2000/1/03-04 - Effortless Everyday

[Bozwevial]

Sam sighs heavily, resting his chin on one hand and watching Kiley roll around laughing. "I guess if we get blown up by a mad Tinker or something tomorrow I won't be around to have you giggling at me. Silver linings..."

[veekie]

Finishing on that note, Sam and Kiley get some rest and the remainder of their homework done with the rest of the day. The evening is blissfully empty of any sign of Scattershot where Sam is concerned, while Kiley finds the aches, if not gone, at least becoming a form of background suffering rather than an active torment.

The school day dawns, and classes resume. The first day of school after a holiday strikes, with a bunch of absent students in class, and even more absent homework. Having completed everything immediately due on Monday, Sam and Kiley escaped the legions heading for detention, or desperately copying homework during recess. The library and study areas are packed as a consequence, the canteen only half filled with hungry teens.

Idleness looms.

[Bozwevial]

Finding himself with nothing much at all to keep himself occupied after morning classes, Sam decides some peace and quiet would be nice. Taking the container of chocolate peanut butter granola he made last night and a banana snagged from the cafeteria, he heads for the rooftop to have a quiet snack in the open air.

[veekie]

Sam

The roof seems to be empty at a glance, with the sky overcast, and a pleasant breeze. As Sam steps out on the roof, he notices some faint noises, which with a long moment's examination, he concludes to be the sound of somebody making out. Quietly.

[Agita]

Meanwhile, Kiley spends the boredom of lunch in her room, the one place that can mostly guarantee nobody disturbs her while she tries to rest off the remaining discomfort from Sunday, listening to music and playing some kind of game.

[Bozwevial]

Sam stops with one foot still in the air, grinning slightly, then very quietly backs out and closes the door. As funny as it would be to walk in on the unfortunate couple, it'd also be extremely rude, not to mention potentially unhealthy for Sam if they were on the student council. It's still quite nice outside, though, so Sam takes his lunch and goes to walk around the track instead.

[veekie]

Kiley

Kiley catches some weird looks as she heads to the dorm for the break, then settles in her room, the building more or less empty otherwise. Total peace.

Sam

The track is bereft of any complications like the couple on the roof and Sam polishes off his meal without any further interruption. He gets a feeling of being watched however, though there shouldn't be any reason for undue attention on him. There's several other people using the track around this time in a leisurely manner, and numerous students can be seen from the surrounding buildings.

[Bozwevial]

Sam pauses mid-banana to glance around curiously as the uncomfortable feeling lingers. At first he'd put it down to nerves, but that idea got thrown out pretty quickly. Not spotting any fish-eyed serial killers staring creepily at him from the bushes, however, he pushes the thought to the back of his mind and tries to ignore it as he finishes his food. He flicks the banana peel into a trash can the next time he comes by the bleachers, intent on enjoying the breeze while he still has time left on his break.

[veekie]

The rest of the break passes uneventfully(though the feeling of being watched doesn't fade until the break is over), and classes resume to mixed levels of enthusiasm. As he returns to his seat and take out his textbooks, Sam finds a scrap of paper sandwiched in the pages that wasn't there before the break. It said quite simply in printed text, 'Someone Special'.

Kiley meanwhile, soon has to end her enjoyment of peace and quiet, to resume the suffering.

[Bozwevial]

Sam's stomach lurches as he reads the note. A small, detached portion of his mind is quick enough on the uptake to crumple the paper and stuff it into his pocket before anyone else can read it over his shoulder, but as class picks back up he's not paying attention to the lesson in the slightest. Fifteen minutes in, the pressure gets to be too much to bear, and on the pretext of using the restroom he leaves the class, pacing anxiously down the hallway in search of an empty bathroom.

[veekie]

Class being on, Sam's first try bears fruit. The toilets seem to be unoccupied except for the smell of one pungent former occupant.

[Bozwevial]

Half-expecting some sinister figure to emerge from one of the stalls, Sam takes a few shallow breaths before calming down to the point where he can think straight. Whoever left the note was probably the person who pushed him off the roof in the first place...but if they really wanted him dead, all they'd have to do is turn his identity over to Whitescar. The fact that no one's dragged him off to one of the suicide squads is proof enough that either the assassin doesn't hate him that much anymore or thinks he'd be more useful alive, meaning probably blackmail. The tactic fits, at any rate - open up with something vague and threatening, give the victim time to sweat, then start laying in demands. If that's the case, they'll have to contact him again. The more they do, the more opportunities for them to screw up, and once they do they'll have a top-notch Striker to contend with.

Sam lingers in the bathroom for a few more minutes before reluctantly returning to class. No point in texting Kiley right now - he'll tell her soon enough. Somewhere not on school grounds, though.

[veekie]

The rest of the school day seemingly passes in a flash for Sam, the classes barely registering at all. Kiley on the other hand, spends an eternity learning what it probably feels like to be ninety. As lunchtime rolls around, classes are dismissed, and the pair can now meet up, have lunch, prepare and discuss.

[Bozwevial]

Once Sam's out of class, he wanders off in the direction of his room, sending Kiley a quick text along the way. Meet you off campus for lunch.

[Agita]

Kiley gives her phone a questioning look as she reads the text, having expected to just eat at school and do whatever until "action time". Shrugging, she texts back:
sure. where?

[Bozwevial]

McDonalds? Dunno, not feeling up to the cafeteria right now. Meet me by the gates and we'll figure something out. Hoping Kiley gets the hint, Sam drops his stuff off in his room before going to find Kiley, the unsettling scrap of paper still in his pocket.

[Agita]

Kiley shrugs at the return message and just heads for the designated point after dropping her school stuff off on her bed.

[veekie]

The school gates are fairly crowded, with a steady stream of students heading out now that school is done.

[Bozwevial]

On spotting Kiley, Sam wanders over casually, resisting the urge to stare around for eavesdroppers. "Heya! Food time, where are we headed?" He keeps walking toward the gates, wanting to put as much space between himself and whoever wants to blackmail him as possible.

[Agita]

Kiley gives Sam a questioning smile and shrugs. "That's what I was going to ask. McDonald's is fine, I guess."

Perception (1d20+2=19)