RPG: Secrets

Visit the character sheet here.


Everyone has a secret. Whether you pulled the trigger or pushed
the needle down, a secret is a secret. What happens when that secret comes out
of the shadows and breaks through to the light? Your best friend who promised
to be with you through anything, will they turn away? Will they look at you
different? Will your boyfriend or girlfriend turn their backs on you? Only time
will tell.


Welcome to the darkside of life: Atlanta, GA.
Where everyone has a skeleton or two in their closet that could make or break
them.


I'm gonna
do this a little differently. Once I get a good sum of people, we'll start
this.

Music_Is_Life, 19.08.2011
06:56:





Okay, scene 1:


Students littered the grounds of
Fairfield Highschool, most of them having headed home, but some were waiting
for their bus or parents to pick them up. Flyers were pasted everywhere in the
school, advertising a new after school club that a gaggle of students had
joined. Namely, Connor, Beka, Catherine, Lucien, and Salvador. The club was called, "Clean up
our Enviroment club!" under that, it read, "Meeting after school at
3:10 in room C211."





Music_Is_Life, 19.08.2011
07:18:





Connor flew out of detention, checking a clock as he ran past it.
Only 10 minutes to go. He groaned. Why did he have to have detention today? Or an even better question- why did that guy have to start
picking on him? He was a person, too. He sighed and slowed to a walk once he
reached the 2nd floor. Connor started walking towards the C wing, dressed in
skinny jeans, an "Asking Alexandria" t-shirt, and skate shoes.
Finally, he made it to the C wing and entered room 11. A teacher dressed in bright
colors, bare feet, and bangles galore sat cross-legged on top of her desk, her
tangled and greasy looking hair trailing down to her waist. Connor shook his
head at the strange sight and took a seat in the very back, in an end seat. He
slung his backpack over the seat after taking out a notebook. He turned to a
page where he had started a poem earlier, and continued it.


Lucien walked out of his last class of
the day and took a deep breath. Time for the Enviroment Club. He strode down to
the 2nd floor and entered the C wing. He was wearing an AC/DC t-shirt, dark
wash skinny jeans, vans, a music note necklace, and tons of band bracelets;
Escape The Fate, Asking Alexandria, Aiden, My Chemical Romance, Paramore,
Panic! At The Disco, Black Veil Brides, and more. Lucien entered room 11 to
find a student and a dishevled looking teacher. One might call her a hippie. He
took a seat next to the student in the back and slung his messenger bag over
the seat. He took out his iPod, in hopes of listening to some music, but when
he tried to turn it on, he forgot that he didn't charge it last night and that
it was dead. He sighed and leaned back in his chair.





Sarent, 20.08.2011 14:38:





Twiddling his thumbs -
an odd mannerism, somehow picked up obliquely - Salvador had no need to run down the hallways
of the school. Nobody really moved aside for him, but he forged forwards
with an SPARKLES speed, reaching the C wing with a few spare minutes
left. He slowed down only when he reached the room numbered 11 along the
hallway, pushing open the slightly spring-loaded door and gliding through
before it slammed behind him with chilly fluidity. As he passed by, he
scanned the other students present - dark shirts, dark hair, hard to
characterize, but he didn't really care about any of that. He rarely
cared.


He slid into a random seat in the
left-middle of the room, not quite glancing towards the teacher, and removed
his backpack and a hard-covered notebook. There would be no need for the
fedora in the outer section.





Maryjane, 20.08.2011 16:08:





Her fiery red
hair swaying back and forth behind her, Beka raced towards room 11 in the C
Wing. She paused in front of the door to take a deep breath, and to plaster a
fake smile on her face. Then she gripped the knob, slowly turning it left. The
door creaked open, revealing the grim faces of all her fellow delinquents, making her frown. Everyone looked so
dark; dark colored hair, dark clothes, dark eyes. She felt out of place. Fully
pushing open the door and striding inside, Beka still stared at the dark blob
that made up the after-school class. She took a seat in the back of the room,
next to a boy with shaggy black hair and startling blue eyes.





Music_Is_Life, 21.08.2011
16:14:





Connor looked up as
three other students entered, one sitting next to him. Growing bored of looking
around, he went back to writing his poem.


Lucien noticed as two other students
entered, one with fiery red hair sitting next to him. After thinking about it
for a few moments, he came to the conclusion that he should get to know people.
Might as well start with the girl next to him. He turned to her.
"Hey," He said quietly to her in his Australian accent. "I'm
Lucien."





Stargazer, 26.08.2011 07:32:





Catherine looked around
the room cautiously from her seat at the back. None of the people there looked
like much of a threat, or at least not to her life. She saw people introducing
themselves to one another, chatting among themselves. These people had all
probably known each other since kindergarten, and here she was, the new girl. Always
the new girl, every year. She wished she could settle down somewhere, allow
herself to grow close to people, but knew that would be dangerous. Keeping on
the move was just something she had to do, so she wouldn't be found
and...silenced.


Deciding that staring enviously around
wouldn't be good for her cover, she pulled a book out from her bookbag and
started reading.

Sarent, 26.08.2011 08:11:





There was a low voice
from the back of the room. It had to be... yes, he did think that a girl
had taken a seat next to one of the boys. Bright red hair. The two
were talking, perhaps. Another girl had just entered, too, quietly
reading. Shiny brown hair. He did not look directly at anyone, just
absorbing glimpses through the corners of his eyes.


It wasn't exactly funny so much as, perhaps, a little
heartening. Salvador
could always start over again, but this could work out. Four students
besides himself. All very good for a beginning, he supposed.


He might have smiled,
but it did not do to smile into thin air without telling your thoughts.
It would be a little while before he shared that. Just a little while
now.


Salvador had never had the best
sense of time.





Maryjane, 26.08.2011 12:56:





Before
Beka could even pull out a notebook, the boy she sat next to introduced himself
as Lucien. She turned to him, taking in his looks-very much punk rock like- and
introduced herself also. "I'm Beka." She flashed him a smile.








Music_Is_Life, 26.08.2011
13:09:





"Hello students!
I'm May Sunshine, but you can just call me Sunshine." The
teacher-Sunshine-said in a distant voice, a smile streched across her face.


Lucien smiled back to her, and was about to ask "what's
up", when the teacher got off of her desk and stood in the front of the
class. He turned in his seat to face the front. The teacher had introduced
herself as May Sunshine. May Sunshine, AKA Sunshine? He chuckled
inwardly. A hippie teacher, Lucien thought to
himself,this should be an interesting club.


Connor put down his book when he heard
someone at the front of the room start to speak. He saw that it was the
organizer of the club. She said her name was May Sunshine. May Sunshine? What
kind of name was that? She had said for everyone to call her just plain old
Sunshine. Yeah. He would make sure to do that. Everyday Connor was learning
that America was very
different from England.





Stargazer, 27.08.2011 16:22:





Catherine looked up from
her book, at the teacher. May Sunshine? She wondered if it was the teacher's
real name. Probably not. Deciding it might be wise to make a good impression on
the teacher, she put her book away. A flurry of motion around her demonstrated
that many of the other students had the same idea.


"Well, now that I have your
attention," the teacher--Sunshine--continued, "Let's
all introduce ourselves. So we can get to know each other better, we'll play
something I like to call the Name Game. Each one of us will say his or her
name, then state one interesting or unique fact about themselves. To make sure
everyone gets a chance to introduce themselves, we'll take turns, starting in
the front row and moving left-to-right and back. I'll start. I'm May Sunshine,
and I can make anything out of hemp."





Music_Is_Life, 30.08.2011
10:08:





Connor gaped openly at Sunshine. Was she serious? Whatever. He sighed when she pointed to him. "Erm.. I'm Connor.
I supose an interesting fact about myself would be that I play guitar." He
said cautiously, shying away from everyone who was turned his way. Too many
people he didn't know in one room wasn't a very good match for his nerves.


Lucien nervously stated
his name when Sunshine called on him. "I'm Lucien, and I'm a photographer.
Not professionally yet of course." He smiled, trying to hide his
nervousness.


Sunshine nodded when Lucien finished.
"That's very nice both of you," She said, referring to both Connor
and Lucien's interests. "How about you, young lady?" She pointed to
the girl sitting next to Lucien, Beka.





Sarent, 01.09.2011 09:17:





Salvador glanced around and gave a small nod to
each answerer for the sake of his "normal" semblance. He might
have written down their names to remember temporarily, but his notebook
remained closed beneath his right hand. There might be no need.


Well, he would see what the others had to
say. Perhaps there would be some useful talent in the mix other than his
own expertise. One never knew.





Maryjane, 01.09.2011 09:28:





"How about you, young lady?" The teacher--Sunshine-- pointed to Beka. Beka cleared her throat. "My name's
Beka, and I write poetry." She stated as clearly as she could, then smiled
toohily, trying to hide her nervousness as gazes shifted towards her. She hated
having attention; she much rather be an outcast. "Poetry..." The
teacher said, smiling. "Very good."





(( Writers block. ))





Sarent, 01.09.2011 09:38:





(Not fun... writer's
block is, well, the bane of my writing.)

"Poetry..." said Sunshine, smiling vaguely again. "Very
good." Her gaze slid with mild inquisitiveness to Catherine.





(Just moving things along here.
Oddly, Salvador
is closest to the front.)

Music_Is_Life, 03.09.2011
05:59:





Connor looked
at Beka when she said she wrote poetry. A
possible friend, he thought. You
know, if she isn't a killer. He waited for the girl next to Beka to
speak so that they could get on with the class.





Stargazer, 03.09.2011 17:34:





Catherine
started, realizing that it was her turn. But what to say? After thinking for a
moment, she said, "I'm Catherine Brown, and I like to make jewelry in my
spare time." There, that was good. Truthful, but non-incriminating.








Music_Is_Life, 04.09.2011
08:51:





Sunshine
nodded. "Very nice. Maybe we could make jewelry together sometime."
She beamed, and pointed to the guy next to Catherine. "And you, young
man?"








Sarent, 04.09.2011 12:45:





"Salvador." He smiled
with an odd sudden charisma that was gone quickly. "I'm good with wildlife
and animals."








Music_Is_Life, 04.09.2011
15:32:





Sunshine smiled.
"That's wonderful, Salvador."
She looked over the room to make sure that she hadn't missed anyone, then
checked again. When she was certain there was no one else, she addresed the
whole class. "Today we are going across town to help distribute some cans
for the local food drive. Our bus is waiting down in the lot." Sunshine
walked out of the classroom and waited for everyone to get up, calling,
"Let's go!" on her way out. "Last person turn out the lights,
please."


Connor slowly got up
from his seat and picked up his backpack from the back of his seat. He exited
the classroom and walked down to the first floor, getting on the bus and
sitting in the very front row in the seat nearest to the window. He left his
backpack on his lap.


Lucien watched the guy, Connor, get up
and go down to the bus. He followed suit, grabbing his backpack, slinging it
over his shoulder, walking down to the bus and getting on it. He sat in the
seat behind Connor in the seat nearest to the window, so somebody else could
sit there if they wanted to. He set his backpack down on the floor in front of
him.





Stargazer, 08.09.2011 10:25:





Catherine
climbed the bus's filthy steps, then looked around inside for a seat. She chose
a seat on the right side of the bus, fourth row. As she slid onto the grey
naugahyde seat, bookbag on her lap, she looked toward the front of the bus to
watch the other students file in.








Sarent, 09.09.2011 09:18:


As he walked without any
particular notice past the others and took the seat just front of the last row,
left side, Salvador
glanced narrowly out the mostly-transparent bus windows. The only moving
things in sight for that second were a handful of House Sparrows. A faint
look, unreadable and ephemeral, slid over his face momentarily.


He sat down carefully and took out his
notebook, for he was patient.





Maryjane, 09.09.2011 16:02:


Beka hastily stuffed her
notebook into her bag and slowly rose from her seat. She watched as everyone
shuffled out of the room, and then she walked out herself, making sure to turn
out the lights.


"Is that it?"
Sunshine asked. Beka nodded. "Yes, maam." She answered, half-smiling.
Then she climbed into the bus, taking a seat in the very back.





Music_Is_Life, 11.09.2011
12:28:





Sunshine followed Beka onto the bus, then plopped down in the
drivers seat. She turned to the students and laughed. "Why are you all so
far apart? Cooties?" She continued laughing. "I have assigned seats
anyway, so no problem there." Sunshine took out a clipboard that was
hanging on top of the window next to her. "Alright, I need Lucien in the
very front row right next to the window and Catherine right next to him. In the
row across from them, I need Beka nearest the window and Connor next to her.
I'm afraid Salvador
will have to sit by himself in the row behind Catherine and Lucien, as we have
only 5 people. So to make up for that, he gets tochoose his first job at the shelter. Either bringing in the cans from
the truck, putting the cans in the boxes, or closing up the boxes and piling
them in another truck." She smiled and waited for everyone to move to
their assigned places.


Connor rolled his eyes
when Sunshine said there were going to be assigned seats. That was so stupid.
He got up and moved to his assigned place, leaving a space for the gent,
Lucien, to take his place.


Lucien didn't really care that they had
assigned seats. He knew it was going to come one day. He moved to his spot in
the front row when Sunshine told him where to sit.





Music_Is_Life, 15.09.2011
14:30:





(OOC:
bump)

Sarent, 16.09.2011 13:32:





Salvador shrugged lightly and
gathered his bag and notebook into one hand with moderate awkwardness before
taking his abruptly assigned seat.








Stargazer, 17.09.2011 07:55:





Catherine
sighed and shuffled over to sit next to Lucien. After she'd positioned herself
on the seat, she nodded to him and said a quiet 'hello'.








Music_Is_Life, 17.09.2011
17:01:





Lucien
looked over at the girl sitting next to him. "G'day," He said.
"Catherine, right? Or am I wrong?"








Stargazer, 21.09.2011 14:19:





Catherine
smiled at Lucien. "Yep. I'm Catherine. You're Lucien, right?"








Music_Is_Life, 22.09.2011
11:00:





"Yeah,
I am." He smiled back. "So how old are you? What grade are you
in?"








Maryjane, 22.09.2011 11:21:





Beka groaned when
Sunshine announced they were having assigned seats, but she didn't hesitate to
do what she was told. She picked up her bag and shuffled over to her assigned
place, next to a boy, Connor. "Hi. Connor, right?" She smiled.





<Sorry, haven't posted in a while
>





Music_Is_Life, 22.09.2011
15:25:


Connor turned towards
the girl. He nodded. "Yeah, Connor," He said in his British accent.
"And you're..." He thought for a second, then remembered and pointed
at her. "Beka, correct?"


Sunshine smiled broadly and started the
bus up. She started to drive to the food drive.





Maryjane, 23.09.2011 05:54:





Beka
nodded slowly. "That's me." She decided it was best to try and make a
friend, so she added, "So, you play guitar, right?"








Sarent, 23.09.2011 16:04:


A swallow flew over the
bus, and Salvador's
eyes flickered back and away in barely enough time to recognize what it was,
like a small snake watching the sky.


He bent his head again. The
querulous, mocking, selfishly sad amusement that had graced his face just a
moment before was already gone as he began to search through his
notebook. He still had a mission.





Music_Is_Life, 24.09.2011
05:17:





Connor
nodded. "Since I was 7."








Stargazer, 24.09.2011 10:54:





"I'm
fifteen, and I'm in eleventh grade," answered Catherine. "You?"








Maryjane, 25.09.2011 13:29:





"That's
cool." Beka responded. "I can play piano, but I'm not very
good."








Music_Is_Life, 25.09.2011
15:28:





Lucien nodded. "I'm
17 and in 12th grade. Just transferred to this school two years ago." As
soon as he let that last sentence slip, he knew he'd just made a major mistake.
Now she was going to ask why he transferred and.. chaos. He would just beat
around the bush. Stall. It had saved him once before.


"That's quite ace, Beka. How long
have you been playing?" Connor asked.





Stargazer, 25.09.2011 16:17:





He just transferred? thought
Catherine. She nearly asked why, but refrained from doing so because then
that would leave him a perfect opportunity for asking her why she'd transferred. After a rather awkward
pause, she asked, "So, seeing as you've been here longer than I, what is
up with the cafeteria? Is the food always as bad as it was at lunch
today?" Hopefully this would keep them off the topic of school transferrals.
And, more importantly, the reasons behind them.





Music_Is_Life, 26.09.2011
10:54:





Lucien
sighed in relief, then chuckled. "Yeah, it's always this bad. The fries
always taste like cardboard, not that I've ever eaten any...so I guess I can't
really compare." He smiled sheepishly.








Maryjane, 30.09.2011 06:53:





"Since I
was twelve. I figured back then that if I wanted to sing, I'd have to play an
instrument aswell." Beka answered, silently chuckling to herself.

((Woo, two pages!))

Music_Is_Life, 30.09.2011
11:41:





"Hmm.."
Connor commented. "That's nice."








Music_Is_Life, 04.10.2011
15:20:





OOC:
Bump








Maryjane, 06.10.2011 11:40:


After a few minutes, the
conversation had died. Beka wiggled her fingers into her murderously tight jean
pockets, coming up with her iPod. She turned the volume up, adjusted her
earbus, then lay her head back.


(( Didn't know what to post, so that was
all I could come up with. Connor is such a conversation
killer. http://www.freesmileys.org/smileys/smiley-rolleyes004.gif))





Music_Is_Life, 06.10.2011
15:29:


(OOC: LOL well think of
it in HIS point of view. He doesn't know if Beka's a murderer..LOL!)


IC: Sunshine stopped the bus in front of
the food drive. She stood up and turned to the kids. "Alright, we're
here!" She said happily. "Get on out!"





Stargazer, 14.10.2011 09:13:





"Ugh,
that's too bad. I was looking forward to having a decent hot lunch at
school," said Catherine over her shoulder as she peeled herself off the
seat and started walking to the front of the bus.








Music_Is_Life, 14.10.2011
10:52:


Lucien followed
Catherine off of the bus and waited for further instruction.


Connor got off of the bus and waited for
Sunshine to tell them what to do.





Stargazer, 02.12.2011 15:20:


(Woah, no one's posted
in a while! I'll give it a go.)


"Well, then,
class," Sunshine chirped once they'd all stumbled out of the bus, through
a door, and into a brightly lit back room of the food bank. "Today we'll
be sorting through donations." Gesturing towards a few tables sitting in
the center of the room, each table set up with bags of food at one end and
green plastic crates on the other, she explained more fully what they'd be
doing. It wasn't complicated. They would take donations out of the paper bags,
check to make sure they weren't expired and met other acceptable donation
criteria, then put them in the plastic bins. Simple.


Catherine moved to one
of the tables nearest the door and started sorting. She reached into one of the
bags and drew out a can of green beans. They took anything canned, so that was
good. Quickly, she checked the label.


It had expired five months ago. Annoyed,
she lobbed it into a trash can handily placed beneath the table and reached
back into the bag. Already she could tell it was going to be a long afternoon.





Maryjane, 13.12.2011 13:45:





Beka
slid into one of the chairs in the far right corner and began sorting. Pulling
out a carton of eggs, she checked the expiration date; it shouldn't expire for
another three months. Gingerly, she placed it in one of the many plastic bins
beside her, and pulled out another item.








Music_Is_Life, 17.12.2011
18:02:


Lucien took a seat next
to Catherine and pulled out a can, looked at the expiration date, and put it in
the bin. "Hello," Lucien said to Catherine.


Connor took a look at the only three
remaining seats and sat in the middle, leaving room for two others to sit on
either side of him. He took out a package of buttered noddles and looked at the
expiration date. It said it expired in two months. That was good. He tossed it
into the collection bin and took another.





Stargazer, 19.12.2011 10:08:





"Hey,
there," Catherine smiled back. Then, out of boredom or lonliness or
something else asked, "You doing anything after school?"








Sarent, 19.12.2011 14:58:


Eyes narrowed
imperceptibly, Salvador
began to assemble a haphazard but regular stack of various pastas in one of the
fluorescently off-green crates. He barely checked the dates on the processed
food as he went, showing little sign of caring about its freshness.


There were no windows in
the room, he noted as he proceeded to glance at and place the food. But
that wasn't really a concern for the moment. NOTHING was a concern at the
moment, oddly.


He worked with a chagrined set to his
mouth for a second, wondering whether he should eavesdrop or keep planning.





Music_Is_Life, 22.12.2011
15:47:





Lucien
thought to himself as he put another can in the crate. "Nope, nothing. How
about you?"

Stargazer, 26.12.2011 15:39:


"I don't have
anything going on, either," Catherine replied as she pitched an expired
box of crackers into the trash. "Just homework, I guess."


EDIT (to add additional
material):


She picked up a box out
of the bag, glanced at it, then moved to throw it into the crate. But something
about it caught her eye, and turned she it over in her hands to examine it. It
was another red box of Ritz-type crackers, but instead of being brand new and
pristinely unopened, its top was slightly ripped and ragged. It was also a bit
heavier than it should have been. Spurred by paranoia and suspicion, she pried
the top flaps open with her fingernails and peeked inside.


Peeking back out at her
was a solid, smooth block of...something. Something that looked suspiciously
like...but no, it couldn't be. No one knew she was here. Or did they? Wanting
to get a second opinion before she went ahead and panicked, she held the box
out to Lucien and said, "Wait. Does this look like a plastic explosive to
you?"


[C'mon. You guys know this RPG is in dire
need of explosions.]





Music_Is_Life, 30.12.2011
17:49:


[DEFINITELY!]


Lucien looked inside the box she was holding out. Sure enough,
something that looked very much like a block of plastic explosive sat inside.
He narrowed his eyes and drew back slowly, carefully. Like he was being
watched. And it sure felt like he was. It felt like someone was staring into
his soul...someone that could see every little secret he had. Especially his secret. The one he goes to such great lengths protecting.
Get a hold of yourself, Lucien. He told himself. You're just getting yourself paranoid.
"Yeah,
it does, actually..." He said hesitantly, watching Catherine's expression.
"Third opinion?" He asked quickly, just in case he was wrong.
"Hey, Connor! Can you come here for a second?"


Connor was a bit more than surprised when
Lucien called him over to him and Catherine.
"What's up?" He asked, curious as to why he was here. When Lucien
asked him to look inside the box for a plastic explosive, he was skeptical. But
his eyes widened when he saw what was most definitely a plastic explosive in
the box. Gravely, he nodded to answer their question. Connor felt like hiding
like he was a small animal. Someone was out to get him... he had to get out of
here. It was all he had to stay rooted to his spot and keep a semi-calm
expression on his face.





Sarent, 02.01.2012 14:50:


[Of course.]


It was simple,
hypothetically, Salvador
thought to himself as he worked. There was only a -


Hmm, wait. He
glanced crossways, staring out of the corners of his eyes at some of the
others. The black-haired boy, and the brown-haired girl, looked... and
oh, wait, there was the other boy going over to the station too.


What were they so agitated about? It wasn't as if the building was
going to blow up or something because of some expired ultraprocessed food.





Stargazer, 29.01.2012 05:36:


The look of
horror on Connor's face was the last confirmation Catherine needed. Loosening
her grip slightly in a likely futile attempt to keep the box from exploding,
she whispered, "What should we do? What can
we do?" In her mind, she added, 'How did they even find me?'





Sarent, 29.01.2012 07:09:


What even was going on?


Salvador finally rose from his uninteresting
task, fluidly straightening his shoulders, and cleared any remnant of an
expression off his face.


"Is there a problem here?" he
said, the question strange in his mouth.





Music_Is_Life, 29.01.2012
17:14:





[Okay,
so I just typed this whole RP post and then it logged me out while I was typing
it....so I'm just gonna post tomorrow or something. UGH!]








Maryjane, 30.01.2012 15:23:


What are they doing? Beka payed no interest
to the expiration date as she tossed a box of pasta in one of the bins. She was
too busy watching the four of them; Connor, Lucien, Catherine, and Salvador, all gathered
around a table. Whispering. Beka wasn't usually a curious person, but the
second she noticed them she couldn't stop staring. What could they be doing, though? She wondered, biting back
a groan of frustration.

[@Elisha Oh, I hate that!]





Music_Is_Life, 30.01.2012
16:39:


Lucien was thinking
about Catherine's question when Salvador
came over and asked his own. "We found something...interesting...and we're
trying to figure out what to do about it." He continued thinking, then
Connor cut in.
"We need to...we need to get out of here, mates." He paniced,
whispering in a steely voice. "Someones here we need to, we need to throw
that thing away, we need to get out of here..." He started getting a bit
hysterical towards the end.


[Not as good as the one I had written,
but it'll do for now. It covers the same ideas I had before.]





Maryjane, 18.05.2012 07:24:


Beka always hated when people did that. Whispered to each other. It made her
think they were talking about her, possible spilling her secrets that she tries
so hard to hide. Calm down. You're just paranoid. She tells herself,
repeating those words in her head until they become no more than just a cluster
of consonants and vowels. They don't know my secret.





Her fear and curiosity getting the best of her, she shuffles slowly towards
their table. "Is everything okay over here?"





Stargazer, 29.05.2012 15:56:





"Erm," started Catherine noncommittally. Briefly,
she considered lying, but it seemed like a good idea to have as many people as
possible know about the bomb. "We...uh, we found something in this
package. It kind of looks like. You know. A bomb."








Music_Is_Life, 02.06.2012
08:15:





Connor tried to calm himself down, at least enough to
function properly. He took a deep breath and shut his eyes, remembering what
his counselor told him to do to calm down. Finally, he stopped worrying so much
and listened calmly to everyone's conversation.
"Well...what should we do?" Lucien wondered aloud. He took another
look at the bomb, and shook ever so slightly.








Stargazer, 26.07.2012 16:53:





"Um. Remove it, maybe? Or evacuate the building? Are
there authorities we can call?" Catherine slipped into her habit of
talking too much under stress. She clammed up self-consciously, instead looking
at the others with wide eyes.








Maryjane, 28.07.2012 20:07:


"Maybe we should tell Sunshine." Beka said, her gaze flicking to
the woman sitting at the front of the room.

Stargazer, 30.07.2012 15:04:





"Sounds like a good idea," Catherine replied. Her gaze shifted to
the front of the room, where their teacher stood, a look of intense boredom on
her face.


Well, she wouldn't be bored for long.





"Um...Sunshine? We found a. Um. Bomb."





"Oh?" Sunshine looked at the assembled group with mild interest.
"Right. Let me see it."





"Fine. It's over there." Catherine pointed at the explosive box of
generic Ritz.





Sunshine ambled over to the box. It was apparent that she didn't believe
there were any explosives in it, that it was just a case of overactive imagination.
She picked up the box, opened it and stared inside for a moment. A look of
horror sprang across her face, and she set it back down.





"They found me," she muttered. "I don't know how, but they
found me!"





"Who?" one of the other students asked.





"The Libyans!" shrieked Sunshine.





[Sorry for the Back to the Future quote. I couldn't resist. XD]








Music_Is_Life, 06.08.2012
20:58:





"The...the Libyans?" Connor asked Sunshine, just to make sure he
heard her right. She just stood there with a bewildered expression, shaking her
head slightly. It unnerved him even more.


"What did you do to Libyans to make them hate you?" Lucien
wondered, shooting the question at Sunshine.





Stargazer, 09.08.2012 17:41:





"I'd rather not go into details, since we should be evacuating,"
Sunshine shot back. "But it has to do with a shoddy bomb casing and some
used pinball parts. Now, everyone, get out of the building! Someone call the
police!"





Catherine started toward the door. Maybe she ought, like some of the others,
to be shepherding her skeptical classmates outdoors, but she'd never been a
great commander of people. Instead, she whipped out her phone and dialed 911.





"911, what is your emergency?" asked a coolly calm voice.





"Hi, I'm at the food pantry, and we just received a bomb in a
donation." Catherine was surprised at how much her voice shook.





"Really? In a donation?" The voice didn't sound convinced.





"Yes!"





"Alrighty, then. We'll send a squad car over. In the meantime, evacuate
the building and get everyone to a safe distance."





"We were already doing that." Catherine couldn't keep annoyance
from creeping into her voice. Really? Evacuate? Wasn't that common sense?





"Excellent. Just stay calm. Help is on its way."



Catherine closed her phone. It seemed pointless to stay on the line. Turning to
Sunshine, she said, "Police are on their way."


CAUTION: The author of the above post may be UNSOCIALIZED.











Maryjane, 09.08.2012 18:00:


The police are coming. The police. The police! Beka tried
convincing herself this was a good thing. The police are coming, she thought.
They could get rid of the bomb. Still, the thought of the cops in the same room
as her unnerved her.





What if they find out it was me?





Stargazer, 11.08.2012 18:58:


Catherine glanced over at Beka as they made their way down the sidewalk. She
looked incredibly nervous. More nervous, even, than you'd expect a person
evacuating a building that could shortly be a pile of smoking ash to look.


"Are you alright, Beka?" she asked, concern in her voice.





Music_Is_Life, 13.08.2012
13:32:





Connor and Lucien evacuated, as everyone else was doing.
They were glad the police were coming, though the thought of them in the same
room as them slightly unnerved them.








Maryjane, 20.08.2012 14:29:


"Are you alright, Beka?" Catherine asked. Beka cringed.
"Y-yeah...," She stuttered. "I'm fine."





[Sorry, it's really short! I couldn't think of anything.]





Stargazer, 29.08.2012 19:31:


Catherine noticed Beka's cringe. Wanting to make absolutely sure Beka was
alright, she pressed on. "Are you absolutely sure? Are the police
scaring you or something?"





Catherine had no reason to fear the police. But, she realized, other people
might.





Maryjane, 10.09.2012 14:24:





"No, no. They're not. I'm... fine." Beka mentally
slapped herself for showing her nervousness. She glanced at Catherine and
flashed a fake smile, trying to ease the girl's suspicions.

"Are you sure?" Catherine asked, a hint of disbelief in her voice. Just a hint. Probably undetectable. "Because..." The desire to share her secret went through her, a wave of longing. To confide in someone would be such a relief. The burden would still be hers to bear -- no one could help with that -- but having someone else know... She'd feel so much less alone.

Before she'd really thought through the potential dangers, she pushed on. "Because I know what it's like to have people after you. I know how to survive on the run. If you need help...I can help."

IC:

Salvador hung back, vaguely nodding in tune with the others' distress, but edged away as fast as seemed prudent. It took only a minute or two to slip around the edge of the food bank's wall, and he broke into a run as soon as he was out of sight.

It might seem suspicious to run from the site, he reflected, sprinting out the back loading driveway of the building, but he could always say later that he'd panicked, right? That would be reasonable, wouldn't it? That would be normal...

Right now, he felt the need to get away from the affected area, and hopefully the affected people. Someday, he would have to have a word with the originator of the explosives in the box. Perhaps a strong word.

Three blocks away, he slowed to a stroll, smoothing his cotton shirt before shoving his hands into his pockets. He wouldn't meddle in affairs involving weapons of the present. It was up to him to decide death - most certainly his own - and if Atlanta was no safer a place than his past, then perhaps he would move on.