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In the days leading up to his arrival, Daniel had somehow worked the idea into his head that Harbour Academy would prove to be the solution to all his woes. So far, it hadn't quite measured up. Parental approval hadn't magically fallen into his lap, and it likely wouldn't unless the boy did exceptionally well here. Or came home with a girl on his arm and an adamant reassurance that he was over his little phase. Even the relationships with his colleagues hadn't been mended to the standard Danny formerly enjoyed. Sure, nobody knew who he was here and no gossip about his romantic tastes yet flitted about the halls, but it didn't really matter if everyone barely talked to him. The preexisting connections of the affluent apparently knitted many friend groups together already, but Daniel unfortunately chose this school precisely to [i]avoid[/i] any such prior acquaintances.

The administration had to have seen the same issue occur frequently, given they took steps to solve it. Ineffective steps, but steps. The mandatory meeting thing may have been called an icebreaker, but quite frankly, it looked like winter was coming, to quote his cheesy upperclassman's humor, and the ice was staying put. He tried his best to introduce himself and be friendly, but after Sofia promptly vacated the group, Daniel allowed himself to suffocate in the oppressive awkwardness of the room for only a few minutes before restlessness overtook him and he got up to leave.

[color=0099ff]"Alright, good talk, guys."[/color] And that was that. Goodbye, whoever they were.

The brunet chose to fill the void in his social life with aggressive small talk; he had no issue musing vaguely about the weather to the other occupants of an elevator or turning abruptly to the person behind him in line at the cafeteria to butt in on their conversation. Sometimes they laughed, sometimes they stared at him like he'd grown a second head, but that was show business, baby! Or... at least he thought it was. He should probably confirm with that actor kid in his icebreaker group; that'd buy him at least a fifteen minute conversation.

Though, his social woes were but a temporary hurdle. Once clubs started up, he'd have an entire swim team to talk to. Daniel could subsist on meager interactions with classmates for a week or two, even if nothing truly stuck and the rapports were as fleeting as his rambling. If one couldn't find camaraderie in an enclosed space with fellow athletes, they weren't trying. The real issue stemmed from his financial woes. His parents had all but cut him off and his grandparents offered little beyond his exorbitant tuition. Given the demographics of the student body, he had a feeling lack of funds would exclude him from a good portion of social activities. It was a small comfort that the nearby town might just have been boring enough for the students to seek their entertainment on campus - where such amusements were usually free.

Though, his newly-emptied bank account didn't cease causing problems so long as Danny remained safely tucked away on school grounds. Running out of contacts and being left without the means to order more was, admittedly, a bigger roadblock than he had anticipated. He was accustomed to taking them out before swimming anyway and he'd managed to find a spot where he could see the television well enough over the summer break, but the reality of how poor his eyesight was didn't sink in until classes began. Daniel had managed on the first day - everything was mostly introductory, he managed to snag a seat close to the front in a few classes, the guy next to him in math was nice enough to let Daniel peek at his notes - the situation seemed manageable. On day two, it was much of the same; he just made sure to pay extra close attention to everything the instructors said for want of the lesson's visuals. On the third day, he noticed he had already started to slip academically when he was put on the spot to answer a question he couldn't even read and he floundered embarrassingly. After a mere four days into his sixth form career, Daniel finally admitted defeat and, when he arrived back in his dorm, immediately scoured through the still-yet-to-be-unpacked boxes piled in the corner for the glasses he hadn't worn since he was eleven. By some grace of God, he'd actually packed them - or rather, they were coincidentally tucked into an old backpack of his that he'd packed in case something happened to the bag he used regularly.

They didn't do their job perfectly, old as they were, but Danny could at least read the poster on the other side of his room now. His newfound joy lasted exactly two minutes and forty-three seconds (not that anyone counted), when he chanced upon a mirror and, being sixteen and thus the arbiter of all things cool and fashionable, decided that nearsightedness was preferable to the ignominy he'd suffer walking around in glasses again. Sure, no one had ever told him they looked bad when he was younger, but surely they were thinking it. Probably. 

Regardless of his feelings on the matter, the stupid glasses ended up being a big help. The old prescription held up enough to get Daniel through most of his classes, at least once he deigned to fish the poor frames out of his bag and begrudgingly seat them on his nose, though he still sat too far back in math to release the guy seated next to him from his most solemn duty of letting Daniel copy his notes. A girl even said he looked good in them once, though Danny couldn't discern what ulterior motive could've possibly driven her to lie like that.

Nevertheless, an eager conversationalist was a boon in these troubled times, and when Daniel happened upon the girl again later, now bereft of said hated eyewear, she seemed just as amenable to talk as before. Her mannerisms were a bit reserved, but she seemed to relish in his attention where other students simply blew him off. Danny thought nothing of it until he noticed the way she giggled at nearly everything he said. Surely he wasn't [i]that[/i] funny-

Oh.

That was it! That would be his ticket to squash any rumors before they even began. While no stranger to the attentions of the fairer sex, Daniel never really paid it much mind, for obvious reasons. But if he had a girl on his arm every so often... 

No, he didn't even need to go that far. Just be a bit of a tease and let the rumor mill flow. Of course, he'd never been one for subtlety, and it wasn't like he was fearful of rejection. That girl - Daniel hadn't even bothered to learn her name - probably walked off thinking they were soulmates. He'd let her down gently in a week or two.

Apparently she didn't want to wait that long, since Danny found an invitation to a moonlit tryst down by the boathouse on the floor one morning. Or rather, he found a cool origami frog and finally noticed it had writing on it after he tried to make it bounce on his desk a few times. He had to say, she certainly knew the way to his heart - he'd missed the water desperately since his arrival. It was unfortunate she'd probably expect him to kiss her after their little swim.

When he arrived at the designated area on the map that night, garbed in only a loose t-shirt and a garishly bright orange and teal bathing suit, that he realized all the people gathered couldn't possibly be here for a weird... octuple date.

[color=0099ff]"Oh, hey! It's... uh... you guys,"[/color] the boy greeted, his mind failing to provide any of their names at the moment. [color=0099ff]"This like a prank, or a hazing thing, or did I just miss some event announcement?"[/color]

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