Coffee Break (Sam/Open)

[Ryuu]

Ryuu sat at a table normally meant for two people in a small cafe. He was currently reading a newspaper magazine, his shoulder bag at his feet, while he waited for his order, a panini with a salad on the side and a baked potato to arrive. He wore a black t-shirt, black jacket, loose black track pants, and his worn down black Converse shoes. He was sitting inside a rather quiet and small cafe, which was one of the few cheap cafe's located in San Francisco, but he didn't mind, he loved the place. When he got the chance, he'd come here, even if it was only to buy a small cup of coffee. Ryuu finished reading, and what good timing, his order arrived, he had gotten it to go. He took the bag the waitress had handed to him, placed it in his shoulder bag, and walked out of the cafe.

He walked along the sidewalk, as he passed by people walking on the sidewalk, taking care not to bump into anyone. As he walked, he reached the crosswalk, and as he stood there, he couldn't help but suddenly wonder why his right pocket on his jeans suddenly felt so light. A quick pat down of his jeans gave him his answer. He had dropped his wallet back at the cafe. The look on his face could only be summed up in this expression: =__=;. Ryuu turned around, and just as the light turned green, Ryuu was off, running back the way he had gone. He darted past people, who moved to the side to let the young man with jet black hair run past them without getting into a collision.

Ryuu continued running, his bag bouncing off his back, as he turned around the corner, and continued running. He then saw the familiar cafe, and burst through the door, breathing hard. He walked in, and quicky glanced around, looking for his wallet. But it wasn't on the ground. "Crap..." he groaned and sighed, collapsing into a chair by the window. "My wallet, it's gone..." "Your wallet?" A voice called out, as Ryuu looked up, it was the cashier. "I saw someone pick it up a few minutes ago, a girl. I think she's sitting over there." The cashier told him, pointing across the room. Ryuu got up, and walked over, stopping in front of the table. "I think you have someth..." Ryuu began, his hands resting on the table, his eyes filled with relief, as he stopped in mid-sentence once he saw who it was.

"Sam?"

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam was wandering around the streets of San Fransisco, looking for new places. Her adventurous side was calling, so she thought that since it was a pretty nice day outside, she'd go find a cafe or something to do homework in.

She searched and searched, coming up with nothing but a few shady places an a couple of dance wear stores she wanted to check out. When she wasn't overloaded with homework and everything else.

After a few hours she was about ready to just give up and head home, when she came across a hole-in-the-wall cafe that looked small, homey and very pleasantly inviting. She stepped inside, and was pleased to find that the place did in fact meet her expectations. She went to the cashier, and was about to order a simple sandwich, and - ooh, a baked potato sounded good - but she stepped on something, and looked down to see a wallet. Sam picked it up, but the cashier didn't know who it belonged to, so she took it to a table, pulling out a textbook and settling in for some hardcore study time.

The waiter brought her food only minutes later, placing it next to the wallet on the table, and the thought occurred to her that maybe she should try to figure out who it belonged to. She opened it up, looking for some kind of ID card, and came upon the name Ryuu Hikari. Sam grinned. Perfect, she could give it back to him at school the next day.

"I think you have someth... Sam?"

A voice interrupted her thoughts, and she looked up to see none other than Ryuu himelf. Sam laughed. "Yep," she said. "I found it on the floor in here. I was gonna find you tomorrow at school, but it seems you found me first."

[Ryuu]

"Yep, I found it on the floor in here. I was gonna find you tomorrow at school, but it seems you found me first." He heard her laugh after looking up at him. "Well I'm glad it you were the one that found it, instead of someone else, or I'd have to go and buy a new wallet," And maybe find a new last name... "So what's up? It's been a while since we got to talk to each other." Talking to Sam took Ryuu's mind off the fact that his girlfriend, Emi, had left and gone back to Japan. Why, he didn't know, to be honest. All he knew was, she was gone, and she wasn't coming back. "Mind if I join you?" He asked, gesturing at the empty seat at her table. If she allowed him to join her, he would pull the chair out before sitting down, and unzipped his bag, before pulling out his order that he gotten to go, and placed it down on the table, before opening it and grabbed half of his panini, and took a bite out of it.

"How've you been? Studying are we?" He asked, noticing the textbook she held in her hand, as he waved over a waiter and asked for a glass of soda. "If you're studying, I can leave." He offered, with the recent influx of homework, coupled with the fact they now had school everyday, there were few rare moments for any of the students to catch some free time. This was one of those times. Ryuu was amazed he was even able to keep up his practice in both kendo, karate, and Shifting Dragon during the times snatched up in between homework. "This is insane, school seven days a week. I thought five was enough, but seven? Are they trying to kill us all from homework?" Ryuu wasn't exactly thrilled about this, but right now, none of them could do anything about it. They had very few options to go with at this point in time. "So what's new with you?"

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam shook her head, motioning to the other chair at the table with her. "Go ahead, sit down. I can always study later." Inbetween her dancing and Aikido and school. But it would be nice to talk to Ryuu, she thought. He seemed to be a very upbeat sort of person, and she wanted to just talk to someone and make conversation - unstressful, undramatic small talk. "I've been good," she shrugged. Not quite a lie, but not a complete truth, either. A very generic answer, to be sure, but the one that was usually expected with that kind of question. "I've just been really busy."

He brought up the topic of school, and she rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it," she huffed. "Because I have nothing better to be doing on my weekends than going back to school, right? I'm just glad I don't hold myself to any kind of religious obligations. I don't think I'd be able to make a decision between going to church and going to school. As it is, I had to cancel a few of the dance classes I signed up for. The expensive, non-refundable dance classes I signed up for," she emphasized. She shook her head in disbelief. "I mean sure, the school might not have the greatest academic standards, but I think this is a little extreme."

[Victor "Break" D'Armond]

Another lofty day after another long arduous annoyance that is school. Didn't matter to victor much, he had ditched most of the day anyway, just going to the few classes he actually liked. He walked around san francisco, his guitar on his back, enjoying the nice weather. There was a change, it was no SoCal, but for once he was able to walk around without the wool pea coat he had grown so accustomed to. He was dressed very nicely today, he had people to impress. A black button down shirt with a white vine pattern stringing all around it. with the top 3 buttons undone to reveal a celtic knot necklace, of course it was easy to tell the buttons where undone only because if he buttoned them they might pop. Damn his wide shoulders, he loved them, but sometimes... he also wore a pair of very clean jeans and his doc martens, his guitar was strapped across his back johnny cash style (an Ovation Celebrity. shallow body) as he walked toward the cafe who's owner he had talked to a week earlier. Today was an audition day, he was aiming to fill the saturday night spot for entertainment at the homely little cafe, he hummed the tune of the song he was going to audition with.

As he walked into the cafe he went up to the counter. "Hey... is the manager here? I'm Victor, from last week..." the man behind the counter looked up and grunted in response, presumably going into the back to get the manager. Victor smiled, and then caught sight of Ryuu and a girl he didn't know. He walked over a little gingerly "Am I interrupting anything?" he asked politely, nodding to ryuu in salutation and smiling at both of them

[Ryuu]

Ryuu saw Sam shake her head and motion with her head to the other chair at her table. "Go ahead, sit down. I can always study later." "Are you sure?" Ryuu asked, but since she said it was okay, he accepted, and pulled the chair out before sitting down. "I've been good." He heard her say in response to his question. "I've just been really busy." "That's good," He replied, taking a sip from his soda once it arrived, "Heh, who hasn't been really busy these days?" He then brought up the topic of school, as he saw Sam roll her eyes at his comment, and then huffed about how she had nothing better to do than to go back to school on the weekend, not even any religious obligation, which was probably a good thing, and how she had to cancel some of her expensive, non-refundable dance classes, as Ryuu nodded his head sympathetically while she shook hers in disbelief. "I mean sure, the school might not have the greatest academic standards, but I think this is a little extreme."

"You and me both sister... you and me both." Ryuu sighed, as he scratched the back of his head. "What a drag..." "Am I interrupting anything?" Ryuu heard a polite voice say from somewhere behind him, as he turned his head and saw Victor standing behind him. "Hey Victor," Ryuu replied, returning the nod Victor had given him in greeting, "No, you're not interrupting anything, just chatting with my friend Sam about how our social lives have flown out the window because we have to go to school everyday. Sam," Ryuu said, turning to her, "This is Victor, also known as "Break," who's part of the band I found. "Break," this is Sam, my friend." Now that introductions were out of the way, all that was left to do is have some small talk. "Have a seat, join us "Break," don't just stand like a grinning idiot," Ryuu grinned slightly, "Unless Sam objects?" He then looked over at Sam, his head tilted to one side like a puppy.

[Sam Ballerino]

"Victor," Sam said, committing it to memory. She reached out to shake the boy's hand. "Sure, come sit down with us." There were a few empty chairs at other tables, and if the newcomer didn't grab one himself, then Sam would stand up and move one over to the little table, and sit down in hers again, putting her books away to make room for them all.

"So the two of you are in a band? What kind of music?" Sam hadn't heard this bit of information, but she noticed the guitar strapped onto "Break"'s back and thought it made a lot of sense. She wanted to ask more about it, but she didn't want to overload them both with questions, so she took a bite of her sandwich to shut herself up.

[Victor "Break" D'Armond]

"grinning, yes, idiot, I beg to differ" Victor said with...a grin... taking off his guitar and placing it next to a chair that he quickly grabbed and pulled over so it rested easily on the back of the chair. he sat down, shaking sam's hand as he did. "nice to meet you" he said, finding himself nice and comfortable. He listened to sam ask about the band, he loved people who where enthusiastic about music. "hard to say... what would you call our style, ryuu?" he asked his bandmate.

[Ryuu]

Ryuu heard Sam say "Break's" name as he saw her reach out to shake his hand, telling him that he could join them as she shited some of her books to make room while"Break" pulled his guitar case off his back and placed it next to a chair he had grabbed, resting it against the back of the chair. "Grinning, yes, idiot, I beg to differ." "Well pardon me then Mr. Grinning Joker," Ryuu replied somewhat sarcastically, "Forgive me if I hurt your feeling my lord." He even did a mock bow to Victor, before grinning at him as he sat down and shook Sam's hand, saying it was nice to meet her. "So the two of you are in a band? What kind of music?" "Hard to say... what would you call our style, Ryuu?"

"I'd call our style a jack of almost all trades except for country and rap style." Ryuu replied, as he saw Sam take a bite of her sandwich. "We haven't quite gotten a name down yet, but at least the members of our band work well with each other. Though if you have any suggestions Sam, it would be greatly appreciated." Ryuu said, as he took a bite of his own lunch. "I think this band is one of the few bits of a social life I still have, after all this crap went down." Ryuu was obviously not happy, as evident by his tone of voice, but what frustrated him the most was the fact they could do nothing about it, except follow what the school board demand they do.

[Victor "Break" D'Armond]

Ryuu cracked Victor up, mock bow, sarcasm and all. Ryuu clearly took victor more seriously than victor ever would be able to. "why thank you! your loyalties will be repaid with a thouand ducats!" he said in a regal tone. "by the way, I'm totally joking" he added, not wanting to offend him.

Ryuu spoke to sam, offering her to name the band, not a bad idea. then the bitterness. something happened... something apperantly pretty bad. "may I ask what happened? I'm afraid I haven't been here long enough to know the going-ons of this school" Victor asked.

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam laughed, enjoying the camaraderie between the two boys. "Well, I can't think of any good names off the top of my head, but if I do, I'll be sure to let you know." She grinned.

She grimaced at Ryuu, sympathizing with him. "I know what you mean. I've got my dance classes... and lunchtime." She looked at Victor, shaking her head. "I haven't been here long, either, but it's been long enough. Long story short, some school administrators are hanging around and causing trouble." Sam still couldn't shake the feeling that there was something funny about them, but she didn't mention that to either of the boys.

"They're the reason we've got all this homework, and now school seven days a week. They're trying to raise the academic standards of the school."

[Ryuu]

"Why thank you! Your loyalties will be repaid with a thousand ducats!" "Oh thank you my lord," Ryuu replied back to Victor's regal tone sarcastically, "A thousand ducats will certainly help me... Get through only one day." "By the way, I'm totally joking." "No duh. Only an idiot wouldn't realize that." Ryuu then heard Sam laugh at their act, as he looked over at her and smirked. "I'm glad you liked our little act Sam. That'll be 5 bucks." Of course Ryuu was kidding, but it was hard to tell with Ryuu sometimes, seeing as he was sarcastic most, if not all the time. He then heard Sam say she couldn't think of any names off the top of her head right now but if she thought of anything, she'd let them know, which was perfectly fine with Ryuu. She then grimaced at Ryuu when he said the band was one of the few remnants of a social life he has. "I know what you mean. I've got my dance classes... and lunchtime." "Do they enjoy torturing us like this?" Ryuu huffed, shaking his head in disbelief.

"May I ask what happened? I'm afraid I haven't been here long enough to know the going-on's of this school." "I haven't been here long, either, but it's been long enough. Long story short, some school administrators are hanging around and causing trouble. They're the reason we've got all this homework, and now school seven days a week. They're trying to raise the academic standards of the school." "What she said. Now instead of a weekend to look forward to, we have school and more homework to look at on our used to be days off," Ryuu added, "I mean, I knew the high school years would be difficult, but this is insane. IN-SANE." Ryuu sighed, as he leaned back in his chair, his arms folded lightly across his chest. "And I'll be honest, I don't trust both the representatives of the School Board, Mr. Purple and Orange for as far as I could possibly throw them. The two of them seem pretty shady, if you ask me."

[Victor "Break" D'Armond]

Victor nodded as he listened to ryuu and sam, administrators of insanity, sounds like a good time. "geeze, sounds like we got our work cut out for us" he said to them. suddenly this angered him, he got up. "there has to be something we can do, we can't just sit here and take it like this..." he said. "and if something is done soon then someones gonna riot, and then all hell will break loose" he said "we need something to take care of the problem, but not in a riotous way" he said. but what? the question echoed in his mind

[Sam Ballerino]

"We already had a riot, 'Break.' It didn't do any good." Sam shook her head. "I don't know what else we can do," she said. "They don't listen to us. If we talk they just ignore us, and if someone fights, they're flicked away like a fly." She remembered the "meeting" with Mr. Purple with a shudder. She crossed her arms, thinking for a moment before turning to Ryuu. "I agree with you, though. I still think there's something else going on that they're trying to hide. I mean, seriously, how many people have you ever heard with the names 'Purple' and 'Orange'?" Sam thought they sounded like code names. "And two people who both dress like their name and just happen to be working together? Come on, now."

She just wished she knew what they wanted, and why they seemed so horribly intent on destroying the school. There were some good people here. Surely there was still hope for Moral Crest...

[Ryuu]

"Yeah, we already had a riot "Break," as Sam already said," Ryuu replied, folding his arms across his chest as he leaned back in his chair and crossed one leg over the other, "All it got us was a crap load of casualties, myself included." Ryuu nodded at what Sam said, agreeing with her. The School Board representatives never listened to them when they tried to talk to them, as evident when Ryuu confronted Mr. Purple, but received no answers, and when they tried to fight back, all they got in response was injuries handed to them. "I agree with you, though. I still think there's something else going on that they're trying to hide. I mean, seriously, how many people have you ever heard with the names 'Purple' and 'Orange'?" Ryuu turned his head to look over at Sam when she turned to him, nodding. "Not very many, I'll say this much."

She then continued on, commenting on how the two of them dressed exactly like their name and happen to work together, which was not a coincidence if you asked Ryuu. "I agree, but what choice do we have? You saw Mr. Purple's Qi, he can use telekinesis. I don't even know what Mr. Orange's Qi is, if he even has one, and frankly, I don't really want to know. We're in a real jam here, we're stuck between a rock and a tight spot. And as much as I hate to admit this, we're running out of options. We can't directly confront them, not unless we want to have our asses handed to us on a silver plate, and we can't complain to the School Board, because they're the ones causing this in the first place!" Ryuu sighed, as he shook his head. He wasn't going to give up, he was going to fight to keep Moral Crest standing. "What a drag..."