[center][h3] [/h3][/center][h3][hr][color=#38547C]Keaton Plasse[/color][/h3][hr]
After the fiasco on the first day, Keaton found the rest of the week pretty tame. In many ways, she picked up right where she left off in university, and though classes were much smaller on the ship, all the college-level basics were available either in-person or via the ship’s seemingly all-knowing AI, Cara, who took online classes to a whole new level. If anything, Keaton was learning more on the ship than she had on Earth, and she wasn’t sure what to feel about that. On one hand, it was great to be taught by an AI program that tailored the class for her; on the other, it was a tally for the running count of reasons why she’d been correct in agreeing to come to The Promise, and she wasn’t so certain that was a good thing.

That aside, the fiasco had left a pretty big mental mark, especially considering that someone had vomited on Keaton’s favorite jacket and then proceeded to turn into some huge lizard hybrid and trash the place before someone else turned into a human fireball and crisped him. Though she’d been tempted to toss it out, it remained a fond piece of home, and she’d been able to get the stains out after some wrangling with the washing machine and the detergents available to her. Wearing it, though, was another matter entirely, and currently it was hanging at the far side of her closet, in limbo until she was able to decide its fate. 

Jacket aside, there was the matter of the people Keaton had met the previous week. Well, ‘met’ was a strong word, but the past week had been freshman year all over again, with people introducing themselves at the drop of the hat, hoping to form some type of connection with just about everyone they could. She was on friendly terms with a few of her classmates, but just like in college, it was hard meeting people outside of her day-to-day routine, so when she spotted the boy who’d been turned into a giant lizard last week passing by, she paused to turn and stare. He was carrying flowers—visiting someone, a girl, who he was courting? Uncertain. But, given that the other few people Keaton had seen with him last week were girls, perhaps it was one of them. 

At this point, the boy turned into the hospital, and the dots connected. There were only so many people sent to the hospital that day, after all, and while the number the boy could be visiting with flowers was around three, only one of them had blown up the cafeteria. Now, she might have been jumping to conclusions when assuming that he was seeing the girl who’d called Keaton ‘Denim,’ but just because she didn’t get confirmation for that didn’t mean it wasn’t true. That the girl was still in the hospital, though, was a little alarming. One week—her injuries had been somewhat serious, then, at least compared to the others in the cafeteria. It made sense, though, considering that she’d literally exploded into flames. Whatever details Keaton hadn't been privy to firsthand were provided to her throughout the past week as the subject of the explosion in the cafeteria was used and reused as a conversation starter, and at this point she figured she had a pretty complete picture of her class' memorable first day.

Despite the fact that she might very well be interrupting some sort of romantic reunion, Keaton elected to follow the boy into the hospital. She’d introduce herself, see if the girl was doing alright, and go from there. Fake it until she made it and all that. Sure the boy had a tendency to transform into a huge lizard man he couldn’t control and the girl appeared to be some sort of living flamethrower, but Keaton was beginning to accept that people with such powers were her version of normal now. The girl, at least, seemed like a good person, and good people were the sort of people Keaton wanted to get to know.

The inside of the hospital was relatively quiet with the bustle limited to the side of the hallway which saw new arrivals. Unfortunately, her delay in following after the boy had caused her to lose sight of him, and after glancing down the empty hallways, she idled in the reception, not sure whether to leave or just head down a random hall.

“Can I help you?” the receptionist asked from her desk. 

[color=#38547C]“No, um,”[/color] Keaton said, glancing down the hallways again as she looked for an excuse. Instead, she was surprised to see the boy emerging from a nearby door with a girl in a hospital dressing gown—the fire girl. Their wary glances down the hall and general cautiousness, however, said that they were up to something. Sneaking out. Keaton could help there.

[color=#38547C]“Actually, yes. I’m meeting a friend here, Amy? She was visiting someone else but I’m blanking out on his name,”[/color] she said, pursing her lips as she crossed her arms on the counter. 

“Well, can you get in touch with your friend? Or do you know what her friend is in for?” 

[color=#38547C]“A fractured arm I think? Or was it a foot?”[/color] Keaton frowned, then shook her head. [color=#38547C]“Some bone. He got checked in recently?”[/color]

“I don’t think we had anyone come in with a broken arm or leg anytime soon but let’s see,” the receptionist said, pulling out a clipboard and looking it over. “No, no broken bones as of five hours ago.”

A glance down the hallway showed that it was now empty, and Keaton fished out her phone. 

[color=#38547C]“Hold on, let me text Amy,”[/color] she said, pretending to check it. [color=#38547C]“Oh, wait... she left already. Damn it.”[/color] Keaton flashed the receptionist an apologetic smile. [color=#38547C]“Sorry about all that, but thanks anyway!”[/color]

Just as she turned to leave, though, a crashing sound from down the hall drew her attention, and she watched in surprise as the red-helmeted figure from her first day skated past, waving at her. After taking another few moments to stare at the door he'd left through, Keaton glanced back and, seeing the receptionist on the phone, fled for the exit. 

Outside, Keaton found a street that was no longer calm. Freaky-D was what the man had been called, or so she'd been told. Though she'd personally never heard of the name, it seemed he and his exploits were somewhat of a thing online, and Keaton's classmates had readily filled her in on all the pertinent details. His getaways were apparently as much of his brand as his outfit, and she wasn't surprised to find that he was nowhere in sight. This all, she supposed, was another part of her new 'normal.'