Issue 1 Downtime

Violet sat down at a table with her lunch, saying grace before she started to eat.

Let's see... where to sit... ooh, this could be promising.

Paul put on his best winning smile as he walked up to the table. "Hi," he said. "Is anyone else sitting here?"

"No one at all," Violet says cheerfully, "Go ahead and take a seat if ya want."

"Thanks," he said, smiling at her as he took a seat. Let's see... made of stone, but that doesn't always mean anything... cute face, hard to tell on the body but looks nice from here... yeah, this could be a good day. "Sorry, I'm new here. Didn't want to bother you if you had friends coming. I'm Paul," he said.

"I'm Violet," Violet says, "It's good to meet you, Paul."

"And don't worry, I'm pretty new myself."

"Violet," he said, " That's a pretty name. It suits you." He gave her a winning smile before picking up his pizza.

"I hope so," Violet says, "It's the only one I have."

He chuckled. "Well, at least I'm not the only new one. The whole 'making new friends' thing is... kind of intimidating," he 'admitted,' sighing a little. "Easier when I'm not the only one, y'know?"

"Aw, poor dear," Violet says, "Making friends is easy. Just smile a lot and say 'hi' to everyone!"

Paul chuckled. "How am I doing so far?" he half-joked.

"Pretty well," Violet says, "A little awkward, but you'll get there!"

"Well, that's reassuring," he admitted. "'Course, you seem easy to talk to, so that's probably helping."

"I try my best to be positive and friendly to everyone," Violet says, "So, are you enjoying it here so far?"

"I think so," he said. "It's a lot different from what I'm used to, but that's okay."

"Where are ya from?"

"Minnesota," he told her. "Just a little town, nothing special. I've been at the Massachusetts Academy for the past year and a half, but... my parents decided to pull me out of there. They weren't getting along with the Headmistress too well."

"Oh, hey another Viking, eh?" Violet says excitedly, "Yeah, it's a bit different from back home, isn't it?"

"Oh, you're from Minnesota, too?" he said, a little surprised. "Yeah... totally different. I... haven't been back home much since then. Just... well, there always seems to be too much else to see, you know?"

"I dunno about all that," Violet says, "But it is pretty nice around here. Food's good and everyone's pretty friendly."