Early Birds [open]

[Ann Hudgins]

"Air Force? Nice. Did you know that if someone in the Air Force was ever stationed at a Marine Base, they received hazard pay, as if they were going into dangerous war territory?" It was a fact that her mother never had a problem griping about. Marines were certainly the least taken care of branch of the military and everyone knew it. They made the least amount of money, had the spottiest benefits, and the more dangerous jobs. Ann, however, wasn't going to get into which branch was the best because what was the point? "Gibraltar? Awesome. I lived in the same house all my life in North Carolina--my dad had a non-deployable job, and he gained rank pretty quickly." Ann snorted a little. Her dad really was soft, way deep down on the inside, but he somehow felt the need to be a complete ass to the people he was in charge of. "I think I would have preferred growing up in a civilian setting, you know? Simplicity and not worrying about accidentally saying something confidential."

"Phil! Yeah, I meant Phil." Ann hid her blush by ruffling her hair around her face like it needed some airing out. "I'm horrible with names,"she admitted with a small laugh--not to mention it had been years since she had seen any of those movies. She grinned a little when he finally took the plate of fruit and she waved a hand in slight dismissal. "Of course I don't mind. After the breakfast you treated me too? Don't think anything of it," she insisted before she rearranged herself on the couch (again). Ann certainly was a fidgety one and couldn't exactly hold still for long. Now she was seated with her feet on the couch in front of her and her arms wrapped around her legs, her chin rested on a knee.

"How horrible." Ann truly was abhorred to the idea of a vampire that didn't drink blood. Dracula was the only way. However, she didn't get exactly what he was talking about--she'd have to see the movie he had mentioned to really get it. "Yes. We'll fire Hollywood and make our own movies." She said with a nod of her head, like it was simple and a done deal; followed by a giggle.

"Like biting their tongue and doing exaggerated walking arms?" Ann asked with an arched eyebrow, the little boy looked annoying and the girl just seemed....whiny. The baby seemed like a nightmare to Ann--she couldn't deal with babies. Kids and toddlers were OK, but babies were....evil. To his question, her teeth worked at her lips in thought. "Well...isn't there a species of lizard that runs so fast they can run on water? I'm sure it'd be possible, as long as you transfered the weight from foot to foot fast enough so that it didn't break the surface tension, right?" Ann hoped what she had said made sense. She remembered (vaguely) of a documentary her class had once watched in Biology class. However, Science was Ann's worst subject and she really didn't know what she was talking about.

[JD Paerson]

“Yeah, I vaguely remember something about the hazard pay. It never really applied to us, since we were always on different air bases, mostly in Europe.” He shrugged. “I guess I never really thought about it. I did my best not to really pay attention to Dad’s job. As much as I could, anyway, what with the moving. But I never wanted to be a part of the military at all.” He nodded at her. “Yeah. I always wanted to be normal. But, well, you can’t always get everything you want.” He resisted the urge to start singing.

“I’m not so good with names, either. It was only by a fluke I remembered that one. But please, don’t ask me Shakespeare’s first name.” He grinned. “And, you know, if you run into me later on, you might have to remind me who you are. Faces I can generally recognize, but names slip away like…” Like yesterday’s lunch. “…like a dog off a leash.” He crossed his legs and leaned back on the couch.

“Hollywood, schmollywood.” He waved his hand dismissively. “I’m sure we’d make better movies. Or, you know, someone here could. I’d probably just get bored and quit in the middle. So you can be in charge of the movie. I’ll do stunts or something. I’m sure I can make some pretty realistic blood, too, and we can make the vampires really scary.” He gestured wildly. “I can just see it now. Hammel Students presents…DRACULA! The real one.” He laughed.

“Well, the tongue-biting and arm-waving I don’t think really happens. At least not in my experience. It tends to cause pain when you bite your tongue.” He looked at the screen. More colors, more pictures, more noise—nothing that fascinating. “But yeah, I think it might be possible. Though you’d probably want a good running start.”

He thought for a moment, uncrossing and recrossing his legs. “Hey, do you think the lake is close enough…aw, never mind. I’ll go after school.”

[Ann Hudgins]

"Hm. I was always kinda interested in what my dad did when I was really little, but when I was old enough to understand that what he did was just get other people in trouble and made their life harder..." Ann chuckled faintly at the memory of her accusing her father of being a bully. He hadn't denied her accusation. He was a road cop, specifically for the marine base only. When he was a lower rank, he had to stand at the front gate and wave people through who had base passes, but that was a looong time ago. "The military was all I knew, really. All my friend's parents were in the marines, most of our random house decorations had the eagle, globe, and anchor insignia on it, and all my jackets had something military-esque on it. Until I hit Hammel, anyway."

"I think it's William." Ann tapped at her chin when JD mentioned Shakespeare. "I wonder if any close friends called him Bill. Which is just weird, you know? Why on earth is Bill short for William? It just doesn't make sense to me, the same goes for Richard and Dick. It's just weird." Ann shook her head in disapproval at the weird abbreviations. "Hmm, I might forget your name too. So...sorry in advance." Though his name probably will fade, she'd remember his face as the guy that sat with her while she watched The Incredibles and gave her breakfast. Things like that stayed in Ann's mind better than names.

"Sounds like a job... for the Drama class." Ann had heard rumors that the drama teacher was an actor (previously), she hadn't met the guy so she had no idea if it was true or not. There were many rumors going around about that particular teacher, most of which Ann didn't even know about. "I'd definitely make a horrible movie. I'm not particularly good at telling people what to do--or just talking to lots of people in general." She was getting pretty good at the one-on-one stuff, but pairs or groups of people was a different ballgame.

"The mother's hips would offend my mother," Ann commented with a small tilt of her head. Her mother often harped on sexual exploitation every chance she got, it was something that always got her blood boiling faster than anything else. "I'll let you do the experimenting with running on water. I'll spectate." Ann grinned faintly in his direction.

Her eyes widened and her mouth opened a little when he asked about a lake. She obviously didn't know what he was talking about, even if he didn't complete the sentence. "There is a lake?" She asked after a moment. She knew there was a pond on campus, but she hadn't had any idea about a lake being anywhere near Pilot Ridge (not that she frequented the town enough to have even a basic grasp on its lay out).

[JD Paerson]

"As soon as I knew what my dad did, I was sick of it. It wasn't even what he was doing that I hated, it was the way he acted about it. He put his family through hell and back, yet he never once apologized. Said it was our 'duty to the country.'" He waved his fingers in little quotation marks and rolled his eyes. "We weren't supposed to complain about anything. And he was so damn proud of his job."

He'd relaxed so much he was starting to forget to watch his mouth. But that tended to happen as well when he was ranting about his dad.

"Clothing, house, car. Yeah, everything belonged to the military. It was such a relief to be free of all that bull. Can't say the same about friends, though. I never really seemed to do well in that department, abroad or at home." Not like he encouraged it.

"Some nicknames don't make a lot of sense, I guess, but I think the Will and the Bill has to do with it being German, where they say the 'w' like 'v'. That's close to Bill. Try it. Vill, Bill. I can see how that would work. Dunno about Dick, though." JD shrugged about his name being forgotten. "Whatever, can't say I blame you. I have to point out, though, that at least my nickname makes sense. Initials are a lot harder to go wrong on, I feel. Though I guess you're sunk if you have weird initials. Like TP. Or KKK. MM could be good, though, you could go by M&M." Now that JD had spent some time with her, he would probably remember her face and nod to her in the hallways, even if they didn't talk this much again. But yes, he would forget her name.

JD laughed at the idea of the drama group actually putting together a production. "That would be fun to see, I think, watching the drama club try to sort that whole mess out. Maybe I should join, and then everything would really be a mess. I'd memorize the lines just fine, but I wouldn't be able to sit still long enough to deliver them. And don't even get me started on full productions. I don't have the patience to watch a movie most times, let alone make one." He'd heard about making movies. Nine months, if you worked round the clock and didn't eat.

"I think the proportions in general would upset most people. I mean really, a guy can't be that built and have those teeny legs. I wonder if they're supposed to be caricatures of the way that most superheroes are designed." Yes, JD had read some comics. And yeah, the guys in there were drawn pretty unrealistically, too, with huge shoulders and tiny waists. And the girls, well. Boob City wasn't an exaggeration.

"Thanks for your support in my experimentation. And will you have a towel for when I inevitably crash and get soaked? Or are you just going to laugh the whole way back to campus?" He tossed a friendly glare and a pout her direction. All in fun, though, since he was fairly certain there were a number of people who would want to watch him try to run on water, if only to see the huge splash at the end.

"Yeah, there's a lake. It's a couple miles out, but not too hard to get to. You could walk it, really. Or run it. Or drive, if you have a car. We sometimes have parties out there, and it's great in the summer, when you can jump in and cool off." He looked at her. "You haven't been at all? You don't get out much, do you?"

[Ann Hudgins]

"We had a name for people like your dad; Mo-tard. Short for motivated-retard. In the marines, it's generally a bad and awful thing to actually like your job, unless you have a skate job or a crazy-high rank." Ann rolled her eyes at how silly it sounded, but it was true.

JD really didn't need to worry about controlling his mouth with Ann, she generally had a pretty explicit vocabulary, especially if she was frazzled or angry. She grew up with raunchy language, and to her, it was just another adjective to use to explain something--however there was a big difference between using expletives to explain something and using expletives to address someone.

"Really?" Ann asked, her curiosity piqued. His suggestion about the German, English change was interesting but she really had no idea if it was true or not--it made sense though. "Cool. Dick is just a mystery, then." Ann chuckled a little to herself because of that. When he spoke about nicknames and initials, Ann shrugged, yes JD did make sense and wasn't the worst thing out there. Ann's initials was ACH, which meant nothing but the sound ach. "I don't think I have any nicknames. At the moment." Outside of the things Aiden calls her, anyway. She wasn't close enough to anyone at Hammel to have a nickname by them.

"Oh I'd be horrible in every department. I'd not be able to order people around. I definitely wouldn't able to be on stage, and I barely passed elementary school arts and crafts." Ann laughed at her misfortune in that department. She just had no skills for it--or the want to get better at it. "I don't think it takes as long to make a play as a movie. The set building is much simpler and stuff, but I really wouldn't know."

"Yep. It's like some sort of subliminal mindfuck or something." Remember the language thing? "Comics were generally better at getting how people looked, but even then everyone was always either completely healthy or absolutely disgusting." Always exaggerations in cartoons and comic books. Always.

"I will indeed have a towel, and a special team of paramedics on hand as well, just in case." Ann grinned faintly, but she figured if his power dealt with speed--even though JD hadn't told her what his power was and she, him--he would be able to do it easily.

"Interesting." Ann preferred beaches to lakes, but she missed that sort of atmosphere being in a landlocked state now and all. Though she was still worried about her power and water. What if it amplified it somehow? When he asked her those questions she snorted a little. "I think I've left Hammel twice since I got here, four years ago. Both times were in the past two months. It's not that I don't want to go anywhere, it's just I really...can't. Power is still a bitch to deal with and stuff." Ann shrugged like it wasn't a big deal, even if it kinda was. She was working on it, though. Honestly.

[JD Paerson]

“Mo-tard, huh? I’ll keep that in mind. Maybe I’ll tell him one of these days.” Yeah right. But he could dream. Dream about the day when he finally could tell his dad something without fearing the response. Right after the day when he could actually see his dad and feel like he was accepted again. Ah yes, wouldn’t that be great?

“No nicknames? Oh surely you could come up with something. Something…catchy. What about, uh…the Girl? You already meet all the qualifications for that name, being a girl. And then you could go around and have Girl Powers, and knock everyone else dead with them.” Yes, he was being stupid. But he didn’t actually know anything about this person, so how could he give her a nickname? “Yes, that’s it. From now on, I shall think of you as ‘That Girl,’ and when someone calls you, ‘hey Girl,’ you can say, ‘Yes?’ and it will be like they really know your name. Think of the possibilities!” He smiled his dorkiest grin and prayed silently that there were no pillows around to be whacked with.

“I guess we’re out for making a movie or a play, then. Darn. And we had such brilliant ideas. You know. ‘Draw people like people.’ ‘Be original.’ Masterminds, we are.” He turned around on the couch and threw his legs over the back. Then he leaned back so he was looking at the television upside-down. “You know,” he said, “I think it kind of looks better this way. A little less…I dunno. Caricaturish, I guess. Is that even a word? Ah, I don’t really care. But seriously, it’s upsetting the way they always make people look impossible in animation. It’s supposed to be artistic or something, but I’m not sure I get it.”

He smiled at her offer to keep watch for him. “I appreciate it. Who knows what kind of things can go wrong when you’re running on a lake in the middle of nowhere. I don’t even have a lifevest to wear. Maybe I’ll just aim for the buoy in the middle and hope I make it. Then we’ll get the rowing team to come save me so I don’t have to swim all the way back.”

JD nodded at Ann’s mention about her power. “Yeah, I hear you. When I first had my power I was running into everything. It took forever to get it so that I wasn’t bumping into walls all the time. Control is really hard. But let me tell you, once you get it figured out, it’s awesome.” He smiled at her. If her power kept her inside all the time, she probably had something mental. All the people with external powers were encouraged to be outside, so that they didn’t end up blowing up the school. “Sad that you haven’t left much, though. I’m sure you’re missing the rest of the world. Get lots of visits from family?” He sat up then and looked at her. “Hey, have you ever tried going out early in the morning? At night there’s lots of people still around, but if it’s a problem to be around people, no one’s around early in the morning. You could just run down to Pilot Ridge and walk around. It would at least get you away from here, right? Or maybe you could go to the lake.”

[Ann Hudgins]

"It would probably be a slapping offense. Most other divisions hate each other, and when you cross the line from, like, the marines to the air forces, it's war." Ann chuckled again, but seriously. For each division to be working towards the same thing, they hate each other like school children.

"...The 'Girl?'" Anonymous. Mysterious. Completely impersonal and can be applied to virtually any 'girl' in the entire world. It fit Ann quite well. She grinned at him and shook her head slightly. "And you shall be remembered as....'Guy.' Which can be applied in a number of ways, you know. "That guy over there looks nice.' 'Yeah! Let's go talk to that guy.' Or maybe, 'remember that guy that came by the other day?' "Yeah. He was awesome.'" Ann had to stiffle a giggle because really didn't remember the time when she acted so silly, but she was feeding off of JD, so to speak.

"We could still be playwrights, you know," Ann spoke wisely. "Hope is not lost for the future of plays slash movies." Ann laughed faintly at his new position. She wasn't about to do that because all the blood would run to her head, and her stomach was still full of that yummy breakfast. She did, however, tilt her head to the side when he said it looked better upside down, to see if it was true. Sideways, it didn't look different, either way, but she felt silly and laughed because of it. "I'll have to take your word for it."

"Mmm. Maybe a live jacket would be a good idea. Granted, it would make you look silly, but that's better than getting a cramp and drowning, right? And the water is super cold now too, so a wetsuit would probably be another good investment." Ann liked to think she prepared for situations pretty good (the ones that can be prepared for anyway), and she felt comfortable if all her bases were covered. It was safe to say, she did not act impulsively. She always thought about the risks, if she was tempted to do something daring even in the slightest.

"The does sound frustrating. I run into things enough even without it being influenced by my power." Well, in some cases it was true, but Ann really was just clumsy sometimes. She nodded her head in agreement to him. Yes, it was sad that her power kept her inside. "Uhm, no. My parents didn't like the idea of me being meta. Though I did go see them at Thanksgiving." It wasn't a disaster, and her relationship with her parents was really better. She talked to them every week now. They couldn't just drive up here whenever they wanted to, her mother owned a store and her father had work every weekday. She knew and understood that, as she had been raised to understand.

"Maybe I could. Now that I know there is a lake, I just might look for it. Once it gets warmer, anyway." She smiled a little at the idea of adventuring around Pilot Ridge to find it, it would be pretty cool. "I do like the idea of running around exploring, though. I've only been to the mall," she confessed with a small shrug. She had needed new pants and a dress for the dance.