Making a mess (open)

[reflection]

The School Library, a massive hall full of bookshelves, was peacefully quiet without a single soul making sounds, which wasn’t surprising considering that the clock was just approaching seven in the morning. However, silence didn’t mean it was empty. A lone shadow moved among the shelves, tiptoeing around and carrying a pile of books. This shady character was none other than Victoria Geist, a girl whose eyes and half of the face were always hidden behind dark, waist-length hair. She was wearing her usual outfit, beige jacket, violet skirt and black stockings, but her shoes had been left at her room. Needless to say, this self-proclaimed master prankster wasn’t here to read.

To be honest, her original reason to be here had been to build the biggest book fort ever, but after finding a random, plastic bucket, she had figured out something much better. She was going to start her morning with a prank. Placing a water bucket over a door was an eternal classic, but soaking someone simply wasn’t enough for her. So, she had stolen a bottle of slippery cleaner from the janitor’s closet and even poured some paper bits from a shredder into her mixture. The result was a bucketful of very, very slippery gray goo that would leave more than just a stain.

Now, that dreadful bucket was resting on the floor, but it would soon find its place on top of a bookshelf right next to the entrance. She placed the books, one by one, from the pile she was carrying onto an even bigger pile on the floor and her book stairway was finally ready. Being short wasn’t going to stop her mischievous creativity anytime soon. She grabbed the bucket with both hands and started scaling the book mountain, careful not to fall. Just as she was about to reach the top, one of the books slipped under her feet. She could’ve sworn the whole room swayed as she desperately tried to regain her balance.

Luckily, she barely stopped the wobbling and saved the bucket from going to waste. After breathing a sigh of relief, she placed the bucket on the right position above the entrance and tied a string onto it. Going down was much faster partially because she was so excited, but mostly because she didn’t have to be so careful anymore. The other end of the string was quickly secured around the door handle. Few gentle tugs on the string ensured that the bucket would move when the door opened. She had to stop herself from checking one more time, or otherwise the unsteady bucket would’ve fallen on her.

The childish prankster took few paces back to get out of the splash zone and admired her creation for a moment before sitting on the floor to wait. Reaching into her pocket, she revealed a small and obviously cheap digital camera. It beeped twice as she made sure that everything worked. Few giggles escaped from her lips as she imagined what would happen sooner or later. The first person to step through that door would get a messy bath and she would capture the moment. Maybe she could even get some money out of it by threatening to spread the photo throughout the school.

What could possibly go wrong?

[mccoy]

Immersing himself in the world of Timothy, amidst the turmoil of a world war seemed to become more complex and meaningful now that he was reading it as a teenager. The book, entitled The Cay by Theodore Taylor, was short, the vocabulary simple, which was why the prefect McCoy was holding several other books as well as the novel when he pushed open the door to the library and took a few steps in.

Surely no one would expect the greeting he received. He would have traded being bullied by unkind classmates for this. For several seconds, the incident left him speechless and motionless as the bucket clattered to the floor at his feet, the contents now all over him and the books he had been holding against his right side.

What was this? McCoy seemed to remember how to move several seconds later. He glanced down, sending the grey mixture from his hair to trail down his face. The floor didn't give many clues. There was some of the mixture there which gave him a better picture of it.

"Gads.

[/color]" McCoy mumbled the single word to himself, his natural Scottish accent apparent as he spoke. A deep breath was taken. 'Calm down. It's not sticky... It could be worse...' On the bright side, his power wasn't reacting to the mixture, so he wasn't subjected to the manufacturing of the substance. Vainly, McCoy raised his arm, intent on rubbing away the mixture from his face. The fact that his uniform had the mixture on it, too, stopped him instantly. Ew. People said he was anxious on a normal day, under typical circumstances that didn't involve messes. Right now, he was close to panicking. Before he allowed himself to lose his composure too visibly, his nervous expression lifted from the floor to focus on the girl in front of him. There was no reason for him to think she did it... Other than she seemed to be watching. Was she a concerned bystander? It was plausible. If it was her, he wasn't even sure what he could do as a prefect. Maybe he could threaten something... she might not know better. He'd have to be certain she did it first.

McCoy decided he had bigger problems than who did it and what would happen to them. So long as there wasn't a boy who looked tougher than him as the clear culprit, he didn't have to hide the fact that he couldn't stand the mess. At all. In all likelihood, he'd be the one offering to clean it up with or without being told to by an adult. To minimize the effect it was having on him, he pulled off the top layer of his uniform, tugging down the article beneath it to avoid showing any skin. He dropped it with disdain before again looking up at the girl once more.

"Well... hello.[/color]" His tone came out as nervous as he assumed he appeared as his mind continued to race with thoughts of just how disgusting and foreign this mixture was. It smelled strangely familiar, and not in a good way. It had a odd chemical smell, which only made matters worse. It also burned his eyes when the tiny drops trickled down from his hair. But his accent itself seemed to take on a bit more of a general central English accent. He was from Scotland, but no one else needed to know that.

[I hope you don't mind me jumping in now. I sorta said I wanted to on the box but then I had to share the computer. I really couldn't seem to get my own intro up today. *failure* There's always tomorrow to try again... Oh, and, sorry McCoy's kinda panicky. I also didn't ignore the bit about the camera, I just wasn't sure when she'd take it or if she'd take multiple pictures, so I didn't include a reaction to it yet~][/blockquote][/size]

[reflection]

Patience of the prankster was rewarded even sooner than she had expected. The door opened with a barely audible creak and Victoria lifted her camera up to her eyes faster than one could say "cheese". A bright light flashed several times as the camera quickly captured every significant moment. The fall of the bucket, the victim’s dumbfounded surprise, hilarious disgust, nervous glace and finally the drop of the cloth, they were all caught as bright, clear pictures. When the boy spoke, the prankster lowered her camera and revealed an eerie smirk "Hi..." She returned the greeting as a whisper before focusing on the device again.

Paying little to no attention on her victim, Victoria started going through the gallery. "Pffhht hehehe..." At first, she tried to keep her laughter as quiet, ghastly giggling, but that quickly proved to be impossible as each photo was funnier than the last. Soon enough, she fell over, kicking the air and unable to control her genuinely happy trickster’s laugh. It slowly subsided into breathless snickering and her feet calmed down as well. She struggled up from the floor and wiped some tears from her eyes. Her stomach was hurting, but it was a small price to pay for having so much fun.

With that little episode over, the childish trickster approached the messy boy, completely unaware of what kind of person she had just pranked. Her movements were bit swaying and mischievous smile remained unwavering. "You walked right~ into~ my tra~ap..." She simply couldn’t resist gloating in a quiet singsong tone. The boy didn’t seem like the easily angered type, but looks could be deceiving. Stopping just before the puddle at the boy’s feet, she glanced up at his face and silently hated her short height. Her quiet tone revealed nothing of it though. "What’s your name?" As an organized trickster, she wanted a name to write down on her diary later.

In all honesty, Victoria was really curious why the boy hadn’t started yelling yet, not to mention chatting with the victim was half the fun for her. She wasn’t going to be running away anytime soon. Suddenly, her twisted smile got wider and she tilted her head. "Oh and what do you think of my prank? Pretty clever, right?" It wasn’t hard to notice how proud she was of her messy trap. While others painted or played an instrument, she spent her free time devising elaborate tricks to pull on unsuspecting people. This was her very own art form and she loved getting attention with it.

_{[offtopic: I don't mind at all. ^_^ I think we are going to have a lot of fun, but Victoria will try to get the last laugh >:3]}

[mccoy]

Okay. The fact that she was taking pictures was a bit odd. It was hard to find her innocent as he was illuminated by the flash. To make matters worse, his enhanced senses seemed to make the light more vivid to him, which lead to squinting and annoyance when the pictures just wouldn't seem to stop. In due time, it finally did stop, but not soon enough. To his chagrin, she had the audacity to laugh as she seemed to examine the pictures. Anger didn't suit him, though, so instead he took on an expression of curiosity as she lay on the floor laughing. Instead of being offended or fearful of her having said pictures, he took a more relaxed, curious approach.

When the laughing died away and she began talking, McCoy crossed his arms over his chest. This wasn't actually a sign of anger as it may appear- she was too close, and he was feeling defensive, so in a way his arms were acting as a bit of a barrier. Given, not a very effective one. His expression was unaltered from the previous curious look as if to solidify just how not angry he was. He probably couldn't manage a glare if he tried. He did, however, wipe away the mixture from his face with his arm. That renewed his annoyance when he realized now his bear arm had the mixture on it.

"For a trap, I'm not very ...well, you know, trapped here. Maybe you should have picked another purpose for this mess. Or maybe used something sticky to keep a person in place? I can still leave and change my clothes ... What is this, anyway?

[/color]" McCoy pointed out. He knew it was more of an expression, but the truth was, he didn't care, and curious expression or not, annoyance wasn't anger. He was definitely annoyed about the situation.

"McCoy.[/color]" McCoy murmured, seeing no reason not to provide his name. Sure, it was his last name, but everyone seemed to call him that anyway. "Who are you?[/color]" Unlike her, he had little use for knowing her name. But it was polite to ask, so he did it out of what he considered necessity. He was taught to be polite whether he wanted to be or not. Usually he didn't mind because by the age of sixteen, he found it to be more like a familiar habit than a chore.

"I... Guess so. Got any equally ingenious methods for cleaning this up?[/color]" McCoy replied. His tone was quiet, almost passive, but his words were intended to be a bit unkind. ... McCoy wasn't that great at being mean. He may have proved that by not yelling, as she noticed, and by not sticking with his idea of threatening her. Now that he was covered in the stuff, she seemed harmless enough. So for now, any anger he was capable of mustering remained allusive.

[Fun indeed. McCoy might even find he appreciates her happiness, even at his expense. At least she doesn't think he's a scary prefect. For him that's a plus. But don't expect him to admit it until he's all cleaned up =P McCoy in general is pretty chill. He doesn't hold grudges well. Besides, she didn't physically hurt him so he figures it could be worse, and he assumes normal people wouldn't get as nervous as him which means he doesn't dare say he's anxious over the mixture.] [/blockquote][/size]

[ticklicous]

Ren had just woke up due to unforeseen circumstances and figured the library could help him kill some time. He figured at this point, it would be nice to know what species some if the birds he talked to by his window a lot were. He hummed a small tune while walking down to the library. Completely oblivious to the fact others may be awake, he happily walked through the library door to find a good book to continue his studies.

"Woah!!" He exclaimed as he happened to slip on some kind of liquid once inside. He fell back with a crash into a pile of insisted books. "Oww..." He groaned as he worked his way back to his feet. Whatever this stuff was, it was about as nasty as his last lunch. People though he was lying, but he swore that "meat surprise" really hissed at him and crawled off his plate. Whatever the case, he shook off what he could. "That was like that last lunch that hissed at me and crawled away..." He said his thought out loud.

Of course he didn't even notice there was already a couple people in the library. Great, now he was soaked in whatever this was and there were others. Quickly he looked down to not make eye contact. He hated getting public attention so he always tried to avoid it. He tried to calmly work his way past the other two. Frankly, he wasn't sure he was going to succeed.

[reflection]

Victoria chuckled at the answer, thinking that the boy was missing her point. "Oh, that’s just drool from the giant spider that lives in the basement." She actually had no idea if spiders ever drooled, but that didn’t really matter as she was pretty sure there weren’t any giant ones in the school. Finding even regular ones for her pranks was often difficult. However, she wasn’t going to mention any of that out loud. "Every night some unlucky student gets eaten..." She leaned closer and her mouth twisted into a toothy, mad grin. "And tonight..." Her hair moved enough to reveal one pitch black pupil. "It will be coming for you..." Of course, it was all just a joke.

The name made Victoria tilt her head and her smile change to mild confusion "Koi? Like the fish?" In her opinion it was a strange name, but she wasn’t going to make fun of him for it. After McCoy asked her name in return, she suddenly turned her back to him and grinned. This was the perfect opportunity to do something she had wanted to do ever since entering the school. "You can call me... Phantom." The mysterious tone, short pause and dramatic turn back towards the boy before announcing of her nickname were all intentional. Victoria had figured that since it always looked so cool in the movies, she was going to try it as well.

When McCoy hinted that she should also take care of the mess, she only shook her head. "I’m not gonna clean it up..." She tapped her camera and smirked. "I’ll wait here and watch dummies who are in hurry-" As if on cue, someone stepped in and crashed spectacularly. Even Victoria was briefly stunned by her good luck. "-slip like that..." The surprise wore off quickly enough for her to snap another funny photo. Soon, another fit of giggles echoed in the quiet library when she checked the picture. She had captured the guy getting up from the puddle, but it almost looked like he was rolling in the goo.

The laughter ended quickly since her stomach was still hurting from the earlier. Without a warning, she stepped in front of the new boy and blocked his path. Once again she had to look up in order to meet his eyes, but she was having too much fun to mind anymore. "Hey, wanna see how funny you looked when you rolled around like a little piggy?" There was no ill intent in her question or tone. She simply wanted to share the funny moment with her victim. "Take a good look..." As she turned her camera around to show the small screen to the boys, she also remembered the other thing she needed to ask.

"Oh, and what is your name, Mr. Hurry pants?"

[mccoy]

Spider drool? That was an odd answer, until he considered the fact that she seemed to enjoy tormenting him. Then it just sounded like something a younger sibling might come up with. So in a way it was sort of funny. More that she'd say that than actually being amusing, though. He decided not to respond to it. That was safer, wasn't it? ... Well, he didn't actually know what the right thing to do in that moment was.

"I guess so.

[/color]" McCoy's shoulders raised in a shrug, then dropped back down. Phonetically, she was right, it was like the fish. It was also a traditional Scottish name, so he dodged a bullet with her even if he did get called Koi from now on.

"That's okay. I'd rather not.[/color]" McCoy answered. He got teased enough without having some silly name for her. Maybe she was being honest and her parents did think phantom was a good name. But the way she turned around from him and seemed to try to emphasize it was reason enough to think it couldn't possibly be.

"I'm pretty sure the prefects would have a record of you. And if they don't, they will after tonight.[/color]" McCoy added. To him, his statement wasn't a threat. He was merely reacting to what he believed to be a lie. She'd just lied about spider drool, which this was definitely not. Whether it was the word 'giant' tacked onto the word spider, or whether it was the threat that he'd be eaten later, he just wasn't buying it. So, if she could lie, so could he... except, his wasn't completely a lie.

Okay. Anger. Right. That's what she had now. It was probably the way the boy looked to the floor as he walked that made McCoy want to defend him, but it could have just been the effects of wanting so badly to wash off the stupid goo from his own body or the fact that she was going to refuse to clean it up and return the library to a previous, clean state. He actually began to wonder if the goo would ever dry making cleaning unnecessary or at least easier, but given the other male's fall, he doubted it was going to happen anytime soon.

"Hey, come on, leave him alone.[/color]" McCoy ordered, his tone defiant. "You don't have to be cruel.[/color]" His arms finally dropped from across his chest, his once calm expression taking on a more unimpressed one. McCoy turned his attention to the stranger next.

"Are you okay?[/color]" McCoy questioned curiously. They both may have the goo on them, but McCoy hadn't fallen, so he assumed this new boy was worse off.[/blockquote][/size]

[ticklicous]

Ren was already having half a heart attack about the idea of giant spiders. Now this girl was asking him his name! He had no idea what to do so he just avoided eye contact and tried to inch away slowly. He didn't like talking to new people very much, it made him very nervous. The last thing he needed was to have yet another person stab him in the back again. The idea of all his "friends" who had betrayed him ran through his mind. He eventually had stopped totally trusting people so easily.

He felt something crawling on his neck, and came to the very conclusion he dreaded most. "Giant spider!!!!" He shrieked almost like a girl. He started flailing his arms and eventually slipped on the stuff again. He started rolling on his back to get the spider off. He totally hated bugs, they almost always made him had a freak attack.

Eventually he realized the others were still there. Drat, of course the girl had a camera of all things. Hoping she didn't take any pictures of his freak out, he tried to act calm. Worries flooded through his head at such an idea of this going out to the school. Why did he always have such bad luck these days?

[reflection]

The comment about Prefects really sparked Victoria’s interest. "Oh is that so?" Like her tone revealed, she was curious about the whole record thing, but instead of asking more to sate her curiosity, she chose to answer with a little threat of her own. Her grin turned bit more sinister and her tone followed the suit. "Well maybe tomorrow the whole school will see the pictures of you getting an icky slime bath..." McCoy had made it sound like he was close with Prefects and Victoria would’ve loved a chance to knock a Prefect supporter down few pegs. She just had no idea how she would pull it off, well, at least not yet.

Up until now, Victoria had been smiling, or grinning, nonstop, but good things never lasted forever. The dismissal of her nickname and even the mild threat had been brushed off, but then the boy had hit a nerve. What finally killed her smile was the sudden order to back off. She did actually step away, but her lips curled into a small frown to show that she didn’t approve. In her opinion this Koi boy was a real... "Killjoy..." Her mutter finished that disappointed thought. A devious idea started to form in her mind, suggesting that she should show what happened when she actually wanted to be cruel. However, she soon got something else entirely to think about.

The prankster started snapping more photos from the moment she recovered from the sudden, girly scream. She was struggling to keep her camera steady while laughing, but when the flailing was over, she was free to giggle all she wanted. It was all too late for trying to act calm anymore. This boy was hilarious, which made her want to know more about him. She leaned closer towards the boy and revealed her ghastly grin. "If you won’t tell me your name, I’m gonna start calling you Spazzy..." Admittedly it was as much a threat as it was her way of teasing him for the freak out.

"And I think I’ll share your pictures too with the whole school."

[mccoy]

Hey, now, wasn't that interesting? Curiousity, definitely. McCoy wasn't proud of being a prefect, though, and he certainly didn't want her to think he endorsed her being one. So just in case the curiosity was about prefects in general and how to join up, he kept quiet on the entire topic like he didn't notice her interest. As far as a threat went, hers did little to phase him. He got bullied enough, what was adding a few viral pictures going to do? And anyway, they weren't that embarrassing, were they?

McCoy's eyes wandered from her to his uniform and the goo as he considered whether or not he should care. He cared more that she called him a killjoy, but that one he deserved. He wasn't very fond of the assessment, either. Maybe he was a little too serious ... It was hard to take a step back now, so he kept the troubling thoughts to himself.

'Well, that was pointless' McCoy's mind stated the obvious silently as the boy nullified any respect McCoy may have earned him. Ah, man. McCoy literally sighed as the other male rolled around, fretting about a spider McCoy couldn't see. The fact that he thought it was a giant spider made the matter worse. At least the girl wasn't using a video function to record this... episode. There was little he could say now to help the boy with the teasing he seemed to deserve, and there was very little he wanted to say.

To avoid having to say anything, and hopefully help the stranger from slipping again, McCoy dropped down to his knees before picking up the jacket he'd dropped before. Carefully, he removed the silver insignia from the sleeve, setting it off to his right in a clear spot of the floor. Next, he righted the bucket, setting it in front of him before using the jacket to scoop up what he could of the mixture, discarding it into the bucket again.

This was so gross. It didn't occur to McCoy that he could just be helping her pull off the prank again. He'd at least feel a little better if the library was as clean as he could get it before the group he was with carelessly left it for a custodian or the librarian- there really could be a serious injury if it was left unattended.

... Yeah, he knew he needed to lighten up. It was easier said than done for Nash McCoy.

[ticklicous]

Ren realized the fear he dreaded most, he had pictures that could go out to everyone in an instant. He didn't know what to do at this point, so he decided to speak. "M- My name's- R- R- Ren..." He spluttered, since at this point he was a nervous wreck. He felt as if he was choking on his own throat, like he would pass out then and there. His eyes started getting blurry as he felt the first drop fall on his hand. He slumped down right where he was and started to cry.

He didn't care if the others saw him since nothing else could make this even worse. He had always had negative opinions thrown at him, eventually he learned accept it. He now just wanted to be home, with his little sister. He wanted to be with her to play in the sandbox or chase butterflies. Now it was too late to turn back though. Now he was considering to run, from the school, life, people, and everything else.

It took a while to calm down, but he eventually did. He figured the other two were staring, and buried his face in his sleeves. The goo he had on him started to smell somewhat. Frankly, he didn't care about that at the moment. Now that he was away from Cassy, he had nobody to protect of feel needed from. Why was he such a helpless pity?

[reflection]

At first, Victoria was so utterly dumbfounded at how the boys reacted that her jaw dropped. Considering how much strange stuff she had seen, that was quite an achievement from the boys. She couldn’t understand why Koi boy ignored her threat and actually started cleaning up her clever trap. Was he one of those odd neat freaks? The other boy didn’t make any sense in her mind either. Right after telling his name, he started sobbing like a little crybaby. What had she done wrong? And what kind of name was Rereren anyway? Victoria crossed her arms and her mouth curled into a very childish pout. "Hmph, you two serious pants really need to learn to take a joke..."

Before she could walk away huffing and puffing in disappointment, something glimmering on the floor caught her attention. She recognized that shiny badge all too well. Koi boy really was a prefect and that meant Victoria’s earlier wish was coming true. The pout was replaced by a smile that was bordering truly evil. In a matter of seconds, the girl turned transparent like a glass statue before disappearing completely. Few quiet steps could be heard carefully moving next to the boy who was on his knees. After a moment, the silver insignia begun to slowly levitate off the ground as the invisible prankster tried to steal it.

Now, this was close to turning into a game of weird tag, or maybe cops and robbers. Victoria had practically already forgotten the bucket and the goo as she was busy putting her next mischievous plan into action. If she succeeded in taking the badge without alerting McCoy, her footsteps would’ve quickly tapped away, deeper into the library. However, the insignia would’ve still remained visible and looked like it was gliding through the air on its own. On the other hand, if she failed, there was a chance of this turning into a short, but slippery wrestling match.

[mccoy]

Needed to take a joke? Yeah. He couldn't deny it. It was one of his concerns that seemed only more present when she was around to remind him how serious he really was. Maybe if he just avoided her, he wouldn't have to think about it. But he hadn't exactly gone looking to meet her.

"Sorry... But someone else could slip and get seriously hurt. You could get into a lot of trouble.

[/color]" McCoy explained, as if that would justify why he had to clean it up. Of course it had nothing to do with his borderline OCD tendancies ... McCoy wanted to seem normal.

There were two options for why there were footsteps and no person. One was a ghost, which wasn't completely implausible, and one was an invisible student. Since Victoria was no where in sight, it was probably the latter, but just to make sure he tracked her movements in silence. Maybe she should have picked a different target who didn't have enhanced senses. The boy's sight was by far the best, but his hearing was better than most regular humans.

When she finally lifted it, his eyes caught sight from his periphrials and he instantly reached out to grab it, careful not to touch her in the process by grabbing just the very edge of the silver object. He doubted she'd want him touching her with the ability to read her memories. Fortunately for her, so long as she didn't touch his hands, her memories were safe.

"I'll trade you something for one. My roommate's the student council president-- I'm sure I can get another. Just leave mine alone, please?[/color]" McCoy pleaded hopefully, keeping a tight grip on it. He didn't want to know what would happen if the other prefects saw him without it, and besides, it was so perfect, so clean... If she got it dirty or in anyway ruined it, she could have it. McCoy would try to avoid that scenario though.

"Why do you want it, anyway? It's not that great being a prefect, don't fool yourself.[/color]" McCoy muttered, for the briefest moment considering just letting her take the prefect symbol. He would then have an excuse for why he didn't have one. But she might get into quite a bit of trouble if he told her, which would inevitably lead to a lot more trouble on his part. And she had pranked him, so he couldn't exactly justify wanting to do it for her. They weren't friends by any means, at least not by his standards.

Maybe they could be friends someday, though. McCoy lightly bit the edge of his bottom lip as if that might help put a stop to, or at least slow down, the flood of thoughts. It seemed she didn't even need to make an argument before he was already willing to give in. If it meant something to her, he could handle the consequences, couldn't he? The nervous gesture of bitting his lip seemed useless as the thoughts kept coming.[/blockquote][/size]