i'm getting too old for this ---- {open}

[Meredith]

As Meredith made her way from her office to the auditorium for the meet-and-greet, she put together a mental list of all the possible motives that the Ashford Project officials could have had for arranging such an ordeal and making it "mandatory," even for the twenty-year-old prefect commander. Was it a distraction from an impending attack? A move to boost morale and postpone an inevitable insurrection? Could it really be just a house-warming party for the influx of new students? 

Meredith felt it was just a little silly. She was a full-fledged commander in a war, having dozens of soldiers under her authority. She was a diplomatic envoy between the gifted and The Ashford Project. Her signature was on the death certificate of every student who left the island in a coffin, and if the student did not have living family, then the funeral was her responsibility. Her list of duties never ended, yet she was also required to attend what was essentially a high school social event. She realized, to her own amusement, that as she walked towards the auditorium, she felt more like she was heading towards the meet-and-greet as a chaperon than a participant. On the other hand, it was in her favor to choose her battles carefully when dealing with the government's ordinances to ensure that she could still veto the most dangerous ones with what power over them she did wield, and this was one of their less unreasonable demands. Truth be told, even though she was busy and a bit older than the others, she really didn't even mind the little break. Years ago when she originally found herself in a position of any authority, as Seth's unofficial second-in-command, she'd made it a habit to find the new students and at least say hello if not get to know them, to make them feel welcome. Everybody deserved at least one friend in this hell. More recently, she had become too busy to keep up with that tradition, but the meet-and-greet provided a perfect opportunity to catch up.

Still, in Meredith's case, the word "mandatory" was always used loosely, so she added her own "optional" amendment to the "wear your uniform" part of the memo. It was a hot summer morning, and she had been holed up in her office for the better part of it, still filling out paperwork from the bloodbaths that had recently taken place. There had been no time to rush back to her room to pull her uniform out from the back of her wardrobe, where it had mostly been collecting dust since she had technically graduated. Besides, the Ashford Project wasn't exactly known for pouring its resources into making its prisoners comfortable, so her blazer and skirt had not been replaced since she first received them in the ninth grade, which was well before the growth spurt that left her standing at five feet and eight inches, and the skirt was less modest than she would approve.

Incidentally, she entered the auditorium in one of her simple white dresses that went to just below her knees. She looked around for faces she didn't recognize and chose one that seemed to be glancing around like a lost puppy. "Hi there. I'm Meredith. What's your name?" she greeted, approaching the lost soul with a warm smile.

[Kimberly Jones]

A Meet and Greet? What kind of silly idea was this? What was the point of forcing students and old and new to get together in one place? In her opinion it was just asking for trouble. She wouldn't be surprised if fights broke out, then again all the Prefects were there, well the majority of them. She knew a few had things they needed to do that overwrote the requirement of attending the meeting. Kimberly herself had tried to get out of it but had no reason to. Other than having a few beers before the event that was. She was nowhere near being drunk, she just had a slight buzz.

She adjusted her prefect badge on her uniform, having recently gotten a new uniform because her other one was a little...scorched? What was the right word for electrical burns on clothing? None-the-less, it was a new uniform and fit comfortably compared to her old one, meaning that this one was sized correctly, especially since she had grown in the chest over the past few years. No longer did her uniform feel like it was about to burst a button, nor did she feel constricted. It was quite liberating to actually wear a uniform that was comfortable again. She gazed in the mirror for a moment, looking at her now electric yellow eyes. Apparently her powers had slightly affected her physical appearance, though that wasn't all too uncommon. She didn't mind though, it made her look more eccentric.

She gave herself a confident smile, cocking her head playfully before spinning on her heel, looking at the empty bed in the room. At least she had gotten over what happened, even if she didn't realize herself that she was slowly returning to her old ways. She was slowly getting colder, stricter, more aggressive, more like how she was before she met Oliver. Then again, the girl had recently gone under a grave amount of stress so it wasn't that surprising that she was changing slightly. She walked out of the room, making sure to lock the door behind her before making her way towards the auditorium. She was probably going to be one of the last ones there. She had woken up a little late and taken her time getting ready. What was the point in being there first anyways? She wasn't looking to meet anyone new, though she probably was going to. She also wasn't looking for any team members, she wasn't a commander of her own team after all. She was an Alpha now, she didn't have to do any of that anymore.

She adjusted the bracelet on her wrist, the hidden ability of it being unnoticeable to the naked eye. She always needed quick access to a weapon without her powers after all. It was simple, but few had yet to see her use it in practice save for Cain. She slipped into the auditorium, blinking at the crowd. Yep, it looked like she was one of the last ones to arrive. Did that surprise her? Not at all. She glanced around lazily, looking for a familiar face before spying the undeniable figure of Meredith. The tall blond had always been easy to pick out, partially due to her height. She had approached a student who looked quite lost and that Kimberly herself couldn't place at that moment. Then again, the influx of students had made her usual research fairly time consuming and she still had quite a few to go through.

She shrugged inwardly to herself, figuring it'd been a while since she had done any shenanigans with Meredith and made her way over to her, moving fluidly through the crowd. She arrived at her commander's side a few moments later, playfully giving Meredith a light bump before speaking. "Hey there Mer. And hey there newbie, name's Kimberly, and you are?" she asked casually, offering her own friendly smile.

[Mutsumi Kanazaki]

Mutsumi was in a rush. The same Prefect that had been chasing her, had found her waltzing down the hallway as if she was home free. The red head was now running full speed down the hallway with Ariendel perched upon her head like a glowing green crown. "I'm guessing the wisp wall won't help us here will it Ari?" Mutsumi said as she turned around. 'Nope don't think so.' The whisp replied in a cheery tone. Bolts of energy began whizzing by her ear as the girl tried to lose the persistent prefect with all her might. Jumping off of a wall she turned back around to kick the jerk into a nearby wall. She then grabbed his waist and hoisted him backwards. "GERMAN SUPLEX!" she cried as the boy slumped into unconsciousness. The red head ran away as quickly as possible in case back up would show it's face. There would surely be another person like him out there trying to hurt her. The question still bugged Mutsumi however. Where in the hell was she?

Sure enough a girl had noticed the unconscious prefect and at this point, Mutsumi decided to quietly make her escape. Mutsumi however would turn around to find herself at a dead end. At the end of the hallway were a set of double doors and a sign that said "Meet and Greet, this way". A couple kids started to gather so this would have to be Mutsumi's only other option. running down the hall she opened the doors to find, a mass congregation of students gathered in what seemed to be, an auditorium. Mutsumi was lost. She soon began to drift within the sea of people and couldn't find her way out. It wasn't until Meridith pointed her out from the crowd and introduced herself. "oh-uh-hello Meridith." She said a bit startled. Mutsumi didn't expect to be talked to. She was just a passerby. Soon another one came and greeted Mutsumi as well. "Oh hello Kimberly. I'm Mutsumi. Mutsumi Kanazaki." 'CRAP! I'm surrounded.' She thought as she smiled nervously. 'I guess there's no other way for me to get out of this normally unless I play nice. "So uh can you tell me where exactly I am. I was in a classroom this morning but when I woke up I was in the janitorial closet. What is up with that?"

[Chandler Fernandez]

"Go the Auditorium. There is mandatory Meet n' Greet you need to attend."
 
That was what the man in the suit said when he dropped the brunette off in front of the school. He handed Chandler his suitcase, gave him instructions, and walked back the boat. The young man had half a mind to run after the man with the sunglasses, but something kept him rooted in his spot. It was fear, Chandler knew it was, He knew that he defied their orders that they would strap him back in that chair. He would be punished again for misbehaving, or that was that they told him. He had broken a rule. They had to teach him a lesson. 

The thing was that Chandler never really remembered breaking a rule. Hell, he didn't even remember his own name. Those guys in the lab- coats had to tell him who he was. Explain to him that he was different than they were, different than the rest of the world, he was special. Most importantly. They told him that he was danger to everyone who lived in that world, and that was why he had to go where other dangerous people went. Like he a criminal who was being sent to prison. At first he protested, argued that he would never hurt an innocent person, but they didn't listen. They just pulled the lever, and shocked him again until he begged for forgiveness. it was the same thing over, and over again. Until he finally gave in, and accepted that this was where he belonged. 

So, here he was. Standing in front of the grand wooden door to Ashford Academy for what felt like, for him, the first time. Taking a deep breath the green eyes boy walked through those doors.  Slamming shut behind him. 

As he walked to the front desk, the secretary looked at him as if she saw a ghost. He just passed it off for the Government sending her a copy of his file. "Hi, my name is Chandler Fernandez." He said slowly. As if he was reciting a rehearsed line. "I was told I had to attend a 'Meet n' Greet'"? Giving the lady a small smile.


"Um yes. Just leave your bag here, and go down that hall. Third door on your left. Can't miss it." 
 
Nodding his thanks with a small hand gesture, walked away from his suitcase, and made his way down the hallway. With each step he took his heartbeat thundered in his chest. The palm of his hands grew sweaty. Not to mention to felt so light headed that he should be called an airhead instead of the candy. It felt like it took ages for him to finally get there (When it only took like a minute). Looking at the door he did his best to swallow his insecurities. This was it! The moment of truth! 

Boom!

The door flew open, and slammed against the wall. Flinching Chandler slowly walked through the doorway in an awkward silence. He had meant to gently open the door and sneak in, but in his nervousness he accidentally used to much strength. Taking a deep breath he quickly walked away with his head down. They had to be looking at him like he was an idiot -- Little did he know it was in shock and disbelief. The students wearing silver badges seemed to instantly tense, while a small handful looked relieved. He saw this when he braved a moment to look up. That was when he noticed a small group that was close to him. Good, finally he could get some cover from the gawking eyes. 

"Um, I think we're in the auditorium." He said with some newly found confidence as he walked up to the group of three. Taking a brief moment to look at each of faces. The first girl (Who had asked the question) he passed over quickly. The next girl had red hair and golden eyes. For some reason she felt vaguely familiar. 

Then his eyes fell upon the last girl. She was beautiful, but it was a natural kind of beauty. There was something about her that Chandler couldn't put his finger on. Whatever it was, all he knew was that he couldn't take his eyes off of her. "They said my name is Chandler. Nice to meet you."

[Meredith]

Meredith's regular smile of casual warmth slowly shifted into one of warmth, mixed with confusion and genuine concern as the new girl expressed surprise and confusion and being addressed. She actually seemed lost, like she didn't belong on the island at all, which was of course impossible. The island's location was undisclosed, its borders cloaked, and only those who sought it out or were ripped from their homes in a surely memorable way found themselves situated there. This unprecedented oddity vexed Meredith even as Kimberly Jones approached and greeted the pair. Though her questions remained unanswered, the prefect leader's suspicion that the girl believed herself to be "misplaced" was confirmed when she made the bizarre claim of waking up in a janitorial closet. 

"Uh," Meredith began, but before she could form any sort of helpful answer, she suddenly remembered that Kimberly was next to her and turned to greet her friend with a smile, wordlessly communicating the words 'Thanks for the save' with grateful eyes, momentarily directed at her friend. She was then distracted from her mission of finding out what the deal was with this new student when she noticed how good Kimberly looked with her form-fitting uniform and flashy new eyes.

"You look great, by the way. New uniform? Whose family did you have to threaten to make that happen?" she briefly teased, returning Kimberly's bump before giving her attention back to the newbie. That was when Chandler Fernandez barged in on the trio, and suddenly Meredith's thoughts and entire presence were jerked back into the human-sized test tube, where she had been kept and painfully experimented upon for what felt like weeks. And in the background of those memories, she heard the tortured screams of a young man in the room next to hers... the screams of Chandler Fernandez. Torn back into reality with a restrained but frightened gasp when Chandler spoke, Meredith did not think before throwing her arms around him.

"You're okay?" she demanded to know after a tight hug, pulling back with her hands on his shoulders.

[Kimberly Jones]

Kimberly couldn't help but laugh a little at Meredith's reaction to her uniform. "You could say that, or you could say that my other uniform was a little...err...scorched? What exactly would you call electrical burns? Calling them electrical burns just seems too long winded." She smiled a bit before looking at the other girl quizzically. What did she mean by saying that she had woken up in a janitorial closet? That made no sense to the bounty hunter, she didn't see how that could have happened. It wasn't like the janitors were supposed to car students off who fell asleep in class, or were they?

If they were that was new, and would probably keep her classes quiet. She was a bit tired of the snoring after all.

Her thoughts on the possibilities of janitors cleaning up classrooms of students were cut abruptly short by the sight of someone she thought was dead, her eyes widening a little at the sight. She had sworn that Chandler had died in combat. She didn't think many at all survived, hell she was still surprised herself by her own survival. She blinked blankly at the boy, her mind trying to register what her eyes were seeing before Meredith suddenly wrapped him in a hug, causing even more confusion to spark in the girl's electric yellow eyes. What was going on here? Had she missed something? Maybe she had drank a little too much, that was always a possibility. Yeah, that had to be it. She drank too much.

She turned back to the other girl, smiling at her before speaking, "You are at Ashford Academy School for the Gifted. You are currently at the meet and greet set up for the sudden influx of new arrivals." She turned back towards MEr and the look-alike, her smile not leaving her lips. "Mind introducing him Mer? You seem friendly with em already."

[Chandler Fernandez]

"It's hard to be brave" Said Piglet, sniffling slightly "when you're only a Very Small Animal."

It was something so small. Something from a children's picture book, Winnie the Pooh nonetheless! Yet, it stuck like glue in the once-a-blonde's head as he stepped closer to the trio of girls. The quote echo'd in his skull endlessly, in a comforting kind of way, and as he drew closer his confidence blossomed, evident by the smirk now on his face. What did he have to fear?! He was the Incredibly Awesome Super Chandler Fernandez!! So I ask again! What did he have to fear!?!?

Bone-crushing-bear-hugs-from-a-beautiful-woman-with-huge-tits, that's what! Honestly, Chandler had never felt such pain before in his live! For a moment there, the brunette was sure he had blacked out, and seen his entire life flashed before his eyes! All fourteen days of it... Then the world came crashing back, and Chandler could breath again. He didn't waste the chance either. Out of fear of being broken in half, Chandler took a deep breath the moment the girl's iron grip lighten. "I like the color blue..." He said dizzily before he regained his senses. Blinking a few times to get the blurriness out of his eyes before he noticed the girl's hands on him.  "Um, well my brain is kinda fuzzy, but what I do know, is that I'm perfect." Eyebrow wiggle waggle. 

"But, you'll have to buy me dinner first." He stated with a small smile, nodding toward her arms that were still holding his shoulders. His pupils dilating as he looked back at her. His deep sea-green hues meeting her violet ones. 

Then what could have been a soapy cheesy romantic moment was completely ruined by some bitch cutting in! Seriously the nerve of some people! But, Chandler didn't show his frustration, and instead gave the yellow-eyed ginger, who he had now dubbed Fire-Crotch, a small smirk. "So, you're not normally this friendly with the new kid?" He said with mocked flattery, but it was totally done it lightheartedly fun way, and not in the I'm-a-complete-jackass kind of way.  "I already said this, but I guess I can do it again." Shrugging he looked each of the girls in the eye. "My name is Chandler Fernandez." 

Extending his hand he offered a handshake with each of them. "It's nice to meet you." 

[Mutsumi Kanazaki]

'THey just keep popping up like pimples don't they?' She thought to herself as she took Chandler's hand.

"Why Hello Mr. Fernandez. It's very nice to meet you." Mutsumi said with a smile. She took his hand and shook it gently. "Please forgive my intrusion however. You all seem to know each other quite well. I wouldn't want to be a bother to any of you." She twiddled her thumbs and looked to the side. She was nervous. Here these people were acting all friendly together leaving her out of the loop. Mutsumi wondered at this moment if she was just in the way. 'I thought this was a meet and greet. Not a class reunion.' She said under her breath quite low enough so that only a person with enhanced hearing could hear. The second red head seemed a bit steamed as she folded her arms against her chest.

"Frustration Doesn't look good on you Kana." A voice said loud enough for the three of them to hear. Ariendel floated up from Mutsumi's cleavage in whisp form and shifted into the image of a young girl. "Hi, I'm Ariendel." The young whisp girl said waving a green transparent hand. "Are you in love with this Chandelier guy?" she asked Merideth. "A-Ari..." Mutsumi said a little worried. "It's Chandler not Chandelier." Ariendel however ignored this and kept getting his name wrong. "Yeah yeah. I got it. So are you in love with this Chupacabra guy or not?" Ariendel asked once more. She was quite the trouble maker. Getting Chandler's name wrong on purpose was just one of the many ways she'd mess with all of these guys. Ariendel was having fun doing this too. They couldn't hurt her since she was only a spirit. She'd abuse this untill it went to far. Mutsumi would however apologize to Chandler for her actions. "I'm sorry Ariendel isn't usually like this."