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Post by Jackson Miller on Feb 21, 2009 10:24:29 GMT -8
Debate was a daunting prospect; he hadn't wanted to take the class in the first place, but now that he was enrolled, Jackson meant to crush it. There were certain realities about his education that he had to face and enrolling in debate was one of them. His father had nearly burst with enthusiasm at the thought of his son taking to the podium with vigor. His vision of Jackson, donning a suit and tie and speaking with such passion and drive about subjects unknown would make any lawyer happy. That was what Jackson was - the lawyer's son. If taking this class meant that his dad would get off his case about photography, then he would do it.
It was a heavy bargaining chip, but one that he wasn't afraid to put on the table and his dad went for it in a second. Debate for photography; it was a good exchange. Jackson's father didn't understand why anyone would want to waste time taking pictures when they could be conquering the world with a law book in hand. Jackson didn't even know if photography was something he was serious about, but it was the one thing his father had allowed leniency on and so he savored it. That was what he told himself as he stood at his locker, staring at the various books and determining which ones he would need to take home for the evening. Debate would go, English would stay, Algebra would go... He ticked off the list of books in his locker, placing some into the backpack at his feet and then arranging the others in some kind of order in his locker.
Closing the door and spinning the combination lock, Jackson slung the heavy bag on his back. Unfortunately in his haste, the zipper of his backpack was neglected. About four or five text books of various sizes slid out of his backpack, hitting the ground one at a time with a loud smack that echoed in the halls which were for the most part, empty. No one would want to hang around school when they didn't have to and Jackson cussed almost inaudibly to himself as he bent to regather his things.
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Michelle Harris
Senior
Posts: 15
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Post by Michelle Harris on Feb 21, 2009 10:38:30 GMT -8
Michelle was having a most difficult first day of school. The day started off with her not being able to awaken from a nightmare and when she finally did she was in a panic and sweat, and late. She was never late, and the one day she needed to not be late she was. She flew into the bathroom and took the quickest shower of her life, but that didn't stop Megan, the older of the sisters from banging on the door the whole time. When she got out they were all gone. She had to walk to school. Which was a convenient mile and a half away.
When she got to the school there was a massive problem with her schedule. First off they didn't give her the classes she wanted, second off they gave her Algebra 1 when back home she was in advanced Algebra 2 , but that didn't matter in Phoenix.
By the end of the day she was wiped. To top things off she had to stay after class to talk to the counselor, Claire had apparently spilled about why she moved to Phoenix to the administrators and now once a week she had to see the school shrink. Great.
She was hurrying out of the school when she passed a guy who was bent down picking up his books that had fallen, she thought for a second, and decided to help him out.
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Post by Jackson Miller on Feb 21, 2009 10:46:38 GMT -8
Quite consumed in his own racing thoughts, Jackson hardly noticed the older girl who stopped to help him with his things. It wasn't until he was taking a count of the books that had hit the floor and realized that two were missing that he looked up to a friendly pair of brown eyes. "Oh, thank you," he said, reaching forward for the books, his English accent present as ever. "The zipper works better when you use it," he added, not wanting to give off the impression of complete idiocracy. He slid the things she'd picked up for him into his bag and zipped it quickly.
He could not quite place this girl, though she seemed somewhat familiar. Having felt like he'd grown up in Arizona, it was always a surprise to see a face he didn't recognize. Quickly, he recalled where he'd seen such a familiar grin. "Michelle Harris," he said suddenly. "We have the same Debate class." He explained, before she could think he was too insightful. "My name is Jackson Miller," he added. His voice was unwavering; meeting new people was something he normally found nerve-wracking. He was very observant and good with details like names; but socially he was inept. Cassie, his little sister had the opposite problem. She'd befriend a stranger before you could tell her how dangerous it was.
But there was nothing dangerous about this girl; she was older than he was, that much was obvious. There was something that happened to girls when they became seniors that changed the way they walked and carried themselves. It was as if they knew for certain that soon they would be beyond this place of education and on to something else. Jackson extended his hand to shake. "I believe I sit two seats to your left," he further explained, though no explanation was probably necessary, at least not for such an informal meeting.
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Michelle Harris
Senior
Posts: 15
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Post by Michelle Harris on Feb 21, 2009 10:59:23 GMT -8
She handed him the books she had picked up smiling lightly. "You're welcome" she said. She recognized him before he introduced himself, she had a knack for remembering faces, names on the other hand didn't stick as well. "Jackson" she said trying to make it stick "Nice to meet you" she said shaking his hand.
She wasn't exactly used to meeting new people, not in this setting anyway, not sober (maybe that's why the names didn't stick?) it was a weird thing not to have the liquid courage working in your favor.
She was so much more relaxed when she was under the influence. She should've brought her flask from Seattle. Old Lucky she called it, because it gave her such luck. Not really creative, but she wasn't exactly the most creative person. Random as hell but not as creative. She smiled at Jackson wondering what he was doing after school, and if maybe he had access to some alcohol or a party, it was Monday, but it didn't stop her from hoping. "So what's there to do here in Phoenix anyway?" she asked him
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Post by Jackson Miller on Feb 21, 2009 11:15:05 GMT -8
He nodded as their hands met for a moment before slinging his backpack on his back again. This time it's contents stayed intact and he did his best not to sigh in relief. The day had already been a long one and it didn't need to get any worse. As it was he'd missed his original ride and would have to call Mick and see if he wasn't too busy to come get him. There was only one thing that really bugged Mick and that was having to drive Jackson around all over the place. Jackson couldn't wait to get his license; he'd promised Mick to pay him back for all the rides by taking Maggie on her weekly grocery store trips.
"Nice to meet you as well," he said with a smile. There was a moment of silence as they stood in the hallway during which Jackson became aware of just how truly alone they were. Even the teaching staff did not stick around the school building after hours. Michelle's voice broke the silence first and for that he was thankful. "All sorts of things, I suppose," he said nonchalantly. The party circuit in this school was notorious. Students of rival schools were continually trying to crash parties, or at least he had heard. For the most part, Jackson stayed out of the party scene. Until he could drive, he wasn't really willing to let some drunk upperclassman haul him from one party to another.
"There's a decent amount of partying," started with. If she was older, that was probably what she was interested in. "Though I wouldn't be the person to ask," he said, only slightly embarrassed. If she figured out he was younger than her, she wouldn't be surprised. The upperclassmen knew the party scene; the underclassmen for the most part stood on their toes, waiting eagerly in the wings for any sign of approval from those older students. Jackson was not one of these, but he didn't mind knowing what was going on either.
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Michelle Harris
Senior
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Post by Michelle Harris on Feb 24, 2009 16:58:55 GMT -8
"Yeah" she said smiling and nodding her head "I went to that party, up at Dometri's house this weekend" she told him remembering the event fondly. "If that's any indication on how the rest of the parties will be I'm game" she told him. She was used to parties being a little wilder than that but it was still pretty kick ass.
"That's too bad" she told him when he said he didn't know of many parties. "Do you drink?" she asked suddenly. It was pretty blunt, but she was a blunt person. "I'm totally in need of a drink - rough day." She explained. "Wanna maybe join me?" She asked. "You don't have to do any of the drinking if you don't want..." she said. "But it'd be nice to have someone to hang with..." She smiled at him expectantly .
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Post by Jackson Miller on Feb 27, 2009 7:15:01 GMT -8
Jackson's thoughts drifted back to what he did Saturday night. He'd spent the evening wrangling together Cassie and her friends that had spent the night celebrating her birthday. It had been the sort of disaster that only their father could conceive. Of course, he'd been more than agreeable to idea of ten, ten year old girls running through the house. Maggie had been extremely helpful and of course Jackson's presence assisted greatly. Even if he hadn't had responsibilities like that, parties weren't really his thing. He wanted to at least be able to drive before going to such a thing; at least that way he could be in control of whether or not he was coming or going.
He didn't look surprised when she asked about drinking. A lot of people did their age. He had, every once in awhile gone on a binge or two, but nothing serious. Maggie would have Cassie for the afternoon and he was sure no one would mind his absence at the house. "Yea, I only drink a little, but if you would not mind?" He said. There was a sense of relief; escaping the house occasionally was always a good thing.
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