SOTF Archive/SOTF Classic

The air was mild despite the October weather forecast as John got out of his parents car. He had to wear a nice shirt and tie as this was a wedding, though he figured it wasn't worth it. A couple of hours of church followed by awkwardly being placed on the kids table at the wedding dinner. Apparently 15 was still a kid - if this was in February, he'd have been put at an adult table of course. Stupid planners... At least he didn't have a girlfriend to have brought. That would have been embarrassing.

Though it was embarrassing that guys at school were claiming they had lost their virginities already. He'd never had a girlfriend... And fat guys that didn't do sport weren't exactly going to get many. His mother has kept telling him he wasn't fat - only a few pounds overweight. But it was noticeable enough to be made fun of.

He looked at the church and the many people crowded around and waiting to go in. There were a few other teenagers but mainly adults. This was going to suck... He didn't even know who this friend of his father's was or if he'd even met the groom - let alone the bride.

Brendan sat in the back seat of his parent's cramped, rented new Suzuki Sierra, head in his hands. He hated Jet Lag, even though he knew how to avoid it; what, with him flying over most of Asia for the first decade of his life, and his dad teaching him the very same stuff. Yet, he chose to actually read on the flight, throwing off his sleep schedule, and making him sick in the head...well, not in that way, but sick, nonetheless.

The sunlight poured in through the windows, yet Brendan Wallace wanted to sleeeep. He had never even been to a wedding before, so it was quite odd that his mum and dad actually wanted to take him to a friend of theirs wedding..in America. Yet, he bared it, grinned, and strode out of the car; they said there would be plenty of kids his age there, even thought he quite insisted that none of them would have the IQ of a goldfish; it was America after all. Even so-

- these kids are fucking babies.

He knew that that was a kind of rash thought; they looked around 12, maybe 13; yet he wanted to speak to someone in his actual age range, probably a...what did they call it here, Middle-Schooler, High Schooler?
Even though I call it High School back home, it's different here, all different.

Scratching the back of his head, he looked around the crowd, huddled around the church doors waiting for the whole affair to start. There was one, probably two teenagers that fit that part perfectly, so he scratched his chin a bit, then thought up a plan. He wasn't good at making new friends, hell, it took him a really long time to get in good with the group he was in now, so...
All for the conversation, Brendan, all for the conversation.

He could see one lost soul in the crowd, a slightly overweight kid, with probably the same problems he had. After all, he was like that once; well, overweight, not...
Brendan lost his train of thought again, Jet Lag making him kinda dizzy, and wandered over into the kid's line of sight.
Maybe this could be the start of something. Who knows.

John moved away from his parents car and noticed one of the other new arrivals look at him - if only for a few seconds. Then he seemed to stumble.

"Hey, are you okay?" he asked the other teenage boy, going over and taking hold of his arm. Maybe he was ill - or even doing something a kid their age shouldn't. Like drinking or drugs.

He shook his head internally. That was stupid - what parent wouldn't notice that going on in the back seat of their car? Only the worst sort, surely. And he didn't smell like smoke or drink.

"You need to sit down?" he asked.

((OOC: Whoops, sorry ))

"Hey, are you okay?"

"Wha?" Brendan mumbled, noticing that someone, who looked like he wasn't much older, or probably even younger, than himself. Hard to tell, since most of these Yanks were short. They probably weren't Yanks though, he didn't know. Then why would they...

He was yanked out of his thoughts as the boy took ahold of his arm. If his arm was Indochina, then the guy was the Viet Minh, and the feeling of security left him like the French.

Donttouchmedonttouchmedonttouchmedonttouchmedonttouchme!

Brendan stopped himself from yanking his arm out of the guys grasp. It wasn't like cause a scene would make a good impression.

"Uh, no, it's just Jet Lag. Flights over the Date Line are a pain. I'm okay, really." Brendan mumbled again, and noticing that the guy was still holding onto his arm.

"...could you let go of my arm now, please? I'm fine, really."

((OOC: It happens, lol ))

"Uh, no, it's just Jet Lag. Flights over the Date Line are a pain. I'm okay, really. ...could you let go of my arm now, please? I'm fine, really."

John retracted his hand - seemed the guy didn't like being touched...

"Uhh, sure..." he nodded before shrugging. "What line did you cross?"
The guy had an accent, but John had never been very good with identifying them. Apart from Brooklyn accents, for some reason. Probably thanks to television.

"Uhh, sure..."

He seemed to get the message, and let go. Good thing too. As antisocial as he was towards strangers, he had major qualms about people touching him, and no amount of self-pity or self spiriting was going to change that fact. Also a good thing because he was about to cause a scene if he didn't let go.

"What line did you cross?"

Brendan's eyes rolled at this point. Were all Americans so stupid that they didn't kno-
Wait, he probably thinks Time Zone line.
That could have been embarrassing, so Brendan smirked a bit.
"Uh, the International Date Line. I'm, um, from Australia."

"Uh, the International Date Line. I'm, um, from Australia."

"Oh!" John exclaimed. He really should have guessed. That crocodile hunter movie, and that real life one... "Cool. Was it a long flight?"

He doesn't really think that this conversation will go anywhere. He only came over to check this guy didn't faint, so felt obliged to carry on talking. Honestly though, this was probably the one person he could talk to. The others were younger or girls. He felt self-concious enough around people usually, without adding the fact he was dressed up nicely. Nervous sweat from talking to the opposite sex would ruin his clothes - and any chance of being taken seriously.

"Oh! Cool. Was it a long flight?"

"Umm...yeah, it was okay. About 13 hours, and why I'm about to pass out here!" Brendan commented in nervous laughter. He didn't really want to pass out right now, nor was he going to. Banter, he noted, was something he wasn't that good at. Not that it stopped him from trying.

"So, uh, how do you know the, um, bride or groom or whoever?" Brendan started. What the hell, it was time to get to know this kid.
Hmm, 'kid'. It makes me seem a lot older. Well I'm a lot taller, so that counts for something, probably.

"So, uh, how do you know the, um, bride or groom or whoever?"

"Oh, well my parents are friends with the groom." John shrugged. "Somehow. I dunno, it was a pretty boring conversation..."

He now regretted not listening. He would have had more to talk about if he had.

"What about you?" he asked. "Do your parents know them? Or are they family?"

Flying all the way from Australia just for a wedding would have been a little bit extreme... But some people liked having their entire family there on the 'big day'

"What about you? Do your parents know them? Or are they family?"

"Oh, um, my parents are friends of the family I think. Good friends, probably, since I had to fly out here. They're, um..."

Brendan glanced over to where he thought his parents were. His mother was speaking to some important looking person in a suit, while her dad stood by. It seemed as though they liked it out here. Well, that made two of them.

"They're friends of the family, yeah."

Brendan paused for a few moments, thinking things over. The kid seemed...nice enough. It wouldn't hurt to try and get to know him, would it?

"So, do you go to school around here?" Brendan asked.

"Oh, um, my parents are friends of the family I think. Good friends, probably, since I had to fly out here. They're, um... They're friends of the family, yeah."

John kept from frowning. He must be tired, which is why he's acting weird. It surely couldn't be something sinister.

"So, do you go to school around here?"

"Yeah." he nodded, then realised they hadn't been introduced. "My name's John, by the way. I go to Bayview. The local high school. Just your average school."

"My name's John, by the way. I go to Bayview. The local high school. Just your average school."

"Okay, cool. Sounds great. I'm-"

Just before he could continue, he looked around, and noticed people had started to go into the church. Well, this would have to wait until later.

"Looks like everyone's going in. I'll probably see you later."

"Yeah, sure thing." John nodded, giving a half-wave as he went back over to his parents. He didn't want to get seperated from them and have to find them again in the church.

He figured the mystery guy would go to the wedding reception. It wouldn't be fun to fly around the world just for a half-hour ceremony.

He went in with his parents as they went into the church, sitting on the right side for the Groom's party. This would be boring... But at least he had someone he could talk to later.