The Machine

[Lessien]

"So, ladies, where exactly are you from?"

"Oh, I'm from all over the country, too--Ohio, Washington, Arkansas, North Dakota...my last home was North Dakota, though. What about you, Addie?"

The question jerked Addie from a pleasant daydream (she had just been called to Narnia during the Hundred Year's Winter to fight for the Light), and it took her a moment to figure out what was going on. "Wyoming," she said. "I'm from Wyoming."

"I've never been to Wyoming...is it pretty there?"

"Not really. Mostly plains. Kinda boring."

 

[Sylvengard]

((Subscribing. I'll have my post in soon ))

 

[rockerchic]

Adam stared out the window as he sat and ate his food alone. He liked being alone; that was what he was used to. At all the other places he'd been most of the others were usually afraid of him or hated his guts. Maybe things would be different here.

................................................................................

Riley struggled, carrying a duffle bag over er shoulder and pulling a small wheely suitcase behind her. When she finally made her way up the stairs and to her room, she just dropped her bags on the bed and collapsed onto the bed. The day was only half over and it had been a long day already. But as tired as she was, she was even more hungry. She raced back down the stairs, and after briefly stopping to ask for directions, entered the caffeteria. The place was azoo, packed with excited teens all talking and shouting. Riley jumped onto the food line and piled her tray as high as she could with an assortment of foods. Once she came off the line, she searched for a place to sit. She didn't particularly feel like sitting after such a long car ride, but it did make eating a little easier.

Most of the tabled had a few people sitting at them, tere were quite a few tables jam packed with chatty girls, but that wasn't really they was Riley was. She however did notice a guy sitting all by himself neer a window, so she decided to make a new friend. She pushed her way through the crowd and to the corner table. It wasn't until she got closer that she realized how creepy looking the guy was, but it was too late to go back now. She put her tray down and sat across from the guy.

Adam looked up from his sandwich to notice a short red headed girl sitting down at his table. Adam wasn't very sociable.

"Hey, I'm Riley, hope you dont mind me sitting here; alot of the tables are pretty full."

"I kinda sat here, hoping no one else would come."

"Oh, " slight pause. "Well I'm here now anyway." She began to dig into her giant plate of food.

"You eat alot for a girl."

"Well, I not like most girls. Most girls usually annoy me. That pretty much, why i sat here."

Adam slowly finished his sandwich. Kinda hoping this girl would just leave him alone.

"So, where are you from?" Riley askd, her mouth half full of food.

"New York."

"No way, I'm like your neighboor. I'm a Jersey girl."

"Well isn't that wonderful." Adam said sarcastically.

Riley pretended she didn't here him.

 

[Everloving]

Xavier listened to the girls chatting as he filled his mouth with food. They were a cute pair, he'd give them that. But the one seemed a bit depressed; perhaps it was only fear. Who knew...

.......................................................................................................................


Dani finished her food and was about to leave the cafateria when she heard the buzz of a microphone turning on.


"Hello... can you all hear me?? Settle down now children." the woman waited for silence before continuing. "Ahem...boys and girls, today has no doubt been very exciting and nerve racking for you all, so I'll be brief. This microphone system is connected to speakers throughout the school, so all of the students can hear this at all times. Classes will begin on Monday, so you have the next three days to settle in and get to know your room mates and maker new friends. Fell free to explore the campus whenever you like. All of the younger cildren have a 9 pm cerfew on school nights, which extends to 11 pm on Fridays and Saturdays. High schoolers, you may be up and about until midnight on school nights, and your cerfew is lifted on Friday and Saturday. Just try not to wake the children. All class schedules will be posted on your com[puters so that no one can lose them. You will also recieve alerts via the computers in your rooms when important event are coming up. Each one of you will be invited to a meeting with the head master once you're settled in. Any questions you have can be emailed to the office. The address is posted in your rooms. For nw, good luck, and enjoy your time here!!"

 

[Lessien]

Plastic Smile rescued Addie from Elizabeth's interrogation about life in Wyoming. When the announcment ended, she returned to her pizza. Everything that Plastic Smile said was cool with her. That was apparently not true for Elizabeth.

"That's so dumb, that we can't go anywhere after nine! It's so retarded--what do they think we are, four?"

"I don't think it's dumb. Got nowhere to go after nine, anyway." Addie didn't mention that she was fifteen and would therefore get a few extra hours after nine to spend in the library--if they had one. Better to avoid another rant and let Elizabeth think she was thirteen or fourteen, as she apparently did.

Addie finished her pizza, crushed her soda can, and stood. "I'm gonna go."

"Where?"

"See if they've got a library."

"Oh." Elizabeth found it difficult to get excited over the prospect of visiting a library. "See you later, then."

"See ya." A few hours alone was just what she needed.

 

[AmazonPanther]

Elya Sable poked her twin brother awake.

"Come on! We're already late! Get out of the car!"

Moaning, Warren brushed her hand away and sleepily got out of the taxi they had taken from the airport. The only reason they were late was because someone had decided they knew exactly where the terminal was and had gotten them lost.

Elya frowned and put her hands on her hips. "Warren, don't give me that look. You got us even more lost when you decided that you were going to lead."

Warren busied himself with getting their bags out of the trunk to hide his smile. "What look? I didn't give you any look." He insisted lamely.

Elya stared angrily at his back. She knew he was giving her a hard time but she didn't want to be the one to lose. Stalking up to Warren, she grabbed her bag from his hands and walked up to the door.

Chuckling, Warren paid the driver and followed his sister to the door. "You know you always lose. You can't stay mad at me forever." He said straight faced as he opened the ornately carved door for Elya. She simply turned up her nose and ignored him.

They were about to ask the secretary for help when an announcement came over the loudspeaker. Elya grinned at Warren; all her anger gone. "This is the latest curfew we've ever gotten! This place is going to rock!"

Warren grinned back. He didn't really care about curfews; he knew he wouldn't have anywhere to go, unless he was going to try to keep Elya out of trouble.

Warren stood and admired the exquisite artistry of the hall while Elya talked with the secretary. Whoever owned this mansion and was able to take in all these kids had to be very rich. Warren wondered if they would even get to see the great philanthropist who had given all these orphans another chance or if they would only get to see his staff. Warren was very grateful for what this man had done. He had helped Warren find an alternative for the hectic and unstable life he and Elya had been forced to grow up in. Warren hoped he would get to thank the man in person.

Elya cleared her throat to wake her brother out of his reverie. "Here's your stuff. And we've got roommates. Don't be too unfriendly. I'll see you in the cafeteria." Elya picked up her stuff and headed for the girls' dorms.

Warren rolled his eyes. Too unfriendly? It wasn't his fault people took silence for unfriendliness. Picking up his bags, he walked down the hallway towards the boys' dorms. He found his room without much trouble and started unpacking his things. Warren glanced around the room and saw, unsurprisingly, that his roommate had already arrived. He didn't have much to unpack so he was done within a couple minutes. Shutting the door, he left the room and made his way to the cafeteria.

Elya waved Warren over to her in the lunch line. "Slowpoke." She teased as he took a tray and followed her. He didn't respond. Elya grabbed a cheeseburger and fries and left the line. As she waited for Warren, she checked out the cafeteria for likely places to sit. When Warren joined her, she pulled him towards a table with a girl and a guy sitting across from each other. Setting her tray next to the girl, Elya grinned and said, "Hey, I'm Elya. And the mopey guy behind me is my brother Warren."

 

[rockerchic]

After the announcement over the intercome finished, Adam let out a small smile. "Thats the latest cerfew, I've ever gotten. Midnight. The last place i was at, it was nine o'clock for everyone. This place doesn't seem so bad. What was the policy in your last place."

Riley gave the boy a look that said, are you kidding me? She didn't used to have a cerfew. She wasn't too happy about this rule; She was used to staying up as long as she wanted. "Well, until now, I never had a cerfew."

"Lucky." Adam said with a slight attitude.

"So I told you my name. Whats yours?" Riley asked curiously

"Adam."

"Well, then Adam you are my first new friend."

Adam made a face. "listen, Rachel..."

"Riley!"

"Whatever. Wouldn't you rather be best buddies or whatever with one of those girls over there?" He said trying to get her off his back.

Riley looked over at the girls, all of them in their matching clothes and beautiful makeup. "No not really. "

It was then that their table was appraoched by a pair of two.


"Hey, I'm Elya. And the mopey guy behind me is my brother Warren."

Adam rolled his eyes as the two appraoched, great more people at his table.

"Hi Elya, Hi Warren. I'm Riley." Riley said as she wipped her greasy hands off on her pants then held out her hand to shake . "And this cranky guy behind me is appearantly Adam. Adam kept is hands in his pockets.

 

[AmazonPanther]

Elya shook Riley's hand and raised an eyebrow at Adam's frosty reception. Turning back to Riley, she quipped, "You're right, he is cranky."

Warren sat down next to Elya but far enough away that it wasn't easy for her to get him to join the conversation. He was content to just sit and let the girls talk amongst themselves. What was with girls and talking anyway?

Elya rolled her eyes. She knew Warren's reasons for not sitting closer. Taking a bite of her sandwhich she asked, "So, where were you from?"

 

[rockerchic]

Riley was happy to make more friends so fast.
"Well, I'm from Jersey, and cranky over here told me he was from New York. So where are you guys from?" Riley asked with a mouth full of hamburger.

Adam couldn't take all these people sitting with him. "I'm outta here." Adam said as he stood up to leave.

Riley looked up as Adam stood. She had not known how tall he was. She was held back for a moment before saying, "See ya." Then turned back to Elya.

Adam just walked away with no reply.
Adam walked back into the large open area before the caffeteria. Many more people were still pouring into the school. In all the chaos, Adam noticed a small mountain of suitcases and duffel just lying there unattended. Adam looked around. No one seemed to be paying much attention to them. All of the owners of these bags were probably off eating lunch and decided to leave their stuff out here in the open. Adam didn't have many things, so he saught out a bag that looked as if it belonged to an older guy. He grabbed the bag cassually and started to make his way up to his room. Adam opened his door to his room and plopped his new bagg of stuff on the floor. He would go through it later, but for now, Adam just laid on his bed.

((Xavier's bag))

 

[AmazonPanther]

Elya couldn't help but stare for just a moment when Adam stood up. He was even taller than Warren, and Warren was considered pretty tall. But she still didn't like how rude he was. Elya tore he gaze from his back and frowned. "Anyway, we're basically from all over. I don't even remember which state I was born in."

Warren was slightly surprised by Adam's height, but he didn't show it and kept eating his sandwich. Even though Warren sympathized with Adam, he thought Adam could at least be a bit more civil in how he treated people. He turned his attention back to the girls' conversation.

"Ohio." He supplied the answer to which state they were born in. But they had only spent the first five years of their life there before Elya had been sent to another orphanage. Warren had miraculously convinced them to send him too. It always seemed to be like that; Elya got sent away and Warren followed. Hopefully it never needed to be like that again.

 

[rockerchic]

"Ohio." Riley said back. Warren didn't seem like the kind of guy that said too much. "So are you guys related, cause you look alot alike." Riley asked curious.

 

[AmazonPanther]

"Yes, we are related. Twins actually." Elya answered. "Although we act nothing alike. I'm sure you can tell."

Warren finished his lunch and pushed his tray away. He turned in his seat so he was facing the girls and waited patiently. The upside of not talking so much was that it didn't take you so long to eat, but then you had to wait for everyone who was talking. He let his eyes roam over the cafeteria but still mostly paid attention to the conversation.

 

[rockerchic]

"Cool." Riley said to Elya. She could tell she was going to like Eyla. "I think your hair is totally awsome. I wanted to do some green streeks in my hair a while ago, but my aunt wouldn't let me. She said it would be a crime to color over this red hair. But you pull it off nicely."

 

[Lessien]

The cafeteria smelled like pizza and the hallways smelled like antiseptic, but the library smelled like history. Books. Knowledge.

Addie paused in the entryway, closed her eyes, and inhaled deeply. When was the last time she'd smelled books? The last time she'd been able to stroll alongside the shelves, run her hands along their spines? Not for several months. Her last foster family had been one of disgusting overacheivers who had plenty of time for soccer, ballet, karate and football, but little time for trips to the library.

This library was empty, with only a handful of students milling about. Addie figured they were all back in the cafeteria, which was fine with her. Books were better enjoyed alone.

She strolled through the asiles, running her hand along the spines. This was Historical Fiction: A Candle in the Darkness, Fire By Night and A Tale of Two Cities greeted her. A foreign country, one into which Addie only ventured if she grew tired of her native land. But today was not a day for adventures.

Addie walked up and down the asiles until she found one devoted entirely to Fantasy. She smiled at C.S. Lewis and Gail Carson Levine, then rested her gaze on Tolkien. The Lord of the Rings trilogy had been too complex for her when she first attempted it at the age of twelve, but she was fifteen now. Old enough to enter Middle-Earth. She picked up The Fellowship of the Ring and sat down at a nearby table to enter her new world.

 

[AmazonPanther]

Elya unconciously brushed her bangs back. "Thanks. I got it done when one of my foster families were being way too strict. The mom totally freaked when I came home. They sent me back a few months after that. They said that I was too strong willed." She grinned at that thought. "I liked the way it looked so I just kept my hair that way."

 

[Everloving]

Xavier finished his food and smiled at Elizabeth.

"Well, I better be off to find my room now, maybe I'll see you later."

He got up and placed his tray neatly on the pile and left the cafateria. He found his way to the lobby and found the pile of bags from his group. He noticed that his bag wasn't on top where he had left it, so he decided to look through it and see if maybe it had fallen under. After about ten minutes worth of looking, he came to the conclusion that it was gone. The woman was no longer behind the desk, so he decided to go up to his room and ask about it later.

"Room 519, here we are." He pulled out his keyand unlocked the door. He saw another guy already in his the room.

"Hey, I guess were room mates, huh?" He looked at the bed and saw a duffle that looked exactly like his. "Wow, imagine that... we both have the same duffle..." suddenly, he noticed the camoflauge ribbon tied around the handle. "Hey, that is my bag!! But how did it get here??"





......................................................................................................................


Dani finished eating, but decided to just sit and watch everyone else. She always enjoyed just sitting and watching. Taking notes of people's behavior. It fascinated her. It totally creeped out her foster families, but she wasn't trying to scare anyone. She just felt like if she couldn't have a life, perhaps she could be satisfied with watching other people live theirs...

 

[rockerchic]

Adam was lying on the bed with his eyes closed when he heard the doornob begin to turn. Adam sat up and looked over at the door as it opened. A teenage guy about his age walked into the room.

"Hey, I guess were room mates, huh?"

"Yea, I guess so." Adam replied. He Looked at his new room mate for a moment. He did seem too bad.

"Wow, imagine that... we both have the same duffle..." The guy said as he walked into the room.

Adam was thinking , what is this guy talking about, I dont have a duffel. Then he remembered th bag he had grabbed from down stairs.

"Hey, that is my bag!! But how did it get here??" The guy sounded pretty angry.

Oh, great, what luck that the bag he took was his room mates. Now he had to think of something fast to cover for himself.

"Ummm, i didn't see anyone bring it in here. It must have gotten dropped off while i was downstairs." That should do it, he thought.

 

[rockerchic]

Elya unconciously brushed her bangs back. "Thanks. I got it done when one of my foster families were being way too strict. The mom totally freaked when I came home. They sent me back a few months after that. They said that I was too strong willed." She grinned at that thought. "I liked the way it looked so I just kept my hair that way."

"Cool." Riley said not really sure what else to say to a response like that. She continued to eat her food.

"I hope they have sports teams in this 'school' , At my old school, i was on the lacross team, and track."

 

[Everloving]

Xavier shrugged. He didn't quite buy it, since all of the other bags were still downstairs, but he didn't wnt to start off on a bad fot ith his room mate.

"well, my name is Xavier," he held out a hand to the boy.

 

[rockerchic]

Adam sat up from the bed and stood to his feet. He walked over to shake xavier's hand. "Name's Adam." He said as he huvored over him. "Thats a strange name."