welcome to derane academy.

[Johnathon Chase]

By now, the Florida sidewalks had already begun to stir. People liked going to the town on Saturdays, doing some shopping or just hanging out. Looking at the newest styles in clothes, or picking up the latest issue of a magazine. John never really got how they were so...awake. It was too early for him, he would rather sleep more. He gave a yawn, still trudging along towards the coffee shop. Ah, coffee, how could anyone survive without the caffinating drink in the mornings? Especially when you weren't a morning person to begin with.

The door jingled as John pulled it open. The cashire and a few other people looked up. He smiled as eyes fell upon him. John was the master of hiding his emotions, no one would've know he didn't want the little attention he had just recieved. The tennis shoes kept moving towards the corner. Lucky, no line, thought John as he approached the counter. His hands rummaged through the deep pockets of the hand-me-down jeans for the right amount of money. Finally, a crumpled up five dollar bill emerged and was slid onto the counter.

"Small cappacino," John spoke softly, another fake smile crossing his face as he did so. The cashire nodded and went to make the order. A few minutes later it was ready and being brought back to the counter. John took his change and walked over towards a big chair near the window. Sighing as he sat down, he made sure not to spill any of his drink. The light brown eyes gazed out the window, at the street where every once in a while a car would drive by. John took a sip and sighed again, slouching back in the chair.
((sorry to whoever replies to this, I was distracted by chores halfway through writing it...))

[Emmy Foster]

Emmy made her way into the coffee shop, already anticipating the joy of a frappacino. That was the best part of Florida; it was hot enough for fraps year around! She smiled to herself as she made her way up to the counter.

"Good morning Andrew. I want my frap, please," she said, grinning at the worker. She knew the workers here by name, and of course they knew her name. That was a given.

She paid for her frap (after she stopped staring at the beauty of her butterfly wallet), and then picked it up from the counter. Today was Operation Meet Somebody New day for Emmy. But then, everyday was kind of that way.

She spotted her victim: a guy near her age, sitting all alone in a chair. Who wanted to be alone on a Saturday morning? It was time for Emmy to butt in. She walked over to a chair near him and sat down gracefully, crossing one leg over the other and smoothing her skirt.

"Hello," she said calmly, smiling at him.

[Johnathon Chase]

John listened to the traffic speed up as the clear brown eyes watched the foggy steam drift up from the cup he held in his hands. Movement caught his eye as someone who looked only a bit younger than himself sat down in a chair nearby. He placed the cup on the table, returning a smile. Again, it was fake, but there was no way to tell. Not even the eyes told what his real emotion at the moment was. He winced slightly as the vibrating mug caused some of the hot liquid to spill out of the sides onto his hand.

"Hey," John said, rubbing the burnt spot of his hand. He used a napkin to quickly wipe off the table where the coffee had spilled onto. What a klutz, way to go John! he thought. Maybe if he didn't act like it was a big deal it wouldn't turn into one. But was it a big deal in the first place? How many people must've done the exact same thing? Oh well, it wasn't a big deal, and it wasn't turning into one. You worry about these things too much... It might've been true, but would that have gotten him the reputation of a rebel at his old school?

John looked back up at the girl, did she go to Derane too? He wasn't about to ask, no. He had always been a little shy for first impressions. They were, apparently, the most important. Or that's what his parents had enforced. They always said you could never change someone's first outlook on you. John knew you could. It was possible to change someone's opinion. All it took was a little bit of an attempt. Sometimes people wouldn't change their mind, and that's how you make enemies. No one is perfect, and especially not on the first impression.

[Emmy Foster]

As John spilled his drink, Emmy immediately leaned forward with a napkin to wipe the burning liquid off, but was too slow.She settled back in her chair and brushed her hair out of her face. He wasn't making a big deal out of it, so she wouldn't either. That was one thing acting had taught Emmy: take other's leads.

"So, I hope that I'm not disturbing you," said Emmy, not that she thought that she was. It was just polite to say. And politeness was key to talking to strangers, "but I really hate sitting alone. It makes me feel..." she searched for a word that wouldn't seem totally ditzy, then decided that she couldn't find one. "...sad."

Emmy's eyes sobered for a moment as she recalled the feeling of being all alone. It wasn't one that she liked, not at all. Emmy had been surrounded by siblings and the like for her entire life, and when she was alone she felt like she was missing something.

[Johnathon Chase]

John listened to her speak, almost suprised at how nice she seemed to be when she hadn't even learned his name yet. Then again, some people were just nice. He shook his head, "No, not at all," he said reassuringly. Being alone wasn't the best at least potentially now he'd have someone to talk to. "I've got nothing better to do." Shrugging, he took a sip from the mug again. Less carefully this time, for there wasn't as much in it. He gazed around the room again before the girl spoke again.

Sitting alone, of course, wasn't always fun. But for half of his life John had, infact sat alone in silence. It wasn't always literal, but more of how he felt. Being an only child with strict parents never really made time for friends. Only homework and extra credit projects. There wasn't even much time to make friends to begin with. His father's job always moved around, so did John's mother and himself. Being alone was something he was used to, but not something he liked. He nodded, understanding what she meant.

"I'm John, by the way," usually he wasn't the one who spoke first, especially not on a first impression. But it was better to know someone's name instead of them being a complete stranger. A name was something that didn't really mean anything. A lot of the time it was easy to lie about as well. But if you're having a conversation with someone you just met, its good to know what they like to be called. Some people were just picky about what they like and dislike to be called, so it was good you didn't make a mistake.

[Emmy Foster]

When he said that he had nothing better to do, Emmy smiled and tilted her head. "Of course there is something better you could be doing. There always is." Uh oh. Another moment of Emmy logic; the kind that nobody but her seemed to think up. But to her it made absolutely perfect sense.

"You could be finding a cure for cancer, or helping the United Nations. You could do any number of things! But I know what you're thinking. Just because we're kids doesn't mean that we can't do absolutely wonderful things. Trust me." Emmy said all of this in a serious manner that showed how much she cared. She firmly believed that she could do anything - Anything - if she wanted.

Emmy twisted her sapphire ring around her finger, watching for a moment as it caught the sunlight that filtered through the windows. Then she smiled back at the guy.

"It's nice to meet you, John. I'm Emmy." Just Emmy, she thought to herself. Not Amelia, not that Foster girl, not Luke's twin. Emmy.

[Johnathon Chase]

John smirked a little bit, she was right. The problem John would have accomplishing one of those grand accomplishments is deciding which one. He didn't have any personal ties with the problems she had listed. He didn't know of any family or friends with cancer. Infact, he didn't really know any family aside from his parents, and all the friends he had made previously he hadn't really been keeping in touch with. But maybe that was a sign to do what she had said. And it was true, people could accomplish a lot at very young ages. The little bits of History class he had paid attention to taught him that.

"Yeah, I guess," he replied with another shrug. The smirk increased to the smallest smile, "But where to start?" John took another sip, eyes traveling towards a car flying by. He wondered if it was going over the speed limit. But it was gone, just as fast as it had come. He set the mug down on the already semi-wet napkin to avoid getting rings on the table from the mug. He had been taught that as a child, along with 'the fork goes on the left side'. His parents were a little strick. But they had just wanted him to turn out as a good person overall. "You too," he replied with a simple nod.

((sorry it took me so long to reply, homeowrk caught up to me...))