| Who knew California could get this cold! Why, it's below sixty degrees Fahrenheit! Most natives probably consider this temperature to be incalculably low, but young Alice is not a native. She scurries towards the school with a backpack slung on her shoulders and hands stuffed into a completely unzipped light jacket.
While not a native of Lantern Hill, Zoe is a California native and really does think that this weather is cold. She's currently pulling into the school lot on her bike and signature steampunk clockwork helmet with the tips of her hair sticking out from the bottom of it. She's also got her bike jacket on over the green camouflage hoodie that she typically wears. Her hands are covered by thick biker gloves to protect herself as she rides and from the cold. She's got her backpack slung over her back. She pulls into a parking space close to the school, well as close as she can manage before she kills the engine, climbs off her bike and starts towards the school. As she does so, she pulls her helmet off and holds it under one arm.
People may think California is all warm and sun, but here in Lantern Hill, on the ocean, it rarely gets above 70. Today is on the cool side of the fall, but its not out of the ordinary really. A light-weight sweatshirt is left unzipped over a purple t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans Ellis too is headed into school along with so many others, backpack hanging on her shoulders.
Not being the most dexterous of students, Alice of course ends up tripping. She gives out a sharp yelp of surprise as she stumbles forward, windmilling her arms around like a crazed stork as she desperately tries to regain her balance. Ultimately, she fails and ends up crashing head-long into the Universe's favorite chew toy, McAlister. The poor boy loses -his- balance and ends up stumbling backwards, the tumbling mass that is McAlister and Alice now making a bee-line for that oh-so-interesting bike parked nearby.
Zoe is lucky enough to be in the line of sight of Alice as she takes her tumble into McAlister, pausing in her step as she watches the event unfold. Though she doesn't exactly move to help the poor girl, not until she realizes the direction that the two are going towards. "Watch the bike!" She calls out as she attempts to reach the falling pair before they reach her bike.
Ellis isn't close enough to help, and too late in seeing it to do much either. Its not until Alice calls out that she notices anything amiss, wincing at the impending collision between students and bike. "You two alright?" she asks.
The whole impending disaster seems to proceed in slow motion -- at least for anyone who has a stake in it. Unfortunately for Zoe, she is not able to quite get there in time as the pair of bodies go crashing into her possession. The bike, McAlister, and Alice go tipping over in one pile, the machine letting out a despairing crunch as it hits the pavement. The two living aspects end up in a tangled mess of limbs atop the machine, poor McAlister looking completely bewildered and Alice looking dazed. "I, uh, I think so," McAlister replies to Ellis, struggling to free himself from the wreckage, "Ow! What did we land on?"
Zoe catches up to the tangled McAlice just as them and the bike goes over. "No!" She cries out, her helmet dropping to the ground as she puts her hand to her head. She sighs as the event is over and the pieces have fallen where they may. She drops her hands and shoulders, defeated. She looks to McAlister as he asks his questions, frowning slightly. "My bike." She says, answering his question before she moves to help the two up to their feet again. "Are you guys okay?"
Ellis sighs, a hand lifting pinch the bridge of her nose for just a moment as she shakes her head before moving over to join the pair and Zoe. Poor McAllister. "At least you guys are okay.."
Alice accepts the helpful hand, swaying slightly on her feet and wanders a bit off to the side to collect herself, muttering a quiet, "I'm f-f-fine". McAlister also accepts the help and brushes himself off, casting a rather bewildered look around him and then focusing on the downed bike, wincing. "Oh. Oh, man, I'm so, so sorry. Look, ah, let me help you..." But, as usual, the universe decides McAlister needs another kick in the pants, so as he bends down to lift up the bike, he lets out a yelp of pain, grimacing and reaching to the small of his back. "Ugh. I, uh... I think I need to get to the nurse. Going over must've strained something." Poor McAlister.
Zoe looks to Alice, offering a smile as she turns out to be fine, glancing towards Ellis as she arrives on the scene. "At least you guys are okay." She offers, echoing Ellis. She looks to McAlister as he speaks and attempts to pick up her bike. "It's okay. Don't worry about it." She says before he cries out in pain. "Do you need any help? My mom's the nurse. She should be in the office now." She tells the boy before she looks to Alice. "Are you sure you're okay?" She asks before she moves to pick up her bike and starts to inspect the damage.
Its morning, just before school. Recent events have unfolded with Alice stumbling into McAllister and the pair of them tumbling into Zoe's motorcycle. "I can go with you if you need," she offers the boy, leaving the older girl to tend to her bike as Alice assure's she's fine.
McAlister smiles at Zoe and Ellis, raising a hand and shaking his head, "No, no. It's fine. I can get there myself. Thanks for offering though." His smile turns sheepishly sympathetic as he focuses on Zoe, "And, uh. Sorry about the bike." The boy then turns and begins to limp his way towards the school and surely the relief an ice pack in the nurses office will bring.
Alice, meanwhile, has seemingly recollected herself and stands off at the sidelines, eyes darting between Ellis and Zoe. "Uhm, y-yeah," she pipes up, also adopting a sympathetic expression, "S-s-sorry about the bike. Is, uhm... i-is it d-damaged at all?"
Zoe shrugs her shoulders at McAlister's words, waving off the apology. "Don't worry about it. Shit happens." She offers before she looks to Alice as she asks her question, nodding slightly as she looks back to her bike. "Yeah, but nothing major. Just some scratches on the paint and a broken mirror. It's an easy fix." She states, glancing back up to Alice as she offers a smile. "Don't worry about it." She says before she glances to Ellis. "He going to be okay?" She asks, motioning towards McAlister.
Ellis offers a bit of a smile to each of the girls. "Glad you're alright, and the bike's alright," she offers each in turn before sending a glance back over her shoulder towards the boy. "He should be," she replies, "But I'll make sure he makes it alright," she adds turning to head off after him. "Catch you two later."
"Oh.. oh, g-good," Alice replies to Zoe, looking a little relieved as she sways again on her feet, "I, um... I'll p-pay for the repairs. Since, um. S-since it was k-kinda my fault." She blinks at Ellis and offers a nervous, twitchy smile in reply, bobbing her head quickly, "Uhm, y-yeah, sure. Uh. C-Catch you later."
Zoe watches Ellis as she heads off, offering a slight wave before she looks back to Alice. "Naw, don't worry about it. I can afford it. Besides, it was just an accident. Shit happens." She says as she looks at the bike again before she glances back up at Alice. "Besides, nothing major was damaged, so it's all good. Just buy me a coke or something and we'll call it even." She says with a smile, extending her hand towards the other girl. "Deal?"
Alice peers owlishly through her glasses at Zoe, her eyes squinting slightly. The blonde pauses for a long time, just blankly staring at the other woman before a sudden cascade of coquettish laughter bubbles out from her lips. A twitchy, nervous smile flickers to life on her features as she takes the offered hand gingerly and shakes it. "Uhm. S-sure. I mean... deal." Alice hesitates for a few moments before adding -- the words tumbling out of her mouth in a slightly too quick pace and slightly stilted -- "My name is Alice Starr pleased to meet you."
Zoe smiles and nods her head as the other girl shakes her hand. "Deal." She repeats, chuckling slightly. "Nice to meet you, Alice. I'm Zoe Dresden." She offers in return. "I like your last name. It's cool." She says as she reaches up to brush her hair behind an ear before she moves over to pick up her helmet again. "You wanna head inside and grab some breakfast before class starts?" She asks, looking back to the shy girl.
"Zoe Dresden. Zoe Dresden," Alice repeats the name to herself in a mantra murmur for several moments before suddenly brought back to the conversation. Her eyes widen behind her glasses for a moment at the invitation, then suddenly shrink back to squinting again before finally popping to more-or-less normality a bit later. Another series of nervous titters bubble from the blonde as she mimics the action of brushing a lock of errant hair behind her ear. "Uhm, s-sure," she finally says, head bobbing several times, "That, ah... t-that'd be nice." A beat. "Thank you, Zoe. Miss Dresden?" this last said with a frown and as if she's not quite sure that the address is correct.
Zoe nods her head and starts towards the school, glancing back once towards her bike before she looks back to the other girl, chuckling as she shakes her head at the address given towards her. "Zoe's fine. I'm not old enough to be called 'Miss' yet." She says with a soft laugh before she looks to Alice. "So, why haven't I seen you around? Have I just been oblivious all this time?" She asks, looking genuinely confused.
Alice scurries along beside the other girl, looking a bit wobbly on her feet. "Oh, uhm, s-s-sorry," she says in response to the statement about not being old enough to be called 'Miss'. The latter questions cause the blonde's eyes to widen again, gnawing nervously on her lower lip. She remains silent for a long time before she finally answers. "It's a big school?" she offers tentatively, "I d-don't know if anyone knows everyone. I've r-read that most people can only keep track of around t-thirty individuals at a time with any depth." She hesitates then adds, "I'm new, also. I, um, j-just moved here about three weeks ago or s-so."
Zoe chuckles softly and looks towards the girl, smirking slightly at her comment about it being a big school. "Yeah, it is." The comment about someone knowing everyone causes her to think for a few moments. "I think Doug knows everyone. He always throws the best parties." She admits, looking to the other girl. "You should check 'em out." She offers, opening the door to the school for her. "Oh, so you're new then. Well, welcome to Lantern Hill." She offers, following her into the school proper. "I just need to stop by my locker to put my helmet away. That okay?"
"Oh, right, that Doug guy," Alice replies thoughtfully, nodding, "I s-suppose he might know everyone, I guess. M-maybe not me, though. I d-d-don't think we've ever spoken." The mention of a party causes a display of mortification to materialize on Alice's features, but it quickly disappears and the blonde lets out a series of more nervous laughter, "Oh, I d-don't think so. Uhm. I w-wouldn't be invited, a-anyway." Another flickering smile struggles to existence on her lips and she bobs her head quickly, "And t-thanks. It's, uhm.... nice to be here?" Again, that same slightly questioning tone as if she's not sure if that is the correct thing to say. "Oh! And, uh, s-sure. Locker is f-fine. Stopping by it, I mean."
Zoe laughs softly as she makes her way towards her locker. "No one gets invited to Doug's parties. You just kinda... show up." She says with a smile. "If you want, next party he throws, I'll come pick you up. It'd be fun and a nice way for you to meet new people. Possibly make some new friends." She says with a soft laugh before she stops by her locker, working the lock to the locker and opens the door. The inside of the locker is decorated with various pictures of pictures from magazines and some pictures of Zoe with another girl and others with her an a large group of people, who resemble her. She puts her helmet into the locker, takes out a book and stuffs it into her backpack before she closes the locker door. "Ready?" She asks, turning back to Alice as she slings her backpack over her shoulder.
"Oh," she says, blinking as she scurries along, "I thought... isn't... b-but isn't just s-showing up to a party uninvited, uhm... r-rude?" She asks hesitantly, squirming a little as the pair reach the locker. For her own part, Alice peers owlishly over the contents of the locker, eyebrows arching curiously at the pictures and especially the two photographs. Then the locker closes and the blonde starts, letting out a sharp squeak of surprise. "Oh, um! Y-yeah, s-sure," she replies, again offering up a flickering smile, "After... a-after you, Zoe."
Zoe shrugs her shoulders slightly as the question about showing up at the party uninvited. "In some cases, yeah, but everyone just shows up to Doug's parties. It's kinda expected." She offers as the pair start towards the cafeteria. "So, where'd you move from?" She asks as she adjusts the backpack on her shoulders. She leads the other teen to the cafeteria where she gets in line to make it to the food before the class bell rings.
"Oh," Alice states, frowning, "I, um... I d-didn't know Doug was, uh, s-s-so different, I guess." She casts a sidelong look at her companion, eyes doing that strange little squinty thing before she responds, "Cincinnati," she replies slowly then adds quickly at the end, "Ohio." If that wasn't obvious. She remains silent for a little while before suddenly blurting out questions, "Who were those p-people in the photographs? Your family?" Alice gnaws on her lower lip before hesitantly murmuring, "Er, if... i-if I may ask, I mean."
Zoe nods her head as she smiles. "Yeah, but that's at least how I've gone to his parties anyway. No one has said anything to me though." She says, offering a shrug of her shoulders. "I'll take you to the next one so you can check it out and meet some people." She offers, nodding at where Alice moved from. "Nice. I think we've passed through there once on a family vacation." She says, moving up as the line moves. The question of the pictures does cause a frown to form on her face. "Yeah, the one of the group shot is. I've got a big family. The other..." She pauses for a few moments before she speaks again. "That's just me and someone from back home that I was close to. I just haven't been able to get rid of it." She admits, but leaves it at that.
Alice and Zoe are actually in the hallways of the school, walking together and chatting. Well, Zoe is chatting, Alice just seems to be awkwardly spewing sentences forth. "That's uhm... t-that's um, v-very kind of you," Alice says to Zoe, her lips twitching upwards in another flickery, nervous smile, "I'll, uh... I'll t-take you up on it, I guess." She hesitates then adds, "Though I've n-never ridden on a bike before. Again, s-sorry about that." She peers owlishly over the rims of her glasses at the other girl as they walk along. "Well, s-sometimes it's difficult to, uhm, t-to get rid of the past," the blonde hesitantly says, "But there's... n-nuh-nothing wrong with keepsakes, either."
Zoe smiles and nods. "It's easier riding on a bike than driving one. All you do is keep your feet away from the chain and rear wheel and hold on tight." She offers with a laugh. She glances over to the other girl and tilts her head slightly, nodding at her words. "Yeah. I guess you're right. We went through a lot together..." She says before she smiles and looks at the girl again. "Thanks though."
Tabitha is feeling oddly exposed back in her civilian clothing, the mad costumery of Spirit Week now a thing of the past. Maybe that's why she's holding her books up to her chest in front of her as she drifts down the corridor, eyes fixed down and about six feet ahead of her, peeping through the long curtain of hair which hangs flat in the way.
A look of dawning horror slowly comes to life on Alice's features and her voice rises in pitch, "Buh-but what if you -can't- k-keep your feet away from the chain or rear wheel?!" Her wide eyes and dread expression remain fixed for several moments before suddenly collapsing again into a look of neutrality. It shifts from that to another twitchy smile, "Ah, y-you're welcome. I m-mean... I don't see any reason to g-get rid of the picture if it, uhm, reminds you of something you don't w-want to forget." But she also isn't watching where she is going, so ends up running smack-dab into Tabitha. The blonde gives a little squeak of surprise, flaps her arms to her sides and again stumbles backwards, falling down with a thump in the middle of the hallway. "Ow."
Zoe laughs at Alice's reaction, smirking slightly. "Don't worry, my bike has passenger feet pedals. So as long as you keep your feet on them, you'll be fine." She says with a smile before Alice runs into Tabitha. "Are you okay?" She asks, looking concerned. "You seem to run into a lot of people." She offers with a soft chuckle. "How's it going?" She asks to Tabitha before she seems to suddenly remembers something. "Shit. I'm sorry Alice. I gotta go talk to Mr. Mathis about something for Chorus. I'll owe you breakfast tomorrow." She offers as she starts to head off. "I'm sorry. I'll talk to you later." She offers before she heads down the hall at a near run, weaving in and out of people.
Tabitha squeezes her eyes shut and tucks her chin down a little bit when all her books get jolted out of her arms and land on the floor. She stands there tensed for conflict, as though this is not quite the first time that this sort of thing has been prelude to some manner of mockery or other torment. Finally she lets out the breath she was holding, peeking up at Zoe and giving a numb little nod before she looks to the other girl on the floor, then squats down near her. "You OK?"
"Uhm, y-yeah," she murmurs in reply to Zoe, "I, uh... I g-guess I'm kinda clumsy." She offers a flickering smile to the girl and nods her head as she heads off, calling off after her, "Okay, um! See you later, Zoe..." Alice's eyes go wide as Tabitha squats down next to her, the blonde just fixing the other girl with a blank stare that lasts an uncomfortably long time. "Y-yeah," she suddenly pipes up, voice squeaking, "I'm o-okay. I've had worse. I'm sorry!" This all comes out in an all-too-quick tumble of words before Alice struggles to a kneeling position and begins to gather up all the spilled books, "Oh, I'm s-s-sorry! I didn't w-want--- I d-didn't mean to-- I'm sorry!"
Tabitha already has a pretty good angle on gathering up her books. One could argue she was squatting to rescue them rather than checking on Zoe, if one were feeling particularly uncharitabe. "It's good," she assures Alice with a brief, shy sort of smile, gathering some books into a stack and then edging them over toward Alice so the rest can get put on top. Her eyes fix on Alice's neck, next, and: "I like your necklace. Where'd you get it?"
"S-sorry," Alice repeats, depositing her armload of fallen books atop the others already gathered, "I w-wasn't watching where I w-was going. I was d-distracted and... and..." Her voice fades off and brow furrows, lips pursing tightly. The question about her necklace causes the blonde to turn her attention away from the books to Tabitha in full, Alice blinking rapidly at the other girl. The question seems to completely blindside Alice who just sits there on her knees, staring blankly before reaching up and grabbing the ornament hanging from her throat. "O-oh, uhm," she starts, squirming in place, "It... it's a f-family heirloom... thing." Another bit of hesitation. "Uhm, t-thanks?"
Tabitha gets her nimble fingertips underneath the lowestmost notebook in her pile, and she lifts them with her when she stands. "Gosh, that's pretty neat," she smiles. "Like from your grandmother's great-great-grandmother who buried it in the backyard during the civil war and then left a series of arcane clues as to its whereabouts in her diary or in the pattern of artwork arrangements in her house or soemthing?"
Alice struggles to her feet as well, brushing her shirt down and fixing an owlish stare on Tabitha for another long moment. "No, I don't think so," she replies hesitantly, "B-but it could be, I g-guess. I mean, I don't know the full history of it." She inclines her head and tugs on the ornament as if she could drag it out far enough to peer at it. The suspicious expression on her features would seem to indicate that she is seriously considering the whole Dan Brown scenario.
"Neat!" Tabs just about chirps out the word, in better spirits for having seen something like that in the world, rocking forward onto the balls of her feet in time with the syllable, then landing on her heels again, hugging up her books again to hide a yawn. "Uh-oh, I'm yawning. It must be time for math," she surmises with a slice of a smile. "Later!" And she's off to class.
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