Issue 1 Downtime

As one of the students who spent all summer at the school, Miranda had volunteered to help at the refreshment tables. She was wearing the sunglasses Kay had given her for Christmas along with jeans and a tank top that accommodated her wings.

((Open))

Maya walks over to the refreshments table. She hesitates before taking a soda from the table.

"Thank you," Maya says to Miranda, "I mean, Hello."

"...Hello and thank you."

A distracted looking young woman wanders over and grabs a bottle of Coke. Kind of aimlessly looking for a bottle-opener she takes a couple steps along the table.

"You're welcome," Miranda says to Maya, grabbing a bottle opener from the table and holding it out just in front of where Jennifer is about to look. "New here?" This is apparently still directed at Maya.

"Yes," Maya says, looking down and away from Jennifer and Miranda. She briefly glances up at Jennifer. "Sorry. Hello."

"I'm Maya."

It still takes her a while to actually notice the opener.

"Oh! I'm Jennifer. I mean--thanks."

"No worries," Miranda says. "Everyone's new here once. After that, you're not new anymore." She smiles as if that phrase is supposed to be helpful. For Jennifer, it might be a little weird that she was picking up very little in the way of thoughts from Miranda.

Up on stage, Will was playing a pleasant piano peace, which sounded a little strange, but soothing.

Jennifer nods as if Miranda had said something deeply profound. At least it had sounded like that, so she reacts accordingly even if she doesn't really get it.

Maya smiles slightly and taps the top of her soda, "I guess so."

"Any questions I can answer?" She said, glancing at the two of them, though how that was obvious with the dark glasses was hard to say. "Mum, I mean the Headmistress will talk about a lot about things later, but she has to cover the university students too, so I'd be happy to answer any questions you guys have."

Jennifer looks like she's thinking for a moment.

"How come the numbers on a computer aren't arranged the same way as on phones?"

"Ummm..." Miranda said, the wheels turning in her brain. "I honestly don't know. Sorry."

"Nobody does. It's weird."

Brigid is on the edges of the gathering, talking to a tall, bearded man with long blonde hair pulled back into a ponytail. He's wearing slacks and a sportcoat that he seems ill at ease in, and his dress shirt is without a tie.

"Dad, it's going to be fine. I swear, you always do this."

Meanwhile, Alex wandered up to the table for a drink, looking around to see who all was around.

Graham, still apparently not having figured out that clothes come in colors other than green and brown, had emerged from whatever cave he's been hiding in while playing academic catchup to socialize. He cautiously casually approached the refreshment table to grab a drink.

"Hey," he managed.

Not knowing what to say to that, Maya reflexively replied, "Sorry. I don't know either."

"I could look it up for you," Maya says quickly. "If it's really bothering you."

"Hmm? No, it's fine. Just wondering."

Miranda waved at Alex and Graham. "Hi, guys. Have you guys met Maya and Jennifer? Maya, Jennifer, this is Alex and Graham." She gestured to the two new arrivals.

"Sorry, I didn't notice you," Maya takes a step back from the group. "Hello. I'm...well, you know. Maya."

Nervously she taps on the top of her unopened soda again.

"Oh, am I in the way?" she asks, taking a step away from the table and promptly bumping into Alex.

Graham flinched ever-so-slightly at being put on the spot.

"N-no, not at all-ook out!"

Alex, in mid-drink, gracefully spilled some of his soda down his face. "Oh, sorry," he said, hurrying to grab a napkin to try to clean up before he was 'soda face' for the year.

Miranda scratched her head for a moment, watching things unfold. Then she looked at the table, "You'll excuse me. I need to go find some more soda."

"Oh I'm so sorry! But don't worry, I'm sure no one's going to call you Sodaface!" she says, scrambling for some napkins to help Alex.

"You should watch where you're going," Maya says to Jennifer. "You could have hurt someone."

With her potential precognition coming in handy for once, Miranda slipped away from the table before the rumbling awkwardness exploded into a large awkward mushroom cloud.

"Accidents happen," Graham shrugged.

Of course, one can prepare.

"It's not an accident just because you weren't paying attention," Maya grumbles. It wasn't like she didn't understand accidents. Accidents happened. People got hurt. You hurt people. You can hurt people without even thinking about it. Without even knowing.

She tapa the top of her soda again.

"I said I'm sorry..." she mumbles in Maya's direction.

Maya nods, looking embarrassed. She shouldn't had said anything. She should have kept her mouth shut. Stupid.

But what if Jennifer had fallen over and broken her leg? What if the bone had cut an artery or something and she was lying there bleeding to death and everyone was screaming and you didn't know what to do because you're a fucking idiot...

Maya takes a deep breath and forces a smile. She even manages brief eye contact. "Sorry. It's fine. I'm the one being a jerk."

"Well look, he's busy over there, so we probably shouldn't bother him," Brigid says to the man she's been talking with.

Alex's mouth dropped open, then he snapped it shut again. Oh damn it... too late... He sort of backed away from the group, looking around awkwardly. Oh, there's Brigid. Who's that with... ah shit.

Maya Mills wrote:Maya nods, looking embarrassed. She shouldn't had said anything. She should have kept her mouth shut. Stupid.

But what if Jennifer had fallen over and broken her leg? What if the bone had cut an artery or something and she was lying there bleeding to death and everyone was screaming and you didn't know what to do because you're a fucking idiot...

Maya takes a deep breath and forces a smile. She even manages brief eye contact. "Sorry. It's fine. I'm the one being a jerk."

"It's alright. You can be the jerk and I'll be the idiot." she says, glancing at Alex as he steps away, wondering if she scared him off. And the girl with the sunglasses was gone too. This wasn't boding well at all.

"I don't think you're an idiot," Maya says defensively.

Haley, a new phone in a tacky bejeweled case in hand was lounging across several folding chairs in the back row of the lawn seating, soaking up some sun.

"That's alright, most people do, actually."

"Enjoying the last five minutes of English sun?" Ryan joked, stopping to glance down at Haley as he walked past. So this is the new batch for the year...

"Who's an idiot?"

The young man had approached the table quietly enough that he'd been largely unnoticed, his height certainly helping him in being overlooked. Dressed in a pair of black slacks with matching suspenders, an atypical white dress-shirt, and a pair of bright red Chucks. He didn't wait for an answer before reaching his messy-haired form through the little crowd to grab a purple can from the table.

"... Ribena spark?" he muttered softly to himself.