Archive World of Darkness: The Academy - [Open Fic] Summer at Dalton [complete]

[Lorelei]

After pointedly clearing her throat, and turning an oddly charming shade of pink, Lorelei hazarded a pleasant smile at Deacon. It seemed she'd never be able to live down the first time she'd properly met "Deek the Geek," and she reflected with some embarrassment on the memory of a scoop-neck shirt and an armful of dropped books.

"It's nice to see you, as well, Deacon," she said politely. "I'm surprised that I didn't see you over the summer."

[Micah]

Micah smiles and nods to Lorelei, "I hope to be a starter this year. I should be." He then turns to Deek, and smiles, "Of course. After parties are key to winning."

He notices the new arrival and extends his hand toward Sean. "Micah Kamparos, Tight end. What position do you play? I assume you'll be rooming at Mars dorm, right?"

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

"I'm a power halfback, got here on a scholarship." Sean's grip is very firm, his smile friendly. "Yeah, I'm in Mars House, room uh..." he reaches for a crumple piece of paper. "Room 204."

"I was tryin to find my way there, when I got distracted." he says, shifting his eyes to Lorelei. "Then everyone started showing up." Sean's voice drops to a conspiratorial whisper. "What's her name man? All I've heard is Ms. Wagner."

"Anyway, I've still got quite a few bags and stuff in my Jeep, and I wanna move it in before looking around campus."

"And what's up with pajama-boy? Deek? He throws the after parties?" Sean raises a eyebrow questioningly.

[Ira Sagebrush]

Seeing that the students had started mingling amongst themselves and Ryan had seemingly consented to his 'punishment', Brad smiled around his straw as he took a drink and quietly walked off towards his suite, or the 'Atalier' as he liked to call it.

He was nearly done with a mixed-watercolor he had been working on most of the summer break and he needed to have it finished before he talked to the gallery next week about putting it up. Nevermind the debate about a frame or matting. He had finally decided a name at least, 'Pleasures of the Deep'. It was fitting considering the context of the subject matter, an ocean bottom teeming with various bits of trash shaped into sealife. Such as Starbucks cups, Trojan condoms, and the wrapper from Egg McMuffins.

[Deacon Knight]

"You didn't?" Deek's face crinkled into confusion. "Ah, that might be because I was partying like it's 1999 and committing irresponsible acts aaaaand.... you weren't." He winked at her and grinned.

He popped a Twizler in his mouth from an unknown pocket. "So anything exciting going on?"

[Micah]

Micah looks at him when Sean mentions his room number, "Looks like we're gonna be roomies, then. Lorelei Wagner, this is Sean Cassidy. He's my new Roommate. And looks like he's gonna be on the team. May even make first string. Deek is trouble, but he's fun. Give him a bit of space, but always keep an eye on him. And yes, he hosts the After-parties." He nods and winks at Deek. He waves to Zach as the other heads off with some older dude, possibly a new teacher.

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

"Roomies huh? Cool, never had a room-mate before. Hope you don't snore. And if I want to keep my scholarship, I better make first string," Sean says with a sharp laugh. "It's not like I have anywhere else to go."

Sean gives a wave and grin to Deek, and nods in acknowledgement to the so called, well, inferred, party-master.

Sean turned back to Lorelei, his smile in full force, his stormy eyes full of twinkling sunshine. "Lorelei, Lorelei... That name suits you perfectly. Wasn't she a siren, luring men with her voice? Listening to you, I could believe it"

[Emily Silsbury]

Emily stands against the curtain framing the window in her room, staring out onto the quad. She sees the impromptu gathering, and notes the new arrivals. She makes a mental note to check them against her database of students, to make sure that she has them all. One in particular stands out to her. Sean something, if she remembered correctly. Handsome, in a bland jocky sort of way. She wondered, idly, what they were discussing down there.

The door to her room was flung open, and a lumbering giant of a boy thrust himself inside.

"Em! I'm back!"

She composed her face into a welcoming smile, and turned towards the voice.

"Hey, lover, seems like ages since you left! Come here."

The boy strode across the room in two steps and lifted Emily easily into a bear hug. As he went to kiss her, though, she turned her face so that he ended up kissing her ear. Hurt, he lowered her to the floor.

"What's the matter? I do something wrong?"

Emily looked demurely at the floor, a small smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

"Well, I just haven't heard from you much, is all. You find a girlfriend or something in Phoenix?"

The boy's brows contracted, and he protested.

"Hell, no! I woulda called more, but my dad won't let me have a cell, you know that. And my mom was hot about all the long distance charges from last Christmas so-"

Emily spun to the window, turning her back on the boy.

"Come here." She said softly.

Confused, the boy did as he was told.

"You see that boy?" She asked.

"Who? Is he bothering you, Em? Cause, I'll-"

She moved slightly, placing herself behind him. He cut off as her arms encircled his waist.

"No, nothing like that. He's new here."

"Then, I don't-"

Again he cut off, as she unbuttoned the top of his jeans and slipped an hand under the band of his boxers.

"Shhh. I want you to be friends with him, that's all. Just find out who he is, and what he's all about. I'm curious."

The boy sounded almost drunken when he spoke.

"Shuh- uh, sure, I can, uh... I can do that."

The slow squeezing of her hand became slightly faster.

"Just between you and me, I think he's trying to suck up to Deek. Might try to be one of his little butt buddies. I know how much you hate that faggot."

"Yeah, fuck that queer."

Abruptly she withdrew her hand. The boy recoiled as though punched in the gut.

"Em, Jesus, I was- I was close... please, just."

"Come back tonight, after lights out. If you know anything by then, maybe I'll finish. Maybe I'll use my mouth."

The dull hunger in the boy's eyes, his slight out of breath panting, the undone shirttail and jeans must have added up to something that Emily liked. She sat at her desk and flipped on her notebook. Then she glanced over her shoulder at the boy.

"Well, go on. Welcome back, and all that. Now, you've got some work to do, don't you, luv?"

The boy slowly buttoned his pants. He wiped the back of his hand across his mouth, and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Yeah. Yeah, I do. I'll, uh... I'll see you later, Em."

She didn't look back up from her notebook, just gave a jaunty wave as he walked to the door. He turned, and spoke to her back once more.

"It's, um... it's sure good to see you, Em."

Again with out looking up, Emily made a 'shoo' motion with her hand.

"You, too, luv. Taa."

Only when the door closed behind him did she look up. She rested her chin in her hand and watched the quad. Moments later, she saw him cross towards the group that included the new boy. She smiled.

[Rorx]

Jason returned to the quad after dropping off the new teachers bags at his room and picking up suitable materials for Jackson to clean the Sphere.

"A mop Jackson? No, for this I think you'll need the bucket and a scrubbing brush, after all it's been at least a year or two since the top was clear of bird muck."

He looks around the remaining crowd by the Sphere, not seeing the teacher, Mr Burke, whose bags he had just taken to his room. Raising his voice he addresses the crowd.

"Ok, any new people here who need a hand either in finding their room or shifting their gear let me know. I'm Jason, one of the maintenance staff by the way."

[Ryan Jackson]

Ryan rolled his eyes in an exasperated expression. "Gee, thanks." Ryan shook his head as a bucket and a scrubber were passed up and he started to clean the grime off the globe. He wasn't mad about having to do it but he was pissed that he had been caught through no fault of his own. Sometimes curious underclassmen were the biggest pains in the ass.

[Thomas Burke]

Thomas comes walking back up with a box full of books with a Desert Rose in a clay pot with him. He found it ammusing that Ryan was now expected to do something as punishment that he been penalized for. Such were the wheels of justice.

Seeing Jason,

"Thanks for your help, Man. If you are still feeling generous, I have a car full of stuff back up in the parking lot. It's the slightly been-used black Cobra rag-top. Stuff marked offic is, of course, office. Everything else is room."

Thomas was only partially telling the truth. The reality was that he was a wimp and that while he didn't have that much stuff (this was his first job after all), he didnt' relish the job of lugging it all upstairs to his third story office.

[Lorelei]

At Deacon's quip about parties, Lorelei winced visibly, her smile thinning by a fraction. She hadn't really missed the parties, after all. In fact, the endless parade of mildly inebriated students, the smell of stale alcohol, and the faint aroma of strangely-scented, somehow earthy smoke gave her a very vivid impression of having been there, herself. The chorus of Poison's "Nothin' But a Good Time" would be forever etched in her memory; it was part of the reason she'd requested a transfer to House Juno this year. She spared the intellectual prodigy a wry grin and nodded in his direction.

"And yet, somehow, I almost have the feeling that I was actually there, Deacon."

Her cheeks reddened at Sean's reference to her name. It wasn't the first time she'd heard it, of course, but something about the way he said it sent a burst of warmth surging through her. Her heart fluttered in her chest like a bird desperately beating its wings against the cage, and she agreed with a shy smile.

"Almost," the girl murmured softly. "There were three of them, the Lorelei, and they guarded a secret treasure..." She was suddenly quite conscious of his presence, and the fact that she still hadn't made it to her room to change.

"In German mythology, that is," she said finally, taking a few steps back and smiling at the group. "I really should be going, though. It was nice meeting you, Sean, and good to see everyone else again."

With a quick, girlish little wave, she turned and fled, jogging briskly until she was out of sight. Later, as the shower rinsed away all traces of mud, straw, and sweat, she allowed herself a small smile and a dreamy sigh.

Oh, yes... It was going to be a very interesting year, indeed.

[Deacon Knight]

Deacon watched Lorelei walk off, his eyes locked on the hypnotic sway of her butt in those tight riding pants. He looked to Sean. "Almost makes you wanna be a horse, huh?"

He patted him on the shoulder and walked off, wandering away to God only knew (or cared) where. He waved to a few people as he made his way down the side walk, graciously accepting a few sorted whistles from the ladies who admired a man who was comfortable enough with himself to wander the streets in his underwear.

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

"I wouldn't mind being ridden," Sean said softly, his eyes following Lorelei's every graceful step. As she turned a corner out of sight, a slight amount of colour entered his cheeks. Shit! Did I say that out loud?

After Deacon walked off, Sean headed towards his gear that he had dropped near the currently-being-scrubbed sculpture. Slinging the backpack and sportsbag across his shoulders, he started making his way to Mars House. His Wrangler was jammed with pretty much everything he owned, and it was going to take him numerous trips to transfer it all to his room, unless Micah or Groundskeep Jason helped him out.

As Sean headed to his new home, there was a jaunty hitch to his step, a bright smile on his face, and his storm-clad eyes had cleared to blue skies.

There were so many interesting possibilities opening up.

[Rorx]

Jason grabs the keys off Mr Burke and helps unload the car, in fact doing the majority of it. While doing so he spots Sean's loaded up Wrangler and moves on to helping with that if anything is left by the time he has finished with Mr Burke's stuff. As he does so he checks on Ryan's progress with the Sphere.

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

Coming back for his third trip, Sean sees Jason unloading some of the bags and boxes from his battered Wrangler. He hustles to the Jeep, a grateful look on his face. "Thanks for the help Jason, it woulda taken me a more than a few more trips by myself."

It only takes the two strong, young men two and a half more trips to unload the vehicle. The last one trip consisted of just a large, flat-panel TV, that wasn't too heavy, just awkward for a single person to carry. As they're bringing the TV up the stairs of Mars House, something occurs to Sean.

"Hey Jason, we get cable or Wi-Fi in the dorm rooms?"

After getting the TV placed in his room, Sean and Jason headed back to his Wrangler, to make sure nothing was forgotten. Entering the parking lot, Sean compares the dirty and beaten exterior of his jeep-of-another-colour, to the other vehicles in the lot, most of which are newer and better maintained than his, and frowns.

"Um, you think I could get a bucket, some soap, a squeegee, and some shammies or something? I might not be able to do anything about the dings and dents, but I could at least get my Jeep back to its original colour."

[Thomas Burke]

Back at hid office, Thomas sorts his boxes out and pulls a few books out. He then thinks better of it and decides that he had better put his room together first. He has to sleep there tonight, while he doesn't have classes for two weeks.

Whistling happily, hands tossing keys back and forth, Thomas crosses the quad back to Lancaster. Its a beautiful day and a pity to waste it indoors. Maybe if he had a football he could get a few kids ...

[Rorx]

Jason was happy to help Sean with the stuff, at least he was able to shift his share of the gear, unlike the earlier teacher.

Jason grins at Sean's first question, "Heh, the rooms are all wired for internet, but it's not wifi, although I suppose you could get your own wireless router if you really wanted to. You aren't meant to have cable, but it's pretty common and they don't make too much fuss about it as long as you keep it quiet when things are meant to be quiet."

As for the cleaning stuff, Jason nods and smiles his undestanding of Sean's reasoning, "Yeah, it's a bit like that in this place. One reason why I live in walking distance. If you come back over to the Admin building with me I'll get you sorted out."

As they walk back over, "So how'd you come to be here then? A scholarship or something?"

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

A mild look of relief crosses Sean's face. "Wired is even better, I know how to hook that up, wifi always messes me up."

Sean heads with Jason to the admin building, paying attention to Jason, even though his eyes do linger on any pretty girl they pass. "It's not that I care that much what my jeep looks like, it's just... well, you know?" Jason's companionable presence releases some tension he didn't even know was there, and he feels like easing it. A little.

"Family reorganization brought me here, Jason," Sean said with a melancholy smile. "Dad and Vanessa divorced several years ago, and I was living with Dad in Whistler, BC. But this summer, things were getting serious with his new girlfriend, so he sent me to live with Vanessa, who's technically my legal guardian. We don't really get along, so for both our piece of mind, she... suggested boarding school. So I sent out applications, and Dalton responded first, granting me a scholarship for football. And here I am." Sean gives a sigh and a shrug to get rid of the memories for now.

Regaining his affable smile, he asks about Jason. "So, how about you Jason? What brings you here? This just something, till you get something else in the works, or what?"

[Rorx]

"You could say family tradition I suppose. My grandfather was the head janitor here until he died a few months ago. I'd been here for about a year or so when it happend."

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

"Sorry to hear that, man," Sean said with commiseration. They had reached the admin building, and Jason began handing Sean the requested cleaning supplies from the utility closet. Raising the squeegee above his head, Sean gave a salute. "May we earn the families we deserve."

"I can handle the washing myself Jason. I'm sure you have other students to help, or real work to do. I'll return the supplies when I'm done. Thanks for the help." Sean gathered up his cleaning supplies and headed back to the parking lot, to do war on the dirt and grime subjugating his Wrangler.

[Rorx]

Waving off Sean with a semi-salute Jason collected his window cleaning things and headed back across the quad, checking on Jackson's progess as he did so.

[Tatiana di Jadzian]

Sean spent more than an hour cleaning the Wrangler. A little while after starting, he took off his shirt. It was already wet, and it was a warm day, with the sun shining brightly.

Sean's powerful, muscular body glistened in the sunlight, as he worked hard to restore his Wrangler to its original dark grey. When he was done, the Wrangler still showed some body damage, but its spotless exterior made up for a lot of that. Cleaning out the loose litter on the inside, Sean found a football that had rolled under the seat.

He returned the cleaning supplies to the admin building, then strode back to the quad on his way to Mars House, shirt slung over a shoulder, tossing the football in the air.