Singalong

[Namira]

((Winston continued from Rock n' Roll Star))

"In this farewell
There's no blood
There's no alibi..."

Winston liked to chill out in the drama room, but only when it was deserted. Admittedly that wasn't all that often, but it seemed he had been lucky this time. It was nice to just be able to relax and let yourself go a little in a place where it wouldn't even matter if anyone saw. Sure, singing wasn't exactly drama, but it was close enough, so people didn't usually mind if they found him intruding. Of course, if there was something on Winston always left right away. He didn't want to get in the way or anything.

"Cause I've drawn regret
From the truth
Of a thousand lies..."

At this point, the song was about 50:50 on relaxtion and practice. Winston used it as an emotional outlet, but at the same time, Blank Nation had a gig coming up that he needed to practice. Sure, 'What I've Done' wasn't one of the songs that they were doing at the gig, but it was good to at least give his vocal chords a slight work out. Besides, it was on his iPod, and regretfully, 'Flaming Mastodon' and 'Enemy Crab' weren't.

Wow, wouldn't that be awesome? To have our songs available for people to download? Haha, that'd be the coolest thing ever.

"So let mercy come
And wash away..."

Most people would probably find it a bit weird to walk into the drama room to see some kid lying on a table, eyes closed and singing very loudly along to a song. Winston wasn't counting on that though, or at least, he was hoping that nobody came along. Performing with the Nation was a whole different thing from somebody listening in on him whilst he was just singing randomly. It would be worse if his singing wasn't good, but all the same, Winston could see people being a bit weirded out by it.

Well if someone comes in, I 'll just stop. Easy as simple.

"What I've dooone
I'll face myself
To cross out what I've becooome..."

[Parzel†]

(( Kent Chirper continued from Scientist Studies ))

Kent skimmed his eyes across the creased timetable which he held in his hand. He had a free period, and thus headed towards the Drama block to rehearse for an exam he had he had to perform. He was doing an monologue, something Kent disliked. He, being a socialite, loved performing with others, usually for the comedic value. He pushed through the weak wooden doors of the drama block into a dark studio, filled with various assortments of lights and effects, which streamed across the ceiling. He entered only to find the surprising noise of another student singing, he peered in, attempting to find out who was singing. The student was Winston Parry, he was Blank-Nations Vocalist, a small punk band which went around the school.

At first, Kent held himself from laughing at the guy, who was spread out across a table with his eyes shut belting out lyrics. Kent looked around for anyone else and quietly lent against the wall. When he finished the song and it went quiet Kent smiled towards him.

"Nice... Shame I don't like that kind of music" He hoped to surprise Winston, he only vaguely knew him as a shy person, which quite contrasted being a vocalist of a punk band. Kent tried not to come across as everyone thought of him, an arrogant moron. He was really okay when he was on his own, so he decided to be much more pleasant towards Winston.

Kent paced towards a large desk filled with buttons and controls, flicking a few lights on and off. He loved the studios, he hoped to someday work in acting. He himself thought he was a master on the stage, but he thought he was a master at everything.

[Namira]

"Forgiving what I've doone..."

At that point, the song was all over but a little bit of 'Na-na-na-ing', and Winston stopped singing, opening his eyes and sitting up. If the next song were one he liked the vocals for, he would probably sing to that as well. Then again, there were plenty that he owned that he preferred only to listen to.

Winston didn't even notice Kent until he piped up about his taste in music - this took him aback a fair bit. How long had Kent been standing there anyway? He hadn't even noticed the guy... In truth, Winston wasn't sure what to make of him, but that wasn't anything new. Even though he sang for Blank Nation, Zack handled most of the necessary communication, so Winston didn't really have to talk to other people too much. Whilst singing? Everyone else had the anonymity of a crowd.

That was odd actually, there were a lot of people who knew Winston's face without him ever knowing them...

He was a bit hesitant to continue singing now that Kent was there. Heck, he flat out wouldn't. It was either with the Nation or on his own. Winston was feeling a bit awkward, not enough to leave, but all the same, he wasn't at ease at all...

"So uh, what brings you here Kent?" was Kent in the drama club or something? Was there a meeting on? Ugh... he didn't know.

I just want to go now... it's embarrassing enough he caught me singing without having to stick around for conversation...

[Parzel†]

A surprised expression seemed to fill Winston's face as he noticed Kent stood leaning against one of the drama room walls. Kent smiled lightly, taking a few steps forward from his original position and towards the centre of the stage. He had obviously caught Winston at an embarrassing moment, which Kent expected. He sensed the awkwardness, but Kent didn't want to give up on the conversation, he liked talking, regardless of who it was.

Kent reached into his bag and took out a piece of paper with long blocks of text on it and begun waved it towards Winston.

"I have to do a monologue unfortunately, for an exam" Kent said, skimming his eyes over the paper and looking over some highlighted words. Kent looked up, not wanting to lose conversation with the boy singing.

"What song was that then?" He asked, he knew it might embarrass him to talk about it, it was obvious in his voice he wasn't comfortable. Kent wondered how long it would take until he exited, he doubted it would take long, Kent certainly wasn't leaving. He had to practice soon, and unlike Winston didn't care about an audience, in fact he preferred one.

[Namira]

What kind of exam could that be? Now Winston was just more confused. It could be English, possibly, but it still sounded more like drama to him, and so far as he was aware, that was extra-curricular, not something that you had to take exams for. Still, there was no reason for Kent to lie to him, so Winston just had to accept it was an exam for something and leave it at that.

"That? Oh, it was 'What I've Done' you know, Linkin Park?"

Winston had no idea if Kent would know, but he supposed that the band was reasonably well known, so if the other guy knew much about music, he would probably have heard of them. They weren't Winston's favourite band in the world, it was true, but he found a fair number of their songs listenable, and the vocals for most were just the right kind Winston needed for practice. Thinking of practice, Winston wondered if anybody was still getting surprised by the fact that somebody like him did vocals for a punk band.

Sometimes, he thought people expected him to be a little... well, a lot more extroverted than he actually. Just went to show you couldn't trust everything you saw on stage. Things didn't tend to be exactly as they seemed in many cases.

Look at the hidden depths of Winston Parry would you? I'm not some kind of mystery man, just... shyer than people would think.

[Parzel†]

Kent frowned slightly at the song, Linkin Park? He had heard of them, maybe he had even heard one of their songs. He didn't particularly like the sound, it wasn't his style. He felt like mocking Winston for it, but he managed to stop himself, realizing it wasn't worth it. Kent recited through his lines in his head before returning to Winston, who was still quite awkward in his gestures.

"Meh, not my kind of music. So, you got any gigs with that band you're in lately?" Kent said, trying to make conversation out of the little things he knew about Winston. In honesty Kent was simply trying to prolong having to do his monologue. Something he partially dreaded. Motivation was something Kent never had when it come down to doing something he wasn't interested in

Just keep him enticed longer, it gives you an excuse not to do the stupid monologue.

[Namira]

There it was again. Blank Nation was the first thing most people thought of when they saw Winston... but hey, that wasn't all bad. He liked the band, and all things considered, there were worse things to be associated with. As for gigs... well, it seemed to Winston that Kent was just making conversation.

"We've got one coming right up actually. Should be pretty good, we've been practicing a few songs so... uh, yeah, should be good."

Winston wasn't the most eloquent of people, which was probably because he didn't do a whole lot of general talking. Singing wasn't quite the same thing, because you knew what you had to say. In conversation though, well, he was awkward, to say the least. Maybe it was that he wasn't used to not knowing what came next, and tripped over himself. Something like that.

This was uncomfortable. He didn't know anything much about Kent, and the other guy had caught him at singing for who knew who long... Winston wondered how soon he could leave without seeming inpolite or just strangely scared.

[blastinus]

(Madeleine Smith continued from Curly Fries)

I probably should be surprised, but I'm not. I'll just make this quick.

During class in this room yesterday, Madeleine had noticed that part of the mural on the wall across from the door was fading. She had figured that nobody would be in this room during this period, and so she'd be able to walk in and touch it up in peace. No such luck, it seemed.

Standing in the doorway, a thin paintbrush perched on her ear and a case of assorted pants hanging from a strap in her right hand, she thought about just walking out and taking care of it later, but knew that if she was going to do that, she'd have to stay after school. Definitely not a good prospect.

Just go in, get it done, and get out. They won't even notice.

Hoping that these men would be too busy with their discussion on music to notice what she was doing, Maddy inched along the side of the room, making sure not to rub the wall itself. She'd been sneaking around so much lately that she was beginning to wonder if going to school was really that good for her heart.

The faded spot was fairly easy to spot, if you were looking for it. Probably nobody had even noticed this. Dragging over a table to stick her paints on, Maddy dipped her brush into the Dark Blue and set to work, while lightly singing a little ditty she'd heard her mom singing from time to time,

"Love makes me treat you the day that I do.
Gee baby, ain't I good for you..."

[Parzel†]

Kent nodded as Winston explained about a gig, he didn't know where they were performing, and he highly doubted it was a large gig. He smiled faintly to Winston, wanting to keep him in the conversation.

"I see, so I guess you were rehearsing right?" Kent said, a sense of absurdity in his voice. He was stating the obvious of course, generally for the conversation to continue. It was then he was interrupted by the weak noise of someone else. Kent looked round, his eyes meeting with someone he didn't recognize. He had no idea what there name was. They seemed to walk in and begin to paint in a drama room.

"Er excuse me, this isn't the art studio, you cant paint here, and what the hell are you doing anyway?" Kent said, frowning slightly towards the other student who was painting a faded part on the wall it wasn't exactly the norm to be doing paintwork on the building as a student. This made Kent quite perplexed as he stood observing the girl..

[Namira]

Winston stopped speaking to watch Madeleine after to started to sing softly. Kent, though slightly rude, had a point with what he was saying. It was a bit odd for somebody to just walk into a room and start painting. All the same... he didn't like how Kent had phrased that, he was sure that there was a reason to start painting.

He shuffled his feet awkwardly, feeling embarrassed in case Madeleine associated him with Kent's rudeness. They had been talking after all... Winston didn't want to be thought of as a person who didn't care about other people's feelings. Or tact.

[blastinus]

One important thing to get good at when one is working with paints is to work quickly so as to not make a mess. The skilled artist needs to have a picture of what they want in their mind, and they must make sure to transfer that quickly to the painting (in this case, the mural spanning the entire length of the room) before any of it got to the floor. Not too quickly, of course, because then the painting just gets covered with multicolored splotches, but at a brisk pace.

The task of touching up the mural was going very quickly. Whoever had painted it originally had done a marvelous job of it. Maddy had always wanted to meet the original artist and shake his or her hand. This piece was a true work of—

"Er excuse me, this isn't the art studio, you can't paint here, and what the hell are you doing anyway?"

Oh no! Not good, not good. Not. Good. WhatAmIGonnaDo?

Turning slowly, her paintbrush still in her hand, Madeleine stared at the boy who had come up to her and asked what she was doing. Her paintbrush dripped onto her shoe, but she didn't notice, as she was too busy trying to think up a way to explain what it was she was doing in a way that wouldn't make it seem completely weird.

Gesturing stiffly at the wall now and then, her paintbrush still in her hand and thus leaving droplets of paint on her other arm, Maddy sputtered, "I...well I...I wanted...I was just...it was faded. The-the picture here. On the wall. It was faded, and I...well...I didn't..."

I've got to get out of here.

Madeleine's original thought had been that the great painting going all along the four walls was made first by a student, so it was okay for another student to maintain it. But if what this student said was correct, she was going to be in so much trouble.

And so she did the only thing she could do in this case.

She fell to her knees and cried.

"Please," she said between sobs, "I just wanted...I just wanted to make this mural stay pretty. Please don't tell anybody."

[Wash†]

Free periods. The school's little white flag towards the truants and the thickies. 'Look guys, if you turn up when we tell you to we'll give you special times when you don't have to turn up any more! Wowzers!' Vincent Murdoch was generally adept at keeping himself entertained but an hour of a classroom wall would test anyone's patience. Hanging around the drama block was as decent a time filler as any and generally the people hanging out there seemed pretty tolerable. Although, Vincent reflected as he bit into his fourth slice of stuffed-crust Hawaiian, Most people do when you've got pizza. Fact of life.

You gotta love a pizza place that'll deliver to "yeah, just outside the school gate". Class.

How the hell am I so skinny? Seriously.

Such thoughts preoccupied Vincent as he entered the drama room, so much so that it took him a moment to notice the girl crying into a paintbrush.

Christ, if you hate painting that much, try calligraphy.

His eyes flickered round the room, looking for the guilty party. Kent was around, as was some guy with an iPod whose face was annoyingly familiar yet difficult to place. Vincent grinned at the two of them in a classically irritating way,

"Kent, man, I think you need to work on your approach"

Then the girl's head shifted slightly and Vincent caught a better look at her. He vaguely knew her, pretty sure he'd seen her around.

Hmm. Not too shabby.

He leant down slightly, keeping his good side prominent and proffering the pizza box.

"Slice of Hawaiian to bring your smile back? Crust has cheese in it. They do that now."

[Parzel†]

Kent almost laughed when the girl began to stutter, her eyes seemed to feel with a sense of fear, which mildly amused Kent. Then something ridiculously funny happened to Kent, she began to cry. Kent could not hold himself from bursting out laughing; a loud nauseating sound was released from his throat as he attempted to regain his consciousness.

"Are you freakin' kiddin' me?" Kent said, wiping a tear from his eye as he watched the girl.

"Fuck, I asked her what she was doing!" he said, spluttering out his words, Kent found it insanely funny that she was crying. He only wished his friends were around to see it. He managed to stop his laughing, with a few deep breathes he walked towards the girl.

"No I am going to tell everybody, the head of drama, everyone." He said, a wide grin stretching across his face. He hoped it wouldn't give away his sarcastic comment. Then suddenly another person come in, someone Kent had never seen in his life. He raised an eyebrow when they asked him to "take another approach" Kent didn't like the arrogant response, even if he didn't mean it that way, that is how Kent had taken it.

"Fuck me, did Jim Carrey just enter the room? This isn't a playground you know, and I hardly think Pizza is going to cheer her up, besides, you cant even eat in here. So get the hell out!" He said, a calm sense to his voice as he sardonically grinned towards the end.

[Namira]

Oh that tore it.

Madeleine didn't look to Winston like the most bold of people, or at least, not particularly thick-skinned. She was a bit like him in some ways, shy, retiring, but where he had his outlet in singing and the Nation, Madeleine had hers in something more quiet, art. They kind of remark Kent made... was not helpful.

Oh man! He made her cry? Jeez, think about what you're going to say Kent! Aw... I don't like seeing people all upset, maybe I should go help her out or...?

Before Winston could do anything, however, one Vincent Murdoch turned up. He wasn't really somebody that Winston knew too well, although he came across as a bit of an attention-seeker. Still, he himself hadn't witnessed too many of Vincent's alledged antics, so Winston gave him the benefit of the doubt. No sense drawing conclusions on people based on hearsay right?

Still, pizza comfort was... a little strange, but oh well, whatever worked. Winston hated to see people crying, especially when it was another person's actions or words that made it happen. It wasn't fair - they didn't have any right to upset somebody. What did they get from it? A bit of smug satisfaction? Not cool.

And following on from that, Kent... oh that was too much.

"Shut the hell up Kent," Winston didn't like to be aggressive, but heck, it was words that had started this, so he had no problems with using them to get involved himself. If things got physical (which, knowing Kent, he doubted)... well, he'd just have to do what he always did in those situations. Winston liked to think that nothing would ever make him so much as raise his hands in anger, and so far, he'd been proven right.

Winston stepped between Kent and Madeleine, a deep frown on his ordinarily calm face.

"Know what? You're just an asshole. You upset somebody, and instead of apologising, you start laughing at them. Get lost Kent, because nobody here wants or needs your insightful little comments. Got it?"

Please just... go away. You didn't need to do this, and it doesn't need to get worse. Take a hint!

[Wash†]

Wow. That's gotta suck.

Vincent glanced from Winston, to Kent, to Madeleine and back, caught halfway between amusement and plain bewilderment. Guess you really do need to watch the quiet ones. Kid's probably got a closet full of dead hookers or something. This is just fantastic.

It certainly was an impressive gesture. Throwing himself in front of Kent like he was a fucking tank at Tiananmen Square. It had grandeur. Vincent liked grandeur. Theatricality was an art and he appreciated anyone with a flair for it. Vincent took a bite of his slice as he grinned sardonically around the room.

He was used to these kinds of situations. Crying girls, jock meatheads waving their dicks in everyone's faces, blah blah blah ohgod I want to die. What he wasn't used to was being cast as anything other than the bad guy and the novelty was (for the moment) somewhat appealing. He drew himself up and affected as close an approximation of righteous indignation as he could muster.

"He's right Kent, no-one here was looking for any trouble. Think it's best you fuck off, aye?"

Vincent glanced towards Winston for support, but as he did so Winston's face must have caught the light in a certain way or something like that because suddenly that annoying familiarity clicked into place.

Wait wait wait... is that the singer from Blank Nation?

Huh.

Well, there'd be time to follow that one up later. Vincent turned back to Kent, trying to keep his expression firm but non-confrontational. He had a sneaking suspiscion that he wasn't pulling this off.