be chock full of.

"My name is Edward DuFour," I said, "I'm an organ player and a speaker of a few languages. I have other tricks up my sleeves, but those are the most notable two."

---

Kydaana Dzhugashvili

Science class, with a Russian teacher. This would be interesting; perhaps she might appreciate some little notes in Russian. I could certainly use a bit of goodwill, as hard sciences were not my best subjects. She seemed nice enough; very young though. Not that it was a bad thing, of course, but it was interesting to note. Younger teachers seemed to tend to be a bit more relaxed, and a bit more forgiving. Maybe it was because younger teachers remembered more clearly the struggles of education and the stress it gave many students, or maybe it was just the presence youthful optimist that years of doing anything seemed snuff out. Someone named Edward introduced himself, and it seemed the baton was passed to me next.

"K, I'm Kydaana Dzhugashvili. It's a lot, I know, so let me spell it out for everyone. 'Ky', like how Eric Cartman from South Park says 'Cool', then 'Daa', sort of like 'Da', the Russian word for 'Yes', and then 'Na', like 'Nah'. Then my last name, which, fun fact, is the same as Joseph Stalin's original last name, is pronounced roughly like 'Jew...gosh...Philly', if that makes sense. Anyway, I like acting and drawing and dyed hair so I guess you could say I'm one of those edgy emo kids or whatever, in the most sarcastic sense possible..."

[American Pere Housh]

Theresa Richards

Theresa kindly shook the teachers hand, smiled, and stepped inside of the classroom and took her place at one of the desks. She was relived that Miss K seemed so cool and nice, because there are so many other teachers who aren't always that way that she had during her high school years, but before Theresa could have gotten off another word, another student happened to jump in to introduce themselves to the teacher shortly after. Seems like Miss K was popular, or at least it might be just because she's young and super pretty that is causing a lot of the guys to flock to seek her attention.

Either way, it was funny to watch one of them speak to her in Russian, or at least Theresa thought, but she was certainly distracted for a moment when Darren Noble, of all people, happened to walk into the room and announce his presence in grandiose fashion. A total heart-throb for sure, and Theresa having caught sight of Sophia's subtle reaction left her smirking, knowing exactly what feelings she had gone through. As much as she enjoys her frequent intimate evenings spent with Dean, Darren was someone Theresa had always had eyes for.

Theresa spent a second or two gawking at the sight of Darren, a beautiful man she hadn't seen since their sophomore year together before summer break, only to snap out of it as Cory turned over to speak to her. Theresa flushed a smile, clearly still blushing, and reached out her hand to shake Cory's. "Theresa! Totally nice to meet you." She replied back, taking in a moment to look over his large frame, and nodding her head. "Football guy, huh?" Theresa asked, pointing at the Alabama t-shirt he proudly displayed.

Cory Maxwell

Looking at her with a warm smile, he responds, "Yep, college football is practically a religion in Alabama. I'm from Foley, Alabama which close to the Alabama Gulf Coast. I see you like sports as well, any particular sport you play?"

[Recon]

Ryo Shimizu
Miss Kiryanova's Science Class

After all the excitement of the assembly and the opportunity to catch up with his friends about their summers, enjoying himself, Ryo dragged his feet in going to his first class of the year. It seemed such a shame to break it all up just for a return to the classroom. His phone vibrated, an alarm clock icon appeared on the screen, he dismissed it quickly. Damn. He was going to be late for class. Arriving at the classroom door he was out of breath and his cheeks flushed. As silently as possible he attempted to make his way inside, desperate to avoid attracting attention and failing all the same. The door betrayed him, groaning as it swung closed.

Feeling embarrassed and self-conscious, Ryo looked towards the young teacher leading the class and muttered softly, slightly bowing his head

“Sorry I am late, Miss”.

Keeping his head down, Ryo made for the closest available desk to the door and sat down heavily. Keen to not further embarrass himself and disturb the class, as silently and quickly as possible, he took out his notepad and pen. This wasn’t a good start.

[American Pere Housh]

Ryo Shimizu
Miss Kiryanova's Science Class

After all the excitement of the assembly and the opportunity to catch up with his friends about their summers, enjoying himself, Ryo dragged his feet in going to his first class of the year. It seemed such a shame to break it all up just for a return to the classroom. His phone vibrated, an alarm clock icon appeared on the screen, he dismissed it quickly. Damn. He was going to be late for class. Arriving at the classroom door he was out of breath and his cheeks flushed. As silently as possible he attempted to make his way inside, desperate to avoid attracting attention and failing all the same. The door betrayed him, groaning as it swung closed.

Feeling embarrassed and self-conscious, Ryo looked towards the young teacher leading the class and muttered softly, slightly bowing his head

“Sorry I am late, Miss”.

Keeping his head down, Ryo made for the closest available desk to the door and sat down heavily. Keen to not further embarrass himself and disturb the class, as silently and quickly as possible, he took out his notepad and pen. This wasn’t a good start.

Cory Maxwell

Watching as a Japanese kid walks into the classroom a little late. Cory noticed he looked embarrassed for being late for class. He says to the boy in a light southern accent, " Hey kid, you all right there. You don't look too good there. I'm Cory, Cory Maxwell and as you can tell by my accent, I'm from Foley, Alabama. If you need any help with classwork or homework, just ask and I will do my best to help." He turns his head toward Miss K so he wouldn't get in trouble with her.

[Recon]

Ryo Shimizu
Miss Kiryanova's Science Class

Hoping he had gotten away with it, Ryo began writing in his notepad attempting to appear studious and dearly hoped the next student would start to introduce themselves. Then a tall student with a slight accent turned to him.

“Hey Cory, I`m Ryo. Thank you” introducing himself as briefly as possible, already all too well aware he was on thin ice.

[Cheveksim]

Miss Zina Kiryanova
Science Classroom

Zina smiled as Edward introduced himself to the class, listening intently as she considered getting to know her students to be an extremely important part of teaching them. After all, if she didn't know anything about her students, how would she ever relate to them. After Edward was done, she smiled at him, nodding her head. "It's nice to meet you Edward, I'm glad to have all of you in here." Then, she listened on as Kydaana started her introduction, surprised to hear the surname, recognizing it immediately. Images of Stalin flooded her brain for a moment, causing her lip to curl upward on the side, but she stifled the smile as she listened to Kydaana talk. When the girl finished, Zina nodded again, "Thank you."

Just as she was about to move on to the next student, Zina noticed another student trying hard to sneak into the classroom under the radar. She moved slowly, still focusing on the other students and their introductions as she went to where the Japanese student had sat. She put a course outline on his desk, giving him a friendly smile before walking back to her place at the front of the classroom.

[Imperial Esplanade]

Sophia Taylor
Miss Kiryanova's Science Class

Sophia, initially, let out a smile and nodded toward the seat, silently, being that the teacher began to spoke up to announce the start of class and the start of the day's first activity. She listened to the entire thing, and to the students taking her up on the invitation to introduce themselves to her, and to their fellow classmates. Though, Sophia had found herself in the midst of an anxious conundrum, mentally parsing together what she would share with the class, and Darren Noble's literally being right next to her wasn't helping much at all - even if it was a presence that was far from undesired. She mindlessly watched on, lightly chewing on her lower lip, and trying to take subtle, deep breaths to ground herself so as to not arouse suspicion.

Hoping for some distraction, or perhaps even encouragement to take her shot at speaking, Sophia shot a quick glance over toward Darren, presuming he had since-heeded her suggestion and had taken the seat, rather than awkwardly standing by throughout, gave him a sudden warm smile. Letting an unspoken word, or feeling, do the work when the entire class would appear to pick up on even the least of whispers at this silent, hanging moment between student introductions. Sophia took an audible deep breath, a sigh really, and folded her hands as she looked up toward the teacher, mustering the strongest and most confident of smiles.

"Hey you guys." Sophia began easing her smile into a grin, and throwing up her hand nonchalantly to wave to everyone listening to her.

"I'm Sophia Taylor, from Connecticut, and I..." Shrugging, Sophia wrinkled her nose and bobbed her head sideways back-and-forth lightly as she sought the next choice of wording.

"Just... signed up to try being a part of the school newspaper this morning? I like to read and write, so yeah. I think science is cool, and I kinda look forward to, uh, things." Sophia added, blushing a wide pink-faced smile as she quickly looked down at her desk, fidgeting her fingers, and looking toward Darren again, her eyes peering in his direction for a long, lingering, and noticeable moment. As another student began to speak, she kept looking on for a moment. Something stirred within her, a question that popped into her mind, and she glanced around the class to make sure the coast was clear and the teacher was still focusing her attention on another student give their own introduction. She quickly wrote down a quick note, and subtly reached to set it on Darren's desk, hiding it from the view of the teacher.

Should I consider it pure coincidence that you, of all people, passed up all these other seats around the room to sit next to me, out of everyone else here?

Sophia looked on, certainly genuinely interested and listening in on some girl talk about her interest in zoology and animals, but was equally keeping her peripheral on Darren, anticipating some semblance of a response from him. The edges of her lips curling, slightly, and perhaps even happily as she awaited.

[American Pere Housh]

Sophia Taylor
Miss Kiryanova's Science Class

Sophia, initially, let out a smile and nodded toward the seat, silently, being that the teacher began to spoke up to announce the start of class and the start of the day's first activity. She listened to the entire thing, and to the students taking her up on the invitation to introduce themselves to her, and to their fellow classmates. Though, Sophia had found herself in the midst of an anxious conundrum, mentally parsing together what she would share with the class, and Darren Noble's literally being right next to her wasn't helping much at all - even if it was a presence that was far from undesired. She mindlessly watched on, lightly chewing on her lower lip, and trying to take subtle, deep breaths to ground herself so as to not arouse suspicion.

Hoping for some distraction, or perhaps even encouragement to take her shot at speaking, Sophia shot a quick glance over toward Darren, presuming he had since-heeded her suggestion and had taken the seat, rather than awkwardly standing by throughout, gave him a sudden warm smile. Letting an unspoken word, or feeling, do the work when the entire class would appear to pick up on even the least of whispers at this silent, hanging moment between student introductions. Sophia took an audible deep breath, a sigh really, and folded her hands as she looked up toward the teacher, mustering the strongest and most confident of smiles.

"Hey you guys." Sophia began easing her smile into a grin, and throwing up her hand nonchalantly to wave to everyone listening to her.

"I'm Sophia Taylor, from Connecticut, and I..." Shrugging, Sophia wrinkled her nose and bobbed her head sideways back-and-forth lightly as she sought the next choice of wording.

"Just... signed up to try being a part of the school newspaper this morning? I like to read and write, so yeah. I think science is cool, and I kinda look forward to, uh, things." Sophia added, blushing a wide pink-faced smile as she quickly looked down at her desk, fidgeting her fingers, and looking toward Darren again, her eyes peering in his direction for a long, lingering, and noticeable moment. As another student began to speak, she kept looking on for a moment. Something stirred within her, a question that popped into her mind, and she glanced around the class to make sure the coast was clear and the teacher was still focusing her attention on another student give their own introduction. She quickly wrote down a quick note, and subtly reached to set it on Darren's desk, hiding it from the view of the teacher.

Should I consider it pure coincidence that you, of all people, passed up all these other seats around the room to sit next to me, out of everyone else here?

Sophia looked on, certainly genuinely interested and listening in on some girl talk about her interest in zoology and animals, but was equally keeping her peripheral on Darren, anticipating some semblance of a response from him. The edges of her lips curling, slightly, and perhaps even happily as she awaited.

Cory Maxwell

After hearing Sophia's introduction and seeing that she has a crush on the guy next to her, Cory decides to introduce himself to the class, " Hi, I'm Cory Maxwell and I'm from Foley, Alabama which to people who don't know where that is, it is in South Alabama close to Mobile the birth place of Mardi Gras. My likes are sports, science, history, animals, video games, pro gun rights and free speech. My dislikes are bullies,arrogant people, mindless sheep, Bernie Sanders, and AOC. My hobbies are play my drums, loving on our German Shepherd Sophie, hanging with my family, and playing video games. My dream is to become a veterinarian and raise a family with the right girl. I'm an easy guy to get along with and if you need any help with classwork or homework, I will be glad to help. As you can see with the shirt I'm wearing, I'm a big Alabama football fan and I don't mean soccer, I mean American football to those who don't know." Cory sits back in his seat and waits for the next person to introduce themselves.

[Elejamie]

After making it out of that big line of people, which turned out to be going to a completely different class, Veikko managed to make his way to the science class. Perfect timing too as half a minute after he stumbled through the door - and a couple of seconds after he found a random seat somewhere, one of the few unoccupied seats remaining in fact - the bell rang to start the lesson. He took his bag off his back and put it on the desk, opening it up and taking out a pencil case shaped like a tall can of Coke, as well as a plain black book with green along the spine. Once he was content with everything, he put the bag down on the ground underneath his desk. Not exactly the most exciting thing in the world but it showed that he was still prepared for his first lesson in the States.

While that was going on, the teacher was explaining who she was and what the class would be about, which was then followed by her passing around some papers. It turned out to be a guide for the year ahead, listing essentially when what will happen just so they'd be prepared for exams and other such stuff. Indeed, when he got his copy, he just pulled it closer to him and read it to see it in a bit more detail. During that time, she finished handing out the guides and then said a bit more about herself, about how she was originally from Russia and how a scholarship essentially brought her over to the USA. A few other people followed suit, like a boy who he swore was familiar even if the name wasn't; a girl who was also from a former Soviet nation; a brief interruption from Ryo, a Japanese boy he had became acquainted with during baseball practice during the Summer; and some guy named Cory who wanted to come across as both a right-wing manly man and a sensitive guy for the ladies, a tactic that Veikko thought should work in his favour when it came to day-to-day life.

Eventually, it was Veikko's turn to introduce himself. "Hello. I am Veikko Pääkkonen." He began, standing up and speaking to the class, his Finnish accent shining through, before spelling his name out albeit in the Finnish pronunciation of the alphabet. "V-E-I-K-K-O. P-Ä-Ä-K-K-O-N-E-N. Those are the As which have the two dots on the top." Once he got that out of the way, he carried on speaking. "I am from Tornio, which is a city in Finland and it is on the border with Sweden. A few of you people will remember me from the Summer where I practiced some baseball, which is a bit like a sport we have in my home country called pesäpallo. I was good enough and I made it in the team. I hope that this will be a good year for everyone." He then sat back down to signify he was finished, though he still had one last thing to say: "Next person."

[Kwadai]

Yixuan Zhu

Yixuan had tried to stay attentive during the assembly, tried being the key word. He soon found the principal’s tone difficult to follow and after the first two minutes found himself rapidly losing the ability to pay attention. He didn’t think there was anything too particular to remember at least. He temporarily regained focus when the student president and Vice President appeared, albeit this too was rather short lived. As the assembly was brought to close, Yixuan stayed seated for a further few minutes realising it was pointless leaving so early due to the volume of students ahead of him meaning it would take longer to leave then necessary. By the time much of the crowd dispersed he too stood to walk out of the gymnasium.

He took his free time before his first class to sit down outside and eat some of the lunch he had prepared. It wasn’t much, simply mango slices, as he would be eating again later. Soon however time came for him to make his way to class - provided he could find it. Yixuan checked his phone to take note of the room and building he needed to go to. Fortunately this science class wasn’t difficult to locate and he made his way inside and taking an unoccupied seat near the middle of the room. Taking a pencil case and notebook out of his bag he laid them on the table and glancing at his classmates and then his teacher briefly before the class began. When the young teacher, Miss K eventually spoke Yixuan was pleasantly surprised to discover she too was a foreigner, from Russia. She proceeded to ask everyone to introduce themselves briefly in front of the class. “Great....,” he thought feeling a sense of nervousness take hold as one by one students took it upon themselves to make introductions. The class seemed fairly diverse and nobody came off as overly intimidating just yet.

Eventually as the Finnish boy ended his self introduction it meant finally it was his turn. Taking a deep breath and standing up, Yixuan faced his classmates and smiled slightly before speaking. “Good morning, my name is Yixuan Zhu. I’m here as an exchange student for one year from Shenzhen in China. It’s a city in the south very close to Hong Kong, but on the mainland side. I’m excited to be here, even though I don’t know anyone yet, I hope to get to know you all soon, thank you,” he explained, before taking a seat again while the next student began talking.

[Kirstenland]

Theresa Richards
Miss Kiryanova's Science Class

Theresa listened attentively, tapping her pencil against her notepad she had taken out from her backpack after she sat down at her desk. She paused a moment from her insistent pencil-tapping to take off her letterman's jacket, since it wasn't really cold at all and that she really just brought it to show off the cool-look she had with it on and with the designated captain's patch embroidered onto the jacket to accompany her letterman she earned in soccer, and hung it on the back of her chair. Theresa's attention was brought away from Cory, and toward Darren for a moment. The two were always on chill terms with each other since, seemingly, forever when they met, but that never stopped her from liking the guy in more ways than one.

Seeing the chemistry, and turning away to listen to Cory give his turn after Sophia Taylor, followed by a handful of others, Theresa shook her head to break out of a temporary trance she found herself in, mindlessly staring at the floor of the classroom during the last couple of introductions. Knowing that, eventually, she would have to go anyway, Theresa looked directly toward the teacher and spoke up at the next chance she had.

"Hey, I'm Theresa. So, I play soccer. I'm a team captain. I beat Darren every time, except this one time we apparently played when we both conveniently lost track of scores and he just declared himself winner." Theresa said, giving Darren a smile and continuing on. "Don't believe him when he says he can beat me, his only hope in doing that is in, like FIFA." Theresa added, winking toward Darren but looking back to the teacher. After a couple seconds, she glanced over toward Cory and whispered over to him when she was done. "So. Foley, Alabama. Wow. Long darn way from home. I'm originally from Oregon though, so I get it."

[American Pere Housh]

Y

Theresa Richards
Miss Kiryanova's Science Class

Theresa listened attentively, tapping her pencil against her notepad she had taken out from her backpack after she sat down at her desk. She paused a moment from her insistent pencil-tapping to take off her letterman's jacket, since it wasn't really cold at all and that she really just brought it to show off the cool-look she had with it on and with the designated captain's patch embroidered onto the jacket to accompany her letterman she earned in soccer, and hung it on the back of her chair. Theresa's attention was brought away from Cory, and toward Darren for a moment. The two were always on chill terms with each other since, seemingly, forever when they met, but that never stopped her from liking the guy in more ways than one.

Seeing the chemistry, and turning away to listen to Cory give his turn after Sophia Taylor, followed by a handful of others, Theresa shook her head to break out of a temporary trance she found herself in, mindlessly staring at the floor of the classroom during the last couple of introductions. Knowing that, eventually, she would have to go anyway, Theresa looked directly toward the teacher and spoke up at the next chance she had.

"Hey, I'm Theresa. So, I play soccer. I'm a team captain. I beat Darren every time, except this one time we apparently played when we both conveniently lost track of scores and he just declared himself winner." Theresa said, giving Darren a smile and continuing on. "Don't believe him when he says he can beat me, his only hope in doing that is in, like FIFA." Theresa added, winking toward Darren but looking back to the teacher. After a couple seconds, she glanced over toward Cory and whispered over to him when she was done. "So. Foley, Alabama. Wow. Long darn way from home. I'm originally from Oregon though, so I get it."

Watching as everybody introduce themselves, he hears Theresa whisper about his hometown and so he responds in a whisper, "Yeah it is along way from home though I will have to get used to seeing lots of snow in the winter. In Foley, we have to watch for tropical storms and hurricanes in the summer and fall. So what part of Oregon are you from, Theresa?

[Flattnerk]

Darren Noble

Darren let out a reassuring smile as Sophia looked toward him as she made her introduction. As he listened to his fellow classmates introduce themselves a note found itself slowly sliding onto his desk. As he looked toward the source he found that the note was coming from Ms. Sophia Taylor. He looked toward her as he opened it and smiled as he read its contents. He quickly looked in his bag for a pen to scribble out a response.

I'll have you know, I’ve been looking forward to sitting next to you in class ever since you walked in.

As he finished the note he noticed it had come time for a new introduction.

He stood up and discretely placed the note on the desk as he made his introduction. “What’s up everyone, I’m Darren Noble from Los Angeles, California but I’ve been around the country as my parents expanded the family business. I guess you could say I’m an athlete. I start at quarterback for the football team and I’m the starting short shop for baseball. I also have fun playing basketball and soccer. Theresa, don’t appreciate the public smearing of my name as it relates to me beating you, because you know that’s a lie, but that’s ok we can settle this later.” He took a second to laugh and think about what to say next. “When I’m not playing sports, training for sports, or watching sports. I like to spend time with friends, family, and my dogs. That’s what’s most important. To take a time out, not overwork yourself to death, and spend time with the people who mean the most to you. I’m ready for a great year with you guys. So uh, get out to some sporting events this year, experience new things, push yourself, but take the time out of your day to relax and appreciate things that make you happy. Go Bluebirds.” He then sits down and look towards Sophia. Awaiting her response to the note.

[Imperial Esplanade]

Sophia Taylor
Miss Kiryanova's Science Class

Intently watching the teacher's every movement, knowing that Darren would inevitably pass an inscription back to her, Sophia drummed her fingers rhythmically against her cheek while resting her head against the palm of the hand, the stance only broken once Darren slid a note back onto her desk in response to the one she sneaked onto his own desk mere moments prior. Sophia glanced down to the parcel of paper, then back up toward the teacher, and once more back down to the paper to unfold and quickly read over the text. A slight smirk etched across her face, which while it only solidified her confidence in what his mindset and intentions were - the psychological ploy's response was certainly everything she had hoped to deduce out of Darren. Stashing the piece of paper into her pocket, Sophia couldn't help but to break out into a grin and glance over in Darren's direction, giving him a curt nod once he had finished his spiel.

She looked back toward the teacher, still devilishly smiling, and wrote down another note, only to wait for a few passing seconds until another student began to speak, thus taking her eyes away from Darren, to pass the second note to him.

Then, I'll have you know that I look forward to more of these "surprises."

[White Bluff]

Damara Vladimiri
Miss K's classroom

The Secretary lead Damara though the halls to to her first class, Damara fidgeted with her thumbs nervously as they drew closer and closer. It wasn't a long walk, but a silent one, the silence made it feel like an hour though it was no more then five minutes. They stopped at a door and Damara did her best to compose herself, the lady opened the door and she followed, as she did the Secretary spoke to Zina, "Sorry for the interruption, Zina, bit I have a new student for you, Miss Damara Vladimiri. Please excuse her absence and she doesn't have full grasp of the English language just yet." Damara quietly found a seat next to a dirty blonde boy, she flashes him a quick smile, then looked forward and introduced herself, "Salut, I am Damara, I am f-from Târgoviște, Romania. I am 15, I am a Romani." She smiles a bit awkwardly, her cheeks a light shade of pink giving away her slight embarrassment to the keen eye. She had practiced that line many times to avoid mistakes, she was thankful that she was learning the language quickly.