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04/04, 23:56

M.Arisu

hey... anybody who's awake to see this. hope you're not having too much trouble sleeping.
get rest when you can. work together when you can.
all we can do is keep trying, but i'm hopeful for this year.
feels weird to say... but it's all going to be gone soon, so...
anyways.
see you at school tomorrow.

Any replies on the forum go unresponded, and at the stroke of midnight, the past year's worth of messages are completely gone from the PDA forum, including any sent over spring break. Hope you have a good memory if you were in the middle of a conversation! Though you should really be in ...whatever you've managed to make your bed... because tomorrow is a big day.

04/05, 06:00

The silence continues until six in the morning with the toll of the clock tower bells, and anybody near the locker area will hear two women in mid-conversation as they phase through the front doors, heels clicking on the ground: "-—didn't even have the decency to finish the job! And now I have to— oh, stop crying, for goodness' sake! I swear—" It's a one sided conversation, mostly, and one that stops short the moment the women spot the students lingering around. While the younger woman, recognizable as the assistant principal, hurriedly scrubs at her face with her sleeves, the unfamiliar older woman with the oddly dissonant voice scowls intensely. "I don't need this on the first day of school! Students trespassing over break! I can't believe it! I don't have time for this—" she huffs, shaking her head and stomping down the hall towards the faculty office. "Miss Nene, I expected better of you! And you! Miss Ritsuka— the two of you shall report to the faculty office after the entrance ceremony. I expect a full report of everybody involved. Now behave yourselves and go to the auditorium."

Goodbye...

The assistant principal is left behind and looks confused and distraught. She sniffles and ducks her head a little, draws a shaking breath and stands a little taller. "I'm so sorry. I'll hear you all out after- after this is done. Alright?" She too heads towards the faculty office, trying her best to smile at those she passes by. While they may be followed, they seem to phase through the faculty office doors which remain closed and locked, and cannot be interacted with until after the ceremony.

Until then, other students start to filter through the front door, seeking out friends and chatting about their breaks, remembering about homework and asking if anybody actually did it so they can copy off them before classes start, laughing at any mention of being locked inside the school all break because what?? that's silly. A handful of students wear yellow armbands on the left sleeve of their uniform, marking them as members of the student council, and these student council members go around finally removing the gorinto from the window sills, tossing the rocks into a bag without any apparent ill effects, and collecting the snacks in a separate bag— though they'll offer the food to anybody they pass who looks hungry enough. Which is a lot of you. One or two might give a short lecture about the importance of eating breakfast to start the day off right. Other student council members busy themselves in the locker area, posting the new homeroom assignments and updating the school calendar to reflect exam dates and breaks for the coming year, or help setting chairs out in neat rows in the auditorium in preparation for the entrance ceremony.

04/05, 08:00

The opening ceremony starts at 8, with students and staff moving to the auditorium to sit with their homeroom class, calling characters out by name and dragging them over to their seat— physically if need be, and they're much stronger than they look. Unlike the graduation ceremony, characters are not forced to come to the entrance ceremony, but the moment they take a seat, they find that they can neither speak nor get up again until the ceremony is over.

The assistant principal stands behind the podium on stage, looking rather nervous as she glances down at the watch on her wrist for it to be time, and clears her throat before addressing the room. "Yogen High welcomes you, all our new students," she pauses, beaming at the row of first year classes before her gaze sweeps over the rest of the student body, "our transfer students, our returning students, our... repeat students..." Looking at you, Norton, Gawain, Abel... "I, um. You may have noticed that I am standing in for our principal today, who is currently... unavailable... and didn't exactly leave any notes to go off of..." She wilts a little, but trucks on nonetheless and continues the address, promising that the teachers will pass along any important announcements, expressing her belief in the potential of young minds, and wishing everybody a fulfilling school year. The ceremony concludes in a little under an hour, and the spell binding the students to their seats is broken, allowing everybody to rise and leave.

School lets out for the rest of the day with classes starting the next morning, and while many students take the opportunity to leave, some linger around the school. Gossip is flying already with news of the transfer students caught breaking into the school over break and what punishments they might get, rumors of what happened to the principal ranging from a family emergency to hospitalization to death, complaints about the water pipes not getting fixed over break, and general excitement over upcoming events listed on the bulletin board by the lockers, in particular new club advertisements, fortune telling ads, and a Charity Auction to be hosted the Monday after Golden Week next month.

April

School is school... The first thing teachers ask at homeroom Tuesday morning is for students to hand in their spring break homework. Didn't do it? You're on their shit list now. Characters are not forced to attend class, but patrolling faculty and student council members will heckle any truant students into going and can be a pain to deal with. Classes aren't taught terribly, though. The second year math teacher has a knack for easily digestible explanations, even if she writes and erases the board a bit too quickly to copy. The third year literature teacher combines weekly analytical essays with film studies, and is showing Child's Play, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Silence of the Lambs, and Where the Red Fern Grows this month. The first year biology teacher brings eyeballs and frogs and rats for dissection during anatomy lessons, and if you have a special request for a specific eye color, give him a day or two and he can deliver. 2-A's homeroom teacher can be seen stealing chalk from each of the second year classroom she rotates through and is offering extra credit to any students who sneak her chalk without asking questions.

New students will quickly learn that merit points are awarded for a full day's attendance, turning in homework, participating in class and clubs, scoring 80% or higher on quizzes and exams, etc. Less predictably, the PDA may sometimes ping for a single merit point when hanging out with a friend or arguing with a classmate, with stronger emotions (positive or negative) when interacting with somebody else more likely to trigger a point, and if students are abusing this system, it's kept out of the faculty's eyes. As the month goes on, sometimes a student comes to class with a cut eyelid, or a busted lip, or bandages wrapped thick around a wrist, but they always deny anything more than clumsiness or an accident or having pets who very aggressively show their love. Sometimes it's harder to hide, when a bloody nose drips onto the ground or bleeding knuckles brush against the wall, and those near enough to see blood touch the building will find that everything sort of... shifts... Just for a second. The feeling of vertigo that stops almost as soon as it begins, the world tilting without slotting back into alignment. You feel a bit nauseous. Just a little.

You go to the bathroom to splash water on your face and the pink looks a little darker, a little more solid. On the fourth floor, the water has stopped running in the bathroom sinks altogether, and students are told to go downstairs to do their business so that they may wash up after. With more students milling around the bathrooms, it's much easier to notice that people's reflections in the mirrors are just a bit off, lagging that split second long enough to be impossible to ignore once aware.

Every day you have homework. A new essay for something or other is assigned each week. Nobody wants to do group projects with a slacker who can't promise to meet up after school to get it done. Like clockwork, the school empties out at 6 PM each school day, leaving those behind to their own devices. There is no school on Sundays. Golden Week marks the end of the month, and guess who's going to be stuck at school for an entire week with only vending machine junk food to live off of if they aren't able to make progress concerning their living situation? Yeah.

Charity Auction

At least students have the charity auction to look forward to and work towards. Information about the auction set on May 10 can be found on the bulletin board, and appears to be put together by the student council as an annual event and an incentive for students to start the year off strong in earning merit points. Both students and staff are encouraged to donate to the auction, with the items collected and put on display in the auditorium behind locked glass cases. On May 10, students will be able to bid on items using their merit points, those who donate will receive 10% of the winning bid towards their item, and the school will match donations 100 to 1 point with proceeds going towards the "Save A Brain Foundation."

Throughout the month, glass cases lining the walls of the auditorium start to fill up with donations. The most popular donations seem to be physical items: possessions such as jewelry or gaming consoles, or artistic creations such as hand sewn clothing or paintings. There are placeholders for things that can't be put on display all month, such as placards with a picture or description of homemade food that won't be prepared until the auction date, or the promise of fishing lessons with the guidance counselor or a dinner date with the school principal (pending availability). At the back of the room stands the largest case, with the skinny black cat often found lying on top of it as if guarding it, although it will run away when approached.

Inside the case is a body.

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✽ The plot will only move forward as things are discussed and acted upon, and clues distributed during app acceptances are meant to be shared and connected, so don't be afraid to ask questions and dig into things! I am here to enable.

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Curry sounds good, too.

( not that he's super familiar with making it, but he's enjoyed it when he's had the opportunity to taste it. he offers a smile with the words.

he doesn't want to argue the naivete of thinking that everyone will look out for one another when she's just a kid, to be honest; she should be allowed to have that kind of optimism. instead, he's gonna aim for encouragement. and, uh, maybe trying to steer away from that thin-ice concern that she has. with a curious tilt of his head, he glances back to her. )

I thought they restocked the kitchen often though. Do they really have a problem with the students making sure those ingredients don't go to waste?

Well, it's supposed to be for lessons... but if they don't catch me in here, then it's fine.

( a pause. )

Probably.

( not the most used to sneaking around, this one. but she's doing her best in this weird situation. idly, nene checks various cupboards- more spices, noodles of different sorts, types of rice... thank goodness. she'd tried to make everything she used last over the break, but it was hard when she knew for a fact she wasn't the only one cooking. )

Oh- I'm Nene Yashiro. It's nice to meet you! I just wish it was in better circumstances.

Ah, that makes sense. ( about the food, he means. she's right though—introductions are probably in order. )

I'm Norton Campbell. Nice to meet you too, Miss Nene.

( and as for the manner at hand... while she does bring up a good point, and it's only natural that the school would want to reserve their resources for school activities, norton kind of glances to the side. you know, so he doesn't straight up make A Face about it. )

Though, I don't agree with them being so stingy. The other day, I was scolded about the importance of breakfast—but they'll give you trouble for using the kitchen, too?

( do they want their students to eat or not??? )

How'd they get an adult here in a high school...?

( at his comment she winces- she's seen quite a few of the trapped students get comments like that. )

Well... so long as it's just the surplus it seems to be okay. But after the superintendent and the vice principal saw us that morning, I've been trying to stay out of trouble. Maybe I'm being paranoid?

( norton looks tired as hell at that comment—getting way too used to hearing things like that for someone with no choice in the matter of being here, quite frankly. she doesn't mean any harm by it though, and he knows that, so the only thing he'll do is give a defeated shrug. )

I'd like to know too, but for now, making sure that we're able to use the food is probably more important. And you're trying to share it too, so it might be hard to stick to only the surplus like that...

I'm also not the only one cooking, I can tell. ( she's been keeping an eye on stock... but at least rice is plentiful. plain, but plentiful. ) I-it's not like I have to make feasts or anything, sometimes something simple can go a long way!

And they can probably tell, too, when they burn through more and more of those simple things much faster than they used to.

( it's said gently, and not at all scolding, but it's a concern nonetheless. thinking it over for a second. )

Are you a part of their cooking club? They may not mind as much if you're just very enthusiastic about your "club activities."

Oh, I haven't really joined any yet- but I was thinking about it. It'd be a good way to ensure more's available to us.

( from the sounds of it though, she might just have to. ... she's not used to having to think from a practical mindset like this- a selfish part of her wants to have a club that's purely for fun, but while they're trapped here... )

I've also considered a gardening club- we can't go outside to work a plot or anything, but we could claim starting with indoor plants would be a good learning curve or something. And from those we could work with potted vegetables? But they won't quite last...

That's not a bad idea, actually. You like gardening?

( she's a lot more practical than he'd expected of a girl her age, that's for sure—colour norton impressed. but to be frank, practicality isn't always the most important thing. helpful, sure, and he'll never turn it away; however, the fact of the matter is that they shouldn't be relying on children to procure most of their resources. take it from someone who pretty much skipped out on half a childhood to that very responsibility. so norton, while smiling, approaches it like this: )

If you do, I can help you spread the word to get some members. If not though, you can always mention that idea to someone else—I'm sure someone will take you up on it. There's no reason you should be responsible for our whole food supply on your own, after all.

Yes! I love it! I'm really good at growing vegetables, and flowers too- and it'd be fun to try some fruit or berry bushes, but I never have the space.

( she learned for shallow reasons- but there's a reason she demonstrated it first above all else to hanako-kun in their first meeting. she genuinely does enjoy the skills she picked up! and with her parents always being busy, it turned out to be a better idea than anyone could have thought, so... yeah. )

Oh- thank you. ( if she means the offer or the very true declaration of responsibility, she doesn't say. ) Oh, um- can you please check the upper cabinets for stuff? I can never reach up there.

( it's enough for him that she seems so cheerful—realistically, she's the only one making choices for herself, so he's happy enough to take her words at face value however she responds. a girl like her, she doesn't seem like she'd hide anything dangerous; there's no reason for him to think on how or what she's answering too deeply. he only nods, reaching up to open up the cabinets before glancing back to her. )

Want me to pull anything out, or just take a look? Ah—have to say some vegetables would have been real useful over that week. ( a pause. ) Flowers wouldn't be too bad either, brighten up the place a little.

If there's anything that could go in a soup or stew, I'd at least like to see it. ( gotta know your options before you start! ) I can barely even get those doors open sometimes...

( life is hard when you're a 5'2 goldfish. )

Yeah, for sure... but there's so many of us, if we grew any here they'd be gone in an instant. I'm not sure the time to regrow anything would be able to match the need...

Anything is better than nothing—and it's good for people's mood either way.

( like he said, some greenery—flowers, vegetables, whatever—will improve the atmosphere regardless. the vegetables being potentially useful on top of that is just a bonus. either way though, he'll pull the cabinets open, taking a cursory glance over the contents. after a few moments, he'll pull out some things that catch his eye for her inspection: soup stocks, rice, dried noodles, something that looks like dried up kelp labelled "kombu." some more ingredients become visible behind them as he does. )

What do you think?

Ah, you're right...

( unfortunately, it seems she'll be too reluctant to voice the option until at least after the fumigations, however. or maybe that'd be better for the plants?

taking a look at everything he pulls down, nene hums thoughtfully. rice and noodles are both always nice in soup, the stock itself is... well, really useful and saves them from work, and kombu is good for lighter soups- which may be nice later on. )

These are all really great! We'll have to keep them in mind! Should we do rice or noodles for this one...?

( you're her sous chef now, norton. )

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Charity Auction

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