Where is everyone...(open)

[Max]

Max was out for the day. He was done with school and seemed to be in a wonderful mood. Everything seemed to be going his way. His first day and everyone was so polite to the kid that there was nothing that could have ruined it at this point in time. He walked around the streets. He was looking for a little bit of food. What he saw was a smoothie shop. Hm… lets see what they have here. Max walked in and to his surprise the place was empty. Odd since it seemed like a place the students would hang around. No worries though for he quickly ordered a drink. He would wait around for the other students to come around. Max sat down at the nearest table.

Twenty minutes had passed and not a single soul had come in except for a couple of old ladies. They seemed nice but left as soon as they got their drinks. It didn’t matter for Max would wait around a little while longer to see if anyone showed up.

[Pine]

Pine had finally managed to sneak out of detention without getting caught. It seemed his usual game of dodge the hall monitor had failed today. It seemed the monitors working during his history class were more intelligent than the others. They were able to coordinate movements and corner the red headed boy. Pine was so impressed he didn't even bother to weasel his way out of the punishment. He even went as far as to compliment the two monitors on their exceptional job before he went off to class.

Detention was the usual boring, do nothing, want to kill yourself, time. As soon as a fight broke out between two students over god knows what, Pine made his leave. He ducked out the door and quickly made his way to his locker, grabbed his stuff, and left the building.

Now Pine needed something to do. Something to pass the time until he decided it was time to go home and workout. Since Pine's mind had three entities within everything was a democratic decision.

~PIZZA!!!!!~ Yelled the little voice inside Pine's head.

~No Pizza...Burger?~ Ventured the shield shooting down the voice at the same time.

~That was lunch...~ Replied the sword.

~Oh right...How about-~

~PIE!!!!~ Yelled the little voice as it cut off the shield.

~NO GOD DAMMIT NO JUNK FOOD!~ Countered the sword.

Pine looked up at the sky in frustration and saw a smoothy shop as he did so.

~Smoothy?~ Asked the sword.

~Sounds good.~ Answered the shield.

~CARROT SMOOTHY!!!!~ Yelled the voice.

~NO Carrot smoothy and stop yelling in my head your giving us a HEADACHE!~ Replied the sword who was getting quite angry with the voice.

~sound of chewing carrot* Fuck you doc~ Said the voice.

~That was very bugs bunny of you...~ Sighed the shield.

So with that settled Pine made his way over to the smoothy shop. Upon entering the shop one could see it was empty. There was one customer and the person behind the counter. Pine walked up to the counter and viewed the menu.

"I'll take that one." Pine said to the clerk as he pointed to the name of the smoothy.

Once the smoothy was done Pine paid the the worker and grabbed a seat a table over from the only customer and began to drink his smoothy. The other customer looked like a student and Pine wondered if he was also a student at Moral High.

"Come here often?" Pine said as he focused on the other boy in the shop.

[Tash]

It was a gorgeous day out: just enough of a breeze to keep things comfortable and just enough heat to make you hungry for summer. For Tash, this kind of weather sparked the need for two things...currently, only one of those two was available. She squeezed the 67 Mustang Fastback into the little side parking lot, grumbling about California fads and pussy little economy cars. The grousing wasn't too bitter, though. How could it be, on a day like this? Even getting cut off while trying to get to a parking spot by a sissy little Prius couldn't dampen her day.

Twirling her keys on her finger and fishing her wallet out of her back pocket, she breezes into the little corner smoothie shop. There weren't too many people there...it was the time of day. She'd come just after the rush. The only other guys there she didn't recognize. One had been there probably since she drove up and the second had ordered right before her. She ordered her usual smoothie and stepped back to wait for it, which didn't take long since there weren't too many people around.

But of course, Tash had to get the new girl. Poor thing wasn't used to getting things done at the smoothie shop's quick pace and she fumbled things, almost dropping the blender once. She should have expected it, really, she thought in retrospect. But for some reason as she picked up the glorious guava-passion fruit concoction, she didn't check the lid. Of course, it wasn't on tight. As she turned to head out the door, the whole cup flew out of her hands and tipped right towards the poor guy - the one who had been here since she walked in - who was standing there minding his own business.

"Oh shit! Heads up, man!" She called out, making a crazy lunge for the spinning cup and hoping fervently that he'd get out of the way in time.

[Max]

Max watched as a fellow finally arrived. So was this the start of the rush or did he just decide he wanted a smoothie. After he grabbed one he walked over to where Max was sitting.

“Come here often?”

“Actually this will be my first time, just came here from… actually I don’t know where I came from.”

It was true. Max hadn’t remembered where the accident at the school happened. He wasn’t at the school long enough to really remember. That wouldn’t be an issue for most people would it? He hoped not. If it was then he would have to keep up with some story to tell people. Max heard the roar of an engine. He looked out the window and saw a beautiful car. He believed it was a 67 or 68 mustang. He was sure it was one of those two. What amazed him was that a chick had gotten out of it and headed into the smoothie shop. Wow this place was different. He would learn to male the best of it though. It seemed to be working so far. Max watched as she came in and ordered the drink. The waitress must have been scared of her because she started to fumble with her order. Max started to say something when…

"Oh shit! Heads up, man!”

Max looked to the side and saw a smoothie headed right for him. Crap. Quickly Max pushed against the table and his chair went back. The smoothie hit the wall and only a very little bit got on Max. Hopefully not to many other people got messy.

[Tash]

Thank God he moved out of the way in time. Tash turned towards the counter to look for napkins and caught sight of the mortified smoothie shop girl. The poor thing must have realized that she hadn't put the lid on right. Tash can't help it, there's not really been any harm or any foul, and the situation is kind of ridiculous. She bursts out laughing as she grabs a thick handful of napkins and moves to mop up the mess, giving a brief nod and smile to the frazzled girl who was stammering about replacing the smoothie for free.

"Merda! I am so sorry!" She says in between fits of laughter. The apology was a sincere one: she hoped the laughing bit didn't hurt his feelings. "I didn't get any on you did I?"

[Pine]

“Actually this will be my first time, just came here from… actually I don’t know where I came from.”

Pine cocked an eyebrow as the boy said this. How could someone not know where they came from? He looked like he might be around Pine's age which meant he was a high school student or a middle school student at the very least. Perhaps he hit his head on something and had a concussion? Or if he went to Moral it was very possible someone hit him to cause the problem. Still Pine hadn't noticed any blood, bandages, or bumps to validate such beliefs.

Pine was about to question further when a roaring engine silenced him for a second. It was a mustang, an old one. One of those 350horsepower 5 tonne tanks the old drag racers used to drive. The owner got out of the car and walked into the shop. She was cute but Pine already had a girlfriend and therefore wasn't quite that interested in her. No point in screwing up what you already have because you see something that might interest you. So Pine focused back on the boy who had no idea where he was or where he came from.

"Do you have a-" Pine was quickly cut off by a yelp from a female. He turned to see a smoothy come flying toward the boy. Both he and the boy pushed themselves out of the way. As the smoothy hit the wall it splashed everywhere. Pine's table was covered in whatever it was the girl just bought. She burst out laughing and appologized. Pine was not amused in the slightest. He was not wearing a sweater today so as he crossed his arms you could see all defined 21 inches of them.

"This really isn't that funny." He said coldly to the girl before moving back the the table and cleaning all the gunk off his own smoothy.

"So either of you have names? I know you have no idea where you are but what about you miss? I'm going to say a student from 42? I'm sure I've seen that mustang of yours in the parking lot."

[Max]

Well the girl was laughing after the incident so no harm no foul. It wasn’t like she just tried to kill him. He gave out a small chuckle.

“It’s ok and no, none on me”

The other guy on the other hand didn’t find it very funny. He didn’t seem very happy for some reason. Max did but that was him. He was happy most of the time so this was no downer.

“Yeah. The name is Max. I attend 42.”

He would turn to the girl and try to look in her eyes then talk. Otherwise he would just say it.

“That is one hell of a car.”

Max would then wait to she what she did or said. He would still be smiling a wiping up the mess that currently had arose. It was still very funny how it all happened. The waitress didn’t seem nervous when Max walked in yet he was flirting with her and hadn’t noticed if she did fumble with the stuff. Flirting is just something he did.

[Tash]

The second guy was all pissy for some reason. On the one hand it annoyed her: for God's sake, it was just a smoothie, calm the f*ck down, you know? On the other hand, it was kind of funny because, well, it was just a smoothie....

She couldn't help it, she looked at his serious expression and another giggle slipped out. It wasn't that she was mocking him: she just found it laughable that he was taking the minor incident so seriously. She didn't think she could seriously apologize without completely breaking down.

So she finished cleaning up the smoothie and turned to the friendly one who had just introduced himself as Max. He complimented her car, which drew a big smile that reached all the way to her already dancing jade green eyes. She extends her right hand for him to shake: it is slender but strong and there are scars across her knuckles and one that runs about five inches along her upper arm.


"Hey Max, I'm Tash. Short for Natasha. Yeah, I go to 42. Sorry about the smoothie thing. And thanks - my car is my Bambino. I built it up; bought it as a junker off a guy who didn't know what a gem he had."

[Pine]

(OOC: Pardon my tardiness to this thread...I am not exactly able to post everyday.)

The girl who he later found out was named Tash looked at him. If she was from 42 he would rather get the fight out of the way now not later. He assumed that her laughter to the smoothy flying all over the place was an attempt to bait the other boy into a fight. When she looked up at Pine and he was given the full view of her face and eyes it was clear that was not her intention. Pine could see no real malice in her eyes and therefore she could not mean any harm. Her little giggle was met with a small smirk from Pine.

The boy who had no idea where he came from mentioned that his name was Max and attended 42. For someone with no clue where they came from he gave a pretty good indication. Though it was entirely possible that Max remembered he went to 42 but didn't remember going to school today. It was also possible that Max knew he went to 42, got lost, and just randomly arrived here. Actually the latter of the two made the most sense. Had Pine taken the time to assess what was going on in both situations it might have been more beneficial. Now he just ended up looking like an asshole.

~But...I AM an asshole.~ Stated the sword.

~That's why you have no friends...~ Replied the shield.

Pine cleaned up the smoothy on his table quickly before beginning to drink his own. The other two seemed to be getting along well and Pine felt lonely. It was kind of hard to ignore that fact when the only other two patrons were talking and you just sat there drinking your smoothy. Perhaps an attempt at asshole control was needed.

"Hey..." Pine began in a almost shy tone. "Sorry about...my reaction to your smoothy thing...yeah...I figured if you went to 42 that was your attempt to start a fight...I kinda figured if that was it that I'd oblige you instead of the kid who accidentally made his way here....Oh um my name is Pine by the way...Nice to meet you both...Yeah..." Pine's speech was full of breaks and pauses. He didn't do apologies often nor did he like to. For the sake of company he decided he would try it. Pine took a sip of his smoothy as he waited to see if he would receive a reply.

[Tash]

[ooc: that's okay. i totally understand being busy ]

The first guy, the one who had seemed pretty pissed by the smoothie spillage spoke up again. Tash did a mental double take: he seemed to have changed his opinion and attitude entirely. Not like Tash was going to complain, as he now seemed apologetic and more friendly than before. That was something she cold definitely live with.

"...Oh um my name is Pine by the way...Nice to meet you both...Yeah."

He finished, looking a little sheepish and uncomfortable. Tash turned in her chair, offering a casual little shrug. Even though she resented the assumption that she was looking for trouble just because she went to 42, she couldn't blame him entirely either. It was a rough school. "Hey no biggee. 42 gets rough, so I don't blame you. This is a smoothie shop though, not campus." She says, adding a little smile. "You don't hear a name like Pine too often. It's kinda cool. How'd you end up with a handle like that?"

[Max]

Max was just sitting back listening to the conversation. When he heard the part about fights all the time he couldn’t help but comment.

“Funny thing you talk about the fights. I’ve never been in one at the school. I just talk with everyone and make friends. And no worries pine.”

He hoped that by saying that they didn’t immediately try fighting him. If the did he was ready for them because he mad himself focus much more than when he normally did. He wasn’t ready to get whooped on but whatever. If it came to two on one he would try his best. Yet they didn’t seem like they would do that. Well Tash at least. Wasn’t to sure about the pine fellow.

[Pine]

In a way Tash was right this was a smoothy shop, not campus. In another way she was wrong. Violent people weren't just violent in school, they were always violent. Pine had heard stories of fights breaking out between students in the parks and areas around here. It was not uncommon for a fight to carry on outside of school either. Pine also used to be in a gang and an avid fighter, he knew how this worked. Though, it seemed he should really start giving people the benefit of the doubt before preparing for a fight. It was something he needed to work on.

Max then added his own two cents in about fighting. He stated he had only made friends at 42 and not been in a single fight. Pine was almost impressed by this, but in all fairness Max didn't look much like a fighter. That was not to say he couldn't but it seemed like he was one of those 'as a last resort' types.

"My first day at 42...I had to duck out of history due to the teacher cracking so many jokes about my name. My locker neighbor tried to beat me up because I could open my locker and she couldn't. Oh and before I could finish the fight the Varsity Captain came over and almost ripped me apart. Consider yourself lucky Max, you don't seem to draw violent attention. As to how I got my name...When I was born my parents didn't know what to name me. The first thing they saw when they were wheeling my mom back into the maternity wing after giving birth to me was a pine tree...It didn't help they are those new age hippies you see all over the place here. So yeah...Pine."

[Max]

“Ouch dude I’m sorry. Plus your right. For some reason I don’t draw that kind of attention. All in all I’m glad about it but every once in a while something happens to pick a fight with me. Never works out in their favor.”

Max remembered a couple of his previous fight that he had gotten into. It did seem like they always worked out in his favor. Not like he was going to push it but he was glad. Max felt bad about how Pine got his name yet you couldn’t do anything about it except get it changed legally. Max would wait to see what they said. He might of sounded kind of conceded.

[Tash]

Tash's brow creased. She didn't envy Pine, now that she thought about it. Kids could be brutal and parents could be....well, she'd gotten pretty lucky with parents and she sure as hell knew that. She shrugged again.

"Well I probably won't name my kid Eucalyptus or anything, but I still think Pine's kind of a cool name. So don't worry about me making fun of it."

She smiled at Max. No, he didn't look like he was a hard core fighter but she was willing to bet that with experience he'd be able to hold his own. "You've been lucky Max. I haven't had any scuffles with the student population myself but I got caught on the edges of Orange's personal Hiroshima a while back; dunno if you've heard about that. Ended up with a few scrapes. Pine's right about this school being pretty wild: even the administration is big on brute force. It's kind of f*cked up, not gonna lie."

At that point the girl at the counter called out Tash's name again and she stood to collect her free replacement smoothie, shooting the girl a little smile to let her know there were no hard feelings. Taking a sip of the fruit perfection, she turned and reclaimed her seat with the boys.

[Pine]

Pine looked at Max as he spoke. Once upon a time he was the same as the student before him. Of course that was back when he was very young and in grade school. Of course the student that took Pine down and set him on the right path to discipline was also the one that later betrayed him. He was also the same kid that cost him his family and a clean criminal record. Pine always found it ironic how everything was a double edged sword. His best friend turned out to be his worst enemy. That however was a story for another time. Or perhaps there was never a good time for that story.

Pine could not help but chuckle when Tash mentioned naming her child Eucalyptus was out of the question but Pine was still a pretty cool name. Well this girl had interesting taste, that was for sure. Most people found the name interesting but never cool. He found it interesting that she was involved in the whole Orange incident. Pine was smart and fast enough to avoid the whole fiasco but knew of it. It was quite a good way to mess everything up for the students. Perhaps if Pine and many of the other students saw the ordeal through, something might have changed for the better. Twenty-twenty hindsight could be quite the bitch at times.

"She's right you know...These are not your regular bottom of the barrel students. These kids are students who have exhausted all other options, current or ex-gang members, the list goes on for a little." Pine said as Tash got up and made her way for her drink.

Pine slid his chair over so it was now at the same table as Max. There was no point in sitting at a different table. Tash came back over and Pine pushed a chair out for her so she could sit at the same table.

"So you both Freshmen like myself or you older?"