Day One: (Ab)normal Days

The announcement rang loud and clear in the gymnasium, and Jaden figured the other students would probably be waking up soon. He didn't have any particular desire to talk to any of them, but he realized that if he was going to stay safe he'd need to avoid acting suspiciously.

He grabbed his boombox and brought it back into the locker room, where he quickly stashed it into his locker with the other item he'd found during the night. He fondly regarded his little collection of belongings and headed out into the hallway towards the cafeteria.

Marci was sitting in her room when she head the announcement - it startled her and made her look up from the book she was reading. With a small sigh, she looked around her room again.
It was light in color - the walls were a lovely pink, and the floor was nice wooden floorboards. Along her wall sat a small desk filled with all kinds of stationery and pens, some of which she could have sworn were from her own room back at home...which she suddenly decided was a bad idea to think about.
She got up and headed towards the cafeteria. As much as she would have preferred to sit back and hole herself up in her room, she was starving.

Adda put down her bag that she had brought to school, after finishing unpacking the last of her belongings. The book she had taken from the library yesterday sat on the table next to her bed, but she had a feeling that she wouldn't be reading anytime soon. Taking a deep breath, she smiled the best that she could, in hopes of removing her little meltdown from yesterday from the minds of her peers. With that, she headed to the cafeteria, hoping to see all of her classmates present and alive.

At the sound of the announcement, Alexander jolted awake, holding his hands up for protection as he slammed the covers off him. After realizing it was not someone trying to announce that they were going to kill him, he slowly got up. His dreams were fitful and he often woke up at the slightest noise.
His own room calmed him slightly. The floor was made of uniform, cream tiles, and there was a small rock garden in one corner, and a water pool in the other- which had a rather nice floor to ceiling tricking waterfall. He was happy enough to have a dimmer switch on his lights, which helped when he was meditating his stress away during the early hours of the night. He shakily put on his clothes again.
Why was this so unnerving for him? Ever since the execution, he was on pins and needles. Slowly, he exited his room, taking a few breaths to put on his stoic mask before making his way slowly to the cafeteria. He'd prefer to dine alone, unless someone decided to join him.

Asher let out a yawn, feeling deprived of sleep. He swung his feet over the side of his bed, and while putting on his shoes took in his surroundings. Each wall was a different color, and the floor was carpeted- almost as if someone expected him to fall during practice. Otherwise, there wasn't anything particularly interesting decor-wise, as most of his hobbies certainly weren't bedroom size.

He adjusted the back of his shoe, replaced the bandages he had removed last night, and left towards the cafeteria. After all, breakfast is the most important meal of the day- you can't very well entertain a crowd without something inside of you.

David groaned at the sound of the announcement that came too soon and got him nervous all over again just as he was starting to actually calm down. He looked in the mirror that stood next to his wardrobe and fixed his neon green tie, trying to forget that any of this was actually happening. Upon failing, he sighed and glanced around his room for anything remotely useful.
He looked around. His room was pretty boring, a nice pale brown with a darker brown carpet. Near his door stood an empty coat rack and a key rack with a set of keys he didn't recognize; probably just to mock him. He grabbed them either way, figuring they could be used as a pretty weak form of self defense, and headed off to the cafeteria. Maybe someone wouldn't run away from him this time.

Oscar woke up to the unpleasant sound of the announcement.

"Augh...What a nightmare..." he groaned as he rolled over and buried his face in the pillow. He had the entire night to let the situation sink in and he could still barely regard as more than a nightmare. For a few moments he did little more than stare at the green and white striped walls that seemed to cage him in.

"...Oh god...I'm hungry..." Was his second concern. He'd have to risk the trip to the cafeteria. Surely enough people would be there, he hoped.
Eventually he rolled out of bed, emerging from his green blanket cocoon. Oscar's room had an assortment of slightly childish furniture, in assorted off-whites and pale greens. A comforting lava lamp sat next to his bed and Oscar now turned it off. "The History of Alchemy" was thoughtlessly placed on the floor. He picked it up before making his way to the cafeteria.

Herbert plucked a knife from where it was stuck in the side of the wall. So it was 7 am now, eh? He placed it back in his jacket, taking a glance around his room. He found it rather accommodating, with dim ceiling lights and lots of leather lounges for him to roll into if he needed to sleep. Though if he needed a formal bed, he was rather pleased with a hammock stuck into the darkest corner he could find.

Yet his room was not his destination for today. Some interesting things cropped up on his investigation of the body, and he wasn't the type for analyzing literary hoohah. The little scribble was a brainteaser for him, and he pocketed it without much thought afterwards. He'd probably find the nerdiest group of kids and harass them about it. He opened his door and began his trek to the cafeteria.

There were two things on his menu: 1) His braintease and 2) Transferring the fishtank to his room.

Laura groaned as she woke up. She had never been a morning person, and this being the morning after she was told that she was going to be locked up in a demented high school for the rest of her life, it was understandable that she was a little more than out of sorts after hearing the announcement. She hefted herself out of bed, intending to head towards the bathroom to freshen up.

Laura's room was pretty plain. The walls were gray with a classy stripe patterned wallpaper, and the floor was white carpet. There were a few black shelves scattered along the walls, and a wardrobe. The only defining characteristic of Laura's room was her bed. It looked to be made for a toddler rather than a girl in high school. Laura wondered to herself how the school administration knew she had a thing for blue race car beds.

She grabbed a change of clothes from the wardrobe, and slipped into the bathroom to change. It was a habit that she had acquired from spending her whole life sharing a room with three younger brothers. She turned on the sink and splashed some water on her face to help wake up, then walked back in to the main room. "Oh, hey Elly!" she said, noticing the other girl who had shared her room for the night. "I almost forgot you were in here!"

Eloise woke up, rather disorientated. She didn't have the best of sleep and although the room was nice, it wasn't even hers.

"Hey...Floor...Bad idea..." She grumbles, having insisted on sleeping on the floor. Eloise sits up in the nest of pillows and blankets she had made, tossing a few into a moderately neater pile. While Laura was still in the bathroom, she changed into her clothes. Hell, she could've done it while she blinked.

"Thanks for letting me stay the night, I don't think I could've gotten any sleep at all otherwise," Eloise thanked Laura, a bit too formally.
After borrowing the bathroom briefly, being a girl more aclined to looking in the mirror all morning, she picked up all her stuff, ready to make a trip to her room before getting breakfast. Assuming it was to be served of course. Perhaps they had to kill for it, she thought, tired.

"Oh it was no problem, I was really glad for the company," Laura said, waving away Eloise's thanks and smiling awkwardly. "Anyway, I think I'm gonna head down to the cafeteria for breakfast. I'll see you later!" She turned and exited the room. She turned her head both ways, looking for nothing in particular, but curious as to how the other kids had spent the night.

From there Laura jogged down the stairs and into the cafeteria. There were already some people inside. She made her way into the kitchen and scoured through the food available. An apple and ham sandwich caught her fancy, so she gathered them and a water bottle onto a tray and brought her meal back out into the cafeteria.

She took a seat near the fish tank. They didn't seem like the most friendly fish to have in a school, but they were certainly fun to watch.

Breakfast was surprisingly simple for him. He was only used to very simple food for breakfast- just a bowl full of rice, which seemed to be already made in the kitchen. Though there was enough in the pot for seconds. Perhaps he would get some celery or an orange for a dessert.

And thank god there were enough tables to distance himself from everyone else. He wanted to eat in the most secluded area he could find, yet still be able to watch the goings on in the cafeteria. He played with his food, rolling the rice into little, sticky balls and then crushing them with his spoon, his eyes darting back up to the cafeteria. Maybe he should go watch the fish for a while...maybe not.
Thank god the rice was perfect. It was slightly salty, yet not hard or too soft. He began to eat in small bites, gradually shoveling the food into his mouth. He went for a refill and also for an orange. That would be a good breakfast, he thought.

He walked briskly to the cafeteria, a bit faster than normal people would, and glanced down to his once again squeaky clean shoes.
Note to self, don't get blood on your shoes again, he thought quietly, swinging his keys around a finger.
He arrived at the cafeteria in no time and found himself looking around, trying to find breakfast - it was just dawning on him how hungry he was for absolutely anything. He grabbed a bowl of some kind of cereal he didn't realize and went munching away near the door out of the cafeteria. Just in case.

Oscar's door opened slowly. Just a crack. He peered outside it, checking for danger.

And then ran to the cafeteria.
"G-Good Morning-" As he sat down, he blurted out brief greetings, said so fast most would probably be unable to understand what he even said. He positioned himself awkwardly on the corner of the table, scanning the room for Adda and Marci, and getting ready to jump at any moment.
He had grabbed three muffins and a glass of orange juice and now sat nervously dissecting the muffins, removing their poppyseeds warily before tossing little pieces into his mouth.

Adda strolled into the kitchen, grabbing a simple glass of water and making some instant oatmeal. She sat down at the same table as Oscar, parallel to him.

"Good morning!" She said, with as much enthusiasm as she could muster, hoping to lighten the mood in the dreary cafeteria.

She headed to the cafeteria slowly, not in much of a rush at all. As she walked in, she noticed Oscar and Adda sitting at one of the tables and smiled, waving. She headed for the kitchen first and found a glass of milk and a bagel. Collecting them she walked back over and sat next to her two friends.
"Good morning!" she said, "Did you both sleep well?" she asked simply, expecting their answers.

Whistling, Asher passed through the cafeteria and into the kitchen, the same motion as the students before him. He made a little strawberry and banana smoothie, with a crazy straw, and put on of the zoopals he brought from home down on the counter while filling it with two pieces of toast, a scrambled egg, and some grapes. He sat down at the same table as Laura, but with a bit of distance between the two.

Herbert never had breakfast. He was used to getting all his needs for lunch and dinner, and then maybe a midnight snack he found he needed to pilfer before the cafeteria closed. He timed himself so that he would enter just when he thought everyone was settled around eating- which meant he had some time to take a few things from the storage.
And damn it, some eedjits took his seat near to the fish. He'll chase them out later.

He immediately recognized what he deemed to be the more geeky members of the school- Oliver, Addition, and Macy, and slowly walked towards them, fishing the note out of his pocket and held it folded neatly in his balled up fist.
"Ey, cupcakes. I got a little challenge for you," he stated flatly, unrolling the note and placing it down on the table, two fingers on the top to hold it down from prying fingers.

Jaden had been in the cafeteria the longest, and had already finished a small meal. Just some cereal and a glass of juice. It was kinda like the food they served on the set of Shake It Up! Kinda. With nothing else to do he looked around the room for someone to talk to. He didn't like it, but he'd go mad if he didn't make any friends in here. And it would be good to have someone he could count on.

Sitting at the corner of a table were two slightly pudgy kids and a girl with funky glasses. They were having a conversation, but Jaden decided none of them seemed exceptionally threatening. He approached them and muttered "Hope I'm not interrupting." Without waiting for a response, he sat down at the seat nearest the blonde boy. "Hey," he said, staring at him.

Adda swallowed her mouthful of oatmeal before responding.
"It was weird not sleeping in my own bed, but this one was still pretty comfy! How did you fair last night?" She smiled, picking up her water and taking a gulp.

Oscar barely slept.
"I-I've had better sleep," he replies, "My rooms nice and all but-"

Then Jaden sat down next to him.
"G-Good morning!" He shouted his morning greeting, almost half-way through a heart attack.

"I was fine, I suppose. Not very eventful," she said, leaning back in her chair a tad. She looked up at their two new guests - Herbert and Jaden, right? - and offered a small smile. She had to stifle a laugh at Oscar's outburst, though.
"You're not interrupting at all, don't worry," she said simply to Jaden.
With that she peered over at the note Herbert was pointing too and squinted. "What is this, exactly? And why are you asking us about it?"

Jaden nodded to Marci, internally grateful for the acknowledgement. Then he smirked at Oscar's off-beat response. "Oscar, right? It's ok, I know it must be intimidating to talk face to face with a good-looking TV star such as myself. But I assure you, I'm a regular kid just like you. Except a better dancer." In contrast to his speech, Jaden wasn't actually that cocky. He just liked to put on that kind of show for people.

Then he noticed Herbert. He didn't really care for the grizzly classmate, and wished that he would leave them alone. These were to be his allies, not some psychotic hunter's.

Herbert was about to walk away when at least Maddie noticed his note. Of course, the ink spattered note was almost illegible, but he felt like it was a puzzle of some sort. "H[ink]th; To: Mr. Brow[more ink]" and signed in a nearly indecipherable "Mrs. Garcia"" it read.
"Yalls look like the type to do this poo poo," Herbert sniffed, frowning deeply. "I reckon you probably know bloody well what it might be if I give you a spell."