Clean Up On Lake Mckenzie

[TheAbsurdist]

GM

July 14th

 

Today, fortunately, was not as bad as people feared it would be.  It was a bit humid, but there was some clouds so the temperature was at least reasonable.  Good thing too, as today there was a scheduled beach cleanup along the shoreline of Lake Mckenzie.  There was to be some heroes there, or at least the hope was there would be some there.  That was not something the organizers could control.  Fortunately it had started without a hitch, as these semi large scale events had a tendency to attract monkey wrenches.  Fortunately the man running the event (a Mr. Edwin Mcgee), though a bit nebbish, had planned it pretty tightly.

Edited July 26, 2013 by TheAbsurdist

[trollthumper]

Lake McKenzie wasn't a place that Temperance visited often. Sure, there had been the occasional beach trips with her family, and the various field trips as part of school. But her dad had, more often than not, preferred to take the family to the beach, rather than the lake. When Eliza had once asked why, he'd simply said, "Politics."

And that had explained most of it. Freshwater and saltwater spirits likely had their own cliques, and as her dad watched over Freedom's coastline, that might explain why he didn't want family time to turn into a zoning debate. Said spirits were keeping to the depths of the lake today - she could see them swimming through the depths, like grand, amorphous manta rays. Still, helping to clean the beach would be good for both the material and ephemeral citizens of Freedom.

[Thevshi]

Giang Trang was among the crowd of people that were there to help with the beach cleanup, dressed in tan shorts and a dark green shortsleeved shirt.  The Asian teen had just recently returned from spend several weeks visiting some the undersea kingdom of Atlantis with her roommate at Claremont, Thaelia.  She was only spending a couple of weeks at Claremont, before she would be leaving the country once more.  Given the issues she had with her father and others associated with Dr. Sin’s criminal organization hunting for her, it was somewhat easier for Giang to be off somewhere they would not think to look for her while school was out.

 

She had come across this volunteer opportunity shortly after returning from Atlantis, and though she was somewhat nervous about being out in public, it offered a nice chance for a distraction from meditating and training.  Though the Asian teen had operated on occasion under the hero name Tsunami, but she had generally managed to do so in a way that avoided press attention, so she rather doubted there would be any recognition.  So she had instead decided to just join the cleanup efforts as a seemingly normal teenager.

[Azuth65]

Victoria Knight had only made her way out to Lake MacKenzie the one time when a few Claremonters had packed up for a bonfire on the beach during her senior year. When she had seen a flyer looking for volunteers, she had signed up without a second thought.

Standing on the shore in a pair of kaki shorts and a white t-shirt with the Archemedia logo on the back, she adjusted her dark lenses glasses and made her way towards the other volunteers.

[Thunder King]

Mali stood ready and willing to work. She wore a loose fitting t-shirt and baggy shorts. Not stylish, but certainly well suited to cleaning. She knew that volunteer work like this would look good on college entrance exams, so she just had to roll her eyes and get through it. It wasn't that she didn't want to help, she just found things like this a bit boring. Still, she wasn't one for doing things halfway, so if she was going to help clean up the beach, she was going to work hard.

[TheAbsurdist]

GM

 

Edwin (never Ed, and Eddie was right out) was going to the groups as vests were handed out, like the kind worn by marathoners, so as to help the all important organization. That way people were grouped up, and then they were sent, by group to a section of beach, armed with gloves and bags.  And it just so happened the four girls were grouped together, along with two 'bros,' an pairing given their 'exploding' fist bump upon seeing the girls they were paired with.

 

Even Edwin looked sympathetically to the quartet of not in uniform heroines over the pairing, but just went on with his busy day, after informing them that their section was around the other side of the lake.

[Thevshi]

Giang had immediately put on the vest that was handed out by the organizers of the cleanup, taking the gloves and bags as well.  The Asian teen was glad to see that she was grouped with Mali, whose presence made her feel a bit more comfortable about being out in public.  She paid little heed to the antics of the two young men who were also in their group, intent on focusing on the reason why they were all there.  Looking to the other two young women in their group, Giang gave a slight bow, which included the two young men as well.  "Greetings, I am Giang."

[Azuth65]

Pulling on her vest, Vicky inwardly sighed and rolled her unusual eyes behind her heavily tinted sunglasses at the reactions of the 'dudebros' she had been assigned to work with.  In the interest of keeping the day pleasant, she however said nothing but instead turned towards the other girls and returned Giang's bow.  "Привет," she started before shaking her head, "Sorry about that.  Hi, I'm Victoria.  Please, call me Vicky."

 

The white-haired teen pulled a bottle of sunscreen from her messenger bag and applied a quick splash to her arms before holding the tube out, "Anyone else want some UV protection before we get started?"

[Thunder King]

Mali declined the sunscreen and smiled. "Hi, my name is Mali." She said, introducing herself to the group. She hoped the guys they were with wouldn't make any trouble, but she also kinda hoped they did. She really, really didn't want to be hit on by someone like that. It wasn't that they were ugly, they just didn't suit her temperament.

[trollthumper]

Eliza tried to deal with her choice of male partners. As a life-long resident of New Jersey, she was well-versed in all manners of dudebro, douchebag, and the rare and elusive Orange-Breasted Guido. As long as none of them was too insistent on hitting on her or tried to touch her, she'd be okay working alongside them. If not, then she could easily give them the ultimate in cold showers. 

 

She turned to the other women in the group. "My name's Eliza," she said, as perky as she could manage. "I think I'm fine for sunblock. I don't really burn easily. We got a particular pattern we wanna use, or should we just tackle it as it comes along?" 

[TheAbsurdist]

GM

 

 

And alas poor Mali was the first to feel the scrutiny one of the spiked haired, spray tanned, over muscled, body spray reeking Guidos.  "Yoooo... yoyoyo honey.  If you were the new burger at McDonalds you would be the McGorgeous!"  The smile on his face made it clear he thought he was being witty.  He was proud of himself.  Of course, would that he could see that Mali rocked a body that sense of pride he had would like be shattered into itty bitty pieces, and blow away in the wind.

 

Now, conceited jerk face sidled up to Giang, hands hanging at his sides and moving a little in unison to add emphasis to his words.  "Do you have a boyfriend? Well, when you want a MANfriend, come and talk to me.  Ohhhhh!"  The boy.  And at that point two looked and one, and they 'ooohed' in unison, and had to give each other a bro-fist in a disturbing display that would baffle sociologists centuries from now.  And their dim attention returned back to their respective female quarry.

[Azuth65]

Vicky uttered a few choice curses in Russian at the duo's antics, especially McLovin the Second's idea of flirting, before schooling her face, and affecting her best flirty girl voice.  "Guys, you see that pile of charred would surrounded by those big stones?  Would you two take care of bagging up the ashes over there?  For me?  Please?"

 

Inwardly the snow-haired girl cringed at the horribly cheap ploy she was using but figured it was for the greater good if it got the pair of frat boys to leave her and the other girls alone for a while.  When the pair rushed off to do her bidding she turned back to the others and allowed the light Russian accent back into her words.  "Uhg, I think I need a shower.  And we haven't even started..."

[Thunder King]

Mali merely raised an eyebrow. After years of being rejected by boys for her musculature and non WASP looks, being hit on like this was certainly a unique experience. Not a wanted one, though. She wondered why boys sometimes ranged from 'eww, get away from me' and whatever this was. Not that all guys were like that, of course. She knew several attractive, intelligent, non-jerk guys in Claremont. But none of those guys were here at the lake.

 

"Don't." She said, her eyes flashing and her voice cold. She really didn't want to do things like that, but it was better than hospitalizing them, which she thought might happen if she had to put up with them for too long.

[trollthumper]

Eliza watched as the Guidos swiftly and steadily failed to take "no" for an answer. If they were anywhere near the sea, it would be easy to send up a "convenient" blast of surf - but that would look quite noticeable on an inland lake. There was always calling up a nice, cold mist and wafting it towards the boys in an attempt to incentivize the wonders of shrinkage. Such possibilities danced in her head, but they would likely have to wait for later. For now, she turned her attention to the litter, picking up each piece as she found it and tossing it into the bag.

 

"Let's focus on what needs to be done," she said. "We can socialize later. We'll have plenty of time once the beach is cleared."

[Thevshi]

Like Mali, Giang was somewhat surprised by the attention that one of the two young men in the group decided to pay her, and she was not any more interested in it than her friend was.  Unlike Mali, Giang was more willing to politely rebuff the advance and think nothing more of it, assuming the young man did not try to push the issue. 

 

"Thank you, but I doubt I would be interested."  She stated simply as Vicky interjected, trying to steer the two away from the rest of the group for a bit. 

 

The Asian teen could not help but agree with the comment by the last member of the group, as she moved to pick up some of the other nearby litter.  "Eliza is correct, it is best to focus on the task at hand."

[TheAbsurdist]

GM

 

It was then their brains whirred and computed the data given to them.  The hamster wheels spun, noisily.  Especially at the snarl that Mali gave off in that one word.  See, for their bravado they were aware of threats, and while their manhood was threatened by the shorter, if more well muscled, Thai girl, some part of them saw her as a dangerous individual.  They postured.  She did not.  That was immediately spun about when Vicky came in all smiles, and hotness, and without realizing it the two synergized their efforts nicely.  The lead broski nodded, and slapped his buddy's chest (who was looking at Vicky's chest), and then they moved, grumbling to each other and congratulating themselves in the fashion of l'esprit de l'escalier as they moved towards the garbage that was pointed out to them.

 

As they moved past another fellow as he walked up, this new man blinked and looked at them, seemingly surprised more than anything else, and then shrugged a bit, and kept walking up towards the girls, lifting a hand and waving it at them.  Brown hair and brown eyed, he was pleasant looking, but not memorable.  One his vest he had a name tag indicating he was one of the coordinating people here, it announced him as Burt. "I am sorry ladies, most of the groups were randomly assigned."  His smile was contrite, and genuinely embarrassed at what had happened.  "If you need any tools or more bags or gloves let me know, I am that guy for this part of the beach.  Also if you are needing water or a sports drink... just, yanno, throw it in the bag.  I'll see what I can do about moving those yahoos over to another part of the beach."

[trollthumper]

"It's all right," said Temperance. "At least these guys got the clue pretty quickly." There had been a few scenarios kicking around in her head for if they hadn't - freak downpours, strange hail outbreaks, and more than a few ways to show why an overconfident young man and a sudden cold snap were not good friends. With that, she turned her attention to a few stray Utz bags and a soda can, catching a glimpse of young fresh water undines splashing about in the shallows of the lake, unseen to most. 

 

"How often do you get out here?" she asked to Burt. "This a regular haunt for you?" 

[Thevshi]

Giang looked over to the coordinator that came over to apologize about the behavior of the two young men that were currently cleaning up the mess that Vicky had directed them towards.  "There is no need for you to apologize for their behavior."  She replied simply, her demeanor still calm and detached. 

 

She glanced a moment back towards the two young men before focusing back on Burt.  "As Eliza indicated, they appear at least somewhat willing to focus on the task at hand."  The Asian teen certainly hoped that they would continue to remain focused, but then, she had little experience with young men like these.

[Thunder King]

Mali was confident that these guys would not be hitting on her for the duration of the day. Even if they did, another glance would stop them cold. She began picking up things, working diligently. She didn't want to be here, of course, but she knew this sort of thing looked good on college entrance exams, and she was keen on making sure those looked good. She would not be like those other rich kids, too obviously using their privilege to get ahead when they wouldn't if they were poor.

[Azuth65]

Opening her own bag, the collegiate girl joined in picking up the detritus that invariably found its way into virtually any and all public places.  Picking up trash she did not mind and the quickly growing heft of her bag was no problem with her well above human strength.  No, the only thing that she seemed to mind as she worked was the fact she had to actually walk to each piece of rubbish instead of teleporting over.  Given that while Freedom was full of super beings, she was the only one among the ones she had met who teleported with clouds of multi-colored smoke, she figured doing that here would blow what few shreds of a secret identity she had.

 

Looking over at Giang she replied, "Maybe but I know their type.  In all likelihood they're here because they screwed up and annoyed the wrong person.  If I didn't know better, I'd guess out of hand kegger."  Shrugging she added, "At least they scrammed pretty quickly."

[TheAbsurdist]

GM

 

He wasn't intentionally lingering near the teens, well not in an odd manner, the glance he gave the two tufted crested bronze morons was less than trusting about their intentions.  Blinking a bit, and then looking to the girl addressing him.  "Oh?  I've done this before, sure.  Generally on the ocean shore and not here, there was an advertisement at my job to do this, so I volunteered."  Shrugging then as he adjusted the canvas satchel he had on.  "But, my experience is if you get along with the people you are with it is pretty easy.  Well, let me know if you guys need anything I am gonna wander between, picking up full bags.  I will have more water and gloves if you need them, and I think in like three hours there is going to be a lunch, I'll let you know."

Edited September 18, 2013 by TheAbsurdist

[Azuth65]

Vicky hauled an almost full-to-bursting trash bag over to the steadily growing pile of them not far from the table with the snacks and drinks. While she was there she grabbed a bottle of water, cracked the top off and guzzled nearly half the contents down in a matter of seconds. Just as she was about to screw the cap back on and stick the bottle in her pocket, she noticed some light shining across the lake. Looking over at the organizer she asked, "Hey, any idea what's causing that light?" By the time she was able to point it out though, it was gone.

[TheAbsurdist]

GM

 

Edwin wasn't nearly as personable as the Burt fellow.  He came across was a bit too precise and exacting for something like this.  The fact that his nose was smeared white with sunscreen was just adding to the aura of nebbishness.  "Hm?"  Blinking a bit, owlishly, but then the glasses on his face were clearly for farsightedness, so it enlarged his eyes.  "Hrm.  Oh, that's happened a couple times, I think they found some big broken mirrors over there that someone broke at a bonfire."  Shrugging a little bit then as he resumed his inventory of the supplies used.  "Unfortunately I don't have any sunglasses to give out, do have some of that anti-glare grease to smear under your eyes, if it will help."  Looking at her over his clipboard.

[trollthumper]

With the guys desperately trying to up their game banished to the far end of the park, Eliza was finding the whole cleanup thing easy. The rhythm was easy to get into - find, pick up, bag, find, pick up, bag, so on and so forth until all was clean. With the talk from the other participants, it was easy to lose track of time without slacking off on the task - and when the conversation fell short, there was always the song of the undines in the distant depths of the lake. Eliza raised to get a look at the spirits frolicking in the depths, which was when the light caught her eyes. 

 

"Looks like they're having fun with the garbage," she said. "Half expecting one of them to flash 'SOS.'" 

[Thevshi]

Giang had focused back on picking up the garbage around them with Mali, not paying much more mind to the two boys that had been sent off a short ways away by Vicky's request.  She had caught a glimpse of the light from the other side of the lake but had not really considered it anything important.  But when Vicky, Eliza and the nearby coordinator all commented about it, she tried to focus on the reflected light, but it was already gone.

 

"No thank you."  She replied in response to Edwin's offer of anti-glare grease.  "It is not that disruptive, only a brief distraction."