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Dave, Rob, and Greg are at the table.  Today the debate centers on colleges.  Greg is debating film schools and Rob is playing Devil's Advocate.

When Sylvia comes into the lunch room, she's not wearing her Hello Kitty steel-toe boots or any of Kel's old clothes.  Instead she's wearing school colors--the tiny skirt, the spankies, the top, and the cardigan her mother made to match.  She's not carrying pom-poms, but she does stop at the pep-squad table to chat a little.  Then she plunks herself down on the guys' end of the table.  "I thought the only place to go was UCLA."

Greg shrugs.  "There are some good film schools out East.  And I'm not sure yet if I want to try to dive into Hollywood when I'm done or maybe work in TV for a while."

"Got any connections?  I hear the business is all about connections.  That's what Ginny says, anyway.  Although she says indy film is sometimes hot.  You could be the next Shyamalan.  Just don't lose your mojo on your third film."

Monday, arriving halfway through the lunch period is Laney.  Her hair is pleasantly combed and clipped back from her face, nothing appears out of place - except for that peculiar row of holes burned into her jeans, right across her upper thighs, right about where one might lean against a table.  Most of the holes are small, a pair are large enough to see the pale skin beneath, and through one is visible a cloth bandaid.

Again, she waits until there is a lull in the conversation and quietly asks if she may join them at the table.

Once seated, without any apparent concern for the topic of their chat, without looking up from her lunch bag as she pulls a red apple out, with no expression whatsoever, Laney says:

"Lucky we weren't watching slasher films, huh?"

"Just sit Laney.  don't ask."  Rob says


Greg laughs at her comment about slasher films.  "Colin says it wasn't the movie though.  And since he is the expert on all things that don't make sense I'm inclined to buy that."

Sylvia looks bemused as the conversation turns toward what she's come to think of as work.  She lets out a slow, soft, meditative sigh through her nose and springs to her feet.  "Pardon me, lady and gents.  I'm going to go bond with the other pep hos."  She flashes them a smile and carries her books back to the pep squad table where conversation rages about the Valentine's Day dance.

Laney does look up then, to escape the temptation to examine the freckles on the shiny skin of her apple.  
"Did you um...Get Sarah's message?  What's with Mr. Heep?  I - Oh, are you a cheerleader?  I think you look very nice in blue.  I liked the shirt you were - Oh, is he good with things that don't make sense?  Mr. Heep, I mean.  Um...how often do they show movies there?"  Try shutting up.  You might like it.

Sylvia pauses long enough to answer.  "Sarah's message?"  She's notorious for not answering, or even checking, her phone.  Anything really important comes through on T-Mobile.  'T' for Telepathy.  "And yeah.  I asked for a spot on the squad this morning.  Again.  I'm looking for my lost childhood."

"They have some sort of festival about every three months or so.  More in summer.  They're usually shorter though, the summer ones."  Greg says.

As Sylvia makes her way from the table John arrives.  "Lost?"  John says sitting down.

"Most girls here do that by looking under every guy they know.  Except me that is."  Rob says.

"Lost childhood under - shorter ones?"  Suddenly, gazing at a piece of fruit for half an hour didn't seem nearly as disturbing.  Laney smiles distractedly at at John.

"Maybe in children.  The ones who don't know.  You can't un-know something, can you?  If you could, then you'd be a child again, right?"

"Depends on how much you un-know I suppose."  He says, getting his lunch out.  "Listen, I was wondering if you'd like to go to the Valentine Dance with me?"

"Whoot!"  Rob shouts, "That's five bucks you owe me sir."  he says to Dave, who hands a five dollar bill to Rob.

"If I'm not throwing up around her, she's 'running off mentally.' If I were superstitious, I'd say there's a cosmic plot to prevent me from making anything but an ass of myself in front of her."   With a rueful smile she watches Sylvia weave her way over to the other cheerleader types.  The skirt does a mesmerizing dance about the girl's hips, which traps Laney's attention.

"Five - Huh? Oh! This week? I - Um...with you? Dance? Yes! I don't have a - well, I can go buy - Am I supposed to dress up? Wait. Are you asking me?"

"I'm asking if you want to go to the dance Friday with me.  It's a costume thing, but you don't have to wear one.  I don't think I will.  I'm not the costume type actually."

Sammy is approaching the table just at that moment, and suddenly feels the urge to vomit.  She pushes it down, deep, deep down, but some of the turmoil sneaks out and plays with her hair.  You have a date, idiot.  You could have two if you wanted.  Don't be greedy.  You were going to leave him alone anyhow.  Just be his friend because you'd be a better friend to someone like him than a girlfriend.  Maybe you ought to quit flying with him though.  Make things less complicated.

"Hey," she says brightly, "I just wanted you to know I'm blowing you all off in favor of some people I've been blowing off for weeks and weeks now.  Later!"  With a precision earned through many hours of band practice, she turns and walks off in the direction of Heather and Janey.

Sammy gets waves and nods from the US as she makes her brief stop to tell them she wont be stopping.

She had planned on stopping though.  Usually, when she's not stopping, stuff is still packed up in her bag or looped over her shoulder.  Things were out and in her hands and ready to be put down.

She quick steps over to a seat near Heather and sits down.  She quickly joins whatever discussion the people there are having.

"Um...Yes, I'd like to go.  With you. Friday. I love costumes, but I don't - Hi, Sammy.  Oh. Um...alright."  She had begun a routine last week and already it was changing.  Instead of feeling better for being able to trace cause, she felt like she was being unraveled from within.  It has a dizzying effect, and Laney starts to wonder if she were still dreaming as she watches Sammy.

Colin arrives at the table a little confused.

"Hi guys. Uhh... did anything happen here?"

"Sammy is having lunch with some of the band kids.  And I think Sylvia has been replaced by an alien because she rejoined the pep squad."  Rob says, offering Colin a Cheeto. 

Colin sends a look of concern in Sammy's and Sylvia's direction, then takes a seat at the table, politely refusing the offered cheeto.

"Greg, who do you know good with sound systems?"

"...and if you don't want a costume, I can just make us masks or something.  I have - Oh. Hi."

Laney sends a hesitant smile Colin's way and lowers her head, with a somewhat guilty posture, to contemplate her uneaten apple.

Colin returns a much less hesitant one.

"Hi, Laney. How are you today?"

"Couple people.  That thing from the theater?" Greg asks.


"We could do something if you want.  Some costume thing."  John says as he eats.

"Um...I missed most of chemistry class today because something was leaking on the - It was just as well.  When the shelf came loose off the wall and fell, I had moved already since it was burning my - I'm fine.  I guess.  Shouldn't that box be given to the police?  If there are unusual components, maybe they can find - I think I should find a dress, first. Or something.  I don't know."

"Yes. I'd like to check it out, but it has to be as far as possible from John and Alicia. I'm afraid they're too sensitive to it."


"Oh, so that was the ruckus I heard. I'm glad you didn't get hurt or anything. And regarding the police, what could they do? Is making people cry a crime?"

"Not yet.

Reckless endangerment could be a felony.  If no one had left the theatre...if they had all continued to cry and cry...hours of this...until they collapse. They would, you know.  They would."

The conversation swirls around Sammy.  She hears the words "Valentine Dance" and wonders if El has tickets already.  Probably.  He's on the committee.  I wonder what he wants to do for costumes.  She smiles to herself.  I should have let him buy me a showgirl rig in Vegas.

Colin ponders.

"You might have a point here. I'm afraid it's a bit late, though. They couldn't use it anyway, by now. I should have thought of it on Saturday. My fault."

Sylvia, meanwhile, is using her powers for evil by manipulating her fellow cheerleaders into undue concern and compassion for the homeless.  They're planning a fundraiser bake sale.  And never mind that they're not particularly good bakers.  They figure the sign that says "Hot Buns For A Good Cause" will do the trick.

Laney stares at the imprints her fingernails left in the fragile surface of the apple she holds.  "Well...no one was hurt, yet.  The police have to prioritize.  Who knows what would have happened to that box?  It's kindof a dangerous tool, as it is.   We have it, so...I guess we're stuck with it.  I'd like to know how easily it can be reproduced."  She adds quickly, "Not to use it, I mean to know how much time we have before um..."   She glances at Greg.

"Before I use it to win an Oscar?"  Greg says with a shrug.  "I can call Whitney.  But, if it was plugged in at the college, there is a good chance Whitney built it."

"Before there's a marathon of movies involving chainsaws and teenagers in remote campsites. 

Who's Whitney?"

"He does some sound and technical work at the college."  Greg goes on to describe the person, and Colin is fairly certain it's the person he saw in his vision with the projectionist.

Donnie comes strolling in, whistling. He plops down on an open chair and glances around the cafeteria until his eyes light upon Sylvia. He gives an exagerrated, breathy sigh and wipes an imaginary tear away from his eye. "My baby's gone and joined up with the pep sqad again. I'm so happy to be dating a cheerleader again. All the other overweight freshmen geeks will be sooo jealous of me."

Sylvia chooses that moment to get up from her seat, plant one sneakered foot in the seat of her chair, and bend over to pull up her crew sock.  Then she shoots Donnie a wink and sits down again.

Donnie makes a sound. Something along the lines of 'guh', and breaks into a sweat.

And is joined by 432 other Freshman boys at the gates of Fantasy Land.

Sammy notices the collective sweat'n'sigh and looks around for the focus of it.  Oh.  Sylvia.  It seems ok.  So far.

Sammy doesn't interrupt the fun, or even try to steal any of it.  Under the pretense of it being so frakking cold in this stupid cafeteria, she reaches into her backpack for a heavy sweatshirt and slides it on.  Frumpalicious.  The hood gives her the extra advantage of acting as blinders.  Now she can't see anything that she isn't directly facing, so she can't be bugged by it.

Laney raises her head to smile at Donnie; her gaze follows his and is fixed, while her face turns pink.  Oh.

"Uhm." Colin winces.

"Is he a good friend of yours?"




Colin blinks several times.

"It must be the uniform. That thing has to be evil."

Laney states the obvious, "I wouldn't say she looks evil, just very appealing.  She was a cheerleader before?  Why'd she quit?"

"I think she quit before the lead cheerleader tried to kill her, right?"  Greg says.  Rob and Dave nod.


"Ah, Yeah I guess.  Whitney helped me do the mixing on my first couple of films.  We're not super close, but he's a friend."

She loses interest in Sylvia's fine extremities immediately.
"Before?  Then that doesn't answer my question.  She seemed more like a wolf than a sheep to me.  Maybe in sheep's clothing now? Nice clothing..."  Her voice trails off to a nearly inaudible muttering.

"Why did she leave?"  Greg asks.

"I think it wasn't fun.  Right after the witches thing.  I don't think there was a reason, she just stopped going."  Rob says, munching on a Cheeto.

"Creative differences."  Dave says.  "She was unsatisfied with the attitude of the other girls."

Alicia enters the lunch room unnoticed at first.

As she begins to navigate around the tables, though, conversation stills as she approaches then starts again in her wake. Whether people are reacting to her appearance, or the impression of an animal on the prowl she's throwing out, it's hard to tell. If she is aware of the effect she's causing, she shows no sign of it.

To a casual observer, Alicia could be just looking for a place to sit. Nevertheless, she manages to circumnavigate the whole lunch room without stopping at any table, her nose a-twitch.

OOC: For what it's worth, Alicia is checking to see if anyone, besides her, is wearing the perfume. Not sure if I'd be using Notice or Search, just take the following roll and add 10 for Notice or 5 for Search. Fee, Fi, Fo, Fume, I Seek The Scent of This Perfume... (1d20=18) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1964304/)

The routine is broken when she nears the Unusual Suspects' table.

Alicia pauses, her poise subtly muted. She seems as if she's struggling with some internal debate, then breathes out a sigh of surrender.

She approaches the table, visibly swallows, and says, "Hey." After a pause, she manages to add, "I'm sorry for... before."

If there's anything else she planned to say, it doesn't get past the tightness in her throat. The phrase "nervous as a long-haired cat in a room full of rocking chairs" seems oddly appropriate.

Alicia is greeted with nods and waves.  There is a pause, and then conversation resumes.  "Sitting helps with digestion."  Rob says, offering her a Cheeto.  "Cheese flavored crunch?"

"Sitting helps.  Junk food does not.  Hi, Al-Alicia.  H-how'd you do on the test friday?  History, I mean.  I think I hate that class."

Donnie seems to have recovered enough for speech. "Hey. I imagine the other guy looks a lot worse."

He nudges out a chair for her with one foot.

"I'd still call the sudden desire to cause massive nosebleeds quite evil." he says grinning.


Colin winces some more.

"I'm afraid he's the one who installed the device in the theater. Maybe it wasn't its purpose and it was just a freak effect, though. I guess we should test it."


"Syl's not a wolf. More like.... uhm... a badger, I guess. A vegetarian one, though."


"I'm afraid we can't accept it. Our sorries-per day quota has already been filled." he say with a smile. "Found anything?

The table's nonchalant response to her overture does little to reassure her. If anything, her stress rises to an almost visible level as she struggles to adjust to what is obviously an unexpected reaction.

This is not how people are supposed to act. This is not how the world works. They've changed the dance and she doesn't know the steps.

Oddly, it's Colin's comment that brings her back to focus. Her face firms and she gives a quick shake. "No hits yet. I'm planning to trawl the upperclassmen this afternoon, see if maybe anyone got a 'gift' there."

Alicia glances at the rest of the table, her thoughts scrambling for what to say. "Thanks, but... I have things to do." She goes to say something else, but her mouth hangs open with no words coming forth.

Finally, she stutters out a quick, "Gotta go," and turns to leave. She's graceful enough not to look like she's running, but her exit is amazingly quick.

The third one.

There's a pattern even a blind person couldn't miss.   Laney gives up the pretense of trying to eat lunch, looking slightly ill now.   Tucking her food back into the wrinkled brown bag, she pushes back her chair to rise and leave the table, too.   

After all, the other girls were leaving.   Shouldn't she?

Meanwhile, Sammy revels in the simple joys of playing a game of Hearts with her band friends.  She can't remember the last time she played cards with anybody at lunchtime.  September, maybe?  She dumps the Queen of Spades on tall skinny Tyrone, and laughs victoriously at his affected despair.

Donnie stares after Alicia with raised eyebrows. When Laney gets up to leave, he throws his hands slightly into the air. "What? Do we stink or something?"  

"We have cooties."  Rob says.  Dave and Greg nod.

"Ew?" offers a just now arriving Sarah.  "Why do you think you have cooties?  Where's everyone going?  Are the girls eating at another table now?  Man, I hate being late for lunch."

She sits next to Colin and smiles, "Well I didn't get the memo so I'm sitting here."  She leans in and gives him a kiss with a happy sigh.  "Thanks for the movie and adventure.  Somehow I thought getting busted in the projection booth would be for a different reason someday but disabling a crying machine is good to.  What do you suppose whoever invented it calls it?  How about 'The Tear Jerker'?  Are we going to give this thing to Heap to take a poke at or did you have somebody else in mind?  Oh!  did you tell Chris about it yet or were you going to wait until we had an idea?"

Alicia holes up in a stall in the girl's restroom for a quiet cry before braving the rest of the day.

One of the advantages of wearing shades is that they can easily hide red-rimmed eyes.

Before she wanders off to the library, Laney mumbles something that sounds like "Alicia would have to answer that question."  And she's not joking.

OOC: To help settle time issues I will try to remember to mark the passage of days in the Lunch Thread.

Tuesday

Tuesday, Laney does not show up at the lunch room.  Again in the library where, whatever her initial intentions, she falls asleep and might miss her next class.

John is not at lunch Tuesday either.  Dave, Greg, and Rob are there though. 

Sammy initially plans to be in the cafeteria only long enough to circulate and trade information with some of the people who are going to be part of the Court of Love at Friday's dance.  She's backing away from the idea of hearing cases; her mom had hinted that feelings might get hurt, and that might be used by the psychopaths in training as an excuse for trouble to start.  Sammy sees the wisdom in that.  A noble court with courtiers and entertainers is plenty good enough by itself.

Her stuff is dumped into an empty seat next to the Court Jester before she starts moving around.

As she's making her rounds, she notices that John and Laney are both missing, and her stomach does that stupid little twist again.  Let it go, greedy, before you turn into one of those budding psychopaths in the woodwork.

[ooc:extra text added]  Plans can change.  It might be safer to stay here.

Nick is happy to see her, and expresses plenty of excitement about getting to be the Court Jester.  It's half way through lunch when he seems to hit on an idea.  "Wow, advertising."  He says, hopping up on the table and blowing a whistle until he has the attention of the entire room.  "Ladies and gentleman, children of all ages.  show your support for the homeless and buy a ticket to the Valentine's Day dance this Friday!"  Nick is an actor and comedian.  He can project, and his voice carries across the entire cafeteria.  "It's a costume affair, so get in your best, or your worst and show some school spirit.  One dollar from every ticket will go to help the homeless, and for those of you, like myself, that sleep through math that means we could raise a lot of money to help out people who are sitting out in the cold right now, trying to find their next meal.  there will be music, food, and fun, so invade the student store, harass your student council members, or see me, the Official Court Jester for the event!"  His voice is part of it, and he has his whole body language in play during the announcement.  Arms flailing, walking back and forth across the top of the table.  "And I will now let you resume your normal lunch time activities."  He takes a bow, and gets some applause, then hops off the table and sits back down.  "Ok, now that I've made an ass of myself I can relax."

Sammy laughs at his antics.  "It's good you got it out of the way early then."  She chews and swallows a bite of her sandwich, then continues.  "I'm glad you want to do this, especially with so little warning.  I think it'll be fun."

"Fun, and someone said something about a good cause or something."  He waves his arms.  "I appreciate you asking."

Alicia witnesses Nick's performance as she enters the lunch room. She purses her lips in annoyance; it's bad enough the dance is this Friday when she'll still be sporting her Technicolor bruises, but making it a costume party is just rubbing salt on the wound, in her mind.

She notes the lack of female attendance at the US table as she approaches, and ponders whether that's a good sign or bad. She's made her decision in any case, and isn't going to allow herself any cold feet.

When she gets to the table, she nods greetings to the trio already there. "Hey."

Without preamble, she takes a seat and begins to unpack her lunch.

Alicia is greeted with waves, nods, and a "Hey." from Rob.  Dave and Greg are reading, as usual.  "Ah, I assume you and Rhys are going to the dance?"  Rob asks.

She bumps him with her elbow.  "Puhleeze.  Who else was I going to ask to be my Jester?  You were the obvious choice, really, the only real choice.  Okay?"  There's a special emphasis on that last word.  She shifts a few inches away and grins.  "Oops, sorry.  I forgot, if I'm pumping up your ego, I need to give it plenty of space to grow.  Let me know if you need more room."

There is a distinct pause before she answers, as if she is minutely studying the question for any hidden meanings or interpretations. "Yeah."

She looks as if she is going to say more, but stays mum instead.

Nick grabs his head and makes a sound like a tire inflating, moving his hands further and further with each inflate, then bursts with a loud bang and laughs.  "It goes up and down like the value of the dollar, or Bill Clinton's zipper."


Rob nods, "Cool.  I thought so but it's best to check first, you know?"

Sammy laughs, scoots back to her original, closer spot, and keeps eating her lunch.

Again, Alicia hesitates before responding.

She looks at Rob with a slight frown. "Why?"

Rob blinks.  And blinks again.  "Ah."

"If Rhys hadn't asked you, Rob was going to."  Dave says, not looking up from his book.

Rob winces.  "Only maybe with a little more subtlety."

"Sure."  is Dave's reply.

It's painfully obvious the news floors Alicia. "Oh."

She mulls over the thought a bit more and ventures, "Thanks?"

Rob shrugs, "Ah, sure.  No problem."

"Smooth."  Dave says smiling.

Alicia looks quizzically at the three boys for a second, then gives up trying to read anything more into what transpired.

With the casual caution of someone stepping into water of undetermined temperature, she hazards a question as she takes a bite of her sandwich. "Do you have a date, Dave?"

"He's waiting for her check to clear."  Greg says, studying the script in his lap.

Rob shakes his head and lowers his eyes, "Oh the sacrifices you make for your friends."

"It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it."  Dave says as he continues to read.

Rob looks over to Alicia, "He's usually the sacrificial date for Elrod's sister Lisa.  She got pulled out of Oak Park and sent to Fenwick, the private school on the other end of town.  so to go to events here, she needs a dare from here."  He gestures towards Dave, "And so our fearless friend agrees to be her escort, for a small fee."

"Small to her."  Greg adds.

"Ah, true, true.  So, Elrod trusts Dave not to, hmmm, what's the word I'm looking for?"

"Fornicate?"  Greg says.

Rob shakes his head, "No, no, that's not it."

"Besmirch?"

"Yes, that's it.  Dave is trusted not to besmirch Lisa's integrity."

"Honor."  Greg says.

"I can not testify to that, and so we are forced to settle for integrity."

Alicia's head bobs back and forth as she tries to follow the conversational hot potato.

She points to Dave with her sandwich. "So, let me get this straight. You're getting paid to take someone to the dance? And you're giving Rob s**t?" She makes a rude noise.

"So, is this Lisa chick a total gargoyle or something? I mean, Elrod's obviously got the hawt genes in the family, so it would follow that..." Her voice trails off as she realizes what she's saying.

She hangs her head down to bang it on the table. "Dammit. F**ked it up again. Don't mind me."

"Elrod is okay with a hair cut."  Greg says.

"Gayyyyyyyy"  Dave and Rob sing with smiles.

"I knew that was coming."  Greg says with a laugh, Dave and Rob joining him.

"Actually, I'd take her without the money, if I were the type to go to such events.  But, I know that if she pays me she'll behave.  She has a bit of an impulsive stupid streak."

"She's smoking hot."  rob says, "Since he failed to mention that bit."

"She has developed some depth too, since the whole Elrod getting his ass stomped thing."  Greg says.

The other two nod.

Alicia looks confused, then guardedly relieved.

She replays the comments in her head to retrieve the end of the thread.

"You're talking about Donnie wigging out and going medieval on Elrod, right? And what happened that made Lisa change schools?"

Rob nods.  "Yeah, head cheerleader did a dance in Donnie's brain, and he did a number on Elrod."

Greg looks up from his script, "Someone broadcast Lisa and one of the football players having sex in a storage closet here at the school over the schools TV network."  he says with a casual tone.

"Yeah.  She got expelled, and her dad pulled some strings, wrote a huge check and got her into Fenwick."  Rob finishes. 

Her shades do a good job of hiding her widening eyes, but not her jaw dropping. "No s**t?!?"

She mutters to herself, "I better remember that. Storage closets are not safe."

She's more relaxed now, no longer feeling as if she has to traverse a social minefield. "What about you, Greg? Have any plans for Friday that involve another human being?"

"Ouch!"  Rob and Dave say together, Rob smacking Greg on the shoulder.  He smiles.

"I was just going to watch you through a telescope, you know someone better?"  he says grinning.  "Actually I'll probably just video the dance and remain an eligible bachelor.  But thanks for giving me that social nosebleed."  Rob offers him a Cheeto to ease the suffering, which he accepts.

Alicia holds her breath for a moment, studying Greg to see what his mood truly is.

Reassured she hadn't committed another fatal gaffe, she grins back. "Any time. I just figured I'd share the misery."

The three nod and some more Cheetos are shared.

Sammy finishes her sandwich and looks at the time.  "Wow.  Gotta find Sarah."  She reaches over and squeezes Nick's hand before she rises.  "See you Thursday, right?"

Alicia accepts the offered treat as if she were receiving an award for good behavior. She grins and pops the Cheeto in her mouth.

Nick nods with a mouth full of sandwich, and offers a thumbs up.

Alicia notices the time and cleans up the remains of her lunch. With a touch of disappointment, she says, "Gotta go. I got homework to finish before History."

She collects her stuff and gets up from her seat with a "See ya guys later!"

She pauses to look at Rob, Dave and Greg, and a pure, bright, honest smile blossoms on her face. "And guys... thanks."

And she's gone.

Her departure is greeted with nods and waves.

Possessions loaded in her bag, bag locked in the "I'm not sitting down here" position, Sammy cruises by the US table.   "Hi.  Anybody know where I might find Sarah?  I want to make sure she's all set for Friday."

"Maybe the newsroom, if she has math homework to choke out."  Rob says.

Sammy nods.  "OK.  If you see her before I do, ask her to call me if she needs anything before the fitting Thursday night.  I'm still not sure she's even onboard for it -- she didn't say no, so I'm guessing she is, but you never know.  I could be very wrong."  She sighs and adjusts the strap on her shoulder as her eyes flicker over the seats where John usually sits and where Laney has been wont to sit.  "El said something about needing a King and Queen for the dance.  He asked if I wanted to nominate a pair of wallflowers to overwhelmingly elect into the offices.  I'm afraid anybody I pick will turn into Carrie at the prom.  If you have any ideas, let him know, 'kay?  If you see Colin, ask him.  He's good at the people stuff."  She shifts the bag into a better position.  "A'right, I'm out of here.  Later."

She heads off in the direction of the news room.

Her departure gets her waves and nods and agreements to pass on her information.

now what  ???

ok then.


Sammy wanders the halls looking for Sarah [OOC: until (a) Sammy finds Sarah (b) someone finds Sammy and keeps her from wandering further (c) Sammy slips into a weakspot between dimensions, created by the frequent flyers that have been visiting here, and finds herself somewhere else, where the only thing standing between her and certain doom is the stash of pixie stix laying forgotten in the bottom of her bag, sugar being one of those things not sold to minors in this place.]

Donnie comes strolling in, muffling a sneeze behind a kleenex, shoving it into an already bulgin pocket.

"Hey dudes. You scare away all the udder girls?"

It's obvious he has a headcold.

"Alicia was here but bugged out."  Rob says.

"I'm here," Sylvia says, suddenly there where she wasn't before.  She has a book open, and she's half done with her tempeh sandwich, so it looks like she's been here awhile.

"Hi huddy." He kisses the top of her head.

"No more playing in the freezing ponds for me. You were right.

I need me some tea. "

He shuffles off towards the lunchline.

Sylvia recites a piece of doggerel.  "Don't kiss your honey / When your nose is runny. / You may think it's funny, / But it's snot."

Sarah looks up from her books and rests her head in her hands.  "I need a vacation."  She sees Sammy wander by and remembers that old phrase.  "Well maybe a little change will have to do."  She stuffs her books in her bag and takes off after her friend. 

Halfway down the hall she smiles and says, "Hey there."

Sammy's head was apparently elsewhere, but she snaps back to the here and now with a happy "There you are!  Hey, are you good with getting a free costume and being a tumbler in a sort of renaissance fair court thing for Friday night?  You never answered, so I wasn't sure."

Sarah blinks at Sammy.  "You asked?  You did?  You must have.  Uh.. sure.  Why are you having a renaissance fair thing again?"

Sammy laughs.  "They want people in costume for the Valentine's Dance, for a masquerade feeling.  El wanted him and me to go with a group costume kind of thing instead of just a couples costume.  He suggested maybe something renaissance festivalish.  That worked for me.  He and I are going to be nobles in a sort of Court of Love, so we'll need court musicians and tumblers and a jester.  I thought you might like to be one of the acrobats.  He'll get your costume for you, all the place needs is your measurements; we can take care of that pretty quickly, if you want.  He'll cover Colin's costume too, if you want, since you and Colin will be going together -- maybe the court seer, whatchamacallit, vizier?  Or magician.  Or a diplomat.  Whatever.   So you're in?"

Sarah laughs and asks, "Are you kidding?  Avoid the chance to worry about an outfit until the last minute and end up the dopey girl wearing a hat as my costume?  I'm totally in.  Plus it's an excuse to cartwheel around the school which they normally frown upon."  She pauses to consider her last thought.  "Though I suppose in light of the fact that we end up wrecking the lunch room on a semi regular basis I could probably get by with cartwheels on a regular basis with only a stern look."

She adds, "You'll have to ask Colin... if you haven't already.  I mean I know he wouldn't have forgotten if you did.  He'll probably be okay with it but maybe he wanted to do something unique."

"I will.  And he can do something else, if he wants.  Its just an offer."  Sammy grins.  "I think this is gonna be fun."

"So your majesty, any other plans I should know about... uh remember?"

"I know I texted you!"  Sammy thinks for a second.  "Oh!  Got any ideas yet where you might want to go on Saturday?  I don't know if John's coming with us.  He's been hanging around Laney, so he might want to spend the weekend with her.  Someplace warm?"

Sarah looks embarrassed.  "Oh.  Um, yeah.  Someplace warm but on er this side of the border.  Donnie and I sort of got into a little bit of trouble.  Something about causing an international incident and nearly getting shot at by missiles.  It was all just a little misunderstanding."

"WHAT?!" Sammy says incredulously.  Then she starts laughing so hard she can barely stand, and she leans on Sarah's shoulder.  Tears stream out of her eyes.  "Just a little misunderstanding.  Mm Hmm.  Why didn't you just jedi mind trick them and tell them there was nothing to see, this is not the target you are looking for?"  She sobers a little bit.  "Or did you?"

Sarah shakes her head and says, "No way of talking my way out of this one.  They had satellite pics of us on a dragon.  I told Donnie he needs to whip up some stealth technology for his flights.  They just said don't do it again.  Anywhere warm would be good.  Heck even somewhere that's still cold if they have something fun.  I don't think we'll have that much of a problem.  I mean sure they can pick someone out of a satellite image but they have to be looking for them in the first place.  Gosh, I wonder if they've got pictures of you and John up in the sky?"

Sammy is struck by this thought.  "I wonder how I could find out.  We're pretty small; at least compared to a dragon."

"I suppose it depends on if they noticed you on radar.  Random little fast moving blip that you are."

"Maybe they'd see a blurry line?  I'll skywrite a greeting next time."

For the first time since she's started at Oak Park, Alicia is in the lunch room seconds after the bell, parked at the US table, anxiously waiting for the arrival of Dave, Greg and Rob.

After a while Sammy drifts in.  She stops to chat for a few minutes with some band friends, then moves along to say hi to Nick and the drama kids.  She finally moves over by the US table, but she doesn't sit down.

"Hi Alicia.  How's it going?"

Laney ends up in the library again and may remain there, though not asleep in any conventional way.

Dave, Greg, and Rob arrive in roughly that order, only a minute or so apart.

Sammy acknowledges the guys and is willing to exchange small talk, but still doesn't sit down.  She seems fidgety, slightly uncomfortable.

It's hard to read Alicia's expression behind her shades, and her voice, as courteous as it is, gives no further clue.

"Hey, Sam. Doing all right. You joining us today?"

Sammy's eyes never quit scanning the room, looking for something yet unidentified.  She's definitely twitchy about something.  "Just stopping by for a little bit...  I'm gonna, um, try to find an empty, uh, music room with a piano in it."  Her voice trails off.  "I downloaded some, um, keyboard lessons last night so I thought I'd, uh, try..."

Alicia's face is unchanged, but the tone of her voice moves a number of notches down from the small talk range. "If you say so."

There is no doubt she isn't buying any of it. Her nose twitches once or twice.

The unexpected shift in Alicia's tone of voice startles Sammy a little bit, and she involuntarily takes a step back.  "Why would I lie about pianos?" she says, slightly defensively.  "I just came to say hello before I disappeared.  Didn't want you to get your feelings hurt in case you thought I was avoiding you.  Bye."  And without any more fanfare than that, she's gone, briskly walking out of the cafeteria.

Alicia's face tracks Sammy's departure, her face softening to a more thoughtful mien.

She turns to the trio. "Uh, guys? I did want to talk with you guys today, but something's come up, OK? Will you forgive me?"

"Things come up."  Dave says from behind his latest novel.  "We're reachable."

Alicia gives them a sincere smile of gratitude. "Thanks. See ya later!"

She gets up noiselessly from the table and makes her way to the door. A gaggle of chattering cheerleaders momentarily block the view of her retreating form and when they pass by, she's gone.

OOC: Yes, Sammy has just acquired a shadow. Alicia is very familiar with Sammy's scent and the sound of her voice, so she can stay far behind and follow along.

And, just in case it's needed, Me And My Shadow (1d20+14=15) (http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1972091/)

 :8 Crap! What a time to roll a 1! Let the hilarity ensue...

Sarah smiles and drops her lunch on the table.  "Look at me showing up for lunch!  If anyone sees any of my teachers wandering the halls with a vague lost look give me a heads up... might have over done it a bit."  

She cracks out her sandwich and starts munching.   Noticing Sammy hovering she asks, "Got a bus to catch Sam?  Or is something going on?  What am I saying?  Is it a day that ends in Y?"

"Kidding about the dazed teachers by the way."  Yeah, mostly.  What did Morpheus say?  Not doing myself any good?  Maybe I can whammy my own brain in the mirror sometime and make myself good at math.  AH!  Oh god I'm an idiot!

Sammy says hello and something about other things to do today.


Sammy didn't lie.  She goes to where the music department lives, and finds a room with a piano in it.  Firmly shutting the door behind her and resisting the urge to lock it, she unceremoniously dumps her belongings on the floor, sits on the bench, and starts some simple exercises.  She knows how to read music, she knows how things should sound, its just a matter of teaching her brain and her fingers some piano basics before she can progress to more complicated lessons.  She's very focused on her task, and repeats the exercises over and over again.

In a hidden corner a room or two away, Alicia is nestled out of sight, listening in and locked in an internal debate.

Part of her wants to march in and confront Sammy. It's obvious something is bothering her friend; the instinct to protect is strong.

But her instincts have failed her time and again when dealing with this new environment. If Sammy doesn't want to confide with her, she has the right to refuse. Alicia can't just barge in and demand an explanation; that's not how friends act here. Right?

But what if it's something Alicia can help with? What if Sammy is denying her need for some misguided reason? What if it has to do with the mysterious assailant manipulating people's emotions for his own unknown purposes?

Biting her lips, Alicia sits in her hidey-hole, slightly rocking as her brain buzzes in frustrating indecision.

Sammy isn't handing out any clues.  She knows she might be heard, so she vocalizes none of her thoughts.  The practice provides her with a distraction, which is its intent.

Sarah watches the girls leave and turns and looks at the boys.  "Y'know that's twice now that's happened.  One of you must smell bad or something because I know it's not me.  Everybody loves me."

"Some of us more than others."  Rob says, offering her a Cheeto, "Cheese flavored crunch?"

Sarah quirks an eyebrow but accepts readily.  "Cheesy."

Donnie comes slumping over to the table, deflating into a chair as if half his bones were jelly. "Dudes, I am so fuggin tired."  It sounds especially amusing through his utterly stopped up nasal passages. "I cad sleep. I keeb wakig up because I cad breave."

He waves away offers of cheese-flavored crunches. "I cad taste id anyway. Please tell me you god a suber power suddenly appearing like 'I can cure da cobbon code'."

The boys shake their heads and offer "Sorry." at Donnie's condition.

Showing up at lunch Wednesday, with thirteen minutes remaining before class is Laney, with an expression reminiscent of a hunted animal as she furtively looks back at the doorway and around the room while fumbling with her lunch bag.   She asks if it was alright to join them at the table, then flushes a pretty shade of pink and sits down, mumbling apologies in Rob's direction.

About 10 minutes before the end of the lunch period, Sammy stops practicing.  She gets her stuff and goes down the hall to the girl's restroom.  On her way out, she catches a glance of herself in the mirror.  "You're pathetic," she says.  Then she walks out into the hall and heads to her next class.

A pair of yellow-green eyes hiding behind plastic lenses track Sammy's movement down the hall.

Alicia straightens from the slouch that hid her from sight behind a set of lockers. Still racked with indecision, she sighs and goes her own way.

Maybe Jack has some advice on how to deal with this. She'll ask him tonight.

"Mom used to use goldenseal, mullen, coltsfoot..I don't know. Depends on the type of cough, too.  I liked Nyquil best, but last time I took it I almost burned the house down.  You should grow your hair long," Laney mutters, sparing only a glance for Donnie.  Then aloud, "Oh. Through magical means, is it possible to control the air pressure of a precise area - say, about the size of a human - without the use of a vessel to define it?"

"Umb. For what purpose? Holding in place, mobile? What density?"

"Same pressure as sea level, centered on a person who would be mobile.  The trick is, could it be maintained when the pressure without the defined space drops to nearly nothing?  It might have to be adjusted continually.  I don't know. That would be part of the solution, I guess."

"For whud purpose? If I ndow the application, I could figure a prober confiduration"

Laney wrinkles her nose, studying the saw-like edge of the saltine cracker she's about to snap in half.

"If there's no vessel to contain the air molecules, I don't know how it could be done.   Maybe make your own.  Are you wearing a costume?  John said everyone was, but I don't really want to.  Huh? Oh. For Sammy.  To see if she could fly into space - without having internal things vaporizing that one doesn't want to have vaporized.  You should go home and sleep."

Donnie looks confused at her rapid-fire stream-of-consciousness speech. "Ub. If Sammy generates her own oxygen, it's one thing. If she dosend need to breed, then ids adother solution. Allowing her to keep from waporwising is more of a probleb. I'd hab to work on dat. I cand go hobe. I'b missed too much school already."

He blows his nose. "Whud aboud costumes?"

"That's why I was asking about air pressure.  John said she doesn't need to breath, but that's not the same question as 'can she generate it?'   For Friday.  Nyquil."  She nods before continuing, "Colin said there might simply be something to keep Sammy orbiting the planet, something that won't let her...out.  For her own safety.  I think it'd be fun to go to the moon.  Hard to see stars down here.  I can make you a mask if you want.  Do you like macaroni?"

"Ub. Yes? With cheese? Colin knows alot aboud odd tings. No need for a mask. I thing I answered your question?" He looks almost helplessly over at Greg, Dave, & Rob.

Dave and Greg continue to read, rob is merely grinning as he follows the conversation.

Laney graces Donnie with the most sympathetic smile one could ever imagine, almost angelic. 

"You know, if you could figure out how to manipulate air pressure, you could clear your sinuses.  Or blow your own head off.  That would suck. 

"I guess if Sammy wanted to know, she would've asked you.  I was just curious because if she could fly so high, then I -  How would you keep the cheese from falling off?"

Rob just grins wider, "Yeah Donnie.  How would you keep the cheese from falling off?"

Donnie cocks an eyebrow. "That is a secret of the Wizards at Kraft Foods. Even I don't dare try to figure it oud. I prefer hod tea over assploding my head. Dough if feels like it could ad any momend." He gets up. "I better get someding to ead." He wanders off towards the lunchline, mumbling under his breath.

Mystified, Laney watches Donnie leave.  Muttering something about ginger with honey, she looks back down at the pile of crumbs that were once abused saltines.  She thought for a moment the broken bits resembled a face and idly wondered if they could be mapped like stars, how many points of origin would there be...

"So you don't want to try the diet coke and mentos cure?  I might suggest some nice warm steam and some hot soup."

Rob gets up and walks around to stand behind Laney.  He takes his phone out and snaps a picture of the crumbs on the table.  "That looks like a face."  he says, then wanders off.

Alicia comes into the lunchroom and heads purposefully for the table.

She sits down and regards Dave, Greg and Rob. She's all business, barely acknowledging greetings before jumping in.

"Hi, guys. I need a list of the kids taking AP Chemistry. Mr. Heep's gonna give me a list of the potential chemicals used for making the Love Goo and the Hate perfume, and I'm going to be doing some sniff tests to see if any of them show up on the students."

Laney shakes her head without looking up from her half-eaten apple.

"Might as well ask Mr. Heep, so you know which class periods to - Would it be easier to check the student lockers?"

Dave slips his phone from his pocket and sends a text message.  Greg raises an eyebrow, and then goes back to reading his script.  Rob offers Alicia a Cheeto, "Cheese Flavored Crunch?"  then he looks at Laney.  "that assumes there is transfer from them to the locker.  Or they keep it in their lockers.  We had some drug issues early in the year.  Random locker search is the sport here, so it's unlikely someone would keep something bad in their locker."

Still without raising her head, she replies, "It's not bad.  It's random chemicals used in other applications that just happen to also be ingredients for...whatever goo.  Some scents are stronger than others, like smoke, they linger."

"You're right.  A waste of time.  Anyone working with such a dangerous substance would be smart enough not to get any of it on himself.  Or herself."

"Which reminds me."  Rob says, digging a notepad from his bag and sliding it to Laney.  There is a sketch on the page of a person.  A male.  "Can you write down the first three things that pop into your head about that person for me?"  he asks, "Just there on the drawing is fine."

There's a queer moment of confusion while Laney figures out what to do with her apple before taking up the notepad, then which hand to hold the pencil in.

She sees the sketch lines before the face and responds to that foremost, recording three things in that disturbingly precise print of hers.  The lead snaps on the last letter, causing a twisting trail down the side of the page.   After staring at this a minute longer, Laney returns the drawing to Rob.

"What's that for?"

"Not sure yet."  he says, taking the notepad and putting it back in his bag.

Dave taps his arm, "Pop by the office for me?"

Rob nods, "On it." and he gets up and leaves the table.

The behavior of her companions making as little sense as it normally does, Laney returns to nibbling at her apple, her empty gaze remains on the doorway long after Rob leaves.

Sylvia passes Rob on her way in, and they have a minor exchange arranging the curriculum for next weekend's session at Action-Hero Academy.  She passes the pep-squad table and actually makes conversation with them before she brings her lunch--grilled tofu and brown-rice pilaf--to the Usual Suspects' table.  She's wearing concealer, a lot of concealer, and jeans and long sleeves.  And she's moving a little stiffly, sucking her breath through her teeth as she takes her seat.

"Hi, folks," she says to all and sundry, including Alicia.

Sammy doesn't show up in the cafeteria at all.  She's backstage in the auditorium, torturing her hair and playing with makeup, looking for the right look to go with her costume.  She has a couple of friends with her.  They came along when they found out what she planned to do with the time.

Alicia gives Laney a slightly annoyed look.

"Smells linger all right. On the skin, in the air. The guy would have at some point either touch the stuff, or touch something that touched the stuff," she says defensively.

Alicia pleasantly returns the greeting. "Hey." She winces sympathetically at Sylvia's condition, but doesn't say anything.

She does bring Sylvia into the discussion. "I asked about getting that student list for the AP Chemistry classes."

Rob comes back in and sets a few pages on the table.  The top of the page says AP Chemistry Enrollment List.  Thirty names occupy the list.  There are several copies.  "Ask and Ye Shall Receive."  Robs says.

Sylvia grimaces again as she reaches across the table toward one of the lists.  She drags it in front of her and looks around the cafeteria to see who on the list is available for immediate brain rape.

Alicia smiles. "You guys are great. You're like those guys in X Files that help Mulder out, or like the three witches that help Macbeth."

"Huh?  You haven't taken Chemistry, yet, have you?"   It's scarcely a whisper, that squeak.  Laney sinks low in her chair and pokes her saltine crackers with her finger. "Protection from contaminants is extremely important.  Of course, we might be dealing with a moron.  Macbeth?"

Greg looks up.  "I wouldn't have pegged you as a big Shakespeare reader."

Sylvia is giving Alicia a funny, amused look, too.

Alicia looks confused. "Shakespeare? I'm talking about the guy in Gargoyles. Y'know? The one who was hunting Demona? I remember watchin' the show and thinkin' that Demona was totally kickass. I used to imagine that maybe my dad was, like, actually some sort of gargoyle, 'cause of my eyes, and that I'd get to turn into one when I was older and..."

Alicia stops when she realizes what she's saying and snaps her jaw shut. "Um, anyways, thanks, guys."

Trying to distance herself from the embarrassing confession, she asks Sylvia quickly, "So how soon do you think we can start trawling for Chemistry geeks?"

"I'm in the process," she tells Alicia.

Watching Sylvia sift through brains is like watching someone suck lemons.  She scans.  She delves.  She makes faces.

[Anything good, GM?]

Alicia looks around as if she expects to see thought bubbles floating towards Sylvia.

"Right. If you get any hits, point him out so I'll know who to sniff out."

Sylvia nods, then makes a face like she found someone's dirty underwear in his lunch box--and it's a thong.

"Wow. We Gargoyles fans are few and far between. We should stick together." Colin says arriving with his usual smile.

"I think they meant something more on the lines of
Double, double toil and trouble
Fire burn and cauldron bubble,
though."

"What's that?  A list?"  Laney looks over curiously at Greg's collection. "Hi, Sylvia.  Open, locks, whoever knocks."

Edit:
That should be Rob's collection.

Alicia greets Colin warmly. "Hey."

She quickly tries to change the subject. "Sylvia and I are trying to track down who's behind the Love Goo and the Hate perfume. Mr. Heep's got a pile of folders on the stuff for you, but I can't read Geek."

"Then we usually need Donnie, but I can give it a look. Endless memory for useless things and all that jazz."

Alicia nods noncommittally at the mention of Donnie. "Okay."

She gestures at Colin as she remembers another fact. "Oh, hey, did you catch my text message about how the box you got from the theater's a dead end? Seems it's just some sort of sound-cancellation thing, or whatever it is that Mr. Heep called it. So maybe somethin' else caused people to break down. And considerin' what we're dealin' with, I'm bettin' it's chemical."

"Whitney provided the box for a reason."  She still squints at Rob's printouts, without a glance at Alicia.

John sits down.  "If your father were a Gargoyle there would be a good chance you'd turn into one at night.  At least that's the way it works in the one reported case of a human and Gargoyle cross.  Well, assuming your mother is a human?"  he looks up at Alicia, "I'm sorry if that's an assumption I shouldn't have made."


OOC:No one broadcasting anything beyond the realm of normal teen angst.

Alicia rolls her eyes in chagrin. "I know that. I was a stupid little kid, ok?"

She half-jokingly adds, "And watch what you say about my mom."


Alicia graces Laney with another annoyed look. "Yeah, but it doesn't have anythin' to do with what we're lookin' for according to Mr. Heep, OK?"

"Doesn't it? 

"Why don't you ask ___ if he's seen anything...weird?"  Laney utters the name of a student from the list.  For whatever reason, the combination of letters appealed to her.

"Hi."  She flashes a dazzling smile up at John.  "This evening, alright?"

"Sure.  Sounds good."  John says as he begins to work on his lunch.


"Granted, if you were the offspring of a Gargoyle-Human cross and a human, then all bets are off.  the diffusion could produce any number of results."

Donnie bumbles up, balancing his tray on a stack of three books, all centered around the concepts of aerodynamics, gravity, and flight. "Are we talking about gargoyles the rare species or gargoyles the TV show. That show rocked."

"The species I thought."  John says.

"Both, but which conversation depends on who you are." Rob says offering a Cheeto.  "Cheese flavored crunch?"

Sammy sits and colors in designs on face templates, and looks at designs sketched by some of the makeup queens.  "Let's try this one," she says.  "I like it.  It's not weird or scary, but it doesn't look entirely human either."  It reminds me a little bit of the picture Colin drew of my grandfather.  Something about the eyes and the cheeks.  She tilts her head slightly.  "And my hair needs to go a little lighter, a little blonder than it already is.  So it looks airy.  Do you think that'll work?"

"No, you sneaky bastard. I will not take a cheese flavored crunch. They are your tools to control us people whi like cheetos and I will no longer fall under your evil manipulative ways."

He sits down and breathes deep. "Ahhhh. Thanks for the recipe, Laney, a concoction added to crushed eucalyptus leaves and ground to a paste worked wonders on the cold last night."  

Alicia just looks at Laney and then at John, in complete and utter confusion. "Am I missing something here?"

Alicia catches that interchange and a lightbulb flashes momentarily in her head.


Alicia rolls her eyes again, but finds herself stealing a speculative glance at John, aware of his interest in parahuman physiology. He's just ribbing me. Right? the thought can't help but nestle in her mind.

Laney blinks confusedly, but smiles through a tangle of black curls that rolled down across her face.  "Um...You're welcome?"

Rob taps Alicia's arm.  "I almost speak Laneyese.  Ask Billy Peterson if he's seen anything odd in the AP Chem class.  Which means Billy isn't probably a suspect, but he's seen something that might be useful." 

Sylvia bolts to her feet, ready to rush into action, and lets out a sharp whimper.  Ow, her knee.  Ow, her everything.  She gives Donnie a quick kiss.  "Off to save the world.

"Dave?" she says.  "Where might I find Billy Peterson at this hour?"

"Oh-kay," Alicia replies, her confusion only slightly abated. She looks through the list to the indicated name. "Okay," she repeats with more confidence, "will do."

She smiles brightly at Rob. "Thanks!"


"Uh uh, sister," Alicia warns. "You're not doing this one solo. I'm coming along," she says, in a tone brooking no argument.

Donnie looks at Sylvia and Alicia as if they had just announced they were aliens. "Since when did you two become the Dynamic Duo?"

Alicia gives Donnie an comically exasperated look. "What? You didn't get the memo?" she asks, mischief dancing in her face.

Dave takes his phone out and sends a text message.  "I'll let you know.  If he's not in here he has second lunch.  So he's in a class now."

Sylvia eyes her seat.  But she's come too far.  There's no turning back now.  "I'll tell you all about it later," she tells Donnie.

Donnie gives Sylvia the query-spock-eye but lets it pass as he crunches into his ham-and-sunchips sandwich, liberally dosed with mustard. "It's nice to taste again." he says around a mouthful as he pops the tab on his first coke of the day.

Despite her challenge, Alicia is willing to have Sylvia take the lead. "So, what's the best way to go? Is it easier if you do the talking, or me? Any ideas for a cover story?"

"Depends on where Dave says he is.  If it's a classroom, I'll just look through the window in the door and shake his brain to see what falls out.  If he's out in the open, anything goes."

She pauses.  "I would not denigrate your skills or character by suggesting this is all you're good for, but if we're going to do this the friendly, polite way, you could rattle him with your feminine wiles, ask him questions, and I'll see what pops into his head.  Otherwise I have to dig mostly at random."

Alicia shrugs. "Hey, no prob. We all got our strengths." She winks conspiratorially.

"Any suggestions as to what would be good trigger questions? I could go the direct route, mention the Love Goo or the theater incident, and ask him if he knows anything about it, but I don't know if that's too pushy."

She ponders aloud. "Or I could make up some story about hearing there's someone messing with a drug lab and asking if he has a lead on who it could be. I probably have enough of a 'street' rep that asking to score some drugs won't sound too outlandish."

She shakes her head. "Naw, we don't know enough about this guy to know what buttons to push. Maybe you can do, like a preliminary read, to give us some ideas, I mean."

A couple of minutes later Sylvia gets a text from Dave Auto-Shop.

The Auto Shop building is across the street from the back doors of the school.  It's next to the tennis courts.

[New thread?]

Yes, a 1-1 please and I'm on my way out the door so can you start it?

As Sylvia heads out the lunchroom, Alicia pauses to turn back to the table.

"Rob? Ree-is called me this morning. He's down with, like, some yukky stomach flu and can't make the dance. If you don't mind being the pinch-hitter, give me a call after school, OK?"

And she rushes off in Sylvia's wake.

Hearing something close to her own name, Laney looks up.  The commotion and departure of the others has her mind every bit as twisted as the apple stem she'd been removing from its core.

"Huh?"

"What time tonight?"  John asks.

Laney looks from Rob to John and back again, stammering, "Time? I um...You...If I...Um...after dinner? Like seven? They'd be open, right?  For the students.  It's a weekday.  Is that alright? Or do you want to...um..."

John puts his finger to her lips, "Seven then.  You want to drive out there?"

Rob nodded as Alicia left, and Dave taps his arm.  "she might not know that your head bobbing like that is an answer."

Rob pulls his phone from his pocket and sends her a text.

Yes!  Will get tiks 2day. 

Cross-eyed she looks down at his hand.  Then nods.  Then shakes her head.  Then blinks up at John.  Then says, "Can you?  I can meet at your house.  Would that be alright?  You don't have to if you don't want to."  

"Seven then, at my place.  We'll go from there."

Rob hops up and leaves to go buy tickets to the dance.

Greg looks at Dave, "Didn't see that coming."

"Me either."  Dave replies.

An easy problem solved and being surrounded by giggly friends makes Sammy feel better than she did.  She throws herself into helping Heather and Janie figure out what to do with their own costume makeup.

Later in the day, he gets a text message back from Alicia:


K thx. don wory about costume just dress nice. u got a ride or do u need one? thx again ur sweet :-*


The message includes Alicia's address and a time, if Rob indicates he has transportation.

Can get one from Dave in VanGo, if that's ok?

Sorry again. This should have happened hours ago, but of course I come back and GG crashes on me. Go figure.


"By the pricking of my thumbs, something wicked this way comes." Colin says conspiratorially.


Colin's eyes glaze over for a moment, as if he was lost in his thoughts.

"Of course!" he almost shouts, when he comes back from wherever he was. "You people should always double check on me. It looks like I suffer from a severe case of dumb. Whitney made the box to smooth out the noise from the air conditioning, which kicks in as the third movie starts. It wasn't the noise, it was the air. The sound was a better explanation of why John was so much affected though. It's probably something that messes his chemistry up. We should go back to the college theater, and check for traces of what we might call the teary goo in the air ducts. I'll ask Sarah if she wants to come too. Thank you, Laney."

John raises a hand, "I don't want to be a stick in the mud, but the effects were really pronounced when the door was open, and abated when it was closed.  I'm still leaning towards sound.  Since nothing has ever made me sick before.  It happened awful fast to be a gas."

sure. hes going too, rite? u got my addy. let me know wen u want to pik me up.

((I'm having terrible internet problems all around this evening. The internet gods were punishing me for the posting spree earlier today. Deepest sympathies.))



Laney giggles until her ears turn pink.





"I didn't get sick until you opened the door, either.  And we didn't clear the air, so to speak.  Didn't everyone feel better after the movie was shut off?  Um...Check both?"

"Yeah, all the more reason to go back to theater and take another look around. The effect didn't start until the third movie, and the same for the air conditioner. Just a coincidence?"

He turns to Laney, as if she had the answer to every doubt.

Laney looks to Colin, as if she expects the same of him.

"If it was something in the air, then it would have continued after the movie was turned off.  And the AC was still running then."  John says looking back and forth between Colin and Laney.

"So um...seven?  Or after you regroup with the earth-bound people to go crime fighting Saturday?"  This she asks of John while contemplating Colin - or something behind Colin.  Anyone's guess.

"Laney and I will be out there later tonight.  Or we could do it this weekend."

>chawmp-crunch-crunch< "Perhaps it was something attached to one of the speakers externally as opposed to in the projection booth. That way it could be easily attached/detached without the high likelihood of a worker walking in."

"We should still check the theatre again.  And talk to Whitney. What if the A/C would've stopped it? Anything's plausible.  Need to know how certain he is of...Speakers? Then it's long gone.  Does it have to be the same person who made the goo, or do we want it to be?"  Closing her eyes, Laney rests her head right on the edge of the table.  The more she tries to untangle this mess, the worse it gets.  Too many unknowns. 

"Crime-fighting?!" Colin says, slightly frowning.



"Long gone is not necessarily a problem." he says, still contemplating.


"If it's chemical, I'd bet on them being the same person. Or people. If it's sound, probably someone else."

He scratches his chin.

"The love goo guys already struck at a theater once. But... after the big incident here at school, someone was arrested. If they were just stupid guys aiming for a colossal prank, they'd still have got the... substance from someone. Vandross got the robots from his close friends. Maybe we could get a lead hearing those guys again, or at least figuring out who they used to hang with."

"It's just an experiment."  John says, "And I'm making sure to take back up."

Laney keeps her head down, turns her face so the reddening skin is conveniently hidden, and mumbles something that sounds like "sorry."

Colin's frown turns into something that is still a frown but a different one.

"Am I such a party-pooper that whenever people go for an adventure they feel the need to either keep it hidden from me or rush to explain how they're sensible about it? Or is it because of Leland Palmer?"

He sighs, and goes on.

"I was just curious, that's all."

"You were the one that argued about not going off crime fighting alone, weren't you?  I didn't want to make a huge thing out of it, it was just an experiment."  John says, "I wasn't keeping it from you or making excuses.  Sorry that's the impression you got."

From beneath a masse of hair, Laney's low voice streams in a rushed, apologetic tone, "I'm sorry.  I thought I'd ask you and Sarah when they got back from flying lessons. Who's Leland Palmer? John said Sammy and Sylvia would help. But it's not crime fighting.  Just an experiment, like he said.  I wasn't hiding because of you.  I just didn't want to talk about it because it might be a waste of everyone's time.  I'm sorry."

Sarah finds a seat nearby and sips at a coke.  She waves. 

Laney smooths her hair back from her face and sits upright again, partly to smile weakly at Sarah, and partly because she was positive her lunch just transformed into jagged stones within her stomach which required her to be ready to run to the girl's restroom any second.

"They're doing a costume thing tonight.  When's that over?"

They were making less sense today than they normally do.

More than a little disturbed that those seated at the table simultaneously began reading their text messages rather than speak to her, Laney rises, mumbles something about being late for History, and wanders away. 

John watches her go, and resists the urge to get up and talk to her.

Colin sighs, and his shoulders fall.

"No, I was trying to argue about not making people feel left out, but it's not important now."


"No problem. As I said, I was just curious."



Colin shifts uncomfortably, and that's when his phone buzzes. He turns to wave at Sarah, and when he turns back, Laney is walking away. He guiltily looks at her, at Sarah and at John alternately, biting his lower lip.

In the end, he goes sit beside Sarah.

"Of course I'll be there this evening. I'll try to talk to Laney. She could be of help too."

"How are you, wondergirl? Need any help with the costume or anything?"

Sarah grins and says, "Nope, I've delegated.  Are you coming over for nachos and crime solving?"

"Nachos and crime fighting?  Sounds like my kind of party."

Jakob ambles over to the table and takes a seat. 

"Honestly? More for crime-fighting than nachos, I'm afraid."

"Hey, Jacob! Nice to see you."

"I'll pick up a couple extra bags of nachos and some more dips," offers Sarah.  "Someone else will have to bring the clever solutions."

FRIDAY



OOC: does anyone approach Sammy about the dance with lots of people idea?


Sammy makes a point of finding Colin at lunch.  "Thank you," she says somberly, and gives him a hug.  "Blackbird found me and helped me find my way home."

In a building she shouldn’t be in, facing a closed classroom for a subject she doesn’t take, Laney sighs.   Again.  I did it again.  Hey, at least it’s during lunch.  So intently had she been worrying about the problems the US discussed, that she didn’t pay any attention to where she was going and ended up…here.  She slides to the floor to sit cross-legged against the wall across from that door.




Concentrating so hard on re-aligning herself, Laney lets out a startled yelp when she feels a vibration from her pocket.    The phone.  A telemarketer, but it gives her an idea.  She scrolls down her list of contacts, counting as she does to number 15 – today’s date:
Poison Control.  Funny.

Adding these numbers together, she pauses, musing over which name to use: Hamilton’s last name, first name, all three?  Was this his first attempt?  How many more did he expose?  He obviously doesn’t have the formula right.  What did he plan to do with these mutated people?  Train them like Pokemon?   We do have to catch them all, don’t we?  To help them before - Yep.  I’m never playing that game with Joey again. Wow.

Still, on a whim, she assigns numbers for each letter in the word Pokemon, according to their order in the alphabet, and adds them together.  For good measure, she adds the number of the classroom directly across from where she sits.  She divides this into the combined total of the telemarketer’s number and the number for Poison Control.

The number she comes up with is ____.
This many are contaminated?  Maybe.  Always maybe.  Never for certain.  Pointless.  This is stupid.  Where am I? 

Tucking her drawing pad (She’d been using it more and more for these kinds of purposes.) and phone away, Laney pulls herself up to stand and head towards the cafeteria.




http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1995137/
1d20 → [20] = (20)

Alicia will either text Sammy with the idea or mention it in passing. She seems too busy to stay and chat at the lunch table.

OK.  Before Alicia can skate off, Sammy contritely says "Thanks for helping me last night.  I'm sorry I scared you."

Alicia shrugs, looking slightly uncomfortable. "Hey, no problem. You obviously got back safe. We still gotta have a talk and I got something to give you."

She runs off before Sammy can get anything more from her.

Probably a punch in the nose for scaring her so much.  Sammy shrugs.  I probably deserve it.

Colin smiles, and rubs his thumb on her collarbone, near her tattoo.

"You're... well... my sister, sort of, from a certain point of view. It was the least I could do. Elrod was already planning to fly there and put the national guard on the move to find you, or something like that. You only needed a nudge in the right direction to find each other. You'd do that and much more for me."

He looks at her with a concerned expression.

"Would you like to talk about that?"

Sammy looks around a bit uncomfortably.  "Not now.  Not here.  My problem is too private."

"Whenever.  You know where to find me. Are you ready for tonight?"

Sammy nods enthusiastically and pulls out a marked up photograph of her face.  "Yep.  I'm going to paint my face like this."  Some of the lines and shapes sketched around the eyes echo but do not duplicate the lines and shapes in the tattoo on her collarbone.  This and the other makeup touches will combine to emphasize the resemblance between Sammy and her djinn grandfather.  She's going to look not quite human, but still very much like herself.  "I think it'll look good when I'm done.  I'll look like something from another realm."

Colin takes the photo and studies it a bit.

"It will look good. Just don't add too much shadow in this area." he says, waving around her cheekbones. "Be delicate."

Sammy nods.  "I was thinking that too.  I'll be delicate."  She puts the photo away.  "I used that drawing you made as an inspiration.  That and this."  She looks down at the tattoo.  "So if tonight, I look like something that stepped out of that space that exists just past the corner of your eye, its all your fault."

She smiles at him.  "How about you?  Are you ready?"

He smiles brightly.

"Yeah. I've been helping the people in the metalworking classes. They did the big part of the job, but I helped with design and decoration. It's a grueling job, but it's fun too. Now that everything's ready, I can't wait to see the faces of the drama guys when they'll see them."

His enthusiasm for the project is contagious.  "I can't wait to see it all myself.  Hey, if we're really intending to trade dance partners tonight, save a dance for me, ok?  I owe you  for helping me last night."

"You don't owe me anything, but ok, I will."

"Well, at the very least, let me dance with you for your birthday!"  She fumbles in her backpack.  "I was going to save these for tonight, but you might as well have them now.  Then none of it will get lost at the dance."  She pulls out two small bundles.  One is wrapped in paper and has something soft in it.  The other is small and seems to be inside of some kind of cylindrical tube.

The gloves gather Colin's immediate enthusiasm, as he wraps his arms around her and kisses (very brotherly) on her cheek for them and for remembering.

The totem pole leaves him more perplexed, as he takes signs very seriously. He studies it for a moment, oblivious to the rest of the world, before remembering Sammy is there and thanking her for it as well. He tries to turn it around with a hand and rolling up his sleeve with the other, as if he wanted to compare its design with his tattoos.

Sometimes a souvenir reproduction totem pole is just a souvenir reproduction totem pole.  Sammy spotted this little souvenir, featuring a bird that was black with patterns of red and blue dots painted on it, and thought of Colin when she saw it.  The blackbird helped her out the night before, so it was prominent in her thoughts.

It's probably not magic, but it makes Colin wonder if he could make one of his own. It's been quite some time since he tried carving wood.