Overs (Student Activities Council)

[Dr. Sean Neville]

((OOC: This occurs on Wednesday, March 11, 2015, after classes have ended.))

Sean typically did not take the students downtown with him when he did some of the more complicated errands for the Student Activities Council. After all, he was an adult with his own responsibilities, credit cards, and keys; he had a bank account and also cosigned for the Student Activities Council bank account, attached to the Hammel budget; he, Yvette Morgenstern as Headmistress, and the Head of the Accounting Department were all authorized to make deposits or withdrawals from that account. He had the ability to enter into contracts on behalf of the organization to rent equipment or to create promissory notes. None of the students could.

However, he had wanted the students to have a bit of practical experience with this side of planning, and so he had arranged for the whole group of them to come downtown with him to meet with one of the companies from which they would rent equipment. He had driven half of the students with him, and he had gotten another staff member to drive the other half, dropping them off and promising to pick them up later.

The meeting had gone well, albeit run a bit long due to some of the questions the students had had. Fortunately, Daylight Saving Time had granted them an hour of additional sunlight in the afternoon and evening, and so it remained light when they left the office and stepped onto the elevator.

Then the lights in the elevator went out. The elevator came to a slow crawl between floors, and then simply...stopped.

No amount of pressing buttons turned the lights back on or managed to make it move again.

They were trapped.

Fortunately, Sean Neville remained calm in all situations.

“Don’t worry, everyone,” he instructed the students, although his attempt at a calming smile proved meaningless in a darkened, metal container.

[Lyn & Sansa Mendez]

In a whole world of anxieties and fears, both Lyn and Sansa Mendez were lucky enough not to be afraid of small spaces. Darkness either, though that was in part due to their enhanced vision. Despite the lack of light, the twins could see clearly.

Not being afraid of those things in particular didn't mean that they were okay with this turn of events, however. Sansa had yelped when the lights went off, and Lyn had instinctively grabbed on to her sister's hand.

After giving Lyn's hand a reassuring squeeze, Sansa spoke up. "Don't worry about which bit, Dr. Neville? The fact that the elevator stopped or that it's not starting again?"

[Karalie Heise]

Karalie made it a point to do as many things with the Student Activities Council as possible.  It was an excellent college resume builder and she intended to use the skills she learned there for when she went off to college next year, wherever that might be.  She hadn't accepted anything yet mostly due to her powers and her lack of control over them.  Her new trainer didn't think she was ready to leave, and she just kept hoping things would get better, but the process was too slow.  She knew it was inevitable, she would stay in Pilot Ridge another year or two at least, but she didn't like accepting that fate yet, and wouldn't until the deadlines forced her to make the final decision.

In the mean time she did what she could for SAC and was proud of her work.  The meeting today had run well, though she wondered if she'd asked too many questions.  No one seemed to mind too much, save for a few dirty looks from her fellow SACers.  She had a feeling some had grown bored, and though she had also, she wanted to get the best out of the experience.  It wasn't every day you got to rent equipment!  It wasn't until they got on the elevator that Karalie regretted asking so many questions.

The lights in the elevator went out and Karalie yelped.  "Hey!" She cried out, not liking the way the group, jammed into a tiny elevator, was thrust into darkness.  She could feel the elevator slowing and then stopping, her breath quickening.  There was a reason Karalie made a point not to watch scary movies.  She reached for her phone and turned the flashlight on, looking around.  "Why'd it stop!?" She insisted in a panicked voice.  There were too many people.. this wasn't good.  They needed to get out of there!

[Glads Thompson]

Glads had joined the Student Activities Council for fun. That might have sounded odd to the random student who joined for say, "looking good" when trying to get into college, but that is exactly why he was there. He enjoyed helping set up dances and the numerous other things the group was involved in. This little "business" field trip however was less than fun, but he figured it was necessary and Dr. Neville seemed pretty keen on the idea, so of course he happily tagged along with the group. A diverse little one at that.

He had gotten to know most of them, but he was still fairly new. That being so, when they all started to crowd into the elevator, Glads pushed himself in quickly and shuffled to the back corner. Tight spaces didn't bother him, people didn't bother him, being stuck however freaked him out just a little bit. That thought was far behind him though, at least for a few moments. The lights suddenly went out, a few students yelped, and then the car stopped. For a moment, Glads had his eyes shut, afraid to look at where they had stopped. Though, it became exceedingly clear and definitely stuck between floors.

With a deep breath he tried to keep his cool, even as the others began to get a little frightened. Oh, he didn't like this one little bit, he was even starting to sweat a little. It was a cold nervous sweat, but it was still there. As other little pricks of phone flashlights came on, Glads followed suit and looked around the compartment. "Maybe it was just a little hitch in the system?" His words were soft, but shook a little. Not only worried now about being inclosed, but the fact he was standing in a metal room and his emotions could trigger his powers to go off.

Because a nice lighting bolt was what they all needed right now.

[Marnie Sullivan]

In theory, Marnie should have been okay with this. She wasn't claustrophobic or afraid of the dark. She'd never overloaded her brain with horror films where elevators plummeted dozens of stories, or where they freeze in place just long enough for a trapped occupant to force the doors open and climb halfway out. There were safeguards in place for this kind of thing. They would be okay.

In practice, however, none of that mattered. Panic was contagious, and Marnie was not immune.

"W-what do we do?" she squeaked. How long could they be stuck before somebody noticed? Wasn't there a button they could press to contact the fire department? Which one - she couldn't see in the dark! Oh wait, they had cell phones, they could use them as lights, she remembered once the other students began pulling theirs out. But as Marnie fumbled for her own phone, her thoughts were still racing: What if her battery ran out before they were rescued? What if they were stuck there overnight? And, most mortifyingly of all, what if they needed to use the bathroom while they were stuck?

[Nora Marie "Nory" Gwinn]

Nory had lingered outside talking to a friend and only barely darted into the elevator before the doors slid closed. She stood with Keralie on one side, Lyn and Sansa on the other, and Dr. Neville behind her. Not that it meant much - someone with a long reach could tag everybody in the elevator without shifting a toe. There hadn't been much room left when she ducked inside.

Far from claustrophobic, Nory's voice sounded excited when she added to the general clamor, "Wow! Do you think we're really stuck?" She liked the huddle and press of people around her, the buzz of something interesting. Who knew how long they'd be here? They could look through their bags for supplies and pool their resources, ration snack bars, stand up in shifts to let people rest, tell stories and comfort and bond with each other. Almost like a student council retreat, except it would make a way better story! If they were really lucky, maybe they'd have to climb down through the maintenance shafts or something!

Her excitement sobered slightly at the unease of those around her. Being trapped in an elevator with friends would be fun. Being trapped in an elevator with four panicking people would not. She turned around and pressed her back into the elevator doors to give Keralie more room. "Like Glads said," she repeated easily. "One of the probability manipulators has probably got a cold again or something. It'll be okay." She smiled at Keralie, for all the good it would do in the dark. "My dad got stuck in one of these once, he told me. You can totally pry the doors open if you have to." She wondered if Lyn and Sansa had reached door-prying levels of synchronization yet.

[Sydney Emerson]

There were few things that Sydney loved more than the Student Activities Council. She had a knack for planning and the take charge personality to back it up. Unfortunately, that meant that more often than not, her fellow club members were agitated with her. But she didn't let things like that get to her.

The opportunity to get to deal directly with one of the companies they deal with for equipment rental was useful though, something that would translate directly to real life. All in all, it was an informative outing. Some questions seemed a bit obvious to her, and a lot of it was rather common sense. Nonetheless though, it was a valuable experience.

The downside was that it had run a little longer than she anticipated and she still had a lot to do for the evening. But she had left some flexibility in her schedule since any sort of club outing was bound to have some degree of unpredictability.

Nothing could have prepared her for what came next though.

Truth be told though, it wasn't the sudden stop of the elevator that bothered her. That she could have handled. It was the sudden burst of panic and fear that had the empath nearly hyperventilating as she pressed against the back wall of the elevator. Her mind was calm, but with this many people, this upset in such a cramped space... the empath's power was overpowering her innate logic.

"Can you all just calm down" she shouted above the sudden influx of shocked questions that filled the elevator. I can't handle this... she thought, though she'd never voice that thought aloud. Usually she saw her power as an asset, but right now, she loathed it. If it weren't for her power, she would feel fine right now. She could be the voice of reason that everyone clearly needed. But no, thanks to her power, she was so overwhelmed by everyone else's emotions that she could scarcely string together a coherent thought. At this point she could barely even focus enough to understand what everyone was saying.

As she backed herself more tightly into the corner of the elevator, trying to forcibly calm her breathing even as her hands were clutching her head as though that might somehow relieve the pressure of the migraine that was already forming. "Just calm down, everyone," she repeated, her voice calmer now, but still strained. She had to get this under control and now.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean could always count on the Mendez twins to cut to the quick, although in this situation, he wished that they had chosen a bit more tact. Given how several of the other students were reacting to the situation (for which the psychiatrist could hardly fault them but which he had also hoped to avoid), calling greater attention to the situation would only set other students on edge.

Such as Karalie, who was audibly panicking. And Glads for whom a nervous power-slip would create potential injuries. And Sydney whose powers would cause her to become overwhelmed due to everyone else’s nervousness.

Best for everyone to keep as calm as possible.

To that end, Sean managed to keep his voice as smooth as glass.

“We remain where we are, and whoever has the best access to the buttons should hit the call button and see if we can reach emergency services.”

The last time Sean had found himself trapped in an elevator, he had not gotten that far. Instead, he and Cobalt had had a long conversation and waited for the power to return independently. If he found himself trapped here alone, he would wait as well, but he wanted the students to have some proactive steps and structure.

Then, hearing Nora Marie’s suggestion, he shook his head, although it was likely lost on her and most of the others due to the darkness. “We aren’t going to pry open the doors right now. Most of these glitches last only a few moments, and trying to climb out would cause more harm than good.”

Someone could get hurt, which was unlikely if they simply waited it out.

“After we call, I think we should do a check in, since we’re still technically in the middle of a Council meeting.”

[Maisie Pryce]

Maisie couldn't remember why she'd joined the activities council, but she had enjoyed it so far. Today's outing had been especially informative and had given her much to reflect on. Perhaps that's why she hadn't reacted right away with everyone else. Besides, the lights going off and the elevator stopping weren't necessarily cause for alarm, except for a momentarily twitch when it first happened. Logically, she knew that the power had to turn back on eventually and that they couldn't REALLY be stuck in here forever so it was useless to worry. In fact, there was part of her that shared Nora's excitement, even if she could understand the concerns of those around her. She didn't think that Sydney needed to yell, she hadn't thought the others were THAT loud or out of line voicing themselves about the situation, but maybe the other girl was claustrophobic and trying to pull herself together.

Maisie automatically looked down when Dr. Neville mentioned calling for help and found herself right in front of the door buttons. "Oh, okay!" she chirped cheerfully as she reached up and poked the emergency call button and waited for someone to indicate that they were able to hear. "Hi!" she greeted casually when a voice finally answered her. "Wait, what should I say? We're stuck seems kinda obvious if the power's out..." she said suddenly, turning to Dr. Neville for some sort of confirmation.

[Karalie Heise]

Everyone was so close.  Why did there need to be so many people in there? Why were they all packed in so tightly? She wasn't normally claustrophobic, but with the high level of stress around her considering from this situation, and the high likelihood of drawing a random memory from someone, she was starting to develop something resembling the phobia.  She didn't want any of these kids memories.  Chances were they wouldn't be that bad, but she didn't want them all the same, and the more she freaked out, the more likely it was becoming she would get one if she accidentally touched someone.  

She drew her hands up into her sleeves and tucked them under her armpits, deciding they were much safer there, even if it made her hotter.  She could deal with being warm.  She was from Mississippi after all!

"Yes!" She snapped at Maisie.  Seriously, she could be so dense!  Some people.. "Tell'm we're stuck an' need tuh get out.  Like, now."