The School Board [Main Storyline]

[Zack]

OOC: Sorry for being so late. Also, I'm a bit rusty so please bear with me while I get back into the swing of things.

The longer he stood there, the more Zack began to realize just how much he hated ties and anything associated with them. He tugged at it uncomfortably before glancing around the courtyard. This was the day he had been dreading, the school board's arrival. The big wigs and higer ups were coming to make sure he wasn't a total screw up. And considering the school's current condition, Zack was fairly confident he was going to pass with flying colors.

Or at least he hoped.

The campus had finally been cleared of any debris from the fight at the dance and there had only been a few disturbances. Nothing major nor beyond his staff's control. And for that, he was grateful. He wasn't sure what these stiffs were going to be like. He just hoped everything would end well.

He shivered a bit and stuffed his hands down into the pockets of his black slacks. The collared shirt he wore was short sleeved and did very little to protect him from the chilled morning air. And it was a chilling reminder that winter was well on it's way. He hated winter. Or anything associated with cold. Of course at the moment, he hated a lot of things.

Ugh, where were they? He was getting very tired of waiting. Several more minutes slipped by before Zack finally spotted the long, sleek limo pulling in front of Kosaka's main gates. This was it. Do or die. He took a deep breath and though he wasn't a smoker, Zack really wished Frick would turn up soon, so he could bum a cigarette off of him.

[Silver]

Frick trumped down the road to the gates. He had decided it would be better to get meeting the money behind Kosaka overwith now, rather than later with all the other teachers, who would be a barrell of nerves. Plus he had the feeling Zack could do with some moral support.

He wasn't surprised to see the Headmastre there. Though arched an eyebrow at his attire. the cold didn't effect Frick so much. Warlocks were like walking heaters in the winter, and ice blocks in the summer - it made living in any climate a lot easier.

As he reached the black haired man, he noticed the limo pulling up to the gates. "Way to make an entrance." Frick muttered. The gates opened automatically and the car started to pull through. Frick caught a glimpse of himself in the blacked out windows. He looked strange with these small stubbs were his horns were starting to regrow. He didn't like it. And he doubted the school board would like it either.

The guy who'd hired him didn't seem to mind the horns when he'd had the interview - but he hadn't exactly been very high up in the food chain, or at least, that was the impression Frick recieved from him. So having horns had probably not mattered.

Frick swallowed watching the limo roll on. "So... exactly how long do they intend on staying?" he asked, glancing at the Headmaster.

[aidoann]

Sharpe wasn't far behind Frick, appearing in a cloud of tell-tale grey-blue smoke, this time tinged with purple, as he wore his usual purple bowtie. Other than that, he wore long, khaki slacks, a long-sleeved black button-up shirt and his black trench coat. With the exception of the color and pattern of the cloth, it looked very much like the one famous detective Sherlock Holmes was known for wearing.

The slightly older man had sensed the uneasiness in the morning air and had not been able to rid himself of it no matter how hard he tried for the next few hours. He tried pacing back and forth, meditating; he even considered doing what his younger sister would have suggested: praying and hoping someone or something was out there and would help Zack - and the rest of the faculty - stay calm and collected. This would have been pushing the limits, however, and Sharpe promptly decided not to, instead choosing to work on lesson plans for the next week.

With a quick thought of his mind, he straightened his bowtie back up just as the limo pulled up. Sharpe almost grimaced, but he held his face carefully stoic as he heard Frick whisper an off-handed remark to Zack. The ASC instructor hated anything having to do with limos, cars or other automobiles. In fact, he adamantly refused to drive one - or ride in one - unless it was absolutely necessary.

"So... exactly how long do they intend on staying?" Frick asked, glancing at the Headmaster.

One of Sharpe's ears twitched slightly as Frick said this. He was just as nervous as the other two men and some of the other teachers and faculty were even worse-off. Just the other day after calculus had let out, he had been talking to Aislynn Celeste and the young teacher had been a nervous wreck. Sharpe hadn't seen most of the teachers and the ones he had seen were panicking. Come to think of it, Sharpe hadn't seen Aleksi for the past week or so, but the biologist was probably buried under a load of work in the lab; Sharpe made a mental note to himself to stop by later.

"For the sake of everyone, let us hope that they choose not to stay long," Sharpe sent that thought in Frick's direction, aiming it directly to him, but letting Zack catch on if he wanted. It was not unlike a whisper that could easily be overheard by anyone in extremely close proximity, but Sharpe was careful to shield that thought from anyone except for those two.

[Yay! Saami's back. I'm glad we're getting this storyline going. ]

[Zack]

Now that the school board was finally here, Zack figured smoking wouldn't help the situation any. Probably would frown at him, like he knew they were going to do. As the limo drove along the winding path, Zack spent the moment wondering what the men (and/or women) looked liked. He figured maybe vultures, with long hawk like noses that the like turn up whenever they feel someone is beneath them (which is apparently all the time according to Zack's day dream).

He was so absorbed in his thoughts, he jumped slightly when he heard Frick's voice. "Oh..h-hey..." He said with a shake of his head. Zack thought it very very stupid that his nerves were so rattled. But this was a nerve wracking situation. "I have no idea. They didn't mention anything. I just hope we don't have to find a place for them to sleep."

Zack glanced around the growing crowd when heard someone's voice in his head. That had to be Sharpe. But where was he? He finally spotted his colleague and nodded toward him in acknowledgement and agreement. If they had to spend the night, Zack's nerves would be in ruins by morning.

He took a deep breath and smoothed out his perpetually messy black hair before standing somewhat in front of the faculty in some semblance of a leader. The line of men and one woman filed out of the car. There five of them all together. And Zack nearly fainted on the spot. He took another deep breath and offered his hand to shake to each of them.

"My name is Zack Truesdale. And welcome to Kosaka Academy." Well at least he didn't trip over his words. Now if only there were a way to slow down his racing heart.

((OOC: One of those men is Damien. I'll introduce him in my next post))

[Silver]

Frick winced a little getting Sharpe's voice in his head. Telepaths were something he could not, and probably would not ever get used to. There was just something unnatural about talking into someone else's head or hearing their own thoughts. Not that Frick could call himself a blue-print for something that was natural and normal... still... at least his powers weren't overly intrusive.

The main discomfort his felt disappeared down his spine making his hairs stand up. He nodded silently in reaction to Sharpe's question. "I doubt they'll be around an especially long time... not like there's anything anyone's been doing wrong." He half-grinned and glanced at Zack, then rubbed his fingers between his eyebrows. I hope, at least. He continued, "and the school's doing pretty good, so it's not like they can really find anything wrong with it anyway."

He realised he was babbling and making excuses before they were actually required and promptly decided to stop talking. Especially as the limo had stopped and five people were gradually disembarking. Frick was surprised to see one of the members of the board was a woman, he hoped his general shock didn't show, and slipped one hand into his jacket pocket, while he rested the index and middle finger of his right hand against his lip, as if mimicking holding a ciggerette there. Nervous habit. A very nervous habit.

Frick had to hand it to Zack, for holding his nerve and all facing the five school board members first. Frick probably would have collapsed. They hadn't even looked at him and he just felt tiny! Hopefully this wouldn't be a constant feeling. And hopefully their stay wouldn't be long term.

---

Gloria filed out of the car after her peers, taking place at the end of line. She rather stood out against the other men. While they were smart in their dark suits and ties, she stood out a little, by looking smart, with a splash. Ensuring she looked immpecable to meet the Headmaster and the faculty of her placement, she'd decided upon a simple black pensil skirt, with a cyan coloured blouse. Her hair was pulled into a side ponytail, without a hair out of place. She had checked her appearance in the car before exiting, and she was still sure she looked ideal.

Naturally the headmaster introduced himself to the men first. Gloria didn't dare consider introducing herself until their formalities had been made and met. Instead she simply surveyed the men.

They weren't much of a welcoming committee. Which caused her to frown slightly. She had been expecting something a little more extravagant... she didn't know what specifically. But something. Something more than just three vaguely presentable men. Looking at them, the only one she could attain was obviously not human was the tallest. The freakishly tall one who rather dwarfed her. His eyes were yellow, and on his forehead it looked like he had a set of sore scabs, but she could make out some protrusion coming from them. She wanted to roll her eyes - who on earth had hired Beelezebub to work at the school.

Not that it matter especially. The other two men looked perfectly normal. Had she passed them in the street she never would have considered either of them to be associated with such freakish people. But obviously they were like Metas. Else why would they lock themselves away.

Waiting patiently, Gloria continued to quietly wait for introductions to finish.

((Hope this is okay. I did say I intended to introduce Gloria when the School Board arrive... if you had someone else in the woman's position that's fine. I'm sure I can edit this. Ho-hum...

Also... not to nag or anything, but here seems a good a place as any to ask, but do you intend to carry on any of the threads you were in prior to your sudden hiatus? Its just... y'know, I've been waiting over a month in a thread and would kind of like to know what's going on. As in, if you intend to actually reply... y'know - for my own knowledge.))

[aidoann]

[OOC: Can one of them be an NPC of mine named Tetsuya Takahashi? I just posted his profile in the validation section; if he's approved, I'll probably post with him in my next post.]

As Zack finally spotted Sharpe, the slightly older man nodded a curt greeting. He didn't have time to say anything else - aloud or otherwise - when the limo pulled up. When five adults - four men and one woman - stepped out of the automobile, Sharpe breathed in a quick breath of air. Dealing with the formalities of a school board had never been one of his favorite things about teaching; in fact, that had been one of the main reasons why he had left his previous job. Or rather, had been fired.

Sharpe hardly had time to meditate on this thought because Zack was already welcoming them to the Academy and most of the color washed out of Sharpe's face upon seeing one of the four men standing there. This was just great; could his time at Kosaka get any worse? He carefully raised his mental shields up to their full potential and crafted that stoic expression onto his face. Unfortunately, these barriers needed to be lowered to send telepathic messages effectively.

"I hope they don't stay," Sharpe's harsh whisper was directed towards Frick's comment. The corner of Sharpe's mouth twitched slightly and his dark eyes followed the woman's glance. She seemed to be looking at Frick for some reason.

One of Sharpe's eyebrows lifted slightly. Surely Frick was different than anyone else he'd ever seen, but so was just about everyone else around here. Subconsciously - as he usually did when nervous - he mentally levitated a leaf and brought it over, careful to make it remain natural, as if the non-existent wind was blowing it across the courtyard.

"It is quite crisp out here, so perhaps you would rather make our acquaintances inside," Sharpe nodded towards all but one member of the school board, his disdain plainly obvious to anyone who had met him before. Dark eyes quickly darted over towards Zack, as if silently asking the Headmaster to back him up on this offer.