Parole (open, to no more than 2)

[January]

"Get out," ordered the cop, standing by the open backseat door of his patrol car. The vehicle, parked at the main entrance to the grounds of Moral Crest High, draws only the meagerest attention from passerby used to a city of violence and crime.

The passenger sighs; a great heaving sigh that seems to have great weight as it drifts heavily through the air. A clamber and a clutter later, and the passenger stands on the curb, still in handcuffs. It is a young man, about 16 by the looks of him, though with his facial hair he could pass for a few years older in lower lighting conditions.

The cop reaches for his belt, grabbing at his handcuff keys, but is distracted when the prisoner nonchalantly jangles the cuffs in front of the guard's face, having somehow freed himself from them of his own accord.

The cop gives the man a hard look. "You shouldn't be doing that stuff, Smathers. Makin' my job harder'n it already is." Indeed, our gallant officer does appear to have seen better years. His dark, wrinkled skin marks him as an African-American man well beyond his youthful days, and his carriage is that of a man weary of his lifestyle. It's the only lifestyle he's ever known, however, so he persists.

The young man Smathers coughs and spits on the pavement. "Bill, why do you keep on doing this? You bring me in, the judge tells you to ship me back to school, and I just leave and the cycle continues. Seems a waste."

The cop leans inside the driver door as Smathers speaks, and comes away with a cup of coffee in his hand. "The judge ain't cutting you any slack no more, Smathers. Either we receive reports that you're attending classes, or you're going upriver for good next time." The cop adjusts his belt with one hand while sipping at the coffee. He grimaces. "Too much sugar...all right, get to it Smathers." He slaps Smathers on the shoulder and totters into the driver's seat, pulling the door shut behind him.

Smathers sighs again, and slams the rear door shut. "See you soon, Bill," he calls over the revving of the engine, and in a moment he's alone.

One booted foot after another, Smathers progresses across the cracked pavement and onto school grounds. His dark coat is threadbare and his jeans and shirt are filthy with the grit and grime of heavy use without wash or caution. Observing the pavement beneath his feet, Smathers smiles at having found a kindred spirit. Not much to look at, but still good for at least a few more years of hard wear.

"School, huh..." he mutters, and then chuckles.

He stares around at the buildings of the campus, and to his eye the buildings seem to stare back. The school and he stand there for a while, observing each other from a distance suspiciously, like wild animals whose paths cross in the forest by chance.

"School, what do you know..." thinks Smathers. "Even induction is a faith. You can only prove its infallibility through further induction, which is paradoxical by its own laws. Any faith some street preacher constructs is as strong as what you can dish out."

The school shouts back. "What do YOU know? You, Smathers, standing there smugly in your rags and thinking your thoughts. In a universe where the ratio of available uncertainty to certainty is infinitely small, how can you hope to make any decision and know it's right before gaining at least what knowledge can be gained."

Smathers mentally retorts, "If the the amount of available knowledge approaches zero as scale approaches infinity, then it makes no difference what I know or don't know; my decisions will always be made based on extrapolations from incomplete data."

The school puffs up in anger. "Is that your excuse? Is that how you rationalize your existence as worthwhile? Because you believe you can make no correct decisions without all knowledge, you make NO decisions, and remain in a state of uselessness."

Smathers grins. "All this ad hominem...I am disappointed in your rhetorical naivete. Ignoring for now the fact that we have deviated far from the original argument, what right do you have to judge what makes an existence worthwhile or valid? By what authority do you dictate what actions and decisions constitute a path through life that is deserving of merit?"

The mental argument goes on for quite some time this way. By now Smathers has sunk to sit on the pavement, and is playing with the pebbles in the sidewalk cracks idly while his mind hammers away at itself. Sitting just inside the main entrance to campus, he somewhat in the path of traffic, but there is very little motion at the moment since class is currently underway for the majority of students.

[James Everwood]

Something about walking around in a crowded area seemed to make James a little on edge. He liked being out of a group, not in one. But still some kids had been walking along the side walk in a large tight group and James didn't understand it so he shoved past in a hurry to get to the school. Not having depth perception sucked at times, but he got used to it. He nearly tripped up stepping onto the sidewalk and making his way towards the school, as he walked he tripped over someone who wasn't standing.

James nearly dropped the bag of gummy bears he was consuming when he landed on his side, now able to see the person he had tripped over. He looked at the boy/kid/man not sure how old he really was, but he was sure of one thing. He didn't know who he was. He also wasn't sure if the man was all there having just sat down like that, but he leaned the bag over to him, "Gummy bear?"

I bring a peace offering of gummy bears Mr. Beard Face, please do not attempt to kick my ass......

Hoping that the guy wouldn't be too upset about being ran into James would get up after giving the guy enough time to grab some gummy bears if he took up the offer.

[January]

Smathers, having been tripped over from behind, drifts down and forward at a rate suspiciously similar to the acceleration caused by earth's gravity acting on a falling object, until heated brain and cold lush concrete separated by the thickness of the skull and flesh between.

Smathers could not have been more surprised. Even had someone presented him with the exact number of bearded characters in the complete works of Tolkien, his surprise would only have approached a similar level.

He shouldn't have been surprised though...when you sit down in the middle of nowhere, you should make sure that it actually is "nowhere" and not "somewhere."

Smathers props himself up on all fours. He coughs and spits off to the side. "Damn upper respiratory infections...damn them to the bowels of the telecommunications industry!" he thinks.

Suddenly, a new sensation puts his previous argument with himself completely out of mind. This sensation is scent, and the scent in question is food. Smathers hardly hears the person speak, so transfixed was he on the outstretched hand that offered the gummy confection.

Realizing that it was offered to him, Smathers reaches out and takes some from the bag. Rather than eat them, he flourishes a wrist and the gummy bears are gone from sight, tucked away safely. In Smathers' "business," you didn't eat what food you had unless you were hungry, and he was pleasantly full on chow from the station at the moment.

Smathers stands now, and dusts himself off; a futile gesture considering the unkempt nature of his ensemble.

"Thanks a heap, you really helped me out, my friend. What can I offer you in return? " Suddenly a mad light leaps into his eye. "How about I offer you... A CHALLENGE!?"

He strikes a ridiculous martial arts pose. Despite its ridiculousness, the fire in his sharp eyes belies a formidable will.

Then he loosens and is racked by laughter. "I'm kidding! You Corporal Punishment kids are all so up tight about that stuff! I couldn't resist!" Yes, this is a classic Smathers-style first impression.

[Sara Quinn]

Sara walked through the front gates of the school, and looked around. She sighed, shifting her book from one hand to another. Why had she bothered to come today? It had been a stupid idea, she should have stayed home. The cool breeze brushed over her bare arms and she shivered. She should have brought a jacket to wear. And worn jeans to. Her legs were cold in the shorts she was wearing. Sara hated going to class, more then anything else in the world. There were so many better things to be doing then sitting in class. She looked around for someone she knew, someone she could maybe finish skipping class with when she spied something suspicious. It was that kid. What was his name...? James! That's right. James. She hadn't seen him since that day in the hall. She liked that kid. He seemed nice. She needed more friends.

But there was something wrong with what she was seeing. James was on the ground holding out his bag of gummy bears. What was that about? She eyed the guy as he took a handful out. Now maybe Sara was just bored today, or maybe she was genuinely concerned, but either way, she didn't like what she was seeing. The two got to their feet, and then the guy she didn't know struck some crazy martial arts pose. She stopped dead. What if he was going to rape James?!Yes... That must be it Sara~Good job~*clap* Yes, she must be extremely bored.

She wasn't close enough to hear what was happening and she didn't really care. All she knew was that she wasn't going to let James get hurt by this guy. But she didn't want to attack the guy without knowing completely what was happening. So she did what any over protective, bored student would do. She chucked the book, hard. The book would hit him and distract him long enough that Sara could get over there and step in and help her friend. James was just to weak! She wouldn't just stand by and let him get hurt.

The book flew through the air, right on target as Sara had planned, heading right for James' head. Yes~Sara had thrown the book at James~ Yay Sara! Yay!~

[James Everwood]

"Thanks a heap, you really helped me out, my friend. What can I offer you in return?"

James put his hands up, "It was nothing re-"

"How about I offer you... A CHALLENGE!?" The man said, and James suddenly regretted tripping over this guy on this day of all days. He was about to be eaten alive by this man in a fight!

Oh dear lord you gave this man gummy bears and now he's going to kill you.... look what you've done!

The guys eyes lit up like Christmas lights it seemed, while James own eye was showing a sign of nervousness. He didn't want to fight this guy, but he also didn't want this guy beating him up for not fighting him. Both scenario's ending up with a beaten up James. Of course, then the guy started laughing, and said something that calmed James quite a bit, "I'm kidding! You Corporal Punishment kids are all so up tight about that stuff! I couldn't resist!"

"Oh man," James said, letting out some air and getting up onto his feet, "You scared me there for a second... I thought I was going to have to fight you or someth- UMPF!"

James was attacked by a flying book, and was knocked forward face first into the pavement.

"I really hate my life......" He said, his nose wasn't broken but was bleeding from the face first collision. He turned his head to see Sara of all people. He didn't know why she had thrown the book but he turned and waved, "Hi Sara......" He said and then got up facing the guy in front of him, "I'm James by the way," He said, bringing the sleeve of his shirt up to his bloody nose, in an attempt to stop the bleeding, "James Everwood."

[January]

"NOW'S MY CHANCE!" Shouts Smathers excitedly, seeing the bleeding nose.

Smathers wastes no time. He digs into a pocket deep inside his coat, and his hand comes away with a dark blue handkerchief.

It's probably the cleanest article of cloth anywhere on his person.

Without hesitation, he would reach out and pinch the guy's nose himself with the handkerchief, stifling the flow of blood.

"At long last, my debt is repaid..." Smathers says with an air of great satisfaction. Honor and indebtedness are a big deal to our young street ruffian Smathers here, and this person's kind offer of food had not been so quickly forgotten, not by a long shot.

"I'm Smathers," he says briefly, and would drop his hand from James' nose if James were to take control of holding the handkerchief to his face. Now Smathers hesitates for a moment, and adds, "Johnny Smathers." Normally, he does not release his first name to new acquaintences, but since this man had offered his, Smathers would feel it to be wrong to not reciprocate in kind. "Pleased to meet you, Jimmy!" He adds.

Turning his head, he scopes out the audacious assailant of the gummy-bear-bearer. To his surprise...

A girl, and a pretty one at that. Smathers' lifestyle has not led him to become accustomed to communicating often with the demographic group of high school girls. However, being somewhat free of the social pressures and schemas that inhibit communication between the less fortunate and entrapped folk of conventional society, he is not particularly flabbergasted or slowed up by this observation.

Smathers holds his hand out towards the girl. He rotates his wrist, and in his palm by some trick appears some of the gummy bears James had given him.

"...gummy bear?" he offers.

[Sara Quinn]

Sara watched, with a thrill of triumph as the book hit its mark, smacking into James' head, knocking him to the ground. There. Problem solved. She smiled a huge smile and started to walk over to the two. Sara seemed a little off today. She was having a good day so far. A very good day. She was happy. Apparently... She was weird when she was happy. Interesting.

"Hi Sara......"

Sara heard him call out to her. Yes! He recognized her amazing talents and saving abilities. She called back out to him, completely sure she had done the right thing. "Hi James! Did you see?! I saved you?!" She watched James stand up, sleeve going to his now bleeding nose. Well that was a small price to pay for her saving him. Then she heard James give the man his name and all hell broke loose. The guy screamed out something about his chance and dug into his pocket. Sara froze. This was it, he was going to kill HER James. Nu uh. No one touched her James. ~That's right, she now owned him. Mhm~

The guy reached out, pushing something into James' face. Oh! She had seen this used the other day at the movie she had gone to see! There was something on the handkerchief that was going to knock James out! And that was bad. She needed to do something. She looked around, turning her body away from the two, searching the field for someone who could help. No one. Ah well. She would need to handle this one herself. Well maybe she would get lucky and this new guy would be as weak as James. One can always hope~

She turned back to see the two of them talking, James holding the handkerchief himself now. Well. That was odd. Oh well, she would get the story later. Right now, she had to save her James~She jogged over to the two, stepping between them, her back to James to protect him. The guys gaze met hers. He looked a little surprised. Well that was to be expected when your plans of raping poor innocent boys like James went awry. She would punish him~!

His hand flicked out towards her, and she flinched back, dropping into a defensive crouch.

"...gummy bear?"

"Huh...?" Sara dropped her gaze to his hand and saw the gummy bears. She looked back to him. He was hiding something from her. The more she thought about it, the more sure she was that the gummies must be poisoned! Yes. Poisoned! ~Mhm. Right Sara, good call..~ She ignored his offering. "What do you want with my James, fiend?!" She leaned back, whispering to James. "Don't worry, I'll take him down, he wont hurt you."

[James Everwood]

"At long last, my debt is repaid..." James took the handkerchief and held it to his nose to stop the bleeding. He smiled because he was grateful for it, but he didn't say thanks quite yet since the guy was still talking, "I'm Smathers, Johnny Smathers. Pleased to meet you, Jimmy!"

James then noticed Sara was heading over, and he was shocked by what she had done and said. It now made perfect sense to him how she got the idea in her head that he was trying to rape her that one day. Especially since she seemed to think this guy was attacking James, of course, James was a little pleased with how possessive she seemed of him. Something about that comforted him, no matter how confused she was.

"No it's ok Sara," He said trying to calm her down, "He isn't trying to hurt me, he was just kidding around."

James then decided to not be rude, "This is my friend Sara, she's....." He thought about how he would explain her. She was feisty, but that didn't seem like a proper thing to introduce a girl as. She was cute, but anybody with two eyes could---

James laughed in mid thought. It would probably confuse everyone, "Sorry, I just thought of something funny, any way this is Sara and she's my knight in shining armor I guess," He said, "Sara this is Smathers."

Since the guy introduced himself as Smathers at first, he guessed that was what the guy preferred to be called. If not he would probably correct James anyway. James wasn't sure what to make of being called Jimmy, after all it was something he had never gone by before. He had gone by Jamie but that was about it.

[January]

Smathers face molds itself into a perfect mask of confusion. "Fiend? Fiend? Fiend..." he mutters. He looks down at himself dopily, inspecting his shirt, the back of his coat, and the backs of his arms in alarm, as if expecting to find some sort of stain or mark of fiendishness.

His attention is brought back up to his surroundings when James calls her "Sara" and begins to talk to her. Smathers looks back and forth between the angry face of the literature-wielding assassin and the conciliatory placations of the gummy philanthropist, his expression remaining confused but now infused with a hesitant trickle of understanding. These people were friends, acquaintances, cohorts.

James now introduces the girl to him, and he to her. Sara is her name.

Knight in shining armor...

*CLICK* The sound of a pistol cocking echoes loudly inside Smathers' mind, rattling about like the bead in a whistle.

A visible and abrupt change comes over Smathers' body language, immediately shifting from that of a bumbling confusion to one that exudes moxie and charisma.

Even his voice, when he speaks, is that of a "smooth operator."

"James here speaks truly: your armor shines with great brilliance and surely disarms mighty foes with the merest glimmer!"

He bows smoothly and regally, one booted leg forward, and gestures sweepingly with one hand.

"Well met, Knight Sara, well met. Smathers is the name, but Johnny is good enough for my friends and I beg that you use it as well, if it is good enough for you. I am a knight of sorts myself, but my armor is but rags and words."

The school behind him shouts in his mind. "Get back here, we were talking!" but Smathers ignores it. The here is now and the now is here, after all. Worthy words and a patch of earth, raw and angry under the feet of time, born afresh under the weight and pressure of new connections crystallizing.

[Sara Quinn]

"No it's ok Sara...He isn't trying to hurt me, he was just kidding around."

Sara watched the guy closely, waiting to see what he would do about her sudden appearance to save James. He checked himself out, looking over his jacket and clothes as though searching for the fiend she had mentioned. She held her ground, keeping between the two as she listened to James try to introduce her to him. Silly James~But otherwise, she ignored him. Until he started to laugh. Then she became confused. She turned back to look at him, but he saved himself a beating when he called her his knight. Yes. That's what she was. Poor kid. He would have the crap beaten out of him if it wasn't for people like her. ~*insert self love*~

"Sara this is Smathers."

She eyed him carefully again. A complete change seemed to come over him as he eyed her back. She made no move to introduce herself, a handshake, a nod of the head, nothing. She was concerned by his complete change in demeanor. It was like he had become a different person. And people don't usually do that unless they want something from you.

"James here speaks truly: your armor shines with great brilliance and surely disarms mighty foes with the merest glimmer!"

He bowed at her. She coughed out a laugh, her hands dropping to her sides. Was he...? Oh hell no. She laughed harder. He was to much. Really. He introduced himself again, a little more formally, as Johnny. He... was interesting. Just like James. Which was good. She liked interesting people. But she also liked fighting. Now could the crazy ragged knight fight? That would be interesting to find out. But not yet at least. One step out of line though... And it would be an all out brawl.

She let out one more laugh and held out her hand, smiling. Today... was interesting for Sara. Her emotions and thoughts were just all over the place. Maybe she was PMSing... Hm... Interesting thought. She focused back on the two of them, finally stepping out from between them, but her eyes remained focused on Johnny. She stepped over picking up her fallen book. Who knew, she might need it again~

[James Everwood]

The guy seemed to suddenly turn on the charming kissing up attitude, and James would have recommended this himself if he could do so mentally. Maybe he really could and the guy just picked up on it a few seconds before James managed to send the message somehow? Who knew, either way Sara abandoned her sudden protective nature. At least, for now at least. She seemed to change very quickly all the time, it was something he liked about her. Never a boring moment. Even if you're being accused of being a rapist for most of it.

They seemed to play nice and she grabbed her book again, and James couldn't help but wonder. He had to ask, and he couldn't hold it back, "So Johnny, what were you doing just sitting there? Avoiding going to class I take it?" He asked because he couldn't come up with a reason for it. He wasn't really doing anything, at least it didn't seem that way. And it wasn't like he was off in a corner where he wouldn't get ran into or anything. Maybe he was meditating or something like that?

Whatever he was doing, it's probably no concern of mind. But I better make conversation with this guy and keep Sara from trying to murder him. After all, Sara hits really hard, and I'm sure this guy would like to avoid having his nose broken by her.