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This is the last place humanoid and non-humanoid students would want to be caught with a wing, claw, fang or gills sticking out. "Incognito" is mandatory here!
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The only people with clean outfits are the rangers and officers that can be seen parked unnervingly close together. Then again this was a small town we are talking about here. But why so many in such a small town? That's what usually goes through anyone's mind when they first drive through. Of course its still early in the day after all.
Some of the town's workers are settling down for lunch in the diner since its a short driving distance from the quarry itself and prefer to have a hot meal rather than a packed lunch. Some of the small business are even closed due to the owners/managers stepping out to to joint the workers for a hot plate. One in particular, Eric, who runs the gas station is nearly hunched over a plate with a half eaten sandwich. His elbows are resting on either side of the plate with his hands cradling his head, shivering. One of the waitresses walks up to the wiry man's table to check in and see if he's doing alright.
"Hey hun you've barely touched your plate, you doing alright?" She asks. Eric jumps, startled out of his trance. He leans back and does his best to put on a smile for her.
"Its just been rough running the business and taking care of Pops." He can't seem to sit still in his seat as if something was bothering him and this was the best he could do to keep from falling apart.
One of the town's deputies sits down in the opposing seat of the booth and greets Eric like an old buddy. "How you holding up? I heard about what happened. I'm sorry I didn't get the chance to stop by but they've been having me pull extra hours to keep an eye on the college kids coming in. Is your dad feeling any better?"
Eric rubbed his face and leaned back in his booth seat. "Running the station isn't difficult, its being there without anyone keeping an eye on dad...he hasn't been able to leave the bed but he's doing better." He turns his gaze away from the deputy, forlorn. The deputy looks to the waitress and they exchange a glance. She mouths the words, 'I'll get him some pie', before she steps away.
The deputy returns his gaze to Eric with a look of concern. He notices through the window that Eric was looking out of was unfamiliar cars beginning to drive through the town. "Speak of the devil." He gets up and pats Eric on the shoulder. "Marcy's getting a slice of pie for you. Take it easy now alright?" Eric continued to stare out the window. He wasn't watching the cars driving through. He was staring at the sky.
Callie looked around. The town didn't look quite so different from her hometown. Small, filled with hard working people who probably knew each other well and looked out for one another. The people in her hometown didn't necessarily know or look after her family, but it was the case for most of them. Her family was just so different. And, she'd come to accept that. She also noticed the town looked a little sad. Maybe that was a reflection of her own feelings, but things seemed a bit rundown. She always assumed that towns near universities thrived from visitors and the students themselves.
With a shrug, she headed for the diner. Ducking in the door, she straightened her blue and green patchwork broomstick skirt and tugged lightly at her light green top. Her clothes were always a bit different from other people's, but she felt like she was a crayon box walking into a black and white movie, so bright her clothes were compared to the diner's patrons. With another subconscious shrug, she watched a waitress leave a booth with, what seemed, sadness in her step. She looked her over, wiped her eyes for a moment and looked again. There seemed to be a gray cloud over the booth, covering a man who was hunched over. Must be all the driving ... tired eyes, she thought to herself.
Pulling her attention away from the booth, Callie patiently waited for someone to notice her.
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She walked on to see what she could see about the town that seemed to be to quiet. She liked that about it. She was about to walk past the diner entirely when she noticed the girl standing not far from the door. She looked around again before heading for the diner. She could not shake the forbidding feeling, but she needed to stretch her hidden form. She checked that her sweat shirt was covering everything, her pants didn't look to funny, and her aqua hat was covering her ears just right. She opened the door slowly and nudged the girl in the back gently.
"Excuse me, but do you think I can get by?" she said softly shifting from one foot to the other in an uneasy manner.
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Many of the workers had stopped eating whatever they still had on their plates to look at the new arrivals. Judging by their clothes and, one of them looked to be covering herself more than the average 'outsider' normally would. The waitress would give them menus and ask if they wanted anything to drink. Though she appears to be antsy having to talk to them. "Have you decided what you want or are you still looking?" She didn't even wait for them to open their menus when she asks.
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"Do you serve chocolate milk?" she asked and pondered the menu a minute. "On second thought, I'll have the special of the day and a water please. . ." she said quickly just trying to be rid of the woman. She wanted to talk to the girl. . . She wondered if she felt as unwelcome as she did. . .
"Excuse me, but do you think I can get by?" she said softly shifting from one foot to the other in an uneasy manner.
"Of course," she replied, somewhat tersely, and stepped to the side. Her eyes kept pulling her back to the normal people in the diner. There was just something about the people, the place itself that made her feel on edge. At first it was something very subtle and then she noticed two men having a minor confrontation. Vaguely, she heard something that led her to believe that she was the center of that scuffle and, turning to look at the girl who'd nudged her, maybe this girl too.
Taking a deep breath, Callie smiled slightly at the waitress as she took the menu and sat down at the booth. Just as she started to answer, her tablemate stood and walked away. "Coffee, please," she responded distractedly. "The special would be fine, thanks."
This is nuts, she thought to herself, the people are weird, looking at me like I smell funny. She grabbed a strand of her hair and sniffed, then lifted the collar of her shirt and sniffed again. Not anything that should earn me such looks! The other girl returned and ordered herself. She watched her and thought she must be awfully warm in all the clothes she wore.
Raising an eyebrow she narrowed her eyes slightly, "Not quite sure why she sat us together, but I'm guessing you are passing through as well? It's an ... interesting spot, huh?"
"Yeah. . . interesting. . . I don't think students are really welcome here. . . If you notice the way they are all looking at us. . . This is my first visit here. . .probably my last too. . ." she said now letting her eyes sweep the room "I'm Shadonna," she rubbed her arms as if cold. "So, a student at the university too huh? Have you seen it. . . The university that is. . . I'm was on my way there when I needed to. . . well you saw. . ." she got uncomfortably quiet. "sorry. .. and you are?" she asked stretching her leather gloved hand out in greeting.
The waitress arrived with their drinks and food putting them down without a word. She was gone before any questions could be asked. Shadonna looked around the room again slowly taking a profile of everyone in the room including the boy the ranger had sat with.
"Not going to take me long to be rid of this place. . . I don't like it here. . ." she said eating the skimpy portions of Chicken Noodle Soup and Grilled Cheese. She sniffed the water and wrinkled her nose. "Don't drink the coffee. . ."
And, what was the moment of awkward silence? Was she embarrassed because she had to use the bathroom? Seemed like a fairly normal need after a trip, actually maybe she didn't have a long trip.
"Did you have a long drive here? I was ready for a break, but now I'm ready to be finished with driving and get settled," she furrowed her brow when Shadonna mentioned her coffee, "what's wrong with it?" Callie poked around at her food a little more, finding that her appetite had disappeared. As she dissected her sandwich, she imagined leaving the diner, walking to her car, getting in and making a tight u-turn. Calliope realized the scene had a smile finding it's way to her mouth. It quickly fled when she admitted that she didn't have that option. She couldn't deny the memory of her parents' and their final wish for her.
"Do you know what classes you're going to take?"
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She paid the ticket and left the diner quickly. I don't like this place she thought as she started the long walk up the road to the university. The time she spent hiding her secret helped her get stronger, so this walk was going to be a breeze. She let her mind wonder as she walked ignoring the world. . . I wonder how Xi is doing. . . I miss him so much. . .
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The sound of a loud engine slowly drowns out the George Jones playing from the truck. A beat up old Volkswagen beetle convertible rolls up aside the truck. The color is either a faded orange mess, or old primer. The vehicle it's self is visibility shaking. The noise from the Bug's engine caused the old man to turn up his radio in order to combat the old German car engine. The younger passenger looks down at the ugly small car. The driver is a dark brown haired white male, in his early 20s. He is wearing a thick black rim glasses, an old second hand yellow Ralph Lauren polo shirt with the alligator poorly stitched with red tread. His jeans are washed out and fashionable by mistake. The driver has one hand on the steering wheel, and the other on a small white cooler chest. He looks up at the truck and young man riding in it. The two young men exchanges glances. While the passenger in the truck looked away, the VW driver kept staring with his green eyes, the sunlight shining off the glossy red paint made him squint, as he observing the truck and his occupants. The light finally flashes green, The truck is first to leave due the VW's old gearshift. There is a loud bang from the exhaust before the car speeds down the road.
The noisy beetle cruises past an array old homes ranging from well kept to rundown. The street pavement hasn't seen maintenance for some time, causing the car to rattle more. The unhappy driver puts more attention on keeping the foam cooler from spilling out. The bumpy ride last until the beetle reaches down town. At the stop sign the driver check his fuel gauge, mostly out of habit. The fuel gauge stop working last fall, the needle has been stuck on a quarter empty. He lets out a dishearten sigh. The car drives down main street to the nearest gas station. The few open businesses are surrounded by abandon buildings, and growing vegetation. All serving as a depressing reminder of the town's dying economy. The majority of the townsfolk are elderly. The rest are middle age adults that couldn't escape the slowly dying town. As the ugly VW bug pulls up to another stop sign, the drive notice another group of on lookers. Staring at him from the window of a small diner. A haggard elderly couple and their equally tired waitress are staring at him with a slight disgust. The driver just ignores the ancient couple as he tentatively waits for the old once golden stop light to turn from a faded red to an equally as faded green.
The beetle drove down the road for only a few more blocks, until he reaches the gas station. It was a small little auto garage connected to a dinky little food mart. The car pulled up to one of the few antique gas terminals that didn't appear to be broken. There was a large old sign hang above the pumps. Stating that this place was full service, an old and outdated business practice. The driver waited patiently in his car for someone to help him. A few minutes pass before a wheezing car horn blew out of the orange bug. Still no answer, frustrated the driver got of his car and walk up to the mini-mart door. The was a piece of white paper with some chicken scratch writing on it taped to the door. The message was difficult to decipher but it stated "Out for a bit back soon." The driver stood in front of the closed door, then look back at the old town and said, "God I hate this place."
Her attention was pulled by Shadonna's quick departure. She got up to pay her own bill and headed out of the diner. Callie watched Shadonna walking up toward the University for a moment before turning toward her car. After unlocking the car, she slid in and started it. Breathing deeply, she eased out of the parking space and slowly pulled up next to Shadonna. She pushed the button to roll down the passenger side, "do you want a ride up there?"
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She continued walking towards the school looking back from time to time as people started driving by a little more frequently. Some offered her rides, which she politely turned down, and others just zipped right passed her. She slipped into the shadows of the trees to keep from being hit by someone being careless. Explaining the dent in their cars would be hard when she didn't have a scratch.
(Continued at the university)
For the most part he ignored the student and worked off of muscle memory. He persistently perspired making his palms sweaty. Everything he touched left a thick layer of moisture. Car included.
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Don bent over and picked up his pack, he slipped on his new human clothing, a pair of jeans and a worn shirt with a set of boots. His muscles bulged out of the shirt, at least that part of him was still of accurate size. He decided he didn't like wearing the human form. He threw the pack over his broad back effortlessly and continued on up the road and into the town.
He didn't waste his time there, he knew the people there would want nothing to do with him so he didn't impose his presence for too long. He wanted to remove the amulet and run the rest of the way, it would have been far faster and less tense but he had a feeling these people would not stand for him in his natural form. He endured the suspicious stares and whispered comments all through the main street. Why on earth are humans this way, he wondered. He would need to ask a professor this precise question. Then it dawned on him, that moment when Don had wandered onto the road and struck out at that car. Could they be afraid?
The moment Don exited the town's limits he wandered into the forest a few paces, removed the clothing and the amulet returning to his natural form. It was like releasing himself from a tightly jarred bottle. He tucked the clothes and amulet away and trotted briskly up the winding path.
"What's gotten you so riled up? Did they forget to leave you a tip?" He still had concern for Eric but since everyone knew just about everyone in the town it was hard not to toss a quip every now and again.
"That bastard short changed me! How am I supposed to make a livin' like this?!" The station attendant was taking all of his anger out on the straw that broke the camel's back. He shook the 20 dollar bill with it clenched so tightly in his fist that his knuckles turned white.
The deputy walks up to Eric and puts his hands on his shoulders but not without requiring a few attempts to get him to stop moving and dodging around so much. "I know you're having a hard time but you're not the only one having a difficult time. Just hold on for one more day and I bet I could ask my cousin to help you run the station for a while. But he can't run it on his own, you're the only one who knows how to run it sinc-" He cuts himself off. He was about to make Eric cry with the way his eyes were glazing over and his face turning red. "Go back into the station and we'll keep an eye out for the kid. He's bound to come back down the road sooner or later. In the mean time we'll get back on that case for you. I promise." The deputy pauses for a few seconds before finally turning to walk back to the diner.
Before he walks up the steps he notices another person walking through town. Judging by the bag he must have been another student. But there was no way he could have walked all this way on his own two feet alone. It was a good few miles from the city and even further from anything else. The way his shirt looked like it fit too tightly over his muscular frame along with his thick beard made it so that, although he could tell that the man was in his twenties, he looked to be aged by the wild. Nature had a strange way of making young men look older and older men look ancient. He wondered why someone like him was headed for the school. He shakes the thoughts from his head and heads back into the diner.
Eric stands completely still till he hears the bell on the door ring. He took no notice of Don in his grief stricken state. He turns around and starts to walk back to the station; tears begin to roll down his face.
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