Zerlandar Academy: Art School Ropleplay (Accepting!!!)

[StrayKit]

Aaron jumped off of the bus once it rolled up to the academy. A few students looked to be there already from what he could see out of the corner of his eye as he walked. A worn brown bag was slung over one shoulder and the large pocket open slightly to show his sketchbook poking through from his rush out the door. It took him a while to get Katelyn up and ready to go to her own school for the morning. He promised he'd walk her there after all before going to see Zerlander Academy. For the moment he was looking over his schedule and making a mental list to be sure he'd grabbed everything before leaving home a short way from the gate. So far he was comforted that he had everything. Aaron folded the paper again and shoved it into his pants pocket before looking around the campus grounds he could see. He looked back over his shoulders at a yell to see a girl almost get hit by two other students who seemed to be fighting with oversized paintbrushes. Aaron blinked at the sight, slowly taking a sip of the still warm coffee he'd gotten after dropping Katelyn off, "It is way too early for me to be seeing this kind of thing." he sighed, blowing currently dyed red bangs out of his face.

The girl he guessed was the source of the yell was holding a camera and looking far less than pleased with being caught between the two. Did they even realize that other students were starting to show up? Or that a bus had even come up near where they were? Hopefully no one got hurt from the fight. He wasn't sure if he should step in or not at that point, the two fighting didn't seem to really care someone else was nearby. Aaron watched the boy there push her away with the brush before the other girl with a brush started swinging again and both moved away from the bus. Hopefully that meant away from other potential targets. He had no idea what had started the fight but he didn't want to get in the middle of this or any others that may come later on in the school year. He looked back at the girl who was holding her camera rather protectively. Maybe she was in the photography program here then? He looked at the object carefully, "It isn't broken or anything, is it?" he didn't do anything involving a camera himself but he understood why she was holding it that way. He was a bit protective of his paint and brushes, not to mention his sketchbook.

(ooc: sorry for the late answer! I've been in the middle of a bunch of stuff)  

[WitchBabyWiggBat]

Kyung Mi gasped with indignant rage as the boy with the paintbrush pushed her aside, but rather than get into a fight, she huffed and turned away, shaking her head. She adjusted the collar of her white blouse, letting her camera hang from its neck strap for a moment before snaching it up again and holding it protectively against her chest. A voice came from ahead of her-- "It isn't broken or anything, is it?"
Kyung Mi looked up to see a lanky boy with red hair before her. She straightened her posture and blinked rapidly, slightly surprised. " No, camera is okay," she said, tucking a few strands of hair that had escaped from her ponytail behind her ear. She leaned in and discreetly hid her mouth with one hand, whispering, " I think they are... otaku." Her eyes were wide from the culture shock Kyung Mi was expiriencing. She hadn't actually come across serious otaku before, though she had heard rumors about ones at her former school. However, she wasn't entirely sure. It could just be another cultural thing, but then why weren't those students wearing the uniform that had been sent out? She shook her head disapprovingly and returned her attention to the boy in front of her. She eyed the boy, wondering if he was as cool as his book bag and coffee implied. Knowing that it would be best to try making friends as soon as possible, she decided to take the plunge.
"I am Kyung Mi, " she said, a small yet welcoming smile on her face.  

[Kitalpha Hart]

((If you're gonna call them otaku, then their whole clan's otaku ou o))
The sparring predictably ended with Ayako falling onto her back and Masahiko sitting on her. "Done?" he asked. Ayako grinned evilly, whacked him on the back to knock him over, then hopped onto his back, forcing him to face plant while she noogied him. "Bozuuuuuuuu!" she said, giggling. She then used her brush lo launch up off of her friend and spun around. "Take what, {the clan} one night to paint {this whole place?}" Masahiko looked around. "Not even!"  

[StrayKit]

Aaron nodded at the girl, he was glad that the camera wasn't broken. He blinked as she leaned forward and whispered to him. Otaku? He looked back over at the two who were still fighting with each other and laughed, "You might be right." he agreed. She had an accent but it wasn't too strong, and she looked a bit overwhelmed with everything. Maybe she was an exchange student or was new here? He supposed it was possible. He smiled back and held out hand, "Aaron Ledding, it's nice to meet you." he said back. Well that was at least one person he could say he'd met now, a pretty good to start off the school year he thought, "Hopefully there's no more giant art supplies that will attack anyone on the way up to the building." he joked. If the girl was anywhere near as nervous as she looked Aaron hoped he could help her feel a little better. He shook the cup in his hand slightly to find it empty, not too surprising with how quickly he was drinking it on the bus but depressing all the same. At least he had some hard candies in his bag for later if he needed them.

He pointed at the camera she had in her hands, "So are you in the photography program here then? I heard they had some good classes this year." he said. He hadn't taken any of them himself, he seemed to be unable to work a camera anywhere past getting pictures of Katelyn at her birthday parties and randomly over the years. Not really talented photo skills but it got him through what he needed to do at least.  

[WitchBabyWiggBat]

((Oh no, I'm not calling them otaku. Trust me, I know otaku. XD Nah, Kyung Mi's character is based off of a Korean exchange student that stayed with me this school year, and like, any time I made any sort of reference to the Japanese culture or anything similar, she was like, "OMG!!! You're so otaku!" Lol. But the... um, Paint Ninja thing is a pretty creative idea.))

Kyung Mi laughed politely at Aaron's joke and then blurted, "I like your name!" Oh, great, Kyung Mi groaned inwardly. That probably sounded dumb. But I don't know.. aaaah... She absentmindedly played with the zoom toggle switch with her thumb as she took a deep breath. She was surprised to find that Aaron appeared very calm, despite how strongly he smelled of coffee. She reasoned that he must have built up a tolerance, which lead her to the ever-interesting aesthetic of trendy coffee shops and mature, even more trendy students. Well, he does seem cool, Kyung Mi thought, always quick to judge.
She glanced down at her camera as Aaron spoke again. "Um, yes! I am photographer! I am very excited to take classes here; Zerlandar is world-famous, 나는 올바른가?" ("am I correct?") Kyung Mi chirped, slightly nervous, but beginning to warm up to this seemingly super-cool student. She raised her camera to her face, immediately comforted by the tiny square viewfinder. "Can I take you picture?"

Lupita wrinkled her nose at the sudden flood of freshmen on the campus. "Ugh, here come the newbies," she scoffed, half joking. Rain nervously tugged at the end of Lupita's finished braid, and Lupita whirled around. "Thanks, kid. You're okay." Lupita smiled warmly and poked Rain's shoulder. "All right, well, here's what you gotta do, newbie. See that teacher over there?" Lupita pointed towards the main building. "Go over there and get a number from her. See, the juniors and seniors are the mentors, and we're supposed to give you guys tours and set you up with you dorm rooms and all that." Lupita winked. "Ask her for a five. That's the group I'm leading."  

[WitchBabyWiggBat]

Professor Lizotte stood at the top of the stairs leading up to the main building. She crossed her arms and leaned against the wall, surveying the students. She removed her glasses and cleaned them with the hem of her thin gray cardigan, her wavy, auburn hair falling in her face. She straightened and flipped her hair over her shoulders, placing her glasses back on the bridge of her nose. Stephanie sighed and bent to pick up a bag, the back of her dark gray dress riding up slightly. Some student whistled from a distance, and Stephanie rolled her eyes and stood up straight again. She shot a glare in the direction from which the whistle had come, and then focused on the bag in her hands. She reached in, reaching past the tons and tons of slips of paper, and found a small megaphone at the bottom. She lifted it to her mouth and pressed a button.
"All right, students! If you are a freshman, please form a line here in front of me. If you are a mentor, please stand side by side behind me, and you will find tables with your group numbers. Freshmen, I will give you all numbers one through thirty, and you will please line up at the table that corresponds to the number that you received." Stephanie Lizotte set the megaphone on the ground and crossed her arms, the bag slung over her shoulder.

Rain ran up to the professor, wanting to get his number before anyone else. "Excuse me, ma'am?" Rain panted, his hands on his knees. He straightened and blushed deeply upon seeing the beautiful professor up close. His eyes widened and he quickly averted his eyes, biting his lip and staring at the megaphone at the professor's feet. "Sorry, ma'am, but-- um-- could I perhaps h-have a f-five? Um, Lu-Lupita told me to ask you for a five. She- she's a mentor?" Rain chewed the inside of his cheek nervously.

Stephanie smirked and reached into her bag. "Lupita, eh? Here you go, kid." She dug through the bag, unfolding slips of paper until she found one with a 5 printed clearly in the center. She handed it to the student before her, then leaned against the wall and waved him away. "Table Five is over there," she said dismissively.  

[Kitalpha Hart]

((For simplicity, what say everyone gets a card with a five on it?))
Ayako turned when she heard the yell, and saw people lining up. She grabbed Masahiko's arm and lugged him into the line, using her brush to prod a bit of space for her friend. "Same number for us, please?" she asked when they got up front.  

[StrayKit]

(uh, at 17 I guess Aaron is a junior...any chance I can just make him tag-team with Lupita? otherwise i'll just BS through it saying he transferred over as a sophomore so he doesn't mentor yet ^_^;; )

Aaron smiled as Kyung Mi seemed to lighten up and blinked. His name? He really hadn't thought much of it but laughed, "Well thanks, your name is pretty cool too." he said. He tossed the empty cup in a trash can nearby, he was awake enough to get through to lunch at least. Then he could fill up on some food to keep going. Well, that he his backpack was a bit heavier from his sister sneaking snacks into his bag convinced she would single handedly feed him through the week. Aaron blinked confused at the end of Kyung Mi's question. He wasn't really sure what she ended with but nodded to the rest, "That's what I hear. Lucky we managed to get in, huh? It can be pretty rough." he said, his hand holding the strap of the bag and tugging at it slightly. There was a chance that was one of the reasons his father let him attend the school, the man wasn't overly found of the idea of his son wanting to pursue a life of art. Then again the man was never home long enough to say much otherwise so as far as Aaron was concerned, it didn't matter.

He watched as Kyung Mi held up her camera and had it pointed at him. He smiled slightly again, "Yeah sure, if you want to." he said. Why not? She looked happy and less nervous with her camera up too, at least she wasn't as on edge now. Aaron waited for her to take the picture before looking across the grass to see people starting to move towards another group of people, "Looks like the semester has officially started." he turned back to Kyung Mi, "Are you a freshman this year? If you are you'll have to go get a number for a mentor, they'll give you a tour of the grounds, show you the dorms, answer questions, the whole thing to help you from getting too lost. I'll walk over with you if you'd like." he offered.

(EDIT 6/20: i'll be gone until Monday but i'll try and post in here via my phone. I make no promises though)  

[WitchBabyWiggBat]

((Yeah, I was kinda hoping y'all would catch on and all get fives. 3nodding also, Aaron can tag-team with Lupita fo shizzle. And don't worry, we won't get too far ahead without ya so it's okay if you don't post all the time. yum_puddi ))  

[WitchBabyWiggBat]

Kyung Mi snapped the picture and grinned, pleased with herself for her outgoing behavior. When the teacher in front of the main building gave her announcement, Kyung Mi glanced at Aaron. "Yes, I am freshman. Thank you!" She chirped, taking Aaron's arm as if he were escorting her and starting across the grass. She held up her camera and snapped a couple shots of the school and the swarm of students, wincing as she spotted the strange students with paintbrushes. When she reached the professor, she released Aaron's arm and held out her hand, waiting for a number. The teacher smiled-- distractedly, insincerely, but that was okay-- and placed a folded slip of paper in Kung Mi's hand. When Kyung Mi unfolded the slip, she found a large number 5 printed in the center. She turned to Aaron. "I got a five! Where is table five?"

Rain waded through the sea of swarming students ((there's some alliteration for ya! Lol)) until he reached Table No. 5, where Lupita's kind yet sassy smirk greeted him.
"Welcome to table five, kid! You look oddly familiar," Lupita quipped, leaning over the table. Rain blushed and stammered a hello, directing his eyes away from Lupita's tanned cleavage. Lupita laughed. This kid's funny, she thought to herself. He's all right. Boys definitely weren't nearly as shy, or as polite, for that matter, where she grew up. It was a refreshing, almost endearing change. Lupita had a feeling that Rain was going to be another "stray" of hers. Not that she minded. Rain was all right.
"So... now what?" Rain queried, staring at another tree near the building. Lupita sighed and rested her chin in her hands.
"Now we wait for the rest of Group Five." Lupita checked her watch. "I heard that I was sharing this group with another mentor, though, but I don't know where this guy is. Huh. Lazy butt," Lupita grumbled, half joking. She snorted and began playing with her long braid.  

[StrayKit]

Aaron blinked and laughed as Kyung Mi grabbed his arm and started walking. Not exactly what he was expecting but it worked. He bent his arm and made a large gesture with his arm forward, "Right this way then, m'lady." he joked, starting across the grass to where the group was still steadily growing. It looked like they had a decent number of new students for the new year. He looked around the various heads as they made their way to the table where a very overwhelmed teacher was handing out folded slips and directing some of the traffic. Or attempting to by the looks of it. Aaron gave the teacher a small wave as his arm was released so Kyung Mi could go and get her number. He looked down at the slip she showed him, "Five huh? Oh, wait, hold on a minute." he started patting his jacket and pants pockets digging through them, "Let me see here, where did that paper go? Paper...paper...ah-ha! Here we are!" he unfolded and uncrumpled the paper in his hand and turned it around to be right side up before reading it over and nodding, "Yep, you're in luck, I'm helping out with group five. That means we're over...that way." he said, his hand pointing off to the side.

Between giant pant brushes and making sure Kyung Mi was alright Aaron had lost track of time. He should have headed over a bit sooner to help who he was paired with. The paper was shoved back into his pocket before he bent he smiled slightly and offered his arm to Kyung Mi again, "Shall we depart then?" he asked. The other tables set up already had a few students gathered around them chatting and trying to figure out where they would be going. Aaron leaned around some of the bodies, "Ah, there we are, table five!" he said, more to himself but pointed it out to Kyung Mi through the swarm of other bodies so she could see where they were headed. He carefully picked their way through the others and blinked at the girl already seated there waiting, checking her watch actually. He held up his hand, "Hey, Lupita!" he called. He didn't know the girl well but remembered her from a sketching course he took during the previous year. Aaron made it over to the table with Kyung Mi before rubbing the back of his head, "Uh, sorry, I got caught up once I got off the bus." he apologized, looking at the boy at the table already who looked a bit nervous and offered a smile before holding his hand out, "Welcome to campus, I'm Aaron."

(I'M ALIVE! since you had that Lupita liked sketching and they're both in the same year I just guessed they'd have had a class together by now ^_^;; LET THE TOURS COMENCE!!!)  

[Kitalpha Hart]

Ayako's request got them a snap of use the same paper, which had a 5 emblazoned on it. Ayako then dragged Hiko over to the table with the number, using her brush to clear a path by sticking it out in front of her, until she got to the table. "{Well, it looks like the head-in-the-clouds camera girl is in this group.}" she muttered to Hiko. "{Should I try and break it when she's not looking?}"
Hiko hit the top of her head with his fist. "No." He said over her yarled complaint. "{Be nice, it's our first day here.}"
((I need to be quoted. I forgot about this, what with my summer job hitting full season and all))  

[WitchBabyWiggBat]

((I have returned from Los Angeles, am currently chugging organic soda, and listening to my favorite band. Let's get this party started.))
Lupita waved at Aaron and rested a hand on her hip.
"It's about time, Aaron," She replied jokingly, slapping him on the back.
Rain stammered a hello and shook Aaron's hand. "I'm Rain. Thanks," he replied. In that same moment, Kyung Mi frowned at the students with the large paintbrushes. She took a deep breath and approached them.
"I am unhappy with the conduct with which you treat me. You rude earlier, and I ask for apology," she said with as much dignity as she could muster.
Lupita turned to the group. "All right, ladies and germs, I'm Lupita and this is Aaron. We'll be showing you around the campus and answering all of your terribly interesting questions." As she spoke, more students trickled up to Table Five until the group was complete. When Lupita finished speaking, she turned to Aaron and winked. "You ready, boy?"  

[StrayKit]

Aaron laughed at Lupita and nodded, "At least have a little faith in me, I managed not to be late to class didn't I?" of course some times when he ran late it consisted or racing into the room seconds before the bell but hey, it worked. He nodded to Rain, "Nice to meet you, Rain, I hope you like it here and..." he looked over to where Kyung Mi walked of to and nodded over to her, "The young lady over by the two with giant paint brushes is Kyung Mi." he introduced. He wasn't entirely sure what she was saying to the two, maybe confronting them about almost hitting her near the bus? Hopefully nothing bad came from it. He shoved his hands into his pockets and waited as Lupita spoke to the growing group before more of them arrived. Aaron looked over as Lupita winked and smiled, "Yes ma'am!" he waved a hand at the growing group, "Alright everyone, huddle up and follow us! We'll start the tour out here and by the end have you all at your rooms. So with that in mind, welcome to Zerlander Academy everyone!" he looked over at Lupita and grinned, "Alright, you're up!"

(sorry it's late! didn't realize you just edited your earlier post ^_^;; )  

[WitchBabyWiggBat]

Kitalpha Hart

Quoted?