ic New Arrival (IC, Open)

[Thevshi]

Main Quad, Claremont Academy

Bayview, Freedom City, New Jeresy

Monday, Febraury 18, 2019; 8:35 AM

 

The morning sun had done little to warm the cold morning air thus far as it began to shine over the open air courtyard located at the front entrance of Claremont Academy.  Veronica Danger stood toward the front entrance, not far from the grass circle in the center where stood a statute of Dr. Charles Claremont.  The teenage Danger was dressed in dark green cargo pants, a pair of well-worn hiking boots and a long sleeved brown shirt with a winter jacket over it.

 

The rest of the quad was deserted as the school was closed today.  Veronica was out waiting to meet a new student that was arriving this morning so she could provide him a tour and help get him settled in.

[Griffalo]

Tyler headed towards the quad. Though he'd been here before to meet briefly with the Principal, this was his first official day. It was the most nervous he'd been since... well, since ever. He hadn't mixed with too many other kids, and now he was in a campus full of them. At least there wouldn't be too many of them about this morning.

 

He hugged his denim jacket closer to him, only partly because of the cold. His face was round and freckled under a ratty baseball cap, and would probably look friendly if he weren't so anxious. He saw the figure ahead and corrected his course to approach her, assuming she was the one he had to meet.

[Thevshi]

Veronica

 

At the sound of approaching footsteps, Veronica turned toward the sound, a warm smile coming to her face.  "Hi, you must be Tyler."  She stated as she looked at the new arrival.  "I'm Veronica Danger, very nice to meet you."

 

"Headmistress Summers asked me to give you a tour and help you learn your way around campus today. So, do not hesitate to ask any questions along the way."  Veronica explained.  "This seemed like a good place to start, as this is basically the heart of campus.  Most classes are held in the various buildings around us."  Veronica continued, gesturing towards the buildings around them. 

[Griffalo]

Tyler

 

He was comforted somewhat by the fact that Veronica didn't seem to fear him just yet. She seemed friendly, and pretty too, which caused him to relax just a little. "Uh, yeah. That's me. I'm Tyler. It's... nice to meet you too." His body language still a little awkward, rusty with small talk.

 

"Buildings?" He emphasised the plurality. "This is going to take some getting used to. Up until now, my school was someone's garage. What kind of classes are we expected to take, while we're here?"

[Thevshi]

Veronica

 

Veronica gave a small smile.  "I can understand the novelty.  This is my first formal schooling as well.  Prior to this my education was mainly handled by my parents while we travelled the world."  The teenager offered, a trace of a French accent becoming more apparent the more she talked.

 

"There are the standard classes you would expect: math, social studies, science and the like."  Veronica then began as an answer to Tyler's question.  "There are also some more unusual required classes, such as ethics and there are quite a few electives that you will have the opportunity to pursue if you choose."

[Griffalo]

"This is... a lot to take in." He smiled, still feeling awkward. "Maybe we just start with the tour for now, let my brain absorb some of that information. How long have you been here at Claremont? I haven't really spoken all that much to Headmistress Summers, what's she like?" He fell in beside her, eyes wide to absorb the detail of his surroundings.

[Thevshi]

Veronica

 

"Sure thing."  Veronica replied with a smile when Tyler asked to focus on the tour for now.  "Things can get a bit overwhelming.  So, as I said, this is the Quad, pretty much the heart of the school during the school week."  The teenage Danger continued.  "Those two buildings are where most of the class rooms are."  She added, pointing toward the sections of the building around the Quad to the east and south.  "They are the Dr. Charles Claremont building and the Matthis Cooke wing."

 

Veronica then pointed toward a larger section of the building to the north.  "That is the auditorium where all school assemblies are held as well as some other large capacity presentations.  If you have any interest in theater, there are some students involved in that who generally put on a play or two during the year."

 

"And finally, over there are the cafeteria and the library.”  She finished, pointing over toward the wester section of the building surrounding the Quad. 

 

Veronica started walking over toward the archways between the library and the auditorium as she continued speaking with Tyler  "As for Headmistress Summers, is tends to come off very stern and authoritarian.  Everyone is certain she is a retired hero, but there are wildly varying theories as to which one."

[Griffalo]

Tyler fidgeted with his cap, something he'd been doing fairly regularly since they started talking. "So who was Matthias Cooke? I mean, I figure Dr. Claremont founded the place, but who was the other guy to get a building named after him?"

 

He looked a little awkward when she brought up theatre. "I'm sorry. I don't really... know much about theatre, or acting or performing or anything." He had the hopeful-yet-scared look of someone fervently hoping he was answering a question correctly whilst knowing that he probably hadn't.

 

"It'd be good if she was a former hero, but I suppose we should respect her privacy. Everyone has secrets, after all." 

[Avenger Assembled]

Over on a nearby bench, two girls were sitting by themselves; both bundled against the cold, one with pink-tipped hair and the other long and black. They bore a slight resemblance to each other, and of course Veronica recognized the Smith sisters readily enough. As Veronica and Tyler approached, one of them rose to her feet and headed for the new arrivals, followed quickly by her hard-faced counterpart. "Howdy!" said the girl as she waved at Veronica and Tyler. "You must be Veronica's newbie. Ah'm Judy Smith, and this is mah sister Ashley." She smiled at Tyler, her tan cheeks pink slightly from the cold, and folded her hands before her. Ashley, seemingly much less friendly, took out something from her pocket the size and shape of a large pencil eraser and waved it in Tyler's direction. Already frowning, her face darkened. Seemingly not to notice her sister's mood, Judy said cheerfully, "Welcome to Claremont!" 

[Griffalo]

"Hello." Neither of the girls seemed inclined to want to shake hands, particularly Ashley. Tyler settled, instead, for waving from the hip, his smile guarded and nervous. "I'm Tyler and... yeah, I suppose I'm the newbie."

 

He flinched slightly at Ashley waving smething in his direction, but decided to resist his natural urges and give the girl the benefit of the doubt before turning back to her sister. "Thanks, I'm... looking forward to being in a real school, for once. It's very different to homeschooling."

[Thevshi]

Veronica

 

Before Veronica could respond to Tyler's question about who Matthias Cooke was the pair ran into the Smith sisters.  The teenager was a little surprised to run into some of the other students too far from the dorms on a holiday, but many Claremont students kept rather strange schedules.  "Morning Judy, Ashely."  She said in greeting as the two approached.

 

Ashley still seemed to insist on scanning any new person she encountered, hopefully Tyler would not be too offended by the gesture.  As Judy introduced herself and her sister, Veronica gave a small smile.  “"t was not all that long ago that we three were 'newbies' as well."  The teenage Danger stated.  "We just started here back in the Fall, so you are not too far behind us."  She paused a moment, then added, "But, the pace here can be rather fast, so a few months can really feel like much longer.  You will feel like an old timer in short order yourself."

[Avenger Assembled]

"Homeschooling?" asked Judy hopefully. "Ah know lots of people who were homeschooled, back, uh, where we were from. A boarding school's a lot nicer than homeschooling, though, you'll really like it here." 

 

"Sure he will," said Ashley, who didn't sound anything like she meant it. "Judy, you and I need to talk about Damien." 

 

At the codeword, Judy blanched, looked at Tyler, and said, "Well...well, okay" She reached up and touched the gold cross she wore around her neck, eyes wide. "Ah guess Ah'll see you around, Tyler." But she didn't quite pull away, yet. 

[Griffalo]

He seemed as hopeful as Judy when she brought up homeschooling, but his face fell with Ashley's comment. Their reaction had been exactly what he'd feared, coming here. He looked down at his feet, crestfallen.

 

"Sure. I'll see you around. It was nice meeting you too." He turned his head to Veronica. "We should probably continue the tour, these ladies don't want to be bothered."

[Thevshi]

Veronica

 

Veronica frowned slightly at Ashley's comment and Judy's reaction to it.  The teenage Danger had known almost immediately about the nature of Tyler's abilities, but had not let that influence her impression of the teenager. 

 

"Sure, there is quite a bit more to see."  Veronica replied when Tyler suggested they continue the tour.  "See you two later."  She said with a friendly enough smile to the two sisters before leading Tyler on through the passage in the main building to the open grounds beyond.  Just beyond the passage was another small building behind which was another larger building. 

 

"So, this is the school chapel."  Veronica indicated before pointing toward the larger building behind it.  "That is gymnasium, a building that tends to get a lot of use by several students beyond any required physical education classes."  She glanced back to Tyler with a small smile.  "Some of us are used to a much more active lifestyle, so tend to use it at odd hours to compensate for the more sedentary schedule of school."

[Griffalo]

Tyler's face was now much harder after their conversation with the sisters. "Hmm. I'll probably not visit the chapel." He sighed. "I'm guessing everyone already knows what I am. It was stupid of me to think this place would be different."

 

He shoved his hands in his pockets, now sullen. "I expect the gym's useful for working out some frustrations, too. Especially since brawling with other students is probably against school rules." 

[Thevshi]

Veronica

 

Veronica noted the change in Tyler's attitude, disappointed that things had started off so badly for him.  "Do not be so sure."  She stated at his comment about everyone known what he was and his expectation as to what that might mean at the school.  "The Headmistress is not one to go around reveling personal information about students, so she certainly has not been talking about you or the nature of your abilities to the students here."

 

She paused a moment and then added.  "I have the ability to sense magic and its nature, so I  pretty much knew once I saw you.  But I do not go around talking about other students abilities.  As for the Smith sisters, not to excuse them, but they can be a bit paranoid, as they are dimensional refugees from an alternate Earth were things were pretty bad.  I think you will find that there are plenty of students here that are more open minded about students that are more unusual."

 

The teenage Danger then grinned slightly as Tyler commented about the gym being a good place to blow off some steam.  "Yeah, the gym can be a pretty good stress reliever, but there is actually something on campus that is one better, but we will get to that a little later."

[Griffalo]

Veronica's understanding tone cut through some of his frustration, and he looked up at her with hope creeping onto his face. "You knew already, what I was? Then... you've been very welcoming, miss." He nods. "I sincerely appreciate it."

 

He listened o he Smith sisters' story, giving it some careful thought. "I suppose I shouldn't assume I'm the only student with a past. There's probably a few people like me, people that didn't come from great beginnings but want to travel a different road from the one other people picked out for them."

 

He'd fully perked up by the time Veronica mentioned an alternative stress reliever. "Well, now I definitely have something to look forward to."

[Zeitgeist Blue]

Salvo

 

"And can you believe they'd mix the strawberries like that! They weren't even real strawberries. I bet that was just some cheap powder. Coffee my ass..."

 

They heard Nicole's voice before they saw her roll out of the building on her wheelchair. She had a frappuccino  cup gripped in one hand, clear plastic and topped with pink whipped cream. She shook it and it threatened to spill but she was too busy ranting to the boy walking beside her. Veronica would recognize him as Alex, a senior in the school, and he and Nicole's path veered them into Veronica and Tyler.

 

"And they have the gall to price--" Nicole noticed them as they neared each other and stopped mid-sentence. With a slight sparkle in her eye, she held out her frappuccino, barely tasted, to Veronica. "Hey Veronica, you can have this. Save me from strawberry-flavored drinks."

 

And as if just noticing Tyler, she glanced at him then back to Veronica. "And who's this?"

[Thevshi]

Veronica

 

Veronica had just been about to respond to Tyler when she heard Nicole's voice just before the senior appeared along with fellow senior Alex Lloydd.  The teenage Danger smiled at the two older students as they drew closer only to have a slightly confused look on her face as Nicole thrust out her barely touched Frappuccino to her.  "Um, thanks Nicole."

 

Taking the drink with a smile, Veronica turned to Tyler as Nicole asked about him.  "This is Tyler, a new student, Headmistress Summers asked me to give him a tour and help get him orriented.  Tyler, this is Nicole and Alex, two seniors here."

[Exaccus]

Alex for his part as been nursing his own drink; a mint hot chocolate calmly listening to nicole as she tore into the entire affair.

 

He was snapped out of his nodding and mhmming by the arrival of Nicole and someone he didn't recognize, he smiled pleasently as Nicole exchanged greetings and spoke up himself once Veronica had introduced him.

 

"pleasure to meetcha Tyler." Facsimile spoke up

 

"Glad to have you with us here, Give me a holler if you need someone to spot you in the gym or anything yeah? I also do a store run before the Tabletop night so if you need anything lemme know and I'll nab it whilst I'm out." He then turned his attention to the cup in his hand and after a mere moment held it out.

 

"here you can have my drink if you like, I think I'm going out for a shake, burg and fries later, see who wants to come, maybe meet up with penny, you folks wanna come?"

[Griffalo]

Tyler seemed a little blindsided by the appearance of two new faces, and so friendly as well. He smiled politely, if a little nervously at Alex and Nicole. "Er, hi."

 

He nodded mainly to confirm what Veronica had said. "Yes, I'm Tyler, I'm new." He looked curiously at Facsimile. "I don't know what a 'tabletop night' is, but it's a very kind offer anyway." 

 

He gingerly took the drink from the other boy, sniffing it experimentally. "What is it, anyway?"

[Zeitgeist Blue]

Salvo

 

"He means DnD, like the roleplaying board game," Nicole replied to Tyler's question, satisfied that Veronica took the horrible drink from her. She pointed at the drink in Tyler's hand. "And that's mint chocolate flavour. Don't know if you'd like that. I know I don't."

 

Nicole rummages through her wheelchair's pockets and takes out a thermos just as Alex announced his plans for the day.

 

"Maybe," she said. "I'll have to check if my desktop's finished downloading the system I need for poly-fractual analysis of the last multiversal overlap."

 

Then she turned to Tyler, looking at him askance. "So what's your story? Everyone here is special," and her fingers formed air-quotes at that. "We've got foreign royals and demi-gods and dragons and inter-dimensional, outer space refugees and mages and vampires and billionaire kids.  Did you know Veronica here's a Danger? So what can you say about yourself?"

Edited March 7, 2019 by Zeitgeist Blue

[Griffalo]

"Oh!" He said as he pulled his head back. "Oh, no. I like mint and I like chocolate, but not together." He shook his head. He merely smiled politely at her explanation of D&D. Too much to unpick there, it seemed.

 

When Salvo asked about him, he looked nervous. "Oh, I got some... unusual ancestry. Wasn't really safe for me back home any more so I came here. Headmistress Summers is going to help teach me how to use my magic responsibly, I hope."

 

He seemed merely curious when she mentioned Veronica. "Huh? She's dangerous?" Looking at his tour guide. "Dangerous how?"

[Thevshi]

Veronica

 

"We should probably be wrapping up the tour close to lunch time, so we should be available to meet up with whomever you get together."  Veronica replied to Alex's offer about going out for burgers later as she glanced over towards Tyler.  "Should be a good way to meet some other students in a relaxed environment."

 

Veronica then gave a small smile at Nicole's comment about her and Tyler's puzzled reaction.  "Nicole is referring to my surname, one my family has earned many times over given we have a long history of exploration, adventure and otherwise seeking out dangerous situations."

[Griffalo]

Tyler smiled, blushing. "Oh, I see. Sounds like you've got your own cool superhero name already." He idly removed his hat briefly, revealing a pair of onyx horns at the level of his hairline, above his temples. They were small, like something one would find on a baby goat. 

 

He'd taken his hat off to merely run a hand through his hair, and back it went.

 

"If you don't mind the newbie tagging along, I'd love to join for burgers. Most people have been pretty friendly."