Q: What is the Twitter Feed? A: The twitter feed is basically Metric’s gossip blog. It’s run by an anonymous user who goes by Campus Sweetheart. No one knows who this person is, but whoever they are, they must be attending Metric at either the High School or College Level. The things said on the Twitter feed vary in terms of authenticity, but everything that is said on the Twitter feed exists to cause drama. Characters may reference the Twitter feed either in the IC cbox or in in-character posts.

Gossip Twitter is run by Kenzie and any gossip requests may be PMed to her. She will add them to the Twitter feed when applicable.

Q: What is the IC Cbox?: A: The IC cbox is basically like the regular cbox, except all posts must be in character on it.

Q: What is the plotbox?: A: The plotbox is like the chatting cbox except reserved for plotting. This way people can plot things among one another while also leaving the chatbox open for regular conversation. Please take plots/gushing about RPs to plotbox if other people pop on the cbox, this way both conversations can carry on and no one will be dwarfed.

Q: What is the Ghost rumor for?: A: The ghost rumor started on the original forum, inspired for Halloween and horror themed roleplays. You may use the legend of the Powell family to your hearts content for spooky type roleplays, though keep in mind writer Pierce has created a character for one of the Powell children .

Please PM Kenzie if you think there’s anything else that should be mentioned in this sidebar.

Perfect Park Planning

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pierce
Sweet Baby Jesus

Posts: 561

Perfect Park Planning Apr 19, 2017 17:47:28 GMT

Quote

Post by pierce on Apr 19, 2017 17:47:28 GMT

Intro for Lori
Dane's outfit - bike - bag

It hadn't been Dane's idea to ride to the park to plan out the after-game party with Gwen - not this time. She was the one who observed how beautiful it was and how it was probably a crime to be cooped up indoors and miss out on all that beauty. Of course, half of Salem seemed to have the same idea because the park was bustling! Many food vendors came from around town and turned half of the parking lot in to a carnival-esque eating area, which in turn made parking really difficult... but they didn't have to worry about that, thankfully. All they had to worry about was chaining up their bikes when they finally arrived, Dane with a look of mild concern due to the number of people there - but with a grin at the prospects of enjoying the day to the fullest nonetheless.

"I know there's a bike rack here somewhere," he thought aloud after they dismounted, walking his bike and inwardly enjoying the clicking sound that it made as they pushed forward past the incredibly tempting aromas. Yeah... they'd have to double back before too long and really see what was being offered. "There!" Dane pointed ahead, the bike rack almost full but fortunately not full enough. It took a couple minutes to arrange them right, but they had both of them locked up nice and tight before strolling off for a good spot.

"It's gonna be impossible to find a picnic table today, I bet." he observed in a carefree manner, they didn't really need one anyway. "Well I found the bike rack so I'll let you pick a spot for us," It had been her idea to come here in the first place, so it was only fair! Dane had no complaints either way, the bike ride had pumped him up with some good ole adrenaline and he had brought his soccer bag just so he could kick the ball around - it helped him think.

Clay's outfit

Though Clay wasn't accustomed to park maintenance by any means, he was still an earnestly honest worker and this was evident in the way he milled about - busy with three things at once but nevertheless calm and precise. He had trash duties, not to mention he was in charge of keeping the facilities in order as well as making sure any problems with park equipment was swiftly taken care of. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but the amount of parkgoers made all of his jobs twice as difficult to execute.

They certainly didn't like the bathrooms being closed for cleaning, although many had complained about the state of them enough to force his attention upon them. This was his only real break, after giving the woman's restroom a quick but noticeable once-over, to take a breather before opening up the floodgates again. He stared in to his hollow reflection. Four more hours and he was done with this favor to his co-worker. Four hours and he could go back to the much more slower paced janitorial obligations on the Metric campus.

He finally surfaced from the depths and unlocked the door - the women who had been waiting outside pushing around him with nothing but disdain over that fact that he'd had to make them suffer. Clay just kept a stern face and pulled the cleaning equipment behind him, taking it in to the storage closet in between the men's and women's, locking it in and continuing with trash redistribution. Four hours were going to pass so slow, he knew it.

Last Edit: Apr 19, 2017 17:51:45 GMT by pierce

the Girls:
Cleo Leon * Perla Mercer * Remy Polait
Clare Temple & Eloise Temple, PI
Laine Vance * Lilith Peters * Wendy Lambert

the Guys:
Elliott Sadler * Lance Fleece * Wade Rawlson
Clint Clark * Sylvan Peters * Ross Uccello

the Metric Staff:
Marty Rivers (shop teacher)
Miles Lambert (guidance counselor)
Clay Carpet (janitor)

the SHSers:
Jack Morris * Paige Lipton * Dane Colson * Tina Kalivas

the Ghost:
Calvin Powell

Lori
Sweet Baby Jesus

Posts: 686

Perfect Park Planning Apr 20, 2017 19:26:21 GMT

Quote

Post by Lori on Apr 20, 2017 19:26:21 GMT

Gwen's outfit x bike x backpack

This was going to be so awesome! Salem High had an important soccer game coming up and there were no people better to plan an after party than Dane and Gwen. Of course they were positive that their school was going to win, but on the off chance they did lose Gwen wanted the party to be on. Everyone would need cheering up and know that they still played a great game. They would just love it, she was sure! Well...maybe not everyone. Not a lot of people understood how Gwen thought. But she knew that Tempest and Dane would cover her!

They were originally going to meet up at Dane's, but the weather was just so nice Gwen couldn't stay inside. She had begun jumping up and down saying how they should go to the park. She cheered when Dane finally gave in and they rode off. Naturally everyone seemed to have the same idea, as it was pretty crowded. She looked around with Dane, trying to locate the bike rack. Once Dane spotted it, Gwen followed him over and they proceeded to squeeze their bikes in. "Yay! We made it!" she cheered as soon as the locks were in. No one was going to stop them from having a fun day at the park and planning an awesome party! She took off her helmet to leave it with her bike and looked to Dane, whose hair was more flat after being cooped up under his helmet. She gasped. "Moppy! We have to fix you!" The first chance she got, she proceeded to mess up Dane's hair - rather fix it up - so it looked like its normal 'moppy' self. She took a step back and tilted her head, examining Dane's locks. She 'fixed' his hair up once more and then nodded in approval. "All done!" she grinned.

Gwen's eyes widened with excitement when Dane said she could pick where they sat. "Yay! I feel so special!" she grinned. Hm...where to sit and plan? Gwen tapped her finger to her cheek and looked around. Most of the picnic tables were taken, but that was ok. Picnic tables were only good for eating! They could go onto the playground and sit on top of a slide but there were a few little kids around. And she'd hate to ruin their little imaginations! And who knew if any of their classmates had siblings that ran around here? Or if any of their friends would happen to be there at the same time? They had to find a good spot, a run spot, maybe a spot near the ice cream truck! Then it hit Gwen. She saw a couple of kids running out of the swing area, leaving just two swings available. Her eyes lit up and she grabbed Dane's wrist to pull him in the direction. "Let's go sit on the swings!" she decided eagerly "We can swing and plan the party and figure everything out and then we can get some ice cream and maybe swing some more. Oooooh do you think the ice cream truck still sells those pops that looks like unicorns? I LOVE those! They taste like frozen cotton candy! Let's go Dane, let's go Moppy! We're gonna plan the best post-soccer party EVER!"

-x-

Carla's outfit x headband

After completing an early shift, Carla returned to her dorm to change and complete some homework. Not that there was a lot for her to do before her next class, but she wanted to make sure everything was in order. Unfortunately for her, she saved the most dreaded for last - her latest writing assignment. Typically Carla loved her writing and English classes; but with Dillis as a professor, she could only handle so much. She was pretty sure her limit was reached at the beginning of the semester, which wasn't saying much currently. He was still insistent on looking outside of the box and being different. It irked Carla that not only did she have to continue writing out of her comfort zone, not to mention about things she wasn't remotely interested in, but that the only times she could come close to thinking like that were when she collaborated. Bouncing ideas off of Candice was always nice, but she was busy today. And there was no way in hell Carla was going to use Dillis' office hours. It was bad enough she got called there last year over an assignment.

As much as she typically detested being around people, especially after working a seven am to noon shift in retail involving nothing but people, Carla found herself on the bus to the park. She had moved the necessities from her backpack to a messenger bag, particularly her English notebook and a notebook for observations. She also threw in one of her binders for good measure. Not that she believed she would run into anyone from Metric to watch for herself, but she did spend numerous hours rearranging everything. She ended up increasing the number to three binders - A through J, K through T and U through Z plus a miscellaneous section for teachers and goings-on outside of Metric. The latter was the binder she ended up taking, as well as a bottle of water.

Once at the park, Carla took notice of how busy it was. Everyone was taking advantage of the nice weather. It was no surprise, though she could have personally done with a little less. With few places to sit, Carla ended up leaning against a tree with ample shade. She placed her bag next to her and took out her observation notebook. She began with jotting down a person walking by with their dog and a squirrel gathering fall acorns. She wrote a few bits and pieces of a conversation - not to spy, as she couldn't hear the stories in their entirety, but merely for ideas. With little luck, Carla sighed and sat the notebook in her lap. Since when was writing this difficult? She took a moment to glance around in attempt to see if she was missing anything. She ended up seeing the janitor come out of the girls' restroom, barely avoiding getting mulled by impatient girls.. Actually, he appeared to want to avoid people in general as well. Carla raised an eyebrow. She squinted to try and get a better look only to realize she recognized him. She was fairly certain that was the janitor at Metric. What was he doing at the park? And why did it look like he was typically sneaking around? She tapped her pen against the paper as she thought, and then switched the notebook with the binder. She jotted down a few basic notes, though occasionally glancing from the corner of her eye. He wasn't doing anything suspicious; just bringing his supplies where they needed to go. Still, it didn't explain why he seemed so secretive around campus, for a person in general. Maybe it was just the kind of idea she was looking for....

Rylan Newt Izzy Talon Ella Logan
Carla Ari Chase Declan Harper
Inara Benny Gwen Jett Lark
Shay Phoebe Everett
Dillis

pierce
Sweet Baby Jesus

Posts: 561

Perfect Park Planning May 8, 2017 5:49:31 GMT

Quote

Post by pierce on May 8, 2017 5:49:31 GMT

Dane kept pretty still while Gwen took it upon herself to fix his helmet hair, though he couldn't help but fidget a little. He looked to her with the usual, 'done yet?' sort of arch to his brow, a small smirk present that grew when she gave him the confirmation - starting off their walk in to the thick of the park. He had his thumbs casually hooked through the straps of his backpack, just following her lead until they began to approach the playground.

Dane glanced from the imminent destination to the enthusiastic gleam in her eyes, a dread passing over his when it was very clear that her choice would be around the swarm of kids at play. There was little he could do though, especially when she caught him by the wrist and rushed over to the swings. "Uh, but don't you think we're a little... you know, big? To be on the playground and everything? Some of these kids are giving us looks already..." he observed in his glances around, catching the glimpses and looking to Gwen whose determination was obviously not to be denied.

"Let's just... not take too long, okay? Just to be fair." he gave in, settling in one of the swings - feeling pretty good after doing so and letting it sway a little. Ice cream sounded good, but chili cheese nachos sounded even better right now. "If they want to be considered an ice cream truck they better! We can definitely hit the food trucks," Dane answered, laughing, "but hey now - let's not get ahead of ourselves, right?" he reminded, fishing a small notepad out of his backpack before setting it down close by. He drew out a pen from the spiral of the pad then flipped to a blank page.

He had already written down a couple ideas, just basic things that covered food, general party materials, as well as the time and date of the party itself. "So. Like always it's gonna come down to whether we get a win or not. And you know how I hate doing the plan B planning and all, but with how hard Tempest has been training I really think we can focus more on a win party." Dane began, tapping the end of the pen upon the paper's surface. "You said we have a few options on where to have it, right? Maybe we should start off with that."

***

Though he was feeling a little sullen, Clay sucked it up. It was additional income, plus he could call a favor out on his supervisor anytime once this was over with... which he knew would come in handy eventually. Packing a few bags of trash on the back of the park's motor cart, he looked around for any more overspills but there were none in the vicinity. What he did notice caught him off guard, though. That one girl from Metric, the one who he was pretty wary of - of how she kept watch on everything going on around her... writing it all down in that binder of hers.

Clay always worried that she might've seen him and Toni together in a moment of carelessness, that if his best friend happened to ask her about it in the right way... that she'd tell. He had no reason to believe that she did know. But also, he had every reason to want to make sure. He kept a sharp eye on her in his peripherals, his gut tightening when he saw her write a few things down. What could she possibly be recording in that thing? Clay didn't like the prospects of it. Even if she did know but wouldn't squeal, Lucian had ways to make people bend to him. Not good.

For a while he tried to ignore all the thoughts that surfaced - how she could already be spying for Lucian... it was so hard to clean with the weight of all those suspicions on him. So, he worked up the gall to make his way closer to her - pretending to check on the trash can nearby that was clearly not even halfway full yet. Clay looked over his shoulder, not a very inconspicuous move - subsequently breaking his act and stepping to her, keeping a comfortable distance when he stopped. His hands were at his elbows, nervously clasping the dark denim of his rolled up sleeves. "You keep looking over, why?" Clay asked, lacking subtlety now that he had made himself known, "...You aren't writing about me are you? I know you do that, I see you all the time on campus. Watching and writing,"

Lori
Sweet Baby Jesus

Posts: 686

Perfect Park Planning May 9, 2017 19:39:54 GMT

Quote

Post by Lori on May 9, 2017 19:39:54 GMT

Them? Big? Gwen glanced at the kids nearby, then at Dane for comparison, then the kids, then the swings, back at Dane, back to the swings, Dane again, then the kids...it went like that a few times. Finally, when she let her gaze stay on Dane she merely shrugged her shoulders. "Why would anybody think that?" she asked. "It's a free country. We're not that big. And besides, you're never too old or too big for swings!" Although it was probably her naivety talking, Gwen also completely believed that. It wasn't like they would even really get in trouble, right? Or like a bunch of park police just sat around in the bushes waiting for kids or anyone to do something wrong and have a reason to throw them out of the park, take pictures, put them up on some kind of wall of shame and then throw them in park jail if they ever tried sneaking back in. Right....?

Nah. Shaking her head at the thought, she clapped her hands when Dane agreed. "Yay!" She skipped right over to the swings, plopping herself down on one of them and automatically started swinging her legs in and out so the swing would move. "Don't worry, Moppy. If any kids come and wanna have these two swings next to each other we'll move. Just because we're taller than them doesn't mean we have to be mean to them. Besides, we can all have fun together. That's what parks are for!" As soon as Dane said that ice cream trucks better have the ice pops they were looking for, Gwen smiled widely and started humming happily. She could already picture that unicorn popsicle now...it was white like vanilla and it had what looked like a piece of ice cream cone sticking out but not really, it hair was blue and pink which probably gave it the cotton candy flavor she was talking about, and there was a chocolate chip on each side for the eye. It was soooo good! She actually started singing lightly as a result thinking about the ice cream! "Space unicorn, soaring the the stars, space unicorns soaring through the sky, delivering the rainbow...."

While Dane took out his notebook, already getting ready to plan the party, Gwen continued humming and swinging higher. She giggled at how well she was doing. She was going so high! And up and down. Who could hate something like that? No way this was just for little kids! When Dane finally spoke, it took a minute for Gwen to process it. She blinked after a minute and turned her head in his direction. "What was that? Hold on, I'll land my rainbow battle ship from space!" She kept her legs still, allowing the swing to slow down and steadily move closer to the ground. Gwen waited until it was low enough before she started pumping her legs again, sure to not go past the poles that held the swing set in the ground. Oh sure, she could have still swung high and conversed with Dane, but she would have just gotten way too caught up in the adventure in her head and gotten too distracted! "Oh I know everyone wants a win party, especially Tempest," Gwen nodded. She knew that better than anyone. "But she and everyone has been working so hard, it'd just be a nice thing to show everyone we're proud of the game they played and we love them no matter what. Even if they did lose to Metric. Let people get mad at that school, not their friends," she stated. But she did see Dane's point. She supposed it was better to focus on a win anyway. They needed all the positivity they could get sometimes! "We could have the party at the pizza place. Doesn't someone's uncle or something work there? And it'd be great business for the pizza. Nothing says victory like a hot pizza and a ton of sugar drinks. Or we could do it here at the park, but they close when it starts getting dark and we don't want anyone getting in trouble. Or sneaking off and messing with the squirrels in their homes. We do just visit here anyway. Oooooooh or we could decorate the gym! The game's outside so if we can get everyone in there after there's enough space for everyone and all we'd have to do is make sure no one sees it before hand. Except a teacher or two, probably, so that way they know what we're doing and don't think it's a part of a practical joke or something. I dunno who'd try to pull that off anyway. We can even get a ton of balloons if we do that there and I can decorate them!"

Gwen continued swinging and looked up at the sky as she thought everything through. So pizza was her Plan A, park was Plan B but probably not going to happen, Plan C was the gym...she did have something else in mind. But what was it again....? "I guess if any of those didn't work I could always ask Noni if we could have a party at my house. But there'd probably be rules and limits and I don't wanna be the one to tell any of the soccer players they can't invite the cheerleaders or their girlfriends. They'll get so sad and then maybe not have as much fun and it won't be much of a victory party anymore and that wouldn't be fun cause it defeats the whole purpose of having a win party, right?" Yeah, Gwen was pretty sure that covered everything. "So, what do you think Dane?"

-x-

Carla hadn't written down too much; so far she got that there was little difference between the janitor in Metric and outside of Metric. She wrote down that he appeared to have a second job, that it wasn't too different from what he did at school. Though there was still the matter of his actions. He was looking over his shoulder at times. Definitely seeming to avoid people. Not that she could blame him for the latter. Carla preferred to avoid people as well. Still...why two jobs? Could it be Metric was cutting back the hours of their employees? Maybe something was going on with someone in his family that required him to earn extra money for their care. Or it could have been he was sneaking around because he was hiding something. The middle seemed the least likely, as Carla had seen him with very few people. Or...if any at all. Come to think of it, was the janitor social at all? She paused and tapped her pen against her chin. If he was sneaking around and hiding something, she could twist it around for her writing class and create something completely out there. Dillis would never be able to question her creativity again. But what?

To be sure she wouldn't accidentally confuse her notes in any way, Carla closed the binder and sat it next to her before placing her observation notebook back in her lap. She jotted down a few different hard-to-believe ideas. A job with the FBI; a convicted dognapper on the run; a modern day Robin Hood - probably not as that sounded much too overdone; a masterminded jewel thief; a lost time traveler searching for a specific element and companion. Of course there was no way any of them were even close to the actual answer. And she would admit, she was certainly curious. What she didn't expect, however, was the janitor to actually approach her. So he had seen her watching and writing. Not that she often tried to hide it. The difference was, most people would take one look at Carla off to the side by herself with her notebook and writer her off as a nerd or weird or quiet girl. It didn't bother her at all, though it was difficult to make friends as a result. This was the first time she recalled that someone actually walked up to and questioned her. Let alone called her out on watching them specifically.

Placing her pen in the bind of her notebook, she closed it and kept a hand on top. She used her free hand to reach for her bottle of water before looking up towards him. "Interesting coincidence," she stated, I notice you seem to sneak a bit around campus, as if you're hiding something. Yet even off campus grounds you appear just as guarded and suspicious of people. I could ask you the same thing - why?"

Rylan Newt Izzy Talon Ella Logan
Carla Ari Chase Declan Harper
Inara Benny Gwen Jett Lark
Shay Phoebe Everett
Dillis

pierce
Sweet Baby Jesus

Posts: 561

Perfect Park Planning May 12, 2017 20:56:35 GMT

Quote

Post by pierce on May 12, 2017 20:56:35 GMT

Dane felt a lot younger once he really settled in to the seat and followed Gwen's lead - not swinging as high as she ultimately got, but it was enough to get some endorphins going! His legs retained his momentum, his feet keeping off the ground as much as possible. "Right!" he agreed wholeheartedly, "And just because we're older doesn't mean we have first dibs on things - we aren't bully jerks. Not even close." He spoke in a matter-of-fact manner, slowing down back to a sway to go ahead and get their planning started. For a second he ended up humming along to the tune Gwen sang - the melody was pretty catchy! There was little time to lose if they wanted to snack it up soon though, so Dane commenced with the thinking. Sometimes Gwen's imagination utterly fascinated him, but now wasn't quite one of those times - since he was jotting a few things down while she came in for a 'landing'.

He listened intently to the choices, acknowledging the pros and cons of each option. "Oh!" Dane said automatically and abruptly once the plan started to fit together in his mind. "I know - we can have it in the gym so everyone gets a chance to come... and we can hang a pinata of Metric's mascot or something from one of the basketball hoops! Everyone will love it." He grinned with confidence, "We can even have the pizzas delivered there so all we'll really have to worry about is the drinks and all the little stuff. Genius!"

Dane leaned happily back in the swing, his hands grasping the rubbery-covered chains holding him up and his legs straightening forwards, beginning a celebratory swing session. "It will be fun to sneak the party stuff in, but maybe we can tell Mr. Laffie about it too and he could give us a hand with everything. He's pretty in to that sort of thing! Not to mention it makes it more official."

***

Clay noticed her move to guard her notebook and made it clear that he did - keeping his eyes ultra downcast upon her settled hand until the movement of the other shifted them. Then her voice pulled them up further, stilled when they met her face and examined it while her mouth moved.

"I don't sneak. I keep on the sidelines, it's easier to work that way - Don't you think?" he inquired as he stepped closer, his downward eyes sharpened to where he could witness her every movement as it happened. If she was smart, she'd stand up. That's what Clay figured anyway, testing her to gauge how comfortable she really was in her position. If she had anything on him - or was working with Lucian to his disadvantage, she'd squirm at least a little.

"So is that what you've written about me then, that I'm sneaky - guarded and suspicious of people? That I'm hiding something?" he asked, rhetorically repeating her and not stopping as he continued, "Did you consider that I'm just doing my job? That I'm acting invisible so people can feel better about leaving their messes behind?" Which to his credit, he did do. The only thing he really hid was his association with Toni. Well... his past too... and quite a few other things. Yeah. To be honest, the girl being suspicious of him really meant she was just that observant. It was interesting in a way, but still threatening if she had anything against him.

Last Edit: May 12, 2017 20:57:01 GMT by pierce

Lori
Sweet Baby Jesus

Posts: 686

Perfect Park Planning May 15, 2017 16:04:01 GMT

Quote

Post by Lori on May 15, 2017 16:04:01 GMT

Bully jerks sounded so horrible! How could anyone ever think to treat other people that way? The thought horrified Gwen. Oh sure, she knew it happened. It didn't mean she could believe people were legitimately that horrible. At least she and her friends weren't like that! Sure, Tempest could act different around most of the student body compared to how she acted around Gwen, but she was far from a bully or a jerk. She just had her own reasons for hiding things. Tempest would never be mean to someone unless there was a reason for her to be! And Dane was hardly the kind of guy that would hurt someone's feelings let alone...well, much of anything really. Besides, with his moppy hair he just looked like too nice of a guy! "Exactly! We'd never be those kinds of people! Bully jerks are the kind of people who hate kids. And puppies. And babies. And sunshine. And unicorns. And candy. And Care Bears. Bully jerks have to be super crazy heartless to be that kinda mean!"

As Dane suggested how they could go off the idea of having the party in the gym, Gwen's eyes lit up. Especially at the mention of a piñata! "Oooooooh piñatas are so much fun! There's all sorts of different ones to choose from! When Noni and I went to Party City to get decorations for Fluffternutter's birthday they had so many piñatas there! There was a pirate ship and a pony and a sun and a donkey and a hamburger and a taco and a Spongebob and a chicken and a spiderman and a TV...we couldn't get any of them, though. Noni and I could play with the piñata but Fluffternutter doesn't know how to use a bat to hit it with." Although the fact that they would have had to put a ton of candy in there hadn't helped either! She started swinging a little bit again, though nowhere near as high as she was before. "I think everyone'll love that idea! Think we can find a piñata Metric mascot though? I guess for plan b we can always get a dartboard with those suction cup darts and put someone's face from Metric on there. It sounds so mean to do that but for some reason a lot of kids at school seem to joke about throwing stuff at those guys' faces all the time."

She grinned widely at the thought of Mr. Laffie helping them. Everyone loved Mr. Laffie! At least, Gwen thought so. Why shouldn't they? He was such a fun teacher. And if the principal or someone questioned what kind of event they'd be throwing in the gym after school hours, they couldn't say anything because they'd technically have a teacher supervisor person. "I think that's the best idea ever! The gym is Mr. Laffie's spot. I think he'd live in there if he could. Maybe if we ask super duper nicely we can ask him to be the chaperone. We can do most of the work putting everything together, we'd just need his help with a couple of things. And if he's right there in or by the gym then nothing bad can happen cause he's one of the good adults. Everyone knows good adults never are the ones who mess anything up." She gasped, "Hey! If Mr. Laffie does agree to do this we should totally give him a thing to say thanks for helping us and being an awesome teacher. Like an extra bag of candy! Or some balloons. Or, or his own pizza that's just for him and nobody else at the party!"

-x-

It didn't go unnoticed by Carla that Clay was eyeing her notebook. Though which one specifically, she couldn't completely tell. It wasn't as if she had any precious information about him in either other than the most basic of observations currently. Admittedly, if he was looking at her notebook as opposed to her binder, one look inside and he would assume she thought the worst of him. Carla didn't particularly care what anyone thought of her, however she certainly would prefer someone not think an enemy of her.

"Poor choice of words on my part, perhaps," she stated. "However I merely write what I see. What looks like sneaking to me may be keeping out of the way to someone else. Your point is taken and understood. That being said, as to what is in my book specifically I believe is up to me. It is mine and therefore for my eyes only unless I say otherwise, such as for a friend or teacher. Neither of which I believe you are."

The fact that he approached closer and was obviously taller than her, as most were - not to mention more so with her sitting down - was not the most comforting. What would stop anyone from reaching down and merely grab something from her? Although the same could be said if she were standing - what would stop anyone from reaching across, grabbing her book and knocking her down? No, he didn't appear at first glance to be of violent nature. After taking a sip of her water she lightly tapped her finger against the plastic. After a moment, she closed the bottle and placed it back down. She decided to stand up, the notebook still in hand and the binder behind her. Though the latter was not so out of reach that she could not grab it and place it in her bag should she decide to walk away. "If you don't mind me asking, why do you care so much about what I'm writing? Surely, keeping out of the students' ways as you do, you would still see a number of them writing something in their books for assignments." That is, unless he wasn't used to people writing about him specifically. Which, if that were the case, could mean that he was secretive, he didn't like being watched and/or judged, or he really did have something to hide. Either way, it did not mean Carla was going to let her guard down. Nor that she would stop writing; be it observations or brainstorming ideas for her assignment.

Rylan Newt Izzy Talon Ella Logan
Carla Ari Chase Declan Harper
Inara Benny Gwen Jett Lark
Shay Phoebe Everett
Dillis

pierce
Sweet Baby Jesus

Posts: 561

Perfect Park Planning May 30, 2017 20:06:26 GMT

Quote

Post by pierce on May 30, 2017 20:06:26 GMT

Dane's grin was wide and genuine when Gwen said they'd never be those kind of people. That was for sure. "Yeah I couldn't hate any of those things, I mean, I don't really like Care Bears much, but since I'm your friend I can't help but not mind them. Plus I don't think heartless people come to parks," he commented offhand, before looking off toward the pathways to see the biggest jerk he knew riding his bike on the pavement as if he owned it entirely. People were having to move out of the way! Dane pretended like he didn't notice while Jack kept on speeding away. Now, that guy probably hated babies and puppies and everything good and decent. Though he never had much trouble with the guy personally didn't mean he hadn't noticed how he acted around campus. If he ever wronged Gwen or Tempest though, Dane would definitely step to him. Good thing was that hadn't happened and hopefully never would. He swung a bit harder just to match Gwen's slowing swing-pace.

He was stoked that the pinata idea was a hit and Gwen's anecdote only supported the fun-ness of the whole thing! "It will be so awesome, I can see it already... but we should make sure everyone changes out of their cleats for the party... that wouldn't be good if someone got hurt, like their hand stepped on like that or something. Believe me, it's really stupid bad to get your hand or anything stomped on by those things." Dane kept his personal experience with that to himself, only scrunching his face for a second before continuing, "Maybe we could just get a big M or something? They have letter pinatas right?" he shrugged a little, smirking at her plan B. "Well, look at it this way. We'd have to go to the trouble to get all their pictures in the first place, and that might not be all that worthwhile you know... since we gotta plan the rest of this too. If it comes down to it we could get a silly pinata and just tape 'METRIC' on to each side." Dane suggested, it was definitely a good failsafe. "Besides, I really suck at darts." he laughed aloud, it wasn't something that was hard for him to admit - as much as he liked trying to play. His dad loved the game and had a board on their back patio, but as much practice as he had it just didn't show for much.

It would definitely be in their best interests to get Laffie in on this. It meant that they could use more SHS funds and less money from their own pockets, which though it wasn't a big deal either way it sure would help. "He definitely would if Principal Whitaker would let him. If we just told him that we've got plans to hold an after party for the team and we were thinking about using the gym as the space, everything else would fall in to place. Laffie's a fan of parties anyway, remember that surprise party he helped with for whatshername? That was a blast!" Dane grinned at the memory, that party had been so fun that he'd forgotten who it was even for! "We should, but maybe something better, like something really thoughtful. He's always been cool, we could buy a soccer ball and have everyone at the party sign it for him, that'd be pretty awesome though it might make him cry tears of joy."

"So we're set, all we have to get is the food stuff all in order and we're gold." Dane concluded cheerfully, getting back to the swing of things again before they ultimately decided to go get their just desserts. Or, until a couple kids approached them for their places. Whichever came first, really.

***

Her playing aloof as she replied to him didn't help things, but Clay considered what she said thoroughly. If she was toying with him, he wasn't playing back. "So by that logic you wouldn't show anyone your observations unless they were either, even if they offered to pay you generously for the information?" he asked pointedly, not wanting to dance too lightly around this issue. He had a job to do of course, there was only so much time he was willing to devote to this pursuit for truth.

She didn't seem to react in any particular sort of guarded manner when he got closer, though she did end up standing after a few moments. He glanced at her as she did so, his eyes trailing down to the notebook then back up to her face at her question. Clay exhaled, shifting backward upon his heels and giving her a little more room. Intimidation didn't work, so it seemed. It was useless and probably contrary to his current aim anyway. It was hard to find the words to reply though, he'd already sort of given himself away already. Or at least the fact that someone might be interested in information about him, enough to make a bribe.

"Privacy means a lot to me." was what he came up with, though it left a bitter film on his tongue. "I can tell you're writing what you see, and I know you've seen me around campus. If all you've seen is me by myself then that's all I need to know and I can go back to my work - but if not, I want you to tell me. Is that so hard?"

Last Edit: May 30, 2017 20:06:54 GMT by pierce

Lori
Sweet Baby Jesus

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Perfect Park Planning Jun 10, 2017 1:41:21 GMT

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Post by Lori on Jun 10, 2017 1:41:21 GMT

"I think Tempest's a lot of the same way," Gwen commented, "that's why she's so ok with being like a model for me and letting me call her Queen of the Forest for my drawings. I know she's not super over the top crazy in love with the idea, kinda like how you are about Care Bares even though they're like happy fluffy rainbows of bears. I just like sharing those things with my friends!" Of course she did fib slightly about the whole Queen of the Forest; that really was who Tempest was but Gwen would never open her mouth and spoil that. Her random bursts of creativity were the perfect cover ups! She smiled thinking about what a good job she did for her friend, but for a split second after thought she saw Dane distracted by something. She tried looking in the direction he stared at, but just saw people on the pathway in the park rather than them trying to avoid speedy Jack the meanie butt - her words, of course. "Whatchya looking at?" she wondered.Maybe she just missed something. Oh well!

Dane did have a point about the cleats, though. They looked comfortable for soccer games, maybe, but they were probably super painful! "Maybe make sure everyone goes to their gym locker first before going into the gym? They can change outta their cleats and into some comfortable party clothes," she suggested. "One time I saw a couple of kids in the junior soccer league playing cards, I don't remember what it was but it was some sorta slappy card game cause I kept hearing them slam their hands on the cards and then I guess one of them jumped on the pile with their cleats on cause then one of the kids yelled they stomped on him. Is it anything like that if you get stepped on by a cleat? Or is it more painful than that? Like on a scale of one to ten with one being hallucinating that you finally see the pink fluffy unicorn and ten being you're in so much pain you have to go to the hospital and hope they just take out your tonsils so it's an all you can eat ice cream buffet night?" She tried to think about if she saw any other piñatas at Party City that one time. She didn't remember exactly, but there were plenty of other stores around that sold party supplies. Like the mall and stores like Walmart and Target and probably discount type stores. "There's probably an M piñata somewhere! All we'd have to do is find it and fill it up with a fluffload of candy!" As much fun as it'd be to watch Dane try to play darts and fail, if he was right, he probably did have a point. Who at school would even go through all the trouble of trying to get pictures of all the Metric High soccer players for dart games for them? It'd have to be someone who really hated Metric, which would be easy, but someone with a lot of time on their hands? Totally different story. "Skipping darts would be for the best anyway. You do have some good points. Well, besides sucking at darts. You can still have fun with something you suck at! I guess I just thought everyone else might like the idea. We can just get a really big piñata to make up for it!"

"Ooooh and we're good kids and not mean jerks so he'd have to agree," she added. She and Dane were completely trustworthy. Plenty of other kids at school would find a way to throw a wild party or sneak something at some point or another but how could Laffie say no if he knew two good, responsible kids were planning everything? Especially when he'd be getting something in return? It was the right thing to do! Although picturing Laffie crying would definitely be unexpected! "He'd probably really like that. It's sports which he loves and it's from his students so that's gotta make him super happy. Ooooh maybe we can make him something too! Maybe like a banner with his name or something to put on his car...I don't know about a cake or cookies though, that may be too much and then he'd eat it so he'd never be able to keep it around forever." Then again it was also Gwen's excuse to actually draw or paint something for someone!

Gwen continued swinging back and forth, thinking now of all the food possibilities that could be at the party. They'd probably have to pay for most or all of it since they were the planners and all, so it couldn't be super expensive or crazy or over the top. And it had to be something everyone would like. "Maybe pizza? What's a party without pizza? And if we go to the right place maybe they'll have a deal on sides like breadsticks or garlic knots or something. But if we do that would that be enough for everyone? Should we get like chicken and pasta stuff? Ooooh but what about vegetarians? They gotta be happy, too. Sooooo chicken and burgers and salad and pasta? Or is that too much? Probably not Chinese food, or Mexican cause some people may not like that. Oooooooooooh how about we just have a ton of dessert and make all that dinner?" It was worth a try anyway!

-x-

Carla raised an eyebrow. Why would anyone pay her for her observations? A bit of a naive question perhaps, but then again it wasn't as though most people around campus knew she existed. Not to the extent of her watching them anyway; mostly as the nerd or bookworm, courtesy of her brother. Currently it was being implied that her notes were actually worth something. Whether it was true or not was another story. Clay, however, made it seem as though they were of importance. At least to him. They were, however, valuable to her. She wanted to make money for her own writings one day, yes. But to use them as intel, gossip or blackmail? She'd rather not.

"If privacy means a lot to you then I'm sure you could only imagine how much it means to me as well, to pay such close attention to my surroundings and keep them organized and protected as I do," she stated. She noticed his eyes travel to her book briefly. No, Carla didn't think he'd try to grab it and run. He may have been guarded, but she didn't view him as that suspicious. Clearly though, he believed that she held some sort of dirt over him. What he thought she'd want to do with it, Carla could not answer. "I see you around campus, correct. As I do many others. Teachers,, professors, employees; fellow students whether they are in high school or college or whatever their major; even the squirrels and birds on campus. I observe and write as much as I can about them all. It's what I do."

Was it so hard to give him a straight answer as to whether or not she saw him with anyone? No. Was it so hard to decipher why he wanted to know so badly? More likely. She folded her arms. "A payment? I am not interested in money." Again, yet. Whether her future self would resort to using her observations for gossip or important information was to be decided based on how much she really wanted to write and where she would be at that point in time. "It sounds as though you are fairly observant yourself. You are on campus plenty and you were able to notice and confirm by my word what I do. Why do you need so badly to know what I could have written of you? And who you were or were not with?"

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pierce
Sweet Baby Jesus

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Perfect Park Planning Jul 10, 2017 16:58:14 GMT

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Post by pierce on Jul 10, 2017 16:58:14 GMT

What Gwen said was undeniably true. "You're so good of a friend that it's worth the knowing even that My Little Pony exists," he joked with a genuine grin, "all that girly fluff you like is what makes you so awesome because it gets your imagination way more colorful and wild as it is." Dane explained during the matter-of-fact tangent, just giving the slightest shake to his head at her curious question. Jack the jerk was nothing but a passing menace, not worth his breath. Better to use the breath he saved on their planning instead!

Gwen's story about the cleats made him wince, "Jeez, I guess the stomper was a pretty bad sport or sore loser or something..." he imagined aloud, answering her question without a beat. "Probably 4ish, compared to actual surgery stuff. Like, maybe you got stung by fifteen wasps all in the same area and you gotta wait out the pain instead of doing anything about it?" It would probably be higher if Dane had actually experienced a full-on stomp. He'd never ever wish that upon himself or anyone else!

"Good idea," he nodded with certainty, "Plus I bet everyone would wanna catch a shower before anything anyway. It's no fun partying under a layer of stale sweat, believe me." Dane knew that even if they couldn't find a pinata, they could find someone that could make one. This was an art town after all! "Maybe we could have another game too - like pin the tail on the donkey but with a soccer ball and goal instead? Something that involves everyone without people getting left out... just in case the pinata busts too quickly. Gotta keep in mind - some of the soccer players are also on the baseball team." he reminded, nodding in full concurrence that there'd be no way Laffie could say no to them. "Yeah, a banner would be good! So maybe the ball, the banner... and cookies? Like the ones your nana makes, he would be so stoked! No way he could resist. We really got to make the banner pop though, you know? Oh! Maybe you could draw a portrait of Laffie on it, make even dressed up like a superhero or something!" That sure sounded like something Gwen was capable of, Dane had no doubt about it!

He knew that with all this needed preparation, food would have to be super simple. "We should do pizza, all kinds - and maybe have a salad bar set up? We'll have a dessert table but all the players are going to be seriously hungry after the game, I promise you. There'd be no way they'd get full off of sweets." One place would be enough, plus a trip to the grocery store for the other stuff - not too overboard and not too expensive either. "Anyway, who doesn't like pizza?"

***

Clay kept a quiet and sharp ear to her responses, realizing that she was certainly a guarded person too - maybe not as much as him... but no doubt there was a stoic stubbornness in her that he had as well. Maybe he didn't have to be too worried, if anyone approached her in the manner that he had, they'd get the same cold shoulder. But, he knew Lucian. He wasn't above threatening others physically, though he preferred to be above the dirty work. If it meant getting what he wanted, he'd inflict as much pain as he needed to if his manipulation-tactics fell flat. And they would with this girl.

Despite the nagging feeling that he'd already said too much, Clay just couldn't fall silent yet. It was a good thing to know that she couldn't be bought out, at least, so approaching her hadn't been a complete wash out. "Because then I'd know." he answered plainly, looking her in the eye in the least intimidation fashion he could muster. "Then I wouldn't be curious about it anymore. Then I'd just leave you to your writing." Curious was a good replacement for 'worried', but Clay wasn't exactly that. He was moreso concerned.

If she did see him with Toni, he needed to know that it'd be something she'd hold in confidence. It was probably something so small, just a notable observation to her - but to Clay it meant the safety of the one person he'd give his life for.

Last Edit: Jul 10, 2017 16:58:33 GMT by pierce

Lori
Sweet Baby Jesus

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Perfect Park Planning Jul 12, 2017 16:25:17 GMT

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Post by Lori on Jul 12, 2017 16:25:17 GMT

Gwen couldn't resist grinning widely at Dane's compliments. This was exactly why she thought of him and Tempest as her best friends. Despite how different they were, they accepted each other for everything they were and liked. While most people more than likely wouldn't get Gwen, or understand her quirkiness and childlike nature on nearly any level, Tempest and Dane embraced her.They really were her best girl and guy friends. Gwen could never ask for nicer people in her life. "Aaaaaawwwww!" she squealed, jumping out of her swing. She hugged Dane from behind, "You are such an awesome friend, too! If you were a Care Bear I'd hug you all the time!" Blinking, she realized something. She ruffled Dane's hair slightly, "I wouldn't forget about you either, Moppy! You always let me play with you!"

When he answered the actual pain level about cleats involving fifteen wasps and not being able to do anything about it, Gwen blinked again. That sounded so.... Ouch! No wonder cleats were only for the soccer field! How could anybody stand them otherwise? It was horrible! "That sounds like the worst pain ever..." she commented, slowly backing up to return to her swing.

She sat back down and the mood brightened once again at the thought of games. "Oooooh like pin the soccer ball on the goal? Oooooh ooooooh oooooh and maybe we can set up some pins or cans in a corner with another soccer ball and it'd be like bowling but with a soccer ball instead. Maybe a game of horseshoes or something, too, so there's plenty of things for people to do? Especially if a lot of people that come are into sports stuff, maybe they'd like something like those around, so they can still do jocky things together." Her eyes brightened even more at the mention of cookies. Noni definitely made the best cookies! A lot of times she'd make them form scratch so it took forever, but even if there was just a craving for cookies and she'd bought a tub of cookie dough Noni would still find a way to make them her own. She was like magic that way! "I can ask Noni if we can bake that morning, or the night before! And if you can get everyone to sign the soccer ball I can do the drawing and then maybe we can work on the banner together." Gwen would absolutely love to draw a picture of Laffie! Of course then she'd just have to figure out what kind of superhero he'd be, what his name would be, and what colors to use. Maybe ones from his favorite sports teams...? And it would be perfect because it'd be like her and Dane splitting everything like, right down the middle. They really should have their own party planning business, how much fun would that be??

Immediately at the mention of pizza Gwen started coming up with all the different kinds they could have. "Cheese, pepperoni, sausage, anchovies...no wait, maybe not anchovies...pineapple, chicken, white, pasta, bacon AND meat?" That sounded like so many! That was like...20 pizzas right there! Would they even need that many? Wow, that was a lot to pay for And to get to school. How would they pick up all those pizzas and bring them on their bikes? Then Dane said not too expensive. Oh yeah. That would probably help a lot! "How are we gonna make sure we have enough room and money for all those pizzas, a salad bar AND a dessert table?" she wondered.

-x-

Because he'd know. It sounded like such a simple answer. He'd know for sure what Carla saw or didn't saw of him, and whether or not any of it would get out somehow. It seemed basic. Then again, it also made it sound as though he certainly had something to hide. If he had done something, been involved with something, and somehow Carla had it written down in even the slightest sense of course he'd want to keep quiet. But then, who was to say he wouldn't grab her notes and run? Or he wouldn't try again to bribe her for her silence?

No. Somehow that didn't sound right. Clay was cautious, most certainly. But he didn't appear dangerous. She tapped her finger against her notebook, thinking it over. Her binder remained safely behind her, which had far more precious information than a couple of notes here and there from outside of campus. Anything Carla would have seen from a Metric employee, professor, or student at the end of the alphabet would be in there. But was she really willing to give up such precious information - whether or not it ended up being of use to him was another story entirely - just so Clay would feel better? The only other person who had read anything from Carla's notes was Candice, and even she hadn't read everything in detail as of yet. And with Carla completing the process of organizing her binders, having gone from two to three now, there was a decreased chance of anyone else reading them.

What did capture Carla's attention, however, was being left to her writing. She did have an assignment she needed to at the very least brainstorm for. Without that process she would not get too far. And though theoretically she would have plenty of time to work on it, barely having a life as her brother would call it, Carla preferred not to procrastinate in any way. Carefully, Carla placed her notebook against the tree and picked up her binder. "Clearly you believe I might have important information for you. Or about you. Well, this binder is important to me. This is merely a section of my time at Metric, a record of anything I could have seen that happened." She shrugged her shoulders, "Let's assume, hypothetically, I did decide to show you my notes; let you flip through whatever pages you desired. What's to say you would not decide to take it and run? Or rip out any pages for yourself to erase a portion of my work? As I believe I mentioned, I don't just trust anyone with my books."

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pierce
Sweet Baby Jesus

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Perfect Park Planning Jul 21, 2017 19:01:02 GMT

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Post by pierce on Jul 21, 2017 19:01:02 GMT

Dane knew what he was in for once Gwen quickly abandoned her swing. He laughed heartily when she hugged him, "It's good I'm not, it'd be pretty hard to breathe!" After his hair was ruffled, Dane waited a moment before smoothing it back- "Well usually you make my mop look nice," he reminded playfully as he ran his hands through his hair, swaying in the swing a little.

He noticed a small group of kids approaching, but they kept at a distance - playing on the monkey bars nearby. Dane shrugged, "There is worse pain Gwen, but we're getting way off subject now." he pointed out, really not caring to get in to the worst of the worse of stuff like that. That was the complete opposite of cute and cuddly.

Swinging with a little more effort once Gwen joined him again, he grinned over, "That sounds fun too, but if we have too many games there might not be enough room for all the tables we'll need. Let's keep it to three games, plus the pinata, how's that sound?" Dane asked, the layout of the whole party starting to materialize in his mind.

He pondered about the cookies... "Hm, what if we give the cookies to Laffie when we ask him about using the gym? You know, for incentive." he suggested, figuring that as much as he couldn't say no to them even without them - they'd be guaranteed to get his help with cookies involved. "Ten pizzas should work, or twelve... Maybe... Laffie might even want to help us with food, all we got to do is ask, right? I mean, I have some money saved up so that won't be an issue. It would just help to have it all be a joined effort, especially since it's school-related!" All they had to do was ask far enough ahead of time!

***

He wasn't expecting much from Carla at this point, his endeavor for information already seemed like a failed one - but Clay didn't give up easy. He knew when to walk away and when there was still some chance remaining. Her body language had relaxed somewhat, he must have proven to her that really - he meant no harm. He just wanted to know.

"Either you do or you don't, that's what I want to know." he explained pointedly, his tone calm. It wasn't surprising how much the binder meant, she obviously spent a lot of time and effort on it - it was something Clay respected. He started to shake his head as she spoke hypothetically.

"You don't understand - " he started, but let her finish before explaining himself further. "I don't need to look through any of it, I'll take your word for it - " Really all he needed to know is who she has seen him with - if anyone. "I don't want to get in your business or invade the privacy of all you've written in there, all I need is your word on what you've written on me - that simple."

Last Edit: Jul 21, 2017 19:01:44 GMT by pierce

Lori
Sweet Baby Jesus

Posts: 686

Perfect Park Planning Jul 24, 2017 15:22:58 GMT

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Post by Lori on Jul 24, 2017 15:22:58 GMT

Gwen giggled at his sense of humor. "Well Care Bears are way softer than you so their lungs are a lot more light! But that's ok, cause unless they rip and stuffing starts to come out they're usually fine. I know how soft things work!" Though that could have been getting into some dark territory, almost a la Toy Story 3. But Gwen didn't like to think about that. She liked to be happy instead. "Awwwww thanks Dane! You know I wouldn't do anything to hurt Moppy!"

Once they were off the subject of pain and all else that was bad in the world, the focus was easily back on games and, most importantly, the happiness that was going to be the party. Again, not like it would matter if it was a victory party or a party to put everyone in a better mood. It was gonna be fun no matter what! And if anyone could make sure of that, Dane and Gwen could. Of course Laffie would be a huge help, too! No one could hate Laffie! Her face fell slightly at the notion of only three games. Huh...less games didn't sound all that fun. But Dane was right. They did need to have room for tables for everything else. What were the odds that everyone would want to play games anyway? People would probably be talking and dancing...there'd be no time for games! "I guess you're right," she admitted. "So how do we decide for sure which games? I mean, piñata and pin the thing on a thing are easy cause they can just get hung up somewhere. So do we go with the pin thing or the kicking thing or the horseshoe thing or some other thing?" There just felt like so much stuff to choose from!

Gwen turned her head towards Dane, tilting it in the process at his suggestion. "Incentive...or bribing?" she wondered. Gwen wasn't too sure how bribing sounded. But...who didn't like getting cookies? And Laffie deserved them anyway right? And it wasn't like they couldn't make more cookies or get more desserts somewhere...right? "Well...then again...if he's probably gonna say yes it may not totally be a bribe...right?" That made it sound a little better. At least, Gwen figured so. Then Laffie would chaperone the gym...though Gwen completely forgot they'd have to pay for everything! Oh yeah, party planning wasn't cheap at all! Unless it was a joined effort, like Dane said. "Do you think Laffie or the principal would be willing to put in for like, half? Or like they pay for one specific thing at the party and we pay for everything else?" Ten or twelve pizzas was probably going to be a lot, though! They'd definitely need help with that. Plus if there was salad around, and if they bought any desserts besides baking supplies.... That's right, they'd have to bake the cookies! "Noni's buying food tomorrow. I can ask her to pick up the baking supplies for the cookies and then we can bake after school. Maybe we can even make the cookies look like something...like, if we put in chocolate chips or m&ms we can make them look like soccer balls. Think he'd be even more agreeable to help us out if the cookies reminded him of his gym classes?"

-x-

He certainly was persistent; Carla gave him that. Whatever he thought she had written of him - or not - was obviously of very important use to him. Perhaps it wasn't so much something he was trying to hide, but rather information he wanted to make sure to keep to himself. Almost as though he were protecting it from someone - one person specifically as opposed to a broader population. An enemy, perhaps? That was left to be determined. She had to admit though - he was at the very least respectful. He wasn't trying to grab anything and run. He wasn't trying to force anything out of her. Nor was he trying to get involved in her personal life. He was even willing to let her read her notes to him herself and take her word. She could be lying if she did that, for all Clay knew, but he was still willing to trust her. It was quite admirable, actually. While her guard was not completely let down, she was more at ease with the revelation. It was her notes, her personal collection if one will; of course she would be protective of them no matter what. She stared at him, watching his body language and taking in his words as he spoke. If he was lying or hiding anything in this moment, this was the last time to see before she would speak again.

Nothing seemed out of place. He was clean.

Not saying anything at first, Carla had waited until she was positive of him before looking down to her binder and opening it. She flipped through the pages, going to the miscellaneous section towards the back. There she had the professors at Metric she knew of listed alphabetically, same as the rest of her binders, plus a few pages in the back for notes outside of Metric. At that moment she was a bit relieved on how she reorganized her binders; this new method made it much easier to locate Clay, considering he was an employee at Metric. Not to mention it also meant she took the right binder with her today. "Believe me when I say I would not put anything in here that was untrue. Or rather, not intentionally; misinterpreted is a better description. Even sometimes I an unable to retrieve every last detail of an exchange or sight. But this is precisely why everything is color coded," she stated. However, misinterpretation was a moot point. Clearly if she had saw or head something that was untrue of Clay, he would speak up in an instant. But, much like him, Carla meant no ill will. She merely wrote what she saw. As she neared where his name was located in her binder, she slowed down and glanced up at him. "I'm sorry, did you want to know every detail I've recorded, or were you looking for something specific?"

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pierce
Sweet Baby Jesus

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Perfect Park Planning Jul 28, 2017 19:50:00 GMT

Quote

Post by pierce on Jul 28, 2017 19:50:00 GMT

He blinked, definitely wanting to keep his own stuffing right where it was. Just nodding with an amicable laugh, Dane grinned, "Yeah, I know that. You treat Moppy with the utmost care." He pictured how horrified she'd be if he were to ever get a drastic haircut... she'd probably faint or hit him out of sheer shock. Better off for everyone that he kept his mop as it was, for now.

"Let's keep the pin the thing thing... have a sort of bowling one, and hm... What about a hidden object game? Or maybe like a scavenger hunt? No - that would take way too much preparation... Maybe a trivia thing?" Trivia of what though, he wasn't at all sure. There were definitely too many options. "If we're going to get Laffie as involved as we're talking we might as well see if he wants to pick a game too." Dane suggested, though it was sort of a cop-out on his part - only sort of though!

With an innocent enough laugh, he shook his head. "Definitely not bribing." he insisted. "We're talking cookies here, not cash. That's why it's incentive." Dane spoke with pointed certainty before they began to talk more about the finances. Granted he wasn't all that worried about things getting too expensive for him - but he knew that every little bit of help would amount to a lot. "Maybe... we could ask the staff for contributions too? I know we want to make this a surprise party, so that means no fundraising from any classmates - but teachers would have more money to donate anyway, right?"

Dane smiled wide at the prospect of a baking day. It was so fun whenever he was able to hang out a Gwen's, he got along with her Nana just fine - so working in her kitchen would no doubt be double the fun. "That's a good idea, though I think the fact that they're homemade cookies would sway him. But hey, the more measures we take, the greater our chances are of getting him to get really in to the party plan mode!" Though he could really only speculate, it still was doubtful that the gym teacher would say no. Really, who in their right mind would deny them?

***

Clay was not in the line of thinking to doubt her. Not at this point in their conversation. He nodded when she described the manner in which she recorded her information. It was clear that she conducted herself with integrity, taking down her notes as unbiased as she could. Clay wasn't trying to sneak any peeks at the information as she flipped through the binder - rather, he was taking in how organized all of the information was - color coded and dated to the very minute.

He didn't hesitate his answer one bit, "Every detail." Clay spoke in certainty, looking directly at her - "Please." He didn't want to give away the real reason why he wanted the information, though if she had what he'd been looking for... it would probably be obvious enough. He hoped deeply, thoroughly - that she didn't.

Last Edit: Jul 28, 2017 19:50:25 GMT by pierce

Lori
Sweet Baby Jesus

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Perfect Park Planning Aug 1, 2017 23:07:55 GMT

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Post by Lori on Aug 1, 2017 23:07:55 GMT

Gwen smiled widely at Dane's comment. She loved Dane's moppy hair; she'd never go through a time seeing him without touching it at some point. It was just so soft and moppy and she loved it! Some people could get so particular and protective over their hair, but not Dane because he trusted her.

Gwen attempted to think along with Dane. This was a tricky one. The piñata technically didn't count as a game because it would get hung somewhere and wouldn't take up space.And they were going to do that no matter what. The other games though.... How were they supposed to decide. Gwen tried to picture each game in the gym; where it'd go and how it'd look/ Somehow, instead, she just ended up picturing a whole gym full of games and everyone student at Salem High looking like a unicorn instead. Maybe as far as figuring out where everything went, that should be up to Dane. Let's face it, no one else at that school had the unicorn fantasies that Gwen did! "Or maybe at least see if he has any ideas or can be like a tie breaker?" Gwen suggested. They had like, two other games to choose from and either one of them could've been a choice. While Gwen would enjoy a scavenger hunt, how many other people would willingly search the gym? Or actually want to put in the time and effort? She didn't see going to Laffie so much as a cop-out as she did for an extra opinion.

Gwen tilted her head curiously. "Cookies are a form of bribery." She said it almost innocently, but the sad was that, at times, it was true. While it didn't mean it was the case with Laffie, how many people could have asked to do anything for food? "One of my uncles said once he heard my mom got some food in exchange for favors.... Oh, but don't let Noni know I know that!" She continued swinging, thinking about the idea of asking other teachers for something - at least a small amount of financial assistance. "Teachers don't exactly make the best salaries, so not all of them may be able to or want to give. But maybe if we go to the right teachers or bribe them with cookies...you don't think that'd be too wrong do you? Or should we just make the cookies for Laffie?"

Gwen clapped her hands happily at the prospect of baking all day with Dane. Soccer cookie balls, all the cookie dough they could eat...not to mention Gwen was pretty sure it made Noni happy that Gwen and Dane would do all the work while Noni just had to buy everything. Might be a good idea to save a few cookies for her, though, just in case! "Exactly! Like we can use m&ms for soccer ball cookies and maybe some kinda frosting or food coloring for basketball cookies, we can have plain sugar cookies for like golf ball or baseball cookies...oh but probably not a good idea to turn them into any other shapes. Last time the cookie cutters didn't go as planned...." Those were some sad, disappointing looking flowers!

-x-

Carla couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at Clay's speedy answer. He certainly knew what he wanted, she gave him that. And, granted, her notes on Clay weren't quite as thorough as some others. Honestly, certain students depending on how often they were around campus had much more pages filled. The binder she had only had a small section and was mostly devoted to professors and employees, along with some outside-of-Metric observations. But with any luck, somewhere in these pages would have the answers Clay was looking for. Whether she would be of any help to him or not would determine what would happen next.

"As you can see I keep the first page for every person specifically on the basics - appearances, what they do, supposed likes and dislikes, etc." Though looking at Clay's notes at the moment, some of his basics were a bit more bland compared to the others. Carla attributed that to him keeping out of the way of everyone, something he'd earlier mentioned he tried to do while working. Briefly flipping to the back, she pulled a black pen from the pocket holder and quickly adjusted his appearance - eye color and height specifically, although she did have to pause and compare Clay's height to either her's or her brother's for reference. Once that was adjusted she turned to the next couple of pages. "As you can see, most of my notes are of you working - where you are, what buildings you enter, ho thoroughly you do your job. My overall assessment is you have very little interaction with the students and with the staff in general, appearing to keep your personal life as just that. Personal. I prefer, for the most part, to keep what I do in my own life private as well."

The next page were more actual interactions. "It looks like there were a few occasions where you were interacting with Lucian Livingston, I believe? One of them I noticed at night upon returning to the campus. You can be a bit of a night owl, apparently. Though if that is who you were with I must say, interesting combination as he is also someone I have few notes on. But, I digress. There is only one other person you seem to go with, from what I can tell. For all I know, you went into the gym for work purposes but it seemed a bit odd you went in there so shortly after a woman entered, blond if I wasn't mistaken, and at a time when the gym is not exactly busy. My only other main note - you tend to be outside as much as possible, which would also explain you working here at the park." She made a quick note of that before removing her gaze from her notes and towards Clay, "Any comments? Questions? Concerns? Misinterpretations you'd like to correct?" she inquired.

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Perfect Park Planning Aug 7, 2017 4:08:10 GMT

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Post by pierce on Aug 7, 2017 4:08:10 GMT

Though he wasn't exactly sure if he'd let anyone else mess with his hair as much as he let Gwen, it wasn't really something to dwell on. Gwen was sort of a little sister to Dane, she was almost like the little sister he never had – though he never quite thought on it too deeply. She was just, completely innocent and fun to be around, it made him feel five times younger just hanging out with her... even if they were the same age!

Dane knew what games wouldn't work, but the ones that would were a little harder to come by. Between the both of them, they had come up with some really solid games though... so why not try for a Laffie tie breaker? Not like they had anything to lose – plus who was he to doubt that the gym teacher had a game or two at the ready? The guy sure was fun enough! Dane nodded at Gwen's suggestion, “That settles it then, at least for the games. I'm sure most of the players will be more focused on getting food first anyway, so we should have the games commence after that. Pizza first, isn't that a rule somewhere?” he asked – if it wasn't, then it definitely should be!

It was cute how Gwen actually believed cookies could be bribery. Maybe they were, in Candyland or somewhere untouched by the greed for money – but to Dane they were just how he said, incentive. “I think you are talking about a completely different context though, it's not like we could get in trouble for bringing cookies in and offering them to him. Now if we were bringing in money or something that has street value – that would be a different story and I sure wouldn't suggest that at all. Anyway, I know how teachers wouldn't have a lot to give, but come on. Pocket change or a few spare dollars are all I'm talking about here – just a little something to support our soccer team and our athletics department while we're at it. We could have any extra proceeds go back to the school. It'd be fair. But, if you just want to concentrate all of our focus on Laffie, I say it'd be a lot easier to do in any case.” Besides, fundraising took ten times more preparation than a little party!

There was do doubting how fun their baking endeavor would be – especially since it sounded like Gwen already had some really good ideas as far as decorating them. “Yeah, probably better to keep the cookies all round-shaped... but we could try out some mix-ins! Maybe we could add Reese's Pieces or even bits of Hershey's Crunch or any candy bar really, so we could have a variety without having to make a bunch of different doughs.” Being around all that candy sounded tempting, but what would anyone care if they knew that the whole time the cookies baked that he and Gwen were dipping in to the toppings? They'd turn out great, he just knew it!

***

As Carla began to explain her methods, Clay kept a sharp ear – nodding only slightly as he followed. He didn't miss a word of what she wrote as far as his appearance went, noting that she was a little off on his height but she spoke up before he could. All the notes she had taken of him during his busy hours were fairly dull, which was good to see. At least she had noticed how typically to himself he kept during that time, that his work ethics were hardly if ever derailed by anything that could be considered a distraction. If Metric were to approach her for a summary for a job performance review, no doubt she'd give them a top-notch report. But that wasn't what Clay had delayed her writing for.

When she moved to the next page, his eyes scanned it briefly but thoroughly. There was no sign of Toni's name, which was a relief, but as she continued her explanations Clay's stomach dropped a little. They'd been so careful – he'd been extremely careful to not be seen with her... but here it was, a clue that could set Lucian off on a hunt for the person responsible for Clay's growing inconsistencies. It didn't surprise him that Lucian was part of her notes on him – didn't surprise him that she had a profile on him either. He knew that everyone knew that Lucian and him were a duo, that didn't bother him. If anything, it was good. If Lucian in an off chance of curiosity came for information and was actually able to get it, he'd be proud to know that his friend was a loyal one – but at the mention of one other person, that mention... Clay's face forced a puzzled look. If he could get her to change this one mention, then he'd rest easy. Toni had to remain a lone blond woman.

When she looked up and asked him for his response, he obliged, trying to remain stoic in his corrections. “You have me an inch too tall, I'm 5'6.” He started with that, as to not be too abrupt or obvious with the correction that really mattered. “Also - I like the gym. I like that I can lock the weight room so no one disturbs me,” Clay didn't know how well of an actor he was, but he kept his cool regardless. “you're mistaken about anyone else. Lucian is my only friend here, he told me about the janitor job -” Though he didn't want to give away the fact that they met in a mental facility, Clay knew he had to give her something. “I don't think I would be here otherwise. I don't know what notes you have on him - I don't want to know – but you should know that he's helped me a lot when I didn't have anyone before.” He shifted in his stance, moving back from the pad just slightly enough to still see her make any changes.

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