[Arc 1: Class 2-C] A New Day Dawns

[Mysticsage]

The three of you manage to just dodge the ball as it explodes burning you all slightly but causing no real harm to any of you.  Brian is by far the closest laying on the ground close to the girl. Kevin I somewhere in the middle and was hit the most by the explosion due to the ball bouncing before it detonated. Roman is at the back having anticipated the movement and was completely missed as he moves back and forth.

Alice is greatly displeased by this pouting as she continues to move. ?You boy are all the same! Idiots! Can?t even disappear without causing more problems!..? Hopping back Alice is starting to have notably labored breathing.

?Not only do I have to deal with being almost completely invisible and go unnoticed by all you stupid boys, but then that dog Jude has to go and join the stupid gardening club and end up right where we were practicing tennis and cause a huge scene. It was Humiliating!!!? she continued having a temper tantrum stopping her feet the black Aura flaring up once again.

?I even asked my supposed friend for help in my time of need and you know what she did she blew me off, and did nothing!? Taking another shaky breath heavy with anger she becomes composed again.

?Well now I've finally decided to get my own justice since I've gone so unnoticed in life. Don?t you think you could just burst into tears after hearing such a sad and forlorn story. What is the Heroine of the story to do but fight back?? She smiled at you all the aura around her still going strong.

[Throndir]

As the explosion calmed down, all that was running through Brian's head was the fact the girl couldn't seem to control her emotions at all. Brian figured that the girl probably didn't think that life was being fair to her, but then again, when is life fair? He had went through his own share of troubles, but it's not like he ever took it out on random people.

"Why don't you just talk to him then! If you don't like something about life, do something about it." Brian yelled. "Don't just go around swinging balls at random people. Believe me that ain't fighting back!"

[spoiler]
Attempt to take the racquet again.
[dice]Rolled 2d6 : 4, 3, total 7[/dice]
[/spoiler]

[Mysticsage]

Brian managed to get a hold of the racket as he stepped in close.

?What do you think your doing you stupid boy!? She screamed negative energy crackling around them both. It felt like he had just grabbed on to a lightning rod in the middle of a storm. His muscles went ridged from the pain he could no longer let go even if he wanted to. However, it seemed that the surprise had caused her emotions to go so out of control she was losing herself completely. And thus the pair wrestled for moments. The girl not strong enough to physically over power Brian and he unable to do anything but bare with the energy coursing through him not to die

?YOU CAN?T HAVE THIS! I WON?T LET YOU TAKE MY JUSTICE FROME ME!? she screamed

Then in her haste she actually slipped causing them both to fumble and fall Alicia on top of him kissing the racket between them. The moment lasted only a second Brain barely conscious of the event happening around him. In her shock she actually let go of her prized instrument.

?WHAT THE HELL ARE YO-!?,As soon as she did however her eyes went blank all negative energy instantly dissipating her unconscious form falling on top of his. Then rolling to the side

The air was quite for the first in a long time since the fight had began and then small cracks began forming within the shell that had been your cage and then shattered into what seemed to be dust. You had managed to stop her rampage although accidently it had seemed rather affective. You notice however that there is still a bit of energy burning around her like a dying flame it helplessly sputtered then burst to life yet again. For a moment it burned brighter then it ever had before a sickly dark purple seemingly centered on the girl. The flames began to concentrate into a single flaming spout where her heart was meant to be burning bright.  As you were forced to shield your eyes for a moment you could almost see a ghoulish face from within the flames.

Then it snuffed out entirely as the girl levitated like a rag doll in the air then fell with a thud, an orb of that purple black energy remain floating right above her heart. Perhaps that had been the source of the girl?s strange abilities? Before you could study it further however it zoomed off like a comet into the night sky. You may have one this battle by shear tenacity but you all had a sinking suspicion that this fight had only been the preshow to something much bigger. However at the moment you have the unconscious bodies of two of your classmates to deal with at the moment.

[Linwelin]

Roman could only watch as the shouting and tug-of-war ensued over the racket. He pumped his arm in an expression of success as he saw that Brian was winning. Yes! We almost have her weapon! Just little more and-

Then the unexpected happened. They slipped, and tangled with each other on the ground, accidentally kissing through the weave of the racket. Roman, forgetting the situation for a split second, blushed. Ah...that's...well... Then he recovered from his momentary stupor, realizing that the both of them were unconscious after she rolled off of him.

"Bohze Moi! Are both of you alright!?" He shouted, running toward them. He had to come to a sliding halt, however, as the girl's negative energy exploded, focused blindingly, and flew away. Oi...can this get any weirder... He shook his head. Nevermind, I don't want that answer.

The good news was that whatever was causing the outburst had disappeared. The bad news? They had to get out of here before they were found with all this damage around them. ALL of them. Roman quickly moved beside the two, seeing if he could wake them, attempting to wake Brian, then Alicia. "Come, come! Wake! We need to get out of here!" What worried him was that they wouldn't wake. He could see how taxing the energy was during the tug-of-war, as well as when it left Alicia's body. "Please be alright. Please be ALIVE!"

He then began checking pulses out of jittery paranoia. What else could be worse than unconscious classmates than DEAD classmates. No one's dying on me, we still need to figure out what happened! At the very least, he laid the two out in a relaxed position. After he was certain they were still alive, he relaxed a little, but a sudden thought occurred to him, followed by a smirk.

"I hope neither of you remember moments before you passed out...that would be...awkward.

[Throndir]

The goal was the racket in her hands. Without that, she wouldn't be throwing those damn exploding tennis balls at them. Though when he accomplished his task, the results weren't as what he expected. When he had grabbed it, a sharp pain erupted from the racket, spreading from his fingertips throughout his entire body. His muscles locked as his grip tightened on the racket as an intense pain overwhelmed him. It was unbearable, and even though his eyes started to feel heavy, that only made him want to fight against it more; he's not going to let some crazy girl defeat him or cause any more chaos.

"YOU CAN?T HAVE THIS! I WON?T LET YOU TAKE MY JUSTICE FROME ME!"

But then she had tripped, and Brian watched helplessly as he himself fell down as well from her movement. The pain was already too much, and Brian was already starting to lose consciousness; he wasn't able to side step out of the way in time. Before he knew it, their lips met; a kiss between the tennis racket between them.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YO-!"

Before Brian could process what just happened, he had blacked out, with the soft sensation on his lips before losing consciousness.

[Mysticsage]

Roman quickly can see that everyone is in fact still alive and breathing despite whatever happen. After a few minutes of fusing over them there does not seem like much he can do except wait for something to happen.

Brian is the first of the two to stir awake after the struggle. Head pounding and still slightly feeling the affects of whatever occurred. He felt weak and exhausted his energy almost completely gone. Memories of what happened fresh in his mind. Alicia laying only inches away.

She would wake up minutes later with a groan of her own. "What... happened?" [/color] Sitting up and rubbing her head and looking around she seemed to have a look of near complete bewilderment.

" Why am I still at school? practice is over right?" [/color] Then she saw the three of you and visibly reddens. "Wha..what are you guys looking at?" [/color] Her memories of the past hour seem completely gone with that aura and ratchet, but is none the worse for wear-unlike Brian.

[Linwelin]

"Ah, Brian, good, good. You did it, you DID IT! Haha. Just lay there, you seem exhausted. Everyone is well, and-ah."

It was then that Alicia began to wake as well, and her timid attitude took him off guard. THIS is the girl that just tried to kill us? Bohze Moi...what a day.

It took a moment to clear his surprise at the new personality. Roman had to be quick, or else they would seem awkward, and stir more suspicions. If she doesn't remember, that is good. I certainly won't jog her memory He really wanted to twiddle with the magnets in his pocket to help him think, but knew that he didn't have the time. So he winged it.

Dents in the ground...two people unconscious and possibly lacking memory...got it! I hope.

"Ah, yes, umm, three of us were running through courtyard here when stuff started falling from roof above. Seemed they had renovation materials up there and they got pushed off somehow. While avoiding it, you and Brian here collided heads. The nurse was gone for the day, so we stuck around and made sure you were both ok. Very sorry about that. Here, your racket." Roman smiles, handing her her tennis racket. "You ran well, you are in tennis club, yes? I am not the sporting type, but I do admire the dedication and ability." Finally, those classes in etiquette were paying off. There is one thing I can thank my father for, if nothing else. He only hoped the story went over.

"I think I remember seeing you earlier...your name is...Alicia, yes?"

[Linwelin]

[spoiler][dice]Convince roll:  1d6 : 1, total 1[/dice][/spoiler]

[Throndir]

"Ah, Brian, good, good. You did it, you DID IT! Haha. Just lay there, you seem exhausted. Everyone is well, and-ah."

"The hell I did. I didn't just...?" Brian shook his head as he replied to his classmate, Roman, he was sure his name was. He ached all over, touching the racket did its number, so with that in mind he simply kept laying on the field, looking straight up into the sky. The scene was still playing through his head, and he didn't really know what to make of it. When he heard Alicia start to groan and wake up, Brian dusted off the dirt on his pants and stood up. For some reason he didn't quite want to look so defenseless with the crazy energy-ball serving girl waking up. He eyed her carefully; there was no visible evil aura to be found. Whatever it was the affected her, it was probably gone.

He didn't quite trust the fact completely, but he held out his hand for her to use to stand up.

"Sorry about earlier." Brian said, his eyes averting her as he held his hand out. For some reason he couldn't bring himself to look her in the eyes, and it made Brian feel a bit uneasy.

[spoiler]To placate her
[dice]Rolled 1d6 : 4, total 4[/dice]

I thought this was based on 2d6 rolls? So here's another roll in case it was needed
[dice]Rolled 1d6 : 5, total 5[/dice][/spoiler]

[Lance]

This was just too exciting. To think that overly pubescent girls held such power! He should just push some over himself, if only for the energy balls. "Hahahaha," the young man couldn't help but burst out laughing even as he lay flat on his back over the cold, hard ground. But this was just too much fun! But then...

"Why don't you just talk to him then! If you don't like something about life, do something about it." The delinquent amongst them yelled. "Don't just go around swinging balls at random people. Believe me that ain't fighting back!"

...What?

Kevin jumped up just as the delinquent fired off his return speech, and in one fluid motion drew himself fully upright. He narrowed his eyes at the other boys words. "Don't just go around swinging balls at random people," he says? Where was the fun in THAT?

"Don't let that past guy or even this guy get to you!" The young man immediately countered. "If the world's at fault then just change the world! What's it matter if you got to swing a ball or two-or three or four-at random people just to make your feelings known. Better out than in, no matter the situation."

Kevin smiled.

"So KEEP swinging those balls!"

"-And preferably not at ME!"

Moments later, however, and it seemed as if his words fell on deaf ears. Unfortunately, as their struggle continued, no further energy balls were forthcoming from Ms. Pubescent. The young man visibly sighed at the disappointing result and only watched half-amused as their tennis match became a wrestling match.

"Well, it was fun while it lasted," he finally said when the racket was finally removed and the energy visibly faded from the young girl. Kevin made his way over, only stopping to pick up a small branch that was laying in the debris. He then proceeded to poke the corpse-like object before him.

"Think she's dead?" Kevin asked no one in particular.

Looking around though, he found that one of his partners-in-crime had also been struck with the same idea and was even now asking the unmoving forms to be alright in a polite manner. And in no time at all, his prayer was answered! Ah, the power of "please," Kevin thought dryly, whilst simultaneously waving at the waking forms with branch in hand.

He then proceeded to patiently listen to the foreign student's tale which, for him, was a feat. However, unlike his compatriots, he felt no need to use a lie. After all, why tell a lie when the truth was far more interesting. Kevin then clapped his hands half a beat after the delinquent made his apologies.

"Actually, what really happened was..."

[spoiler=Actions, Oh Glorious Actions]
Roll To Tell The Truth?
[dice]Rolled 2d6 : 4, 2, total 6[/dice]
[/spoiler]

[Mysticsage]

Alicia looks at the outstretched hand that Brian was offering she could feel her cheeks reddening for some unknown reason. Whatever it was about these guys it set her hair on end, andthe obvious lies the others were spewing she was not buying it.

"I think I remember seeing you earlier...your name is...Alicia, yes?" The foriegn kid knew her name then it struck her the boy that was holding his hand out was a guy from her class. She nodded at the boys question and then stood using Brian for help. These guys were creeping her out and the fact that the one guy was not looking her in the eye made her weary. At the same time she had yet to let go of Brian's hand and she felt her heart flutter. Beating rapidly she somehow couldn't take her eyes off him. Ignoring the other boys she continued "I'm Alicia Oloski... thanks for helping me." she blushed even redder. Whatever happened she was on edge but Brian made her more flustered then afraid.

"Am I in love?" she whipered to herself. Pulling away she couldn't tell exactly what happened but she imagined Brian having stood over her like Snow White's prince charming. "Thanks for helping me she murmerd still not sure what to make of the other two. Had they just stummbled upon there special moment and now was trying to ruin it for them? That must have been it they were nothing more then ruffians probably the ones who tried to knock her out and then Brian had to fight them off! Oh how lovely he mussed have saved her by braweling with them then after betting them down he must have took pity on them and had not killed them for her sake. She would just smile and nod so as to not embaress her strong and smakrt hero! She wouldn't let that happen not when she was feeling pretty good even amoment before. In fact ever since she had woken up despite the headache it felt like a huge wieght had been lifted from her, she felt as light as a bird.

Then she saw that the sun was nearly completely set "I'VE GOT TO GET HOME!"   She turned quickly and egain running off with a simple wave she would have to get the truth of how heroic and valient Brian was for her later.

[Linwelin]

"Well then..." Roman said as the girl ran off hurriedly. "Hopefully there is not much more ill will to come from that one." From the way she had stared him down, Roman didn't even believe his own words. The stares given to Brian were MUCH different however. And he had a general idea of what they were about...but she couldn't have been conscious...could she?

"Brian, did you notice how she acted around you, as opposed to us? I feel as though she may had her own thoughts about what may have happened...do you remember anything from before you went unconscious?" Roman was honestly glad the girl was gone, and desperately wanted to get home himself. But first, he had to make sure his friends are well. He worried about what Alicia would do without their knowing. She seemed to lean on the dramatic side of things...

[Throndir]

"Well..." Brian said as he shrugged. He didn't know what to think, it wasn't any sort of position he had ever been in at all. "Other than exploding tennis balls, miasma-like shit, and crazy girls? Nope. No idea Roman." He replied.

Though Brian said that, he did recall grabbing the tennis racket from the girl, with the ensuring shock hurting like hell. He didn't quite exactly remember what had happened after. They both fell down from the shock, muscles tensed, and consciousness fading away. He did remember seeing Alicia's face clearly, and some sort of soft sensation... He shook his head as he ignored the weird sensation. Stuff didn't make sense anyways. It was probably the freaking electricity that made his body tingle. He turned towards Roman and the peculiar Kevin.

"Yeah, so what's your version of the story?" He gave them both a look like he didn't really want to know. That said, he found his eyes wandering to where Alicia was still running away from them. It might have been nice if she stayed longer.

Wait. What the hell am I thinking?

[Mysticsage]

New rules
[spoiler]Conversation battles or CB's take place whenever arguing with, persuading, or coning npcs. CB's work like regular combat except only social abilities and weaknesses apply. Entering into a CB has the added opportunity to raise or lower relationship points depending on the situation. Look to the relationship point rules for more details.[/spoiler]

It has been two weeks since school had started and weird things started occurring around campus. Unfortunately things seemed to only be getting stranger and stranger each passing day. The following days after the nighttime battle you feel the same electric energy in the air again each morning as you did before on that first day. It seemed to getting stronger each morning as you woke up then began to dissipate to the point that it was completely unnoticed by the time you would arrive at school.

Your dreams have been filled with glimpses of a hooded woman with blue hair standing in darkness. Though you can never make out her face in detail her mouth moves as if she is attempting to say something to you but she has no sound. If you attempt to approach her then she becomes a stream of butterflies, which float away just before you awake.


The oddities and weird events around town also seem to be increasing though no one seems to take any notice. What little traffic there was coming through the three towns seemed to be lessening everyday. At first nothing seemed different though you heard more complaints from those who worked outside the local area seeming more reluctant then ever to leave or drive back home once they had left. Then those simply driving through would stop in the middle of the street as if in a daze before coming to their senses and driving on. This has gotten worse however within these few days as the only hotel in town is full to bursting with wayward travelers often city workers who have decided to drop everything to live here. What is worse those from the town who were on the outside when this shift happened refuse to come home. Leaving some families broken, houses abandoned and children on their own. Traffic seems to be almost completely driving around the area as if there is some kind of invisible barrier. One of the most noticeable affects is that the small chain stores and market are already starting to run low since there have only a few deliveries to restock and those that came unloaded there goods and have not left to return to the city.

The three towns simply do not have the capacity to deal with the sudden influx of souls. Many adults now are wondering around looking for work and opportunities that simply are not available or had been wanted.

The school at the moment seems to be the center of the strange behavior along with the bulge in transfer students that has caused the administration to take drastic measures. The sudden increase in student population has forced the school to close down many of its larger facilities so they can be converted into more classrooms. Spaces like the cafeteria, Gym, and Library have been sealed off from student use completely. This has meant that all lunches must now be brought from home or around the school and eaten in the classroom for now. To limit congestion in the halls between classes the school has also changed its policies so that the teachers now are the ones who now change classrooms instead of students Many of the school clubs have also taken responsibility of maintaining control with such few staff while in minor ways.

There has also been an increase in students suddenly fainting out of nowhere while on campus. The administration blames it on poor ventilation in the over crowded classrooms and have said that the problem will be resolved by the end of winter break. For now the nurse has had to resort to asking help from the health and wellness club whenever things get overwhelming. Likewise, the fledgling disciplinary committee has recently asked to take up the responsibility of keeping some of the peace between students when teachers are distracted.

The clubs seem to be going well and have started growing in popularity. People are falling in their roles for the most part with their activities. Because of the increase in students the time to choose clubs has also been extended for the new comers. Not everything is Rosie however, people are still getting signed up for random clubs by some group of trouble makers and the staff have yet to stop them with how busy they have become just keeping the school going. There have currently eleven proven cases of people signing up or forcing others into other clubs for one reason or another. There is no telling the actual number of affected students as some are using the student uproar over the bullies who go unpunished to do the exact same thing for their own reasons.

Individual Changes

Kevin
Abridged Version
[spoiler]-1 infamous
-1 boorish
+1 connected
+1 Gambler
[/spoiler]
Your school life has been focused around what has been happening around school. Using the reporting club as an excuse you have managed to gain access to many little secret that people in high school attempt to hide. While people find your antics a little disconcerting you found that you can usually through them off guard into saying things they would not normally tell others. You are attempting to figure out what exactly is going on around town, and it seems that the other kids in the newspaper club seem more perceptive then most about the changes. Though they only have a hunch that something is going on they have no idea what.

As for the Table Top Club Cyrus found a room in the basement of the school next to the boiler that seems perfect for an underground game room until you all can find a better place. He have plans to break the space into multiple sections one where students can compete in strategy and other games and another side meant for gambling.

Roman
Abridged Version
[spoiler]-1 awkward
-1 compulsion (experimenting)
-1 quirk (magnets)
+1 inventor
+1 knowledge (rocks/minerals)[/spoiler]

Your brother Pyotr had come to check on you when he got a message from someone in your father's organization that was tracking your computer use that you went off grid. He arrived just a few days before people lost their mass migrated to town or did not return home. Your small apartment that was only really meant for one person thus has a second permanent resident. The shift in him was almost too obvious in many ways. He started complaining about his current living conditions in his college as soon as he stepped in the door. He also seemed suddenly concerned with you living on your own in a town like this. A fact, which he had never been overly bothered with before. He had always been consumed with not drawing unneeded attention by living together, or has his studies being interrupted. As he has stayed with you his priorities seemed to steadily shift without him even noticing. He still has great ambitions and a love for studying buy that has taken a secondary role. For now he seems to have instantly fallen in love with the town. He also has quickly dead set in moving in with you taking up what spare space you have with what little things he called in before the traffic really died out. He called a college buddy who drove him a hand full of things and now he is stuck in town as well. So for now he has only the bare necessities he needs almost completely forgetting or not caring about what was left behind.

Your brother was not the only one to find her way to the sleepy countryside looking for you.  A girl with blonde hair and a determined glint in her eyes found herself on the opposite side of the barrier. Despite the feelings of discomfort she managed to force herself to enter passed the invisible barrier after it had already gained full strength. Nothing was going to stop her from she was going to marry not even her would be husband. She is currently somewhere in town and cannot leave though she does not want to.

Your school life has been going pretty well the files you managed to grab off of that mysterious hard drive before it fried itself and your computer seem to have gone over swimmingly with the research club. The data seemed to include schematics for mechanized androids of some kind, a method for easy genetic sequencing, and all kinds of advanced weapons, and transportation. What looked like years worth of research had been stored on that drive, however everything had almost completely been destroyed when the firewall had activated. It will take a lot of time and work to fill in the gaps if you wanted to use it. And there is no way William will let the data go since you had to e mail it to him before your computer died. He has been analyzing the data almost nonstop since the day you sent it to him. He is constantly thinking up little experiments that the club would be capable of performing to further what you have found. He is currently interested in the genetic sequencing, and it would take some work to change his focus but not impossible.

The geology club is also in full swing. Though you have spent as much time talking about treasure hunting as you have rocks. You guys found maps of the entire area. Including topographical maps that look relatively old. The question becomes what to do with them. Your club mates all the while are making up fairy tails of what could be hidden away deep under ground. Some one had joked that perhaps that there were secret ruins somewhere under the school. You had all laughed at the joke the idea that something underneath the school was ridiculous. Otherwise you guys spent your time understanding stones and their properties. Things like gold and diamond that were more valuable to mine. Discovering a new ore or a huge vane of gold was another one everyone in the group only dreamed of.

Other then school and home who have noticed a number of interesting things in the passing days since you got the shock from your computer. The most obvious thing is that your blonde hair slowly grew lighter and lighter over the last two weeks until eventually all your hair has become pure white. What's stranger is the strange urge the strange dreams that have invaded your sleep. Dreams that were once solely filled with thoughts of magnets are now also being filled with thoughts of experimenting with science. You find that thinking of experiments that William is suggesting more and more absorbing. You have even thought of a few experiments of your own. The idea of experimenting over the last couple days has begun to fill your fantasies more and more. Perhaps the oddities of the research club are rubbing off on you more then you then you even have noticed.

Brian
Abridged Version
[spoiler]-1 short tempered
-1 Physical reaction (shirts/chest armor)
+1 Beauty
+1 knowledge (cooking)
[/spoiler]
You have had a tough two weeks so far. School seems to be getting crazier by the minute and your home life is no better. Both of you're parents have lost their jobs.  You are currently living with your mother hearing her yelling constantly on the phone as she tries and fails to find a new place to work. You have been left in charge of looking after your younger brother and make dinner every night.

Your sister has become busy with the Judo club she has been using you as her training dummy often when you don't expect it. Her propensity in starting fights like your own seems to be serving her well. She picked up the basics extremely quickly, and as a result you have found yourself flipped and in a grapple hold every time she is at home. Your brother has also enjoyed being a part of the gardening club at the local elementary school. You don't have much money to use on supplies but he tries his best to make it work. Everyday the club meets he has come home completely covered in dust and dirt.
As for your own school life the morale and togetherness club has only caused you trouble, the cooking club is in shambles as you all attempt to work things out in that mess of the room, and you have yet to get the memory of the absurdity of the night with the tennis girl out of your head. The morale and togetherness club is only just starting but it is already making you uncomfortable. Everyone was in butler and maid outfits by the end of the second meeting whether you wanted to or not. What's worse your certain someone must have put itching powder in your shirt at some point and strong stuff too, because ever sine that day you have felt the same intense itch across your chest and back whenever you wear a shirt for an extended period of time since then. The cooking club at least is fun in that you get to talk about the subject with like minds while trying to repair the room.

You have also noticed a number of physical changes in yourself. Any skin blemishes outside of scars like acne have almost completely vanished over the two-week period. Your teeth have also visibly brightened slightly each morning. It had been a little unsettling seeing your toothpaste becoming so yellow each morning. You also think your teeth look a little straighter each morning though you cannot be certain at this point.

[Throndir]

Already in the morning Brian's mother was already on the phone, trying to find a job. It's been the same story for awhile now, but it wasn't anything new. Brian's sister already left to school for the morning, ever since she joined the Judo club she seemed to be just a bit more excited for it. Of course Brian knew she probably wouldn't have admitted it, and mirroring his own circumstances the cooking club became a respite for him.

As he made his way to school, he couldn't help but laugh at the changes so far. To think he would be willing to go to a club in the first place as entirely new, and not something he would have considered a year ago. The damn school wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Lately there's been way too many kids, but they usually stayed away from him. As if on cue, one of the new kid started coming up to him. Probably to ask where some class was. All Brian did was stare at him, intensely, though not something he had meant to do. Fidgeting, the kid decided to change his mind, avoiding Brian completely and running over to some other student behind him.

Brian was neither late or early, entering the door just as other kids were doing so. He took his usual spot, wondering what their teacher had in mind for them next, or any of the other classmates.