Alex Croft's Story

The drive to her new school was a long one and luckily Alayna had brought a number of books with her to keep company. Especially when the cab smelled like what could only be described as stale farts and old coffee. The only music the driver could bare to play was some smooth freakin' jazz. Literally the phrase the man had used, when she asked what was playing. If she hadn't of brought the books, it would have turned into the longest and probably most miserable ride of her life. Besides, she had never been one to make small talk and much preferred the fantasy world that the printed word offered her.

Maybe that was why her parents had decided to send her away. After all, what good was a daughter who could idly chat about global warming? Or vocally protest and tie herself to a tree to bring attention to the biggest threat this planet faces. It wasn't that Alayna didn't care about these things, she just didn't like the constant string of news stations interviewing her and her family, and she didn't like all the travelling in a van either. She couldn't deny that when her parents said she'd be attending school, that she was more than a little excited...but she had hoped that they were finally settling down and not just kicking her to the curb.

Her thoughts were distracting her from her book, which she soon realized that though she had been flipping its pages she hadn't really been reading anything.

"Man, this place is really out here in the middle of nowhere, ain't it?" The driver said (who had apparently been talking the entire time and the only thing Alayna could actually remember was that his name was Johnny), double checking his GPS system to make sure they hadn't gone in the wrong direction. That would be unfortunate.

"I imagine the seclusion makes it easier to focus on schooling?" Alayna's words came out as more of a question, making it clear she was talking out her ass.

"I'm sure it does. Still gives me the creeps." Driving Johnny's words weren't comforting in the slightest and she wondered if he ever thought before he spoke. Gee, thanks. She mentally groaned.

It was about another hour and a half before they reached any sign that she wasn't just driving endlessly and forever, lost in some maze where her only partner was the man with Cheetos in his beard. Private Property was the sign that gave her hope. If they were on private property that meant that they had found, if not the school...then at least it was somewhere they could ask for directions and she could get out of the damn cab for a second. She could only take Johnny's now-not-so-residual fart smell and greased stained wife beater tank for so much longer. Despite the books, this had turned into the worst cab drive in history.

After another two minutes, the wrought iron gate of the school came into view. It was intimidating, especially with it being miles into the forest (which, honestly, was probably why her parents had chosen it in the first place). Alayna swallowed hard as the driver pulled up to what they assumed was the administration office.

"Well, I guess this is it for us Johnny. It's been a blast though." Though she tried to hide the sarcasm in her voice, it was a little hard.

"Hey, you got here didn't, ya?" He said gruffly, clearly taking offense to her tone. Regardless, she forked over the cash her parents had left her with. The ride was far more expensive than she could have guessed, though it should really have surprised her. Her parents had gone out of their way to find the most green cab service they could find...with apparently the greasiest, most disgusting drivers.

Johnny the Cab Driver removed her suitcase from his trunk and she thanked her lucky stars that that was the last she would probably ever see of him. The cool air and fresh smells of the pine trees was refreshing and welcome. She took a few more moments, to enjoy it before she walked inside - careful not to catch the hem of her tiered skirt in the wheel of her luggage. If nothing else, her parents had definitely instilled an appreciation for the nature around her, and their fabulous sense of hippy style.

She walked into the office, which looked and felt uncomfortably like the doctor's office she had visited when she was a kid; before her parents decided to stick to strictly holistic methods. At least she had been vaccinated before that. She approached the desk and awkwardly waved at the woman who was there. "I'm Alayna Harmon, I just enrolled here." Alayna said with a smile, her voice quiet and noticeably anxious.

The woman smiled with ease back at her, though something about it felt off. Perhaps she was tired of answering the same questions all day. "Not a problem, Alayna. Just take these forms here and go fill them out by the others who've just arrived. Welcome to Dimme."

Alayna nodded taking the papers and a pen. It didn't take her long to read through all the documents and a lot of the questions were medically related, which was a little strange but she supposed that when you were so far away from everything that it was understandable to want to know a little medical history.

She looked over the edge of her clipboard at the other two girls who had arrived before her. She wondered if they had ever been to any other boarding schools...or another school at all. Alayna had been strictly home schooled before now. "This really is a lot of paperwork. I'm not even sure I know all the answers to these questions." She stated with a nervous laugh, to both the girls before setting the pen down and introducing herself to them. "I'm Alayna."

Alex had gotten distracted a second messing with the wrapping on the dust smelling flower pen, her mind drifting back home, when the sound of the door giving a small creak as it opened snapped her back to the present situation. Quickly she went back to her work, hand shaking slightly with the surprise of someone walking in, even though the office lady had probably noticed her lack of focus already. Trying to be subtle, she shifted a bit and glanced up at the girl who had just stepped in, catching the back of her blonde hair and watching her try to drag the three large, brightly spotted bags along.

Satisfied for the moment and remembering that she wanted to get moved in herself, she crossed her ankles at the Converse, sat up a little straighter to hide the little bit of flub poking out of her skinny jeans, then continued to stretch her legs out and slouch back, pushing her thick, wavy brown hair out of her face. She'd be lying to say she didn't end up eavesdropping on the brief conversation with the office lady and the other though, trying fruitlessly to catch a name.

A minute later though, the girl sat down nearby, and Alexis furiously continued to scribble in all the information she knew, which was quite a bit actually, for a girl of barely fifteen. The forms really shouldn't have taken her long, if she could keep focused and stop finding herself engrossed in eavesdropping on the video call nearby. She really needed to learn to be less nosy.

... Though she was a little jealous the girl's parents seem to care so much more than her own had. All she'd gotten was a warning that she was going and a curt goodbye on her way out the door. Then again, she supposed she knew enough to take all the advice the voices on the other side of the phone were giving anyway, no need for her parents to repeat it. By the time the call ended though, Alex was initialing her way through the last form, getting ready to sign her life away or whatever this thing was saying. Actually, she was pretty sure she was doing just that, considering she wasn't even suppose to be able to leave the school for the next four years. She'd even read she couldn't make calls outside of school property without permission.

"I'm Pandora, by the way." Realizing she was being spoken to, Alex looked up from her paper where she'd started to zone out yet again. Man, if she got this spacey in classes she was going to end up in trouble before school even started.

"Alex," she replied curtly with a nod of acknowledgement. "I don't think its that bad. I'm use to filling out forms like this though. Some of them you just have to sign and date really. And, well, read them, I guess." Honestly though, who actually read through this kind of thing? It was like checking that little box online about the terms of service or whatever.

Another girl walked in, and things went quiet again, as Alex watched her get checked in. Alayna... it was a nice name. She looked like a blast from the flower power days, though. It wasn't a bad look, but nothing the more punk-loving girl could wear herself, much preferring her band t-shirts to frilly skirts. Well, the girl took a seat and Alex quickly returned to signing and dating the last line. Then looked over and realized she'd set down two other packet of paper, with a sigh she picked them up and got to work on the next one.

"This really is a lot of paperwork. I'm not even sure I know all the answers to these questions." The new girl spoke up, breaking her thoughts. "I'm Alayna."

"Alex," she reintroduced. "I've filled out stuff like this before, if you need help with what something is asking for. Your parents probably know a lot of this stuff if you ask them for it."

Asmodeus leaned his head back against the soft pseudo-leather of his case worker's back seat, hugging tight the bag which carried all of his belongings to his chest. The gentle, subtle vibration of the car's wheels against the imperfect road lulled him into a state of relaxation as he was escorted to what would be his new home.

Home.

Can I really call this home? The boy thought, shifting in his seatbelt as a shaft of light hit him in the eye through the blanket of trees that framed the long driveway up to and through the gates to Dimme. Dimme. My new... "home." Asmodeus mentally tasted the word, rolling the idea of "home" and what it meant to truly have one through his mind.

For as long as he could remember, the withdrawn boy had been passed from foster home to orphanage and back again like a freshman girl at college. The joke made him crack a small smile, which quickly faded from his face like drawings in the sand swept away by the ocean waves.

His case worker, one Alicia Finch, pulled alongside the edge of the front sidewalk, where other students - he assumed they were students as they were around the same age as him - were stepping out of their own vehicles.

Asmodeus winced at the sight of the silvery sports car that pulled away, leaving quite possibly the most attractive girl he'd ever seen - so... the only girl he'd seen in quite a while, living in an orphanage for boys for the last few years - along the curb. The light had shone off of it, stabbing him in the eye, and got out as Miss Finch pulled up to the curb. He stood, clutching his bag to his chest as he looked around. I suppose this will be... "home."

"Asmodeus is fairly shy. It's not that he has issues interracting with others his age, he simply isn't extroverted enough to act upon social Cues." Miss Finch explained to the woman at the registrar. "As such, I think that some additional therapy should be administered. Possibly put him with extroverted children."

Asmodeus did not seem to be worried at the fact that his case worker spoke with him in the room as if he was miles away. It was true. He wasn't 'shy', he just was... uninterested. While the additional effort she was requesting as she filled out his sign in information was a nice gesture, Addy knew it wouldn't work. It never worked.

His eyes listed around the room, lingering on the clock on the wall, which idly ticked away. Home.

"I've filled out stuff like this before, if you need help with what something is asking for. Your parents probably know a lot of this stuff if you ask them for it." Alex told her. Normal parents would probably know. Mine would be angry about the excessive use of paper. She thought with a sigh.

"My parents aren't exactly fans of traditional schooling or traditional anything." She said with an uneasy laugh. Alayna didn't even have a way to contact her parents if she wanted to. Before they had told her that they were sending her to Boarding School, they had been busy planning a trip Brazil for "work." Honestly, she didn't have a clue what they were doing, but the last time she had gone with them out of country they had gotten arrested. It wouldn't surprise her if they were already spending the night in a holding cell somewhere. If nothing else, at least they weren't constantly getting into trouble for drugs.

Alayna continued to fill out the paperwork, and after a few more minutes she had finally finished it to the best of her ability. She was just about to turn it in at the receptionist desk when three boys made their entrances, each one a little more surprising than the last and not at all as low key as the girls had been. One didn't appear to speak English, another didn't speak at all...and one was already screaming profanities. If she were honest, the screaming one was the one that didn't surprise her. Her entire life she had been around people yelling and screaming, people who were angry in general. The quiet ones were unsettling, despite her being a rather quiet individual herself.

"DICKS! Both of you! Giant over inflated dicks!" The boy yelled.

She had noticed the officers had treated him rather roughly and it concerned her. The violence had seemed more than a little unnecessary. He couldn't have been much older than she was.

"Are you okay?" Alayna asked him, holding the clipboard closely to her chest and her face holding an expression of genuine worry. It was her opinion, that children and teens should be treated with care and respect. Not thrown and tossed around like a bag of garbage. Another lesson from her parents, even if they had a skewed view of what safe for someone her age was. Taking her to large scale demonstrations and protests all over the world, in strange places, probably wasn't the best idea...especially when she didn't enjoy them to begin with. She couldn't complain too much though. She had seen more of the world than most adults.

"That was...intense, to say the least." She tacked on. The fact that he had come in in handcuffs didn't particularly bother her, though she was curious. She hadn't met many real criminals and figured that whatever he had done, couldn't be that bad if they were just going to throw him in some boarding school. It wasn't like this was a place for dangerous career criminals.

"What!" The abrupt yell made Alayna pull back slightly and her heart jumped. Perhaps he really did need those handcuffs? It wasn't until his face softened and he began to apologize that she relaxed again. For having such vocal parents, the brunette didn't handle confrontation too well herself. In fact, there was very little that made her more uncomfortable than a raised and yelling voice.

"My name's David by the way." He introduced and held out his hand. She smiled and shook it.

"I'm Alayna. It's nice to meet you." She said, her voice sincere. If the boy's family sucked, which it sounded like it did, then she would make it a point to be a friend. It seemed like he needed one and if she was going to start at a strange new school, with no experience other than home schooling, then she could use all the friends she could get. There was nothing worse than being in a group of people with no one to talk to and she refused to be that girl. Not like she had been with all of her parents weird friends. Those awkward gatherings were the reason she had become to attached to the fantasy world in her books.

She gave the boy one last smile before turning back to the receptionist and turning in her paperwork. "I'm sorry some of it's sparse..." She wasn't sure what else to say. My parents used a collection of herbs and oils to soothe everything from fever to nausea growing up, so I'm not sure if I have any allergies to medications? The sarcasm was dripping throughout her thought, but she knew it was best to keep that information to herself.

"That's fine, honey." Said the receptionist, though something about the older woman's face as she flipped through her paperwork said she was annoyed. Sorry you didn't ask my parents this before they enrolled me? Alayna thought, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. Once the woman was done leafing through the papers, she reached for a key and handed it off to Alayna, who was more excited for this than she had been anything else the whole day. "Room 117, just two doors down from Miss Croft."

"Thank you, Miss!" Alayna thanked her, despite the awful vibe she was getting off the receptionist she was more than grateful she now had a place to put her things.

She moved to meet with Alex, figuring that she could just follow her to their rooms, but before she reached her she stopped by Pandora - whom she hadn't been able to properly introduce herself too because of all the commotion.

"By the way, it's nice to meet you. Sorry I didn't get to say with all that chaos." She began with an apologetic smirk. "Hopefully you get a room close by, too! That way we'll all see some familiar faces when classes start."

Alayna knew full well that she was being awfully nice to everyone, maybe too nice, but she was determined to make her first experience in a real school a positive one.

Asmodeus rose from his seat as his case worker leaned across the table, shaking hands with the woman at the registrar as they both stood. His eyes lingered on the gorgeous student who was recieving her dorm key from the registrar that she had been speaking to. Miss Finch pushed him forward a bit as she looked, telling him flat. "Now, the reason that I pushed you so hard towards getting this scholarship was to break you out of your shell. Why don't you go introduce yourself to some of the other students?"

Addy cleared his throat, gripping his bag tight to him as he took a step towards Alex. "H-hello" He said weakly, holding out a hand to the girl and looking downward towards the ground. "My. My name is Asm- Add... Asmodeus."

Alex was starting to gather her bags from where she'd left them, when she heard someone come up next to her. Looking over from where she was attempting to dig the lanyard she'd brought out of her backpack, she found the shy boy who had been with the woman talking about therapy earlier making a an attempt at a greeting, though he seemed extremely nervous about it. Poor guy couldn't even look at her as he spoke.

Gently, she took his hand in a soft shake. "Uh, hey," she replied awkwardly. "I'm Alexis, but call me Alex. Asmodeus is pretty long, is there something shorter I can call you?" Managing a small smile, she glanced back at her bag and noticed the lanyard she'd been searching for, quickly grabbing it out and using it as an excuse to fiddle with something as she tried to hook the key onto the loop of it. Behind Asmodeus, she had noticed the woman glancing their way as if to make sure he was behaving.

"She's pretty pushy, huh?" Alex muttered. "At least she'll be gone soon and you can do your own thing. I hate it when my parents make me talk to people..." Then again, when she was forced to talk to people, it was at fancy company dinners with adults she didn't know and often found kind of creepy. Not to mention she had to be super formal and present as someone she wasn't. When it came to making friends, her parents would probably rather she didn't make any at all. Or that's what it often seemed like.

Asmodeus opened his mouth to reply to the gorgeous girl - Alex - with his nickname "A-addy-" he squeaked out before his voice caught in his throat.
He became visibly saddened as she spoke. "She's pretty pushy, huh? At least she'll be gone soon and you can do your own thing. I hate it when my parents-"

Asmodeus had never thought about his parents while he was at the orphanage. That was something you simply never spoke about. There were, in fact, rules in place so that you did not make each other feel unwelcomed. The woman who had been overseeing his case had decided that now would be a good enough to leave, giving a wave that he couldn't see.

The boy's tongue slipped over his drying lips as he squeaked, before beginning to talk again "She's ah... my case worker. I-I don't... I don't have parents."

A black Cadillac pulled up to the entrance to Dimme. An old man in a suite exited, circled around the car, and opened the passenger side. "Master Jake, we have arrived, he said stepping away from the door way, and bathing the dark clothed boy inside, in sun light.

Jake scooted further into the shadows of the car, away from the light. The old butler bent down and softly pulled the headphones off of Jakes head, "Jacob. Your parents are doing this for your good". Jake slowly turned his head, but his remained lowered. The butler sighed, "Come on. I will get your bags", he said straightening back up, and moving to the trunk. Jake slowly stepped out of the passenger seat, and stood up; pulling a backpack up and around his shoulders. The butler moved to his side, two suitcases in his hands, "Lets get you registered, eh?". Jake nodded, looking up at the school that would be his new home.

The butler entered first, and held the door open for Jake. He handed the suitcases to Jake, who took them, while the butler introduced himself and Jake to the receptionist, who gave him paperwork to fill out. Searching the room, he sighed, no dark corners. Sitting down in a seat, and waiting patiently, he closed his eyes, and let the world melt away. It felt like forever till he felt a hand on his shoulders. He opened his eyes. His butler was smiling warmly at him. Jake slowly pulled his head phones off his ears. The butler bowed, "Master Jake, this is where we part ways im afraid. I will see you in four years time", he said, turned and began to walk out the door.

Jake felt his eyes begin to burn, "Wait!". The butler turned around just in time to catch Jake. Jake felt his hair being ruffled, he buried his face deeper as he felt his eyes water up, "I don't...I don't want you to go", he said, he voice already becoming hoarse. "Master Jake, I have to go. I cannot stay here with you. This is something you must do alone. I must go now master Jake. Goodbye". Jake watched him enter the car and drive away. He breathed in deeply, wiping away tears, Alone again.

"Jacob Stilleman?", the receptionist asked. Jake walked up to the desk, and nodded. "Okay good. Your room is 221. Just follow that hallway there", she said. Jake nodded, and grabbed his bags. He started down the hallway to his room but suddenly stopped.People! What are they doing? Talking. I wonder what their talking about, he thought spotting a brown haired boy, and girl in front of him.

Jake stood still, watching the boy and the girl. Of course from a respectful distance, its not like he wanted to disturb them. When the girl looked over in his direction, he quickly looked away. She looked at me! What do I do? Should I say hi? Should I keep walking? Why do is it so hard to know what to do., Jake thought, his gaze turning to the floor. He heard the door to the school open, and the Klink of metal on the floor. Slowly raising his gaze, he saw a girl on crutches enter the building. How did that happen?, he thought, before hitting the palm of his hand against his forehead, You idiot. Don't ask those kinds of questions. Still, she does look interesting., he continued to drift until the new girl walked past him, wrenching him from his random thoughts. She had smiled at him. A small blush slowly grew across Jakes stoic face. What the?! I don't know her! Why would she smile at me? I didn't do anything did I? No, nothing. Why then?! Does that mean something? I should go. What was my room number again? 221, okay, okay. Calm down. Just walk., he thought, and slowly continued to his room, setting the backpack he had a little higher on his shoulders. It didn't help that the boy and girl he had been watching before were still in the hall, or that the girl who had smiled at him came back down the hall in front of him. Jake looked away as he passed her, hoping she wouldn't notice the small blush that had heated up his cheeks.

Asmodeus coughed a bit as the girl began to fidget with her bags. "It's not your fault. Kind of an... a-an odd scenario, you know..." He rocked on his heels a bit as he looked around, going pale as what seemed to be an altercation between a girl with crutches and another boy started. He stepped back, recoiling as the crutch came up in front of the other boy, and legitimately made a "meep."
Addy thought for a bit as the other people's conversation dragged on, not yet noticing that they weren't getting into a fight. [i]Should I help? I... there were fights at the orphanage. this is just like a fight at the orphanage. I should go tell them to stop or they won't get ado- right. This isn't the orphanage...[/b] Asmodeus was already moving towards the two as he thought. As he neared, he spoke up "hey uh... you guys shouldn't... shouldn't fight, you know?"