#somertonevent

aliza had been born a winter baby, and loved every moment of it since. snow was her favorite weather - even when it was a new englander like this, trapping them in their homes or at the high school for days on end. she couldn’t remember a time she didn’t love every moment of the snowfall. 

she had gone to bursted park herself, knew the ins and outs of the high school even with the changes it had gone through in the past seventeen years. which was why she knew the roof hatch in the back of the shop classes was always busted - they would never fix it, never even think of fixing it - and she climbed up the ladder with ease, wrapping her coat tighter around herself as she emerged on the rooftop. 

it was peaceful, quiet. the night air was crisp - below freezing, her ears turning pink and the tip of her nose chilled to the touch - but she had her mittens on, and she loved the view. she wasn’t surprised to hear someone had joined her - this wasn’t exactly a secret spot, especially to those who had attended the high school themselves - but aliza never minded commpany. 

“isn’t it beautiful?” she murmured, ensuring the snow was packed enough so she could sit on it without it crumbling beneath her. “i just wanted to come see it for a few minutes. enjoy it before it’s all slush.” 

where: busted park high school 

when: during the snow storm

Make the best of a shit situation, that’s what her dad always said. Make the best of a shit situation. And snow-mageddon? That is some peak shit. So, Robin is determined to make the best of it. She figures she doesn’t have much to bring to the table. She can’t cook, her cleaning skills are sub-par at best, and the sight of blood (even superficially) makes her woozy. But she can perform and what to lift some spirits than an impromptu concert, right? Laughter may be the best medicine, but she’s pretty sure it comes in second. Even without the rest of Pickleback to join her. People loved a good sing along. 

It was easy to con her little step bro into into pup-sitting Timon and Pumba (he’s still young enough to think getting paid in chocolate dollars is a good deal), and she’d been prudent enough to grab her acoustic guitar on the way out the door, but the stupid string had snapped while she was tuning and she’s not really feeling acapella today. Just her luck! So she’d snuck out of the gymnasium, into the all too familiar halls of the school she used to call her own, taking the quickest path to her old music room. It’s a weird sort of nostalgia that one can only feel when they’ve had enough distance from something to see it for what it really was. High school had sucked, but now she has the clarity too see it for what is -- a building. 

She’s rooting through a closet when she hears foot steps approach and immediately she’s hurled back into her youth, back when the worst consequence for sneaking into an empty classroom was a visit to the principal’s office. Crap! “I’m not stealing, I swear,” she calls out, popping out of the closet to meet the other’s gaze with wide guilt ridden eyes. 

“Oh, you put that phone away,” Isla said, drawing out the first word in warning. The edge of heat in her voice didn’t reach her eyes, though, and the ten year old she was threatening just kept on laughing wildly and filming. Now, she supposed all she could do was pray that her niece didn’t have TikTok, but the chances of that in the year 2020 seemed so, so small.

Once upon a time, Isla donned her ice skates three or four times a year right here in Somerton, but once upon a time had been over a decade ago. The closest she’d gotten to the rink since graduating high school was driving Ruby to and from her lessons at Empire Skate of Mind. For the edification of everyone around, she proved just how long it had been when she bumped shoulders with someone coming the opposite way and fell headfirst, straight into them. “Oh my god– I'm so sorry!” She ruined the apology, somewhat, by starting to laugh at herself and her (typical) incredible luck. “Are you okay?”

where: bursted park high

when: event 2

DJ’s been hanging out in Stella’s classroom, and as the credits rolls on the latest film that’s been screened, DJ figures a quick couple laps around the school will do her muscles (and back) some good. 

She’s only a couple classrooms down the History wing when a shushing and cooing voice from another classroom pulls her attention. It’s familiar in a way that reminds her of New York, and when DJ spins on her heel to fly by the classroom again, her steps halt when she gets to the open door. “Ravi! Oh my gosh!” 

DJ tries to remember the last time she saw Iris and Ravi together in the city. She thinks it actually might have been a chance run-in at the cinema, and then she had seen Iris a couple months later for a lunch when she had started to show and was eating for two. 

When DJ enters the classroom, her eyes fall to the squirming, unhappy bundle in Ravi’s arms, and it really hits DJ how longs she’s been away from the city, and how long (too long) it’s been since she’s reached out to friends from back home. Especially friends that have welcomed their first child. 

Keeping her voice lower to not upset the child anymore than they already are, DJ says, “I should have sent a card ages ago, but congrats. Where’s Iris? I need to give her the biggest hug.”

Things were moving quickly for Ravi now that he was setting up a classroom in a new, yet somehow familiar because he had once roamed the halls as a student himself. He had only gotten back to Somerton a week prior and he knew he was lucky to already have a job. He had spent some time in the gym before making his way back to his classroom to let Ishani sleep in peace and continue to set the room up, hoping to finish it soon. He heard music coming from across the hall and he smiled to himself, checking on Ish once more before walking to the classroom, knocking on the door. “Hey!” He said with a smile. 

In the week that he had been back, Ravi had already found a really good friend in the history teacher across the hall. They already had been planning some joint lessons for their students, something he had never done when he was teaching in New York. The two had become inseparable at work. He walked into the room over by Stella. “You wanna tell me how your room can look so cool when you teach about old dudes, and mine looks terrible and I get to teach all the cool stuff?”

Ravi had decided to use the time he was stuck at the high school to his advantage to finish setting up his classroom, though he wasn’t making much progress because Ishani was making a fuss every twenty minutes it seemed. He had given up and decided to sit at his desk with the baby finally sleeping, hands running through his hair as he sighed, hearing Ishani cry just as he was about to nap himself and he pushed himself up off his chair and he carefully pulled his babygirl out of her carrier and held her against his chest. “Come on now Ish.” He whispered as he bounced her carefully in his arms.

Sighing, Ravi took to the halls, wandering with Ishani in his arms, trying to get her to stop crying. After about twenty minutes, he finally got her quieted down. He looked around, seeing the people in the hall, nodding to some as he walked by them. He was about to turn back when he saw a familiar face, one that he had known since childhood in England and he smiled to himself as he walked over. “Hey!” He said excitedly, though trying not to raise his voice too loud and disrupt Ish. 

Josie wandered down the hallway, most of the fluorescent lighting turned off to conserve energy during the storm. Even though she was supposed to be in the high school, a part of her felt like she was still breaking the rules just like she had when she and her friend snuck in during their summer adventures. Though most people had congregated in the gym, nothing said they had to remain there. On her common travels she’d run into one or two other roamers, exchanging polite nods and a few short conversations before continuing on her way.

Though the some of the memories were foggy, she was doing her best to piece together what her friends had told her and showed her and what she was seeing in front of her now. There were a few places she thought she could still properly identify, the locker where Jess hid from Parker and the trophy case they stole from (and then returned things to) on more than one occasion, but she supposed it made sense some things had changed since then. If the school looked exactly the same, it probably wouldn’t be for the best.

As Josie turned down a new corridor, she spotted a classroom unlike the others. With the door slightly ajar and at least one light on inside, Josie walked over and gently pushed open the door to investigate. Though she had no expectations about what she might find inside, Josie somehow wasn’t surprised to find Stella mulling about the contents of the room.

“Find anything interesting? Or better yet anything to lift the state of emergency?”

where: bursted park high

when: event 2, shortly after arriving

DJ’s on edge. 

She understands the state of emergency was declared out of an abundance of caution, but ever since Sandy extreme weather events sit heavy on her chest until they pass. 

Even though the dock master assures her the houseboat will be fine, she still swings by her workshop to drop off another bag of extra clothes and a few valuables. Just in case. Can’t really be too over-prepared for such events. And DJ figures that’ll help settle her nerves, but they only ratchet up once she gets to the high school. 

She thinks about calling her parents, and nearly has their contact information pulled up on her phone when it hits her that she’s slowly but surely been growing her support system in town and there’s definitely one person that feels like home.

The path to Stella’s classroom is one DJ’s traveled before, and she’s happy that when she approaches she sees that the door’s open and the lights are on. 

“Can I call dibs on the second most comfortable place to crash in your room? And also did you think to pack margarita mix in your bag ‘cause I’m kind of regretting that I only grabbed a couple outfits and like, my important documents.”