&&kyle.crawford- open.thread

[Myranda]

Sitting under the bleachers of the football field was more quiet than Kyle's own bedroom. This was a good thing- she needed to finish reading this essay. It was kind of huge, but Kyle didn't really mind. She enjoyed reading satires, because when they're interpreted correctly they can be really entertaining. This one was called A Modest Proposal, by Jonathan Swift.

Kyle was laid on her stomach, her legs bent up and crossed over each other as she rested on her elbows reading the paper. Every once in a while she would scribble some notes on her notebook. There was a doodle of a zombie, a scribble from where her pen ran out of ink for a short moment, and in big letters across the top it said, "If we're overpopulated, and there's not enough food, then why don't we just eat the newborns!" The writing didn't quite fit entirely across the top, so it kind of slanted towards the end of the paper and was written somewhat down the side.

In theory, Kyle would get this essay read and finished in the next thirty minutes. That way she'd have time to go home, get dressed in something nicer than a tank top and sweatpants, and fix her hair. She didn't really have plans for the day, but she liked to be up and ready before 'noon. It wasn't a typical Sunday, after all. It was the Sunday before school started, and Kyle had one more essay to finish before she had completed her summer reading assignment.

Her hair was in a sloppy ponytail; who did she have to impress? She was sitting under bleachers for Heaven's sake. Ugh, there's still four pages to read, she mentally groaned and rolled over on her back. The cement was scratchy, she felt it on the back of her arms. She stared up at the sun through the cracks of the bleachers and took a deep breath in. Well, this is it. She thought. Starting tomorrow, I'm a sophomore.

[Phantom]

Step, step, step. Pause. Left, right, step. Step step step, repeat. The dull arduous task of touring the campus, it was not a favorite task of the boys. It was obvious from the look on his face, a scowl that told a thousand stories of its own. Sometimes his head would drop, a memory would leak in. First a smile, then a frown. Sometimes it left him close to tears.

But he wouldn't admit such weakness, he didn't like to show his weaknesses to anybody. In fact, right now he had on a smile, the perks of being a rather good actor. While he was grieving on the inside, his outside showed no feeling other than the trick he wanted to play on the world. A trick that at that time he loved. He looked down again, and at that time the trick faded.

You see, the reason he was taking a tour was not because he moved from the next town over. Not even from anywhere in the state. Oh, no, it could never be that simple. He was always the unlucky one of the family. But this time, it seemed as if the entire family suffered for a mistake. One that was not of his own. The memory flooded back to him like it was just yesterday.

He and his older brother, sitting in the living room and minding their own business. By now they had accepted the divorce that had split their family in half- and sent their younger brother away from them. It was two years ago after all. Yet their mother seemed to be brooding, she looked angry and she likely was. "Why are you two sitting around and doing nothing? You both look just like your father! Pick up this mess at once!" Fury was the first thing both of the boys of the past felt.

"This room is spotless! And dad did twice as much as you ever did!" His brother got to his feet and yelled. "Yeah, maybe if you didn't nag us so much we'd be more pleasant to be around." Cadeyrn said, trying to be gentle and prove a point. His mother didn't seem to take it that way. She reached out a hand and slapped him across the face- knocking him to the floor. "Ah!" He let out a gasp of surprise, everything got a little fuzzier. He could feel a trickle of blood forming where she had hit him. "You don't hit my brother!" Cadeyrn heard his brother yell, pulling him back and away from harm. "Don't tell me what to do to my own child in my own house! I ought to knock you down to your size!"

It got worse from there, more yelling and fighting. Eventually his brother snapped. "I've had enough of this shit! You're just an old senile bitch, and that's why nobody wants to be around you! We're leaving."
"Oh, and where are you going to go? You don't have any money, dear."
"Dad's, bye bitch." His brother answered smoothly, supporting Cadeyrn on his shoulder. His mother watched calmly as they climbed into the car.

California by car was a long journey, yet he and his brother were going to make it. As they approached the second gas-station of their journey his brother came back with some aspirin to help his headache. "Thanks man." He said, feeling slightly defeated as he took the pills. "Mom shouldn't have done that, she should have hit me instead." His brother said, trying to make him feel better. It didn't work. After about a week of strait driving they were at the doorstep of the house their father had given them. It was beautiful, and to their shock there was a car there.

It wasn't a great car, it was white and old and beat up. But it meant a lot to Cadeyrn, his eighteenth birthday present. He was lucky they had made it in Rose Wood before school started, he took his studies very seriously. Yes, he was going to be an actor, but grades were very important to him as well. Finally, he managed to snap back to reality. Everything was falling into place around him again, he was free from the waking nightmare. At least, for now.

He stopped walking, lost. He had been walking that entire time, and frankly he was surprised he hadn't run into a pole or something. Being the 6'11" giant he was, Cadeyrn was used to taking abuse from poles, doorways, and even the occasional hanging banner. As he observed the area around him, he assumed he was in the football field. /At least there's no-one here to see what a fool I've just made of myself./ He thought, walking underneath the bleachers. He honestly wasn't paying attention anymore to where he was going, he was looking at his feet now.

It was amusing how his feet moved, sort of like a smooth rhythm. One, two, one, two! -SMACK!- That was the exact sound that hit his ears as he hit his head on one of the bleachers. "Shit!" He yelled, as he fell to the ground, holding his head. It was at that time he realized that he was not the only one under there. There was a girl, a rather pretty one at that. He blushed slightly, easily embarrassed. Especially since he had just banged his head strait-on a bleacher above him.

He groaned slightly, trying to decide what to do about the pain, no honest answer reached him. Besides the fact that he'd need a band-aid or something to cover it up. He soon realized that the hand he had on his head was getting a bit wet, he pulled it away and it had some blood on it. Honestly, he expected more. /Well, at least that's one thing that went slightly well./ He thought sarcastically. All he could really do now was sit there and think of a solution, which made him look crazy. Then again, Cadeyrn Arluin Cealan... Well, he /was/ crazy.

[Myranda]

Kyle was somewhere else by now, daydreaming about that guy she had met at the bar. Ezra, she thought, What an intelligent name! She wondered if she'd ever see him again. Kyle kicked herself still, a month after she had met him, for not giving him her number. Or finding out his last name, so she could at least find him on Facebook, or something. Maybe they'd run into each other, in a Wal-Mart or some- CLANG!

Kyle snapped her head towards the noise, and sat up a little. The scratchy ground caught at her sweatpants a little as she scooted upwards to look at the poor fellow who had just smacked his head on the bleachers. She contained a laugh, because as funny as that was, he was probably really hurt. She bit her lip to keep from smiling as she stood up. "Are you okay?" She asked, making a face that resembled an upside-down smile, but wasn't a frown. It was her way of ensuring she wouldn't snicker at his clumsiness.

"Uhm, do you need a band-aid?" She asked, turning back to her bag. "I think I have some, but they're Hello Kitty. You can blame my mom, she thinks I'm still six." She continued talking aimlessly as she dug through her bag. She pulled out the little cardstock box of band-aids, with the cute little happy cat on the front, waving. She pulled one out, carefully so she wouldn't accidentally pull them all out while only holding on to one of them. She'd rather not spill band-aids all over herself; there's hardly any grace in that.

She turned back to the boy. Actually, she decided that to think of him as a 'boy' would be fairly ridiculous. The kid had to be at least seven feet tall. "Woah," she said quietly, marveling at his height. He was even taller when she was up close to him, her 5'2 body was towered over. She tried to smile politely as she handed him the band-aid. It took all she had to not spit out, "Holy Jeez, you're super tall." She held it in as she handed the band-aid over. She figured that if she were, like, seven feet tall she would probably have run into that bleacher as well. Hopefully the kid learned from this, though. Right? It's like that Alanis Morisette song Kyle remembered. You bleed, you learn.

[Phantom]

Cadeyrn smiled at the Hello Kitty band-aids and started to snicker as he took one. "Thanks." He said, putting it on and laughing like crazy. "I just realized how dumb I must look right now, it must take you a lot of self-control not to laugh. Because if I saw someone hit their head on the bleachers I think I would be on the ground with my sides in as much pain as their head." He put on a small grin as he finally managed to stop laughing.

/This chick must think I'm crazy by now, damnit!/ Cadeyrn thought, it was obvious by the look on his face that he was not pleased with how he previously behaved. "Er-um- sorry if I came off a bit rude. I can be a bit of a jackass sometimes if I don't check myself every once in awhile, y'know?" He said, hoping for some sort of retribution. And at that moment he was making a decision.

It was part of something he liked to do at his school, at the beginning of the year he'd pick a girl to pursue. And of course, he'd try and get a date with her. So far, he was thinking that this chick would be his object of desire. It was only then that Cadeyrn realized that he was still blushing slightly. /Shit, shit , shit! Please tell me that she thinks it's a trick of the light or something.../ He thought.

He realized with a slight snicker that she was only a few inches off five-feet tall. For all his self control he couldn't help but say: "You must think I'm Godzilla." He gave a slight joking smile and made an attempt to stand back up. He made sure that he ducked his head this time, lest he hit the bleachers dead-on again. Although, that would have been hilarious.

[Virus]

Today was a rather boring day for Joaquin. She wasn't sure where exactly her brother had gone, or what his situation with that new chick was. She had walked into Alejandro's dorm one day to see that blonde girl, Nolah, sleeping on the futon and Alex just calmly walking around. Had he taken that girl home for the night? Is that why she had just walked out the door?

Her gold sandals made her feet seem regal, elegant. Brown shoe with intricate gold slipping up the top of her foot. She liked the sandals, they made her feel extravagant. She had always wanted to be smooth like a dancer and graceful like a butterfly. But that wasn't the way things had worked. Joaquin had been born in the slums, in the heart of a gang. So she had never gotten the chance to put any of those desires to reality.

The grass outside the football field was actually real, and Joaquin felt a little smile tug at her lips. All of the other atheltic grass was turf and it had always made Joaquin kind of sad. Mexico was full of dust and shrubs, not too much grass. Joaquin had always liked the feeling of American grass, lush and green with water filling their cores from root to tip. She silently slipped her sandals off, tucking them in her bag and wiggling her toes in the grass. She grinned, laughing quietly to herself. She looked up, hearing a big bang, like something against metal. She cocked her head slightly to the side, wondering what that could have been, and then saw the boy rubbing his head.

She tried not to laugh, but quickly walked towards him. It didn't look like the two people had already known each other, so she figured it was okay to come up and talk to them. "Oye, that looks like it hurt." Joaquin grimaced, but she couldn't keep the slight grin off her face.

[Myranda]

Ooc; I'm on my iPod- computer froze on me.

Bic; Kyle relaxed a little and started to laugh with him. "Okay, well, it was pretty funny." She admitted. A gust of wind blew through the bleachers and ruffled up the papers behind her; her notebook blown wide open and the essay nearly flying away. It landed pressed up against the gate, the wind holding it firmly there.

Kyle made a face and chased after it. If her papers blew away, she'd have to turn in an incomlete project tomorrow, on the first day of school. And that just couldn't happen. She caught the essay right as it was falling to the ground when the gust of wind had faded. She sighed contently, knowing she still had to read that last four pages.

But that could wait for the newly-met Greek-God-sized teenager and the bump on his head. As she returned, another girl had come up. Kyle smiled and gave her a little wave. "Anyway," she rolled her eyes at the stupid wind, "I'm Kyle." She said, having forgotten all about her wide-open notebook, which was unfortunately turned to a page of doodles with Ezra's name written all over it, accompanied by little tiny hearts.

[Phantom]

Cadeyrn's eyes first caught on the girl that approached, then Kyle's notebook. His heart sank as he saw the doodles. /Either that's her boy-friend or her crush.../ He thought. He hoped it was the second, in which case he might be able to work to having HIS name there instead. "Oh uh, nice to meet you." He said rather awkwardly, although it was followed with a slight grin.

It was at that moment that he realized that he had forgot to tell both of them his name. "I'm Cadeyrn, but most people just call me Cade." He turned to acknowledge the other girl whom had shown up. "And yeah, it hurt. But uh- I think I'm good now as long as I keep my head ducked down. Believe it or not I've hit my head a billion times on the bleachers at my old school- it's what I get for not paying attention."

/Oh yes, go ahead and tell them how clumsy you are, you tall ridiculous giant, you!/ He thought in his usual sarcastic tone. Although both of these girls seemed slightly concerned about him, more or less in the laughing manner. Yet it was comforting, on the first day of school he might know a couple of people! He wouldn't be roaming the halls and hoping that he didn't trip on someone. Which, to his embarrassment has happened before, just the thought made him crack up.

ooc/ Brb, going to pick up some medicene. I should be back in around a half-hour.

[Myranda]

Kyle glanced back, and realized that her notebook had betrayed her, telling the world her secrets. She gave a nervous laugh and ran over to shut it and tuck in under her arm. "It's nice to meet you, Cade." She said, with a bright smile. "I'm Kyle." She closed her eyes. "Ah, sorry." She said, realizing she had already introduced herself. How awkward!

She sighed and readjusted her notebook and essay so she was hugging them. "I've got an English project to do before school starts." She rolled her eyes. "I mean, who gives homework over the summer? Assholes. That's who." She stuck her jaw out slightly, a sign of her immediate annoyment with this assignment.

"So," she said, trying to strike up a conversation. "Are you new here? I've never seen you around. And, I'm pretty sure I couldn't miss someone like you." She joked. His height was almost ridiculous; but he was well proportioned. She often saw people who weren't as tall as him, but still tall, and looked all lopsided. And, sometimes only one side of them was fat. But this guy was like, a regular guy only giant-sized.

[Phantom]

Cadeyrn smiled and chuckled. "So does that mean I have to call you Kyle-Kyle now?" He asked in a smart-assed way. She didn't seem to get annoyed when he poked fun at her, that was a good sign, right? "And that blows, I've never had a teacher give homework over the summer. They know better that we won't do it." He knew at that moment that he was probably coming off as some delinquent.

"And yeah I'm the new kid. I doubt anyone will pick on me though, who would pick on a guy who can do this?" He jumped down toward the ground to do a handstand, and he stayed in that position. He had to bend his legs slightly so he wouldn't hit his feet. "I have a question, does your school have a good drama department or have I set myself up for a disappointment?"

Oh yes, he was an aspiring actor and if this school had nothing to offer him he'd probably consider transferring. Before she could say anything he asked another question: "Oh, and are the people here a-holes or are all of them kinda cool? I hate the people that are all, well, they think they're better than everyone else." He was still doing his handstand, although he wobbled for a moment as if he was about to fall.

[Myranda]

Kyle giggled and shook her head. "No, in fact please don't call me Kyle-Kyle. Unless you want me to call you..." she paused for a moment to think of something witty. "Hm, unfortunately I can't think of something smart enough to call you, so I'll just stick with Cade." She shrugged, and gave him a weird look as he did his handstand.

"Ha, I don't think that's the reason people won't pick on you." She said, looking him up and down. It was shocking how tall he was, and how normal he looked, too. She wrinkled her nose. "I actually think the reason kids won't pick on you is because they're afraid you'll squish them when you walk." She frowned; even she was afraid he'd squish her when he walked. She made a mental note to stay in his line of vision when she was around him.

"Uhm, I don't really know too much about the drama department. I would imagine it's pretty good, they put on plays all the time." Kyle shrugged. "I went to see one of them, they did a spoof of High School Musical. It was pretty good." She nodded in thought. Then she remembered that one of the kids was trying to do the dance moves and literally overjudged how much room he had and fell off of the stage. She winced as she thought about it. "Maybe they could use some new members."

[Phantom]

"Uh, what about Clumsy-Cade?" Cadeyrn said with a smile and a slight chuckle. His legs were starting to fall asleep on him, and he didn't want to kick Kyle in the head. He took a few hand-steps back and flipped back onto his feet, ducking his head so that he wouldn't hit the bleachers again.

What she said next made him laugh so hard he nearly fell over! He had to hold his sides because he was afraid they'd split open. "I guess it was a waste of time learning Caporiea if I don't need to fight anyone in my life then. Although I might need to fight other tall people, and uh why are you giving me such weird looks? Did I sprout another leg or something?" He asked jokingly. /She probably hasn't seen someone as tall as me before./ He thought with amusement.

"I already asked about joining, I want to be an actor so I try to get as involved in school's drama clubs as much as possible. Back at my old school I got most of the lead roles, I'd say I'm relatively good." He said, he noticed her wince as she was talking about their latest production. "Let me guess, fell off-stage? I've done that one before. I'm far to clumsy for my own good." At that point he drew his hand up to his head as if to indicate proof.

[Myranda]

Kyle laughed. "No, I've just never seen someone do a handstand so enthusiastically." She said. "And Clumsy Cade works." She gave an exaggerated wink and nodded. "And, uh, what's Cap-or-..." She paused. Pronouncing words had never been her strong point. "Co-pa-ria?" She shrugged. "Ah, well, I've heard it both ways." She said, nonchalantly.

In fact, that was one of Kyle's imperfections; she had a terrible inability to pronounce big words. But she made them up so well, it was hard to tell if she said them right or wrong. So, technically, the flaw was well balanced. It was like it was hardly a flaw, just an ability.

[Phantom]

"It's a South American fighting style. It evolved from a dance and involves flips and stuff. It works well if you're acrobatic." Cadeyrn said with a slight smile. "And it's Cap-or-ee-uh." He chuckled slightly, "And of course Clumsy Cade works! Because well... Cade is clumsy!" He realized how annoying that sounded. Talking in the first person. "Sorry about that, talking in the third person sounds annoying as fuck."

Without any warning what-so-ever he dropped to the ground and sat down. "Bending my head hurts like hell." He said in his defense, blinking his dark brown eyes in a 'dreamy' way. Which, probably wasn't the best thing. Especially if the guy whose name was in her notebook /was/ her boyfreind. /Well, if anyone's gonna try and kick my ass it's him for sure!/

[Myranda]

Kyle laughed. "Like I said," she put her hands on her hips, "I've heard it both ways." She shrugged, and gave a nonchalant frown. This 'Cade' guy was... Pretty funny actually! She could see them getting along nicely in the future. "Oh, you're not anmoying as fuck. Fuck is annoying as fuck." She scratched her head and awkwardly half-smiled. "Ha, that was lame. I suck." She said.

She sat down after he did, not failing to notice that even sitting down they didn't see eye-to-eye. She frowned at him sympathetically. If she had some on her, she would have offered to give him some aspirin. But, she had deliberately thrown the bottle of Advil her mom had given her to carry around (for emergencies, she said) in the back of her drawer. It was her way of rebelling.

[Phantom]

"I'm surprised you've heard of it at all, it's not that popular where I'm from. It took me forever to find someone to teach it to me." Cadeyrn said. "Haha, fuck and suck rhyme." He said in a dumb voice, in an attempt to be funny. Which, thinking about it made him laugh. "I'm sorry, I can be dumb sometimes, but it's all for shits and giggles you see."

He paused for a moment. "So uh- is there anything I should know about how things are here tomorrow? Anyone to avoid: teachers, students, class pets." At the last one he flinched and looked at his ankle. He was terrified of chicken's after Ms.Foster's 'class pet' decided to chase him around and peck at his ankles. Needless to say any six year old boy would have been terrified of it. "And um... Is there anywhere in the school that I might need to duck my head when I go there? Excluding doorways and any hanging lights." He just realized how funny the question had to sound and grinned.