boss ass bitch

Marlon’s grin spread as Fire talked to him with the condescending tone of a grown-up speaking to a child or small animal. 

Oh yeah. The kid was givin’ off some vibes all right. 

"Sure, dude. Gimme a sec." 

The previous advisor—may he rest in peace and let him forever hang ten on the big kahuna we call the afterlife—left behind a few things. A stash of granola bars, nearing expiration in the desk drawer. A well-loved Jiggypuff mousepad, perhaps passed down from his predecessor. And a file cabinet stuffed with the students’ records and transcripts.

Smiley swimsuit wondered if the old counselor left him any notes about this swagged out teen. There was probably an email sent to his new staff inbox, which was yet to be checked. Woops. Thankfully, Samsung Galaxy® Note III comes with the new Samsung Galaxy Gear Watch, which Marlon was sporting on his left wrist. The watch was bound to be broken at some point, likely to meet its demise after an unintentional dip in the pool. But for now, Marlon used it to log-in to his email account and figure out who the h*ll this punk was. 

Marlon swiveled over to the cabinet (the novelty of the wheeled office chair still fresh), opened the top drawer, and skimmed through the manila folders. 

As the counselor reads the file, Fire scrambles to dig his phone out of his pocket. He hastily flips it open-- why yes, it flips, of course, being a scuffed up red Motorola RAZR V3™-- and feels his stomach sink to the floor. Monday, the display reads. 2:45 PM. He missed all his classes and was now eligible for a detention for breaking the dress code. Great start to the year, Fire.

Sizing up your competition?

The lack of warm sunshine and bright blue the atmosphere had to offer mellowed out most of the students, many of them deciding that perhaps it would be best to focus on their classes and assignments. Even the more rambunctious of the student body seemed less then enthused to spend their time shouting and waving to others — they opted instead for pulling out their Xtransceiver’s and making calls to others across campus.

Jasmine sighed gently, her shoulders slumping ever so slightly as she sat down on one of the benches. In the midst of the courtyard, there were only a few brave souls including herself who had decided to sit out as the somber, overcast sky left a gray film over the usually bright sitting area. 

While it was usually to dismay others, the Olivine Leader had to admit that she did enjoy cloudy days like this. Something about the darkened silver sky reminded her of the steel she loved so much. Not to mention that the lack of others made her feel comfortable, allowing her to finally eat in peace without having to rush about — she still hadn’t mustered up enough courage to eat with the rest of the teachers in the faculty room.

She really did enjoy teaching, but the surprise of students popping in and out while she was trying to have lunch at her desk always managed to cut into her time. 

”.. Thanks for the food,” she muttered gently to herself, straightening her posture and moving to her lunch box that she’d prepared.

He heads down the hall with a particular destination in mind: the isolated courtyard sandwiched between two buildings. This being his fourth year here, Fire knew the ins and outs of campus. There were even a few hideouts that he alone knew the location of.

He pushes through the emergency exit door and a young woman comes into view, sitting alone at the benches. Aw man. Not that he didn't like meeting new people, but she was definitely not in uniform, which meant she was a teacher, even if she looked only few years older than him. Guess he'd go with cigarettes today.

Who hung out in the natural science building during their free time, anyways? His eyes trail over the neatly prepared lunch on her lap. Well. Now he felt kind of bad. Smiling in that goofy, signature way of his, Fire makes his way over.

Marlon probably sounded a little too chipper about that, but after all, you would be too if you’d just beaten level 28 of the notoriously challenging Candy Crush. Setting down his Samsung Galaxy® Note III in triumph, he greeted the kid with a smile. 

Haha. Oh boy. The swag was just emanating off of this guy. He reminded Marlon of his younger years—a simpler time, an era of frat parties and fake IDs. Freshman year was a wild ride.

Fire hated that fart. Every visit to the office over the past few years had not gone his way no matter how valid his points, and it always ended in a long, annoying lecture about being a contribution to society. He especially hated when the old guy would threaten to call his mother, like he was still a kid or something.

To Marlon, he cracks a half-smile in return, but it's rather derisive. He talks slowly, as if explaining to a moron. "No... It's the weekend. I can wear whatever I want. Do you have a problem with my shirt?"

She fights the instinct to grimace. Fire had been her best friend for pretty much her entire life, and she hadn’t even bothered to keep in touch with him. He was one of the only people she truly cared about. He’d at least been traveling around different regions, chasing his dreams, so it made sense that he hadn’t kept in touch. But all Leaf had done in the last four months was reorganize her closet. She shifts uncomfortably, wondering if she should do something - Fire usually would have tackled hugged her by now. 

Now clearly more at ease, Fire props his feet up on his desk, which is covered in a stack of books. He was at the library (?) working on some sort of project, but judging from the loud rap blasting through his headphones and the fact that none of the books had even been opened, it was fair to say that he hadn't been very productive.

"Yo, bored of doing nothing? You kidding me? Whydja think I'm here?" Fire chortles. "I'm so not a scholar. I went to school to kick back and relax. And staying in one place is pretty great. Been here three years, babe."

At her admission that she hadn't finished the League, Fire tilts his head to the side, unsure of what to say for a second. It took him four or five tries to beat the champion, and he nearly lost the faith and respect of his team during that whole ordeal. Leaf had always been more strategic about it. She probably didn't want to challenge them unless she was certain she would win. That was good... and bad, perhaps.

Man, he was hungry. Anyway.

"Yeah, yeah. Long story." And not one he could remember, to be honest. It seemed like he’d been smoking for a long time, maybe even in a past life…but, regardless, it was one hard habit to break. And as long as no one found out, he’d be fine.

Truth be told, he's only known Buck for less than a year. He was the newest kid to make the basketball team last season, and his confidence and energy (not to mention the eye-catching golden streak) appealed to Fire right away. They're a pretty good duo, on and off the court.

"Is anyone else we know here?" She wasn’t sure if she wanted the answer to that question to be yes or no. It would be nice to already know a couple of people, since then she could probably avoid most people - but she wasn’t sure if she could handle dealing with Fire, Red, and Green being there.

His best friend since childhood, pretty much the most important girl in the universe... at the academy? Fire feels a sudden tinge of embarrassment and holds back the bear hug greeting he'd usually give. So much for best friends. It'd been years since they'd been in contact, and I guess living on the road for most of your teen years can be isolating. He should have checked Facebook more often.

Lifting a foot to step on the fountain’s edge, he brought himself to a stand on top of it before hopping back down to the ground. “I know that, at least. It was just a joke, really.” He was referring to him implying it was a pool party.

Catching the look on her face, Fire grins. "Heheh... Juuust kidding. This guy over here," he says, waving to a thoroughly soaked and unimpressed Calem, "felt like taking a dip. And I felt like joining him. It's hot out. Can you blame me?"

Hype.

He made his way up to the roof where he had seen his roomie hanging out; dangling over the campus like some sort of 90’s movie protagonist. When he reached the doors, they were already opened, presumably propped as to not be locked up here.

And there he was. Fire. Senior at FP. Fellow basketball player and also, apparently, fellow smoker. Whether or not his addiction was a secret like Buck’s could be discussed later.

The redhead sat down next to him, grinning while pulling out a cigarette of his own.

"Hey bro. Haaaaaaa... Nah, haha. This isn't the good stuff." 

The start of a term meant that students were moving into their dormitories, and new teachers were settling into their classrooms. Although Marlon wasn’t an instructor, he had a corner—more like a modest sliver, really—of campus to call his own. He wasn’t going to complain, though; the fact he was working a salaried job was enough to impress the guy. He reckoned that was pretty good for a recent graduate anyhow. Especially since he wasn’t exactly the dude for the job…but he was a natural swimmer (as to be expected of someone described as “more marine than the sea”), the school needed a coach, and they managed to find something for him to do while he was on land.

Marlon’s Business Bachelor of Arts hung ever so slightly askew in the guidance counselor’s office, and while waiting for the first troubled student of the year, his thumbs swiped across the screen of his cell phone. Time to kill what was probably going to be eight hours of nothing.

He sits down and takes a second to readjust the Supreme snapback (with its official sticker still on) perched atop his head. He's also wearing unwashed basketball shorts and a marijuana leaf print tank, which I'm telling you just because I feel like it's relevant. And he hasn't showered, but it's whatever because he's b-balling later.

"So," he says with a defeated breath, "Where are we now--"

As she put the notepad back in her bag, she felt as if she was forgetting something — oh right! The boy who’d been pushed into the fountain… Hikari turned around just in time to spot a boy she recognized from Student Council ripping off his shirt and jumping into the fountain with a declaration she couldn’t hear.

Oh no…

Putting on her best stern expression, Hika approached the fountain with her hands on her hips. She was trying to come off as intimidating, but at best, probably appeared like an angry toddler.

Hey, no one ever said that angry toddlers couldn’t be scary, and if Calem had anything to say about it, this one definitely was, even though she wasn’t actually a toddler. Actually— hey, she wasn’t in any of his classes, but he definitely knew her face from somewhere.. Hmm.. But where- oh, right, not the point.

It was just another day at the academy and Calem was making the best use out of it that he could— haha, not really, that was just a joke. It was the beginning of the year, so it wasn’t like there was anything he could particularly slack off on yet, anyway. Instead he found himself sitting on the edge of the school park’s fountain, trying to find some peace outside of the dorms. 

It was nice and simple like this, just him and his cell phone to keep him company (he was becoming progressively better at 2048 as the minutes passed), and he was starting to think that if time could just stop for a while, this would be a great way to spend it. Being alone, but not lonely, was one of his favorite past times as of recent.

Of course, nothing ever stays this way forever and time just moved on normally. Before he knew it, his intense 2048 playing had led his phone to slip right through his fingers. Calem leaned down to grab the device, but as he was sitting back up, someone walked by with a particularly hazardous bag that just so happened to nail him in the face.

“Ow—”

WHOA. WAIT. The fountain, a beloved academy landmark... It had a fairly large basin, a nice girth... HMMM. Why hadn't he thought of this earlier?!?