Valentine's Day Dance Entrance

[Event !]

The chairs were cleared out of the auditorium, except for a few gathered in clusters here and there along the wall. Someone had tinted the lights, so they cast a soft reddish-pink glow over everything. There were refreshment tables set up at the opposite end of the room from the stage, and on the stage itself a DJ (an alumni of Hammel, of course) had set up shop. More than one person has contributed their powers to the purpose of decorations.

Have fun. This event takes place on Saturday, February 15, 2014 and will close on March 31. If you wish to make an offshoot thread for this event, make sure to keep it in this sub-board, and post with your character in this thread first. This thread is not eligible for thread of the month.

This dance is open to both Hammel students and staff (and staff S.O.s), and is to be a 100% dry event. Anyone caught with alcohol will be punished.

[Dr. Sean Neville]

Sean had chaperoned at the Hammel Valentine’s Day dance for longer than he would care to admit; this was because he was a reliable standby. He was responsible, and never double-booked plans. He had little tolerance for chaos at the dances, and the telepathy allowed him to monitor many students at once. Additionally, given his relationship history, there was typically a fair probability that he would be available afterhours to chaperone. Even when he was in a relationship, he always found the time because he was a professional and Hammel was Hammel. Besides, he thought it valuable for the students to have fun.

For the past two Valentine’s Days, Sean had not been single, and this year proved no differently. Josh had assisted Sean with chaperoning duties since they had rekindled their relationship, and, in doing so, they had experienced ups and downs. Valentine’s Day 2012 was one of the worst non-M.S.A.D.-related Hammel experiences of Sean’s life, one that he never wanted to repeat. Brendan had been fired, and the psychiatrist had seen neither hide nor hair of the disgraced teacher (or Vincent who had dropped out) in quite a while. That was for the best.

Sean and his partner had not been able to do anything special to celebrate the occasion together. Yesterday, on Valentine’s Day proper, they had attended (and officiated) Danny’s and Riley’s wedding. It had been a marvelous occasion, but it had left very little time for the two of them to be a couple together, alone. While the holiday was of no intrinsic significance to him, it was still nice to honor with his partner, and Sean hoped to make it up to him on Sunday.

For today, the psychiatrist wore a suit, with a boutonniere in the lapel of his jacket. Turning to his partner, he asked, “Can I get you some punch? Or a cookie?”

[Kai-Belle Hong]

School dance.

Kai-Belle could only sigh. She was going because.. well.. she wanted to try to branch out and be more human. Make a friend or.. whatever. Her parents were always complaining that she never seemed to have anything going on except ballet and school work. She talked to them often, and they were always asking what she did when she wasn't dancing and studying, she had started lying.

It would be nice not to lie.

So having donned her outfit for the night, she had headed towards the Auditorium. She knew that she wasn't exactly the norm. A black lace dress. A few accessories and red tennis shoes. As a ballerina she barely ever wore heels. She couldn't risk her ankles and well.. she wanted to be comfortable.

It wasn't like she was gonna get a boyfriend here. Kai-Belle entered the auditorium, and her dark eyes cast around. She brushed her hair out of her face, and fortified her mind against the barage of emotions that would probably be overwhelming at some point and headed to the punch table. She was dying of thirst now that she was here.

[Georgina Speer]

Ah... Valentine's Day. Otherwise known as, the Forever-Alone Day, for those who didn't have a person to be with. Of course, this may not have been common knowledge... but that's what George referred to it as. Had gotten her a few laughs and a few weird looks but really? That was a daily occurrence for the hat lady of Hammel. She was insane, after all.

But Valentine's Day was yesterday - today, however, was the Valentine's Day dance, and for many boys and girls, this was a great oppurtunity to meet new people or show off to others that you have a people... a person, but for Miss. Georgina Speer, it meant sitting in her room, scrolling through tumblr at the last minute. A lot of people dressed up formally for these events, girls in dresses, guys in tuxs or something similar, but again, George was a unique variation. She sat on her bed wearing a top with a suit designed onto it and a pair of black skinny jeans, like the classy woman she was. The items that she wore which related to the love were a pair of red converse, a red top hat and a pair of red heart shaped novelty glasses. If red meant love, that is.

Come on, what else did you expect?

After using almost all of her will power, the British girl wrenched herself away from the multitudes of gifs that lit up her computer screen (and her life), and she closed the door, a tiny part of her soul cracking as she was seperated from her one true love; the internet. But she was leaving for a reason, she needed to socialize, because gosh darnit, she was a lazy bugger and she knew it! She triumphantly made her way in, smiling at the passersby in their dresses and heels - sheesh, why did people try so hard?

Georgina walked into that room smiling, and as soon as she heard music, she began dancing. Not that she could actually dance, but it was a good conversation starter, "What the fuck are you doing?" usually being the most popular question.

Maybe someone would be interesting tonight.

[Deleted]

"Cat! I'm a kitty cat! And I dance dance dance and I dance dance dance!" Brooke clipped out, rocking her arms, shoulders and hips to the rhythm in her head rather than that of the music.

Astley hadn't come, which made her sad, but the fact that her fun-luv-crush wouldn't come to any particular outing had never stopped Brooke before from going out and….being Brooke. Her new outfit was something that her momma sent for this express occasion, in the hopes to make Brooke feel happy and adored and all that jazz, maybe even bag herself a man if she felt so inclined. Brooke appreciated the attention and their concern, considering she had only just dug herself out of her breakdown, but truthfully, their attention only made Brooke feel like she was getting attention she didn't deserve. And that made her feel guilty.

Not that she wouldn't wear the awesome ensemble, what was she, crazy?

Brooke explored the table with the giant bowl of juice, serving herself a cup and then taking a generous gulp. Wasn't bad, but she'd pretend it was jungle juice just the same. Made things more interesting and might make people wonder if the punch really was spiked.

She downed the rest of the juice then crushed the plastic cup in her hand. "Yeaah, let's get it on!" she announced. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Mr. Dr. Sean Neville and she gave him an excited wave and thumbs up for him and his partner before prancing off onto the dance floor, shaking her nonexistent booty like a moneymaker.

[Takchawee Ominotago]

So Tak was a little more curvaceous than she had been two years ago. That wasn't going to keep her from rocking a curve-hugging dress to the last Valentine's dance she would likely attend at this school. At least it wasn't like last year, when she'd worn baggy shirts and sweaters for as long as she could until she couldn't hide her growing belly anymore; she had nothing to hide now. She was still a petite girl, just with some... More generous assets now. Her hair was tied back into a long, intricate braid that had taken her far too long to do; still, she was confident in her appearance.

She had no idea what she was even going to do or who she was going to talk with, but that was alright. Even though Tak wasn't a particularly social person, she had surprisingly good social skills. She'd find someone to talk to... Or hit on.

Stepping in fluidly on her several-inch-high heels, Tak scanned around the room before making her way over to the punch table, figuring it was as good a place as any to find someone to talk to. She grabbed a cup and took an idle sip, glancing up as someone near her shouted out. What was that girl's name... Brooke? Tak watched with an amused smile as she wiggled off to the dance floor. Well, there was someone, she supposed.

Drink still in hand, she swayed after the wild young woman, keeping her gaze loose just in case she caught anyone else she might want to talk to. So far, none. So Tak turned her attention to the girl before her and gave a one-sided smile. "So is there something in the punch, or are you always so energetic?" she asked, taking another sip of her drink. "I wish more people were like you, then this dance might be a little more exciting."

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Gryph'd already been to one Valentine's dance, the one at the LGBT center a week before. That had been... interesting, if you left out all the details. He still smiled when he thought about it though.

The winged boy wondered if this dance would be any different; he wouldn't mind if it was, really, it was a social gathering and he liked being around other people, so whatever happened, he'd probably come out of it happy.

With a black blazer and white shirt, along with some black shoes he'd threaded red laces into, he stepped into the dance. The atmosphere was comfortable, and he smiled, glancing around for a friendly face. He knew quite a lot of people, being at the school for longer than some, but there was one that clicked in his mind. They didn't really talk on a regular basis, but, but... dance team, that's where he'd seen her.

Gryphon approached the girl with the black lace dress beaming, friendly. It was never too late to meet someone, "Hi." He said casually, looking over the nearby refreshments... mmm, that punch looked fruity. He switched his attention back to the girl in front of him, "It's... Kai, isn't it?" That's what his brain told him, anyway. He'd be lucky if his memory was serving him correctly for once.

[Nora Marie "Nory" Gwinn]

Last year's Valentine's Day dance hadn't been much fun for Nora Marie. In the middle of a particularly bad eczema breakout and a crowd full of slow-dancing couples was a bad time to find out that the boy you liked was already dating someone else. There were tears in the bathroom, bitter proclamations of hatred for her stuffed bra, drab hair and peeling skin, friends comforting her and roundly abusing Jonathan, she was too good for him anyway and he and Abby wouldn't last a month.

But this year was going to be different. Nory didn't want to be left out, but nor did she want to spend another evening getting worked up over stupid relationship angst. At a suggestion from one of her teachers, she had volunteered for the dance planning committee. And aside from nearly getting run over by the Bishop twins when she was picking up decorations, it had been a blast so far. She'd been at the dance for an hour already, putting up the last of the streamers and throwing a few handfuls of heart-shaped confetti on everything for good measure.

She exchanged high-fives with the other committee members when the first people began to arrive, and stood back to watch her handiwork proudly from nearby the punch bowl. The auditorium looked great, and so did the guests. Nora Marie herself had dressed more practically for the occasion, since stepladders and stilettos did not mix well (and she didn't own any anyway). She wore flats, a skirt, and a simple long-sleeved shirt, though she had been able to borrow a nice necklace and a few pink baubles for her hair. They matched her acne, she told her friend with a chuckle as she selected a cookie from the refreshments table.

The evening was going better already. 

[Joshua Bernstein]

Josh enjoyed chaperoning the school dances with Sean. Although his interactions with the student body had lead him to suspect that most of them were rather unpleasant at best, with a few exceptions (like adorable little Yue, whom he hoped was having a wonderful time), he was still flattered that he was ever invited to come. After all, this was a sure sign he was considered really committed to Sean, that he was asked to come along to school events like this.

He'd worn a suit (it was definitely a light red, not pink) although not anything as fancy as he had worn to his friends' wedding. He was still in a haze of emotions from that; happiness for Riley and Danny, excitement at being an integral part of such a joyous occasion, excitement over the party, and some jealousy that they were married, but he wasn't going to focus on that right now.

Instead he leaned up against his partner with a smile. "I can never turn down cookies."

He could definitely turn down punch, given that it wasn't alcoholic; but as he wasn't allowed alcohol at this particular dance, punch would have to do. "What flavor is the punch?"

And so far nobody was making out with any teachers, or insulting anyone (that he could hear), although the girl in the slinky pink dress who waved to him and Sean was shouting something about being a cat.

He returned the wave in bemusement. "The students seem to be having a good time."

[Dr. Sean Neville]

So far, the students in attendance were having fun dancing, and there were no fights, explosions, or wardrobe malfunctions. Sean considered that an overall positive start for any Hammel event, particularly romantically-theme dances. Although two years had passed, the 2012 Valentine’s Day Dance continued to leave a bad taste in his mouth.

Fortunately, he had no expectations that any staff member was foolish enough to repeat that course of events.

Moreover, when he and Josh finished their chaperoning duties, they could spend the rest of the weekend enjoying their belated Valentine’s Day celebration.

Seeing Brooke’s wave and smile, the psychiatrist returned both. He was happy to see that she felt well enough not only to attend the dance, but to actively engage in dancing and with other students. That would give them a nice topic for their next session.

With Josh’s acquiescence, Sean nabbed four cookies – two for each of them (one chocolate chip and one peanut butter) and then picked up the ladle for the punch. “It’s red.”

While, unlike orange, red did not describe a flavor of its own, the psychiatrist considered it the most fitting description. It was full of artificial fruit flavors and didn’t taste like cherry, exactly. “If you don’t like it, I can get you some ginger ale.” Since neither of them drank soda without using it to chase hard liquor.

At his partner’s remark, Sean nodded in agreement. “They are. If they can keep this up, it might be our least eventful dance yet.” So he hoped.

[Deleted]

Brooke was shouting about being a cat because she darned well was a cat! Cougar. Mountain Lion. Puma. Panther. Puma concolor. Catamount. It occured to her that her little jig might make more sense if she put on some ears and pulled out a tail, but Brooke decided against it for no other reason than she didn't feel like going crazy today. Brooke was having fun! And no amount of head-spinning was going to disrupt that, nope!

Plus, Dr. Wizard was watching and Brooke didn't want to upset him…yet.

Brooke was more than enjoying herself and was starting to think it was about time to indulge in yet another cup of the "not-spiked" punch, when she heard a somewhat familiar voice. Brooke turned her head curiously over her shoulder with her arms still swaying excitedly in the air, and her smile brightened. "Hey! Takchawee!" she spoke her name without effort. The two weren't close, couldn't even be called friends, but Brooke knew of her. Everybody knew of the girl who knocked herself up with a priceless treasure.

"How's the little caboodle, hot stuff?" Brooke grinned a happy little grin as she slid up next to the Native girl and settled her hands on her waist.

[Nora Marie "Nory" Gwinn]

Nora Marie perked up as Dr. Neville and Josh came towards the refreshment table. She had never met Josh personally, but she could read body language well enough to guess who he was. Now was her chance to meet him, it seemed, and she was more than a little curious. She put on her brightest smile and waved to both of them as Dr. Neville approached.

"Hi Dr. Neville! Escort again this year? I tried to convince Adam to chaperone, but he said he had a root canal scheduled." She grinned and gestured grandly to the pastry spread on her right and the punch on her left. "If you're hungry, we have chocolate chip, snickerdoodles, and peanut butter," she informed him. "And the punch is passion fruit, I think." Sean wasn't the only one who identified the beverage as 'ambiguously red.' Though she did at least know that no one had dumped a bottle of tequila in it, as that was her main job as Refreshment Control. Also to refill the cookie tray when it got low, and pick out the occasional piece of confetti that fluttered in from the dance floor. "I hope you're having a nice time so far!"