Mad Dewey Dash

[CoreyImperia†]

The school library was a place Lani Salder frequented heavily. While never a literature appreciator, the solace and the quiet that the library demanded made her feel placid and at ease. It was a chance to break away from the constant tribulations of your everyday teenage girl and to have a moment just to herself: Lani time.

LANI SALDER: PREGAME START

She had just been assigned a new tutor, Joshua Bracewell, another junior she knew through his heavy campaigning for junior vice president. She was glad he won; he certainly had her vote with all the good she thought he'd bring to the student council. They'd worked together well so far, and she'd taking a nervous liking to the boy; he was definitely helping her grades, that's for sure. Lani's eyes scurried across the walls and shelves, seeking a particular round countenance: half-past four. She had time to spare before he was expected to arrive.

570: Biology.

Lani and her mother had baked some beautiful citrus balls for to give to her tutor as a thank you for the assistance so far; she carried them in a Tupperware container, and they sat uniformly adorned with yellow and green coatings and orange flower petals. Flannery always insisted that Lani show gratitude to those willing to help her out, and Lani just never wanted to make a poor impression. Her outfit this afternoon reflected this too: a smart midnight blue blazer over her white blouse speckled with floral patterns; a flowing, tangerine skirt of length just below the knee; and pale vanilla penny loafers.

540: Chemistry.

She stopped suddenly, noticing a missing book from a shelf arranged and stacked in an otherwise totalitarian fashion; the book, The Flowers and the Trees: An Introduction to Plant Systems, had fallen to the carpeted floor. Picking it up, Lani smiled. She remembered reading this one; in fact, she even had a copy at home. Flannery had picked it up for her fifteenth birthday, after Lani showed such a love for the subject. Shuffling through the catalogue, Lani returned the textbook into its allocated slot and continued navigating the labyrinth.

510: Mathematics.

Finding a spare seat, Lani sat beside a window; the sunlight reflected off the glossy tabletop, creating streaks of yellow light for them to bask in as they worked. Might as well get ready while I wait, she thought. Lani pulled her textbooks from her bag and layered them across the tabletop meticulously. She didn't want to give her new tutor the wrong impression. Lani's gaze darted across the room, scouting for anyone she knew that could keep her company until they had arrived. She relaxed and waited patiently for her session to begin.

[Slam]

((Nate Turner continued from The Theatrics Formula))

Nate Turner was collecting a small mountain of textbooks in his arms, far more than he could ever hope to get through in one sitting. As was usually the case when he was worked up, Nate had not thought things that far through when he'd been pulling books off the shelf like they were going out of fashion.

Earlier that day in math class, they'd been informed of an upcoming in-class test. Nothing major, mind, more of an evaluation and recap than anything, but that part had more or less gone over Nate's head. As much as Nate hated maths, he hated tests even more.

Not only were they a great way to be reminded of how terrible he was at schoolwork, but then he got to look forward to that awful grade staring him in the face a few days later, and he knew everyone else could see his reaction, so then they knew he got a bad grade too. So, not only did he get to know that he was an idiot, but everyone else got reminded of it too.

So yeah, Nate was trying to make sure that that didn't happen by cramming as much information in as he could between then and now. Not that it would help, nor that it ever did.

As he rounded the shelves, satisfied with his pile of literature to cross-reference his own notes with, he immediately scanned the room for someone to study with. Studying in groups was much better than studying alone, because pretty much everyone understood this stuff better than him. The fact that the other person was usually quick to tell him not to worry so much and that he was being too hard on himself was also a huge perk, but not one that ever crossed his mind. Not consciously, anyway.

He spotted Lani over by the window, and was already heading in that direction as the nerves immediately began to ease up just a little.

"Hey, Lani! How's it going? Mind if I join you?" he asked, not moving to take a seat until she gave the ok, but very much ready to when it was recieved.

[CoreyImperia†]

"Oh, hiya Nate! I'm doing alright, thanks." Her response was pleasant. Lani warmly welcomed the company, and it look as though the pair were here for similar reasons. "Of course! Have a seat; I'm just waiting on a tutor, but I'm quite early." She hadn't seen Nate since she last attended swim practice. "It's nice to see a friendly face around here!"

She shifted space for him, moving aside her array of textbooks that lay sprawled across the table into a neat, tiered pile beside her. Trigonometric equations and measurement on the top of course. She peered at the heap of nonfiction Nate was carrying in his arms. I guess that upcoming test has others a little nervous too, she contemplated. Lani had started to improve on her mathematics, a testament to Joshua's ability as a tutor, but she still had some ways to go before her results would please her—let alone her mother.

Lani briefly stole a glance out the window; the sun was still shining fervently, making her a little jealous of anyone not studying at this very moment. Extracting her iPhone from her bag, she lit the screen up to check the time. After placing it on the table, she turned to speak to Nate, making use of the company she'd acquired.

"So, Nate. How're you doing? Studying for the math test?"

[Slam]

"Yeah, yeah." He chuckled an awkward chuckle, taking the free seat whilst dropping his pile of texts down with an audible thump. "I'm pretty dumb after all, so gotta hit the books."

He grinned at his own remark, but of course it was a pained grin. One of those 'Please take pity on me' kind of looks, at its core. He didn't want some kind of encouragement that he wasn't an idiot, he was pretty used to that idea, but anything Lani might've said to try and perk him up would've been appreciated.

"It's kay though, I'll leave when your tutor gets here. Don't want to be in your way, or anything." The fact that Lani was seeing a tutor at all surprised Nate just a little: this wasn't the first time he'd seen her hitting the books in the library, but unlike him she seemed to have her head wrapped around stuff more often than not. Maybe it was seeing a tutor that helped her keep the edge? Maybe seeing a tutor was what he needed?

Meh, that was probably a bad idea. Waste of their time and his money, most likely.

For the moment, he could just talk things over with his friends or get his dad's help, or ask Toby or Paul. At least, he could if they weren't busy or too tired from work, which they often were.

"I bet with all the studying you do, you're not worried about the test at all, eh Lani?"

[CoreyImperia†]

Lani sat in contemplation, not understanding Nate's need for self-deprecation. She didn't think he was stupid at all, and especially not so because sometimes tests try to tell him otherwise. She'd seen this before though, and while she desperately wanted to perk up his mood, she considered her words very carefully as not to make him think she was pitying him. Why would she? She was here, with the same doubts, studying for the very same test.

"Tests are dumb Nate." She looked up at him with that and just smiled. "Also, maths is just outrageously hard."

Her own insecurities about her scholastic abilities were starting to show in her words. Lani was, by no means, a poor student; she sat on an A- average, but her performance in mathematics had always worried her, especially how much her mother stressed tertiary education to her. Lani felt compelled to do whatever she could to ensure that she made it into a prestigious institution. She could never get her head around the formulae in maths unfortunately, so she often found herself utterly bombing tests. This is why she'd enlisted the help of Joshua, who was more than happy to lend a hand, and insisted that she not pay for his services. She never liked letting others know she's tutored however, fearing that others might see it as a chance to ridicule, isolate, and devalue her. Lani didn't might Nate knowing at all when she thought about; there was a comfortability she felt around him.

"I wouldn't worry about you being in my way Nate; I always enjoy your company!" She exclaimed. "Besides, if I know Joshua like I think I do, I doubt he'd mind. He'd probably be excited to see another face sitting here!"

Lani felt a little more at peace, a little more at ease speaking with Nate. Her day wasn't awful by any means, but the upcoming test did have her a bit down. She became nervous when he asked her about her worries about the test, visibly so, but she tried to regain her composure as much as she could, bringing back her positivity-engorged grin.

"Well, it's nothing major, so there's something positive about it coming up. But math makes me a little... anxious."

[Slam]

"Heh, yeah, you and me both."

Already Nate was starting to feel a little better, thanks to Lani's generous efforts to relate over their shared mathematics gripes. Even if he was going to bomb on this test, it was always nice when other people leant him a little reassurance that he wasn't alone in being lost in the world of numbers and formulas.

He did smile more sincerely when Lani said that he wasn't being in the way, which was something he liked to hear. Hopefully Joshua would feel the same way when he showed up; Nate had voted for him after all. Now that he thought about it, sitting down and studying with the vice-president would be a new one; he'd probably be a pretty interesting guy to talk to.

He had to take a moment to remind himself that it was only the student council that he was thinking about, not an actual president.

"Why do we even have to do maths anyway?" he asked, thoughts going back to Lani as he added a little filler to the conversation with a question that, really, he knew the answer to. Academics was pretty big in his family, and his brothers for the most part had all done pretty well in school, certainly better than him. Even if he didn't like maths, that didn't mean it wasn't important and kept them in the black. That was one of things his dad had tried to tell him when he'd asked him to help with his homework a few months back. It had not been a productive session.

Whatever, he didn't need maths if he decided to be a pastor, right?

"Oh, unless you were going to do something with it in college, or something?"

[Pancapples]

...all the muscles of his body writhing in an intensity of terror and sheer fear beyond bearing. He was going mad and knew it, and somewhere deep inside a bit of sanity was screaming, struggling to fight off the hopeless flood of black terror. It was very horrible to go mad and know that you were going mad -- to know that in a little minute you would be here physically and yet all the real essence would be dead and drowned in the black madness. For this was-

"God fucking damn it."

Gary Kwan - Pregame Start

Gary sighed, rolling his eyes at the chatterboxes on the other side of the library. He mumbled to himself and sighed deeply once more. The library was normally barren, but an upcoming test had brought in a flood of newcomers with no respect for library etiquette. "What a shame," he thought. "It's not rocket science, people. We've been doing this for years." He ran a hand through his hair, keeping the other one firmly planted on his book. His eyes darted upward for a moment, wondering who was in the library with him.

"Nate and...Kealani, was it? That sounds right. She shortens it, though. To something. Lani, I think. That sounds right too." He found himself staring for what felt like longer than he should, and his eyes slowly moved back to his book. "I'm strange," he thought to himself.

He wasn't wrong.

[CoreyImperia†]

Lani smiled at Nate's response. She could see that her words had a positive effect on him, which made her feel a lot better in turn. She was glad, in a sense, to run into Nate and have him share the anxiety about the test that she felt, though not so glad that either had to do this test or go through the aforementioned anxiety, especially considering it little-to-no weight on their grades. Her point being mutual dislike births great conversation and company.

She pondered on Nate's questioning of maths at high school for quite some time, so much so that he had already forwarded a second question. She wanted to make sure she answered this in the best possible way as well. Lani herself didn't enjoy maths as a subject, and only continues to care about her grades in the subject because of Flannery's insistence on college. She'd thought about it, and while Lani likes the idea of college and what it could provide, she hadn't the slightest clue where she'd go or what she'd study.

"I ask myself the same thing sometimes," she began, "it's like, if you're not going to need it for anything, why have it forced on you? I'm keen for college, like it sounds really appealing, but I doubt I'd do anything math related."

She paused. "Mum's really pushing the whole 'go to college' thing too because she went. And there's more than a bit of pressure to do really well because of it."

This really wasn't an exact answer to Nate's question, but it picked up on the college thing and allowed for some further conversation. "Do you have plans for college or anything?"

[Sansa]

((Joshua Bracewell continued from Extraordinary Machine))

A wide grin was plastered across Joshua's face as he strode contentedly down the down the corridors of the ground floor, several hefty textbooks tucked under his left arm with the other lightly clasped around a half-eaten pear. With few classmates occupying the area to exchange pleasantries with, he instead opted to look to the variety of posters plastered across the walls to occupy his thoughts instead, taking note of as many upcoming events as possible as he passed them. One in particular stood out to him, though: a lime green sheet of paper with his smiling face pasted across it and the words 'BRACE WELL WITH JOSHUA' sandwiching it in a vibrant font. He thought he'd retrieved all of his propaganda from the election, but his campaign had been so heavy and intense he figured it would've been impossible for him to not miss at least one.

He was still riding the high of his win, though his pride over the achievement had been dampened somewhat by seeing the disappointed looks on his competitors faces once the victors had been announced. If there was a way for all of them to share in the role, then Joshua would have chosen that option in a heartbeat. The guilt had been gnawing at the back of his mind for several days, subdued only by the flurry of tasks that continued to crop up in orderly fashion, one after the other; like the one he was headed to now: tutoring.

Mathematics wasn't his greatest subject, but he still did well enough at it to qualify as a tutor for those who struggled with all the formulae and equations. He couldn't blame them, really – if it weren't for the cocktail of energy drinks he took before a big test or the ever-present pressure to maintain his GPA then he figured it'd be just as likely for him to be in their position instead. His student for today was Kealani Salder, a Polynesian girl who was as sweet as honey and terrific company. Tutoring her made him feel connected to his own islander roots, though she seemed slightly resistant to discussing it in much detail. But he knew she probably had her reasons for it, and it wasn't his position to pry.

Joshua paused for a moment once he reached his destination to place the core of his fully-eaten pear into his lunchbox, remembering to save it for the family's burgeoning compost heap at home. It was his mother's latest project, in an effort to use less chemicals on their garden and 'give back to the earth', as she called it. He was always amazed at how his mother could come up with so many schemes for the benefit of the environment and the people around them, and was even happier to be able to contribute, even in such a small way as saving his food scraps at school. Helping with his parents' interests was always an assured way of interacting with them, and being able to help the world at the same time was even more of a blessing.

Having rebuckled his schoolbag and opened the doors of the Beale Library, Joshua cast his eyes over the area before settling on his target, who'd already acquired company in the time she'd been waiting. He always tried to get to his appointments early, dreading the idea of disappointing someone or making them wait, and so he was unaccustomed to his students already having taken their seat before he got there. Inwardly chastising himself, Joshua made a mental note to get there extra early next time the two of them had an appointment.

As he got closer, he realised he could put a name to Lani's seating partner: Nate Turner, a fellow junior. He was an utter sweetheart, and in Joshua's eyes had always performed admirably at the theatre shows and swimming comps he'd seen him participate in.

"Hey Lani! Hey Nate! How are you guys? I'm sorry for keeping you waiting." He waved cheerfully as he closed the distance between them and took a vacant seat at the table where they were situated, the tassels of the dark blue sweater draped over his shoulders swaying gently as he grinned at the duo.

[Slam]

Nate could definitely relate to Lani feeling pressured by her mom to do well. At least, he thought he knew what it felt like to be pushed to do better in subjects he didn't like, but maybe he couldn't totally relate to feeling pressured to go on to higher learning.

"I don't know if I'm going to college, to be honest." He shrugged, that trademark self-doubt not showing up in the words this time. "I've got four brothers, and only one of them went to college, so it's not something my parents have said I have to do or anything, you know?"

"I don't think I'd go if I could, though. I don't really like any subjects that you go to college for, except maybe English, and I don't want to be a writer or anything, so I might as well skip all the debt, right?" he continued, the pile of math books continuing to remain untouched at his side. "I did think about becoming a pastor when I'm older, but I think most of them go to college? I dunno, maybe I can just be one of the ones that doesn't have a degree."

Truthfully. his mom had been the one pushing the point that further education was important to joining the clergy, in another attempt to promote his independence. Nate wasn't aware of that motive, but at the same time it did mean that he and Lani were in fairly similar situations after all.

As he'd been talking to Lani, Joshua had appeared. "Hey, Josh!" he smiled, lifting a hand in a small wave. "Congrats on the election."

Ah, that was right: he'd said he'd get out of the way when Lani's tutor showed up. Though, at the same time she'd said it was ok if he'd stuck around, hadn't she? Still, Nate was too polite not to at least ask.

"Sorry, you guys probably have stuff to do; should I leave?" he asked, motioning to stand up and get his things, whilst once again making those puppy dog eyes that quietly pleaded not to be made to go and forced to think about studying again.

[Somersault]

"Why do you think you're a dork? I don't think you're a dork. I don't think Mom thinks you're a dork."- Sixteen Candles

Jane was pissed.
((Jane Madison Pregame Start))
All Jane wanted to do right now was to go home, watch Sixteen Candles, and just. go. home. Jane just didn't want to deal with Math right now, so here she was, camped out in the library, reading Gone With The Wind. While reading her book, she heard some people speaking.

Walking over to the area where she heard people speaking, she saw four people all sitting around a table. Not really people she knew, except for Nate, and she didn't really know Nate all that well, either. Hooray.

Jane then waved to them taking a deep breath to calm herself, before introducing herself. "Well, hi. I'm Jane."  Walking over to a nearby table and taking a seat, she began to read again. Jane really wished she could watch Sixteen Candles.

[Emprexx Plush]

Fucking lying goddamn twisted piece of shit cocksucking asshole

((Ty Yazzie Stalking In From Goddamn Right, You Should Be Scared Of Me))

The inside of Ty's head was a colorful, hateful whirlpool of anger after sorting his family out this morning before school. Wouldn't you know it, that night after he and Beans had their sit-down, a nice little patch of his garden ended up torn up, just shredded flowers all over the damn place. When he confronted the bastard about it this morning, he acted all innocent in front of Ma and the old man, even had the balls to try to blame the whole thing on Chaplin. Called him a "stray" and thought it was a smart idea to make some sly remarks about local animal shelters. It took Ma calling him back outside to keep him from punching the smug dick full in the face.

He was glad she did. There was nothing good about stooping to his level. If one goddamn petal was out of place when he got home, though...

Ty took a few deep breaths and gripped his book tightly before wandering deeper into the library to find a place to sit. Usually he'd work out to blow off this kind of steam, but getting physical now would just encourage him to be the same way when he got home. It was better to lose himself in thought for awhile, then set the garden to right when he got home. If need be, he'd corner Beans for another talk later. Mary's number was in his phone. Might be time to show that he meant business.

As he turned in to find a table, he noticed Lani surrounded by a whole crew of folks. If she wasn't so frequent around the store, he probably wouldn't have noticed her in the middle of all of them. Seemed only polite to throw a tense smile and a wave her way before he settled down a little ways away and buried himself in The Conquest of Bread.

[Pancapples]

Gary watched as countless students spilled into the library. His library. Being such a well-adjusted, open-minded individual, he thought to himself:

"No. Fuck this. Nuh-uh. Too many people."

Gary slammed his book shut, sliding out of the ancient wooden seat and hauling his rucksack over his shoulder. As he walked grumpily toward the exit, he let his eyes wander to the table across the room one last time. Many more had gathered there, and he briefly entertained the idea of going over. He could, perhaps, introduce himself or ask if they needed help in any subjects.

"I'm not going over there. Fuck that shit." He thought, and went to have lunch.

Gary Kwan continued elsewhere...

[CoreyImperia†]

"It's totally up to you Nate," Lani began. "Ultimately, no one can force you to go if you don't want to or don't need to." His mention of student debt made her laugh vivaciously. "Maybe I'll get lucky and score a scholarship."

Lani had no idea that Nate intended on becoming a pastor; it was a career choice that had never crossed her mind, most likely through not being religious herself, but she was so impressed with Nate because he already had an idea of his future ambitions and goals. "I think it's really cool that you've got plans, even if they're not set in stone. Me? Well, I like the idea of college like I said, but like, I've no clue what any of it will amount to, if anything I guess." Her shrug and composure seemed to mimic that of Nate's when he became self-deprecating, not out of mockery, but now because she was the one feeling insecure.

Before she'd realised it, Joshua had arrived. Lani had been enjoying her conversation with Nate deeply, as she always did. "Joshua! Thank you for meeting me here. Don't mention it at all. I've had excellent company, and was here a lot earlier than necessary!" She nearly completely forgot about her baking until she glanced over to the window. "By the way, mum and I made these for you. They're made from citrus—and no lactose or nuts involved whatsoever."

Suddenly, a seemingly strange senior approached the group, stating her name before retreating to a nearby table. Strange in this sense because Lani saw the approach as strange. She was all for meeting new people and improving her relations with other members of the student body, but felt awkward that Jane didn't ask for her name back, or say anything else for that matter really. Conclusively, Lani shrugged the interaction off, guessing that Jane would return if she needed something or wanted to speak to any of them.

Another brief interaction closely followed; it was a wave from Lani's friend and fellow avid gardener Ty! She returned a smile and waved excitably as she began to remember the last time she visited the store: to buy the zinnia she was currently wearing in her hair.

Lani could feel Nate's worries about intrusion returning with his closing comment, despite Lani's initial assurance. "I'm totally okay with you staying Nate! I mean... if that'd be okay with Joshua, of course?" She was trying not show it too much, but she probably wanted Nate to stay as much as he was hoping to stay.

[Emprexx Plush]

((Breaking Post Order to leave thread, sorry!))

Ty tried to focus on his book and calm down. Honest to god, he was trying. No matter how tightly he held it, though, or how intensely he stared at the page, not a damn word made it through his skull. He was too charged up, he could feel his body vibrating with tension. Shit, other people could probably see it, if it was as bad as he felt. He needed to be up and active, doing something, doing anything to get this out, or he was going to regret it when he went home. Maybe being around people was a shit idea right now.

Lani was in the middle of folks across the room. There was a part of him that wanted to talk to her. He wouldn't say they were best friends or anything, but she got him and they hung out, so maybe she could help him calm down some. But she was swarmed and he didn't want to fuck up her good time right now. It didn't make much sense for him to be here, not where there were so many other people trying to get along and he was putting off bad vibes. Nah, he needed to get out and make something happen.

He needed help, and he had a pretty good idea where to look for it.

Ty shut his book and gave Lani a nod before heading out. On the way to the car, he pulled out his phone and started texting. He spent a little while waiting there, working out the details, before signing off with a satisfied grin and pulling up a number he hadn't seen in awhile. 'bout time he gave her a ring, really. He'd kick around town for a little while, just to give the plan time to set in motion. Then he'd make the call and show that smug little fucker that he wasn't playing games anymore.

((Ty Yazzie Continued In My Ball And Chain))