[IC] Stick to your Side

[Banba]

The morning sun broke over the tops of the office buildings across the street from the two buildings that seemed to have two different universes inside. Today they'd be joined, to the mixed feelings of the entire community.

Moe yawned as she sat up, stretching. Rubbing sleep from her eyes, she threw the blanket to the end of the bed and padded her way to the window, past the other girls in various states of sleep and waking up. opening the blind like she had every other morning, Moe felt a sense of eternal change wash over her as she gazed at the school situated next door. Standing where she was for another minute, she sighed and turned back to her bed, grabbing a cardboard box on her way to the washrooms to get ready for the day.

It didn't take long as she just changed into barely noticeable dirty clothes and brushed her hair, returning the box with her pajamas to under her bed. By now, most of the beds were empty, the other girls preparing for their first day with the rich kids. It felt strange. It was like any other day, but wildly different. Chewing her lip with a restless feeling, Moe made her way downstairs to the main level and passed through the kitchen to grab a piece of toast before wandering to the back of the orphanage, where a small plot of grass was fenced in by brick walls. She sat in the middle of the empty area, staring at the graffiti covered wall, reading the barely legible words as if she hadn't since the first day she arrived at St. Dominique's. She didn't move as she heard a group of kids laughing on the other side of the wall, probably rich students.

"Well, May as well make the best of it." Moe muttered to herself, finishing her toast and nodding for encouragement. "I just have to survive two years of this. I'm already in 11, I'll graduate next year."

[SUN]

Cass clenched her eyes shut tighter aggressively pulling her woolen sheets over her head to protect her from the light that poured into the room. "Damn Moe why are you up?" She mumbled rolling over away from the blinds. She sat up slightly stretching her arms and yawning. She held down her wild red hair looking over at Conrad snoozing soundly in his cot. She smiled slightly taping the pole under his bed roughly causing his bed to jolt. "Get up sleepy, time for school" she shuddered not in the least excited for her senior year. She grabbed her box pulling out an old sweater that hung like a dress, worn leggings, and her only pair of boots. She met up with Moe in the bath room waving lazily a tired smile on her face "morning.." She said in a yawn. She washed up and got dressed then followed her down to the main floor. Cass sat down in the kitchen chair laying her head back looking up at the ceiling. "today's going to be interesting.."

[The Wanderer]

Food.... Wonderful food.... He reached blindly for it, only to have the scent and the blissful peace ripped away all at once by a cruel, inhuman shock into reality. School. That word penetrated his mind. "It's just a myth Cass... just go back to bed..." He groaned and stuck his head under a pillow. School was a myth... a horrible one. He was closing his eyes when it hit him. He really did have to go to school. But it was so nice in bed... It took more willpower than he had to give to roll himself out of the bed and onto the floor with a loud thud. He tried to sit up lethargically and then thumped his head back to the floor with a sigh. Mornings. There would be a lot more of these. Conrad rolled out of the tangle of sheets on the floor and rubbed his face. He searched through the sheets and found his shirt, pulling it on after tossing the sheets onto the cot. He had slept fully dressed, like usual. And somehow had worked his shirt off, as usual. Whatever, pajamas were a pain. He stretched with a cracking sound and grabbed a pair of sandals from under the bed. After trying to straighten the wrinkles in the black t-shirt and adjusting his jeans, he was ready to go.

Conrad walked past the bathroom door and took the steps two at a time down without even checking. The girls could have the bathroom all morning for all he cared, as long as there was something to eat. Slipping through the kitchen and into the food preparation area left gave him all he needed, a disposable plate full of scrambled eggs, a piece of toast, and a quick stop at the sink to splash water onto his face. He wandered back into the main area, wolfing down the eggs as fast as he could, making his way around Cass to lean on the wall, and coming up for air just long enough for a question. "Where did Moe and the others go?" Conrad went back to eating, maybe if he was lucky there would be some leftovers.

[SUN]

Cass raised a brow at Conrad, "slow down stud, you're going to choke..." He was eating like he had just quit a ten month fast. She shrugged at his gasped question "I think she went to the wall with some toast.." She proped her feet on the edge of the table. Moving her gaze off of him and back to the ceiling "excited for school?" She asked her voice dripping with sarcasm. She crossed her arms lazily closing her eyes comfortably. She thought of school herself, she didn't care for it but she wasn't dreading it. She only worried for Moe and Con, the rich kids would eat them alive, but she trusted they were tough soldiers. At least that's what she kept telling herself.

[Banba]

Moe blinked, remembering she hadn't for a while, her thoughts utterly consuming her. She had never liked the students that she sometimes ran into, giving judgmental looks twards her clothes or hair, giggling to their friends. Of couse, she knew not all of them could be like this, but she was yet to meet them.
"To be fair." She muttered, streching. "I haven't met any. I've just seen them. Honestly, they may have not even been students."
Checking her watch, she stood up, brushing the grass off her jeans. Turnig back twards the building, she moved into the door, through the kitchen to the main room, where some others were sitting.
"You guys may want to hurry up, be there a bit early." She suggested, but sat down beside Conrad anyways, sliding a toast crust off his plate, eating it before he could protest.
"You know, find classrooms and meet our teachers and become friends with all of our classmates, because I'm sure we're all excited to learn all about them." She contined in the most sarcastic voice she could muster.

[Dingo]

Max lay staring at the ceiling. The alarm on his phone had been going off every fifteen minutes, meaning he had been laying awake in bed for roughly half an hour, but he didn't particularly feel like getting up. He was a little sick of the routine. Granted, it was only the first day, but Max was certain that this year was going to be little more than a carbon copy of last year, just with new faces. He was already aware that the St. Dominique's orphans were going to be attending this year, all the students and their parents did. It was largely viewed as a PR stunt, something that many families approved of, since it helped the face of their companies for their children to be seen attending both a prestigious, yet also sympathetic and compassionate school. It certainly appeased a lot of the 99%'ers. Max, for the most part, didn't care. All it meant to him was the same school-ground politics and an increase in theft accusations, really.

The noise of the phone finally became too annoying and Max roused himself from bed, walking across the room to switch it off. It was a 'birthday present' from his father. Their company was moving into the communication technology market and this was the latest prototype of their highly anticipated smart phone, a sleek, silver device that boasted a 500GB storage capacity and a graphical quality that rivaled most custom-built computers. It had a bad habit of crashing, however, especially whenever it ran Skyrim, meaning that many of the attachments, such as the bluetooth keyboard and mouse, went unused.
Walking over to his closet, Max started to dress for the day. He didn't bother tucking his shirt in, the practice had always bothered him when it wasn't explicitly called for. A jingle in his pants pocket caught his attention and he reached in, pulling out two pairs of keys. The other part of his birthday present. He could legally drive now, which meant his mother had bought him a Jaguar XK120 whilst his father had gotten him a '69 Shelby GT 500. Max suspected it their difference in taste had a lot to do with his mothers residence in England while she oversaw their U.K branch whilst his father handled the U.S branch. Throwing the keys on the counter where his phone had been, Max finished dressing and leisurely exited his room, heading towards the dining hall. He had no idea what was on the menu, but he didn't feel like anything too rich this early in the morning.

[Banba]

Moe checked her watch, an old thing where she replaced the broken band with an old belt, cutting the leather down to size and punching new holes to fit her wrist, sewing the watch itself to the leather. Standing up and slapping the table lightly, she sighed with registration.
"Actually, it was later than I thought. We should probably head over now, or we'll be late to the first day assembly thing." She said, annoyed as she moved to the front door, clapping her hands to an absentminded beat. She didn't wait for anyone as she pulled on her near- ancient leather coat, moving to the sidewalk to head into the school's grounds. she looked up, squinting against the morning sun as she stared at the building surrounded by tall brick walls. it was tall, compared to the orphanage, which was only two stories and a basement used only for storage. The school had five stories, and the roof was accessible to the students. The dorms were behind it, three stories tall and a large plot of grass in front of it. a small garden sat between the two buildings, and benches were spread through the entire grounds. Moe shoved her hands into her pockets as she climbed the few steps into the school, glaring around at the mass of students milling around. she was glad to see pockets of orphans among them, but it was clear that even with the school's low numbers, they were the minority. A noise sounded over the sound system, and a man's voice, presumably the principle's, came next.
"All students please start to head to the auditorium, we will begin the opening ceremony as soon as possible!" Moe scoffed aloud, narrowing her eyes at the speakers in the roof. Nonetheless, she obeyed, following a group of girls that looked to be headed that way.

[SUN]

Cass stood up straight resting an arm on Conrad "Righto my dear girl" she said with a wink. She skipped past him grabbed her roughed up satchel that held her books and pens for school. She acted all peppy and sweet but she was far from excited for school. She held her breath and opened the door the chill air blasting her hair back. She bit her lip holding her long sweater sleeves over her hands and crossed her arms tightly "I'm running to school.." She called out to Conrad seeing as Moe was already out the door "think you can keep up?" She said with a freezing smile then started out the door, she had a sneaking suspicion that he would be right at her heels.

Upon arriving to school she was hardly breathless from the mile run. The icy air made her lungs burn though, she held her stomach tightly. The run warmed her up though and she was athletic enough to probably go at it a few more times. Running was probably her only strength in school and her only chance at a scholarship.

[The Wanderer]

He sighed sadly at the missing piece of toast, but kept eating at the same pace. Conrad would rather not think about school, or classmates. Education was worthless to people like him. In fact, it was worse than worthless. Not only was he poor, but he was poor with a 'good' education. A double reason to be looked down on. Moe glanced at her old watch- it was one of the few around here. And then she was gone. For the first time since he had sat down, he slowed his eating.
"I don't see why we should even bother with assembly. It is just another chance for them to go on about the schools 'generosity' and 'charity' in bringing us in."
"I'm running to school.. think you can keep up?" Cass tossed out the challenge casually, but it was a challenge.

He grimaced, looking down at his empty plate and back up. "But, what about sec...." He sighed, Cass was already gone. And so it would begin. Conrad bolted after her, pausing next to the door to snatch an old drawstring bag and tugging the door shut with just the tips of his fingers as he left after her. The cold air had risen goosebumps on his skin the moment Moe had opened the door, and again when Cass had- but now he was just numb. Conrad had had a coat, but forfeited it to a younger orphan a month or so ago. The cold wouldn't kill him, hopefully. The air certainly seemed colder when sprinting through it like this. If had been up to Conrad, he would have walked and skipped assembly. If it wasn't for this kind of challenge from Cass and the others he would have been happy to be as lazy as possible. As it were though, they were keeping him in some sort of shape. He heard the announcement just as he reached the school gates, passing by Cass he tugged her arm. "Come on, we have to get in and find Moe before we are stuck standing with all these..." He swallowed back an expletive. (Conrad had begun watching his language over the summer after an incident with a younger orphan.) "Looks like it is over there."

[Dingo]

Exiting the Dining Hall, Max spooned a mouthful of Potatoes Au Gratin into his mouth from the small, plastic take-away container he carried. He'd slipped a fifty to the staff member who'd given him the food in order to make sure they kept some of the leftovers for him when lunch and dinner arrived with the added promise that they'd have a lasagna ready for him that evening.
Max had an unspoken agreement with the Dining Hall staff. School policy dictated that all leftovers be dumped out after each meal. Max, however, would 'buy' some of the leftovers, making them his property. The staff would save him some for later and they could take home whatever he didn't eat. He knew the head chef's son loved lasagna, so Max made sure to ask for it at least once a week. It certainly made more sense to him than wasting it all.

As the announcement came over the speakers calling for assembly, Max was already making his way around to the front entrance, taking his time to eat. Most of the student were making their way in, a mixture of the ultra-elite and the obviously orphaned. Max found himself walking behind a group of girls, falling alongside a redheaded girl and a blonde haired boy with an old drawstring bag, clearly a couple of the orphans.
Throwing his dirty, plastic spoon into a trash can as he passed, he replaced the lid on his food and pulled another plastic spoon out of his pocket. He never could finish this many potatoes in one sitting and he was mostly full at this point.

"Hey," Max said, tapping the blonde haired boy on the shoulder, "I'm full and don't wanna waste this. You want it?" he asked, offering the container to the stranger. There was no hint of pity in his voice, just sincerity. Max legitimately did not want the food to go to waste and he knew he had a bad habit of taking more than he could eat.

[Banba]

Moe glanced behind her as someone offered another person food, seeing Conrad being offered potatoes of some kind. She smirked, turning forwards as the stream of people moved into the auditorium. It was huge, set up like a theater house. Rows of seats went all the way to the back of the room, one row higher than the last. At the front of the room, a large stage sat, black curtains looking of to be made of very expensive fabric. Dazed, Moe took a seat halfway back where the row was empty, continuing to stare around her. She didn't know what she expected but it wasn't this. There were adults spread around the room, directing students to seats and telling them to settle down, that they were being too loud. A few more adults were on the stage, some fiddling with the microphones, but most were just talking to each other, looking into the mass of students. After she watched them for a while, following their gaze, she noticed they were pointing out the orphans to each other. Moe shivered, sinking further down in the cushioned seat, propping her feet against the top of the empty seat in front of her. This was going to be normal from now on, she would have to get used to being in such expensive and fancy rooms. She didn't know if she could get used to the constant judging from the rich, though.

[SUN]

Cass eyed max carefully. She remembered him from the school last year, he was one of the richest kid there. She placed a protective hand on Conrad's shoulder holding her body forward closer to max. She was worried that he was up to some prank, after all that's what they usually did. "You do know they feed us right?" She said lightly trying not to come off as too rude. She didn't like answering for Conrad either but she was afraid his first day might of been ruined in just a matter of seconds. She pulled her sunglasses up on her head, the specs pulling her vibrant red hair back. It revealed her sea green eyes so she could get a better look at him. He looked nice enough, but they always did before something went wrong.

[Dingo]

Max grinned slightly at the Cass' question. He couldn't help but notice how vivid she appeared with her bright red hair and green eyes, "I should certainly hope they feed you!" he replied with a slight chuckle. He couldn't help but notice that she was placing herself between Max and the boy he had initially spoken too, seeing protective of him. Her boyfriend, perhaps? Either way, Max could felt that there was a slight apprehension in the air, as if Cass was hesitant to trust his gesture. Reaching into his pocket, Max pulled out a second plastic spoon. He was clearly labeling himself as a habitual snacker, but he wasn't too concerned at that point.
"It's okay, I'm just full and didn't want to see this go to waste," He said, popping the lid off the container and scooping a spoonful of potatoes and cheese in to his mouth, taking a moment to chew and swallow the food, "See?" He said, offering the couple the food once again. "The way I see it, I figured you guys would appreciate more than the other students. They probably wonder what I was doing and throw it out anyway."
Max continued to smile politely as he held to container out for them. He had no idea how sincere he looked, but he hoped it was enough. The last thing he wanted was for someone to mistake his gesture as some sort or political play.

[The Wanderer]

Conrad turned slowly, looking the other boy up and down. Designer, rich. Rich. Rich. His mouth drew into a flat line. His eyes met the other boys, and he softened slightly. He didn't look suspicious. He had expected much worse treatment... but... Cass's hand came down on his shoulder as she leaned past him slightly and pulled up her shades. The boy seemed friendly enough, at first. It was mildly surprising when the boy pulled a plastic spoon from his pocket. It wasn't the spoon that had surprised Conrad, just that it wasn't silver. Common indulgence. The rich always have to be fed, and then they think they can be charitable by passing off their leftovers. As if the home couldn't provide for them.

"Appreciate? What do you mean, appreciate? We aren't some starving rats in a back alley that you can throw scraps to whenever you feel favorable. Go get your butler to toss out your scraps."

He had thought for just a moment that this boy had been genuine. But he was just like the rest. Conrad shuddered, resisting the urge to knock the potato... thing... right out of the other boys hands, and turned away from both Cass and the boy, storming off after Cass. It was going to be a long day.

[Dingo]

Max raised an eyebrow as the boy started to storm off, "No, I just meant that you didn't seem as wasteful or spoilt." He looked down at the food in his hand for moment before turning to walk back in the other direction, away from the auditorium.
"But, fuck it. You're right, I'm in the wrong for being polite." He said as he started walking away. He knew that he was expected at the opening ceremony, but for some reason he didn't want to be stuck walking in the same direction with that boy after his reaction. Max didn't like being misinterpreted, especially when he was trying to do something right. His parents handled that sort of thing better than he did, but Max couldn't help but feel with the limited amount of words people had at their disposal, it was a waste of time and energy to stand there and interpret something the way you wanted to interpret it, rather than how it was meant.

Finding a tree, Max sat in the shade and continued to eat his potatoes. He didn't feel hungry, but he couldn't in good conscience waste them, either, and he had no bag to store them in. The boy's drawstring bag was what made Max choose to offer the food to the boy in the first place! And a butler?! Who did the boy think he was? The Royal Family?! What would Max have to gain from hiring a living human being with the express purpose of telling them what to do, where to drive and expecting them to do his work for him?!
Max sighed and closed his eyes. He was getting too worked up, and that never helped anything. Taking a deep breath, he thought back on what he had been told about assuming things growing up.

"Well, at least now I know better than to expect that guy to appreciate a friendly gesture…" He muttered to himself as he leant back against the tree.

[Banba]

Looking around, Moe became worried. She knew for a fact that just under half the orphans weren't in the auditorium. She was still the only one in her row, and the stream of students had slowed down. She sat back, her feet still on the empty seat in fromt of her. From her glance around the mass of students, however, she saw a clear line between the two groups, with the orphans surounding her and the rich kids on the opposote side of the seats. Sighing, Moe picked at her nails, growing bored and uneasy.
"Hurry up guys." She muttered, glancing to her side as a laughing group of rich girls sat down. "We've gotta look good for at least a little while."

[Banba]

"All students are required to be in the auditorium as of now. Any students found otherwise will receive an hours worth of detention. Please be reminded that each hour of detention that a student misses, an hour is added. So many missed hours will result in suspension, and eventually expulsion." A woman's voice, sounding low and harsh, came over the PA system. Moe visibly shook, desperately searching the crowd of faces for those whom she recognised.
"You gits were right behind me." She scowled, fidgetting as she sat back properly in her seat, only to turn back around to continue searching. "If you're skipping I, swear to god! detention is the least of your worries."

[SUN]

Cass watched as both boys separated from her, she shrugged a bit confused at the rush of things. She shrugged stuffing her hands in her pockets following after max curiously. "Hey" she said casually raising her hand slightly then returning it to it's rightful place in her pocket. She took a seat in front of him crossing her legs without giving him a chance to protest. "I wouldn't mind him, we aren't used to genuine kindness..." She said still unsure of his gesture. From her past experiences no richy was ever kind to them unless it led to humiliation. "Sorry if I was a bit standoffish, Conrad's just like a little brother to me and- well you get the point." She shifted her hands in her pockets uncomfortably, she was sure this guy didn't give a shit about what she was saying, but she didn't care she didn't care much for the conversation either but the guy peaked her interest. "I'm Cass by the way..." She managed to let out a charming smile and even held out a hand for him to shake, but she wouldn't be suprised if he didn't shake it. Most of the rich kids were afraid of her, she had quite the reputation for causing trouble. She heard the announcement ring through the courtyard but she didn't stir from her spot she didn't care about getting detention.

[Dingo]

Max looked up at the redhead from where he sat. She was certainly very pretty, if not slightly uncomfortable in her gestures. Though he wasn't exactly sure why she had followed him, at least she was being a bit more civil than the other guy. He sighed, rising to his feet and dusting himself off before accepting her hand, shaking it politely, yet with a firm grip. His hands were actually fairly callused to the touch and there was even a hint of dirt under his fingernails.
"Max." He introduced himself to Cass, "And I guess I'll just have to be a bit more mindful in the future. It just kind of sucks when you try to do something nice and you end up feeling like a jerk for it."

Max reflected on the actual encounter in hindsight. Sure, he'd reacted poorly and he felt kind of stupid for it now, but he was never very good at handling feeling bad. He couldn't explain it, but he hated feeling like he was being… Well, a pretentious dick. He just had no idea how to be charitable without it being confused for pity or considerate without being seen as being contempt.

"For the record, I don't have a butler." He said. For some reason, he felt like that was the most important thing to set straight at that moment, he wasn't entirely sure why, "My parents suggested the idea last year when they were visiting, but it just doesn't make sense to me. I've never really thought of myself as being lazy enough to pay someone to clean my room…"

Max sighed again. A thought occurred to him suddenly that this girl, Cass, might be one of the few people at the school who didn't know who he was. Sure, she knew he was from a wealthy family, but that didn't mean she knew which wealthy family. Max wasn't too sure how he felt about that. Relaxed? Anxious? She was being civil enough, but that was while knowing he was wealthy. Would that change when she knew how wealthy? Or if he was just as poor as her?
Max mentally shook his head clear. Politics and intentions. He hated thinking about that kind of thing. In the end it didn't really matter how well off he was or what her intentions were, her actions would tell him all he needed to know eventually, just as with everyone else, student or otherwise.
It was then that Max acknowledged the announcement over the loudspeaker, threatening detention. It looked like he had no choice but to attend the Opening Ceremony now. He held out the container of food, offering it to Cass.

"Hungry?" Max asked, "I figure we've got to eat and walk at this point anyway and I really can't eat much more."

[The Wanderer]

Ha! Detention- what a joke. As if he cared about sitting quietly for an hour or two. Conrad went straight for the roof, listening carefully as he went. With the students and most of the teachers at the opening ceremony, the sound of steps in the hall were obvious. He was careful to keep his hand between his face and the cameras, just in case the footage was glanced over. A single echoing tap sent him hiding around the corner- teacher or rich, he didn't want to see them. Ssssuurrree detention wasn't all that bad here- a rich kid might squirm sitting still for an hour, but to Conrad that could easily be turned into a nap time. However, it wasn't wise to seek out punishment. And it wasn't really a punishment. They obviously were proposing it as a trade. The consequence, or result, of not attending assembly was to give an hour of your time assuming that they caught you. And, should you try to cheat the deal, you payed more time. It was a great deal, as long as you didn't step into the extra time. Besides, the assembly couldn't tell him anything he didn't already know.