Pillar, Livin' Large (1 Person Open)

[Damien Kross, Jester]

(The first person to post here with me will be the only one allowed)

It seemed as if I had been doing a lot of, well, moving lately... First, leaving New York's PHS 552 and entering Long Beach's PHS259... That change was, well... Erm...

Fucking awful?

Yeah, that pretty much sums it up Jester. Vaughn Clarke, the man I worked alongside and admired, was killed in that damned school, then it was seen fitting to send me off to fucking Long Beach. Yeah, great, okay, new school, same fucking aggro-bent classmates.

But now, a school that actually seems... nice. Nice part of the city, cleaner air, and a nice title under my belt.

Indeed, I walked the halls of this school as a Pillar- a student dedicated to helping the weak and ensuring the safety of the school. My job specialty was the media- I was the eyes and ears of the very system. If something happened, I would know about it, publicize it, and let Linda take care of it.

Gee Damien, so fitting, you sit on your ass and tell people what to do. It's so you.

Aw, thank you Jester.

As it was now, I sat alone in the cafeteria, it being much to early to have company. I came early to do some work on the newspaper- oh what a glorious activity that is... I nursed a can of Amp energy drink and looked over the information that was to be published.

My eyes were on the page, but my mind was elsewhere.

[Sam Ballerino]

All right. She had her iPod, her backpack, crapload of books, her jacket, and everything she would need for all her after school activities that day. She had a change of clothes for Aikido, her ballet and tap shoes, leotard and tights, and of course what her mother called her “Box of Buns” – a big box that held all the bobby pins, hair nets, ponytails, and hair gel a girl could want. And, of course, a couple of bun covers for good measure – and decoration.

Sam was ready.

So much for “easing into things”…

Ah well, that was life with her father. At least she got to move out to come here, even if the reputation of the school was… less than perfect. Sam wasn’t too happy about that, but she’d learned, both from covert glances from her mother and directly the hard way, that trying to argue with her father when he got an idea into his head was like trying to tear down the Great Wall of China with a ball-peen hammer.

She did a final once-over before leaving her brand-new apartment. A black fedora covered her flowing brown hair, which fell over her fitted t-shirt. She had a simple pair of jeans, neon red Converse, and her favorite black fingerless gloves to complete the outfit. Yes. Definitely ready.

She found the front office without too much trouble, and walked out with a class schedule, a locker combination, and a map of the school that had absolutely no way of telling which way was right-side up.

Sam gave it up and started wandering. She still had plenty of time before school started, so she thought she might as well explore on her own.

Eventually she found what must be the cafeteria; rows and rows of lunch tables lined the large room. There was only one person in it at this time of the morning, and he was wearing - a vest? Slacks? At school? Well, to each his own, Sam supposed.

She walked over to him and sat down. "Um... excuse me? Do you think you could help me find my locker? This map they gave me is a piece of crap, and I don't know my way around yet."

[Damien Kross, Jester]

I looked up at the girl that entered the cafeteria, a look of confusion plastered all over it. She appeared old enough to know high school protocol- First day, get scheduele, be confused, ask for help, fear getting beaten up. An age old tradition...

The mental strain prevented me from offering too large a smile, but as a Pillar, I had to appear socialy warm. I rested my cheek on my propped up fist and offered her whatever grin I could muster.

"The maps here aren't too great. I'll show ya' around." I said, packing up my papers and putting them neatly into a folder. Once up, I extended my hand. "Damien Kross, Director of Media. I'm a Pillar." I said casually.

[Sam Ballerino]

"Thanks, I appreciate that." Sam waited while he packed his things and stood up.

"Damien Kross, Director of Media. I'm a Pillar."

A Pillar? Of course the very first person she ran into would be one of the school's royalty, wouldn't it? Sam opened her mouth and closed it again, then remembered her manners and shifted her dance bag to take his offered hand.

He seemed nice enough, but suddenly Sam felt like she was on trial, and it was made horribly clear to her how little she really knew about the Pillar system. Part of her thought it might be a good time to ask; the other part thought she should run away while she was still in one piece.

But she still needed to find her locker.

"It's nice to meet you, Damien. I'm Sam Ballerino. I've never met a Pillar before." She looked at him cautiously. "There's not some kind of protocol I'm ignoring here, is there? I'd much prefer not to get beat up on the first day of school for ignorance or something." She winced, and started imagining her father's voice in her ear: What are you doing, Samantha!? Get ready for a fight! You never know when someone's going to start throwing punches - especially here.

[Damien Kross, Jester]

"Protocol?" That made my grin widen. Alas, I myself wasn't used to my new position of power, so to hear someone give such respect was, well...

Ego-boosting?

I guess. Yeah.

"Heh, no, no protocol. Most people are afraid of Pillars for some reason." I shrugged. "I guess it's cause most of em are brawlers. Me, heh, I'm just a lil' ol' Thespian at heart." I smirked. "What about you? If I'm a Pillar and Thespian, you would be...?"

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam mentally punched the image of her father in the face, and he shut up. She sighed in relief. "Good. One less reason to get socked in the face." She got more and more relaxed listened to Damien continue, and a smile slowly crept onto her face as they got into somewhat familiar ground for her.

"What about you? If I'm a Pillar and Thespian, you would be...?"

"Kindred, in a sense." She grinned bravely. "I'm a dancer." She jiggled the bag on her shoulder as proof. "I've done a couple of plays here and there, but not quite enough to consider myself a True Thespian." She put on her affected "posh Brit" voice for the last two words, and tipped her fedora his way with a grin and a little bow.

[Damien Kross, Jester]

I absorbed everything about her- her mannerisms, her appearance, her attitude... It was all so wrong. She seemed a pacifist... She had no idea what she was getting herself into.

This school, like every other I had attended, eats people alive. The people that roamed these halls weren't people headed to classes... They were animals let loose from cages, not knowing where to go. They would search aimlessly for something weaker than them, then destroy it. At first glance, this girl seemed bottom of the food chain.

However, I harrumphed at her fedora tip an bow, giving a slight smile.

"You really have no idea what you're in for, huh?"

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam's face darkened as Damien spoke. "Probably not," she muttered, readjusting her hat. "But at this point I don't really have a choice in the matter so for better or worse... here I am." She smiled, bitterly this time, and avoided looking directly at him.

No, she didn't really have a choice in the matter, did she? If her father thought she needed to learn the hard way how to be more aggressive, the merda, she would learn to be more aggressive. And this certainly was the hard way, wasn't it? Sam had heard about the brutal beatings of students by other students, faculty by other students, students by other faculty... it was all completely unfathomable to her, and frankly, scared her pretty shitless. She'd never been in a fistfight beyond sparring sessions with her Aikido instructor or fellow students, and that hardly counted. Yet, she found herself asking:

"Is it really as violent here as people say?"



ooc-merda means "shit" in Italian

[Damien Kross, Jester]

With a grin, I pulled from my coat pocket a pack of Black and Mild cigarillos, creme flavor of course, and withdrew one, motioning for her to take one if she wanted. Whether or not she would go for it, I would next produce my silver zippo, flick it open expertly by the top, and light the cigar.

One of my perks as a Pillar was being allowed to get away with stuff like smoking in school. If anything, a Pillar was the ultimate hypocrite. I'd be perfectly allowed to kick a kid's ass for smoking, then as I walk away, light up myself.

"Every school is violent nowadays. The corporal punishment system, the Pillar System, they're all tools for using pain to keep students in line." I shrugged and blew smoke, intentionally blowig it away from her as a courtesy. "What's worse is that it actually works, and, since it does so well, they have no reason to get rid of it..." I smiled. "So, yes, it is as violent as you think..."

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam shook her head as he offered her a cigarillo. They may smell good, but she liked her lung capacity the way it was. Besides, she didn't think it would be a good idea. Damien may be a Pillar and be able to get away with things like that, but she was a newcomer, and seriously doubted she'd be treated the same way.

"Every school is violent nowadays. The corporal punishment system, the Pillar System, they're all tools for using pain to keep students in line. What's worse is that it actually works, and, since it does so well, they have no reason to get rid of it... So, yes, it is as violent as you think..."

Sam sighed in a resigned sort of way, then took a breath and smiled. No point in dwelling on it. "Well, Dad'll be happy to hear that, at least," she laughed. "So, are you still up for showing me around? It'd really be a big help." She held up her perfectly useless map as proof.

[Damien Kross, Jester]

"Sure, why not?" I said as I began to walk to the doorway. "This way." I pointed to the door and looked back to make sure she was right behind me.

Ugh, I don't remember one of your Pillar duties as being a student's bitch for a day.

Sigh... Jester, you will come to see that good deeds are often returned. For all I know, this girl may wind up being a useful ally.

Pfft, right... The hat-tipping dancer is gonna save your skin Damien...

Ugh, he had a point... But it was my duty as a Pillar to help the students of this school in any way necessary.

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam hefted her dance bag and followed her guide out the door. On some level, she was still nervous about being in the presence of a Pillar, and really hoping she wasn't going to say anything stupid and make him blow up at her. On the other hand, however, as long as she stayed on his good side and in his presence, she figured there would probably be a lot less chance of getting randomly pummeled. So, at least for the moment, she was a tad safer.

Of course, that wasn't to say that she couldn't hold her own in a fight if she needed to. It was her lack of street experience that gave her the chills. She knew it was bound to happen eventually; hell, she wouldn't put it past her father to pay someone to rough her up a little. But the longer she could put it off, the happier she'd be.

Sam caught up to Damien in the hallway and matched his stride. "So, is it safe to assume you're a senior? I mean, you're a Pillar. It must have taken some time to work your way up the social ladder, right?"

[Damien Kross, Jester]

God, this girl talks a lot... A LOT...

Well, she's new... She's new and has no idea what sort of world she's in now... Keep in mind Jester, you weren't around when I went into this phase... You didn't rear your ugly head until just a year or so ago... I've been in her position before, and it wasn't nice... Pillars were always something to be cautious of... Hell, the Pillars I knew when I was growing up in high school were, well... intimidating... James, Zeniro, Levi, and Angelina... Well, not so much Angelina... The other three were fucking powerhouses. Point is, I know what her mindset is right now...

Scratch my last statement... YOU talk to Goddamn much.

"Mhm, I'm a senior." I nodded, passing a glance to her. "As far as the social ladder, I guess... Linda Osako, the current captain, gave me the position of Media Director. I've done a lot of work with her in the past, so I guess that merited the promotion..."

[Sam Ballerino]

“Linda Osako…”

Linda Osako, Linda Osako… Linda Osako, School Captain, and Damien Kross, Media Director… Sam committed the names and titles to memory. She figured they would be important names she might want to remember. Just maybe. So far it seemed to be normal politics here – make friends with the powerful people, and maybe you’ll get a pat on the back later.

Sam knew damn well that he was pumping him for as much information as she could, but she was nervous and worried, and at this point she was gonna take whatever she could get. At this point, her biggest worry was that she was going to cross the line soon and just start pissing him off. But she needed to know this shit, right? Just one more question and then she’d try shut her mouth for a while. He looked like he was probably still trying to wake up properly.

“Who are the other Pillars? So I’ll at least recognize the names if someone mentions them.”

[Damien Kross, Jester]

"Linda Osako, senior... The real-life equivilant of X-Men's Juggernaut... I've seen her break through more solid walls than I'd rather count... As deadly as she is beautiful... Not someone to fuck with. Mathew, Student Body President... Neat, organized, unbreakable... He is definately the one you want least to be on the wrong side of... Matrim, Varsity Captain... Wears an eyepatch. Seems like an okay guy- only met him once."

I took her up a flight of stairs, noting that her locker was on the second floor. A moment of walking brought us to the metal door she could call home. I tapped it delicately with one finger.

"Yours." I said simply, giving a small smile her way.