♥ In The Name Of The Moon! ♥ Schoolkid RESULTS! PG 57!

[F a y t h - x]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Justine Moore

Nicknames: none

Gender: Female

Age: 16

School: Meadowview

Fav. Food: Bread and pastries(just the pastry! No sugary stuff!)

Hated Food: Balogina

Virtues:
Patient - Her family fosters children, and as any sibling would know, children DEMAND patience. This is a virtue that Justine has learned quite well. It makes her a good tutor for people that need some extra help at school as well. One thing she isn't very patient about, however, is someone interrupting her while she's reading. That's when she can be a bit snippy and irritated.
Frugal - She tries to avoid waste as much as possible, and is very thrifty! She spends very meagerly, appreciating what she has, rather than pining for what she doesn't. She tries to make everything count, as well. Needless to say there are a ton of leftovers in the fridge at home. There's a bit of a struggle between her cleanly ways and her somewhat 'pack rattedness'
Trustworthy - You really need to be a trust worthy person to be allowed in another person's house to clean, or watch their children! Justine is as trustworthy as they come! There's seemingly not a mean or malicious bone in her body. She also has an innocent look to her that reassures people of this trait. Her trustworthiness has also made her somewhat of a teacher's pet, and so she kind of gets picked on from time to time. However, amongst her friends or in group projects people know they can count on her to do her part.
As it is, Justine has a strict code of ethics. (Code example: "Do the best you can every day so you can look back and reflect on your past without any regrets!" and "Live life as if you're on Candid Camera 24-7 - don't do anything that you wouldn't be proud of other people seeing, unless you're in the bathroom..." wink

Flaws:
Nervous - She can be a bit jumpy, and seemingly on edge. Truthfully, she is painfully shy when dealing with people she doesn't know, or when she is outside of her comfort zone/setting. Talking to people at the library and helping them find books is one thing. Going to the local food mart and talking with that dreamy cashier in line 12 is another. She's always afraid she'll go an embarrass herself, say, or do something wrong. She really doesn't deal well with embarrassment.
Gullible - Will believe ALMOST any information given(unless she absolutely knows otherwise), regardless of how valid or truthful it is, if told by an adult, her peers, or someone of authority. She knows better than to believe everything that comes out of a child's mouth, however. XD But say someone comes in and is all, 'Hey! Did you hear about that plane crash that--' ....yeah.
Indecisive - lacks decision and firmness, especially under pressure. Her mind races with the thoughts and possibilities about what her actions might cause, or which would be the better course of action.
She always worries weather or not she's making the right choice, since one of her rules is to live life without any regrets....

Weakness: Her indecisiveness would have to be her biggest weakness, even more so than her gullible-ness.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: A medium sea blue, warm, and caring, large, and expressive. She is a wee bit far-sighted, and so she requires reading glasses. They only serve to emphasize the 'shy librarian' thing she has going on.

Hair: Blond hair, usually up in a bun with a braid wrapped around its base. She also has bangs, which fall kind of messily.

Face: A round face with pink-tinged cheeks, and possibly a smidge of dust if she has been cleaning.

THE STORY ENTRY
Justine could not explain the reasoning for her curiosity, but ever since talk started of a possible meteorite sighting in the city, she'd been eager to go see for herself. However, Justine was a busy girl, and opportunity wasn't exactly a close friend. Not until tonight, anyway.

The kids were asleep - as were her parents. Justine had never snuck out before, and her breath shook with nervousness and excitement. In her skirt pocket she'd placed a flashlight - making sure its batteries worked first, before opening her window as quietly as possible. The screen gave a 'screech' that made the jittery girl cringe, and look to her door for a minute. If anyone was heard, surely she'd hear footsteps. Luck was on Justine's side, though, and she heaved a sigh.

Hoisting herself over the window seal, Justine dropped a short way to the ground, and began her trek. Her destination was the park. More specifically one spot in particular. Her home wasn't too far from the park, and with little to no cars on the road, Justine made good time. There was one point along the way where she stopped to read a sign stapled to the telephone poll. It was a random news article about the alleged sailor-suited pranksters. Justine had never lent much thought to the stories anymore. She much preferred imagining that it was a fantasy from one of her story books come true - a fight of good against evil, filled with love and forbidden romance.... Sigh.

Moving on with her mind a swirl in fairy-tales she'd read, it almost didn't register when she arrived at the park and saw two dueling silhouettes that it wasn't just a figment of her imagination. This boat was real. The one person seemed too big to be any normal human. The other seemed more her size. She shined her flashlight at them, and nearly dropped it in shock. The smaller one was the pompous boy that always came into the library to check out books, and return them mangled and sometimes in peaces. Oh, this irritated her so much that one day she finally went off on him! She'd always secretly disliked him, and he always did everything in his power to upset her. The other body, the larger one, was odd and...furry? Though the furry creature appeared to be injured, it also looked like it was winning. Well what could one expect? It was large and obviously alien!

It was at such a time as this that Justine knew that the stories on the news about pranks were not just stories, but real monsters, and real battles. There was no way that giant beast was human.... But where was the romance she had imagined? Was this simply a war devoid of A Romeo and Juliet? Josephine and Napoleon? Odette and Derek? Here was the monster, and the hero, but where was his beloved? The only other one here was her, and she despised him!
Maybe, Justine thought, I've just been reading too many romance novels...

Justine's heart was racing. Although it was her arch enemy who was getting beaten, she couldn't help but feel bad, and like she ought to do something, but what? Justine began to fidget, looking and thing of some solution. Her pale brows were knit and her eyes brimming with tars. The distress on her face was all-encompassing. Oh, her heart ached! She longed to do something, but knew not what to do! To run away and do nothing would have been to assure her nemesis' death, and the sudden movement might prove her own as well! Was there no solution that didn't result in death?

Justine's mind soared and buzzed with conflicting thoughts and ideas till finally her flashlight dropped to the ground and she was rendered in to tears that spilled into her palms as she cupped them over her eyes to avoid the sight that was the cause of her distress. Her indecisiveness would be her nemesis' death, as well as her own.

Just when it looked like all was lost, however, a roar came from the beast, then a gurgle, and the form spewed something from its mouth - presumably blood - and fell atop the somehow still-living form of its opposition. Justine raced up the hill - slipping on the damp grass and mud.

"Wallace! Wallace, are you alright!?"

The boy was trying to pull himself out from beneath the youma. He hadn't once noticed Justine. Then again, he'd been a little distracted.

"Yeah. The thing's still breathing though. C'mon! Let's get out of here!"

Wallace ordered, not a hint of his aggravating, snobbish, self from the library. He took her hand and they raced down the hill, and out of the park. Soon the two found themselves at Justine's window.

"Oh! My flashlight! I must have left it there..." Justine's brow knit and her bottom lip protruded.

"Don't worry about it. It's just a flashlight." Wallace said.

"But-"

"Just go! Go get inside. Who knows what else is prowling around here.."

"What about you? Will you be alright?" He was already walking away...

"Why do you care, lil Miss Bookworm?"

Justine bit her lip. She didn't really. It was just.... Sigh.
She turned to her window and climbed back into her room. When inside, she made sure to lick the window and close the curtain. Never was she ever going to do that again!

[Orestae]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Holden Cordell

Nicknames: Rye. Take a wild guess where that one comes from?

Gender: Male

Age: 17

School: Sovereign Heights

Fav. Food: Roasted marshmallows. And by 'roasted' I mean that Holden likes to set them on fire and eat them only once they have attained a nice, delicious shade of 'black as hell'. His freezer is full of half-eaten containers of Moose Tracks ice cream, with only enough ice cream eaten to allow Holden to dig out the tiny peanut butter cups. Other than these two things, Holden tends to stick with organic products. Not because he likes organic products, but because he believes it will score him cute hippie Green Peace chicks.

Hated Food: Squid. Holden will try anything once, and recalls with clarity the first time he tried calamari. He also recalls the sick, squicky feeling of it and the pop it made when he sank his teeth in. Holden would sooner feast on a gourmet dinner of Fear Factor recipes than eat squid.


Virtues:

Carpe Diem - Cliché and damn proud of it. Holden is not the type of boy to think about the past or the future. He thinks about now. What he wants now, what he needs now, and what he feels like doing right this minute. His Google history is filled with searches for quotes like “Every man dies. Not every man really lives” and “Dream as if you'll live forever. Live as if you'll die today”, and he will throw them at you if you even dare try to cramp his style with your silly talk of responsibility and consequence. In fact, Holden keeps a list of quoted responses for almost every situation:

“Can you be serious for just ONE moment?”
Do not take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive. ~Elbert Hubbard

“Will you please STOP wasting time?”
We cannot waste time. We can only waste ourselves. ~George M. Adams

“Holden, what are you going to do with your life?”
I don't want to get to the end of my life and find that I lived just the length of it. I want to have lived the width of it as well. ~Diane Ackerman

“You really shouldn't smoke/drink/skydive/do stupid things, you could get yourself killed!”
The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. ~Jack London

This list goes on for several pages, as Holden has clearly been watching too much Dead Poet's Society. He is very much alright with that. He's a Robin Williams fan. He enjoyed Patch Adams and Hook was an excellent movie, even if Dustin Hoffman stole his spotlight.

What Dreams May Come will always make him cry.

They Call Me Mellow Yellow - See also: Extremely Laid Back. Holden is not the type to stress. The words fret, panic, or freak-out simply aren't part of his vocabulary, and he wouldn't know how to throw a hissy-fit if his life depended on it. His music is Jack Johnson and Jason Mraz, and in a high school yearbook you would find him right under “Most Likely To Have Lavender Aromatherapy Candles” or perhps “Most Likely to Sing “I'm Yours” in the Shower”. He plays ultimate frisbee and smokes a hookah around campfires. He is incredibly calm in even the most stressful of situations. He gives his teachers a wink and a quote whenever they threaten to fail him for turning in a poorly drawn picture of Britney Spears instead of the 5-page, double-spaced essay on the effects of modern media that was assigned. Because, really, they both give the same answer.

Sharp As A Tack - Holden is intelligent, remarkably so. He makes connections that many would miss and picks up on things that many might not notice. Unfortunately, he utilizes this intelligence in the form of witty comebacks and a silver tongue, rather than applying it to advancing his place in life. This is because he simply is not good at planning and thinking things through. Long-term consequences and plotting out all possible outcomes to pick the best possible route simply aren't things Holden is suited for. His intelligence is on the spot; quick-fixes, witty comebacks, and snappy solutions for getting out of trouble are Holden's game. Long-term plans and tactics are better suited for those of different talents; come talk to him when you need a quick idea.

This is a weakness which Holden has no issue acknowledging, and he will defer to those he finds more capable of making long-term plans.

Light Up Your Life - Holden has a way of lighting up a room, even if that room is full of tired, cranky people who would much rather it be dark so that they can go to sleep. He is charming, witty, and the average person might find him to be a nice, refreshing escape from the worries of everyday life. He will find the homeliest girl in the room, ask her to dance, and proceed to tell her how beautiful her eyes are, and he will mean it. Holden derives a great deal of joy out of bringing light into the eyes of others. Don't try to talk to Holden about your money troubles or your relationship problems, he will tell you to say '******** it' and then take you out dancing.

Flaws:

**You're So Vain - Holden definitely thinks this song is about him. While Holden does enjoy making other people happy, he enjoys it because it proves that he is just that great. Every time he turns a frown upside-down, it is like a little merit badge on his "I Am Wonderful" sash.There is nobody in the world who can convince Holden that he is just a lazy beach-bum of a kid who is trying to escape responsibility by living in some idealistic dream world. He is a crusader for life and love and happiness, and he is so, so, so good at it. He is witty, he is charming, he is passion and he is grace.

He's Miss United States.

I'mma Do What I Want - Holden will blow you off, and I don't mean in the good way. Distractions come as easily as breathing to Holden, and he will often forget prior engagements the moment a new, more interesting opportunity presents itself. This is one way in which Holden has earned himself many enemies. While he prides himself on being a likable guy, there is a long list of people who will tell you that Holden Cordell is an irresponsible, flaky, no-good jerk who would leave the love of his life sitting at the altar if someone offered him a weekend in Vegas. In fact, he would probably completely forget that he had a love of his life in lieu of shiny lights and ringing slot machines.

I Don't Care - “******** it” is Holden's most common response to any problem that presents itself. While other students are studying hard and stressing over finals, Holden is using the pages of his math book to light a campfire and roast marshmallows out on the front lawn of campus. He tends to push this flaw onto others by inviting them to shirk their responsibilities alongside him and enjoy a bag of Stay Puff. After all, you only live once, and who the ******** wants to live for calculus? Not him, that's for sure. This flaw could easily be mistaken as 'unmotivated.' However, they are quite different. Holden is extremely motivated, it just happens to be motivation to do everything except what he's supposed to be doing.


Can You Be Serious For Just ONE Minute? - No, he can't. Thank you for asking, but the answer is just no. There is no getting around this. You could tell him that you have cancer and he would probably crack a joke about the zodiac sign. You could tell him your kitten drowned and he would probably say "I guess the cat's going back in the bag, eh?" He doesn't do this to be callous or cruel, this is just his way of trying to derail the conversation from going into a serious territory that makes Holden horribly uncomfortable. He understand that you miss your cat, he really does, but he never knew Fluffy and he would really rather not awkwardly mumble "I'm Sorry" and then stare at you for five minutes.

Unfortunately, this often doesn't go over well. Holden has received many a slap to the face for these comments, and whenever he is met with angry words rather than stunned silence or an angry storm-out, his default response is to raise his hands and his eyebrows, take a step back, and say, "Whoa there, sweetness. It was a joke. J-O-K-E. A silly, a funny, a pun. Let's all take a deep breath and have a group unbunching of our panties, take three steps back in this conversation, and go get you a Cosmo."

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: A bright blue-green, narrow.

Hair: Dirty blonde. Style would be messy.

Face: Strong jaw, oval face. He's a fairly attractive guy, but usually has some kind of arrogant smirk.

THE STORY ENTRY

Holden was on a boat, mother ********. (motha ********]) Don't you e'er forget. (motha ********])

He could recall with clarity the way the water reflected the sudden burst of light, nearly blinding him as he tipped back his half-full cup of black tea, followed by an alarming, spreading wetness across the front of his white and blue plaid board shorts. Despite knowing that it was tea soaking his lap, Holden took a moment to giggle quietly, before staring down at the dark brown streak. Brows drew down, features scrunched in a look of concern as her internally debated whether the new stain gave the shorts more of a “vintage” look, or if it just looked like a damned tea stain. It was an important decision, after all, far more important than the cosmic phenomenon which had caused his college pals to rush towards the front of the boat. The engine roared to life, and they were speeding across the dark, inky water when Holden sighed sadly and determined that his shorts were now ruined.

Or were they?

Ugh. Fashion was confusing.

Holden was wearing those same plaid shorts and his trusted flippy-floppies as he stared up at the monstrosity that had greeted his curiosity; a furred, gigantic monstrosity bathed in the meager beam of his flashlight. What it was, he didn't know. He wasn't even attempting to figure such a thing out, either. Knowing whether or not something was a giant, bloodthirsty disfigured polar bear cross bred with a Wishing Troll did not make it any less capable of killing you. Besides, he knew from a quick once-over that the thing did not have any shining plastic jewels in its belly button, and was thus clearly not any kind of Wishing Troll polar bear cross breed. Again, however, this did not mean that it was not fully capable of crushing his head in the same way those neon fuzz-haired b*****d children of lies and deceit were capable of crushing his dreams of getting roller blades for Christmas.

It wasn't that Holden didn't like Denny Bolder, the red-headed bully of a boy who now stared up at the monstrous beast with wide, terrified eyes. It was just that Denny Bolser was not someone for whom Holden was prepared to risk his life. His wonderful, excellent, and clearly much more valuable life. Denny Bolser had been the kid who had told Holden he had to play the Pink Ranger whenever they were claiming parts for the daily production of Playground Power Rangers.

Denny Bolser had been the one to take two of the Toaster Strudel's when Ms. Ratchet brought them in for everyone to share in fifth grade, leaving Holden with nothing to snack on but a dry, chalky Pop Tart.

Denny Bolser had been the guy who had put Icy Hot in his gym shorts upon realizing that Holden did not approve of the schools mandatory jock strap rule.

Alright, so Holden did not like Denny Bolser. Holden certainly did not hate Denny Bolser enough to kill him, but he sure as hell did not like him enough to risk his own life. His own very important, very wonderful, very charming, handsome, intelligent, suave – did he mention important? - life. So he watched. He watched for what seemed an eternity as Denny did battle with the beast, closely representing what Holden imagined new Gladiators looked like when thrown into the pit with the lion for the very first time. He swatted and ducked, grabbed nearby branches and attempted to fight the thing off. He took a blow to one shoulder, another to the side of the head, and was clearly losing the battle by the time he lunged forward for one final attack.

With the yell of a man desperate to go out fighting, Denny plunged a broken branch into the things eye. Again and again he stabbed the stick forward, never seeming to notice the claws that raked at his stomach, the viscera pouring out of a beast that was now entirely blinded. Their cries merged, filling the night sky as they formed one deafening cacophony. It was a horrifying display, from the very beginning to the moment their bodies collapsed together; one dead, the other blinded and severely wounded.

Holden's own limbs were frozen, eyes glued to the crying monstrosity as it rolled from side to side beneath the disemboweled corpse of Denny Bolser the Toaster Strudel Thief. He should have been upset, perhaps. Sad. Regretful. Angry. He should have felt some ounce of self-loathing as he snapped off a branch and tentatively approached the creature, careful to step as silently as he might. Holden felt adrenaline and fear, he felt excitement and anticipation, but Holden Cordell did not feel one iota of regret.

Holden had done nothing to save him, because Denny Bolser had done nothing in his short life to deserve saving.

The branch never found it's intended place in the monster gut, as the thing heaved one last, whining breath while Holden was still yards away. It's cry was pathetic, almost worth his pity, as it stopped its rocking. Well before he reached it's side and gave it a soft kick to the temple, Holden knew the thing was dead.

Holden fished in his pocket for his phone, searching out the number for the local news station. Fortunately, like all things, there was an app for that.

“Yes, channel six?” He said, forcing an out of breath rasp, “City Park. I've just bested the Beast from the East.”

[Akina Tokuwa]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Riley Emma Maddox

Nicknames: Rem, or Riles -- to friends.

Gender: Female

Age: 17

School: Meadowview

Fav. Food: Steamed vegetables, pot roast, and pasta of any kind.

Hated Food: Strawberries. The seeds get stuck in her teeth. Ew.

Virtues:

Loyal like a Puppy – Riley is a people-person who does not want to let her friends down. She is incredibly loyal – to her friends. She won't tell your secrets, and she won't date your ex-boyfriend. If you look fat in a dress, she will tell you because that is how much she cares. Having grown up with the pack-mentality of a big family, Riley's goal in life is to surround herself with people who will support her just like a mini-family. She is constantly seeking out kindred spirits to get to know, people who can keep her entertained and challenge her to be a better person. If you are her friend, Riley will be there for you, and she will stand by you, even when you don't do the same for her. To her, friendship is synonymous with devotion, and Riley doesn't really believe in casual devotion.

Adventurous – Riley is always up for activity -- big or small. She will help search for your contact in the grass for an hour. She will help break into the school to change your grades. She will plot with you to bring down the boy who has been mean to you. While she is keen on helping friends, Riley is prone to adrenaline rushes and will go along with anything that sounds like it might be fun, even if it is with someone she does not know well. She likes activity. She thinks cliff-diving sounds exciting. She would like to try bungee-jumping. For this reason, she will not turn down requests for assistance, as each activity represents a new possibility for adventure and discovery.

The (De)terminator – Riley is a determined girl who understands the importance of the phrases "for your own good" and "by any means necessary." If you are trying to quit smoking, Riley will rip the cigarette from your lips and flush it down the toilet. If you resist, she will pin your arms and prevent you from trying to light another up. She does this out of a single-minded determination to task. It isn't that she sees the world in black and white; she simply believes that a person should always follow through with what they say. Friends should be careful about saying things like, "Riley -- don't let me talk to that guy ever again. He is such a jerk." Because Riley really won't let you talk to him again. She will hide your phone. She will tell him off in public. She will otherwise do everything within her means to see that you stick to your guns. Promises and secrets are very important to Riley, and this translates into an excellence in regard to seeing a mission through, or accomplishing a prescribed task. She can do the more painful, less favorable thing because she knows that she should.

Captain Impersonator – All her experience on the stage has made Riley quite the little impersonator. She doesn't really think of it as lying, but it is not unusual for Riley to take on the voice of her friend's mother and order that her daughter be sent home early from school. Or to dress up like a boy and try to figure out if the boy of her dreams actually likes her or not. She is the kind of person who always gives a different name in line for Starbucks. She thinks Halloween is the greatest holiday of all time. In practice, Riley could fool most people with her disguises; she is incredibly dedicated to all the masks that she takes on.

Flaws:

Scrappy McThrowsapunch – Riley does not like being talked down to by others. She is sensitive to it. She is not great about letting things roll off her back, but instead stores away grievances for a later date. This isn't to say that she is super paranoid that EVERYONE is ALWAYS mistreating her. No, not at all. But when she feels like someone is, she does not typically handle that confrontation in a productive way. Riley does not fancy herself a particularly diplomatic person – because she isn't. When someone threatens her to the point of no return (assuming talking has pretty much been reduced to swapping insults), she finds that the best way to deal with it is to have some good ole fashioned competition. Like a wrestling match. Or slap fight. Or a three-legged race around the cul-de-sac. For this reason, many of the daintier girls and insecure boys are put off by her. She is not conventionally feminine in this way and tends to get caught up in competition. If you insult her enough, Riley will start shoving, and if you shove her, she will quickly escalate the situation.

Attention-Seeking – Being the youngest and only daughter in a family with four children produced a rough-n-tumble attitude that has made Riley not only competitive, but also attention-seeking. It is why she likes theater so much, and why she might throw a temper-tantrum in the middle of the mall if her mother does not hand over the five bucks for ice cream. If Riley feels ignored, it rattles her to the core. The silent treatment makes her go nuts. She will say anything to get a response out of someone who has chosen to ignore her. This kind of treatment will sink her to low depths, causing her to retreat inward, even cry. She is not above slapping a friend on the arm – hard – if they appear to be excluding her from something. If necessary, Riley would even lie to get attention, but she would pick something that she perceives as minor to lie about for fear of getting caught in it and further rejected. This ties in to her other flaw (“The Lonely People-Person”).

Need for Approval – Her entire life, Riley has felt the need to prove herself. Her brothers have all been very successful in life. One is a doctor. The other has just started his own restaurant. The one closest to her age was recently accepted into an Ivy League university. Then there is Riley. It isn't to say that she does not also have potential for great success, but sometimes, it is hard for her to believe that. She is still trying to figure out her life, but her older brothers are already forging successful paths. Around the dinner table, Riley hears only of her brother's accomplishments – or, at least that is how it seems to her. More than anything, Riley wants to feel needed and appreciated. She wants to be the one that people look to for help. She wants to feel like she is making a difference. This need for approval leads Riley down dangerous avenues at times. She becomes single-minded, willing to do anything to achieve her goal. That “anything” could be quite a costly thing in the end, since it could easily be used to manipulate her.

The Lonely People-Person – Having grown up in a house full of people, Riley feels lonely now that all of her brothers have moved out. It doesn't help that her personality can sometimes turn away potential friends, and that her scrappy nature is a turn off to most boys. The worst part is that Riley really, really needs people. She likes teamwork. She likes bonding. She would let you braid her hair and paint her toenails. She is a pack animal with a hive mind. Riley is just looking for her fellow bees. When feeling especially lonely or like she is being left out of something, Riley will lash out in anger and then retreat somewhere to be alone and cry.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: China blue, heavy lashes, almond-shaped.

Hair: Honey-blond. In some kind of "up" style. Maybe like this or this or this or this style. Slightly unkempt. Tomboyish. I'm very open to artist-inspiration.

Face: Heart-shaped with a light speckling of freckles across her nose; tanned skin from being outdoors; a beauty mark to the left of her mouth. If her ears are visible, she would be wearing a simple earring.

THE STORY ENTRY

Story Entry

Sneaking into the private club of one of the wealthiest politicians in Destiny City would have been impossible for Riley Maddox to do. But for Mrs. Martha Buttersworth, a refined Southern lady looking to invest in real estate? Piece of cake.

It only took a visit to the school's drama department for an appropriate dress and a solid application of make-up, and Riley was transformed. She practiced her accent for a week prior to the proposed subterfuge, ordering lattes with the finesse of a southern belle and scolding people who cut her off on the side walk with an emphatic, “Well, I never!” The idea of crashing a party that big had seemed exciting to Riley ever since she heard about some couple from Virginia doing in at a bash for the President. But she probably never would have gone through with it if it hadn't been for Jacob's prodding. Jacob and Riley had a heated rivalry – no nemesis...ry – in the drama department at Meadowview. The only thing that kept the bitter struggle from getting too ugly was their opposite genders; no need to worry about competing for the same parts. All the same, Jacob had a tendency to assume he was a better actor than Riley, an assumption that made her want to prove him wrong in every way possible.

This party crasher business would do just that. It had been an innocent bet. Both Riley and Jacob had one week to crash a major event in town disguised as someone else and return with evidence of their intrigue. Jacob planned to crash a film premiere the same night Riley was aiming to slip into the Destiny City Gala. Whoever won would win the title of Better Than You, and the two would agree to stop bickering in the drama department.

That night, Riley had danced with major politicians, small town celebrities, and every breed of rich elite that Destiny City had to offer. Every step of her scheme had been planned and replanned and planned again. She didn't just have a Plan B. Riley came up with a Plan C, D, E, F, and G just in case something should go awry. After snacking on the free food and stealing a few sips of champagne, she bailed from the party early, her camera full of the photos detailing her success. It was later than she had realized, the streets nearly devoid of people, and Riley had no desire to get mixed up in any sort of trouble that night. So she decided to beat a quick retreat home through her favorite short cut. It led through the quiet park, quieter now that the unspoken curfew had gone into effect. There was a particular hill that Riley loved to lay on, staring up at the glimmering stars above. She wasn't big into astrology, but Riley loved to stargaze, lying on her back and watching things millions and billions of miles away twinkle just for her.

Hm, maybe she would linger there tonight, just for a little? She didn't hang out on this side of town often enough. Might as well stop by while she was in the area. The park was empty, just like everything else. It got darker as she moved farther from the street, and Riley took out her cellphone to act as a makeshift flashlight. She got about twenty feet from the hill when she saw it.

Well, them.

The first was unpleasant enough: it was Jacob, wearing some stupid suit with sunglasses and slicked-back hair. A terrible disguise for slipping into a movie premiere. Way too obvious. Riley never would have made that rookie mistake. It bothered her that they used the same path home too. She thought this was her path. Jeez, could Jacob let her have anything?

The second figure, however, forced Riley to stop fixating on Jacob and start shaking. It was a man. Well, sort of. From far away, it looked like a giant – easily eight feet tall with shoulders like hocks of meat. Riley would have just thought it was some steroid-injected psycho tormented by a serious case of roid rage, but most pill poppers she knew didn't have fur. Lots of fur. It caught the light from the moon, rippling in the wind blowing through the park. Oh... s**t. There had been reports of all kinds of things in Destiny City for people to be afraid of: insane glowing schoolgirls, weapon-wielding militants, and even monsters. It didn't take a genius to realize that Riley was staring at the latter.

Jacob hadn't spotted Riley and either had the beast. It was too busy lifting up the teenage boy and throwing him to the ground over and over. The impact made Riley cringe. On instinct, she crouched low, trying to hide behind a bush. There wasn't much in the way of cover, but Riley needed time to think. Snap decisions didn't tend to work out in her favor. If only she had a moment to actually plan something! Closing her eyes, Riley poked a finger at her temple, chanting, ”Think, think, think.” Oh crap. Oh god. Oh damn. There was no one else in sight, and in the time it would take Riley to call the police, Jacob would be dead. He looked half-dead already. Could he even survive another blow? The monster dropped him again, and Jacob let out a cry, struggling to strike at the beast. Hm, apparently he could. Jacob had more tenacity than Riley thought.

China blue eyes searched the expanse of green for something that could help her, anything. It was like a game of Clue. She saw an old rusted pipe, a length of discarded wire, a bag of trash, a handful of paper clips, two pens, an old glowstick, and a frisbee.

Man, they really needed to get someone to clean this park.

Jacob might be a total t**t and a presumptuous no-talent hack, but Riley wasn't a monster. She was confident, and that confidence told her that she – little seventeen-year-old she – was clearly capable of taking down a monster twice her size, even when Jacob couldn't. Scratch that. Especially because Jacob couldn't. He might have charisma, but Riley had problem-solving skills and ingenuity. When she saved his a**, she would be certain to let him know just how lucky he was to have her as his arch nemesis after all. Plus, when Riley decided she was going to accomplish a goal, there was no turning back. Lucky for Jacob.

Inching out a few feet, Riley snatched the frisbee and the glowstick. She needed the pipe too, but it was too far away for her to grab without being noticed. It could wait. Lifting the glowstick, she cracked it, and her face lit up when a neon green glow filled the tiny plastic chamber. Excellent, it wasn't a dud – a small mercy in this otherwise bad situation. She broke it until the entire stick was glowing, glancing back at the battlefield every so often to make sure Jacob was still alive. It was the least he could do if she was going to risk her life for him. She needed to break the tube, but she had nothing to cut it with. Riley settled for her teeth, gnawing until she was certain she would need to get a new filling (she'd bill Jacob for it later). The metallic taste of whatever-the-hell was in glow sticks filled her mouth. Oh, wow. That couldn't be healthy.

For now, Riley pushed those thoughts away. She grabbed the frisbee and carefully coated it with as much glowstick as she could until the surface looked radioactive. It would be better if she had more glowsticks, but she didn't. This would just have to work. Drawing in a breath, Riley rose quietly to her feet. She'd thrown a frisbee before, but she really wished she had glowing arrows instead. Her years of hunting with her dad and brothers gave her a knack for aiming with a bow. A frisbee? Well, hopefully Jacob was praying for her success right now too.

Narrowing her eyes at the target, Riley let the frisbee fly, aiming just past the monster. It soared toward the beast, a glowing disk whirring mysteriously in the air. As it got closer, the monster made a noise and stared at it, pausing his assault against Jacob. This was her only shot. Hopping to her feet, Riley sprinted to the pole, grabbed it, and then ran across the space separating her from Jacob. He looked at her, helpless and shocked, still suspended in the air by a creature out of a horror movie. The monster had its back turned to her now, looking at the spot where the frisbee had fallen, but she knew the distraction wouldn't hold much longer. Raising the pole above her head, Riley swung it with all of her might, bringing it right into the monster's side. The force made her arms vibrate, flecks of rust biting into her skin.

A thud hit the ground. It was Jacob, dropped accidentally this time. He took one look at Riley, struggled to his feet, and sprinted away in the opposite direction without so much as a thank you. With a monster right there, he should not have had the time to make that escape, but the teenage boy was lucky.

The monster didn't care about him anymore.

It was staring right at Riley, drool dripping from its mouth. ”He went that way!” she shouted, pointing in Jacob's direction. That kind of trickery wouldn't work again. The monster lifted its massive arm and swung hard at Riley. She had no time to move. It hit her hard enough to throw her into the air, catapulting her several feet away. She landed shoulder-first in a sewer ditch, winded from the fall. No sooner had she made impact than she spotted the monster charging toward her. There was no time to think. She glanced around the ditch and spotted the white circle of a sewer pipe up ahead. It was large enough for her to crawl through, but not big enough to allow the passage of the monster's massive shoulders.

Scrambling on hands and knees, Riley raced toward the opening, sloshing through the muck of the filthy park that collected in the ditch. Her hands gripped the edge of the pipe, and she threw herself inside with every ounce of strength she had left. The slimy sludge probably saved her life. It gave her the momentum to keep sliding forward, just out of reach of the snarling monster. Riley turned only once to see the creature struggling to fit into the sewage pipe, but it was clear it was an impossible task. Sometimes it paid to be small.

Crawling forward through the literal filth of Destiny City, Riley did her best to hold her breath, careful not to put her hand on a needle or glass. The trash was bad enough. She didn't want to risk getting cut and infected. It took her two hours to find a way out of the sewer, a $40 cab ride to get home, three weeks of grounding to punish her for being so late, and four baths to get the stink out of her hair and skin – but she had survived. She had even saved someone's life in the process, even if that person was a sniveling coward who left her to die. Some people just have no loyalty to their fellow humans, especially scum like Jacob. But the worst part was not the attack, or the abandonment, or even the sewer crawl.

The worst part was that, after everything she had done, Riley had managed to ruin her camera, losing the photos that proved her superiority to Jacob forever.

[NaomiNaomi]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Eugrieve "Goopa" Flickerson.

Nicknames: Goopa, a nickname obtained from a sudden sense of inspiration while carving a pumpkin. The seeds inside were 'goop-ay' . . . hence the nickname.

Gender: Female.

Age: One hundred and twelve in dog years (sixteen).

School: Meadowview.

Fav. Food: Haggis!

Hated Food: Anything bitter, bleh!

Virtues:

OMFG, IT IS SO FLUFFY! - Goopa goes gaga over anything that meows or woofs, waddles around on four legs and is covered completely in fur. No, this does not mean if you cover yourself in fake fur and scratch at her doorstep you will be instantly loved. But nevertheless, Goopa adores domestic animals and will do whatever it takes to make sure they are taken cared of, even if they will bite off her finger and skin her alive.

I vant it~! - If there is something Goopa wants, she will find it in herself to go and obtain whatever that item is. She won't take no for an answer and most certainly won't let anything get in her way (Unless, of course, you are a cat . . . Than she will take a short break to pet you than continue on her journey).

Oooooh, big, red, shiny button . . . :D - Goopa has a curiousity that can be challenged with that of a cat's. She loves being curious . . . but not enough to have her get into trouble. She knows not to stick her nose up into other people's business (Past occurrences has caused her to nearly lose her nose, truth be told.). Part of this curiosity has caused her take a interest in others, wanting to here their story and/or side of an argument.

Flaws:

For the Horde! - Skype, a good keyboard with a mouse and a month of WoW is enough to keep this girl glued to a computer screen without sleeping or eating. Goopa is not much of an intense gamer . . . but once she gets her hands on World of Warcraft or any other intensive MMO, it is hard to get her off. Why such an attachment to computer gaming? Goopa has always had a love of other worlds and lifestyle behind the usual cycle of getting up and going to school. She always wants more and the chance to escape reality for just a moment is enough to get this ginger kid hooked.

LMAO - Due to the fact she is so attached to the Internet and its inhabitants, she has reflected its language upon her own speech. In order words, while laughing she blurts out "LMAO", "ROFL" and "LOL" at random times. Her internet addiction has also reflected itself on her school work, using 1337 speech while writing compositions and abbreviations for whole words.

I'm with Stupid - Goopa is not the brightest crayon in a box of 64 Crayola crayons, but that doesn't stop her from believing she definitely knows better than anyone next to her. Being left behind is a strong hate of hers. So much actually, she will test the intelligence with another by asking mediocre questions that have nothing to do with a topic on hand. Do not be surprised if you answer a question correctly before her and she blurts out, "Well, excuse Mister Know-It-All, I bet you don't know the circumference of a Superpluffagous!"

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Brown, wide and fish-like.

Hair: SUPAH BRAID TAILS, that seem to stand straight out on their own. Her hair is a natural ginger orange with some hints of brown here or there. Reference

Face: Round with baby like cheeks. Goopa has a chin that can be described as a butt chin as it smooshes together and looks somewhat like the crease of a rumpus. She also has small freckles dotting her forehead and cheeks too.

THE STORY ENTRY

Mom and Pops were asleep that night, having completed a session of "makin' bacon" to even consider waking up again. This was Goopa's chance. Her only chance to actually see that the heck that thing was in the park everyone was talking about. There were many rumors questioning as to what in the world was seen that night. Most rumors stated it was a meteroiote, which was an instant 'duh' factor considering that is probably the only object that will be seen leaving a white streak against a dark sky. Others say it was a UFO and some said it was it was a giant testicle. Whatever the case, it was something and Goopa wanted to know what it was.

Slinging on a pack full of her needed essentials, Goopa darted down the street in hopes of getting there first. Her legs didn't take her far as she had to stop every once in a while to catch her breath. Finally, after a long trek of run, stop, run, stop, Goopa made it to her destination. Climbing a hill more dirtier than a pervert's mind, Goopa's sudden happiness was shattered. She cursed to herself in several different language (one of them gibberish) to the sight in front of her. He made it there first and it pissed her off that he did.

Mister ******** ********.

Well, that wasn't his real name. He had a name . . . but Goopa was always so mad at him she could never really remember what it was. Constantly, he picked on her while they were at school. At first, she speculated he liked her. But after stealing her underwear one day while she went swimming in the school pool, she considered him a direct decendant of Lucifer himself.

Mister ******** was fighting something grotesque looking. It was covered in fur and bleeding profusely from its side. It looked like a monster from another world (possibly the same place as Mister ********). . . and that is when Goopa clenched in fists in anger.

Mister ******** had obviously been chosen for something and it consisted of him fighting computer monsters things!, thought Goopa as she kneeled herself down to not be seen. She was far from the truth, but the thought sounded rather persuasive to herself. That jerkwad! Gosh! Why does he always have to be a step ahead of me! Heck, he is even doing it wrong! I could fight that thing ten times better than him!

Picking up a stick, Goopa cupped her hands over her mouth. "Hey jerkward, yer doing it wrong!" she yelled and Mister ******** turned his head over and was surprised to see her suspended above the hill.

The monster-thing swooped down at him and hit him aside as he was distracted. Goopa winced at this. s**t, that had to have hurt.

Fear nearly held her back, as the testicle monster could kill her if it just sat on her. But she had to prove she should have been chosen for whatever this was . . . She was a better fighter! Running rather stupidly towards the monster-thing, Goopa cracked the stick against its leg in hopes of making it cry out in pain. Rather, the stick split in two and Goopa cursed to herself in a couple more unknown languages. She smiled sheepishly at the monster-thing and realized one thing:

She was going to die here and now.

Rearing herself for her coming death, something caught her around her waist and pulled her aside as the monster brought its hand down to crush her flat. It was Mister ********. Apparently, he had saved her, something she suspected would never happen in her entire life. Taking a quick glance at the monster than at her savior, she tilted her head.

"Truce? I mean, just for tonight?" she asked and Mister ******** nodded his head slightly.

They shook their hands together to seal the alliance and began to work out their battle plan. They decided to work with the gash on the monster side, believing that if the punctured something into it, it will bring the death of that terrifying thing. Grabbing a long piece of branch, Goopa and Mister ******** tied a large shard of glass to the end. Goopa ran to the side to distract the beast and he stabbed the spear into the gash. The monster cried out in pain, but that wasn't enough.

"We've got to push it in more!" Goopa cried. However, how would it be done?

Thoughts surged in her head before something came into light.

"Quick, get a long rope or something and tie it to that tree. We'll trip that mother ********!"

Mister ******** nodded his head and did as he was told. Goopa teased the monster by blowing a raspberry and ran in the direction of the tree. As the monster came close, Goopa yelled "Now!" and the monster fell forward as it tripped over the long connection of dirty cloth. It felt to the side on its gash, pushing the makeshift spear deeper into its body. It cried out again before becoming utterly motionless. Goopa and her partner took a step closer towards the monster before cheering up in victory. They hugged each other out of happiness but soon pushed each other out off out of hate and the fact that Goopa was showered in the monster's blood.

"So yea." said Goopa while twisting up her mouth. "Only for tonight right? I guess, I will see you tomorrow . . . ? And never speak of this night again?"

Mister ******** gave a quaint nod, before disappearing into the night. Goopa did the same, relishing on how she was going explain to her parents why she was coming in late and looking like a used tampon.

[Erina_Nobara]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Ciel Evenport

Nicknames: None

Gender: Male

Age: 17

School: Sovereign Heights

Fav. Food: Birthday Cake Ice Cream

Hated Food: Spicy Buffalo Wings

Virtues:

Charismatic -- He may be a quiet individual, but he's always caring whether it be tending to flowers in a garden to taking care of a hurt kitten. He's always trying to look out for others. He worries about people's safety.

Smart -- He gets good grades, and likes to make his teachers happy. He does extra-curricular activities. And it makes him feel good to shine. Though he has his class rivals.


Flaws:

Distant/Quiet -- He keeps mostly to himself. He may not seem sociable at first, and rarely talks unless spoken too directly. Softspoken when he does try to make his voice heard. This makes him easy to miss, and ignore. He is often looked over, but it doesn't usually bother him since it has always been like this.


PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: gray

Hair: long, bangs hang in his face, white

Face: Shape, features -- heart-shaped face, graceful-looking

THE STORY ENTRY
The bulb in Ciel's flashlight flickered. He smacked it a few times with the palm of his hand and all went dark, which left only the light of the moon in the clear, starlit sky. "Darn it," he muttered, beating it a few more times before it relit, shining in his face. "Ow!" He squinted, redirecting the beam of light in front of him. Now he could continue his investigation. Earlier something had been spotted falling from the heavens. A meteor perhaps? He had been studying the stars with his telescope when he spotted it. But that wasn't enough. To get up close and personal, that's what gave him his motive. Tonight he would go to the hill that was perfect for star-gazing to try and see if he could locate the fallen rock.

He quickened his pace as he walked over the grass where picnickers like to lay during the day. No one was around now though. Not this late. Or at least that's what Ciel thought. But as he neared the top of the hill, he noticed something. Two somethings in fact; one large, one small. A looming shadow stood over another. "Who is that? The one looks like....... a giant," he uttered the last words as, said giant began to move in on the smaller shadow like a wolf taking down its prey. It's movements were awkward though, as if injured.

Ciel's eyes widened as the image in front of him became even clearer. The massive beast was indeed injured, and very.....inhuman. It was covered in fur. Lots of soft fluff rippling down its spine. But it was matted, red and dirty. A huge gash krept up across it's side and back. Ciel dropped the flashlight, and was ready to turn heel and run. But a cry for help swayed him. The voice, was so familiar. "Arc..." he gasped. The smaller shadow, ducking away from the big hairball, was Arc from school. Oooh how he hated Arc. The other boy was always trying to best him in school. And on top of that he had the nerve to make fun of him and his quiet ways. And now he needed Ciel's help. But would Ciel be reluctant? Or with his caring nature take over? Was it enough to make Ciel temporarily put their feuds aside?

It didn't take him long to decide. Safety was a priority especially against a monster. He grabbed a rock off the ground and tossed it with all his might at what was now the enemy. It made impact with a hard thud. With the creature's thick skin and hard hide, there was no way a rock was going to phase it, maybe just grab its attention. And that's exactly what it did. A loud roar erupted from the beasts throat. With a loud grunt it bellowed again, this time in Ciel's direction.

"oh....s**t..." he whispered, his words swept away by the wind. The beast jerked away from a shocked Arc, and set its eyes on a new target. Ciel.

[Honey Gee]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Vanessa Rae

Nicknames: dipswitch, idiot, loud-mouth (she does not like these very much)

Gender: female

Age: 17

School: Meadoview

Fav. Food: anything barbecued

Hated Food: celery, girly stuff

Virtues:

loud and proud-- Vanessa knows who she is, loves where she comes from, and isn't afraid to tell it like it is. An extrovert to the extreme; she's stubbornly confident, pushy and a friend to everyone and anyone that stays out of her way. An aspiring leader and a girl who likes to dominate, Vanessa is naturally attracted to submissive personalities and people willing to follow her. She lives for having cheerleaders. This is not to say that she can't have friendships with characters that won't yield to her forceful personality. She is too proud to be so inconsiderate, and regards strength and power (and, consequently, characters that embody these two qualities) with respect. It is just that she prefers to lead rather than to follow.

fierce -- A staunch admirer of strength and power, Vanessa does her best to live up to her own ideals. She is steadfastly committed to every cause that strikes her fancy, and longs to, most of all, do good in the world. Expressive and emotional, Vanessa's heartfelt desire to be good sometimes copulates with self-destruction, but this is not born from pessimism. Rather, it is the child of faith. Vanessa isn't above sacrificing herself for the greater good. Is there, after all, truly any display of strength greater than dying for what you believe in?

protective -- Honourable and affectionate, it doesn't take much for Vanessa to consider someone a friend (especially if they agree with her) and she is swift to attachment. She can not abide the suffering of loved ones or even casual acquaintances, and is passionately protective of all things she believes to be good, especially if they can not defend themselves.

adrenaline-junkie -- Competitive and aggressive, Vanessa's got a lot of pent up energy, which is channeled wonderfully into all kinds of sports. She's a girl who likes to live on the wild side, and she adores games and activities that get her adrenaline pumping. Feel like sky-diving without a parachute? Got a sudden hankering for shark wrestling? Wanna climb mount everest naked? "Yes, that's a bomb and I know we're supposed to clip -this- wire, but let's just snip this one instead and see what happens, kay? I wanna ride the wave of the explosion, baby!"

Flaws:

outspoken -- Brash and opinionated, Vanessa's loud-mouth is infamous for getting her into trouble. This is uncool because she is not witty, nor is she a quick-thinker and, more than anything in the world, Vanessa hates to lose. While she might enjoy defending the unjustly accused in court, Vanessa would, even after her impassioned ramblings and slamming her fist against the table, make a very poor lawyer, no matter how dedicated.

loose-cannon -- Temper. Temper. Temper. Vanessa's is on a very short, although, thankfully, thick string. Easily provoked and swiftly irritated, this girl's anger tends to build up over time. It accumulates, sometimes quickly, sometimes not-so-quickly, but almost always rears its ugly head in a veritable explosion of fury. Not naturally clever in the first place, Vanessa's stubborn anger can make it difficult for her to think clearly, and she can be (depending on it's intensity) blinded by rage.

impatient -- 'Later' isn't a word Vanessa often uses, or likes to hear. She likes things done, and she likes them done 'now.' Pushy and obstinate, Vanessa understands that, sometimes, if you want it done right, you've just gotta do it yourself. Idle behaviour makes her nauseous, and Vanessa can get very bossy when someone starts pushing her buttons.

dense -- Thinking is not one of Vanessa's favourite past times. In fact, its not something she does very much of at all. Bored by silly, useless things like reading and paying attention in class, or listening when she's told something; Vanessa is very much an idiot. This, combined with everything else, makes her a danger to herself and to others.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: golden, turned slightly downwards

Hair: short, afro-ish, frizzy, dark natural auburn

Face: heart-shaped face, tanned skin, bottom lip is fleshier than top lip, mouth is wide

THE STORY ENTRY

Until John Jr. had yelled it to her that afternoon, high on sugar and life and whatever else he'd been able to get his sticky little hands into, Vanessa had not regarded the mere possibility of a meteor sighting within Destiny City highly significant. She'd listened to a group of young boys with cracking voices and pimply faces chat about it in Big Willy's Record Store, but, other than double checking to make sure they weren't slipping anything under their jackets, she hadn't paid them much notice. Big Willy himself had approached her to gossip about it and Vanessa, vaguely lamenting her decision to pass over the news that morning, had smiled and nodded and pretended she knew exactly what he was talking about. Even Hairy Pete, the friendly hobo who lurked outside Big Willy's store and who Vanessa occasionally bribed to go buy her fireworks, had asked her what she thought about it.

"Its just a big rock," there was a frustrated edge to her voice as Vanessa, frowning and frustrated, shoved cash into his outstretched hands, "I've seen pictures of them in my science textbooks. I don't know what all the fuss is about."

Then came John Jr.

"VANESSA. Vaneeesssaaaa," he'd waved to her from their third floor balcony in an adorably obnoxious attempt to get her attention as she walked home from work, "DID YOU HEAR?"

Cupping her hands around her mouth, Vanessa had shouted back at him from the street, "YES I DID."

"DO YOU THINK IT WILL BE LIKE THE ONE THAT KILLED THE DINOSAURS?"

"NO I-

Her hands had fallen to her sides, she'd blinked once, twice, and then it had hit her. Destiny City hummed with the impending arrival of this meteorite and, suddenly, she understood the hype that swelled around it. This was BIG, and it was important. It could be the end of the world. Or, at least, the end of the world as they knew it. Her pulse sped up a couple of notches. This might be the only opportunity she'd ever have to see dooms day up close. Golden eyes shining with the prospect of being there, the neglected gears in Vanessa's competitive little brain started whirring at speeds they were not accustomed to as she attempted to discern how, exactly, she could be the first to see it.

It hadn't taken long for her to give up that particular quest, as she'd been forced to accept that there was no way she could possibly stop everyone from watching the night's sky that night. Vanessa, however, was determined to get the best look at it, and she'd even devised a little plan so that she could add her own flare to the show. There was a s**t-eating grin on her face as she snuck out the lobby door after sunset, with her trusty backpack, which appeared to be stuffed full to exploding with something, and second-hand skateboard tucked under her arm. She glanced first left and then right, made reasonably sure that nobody was watching, and then lovingly stepped onto her skateboard and propelled herself forwards.

At first, the park was as it should be. Calm. Quiet. Serene. Vanessa, who'd returned her skateboard to its rightful place under her arm and was currently startling squirrels with the beam from her flashlight, had even begun to whistle as she trekked across the grass and towards her destination. She was interrupted when the harsh sounds of a violent scuffle, followed by a series of feral growls from somewhere up ahead caused her to pause. Assuming it was a couple of stray dogs, Vanessa cocked an unconcerned eyebrow and aimed her flashlight at the noise. She squeaked in surprise and promptly dropped it. It rolled ominously in the grass and continued, like some kind of malfunctioning lighthouse, to illuminate the figures of the boy and the beast that grappled on the ground in front of her. For a couple of precious heartbeats she simply stood there and watched. The creature was unlike anything she'd ever seen before, and clearly dominating its painfully human opponent. The boy was tall and slender, but built rather strong. He grimaced under the weight of the monster, and used his long legs to hold the creature at bay.

Vanessa gasped. She'd broken that nose before!

The fighters seemed (possibly, temporarily) unconcerned with her presence there. For Vanessa, who loathed Steven because he was a poor sport and whined like a baby everytime she beat him at anything, there really was only one option. Steven was a jerk. He'd once bribed his girlfriend to give Vanessa a black eye, and then dumped her because Vanessa had knocked out all of her front teeth. Vanessa, however, was generally a humanitarian. She may have wanted Steven to suffer traumatizing amounts of pain, but he'd just have to find someplace to do it where she couldn't watch. Knowing she'd never be able to live with herself if she left him there and, honestly, not really wanting him to die, Vanessa's adrenaline kicked into hyperdrive and she did the quickest thing she could think of.

She picked up her flashlight and chucked it, with all of her might, at the hairy back of the beast that mauled Steven, "Hey, UGLY!"

Her aim proved true. Well, mostly true. Instead of its back, the flashlight bounced off the side of its head, which was actually better, so that was okay. Momentarily distracted, Ugly turned its attention away from Steven and directed it at Vanessa. It snapped its jaws. Vanessa, stubbornly attempting to be brave, desperately willed her eyes to adjust to the twilight. She wielded her beloved skateboard like a sword. Part of her regretted tossing the flashlight, as she could only see the hulking outline of the massive and hairy thing as it moved towards her in the dark, but she also knew that she couldn't have hit it probably with just one hand.

The hair on the back of her neck stood on end. Goosebumps popped out along her arms. It was close. She could hear -could almost feel- it as it reached for her neck. A mighty battle cry tore from her throat as she brought her skateboard down on it's head not once, not twice, but three times. Ugly roared with displeasure and swiped at her chest with one of its mighty fists. It knocked her off balance and Vanessa, gasping for breath, fell to the ground. The contents in her bag crunched loudly when she landed. Her skateboard tumbled out of site. She scrambled backwards, desperately trying to get out of reach, but Ugly snaked its disgusting fingers around her ankle and pulled her back. Vanessa wanted to desperately to scream, but there wasn't enough air in her lungs. Her heart thudded in her chest.

Suddenly, there was a loud crack, as though of wood cleaving in two, and Ugly's grip on her ankle went slack. Vanessa winced when somebody flashed a light in her eyes, and then found her voice again when Steven's face loomed out of the shadows. In one hand he held her flashlight, in the other he gripped half of her skateboard.

"Steven!" She moaned in her sorrow, "How- what? My skateboard!"

Steven, who was not in the mood, glowered irritably and chucked the piece of the skateboard to the side in favour of Vanessa's elbow. "Quickly, before it wakes up."

As if responding to his voice, Ugly groaned and began to stir. Steven, eyes wild with fright, helped Vanessa to her feet and then they were running. They were both tall, but Steven's legs were longer and he was faster than she was. Vanessa pumped her own limbs as hard as she could, so that she wouldn't lose Steven or the precious beam of light that he still clutched in his hand. Behind them, they could hear the creature as it crashed through the park in hot pursuit.

Over his shoulder, Steven called; "What is that thing?"

"Ugly," Vanessa informed him, in-between breaths of air.

Steven laughed loudly. His words were carried to her on the wind; "Just like you, hey?"

That stung. Temper beyond flared, grieving for the loss of her skateboard and mindful of the beast that hunted them, Vanessa bellowed at him as fiercely as she could at her current pace. "STEVEN, I HATE YOU. I CAN'T BELIEVE I SAVED YOUR LIFE AND YOU BROKE MY SKATEBOARD."

"Hey, I saved your life too- here, come down here."

Vanessa yelped in surprise when Steven, who she'd been too busy yelling at to see stop on the path, grabbed her around the waist and pulled her down a steep embankment. The slope was slick with mud. They slipped and slid and fell half the way down. At the bottom there was a starving river and, at the base of the embankment, an ideally sized concrete culvert. Dead leaves and twigs had built up at the lip, but the water level was so low that it was relatively dry inside. Without needing to be told, Vanessa clambered in. Steven followed close behind. It was an uncomfortably tight squeeze, but they didn't have much time to think about the painful places their elbows and knees weren't supposed to be. The second Steven's wrist was out of reach, the deranged head of the beast intruded. It leered at them and tried to force its way in, but Ugly was much too large and the culvert much too small. He made it in to about his shoulders and then, thankfully, got very stuck.

Vanessa whooped for joy. Steven frowned at her.

"Wha-

"How do you propose we get out of here?" He demanded.

"I hadn't thought of that." Vanessa looked dumbfounded.

"No," Steven rolled his eyes, "Of course you hadn't."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Vanessa hissed back angrily, temporarily forgetting the creature that was still trying its damnedest to get to them, "How come I'm the one that has to figure out how to get us out of here?"

"I don't think there's any point in going out the other way," Steven observed after a glance over his shoulder, "Unless we assume its stupid like you, too, and won't realize it can get us that way. Besides, you're the reason we're in this mess in the first place."

"WHAT? I am not!"

"Are to."

"Are not," defiant, Vanessa stuck her tongue at him. He sneered at her and aimed the light at her eyes.

"I was handling myself just fine till you came along," Steven insisted. Vanessa took his face in the palm of her hand and pushed it as far away from her as possible. Exhausted, terrified and, fearing that their success at saving each other's lives meant the potential loss of the animosity they shared, the rivals wrestled as violently as they could in the limited space that the culvert provided. Their movement was inhibited by the presence of Vanessa's backpack, which took up more space than she did. Like her skateboard, it was second-hand and also held together with copious amounts of duct tape.

"What the hell do you keep in this thing, anyways?" Steven snarled angrily, tearing it open with his hands. The contents spilled onto the concrete in front of them. Vanessa, who'd been about to swear at him for wrecking another thing that belonged to her, stopped with her mouth wide open. The spark in her eyes made Steven apprehensive. He knew instantly what she as thinking.

"[********] no." He hissed, narrowing his eyes and frantically attempting to shove the fireworks as far out of her reach as possible.

"COME ON. IT'LL WORK."

"No," he used his arms to hold her back.

"Steven," Vanessa fought him with everything she had, "it will work."

Steven, thinking he was going to set it to her straight, looked her in the eye, "No- OW. WHAT THE ********." Her fist, quick as lightning, connected with his nose. There was a satisfying crack and Steven's hands, too late, flew to protect his face. Bright red blood dribbled down his chin. Ceasing this opportunity, Vanessa, clutching a package of matches in her hands, used his body and the walls of the culvert to propel herself closer to the fireworks and Ugly. Her heart was racing with her excitement. This was brilliant. She couldn't have planned it any better if she'd wanted to.

From behind her, Steven whined, "I can't belieb you browke my nowse."

"You broke my skateboard."

There was a pause, in which Vanessa was opening packages and arranging everything the best she could. Steven changed the subject.

"Do you hab any idea vhat setting those obb in here vill do?"

She thought about it. For a second. "No. Do you?"

Steven shook his head. Blood splattered everywhere. "It von't be pretty."

"If we aim them at Ugly, he'll be distracted and then we can get out the other way."

"We could get vhurt!"

"Do you have any better ideas?"

There was no response from behind her. Smirking, satisfied, Vanessa struck a match and lit several fuses. The sizzle of the flame was amplified in the culvert and their concrete world was suddenly much brighter. The beast considered its prey, and the offensive looking fireworks that were pointed straight at his head, with hateful eyes. Vanessa, heart pounding, turned around as quickly as she could in the cramped space (which wasn't very fast at all) and, covering her ears as the fireworks started going off one by one, yelled; "GO GO GO." By that time Steven, who'd been long gone since before she'd even lit the first fuse, had already crawled out the other side. When she climbed out into the fresh air and collapsed into the muddy earth at the lip of the culvert Steven stomped purposefully on her hand.

"OW!" Vanessa cried, cradling her newly injured apendage to her chest, and glowered at Steven, "that hurt!"

"That was for breaking my nose. Again."

"God, Steven, you're such an a*****e."

At the other end of the culvert fireworks were still exploding in vibrant bursts of purples and greens and reds. The sounds of the creature's pain-filled howls penetrated the night. Vanessa and Steven exchanged frightened glances and then, scrambling up the muddy sides of the embankment, escaped together.

[Dark_Musashi]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Mercedes Soledad Cuevas

Nicknames: Mercy

Age: 15

Birthday: March 12th

Sign: Pisces

Blood Type: O+

Fav. Food: cakes of all kinds. Spicy chicken.

Hated Food: cheese. Anything coffee-flavoured.

School: Crystal Academy

Hobbies:
Swimming – Which helps since she’s in the school’s swimming team. As a kid, she was deadly afraid of water, and she was pretty much forced to take swimming lessons to overcome her phobia. The day she discovered she couldn’t sink like a stone, everything went so much better and she gained a lot of agility once dropped in a pool. However, while she feels completely safe in a pool, she is wary of natural bodies of water, and no talisman whatsoever can change that.

Drawing – Mercedes draws book characters, dragons, and an unhealthy amount of skeletons and more disturbing stuff as well, the latter of which is highly frowned upon by her family. So she draws more people and dragons. But frankly, she’s more talented for gothic themes. In the margins of her notes, one can occasionally find skulls, cute mythic creatures, and odd symbols.

Occult, horror stories, and symbols – So far, she’s made up a nice collection of horrible but cliché stories involving dead people who are still wandering in various buildings in the city. Her favourite tales are all about the hospital. When she’s not busy terrifying young and naïve souls with her made-up stuff, she collects protection symbols (with little to no research of the meaning behind them most of the time, often leading her to actually use negative symbols). Whenever she doesn’t feel at ease somewhere, she makes sure to bring or draw one of the many symbols she knows, and feels like at home again. Superstitions, anyone? Well, she dismisses other common superstitions (black cats, the number 13, etc) as bullshit in the worst cases, and as more positive symbols to add to her collection in the best. Also, she believes in psychic powers, curses, ghosts and parallel dimensions.


Gemstone: Amethyst

Virtues:
Imaginative – There’s not just one way to do things. Problems don’t have one, but a truckload solutions. Things aren’t made to be used in just one way. And so forth. She’s not just dreaming about fantasy worlds and stuff, she can also apply her imagination to realistic situations and bring it a new perspective.

Stubborn – Once she’s been assigned a goal, Mercedes doesn’t give up. No, really, she doesn’t. Whatever happen, and no matter how long it will take, she will achieve it. Eventually. Don’t get in her way, she’ll step over you(r dead body). She’s very patient, and when she seems to have forgotten about her projects… she actually hasn’t. Nope. At all. It’s just moved into the long-term future.

Observant – She may not look like it, but Mercedes is actually careful and attentive to her surroundings. Her large eyes scrutinize even the details in her area. This way, it’s hard to actually surprise her. Of course, the thing is her short-term memory is not exceptional; she won’t remember details after a minute unless they struck her. She’s also able to find patterns or special shapes in everyday things, which is a completely useless skill. Did you know that the city’s biggest libraries are located at the corners of an almost perfect square? Blink and you’ll miss it!

Flaws:
Envious – This schoolgirl is a green-eyed monster who secretly envies you for knowing where you come from, for getting what you want, for having friends, for having talent, for having anything she doesn’t have. Her stare will pierce you if you complain about something you have that she doesn’t. Down there, she would like her friends’ life; it’s obviously better or more interesting than hers.

Superstitious – She feels naked without at least one talisman with her. She’s started getting interested in occult symbols after reading one novel too many, and has only been adding more cheap accessories to her collection. When it comes to protection symbols, quantity>quality. She can go as far as wearing a Christian cross, a satanic pentagram and pagan symbols at the same time. After all, at least one of them HAS to work. She tones it down in public, thankfully, which reduces the risk of offense. Does she know their origin or meaning? Most of the time, nope. Confronted to such ignorance and inconsideration, any specialist can and WILL facepalm. (I know I would.)
If she doesn’t get to at least draw a random symbol somewhere? Mercy is going to get anxious and terribly bitchy.

Affective dependence – She might not look like it, but it’s not a good idea to make friends with her. She will eventually pout when you show interest to anyone else, she will criticize your other friends without being prompted to, and invade every inch of your intimacy. The worst part? She does it out of “love” and won’t understand why you’d ever ask for a break of any length. Mercedes can even end up harassing or stalking you because she’s that clingy.
Weakness.

Monologuing – Mercedes likes to… err… talk to herself. Yes, even with people around. She tends to speak her mind out loud. It can be especially obnoxious when she says her opinion of you while you’re still there. “No, don’t worry, I don’t mind waiting. Damn, you’re so slow. I don’t have all day either.”
It can even apply to her plan of action if she’s not careful about it, in a typical villainy fashion. “That’s right, I am gonna jump in your way and tear your godamned starseed out like I did for that gal, just do it already, it’s not like you had any better plan in mind anyway … I don’t think I should have said that out loud.”
In short? Mercedes comments her life a lot and has to refrain herself from saying things she nonetheless know they are inappropriate. Need a narrator during a battle? This is a job for Mercy!


DO NOT MISS OUT THE ABOVE BECAUSE YOU'RE C&PING FROM YOUR QUEST OR WE WILL BE MAD

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Hair: short, bowl-cut. Pale purple. See here: http://public5.tektek.org/img/av/1002/d03/1502/20d7641.png

Eyes: large, pinkish eyes.

Face: round and cheeky. Freckles. Tan skin.


THE STORY ENTRY

How could she possibly miss that meteorite, frankly? These things could only be seen once in a decade, or so. Or was that comets? Anyway, both of these phenomena have always been good omens, and Mercy couldn’t ignore that, being an amateur of everything strange and vaguely mysterious. Science, of course, took all the magic away from meteorites and other sightings; Mercedes didn’t like astronomy very much.

Using all her stealth, she approached slowly the large hill she loved to climb on whenever there was something pretty happening over here, in the night skies. That is, she did not get to sit there very often, all things considered. Nonetheless, it was her hill.
And since it was her hill, she was shocked to see two people already occupying her location. What a disappointment! She hadn’t expected to have to share her night with anyone. Ugh, they probably were going to talk about science. Or worse. They could be lovers. Ewwww. Mercedes only found romance worth of her time when it involved the undead. “I swear you’re not going to make out there, because I have the monopoly on that hill, and I still want to be able to sit there and feel clean” she mumbled under her breath.
Going closer, the shapes became clearer too. One of them turned out to have strange proportions, unlike the smaller one that seemed familiar. Its attitude was menacing, and the fur reminded Mercy of a lanky gorilla. Some yeti, perhaps? “I am protected, for I have faith”, she whispered. Her hand, around which there was already a bracelet ornamented with engraved glass beads, dived inside her coat pocket to prod and touch the tiny ankh inside for comfort. The familiar touch reassured her, and she felt brave enough to take a better look.

To her surprise, she recognized the other person (or rather, the only human?) as a fellow classmate. And not just any of them: she was Kelly, a blonde of the stereotypical variety. Not too bright, friendly, and proud owner of a silly giggle that could be heard daily in the halls of the Crystal Academy. Worse than that, since they knew each other, Kelly had treated school as if it were a popularity contest, and kept trying to get Mercy’s friends to revolve around her instead. It was incredibly annoying. Who does she think she is, thinking her classmates don’t have enough of her as a (self-proclaimed) best friend already? And not only she was keen on stealing that privileged status, she had the nerves to mock her and say in front of everyone “those are, like, satanic symbols, you know? You’re totally not supposed to have more than one religion at once, you’re gonna have to choose between Satanism, witchcraft, and Egyptian things”.
She didn’t care most people have made derogatory remarks about her pentagram and Hand of Fatima and all the other symbols. It’s just that Kelly and her clique giggled right after saying that, and that made her a first-grade b***h.
So, Mercy’s empathy actually dropped a level as she watched the yeti knock the blonde down. “Ouch, that’s gotta hurt.”

Mercedes stayed at good distance of the fight, witnessing the scene with a creepy apathy. She wasn’t surprised in the least the creature didn’t notice her; after all, the precious hidden ankh was protecting her. She was wearing a month’s worth of good luck at that moment, and entirely relied on it… and the fuss the poor Kelly was making, screaming and pulling its fur in vain as if it were an opponent’s hair during a catfight. The yeti was no frail girl, though, and in return, pulled her by the hair, lifting her one inch above the ground.
Meanwhile, Mercedes was musing on the nature of the yeti. In retrospect, it couldn’t actually be a yeti. They are supposed to stick to mountains. Nah, it clearly was some sort of vengeful spirit. How were those called already? Wendigos, right. So, that made the monster a wendigo. “I’ve never seen a nature spirit in action before, that’s so cool!” said the purple-haired girl at the same moment the thing roared.

It didn’t take long for the beast to knock Kelly unconscious. At that point, Mercy stepped back slowly, still watching the show maliciously. As she did so, she whispered: “you had it coming. Maybe a talisman would have helped you.”
She didn’t stay to watch the rest, and silently walked away. This had been her hill, and it still was her hill. Because Kelly had violated her beloved place and insulted her wards, spirits turned against her. Now, Mercy was certain her hill was occupied by a wendigo spirit, and it made it tenfold as special.
Plus, she would probably have another good ghost story to tell her friends, now they wouldn’t be tormented anymore by that blonde b***h.

[Blue Eyed Melloon]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!


Name: Bianca Rollins

Nicknames: None

Gender: Female

Age: 18

Birthday: December 17th

Sign: Sagittarius

Blood Type: A-

School: Meadowview High School.

Fav. Food: Raspberry Preserves (Not the jelly, it doesn't have the seeds)

Hated Food: Apricots

Gemstone: Blue Topaz

Hobbies:

Volleyball- She is one of the top spikers on the Meadowview high volleyball team, and that doesn't come from skipping practice. She is there every day, giving her all towards bettering herself and the team, sometimes for hours after the last of her team mates have left for home. She is determined to be the best, be in the spotlight, and slam the ball as hard as she can.She hopes to get a volleyball scholarship so that she may attend college, but isn't too worried about it if she doesn't.

Gossiping- When not hitting around a volleyball in the gym, Bianca can be seen with her friends, heads bent together over the latest and hot dish of gossip. She thrives on knowing what goes on in other people's lives, and if the gossip well runs fry, she isn't adverse to creating some of her own to get the ball rolling again.

Fashionista- Bianca loves to shop, and with her Daddy's credit card and no limit, she goes wild. She loves to patrol the mall with friends, waiting for the newest jacket to come out at Hollystar and being the first to own it. Being fashion forward is a full time job to her, and she will spend a good hour choosing what outfit to wear the next day to the coffee shop, or what accessories match her "dreadful" school uniform.

Virtues:

Focused- Once Bianca wraps her mind around something, so won't let it go for anything in the world. Big test tomorrow? She will either study the night away, or bully some poor kid until he gives her the answers. (This is FAR more likely) Important game? She will practice and practice until her arms feel like jello. She doesn't like to fail, and she believes that by blocking out everything except for one task, she will able to accomplish it that much quicker.

Observant- When she's not playing volleyball, Bianca rarely misses much around her. She has the ability to multitask, eavesdropping on multiple conversations at once to see if there is anything fun to remember and talk about later. She also notices the smaller ticks that people have and, given enough time, she could figure out if they are lying, or hiding something from her. She loves to watch people and how they interact with each other.

Confidant- Bianca knows what she wants, and how to get it. She doesn't shrink in the limelight, and has no issue standing in front of the class to give a presentation. She thrives on the attention, and will talk to anyone she pleases. She doesn't doubt her abilities, as a regular person or as a Negaverse Lt. In her mind, confidence is the second most attractive thing about her. The first being her looks of coarse.

Flaws:

Stereotypical- Do you play video games? Then she will classify you and treat you as a nerd. This means she just won't talk to you unless she needs help with her homework. Do you play sports? Then to her, your a jock, and should be treated with respect and, if your a guy, a little flirting. Too broke to afford the latest fashions? Bianca will not be seen talking to someone in last years clothes! She treats classifies everyone into groups, and treats them accordingly. And depending on the group, this may or may not be a bad thing, though most people are not fond of her for this.

Brash- Bianca doesn't allow things to sit still. If she finds out a juicy piece of gossip, she will seek out the people involved and pester them about it until they give up the info. Which she will then tell anyone else who will listen to her, possibly embellishing just a little to make it more interesting. If something is up, she will be the first to know what goes down. Her bold offense is not enjoyed by many, except for her fellow gossip hounds and that lasts only as long as the gossip isnt about them.

Vain- If Bianca were a cartoon character, she would be the evil stepmother from Snow White. She spends forever in front of the mirror, making sure her uniform is straight, her hair is immaculate, and she's showing just enough skin to stay out of the principles office, but get the boys heads turning. Her vanity borderlines OCD, with her constantly checking her makeup, brushing her hair, and avoiding gym at ALL costs. She keeps extra clothes in her locker incase she gets her original outfit dirty. She walks the halls as if she were walking the red carpet and, in her mind, she is the fairest in the land.

**Her vanity can be considered her weakness. If something is out of place with her appearance, she WILL drop whatever it is she is doing and fix it. It doesn't matter if she's standing in the middle of the road. If the wind blows her hair wrong, she will come to a dead stop and pull out her brush to fix it. The same goes with her clothes. If she gets anything on them, she will leave and go home to change. This will include her eventual upgrade uniform**

DO NOT MISS OUT THE ABOVE BECAUSE YOU'RE C&PING FROM YOUR QUEST OR WE WILL BE MAD

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Round, Dark Blue

Hair: Bright blond, shoulder length, straight

Face: Slender face, slightly pointed chin. Small mole above her right eyebrow.

THE STORY ENTRY

Prompt Reminder For Me

Everyone’s talking about it.

A possible meteorite sighting? In Destiny City?

Admittedly, you’re curious. So you snuck out to the park with your trusty flashlight. In the center is a big grassy hill, perfect for amateur stargazing despite the light pollution around you, a place you figured no one else would show up to because of the unspoken curfew. Only, when you’re almost there, you realize someone has beaten you to it. Wait, make that two ‘someone’s--

The first is giant - bigger than any human you'd ever seen before. In fact, the shape is the only thing human about it, as its skin (from what you can tell by your flashlight's soft glow) is almost fur-like, with the attire foreign, almost as if it didn't come from this world. Was that some sort of costume? But it's far too large to be a human...and whatever it is, it’s attacking – your sworn arch-nemesis from high school?? Your biggest rival in Destiny City is quickly losing the fight to a horror from the beyond, and you’re the only person that can help them. The creature winning against them appears to have already been injured in the brawl, bearing a long gash down its side. Could it be defeated, and your rival saved? But the more important question is… do you help them? Or would it be easier to let this monster do the dirty work before you take it on? Of course, if you don’t have the nerve or foresight, you can always run, but you’re pretty sure sudden movement is going to get that thing’s attention.

Better decide fast. Or slow.

THIS AIN’T SEAWORLD, THIS IS AS REAL AS IT GETS.

Story Entry

That meteor was out there somewhere, and Bianca was going to find it before anyone else. She leapt from her window onto the garage roof below, pausing to pull out her compact and dusting her face with the powdered makeup inside before examining her clothes for anything out of place. A quick brush with her small purse brush and she was ready to continue down the ladder she "conveniently" leaned against the side of the garage earlier today. Down the rungs, and quick examination of her hands for broken nails or chipped polish. Then all she needed to do was simply walk through her front gate and out onto the lamp-lit street. Bianca looked back at her house, watching the light in her parents room flicker out as they went to bed. Then she was off down the street, looking up at the sky in hopes of seeing the meteor. Ever since it's appearance a week ago, the meteor has caused quite a buzz among adults and students alike. Bianca's friends have only spoken about the various rumors surrounding the meteor, and she was growing quite bored with hearing about some big rock in the sky. Until this mystery was solved, her gossip well had run dry, and Bianca was thirsty for more exciting things.

Plus being the first person in her group to actually see the meteor would give her everyone's undivided attention for a while.

She was in the center of town now, and the large grassy hill that was her goal loomed into the sky, creating a dark hole in the stars. As she came closer, her flashlight fell upon the ground, where something sparkled. She paused to bend down and pick up what turned out to be a bracelet, fragile and silver with charms attached to it. She studied the bracelet a moment, turning it over in her hand beneath the flashlight's glow. It looked familiar, but Bianca couldn't place where she had seen it....

A growl from nearby snapped her attention back to her location and her head shot up while the flashlight beam was pointed at various angles around her. What was that!? Another growl, and someone yelling...it sounded like someone being attacked by a dog. Bianca froze, hands shaking. Another yell from the person compelled her to start walking again. At the top of the hill she stared open mouthed at the scene, flashlight hanging limply from her hand at her side, where it illuminated the bright green grass slick with red blood.

That had to be the BIGGEST dog she had ever seen! No....it wasn't a dog. The creature stood on two feet, and was wearing clothes. But the skin was like fur.....she looked around, checking to see if there were any cameras around. They had to be shooting a movie right? Her gaze fell on the girl that was lying unmoving at it's feet. The creature picked her up and casually tossed her a few yards away, as easily as a child throwing a doll. No human could do that. Bianca's eyes widened, and she ran halfway down the hill before circling over to where the girl lay. She saw her body from below as a dark spot against the light of the stars, and she placed the flashlight in her mouth as she bent over the girl, careful to avoid the ground and touching her too much. Blood and dirt on her favorite yoga pants? Absolutely not!

As she turned the girl over, her face went blank, and she released the girl as if she were on fire. Veronica Milan's eyes were shut, but her perfect skin glowed with sweat and was splotched with blood. Bianca instinctively pulled out her compact and went over her face once with he powder, using the tiny mirror inside to check her hair and clothes as she crouched there. Seeing her hair starting to frizz, she placed the compact back in her jacket pocket and pulled out the brush, going over her hair until she felt it that the frizz was gone. She then pulled out the compact again just to double check. Once she was sure that she was alright again, her attention went back to Veronica. She was bleeding from a long gash on her arm, and one of her ankles was beginning to swell inside her shoe, probably very painful. Bianca crouched there, unsure of what to do. Veronica wasn't exactly in her circle. To be completely honest, Bianca hated her with a passion. Her only rival for the top spiker of the Meadowview volleyball team, Veronica was a tall, gorgeous brunette who attempted to knock Bianca off her social "high horse" every chance she got. Her posse of "gossip hounds" were constantly snooping in Bianca's business, hoping to get some juicy goods on the self proclaimed "Ruler of the School".

Not to mention she was currently dating the captain of the soccer team, a guy who clearly needs his brain scanned because he could be dating Bianca, but chose the little wannabe that lay before her.

She was roughly knocked out of her reverie as the creature gave an unholy roar and swung a massive limb at her, sending Bianca flying backwards and into some brush. She opened her eyes, dazed as the creature loomed over Veronica, who was now just waking up. Bianca's attention immediately went to her clothes, which were covered in branches and leaves. She stood up, frantically brushing away the debris. Out comes the compact, and tears welled in her eyes as she saw a clear bruise forming above her left eyebrow. The flashlight lay a few feet from her, and she used this to examine her clothes. Dirt covered half of her leg, and various twigs and such stuck to her pants. Her eyes widened, and she picked her way out of the brush, turning away from the creature that growled over a whimpering Veronica. Being seen this way was unacceptable! She had to get home before anyone noticed how...common she looked.

Besides She said, pausing to look back over her shoulder, Now Jason will be free again. A small smile crossed over her face as she turned away from the monster, who was lunging at the still screaming Veronica. Veronica's bracelet twirled around Bianca's finger as she whistled her way down the street. She didn't get to see the meteor after all.

But at least she got some new jewelry out of it.

[elvyralani]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Felicia Webb

Nicknames: none

Gender: Female

Age: 19

School: Sovereign Heights

Fav. Food: Bread, any kind!

Hated Food: Tofu, ew, just ew.

Virtues:
Logical: She is always the logical thinker. She loves to figure things out like puzzles and math problems; she thinks there are less people in the world like this. This lets her see different sides of problems than others. She can also be someone of a computer nerd, making her own websites and such. She loves to find the relationship of things. It takes steps to figure things out and chooses the answers that make sense.

Knowledge: What good is logical thinking if you aren’t smart. Felicia makes the good grades, ok well not the best grades in English and history (they are decent) but in her math and science classes she excels. She loves to learn new things, be it for classes or how to sew! She tried to do new things, even if they don’t turn out to well, like cooking.

Loyal and trustworthy: To those she is friends with, she is loyal too. If you are on her good side, you will learn that she is loyal and always supports those she calls her friends. Felicia always holds up expectations others have of her, she doesn’t like to let people down.

Flaws:
Over-thinking/analyzing: Going with her logicalness, she tends to over think some problems, be it math or real life. She'll take a part movies and commercials to disprove them. Even if one was to tell her to let it be and just enjoy it, she'll still be thinking 'But you can't hack a Mac like that, grumble grumble.' This doesn't work out to well for homework when she thought the problem was to easy so she must have done something wrong, and then redoes it wrong, completely overshooting the easy answer.

Sarcasm: She can be so sarcastic sometimes that well, one can't tell if she's doing it or not. This gets her in trouble sometimes because she'll answer someone sarcastically and they will think that is what she truthfully meant, or if she were to answer something and meant it, they'll think the opposite of it. When one can understand her sarcasm, it's pretty funny.

Impatient: Felicia dislikes waiting for things to be done, classes to end, waiting for 7pm so she can eat dinner. This also goes into if there is something she wants, a new game or something, she can’t let the idea of not getting it go. She can’t understand why people can’t get some things finished quicker either. This all leads to some nervous habits, like constantly messing with her hair or tapping her foot.

Procrastination: ... What? I'll get to this later ... or not...

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Green, wears glases

Hair: red/brown, Wazy, layers, just nothing short or terribly long.

Face: Oval, normal looking, slightly large ears

THE STORY ENTRY

Felicia brushed her hair from her face and pushed her glasses back up her nose. She had been watching the news earlier and heard about the possible meteorite shower. One here? Such an unlikely thing, she pondered. Truthfully she had always wanted to see one and living in a city, well, that was an unlikely thing.

Though the news had called for it to not be for several hours, she left early. Grabbing her trusty giant Maglight, she headed out the door (she loved living by herself). It was a ten minute walk to get her to the park, the park that would have the best place to watch the shower.

She flicked her flashlight off and hoped the fence. Felicia started her way to the hill, and after a few minutes she turned the light back on.

A noise caught her ear, Was someone else in here, I knew I should have waited til it was closer.... Though that noise she heard was odd, it was not like a human more like a beast.

Again her light went off as she came towards her hill, exactly where the noise was coming from too. It would seem her rival, Sid was there too, how dare she! But wait, what in the world, or off-world, was that? It seemed Sid was fighting some giant furry thing.

There is no way that could be real, no way in deed. Both seemed to be injured, neither she cared to help though. Felicia could care less for her rival, but...

Though, if her rival died, she could never defeat her! Darn, the beast was more hurt anyway.

Deciding her fate, she snuck close behind some bushes. With all her might, she tossed her heavy flashlight at the beast's head. It made contact and the beast fell over, unconscious or stunned greatly.

With that she ran over and grabbed Sid's hand. "You owe me, so much! And a new flashlight."

She loved that flashlight...

[Naked Satan]

Quote:

I have a question.

If we have a quest character, that was designed in hopes of one day being a Guardian Cat, could we enter and still have that possibility?

I'm asking because i really like the entire personality and idea of that character and would love to RP him. But i wasn't sure if school kids ever had to the opportunity to turn guardian cat. (obviously i would have to work really hard to earn this and all, but the question still stands.)

[LizzyMoo]

Naked Satan

Quote:

I have a question.

If we have a quest character, that was designed in hopes of one day being a Guardian Cat, could we enter and still have that possibility?

I'm asking because i really like the entire personality and idea of that character and would love to RP him. But i wasn't sure if school kids ever had to the opportunity to turn guardian cat. (obviously i would have to work really hard to earn this and all, but the question still stands.)

((I believe that entering a contest with the intents of the character eventually turning into a guardian cat is not allowed for this sort of contest. I'll double check this when I get the chance, but I'd probably stay away from something of those lines since the cats normally are cats, not humans, to begin with.))

[Naked Satan]

thank you lizzy :3

[Reverie Rose]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Lillian Rose Nightingale

Nicknames: Lil or Lily

Gender: Female

Age: 16

School: Crystal Academy

Fav. Food: Botan Rice Candy

Hated Food: Olives

Virtues:

Helpful: Lillian is the type of girl who enjoys to be of help to people. Though she isn’t always the best at it, she does try her best to help people. Anytime an animal is in need of assistance, she is always there. And she will help people as well.

Caring: She is a very compassionate person, and showed kindness to most people when she first meets them. It takes a lot to make her reject you, but it doesn’t take much to get her to accept you.

Artistic: She has amazing skills when it comes to drawing and painting. She carries around a sketch book wherever she goes, and likes to doodle what she sees. Her favorite things to draw are animals, specifically cats and ferrets.

Well Mannered: She was raised to have the best of manners, and will always say please and thank you. She knows how to eat properly, walk properly, and talk properly. She likes to be a ‘proper’ girl, which is why she attends Crystal Academy with other ‘proper’ girls.

Flaws:

TOO caring: When it comes to animals. She loves animals more then people, and can easily be tricked when it comes to trying to help an animal. All it takes is an illusion of a hurt puppy to get her to run to its rescue, and fall for traps. Or even HEARING that an animal is in danger, she wants so badly to help it, she puts herself in dangerous situations. This would be her greatest weakness. When it comes to animals, she can’t turn one in need down, even if she knows it wont end well for her.

Selfish: Despite her caring nature, she can get selfish very easily. She doesn’t like to share her pets, and if she picks up a strange animal on the street, she doesn’t like to take it to others. She would rather just bring it home and take care of it herself, then share it with others.

Jealous: She doesn’t like when attention is taken away from her. She likes people to notice her, and can get jealous and petty if she feels she is being ignored. She fears being ignored, and wants people to notice, and pay attention to her.

Naive: She is easily tricked, or fooled into believing things, or falling for things. She can be quite the airhead, and if you tell her ‘I like you!’ or ‘I will change! Promise!’ she is likely to believe you.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION Lillian is a pretty girl with slightly tanned skin, and bright blue eyes. They are a pale shade of blue, and pop against her skin. She has ‘angel kisses’ of freckles over her nose and cheeks, and a little on her shoulders, but they are faint. Her hair is very curly and red. It comes to her shoulders, but when straightened it comes just below her shoulder blades. She often ties it up in a curly half ponytail though. She is short, standing at only five foot two inches, and likes to paint her nails blue or pink.

Eyes: Pale Blue, Round

Hair: Ginger Red, Curly in a half ponytail and generally tied with a sort of large ribbon. And a ferret shaped clip to hold up her bangs, parted to the side.

Face: Round shaped face, Slightly tanned, but not full blown dark tan. Rosey cheeks, and pink lip gloss lips, and freckles around her nose and cheeks. Her ears are small and rounded.

She also carries around a sketch pad wherever she goes with a doodle of a ferret on the cover

Slight Edit right here - If that is not alright I will remove it =)
I would also like for her to have a ferret sort of flopping over her shoulder lazily on its belly. Here is a picture reference click click OR in a bag over her shoulder with his head poking out. Bag appearance is up to you =) and you can choose which one you want, or neither if he can't be in it ^^ its her pet ferret cupid =3

THE STORY ENTRY
She couldn’t resist. Normally Lillian spent Saturday nights at home playing with her pet ferret, and whatever else she picked up off the street, but not tonight. A meteorite!? That was just, too good to resist! “Be good while I am gone Cupid. I will be back soon.” she told her ferret with a smile as she put him back in his cage, and went to grab a flashlight.

It was dark out…but there was a strange glow in the air. It was strange, it was almost as if she didn’t need the flashlight. She had a blue shawl knitted shawl over her shoulders, as she walked to where it was suppose to be. Let’s see….she pulled out her camera to take an up close picture, but when she got there she realized that someone was there already. Damn, she had wanted to be alone…she wasn’t good with people..wait who was that!?

Oh geez that person was huge! Lillian’s eyes widened as she ducked behind a tree. Who…WHAT was that!? Some sort of wrestler? Body builder? Not it didn’t look like that, it looked more…wait furry!? Lillian’s curiosity instantly perked up. Was that some sort of space animal?! COOL! She wanted to meet it! Take pictures of it, DRAW it! Oh damn why didn’t she bring her sketch pad!? Stupid stupid! Well there was no time to hit herself over that, she simply HAD to get a closer look at…wait was that…oh no it was! That’s the girl who always bullied her! Tanya Hearting! Oh nooo!

Lillian noticed though, that Tanya seemed to be in trouble, she may have called Lillian a freak on occasion…and stolen her sketch book to laugh about with the rest of the class…and put gum in her hair in the ninth grade…and…wait, this was no time to be reflecting on the things Tanya did! Lillian needed to help! She came out from behind the tree, a scared but determined look on her face “Hey! Get away from her!” Shouted Lillian as she snapped a photo of the creature, the flash catching its attention. But now it was..COMING FOR HER!? Oh crap! What now what now!? Lillian quickly got out of the way at the last minute as the creature nearly got a swipe at her. This was not good! In her attempt to get away however, Lillian tripped and groaned as she felt herself get yanked to her feet. “Keep on laying there stupid if you want to get killed!” came the voice of Tanya as Lillian turned around to see the creature charging them again.

She didn’t have anything but….AH! Lillian threw her flashlight at the creature, that didn’t stop it, so she threw her camera at the creature, it hit it in the face and shattered. The creature cried out in pain as some of the debree got in its eye. “What…do we do now..?” asked Lillian, a bit dumbfolded. “Stupid. This is where we RUN!” shouted Tanya as she grabbed Lillian’s arm, tugging her as she made a dash for it. Before long they were gone, and could still hear the creature howling.

Tanya made a phone call, then shut her phone and turned to Lillian. “You are to keep this quiet you hear? If I hear you mentioned this to ANYONE I will make sure you get it.” she said as she began to walk off. “But what about the…” said Lillian, motioning to where the howling was coming from. “I called back up. They will be here soon to take care of this.” she said as she continued to walk away, then stopped and turned to Lillian. “And thanks.” she said, shocking Lillian with the first sign of gratitude she had ever shown her. Lillian smiled and nodded a ‘your welcome’ as she turned and headed back home. She couldn’t wait to tell Cupid about this! And telling just him, was enough for her. She didn’t need to tell anyone else. It could be their little secret!

[Eijirou]

IN THE NAME OF THE MOON! WRITING COMPETITION? SCHOOLKID COMP!

Name: Nemain (“ne-VAHN”) Caractacus

Nicknames: Van, Spartacus

Gender: Female

Age: 16

School: Sovereign Heights

Fav. Food: Thanksgiving dinner

Hated Food: Gelatin

Virtues:

Staunchly Protective -- Nemain always stands by her friends and stomps on bullies and would-be bullies. She hates seeing people get victimized and will butt into a situation, even if it’s none of her business – you might call her nosy in this regard. It doesn’t matter to her if she gets in trouble for it, either, especially if it involves her friends or family; she’ll act first and worry about the consequences later.

Virtually Fearless -- Her parents always told her she inherited the spirit of their Celtic warrior ancestors. She’s not scared of strangers, exams, injury – you name it. She’s not a daredevil – she doesn’t look for thrills based on situations tending to incite fear – but Nemain tackles situations confidently, figuring that there’s nothing out there that she can’t beat up literally or metaphorically.

Science Nerd -- You might expect someone with Nemain’s personality to be a little more physically oriented, but the truth is, she’s really into academics, especially technical subjects. You might even call her a nerd – though not to her face if you don’t want a broken nose. So far, she’s done very well in school.

Flaws:

Atomic Temper -- Saying Nemain has a “bad” temper would be a serious understatement. Not only is she easily offended by anything that could be construed an insult to herself, a friend, a family member, her school, a pet, or nearly anything she might have an attachment to, she easily gets really, really mad. When it comes to anger, Nemain can go from annoyed to full-on violent rage in a matter of less than a minute if provoked. She will cause a ruckus anytime, anywhere, no matter the company, if someone says or does something to tick her off. If someone angers her in the middle of class, the idea of detention, teacher reprimand, suspension, or even expulsion or juvie will not stop her from standing up and shouting, knocking over desks, or even assaulting her provoker. No one’s pushed her limits so far that she’s actually gotten herself into serious trouble yet, but most classmates are likely to find her a bit scary. She has been sent to the principal’s office for on-campus disturbances many times and has been expelled from a few institutions for fighting at school. She’s now attended three different elementary schools, two middle schools, and is currently on her second high school. It’s her parents’ hope this is the last time she’ll have to change schools.

Blunt -- It’s probably because she doesn’t worry much about the consequences of her actions, but Nemain tends to say it like it is, even if it’s tactless. She might not volunteer comments that are outright rude, but she won’t sugarcoat an answer to a question she’s directly asked. For instance, she probably wouldn’t tell a friend she’s wearing an ugly sweater, but if that friend asks what she thinks, Nemain might tell her straightforwardly, “I actually think it’s kind of ugly.” For someone so sensitive, Nemain seems oddly oblivious to the possibility that her candid statements could be taken as offensive.

Unpopular -- As one might guess from her personality, Nemain doesn’t easily make friends. She’s not particularly outgoing, and her terrible temper and lack of social graces seem to work against her in making a favorable impression. As loyal and upstanding of a comrade as she might be to those who actually befriend her, it seems very few are willing to chance the other aspects of her nature.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

Eyes: Blue, cool, dark, slightly narrow

Hair: Warm and dark, lighter at the tips, wavy, voluminous, very long, heavy, loose, wild, may include braids, may be decorated with feathers or a brass wing hairclip

Face: Heart-shaped, small chin

THE STORY ENTRY
The thin beam of white light from the sturdy Maglite wiggled along the sidewalk surface to the rhythm of Nemain’s wholly less-than-stealthy stomps. She didn’t care about the hour. A palpable aura of anger radiated from her like heat, and the rare passersby hurrying home after curfew wove off the sidewalk a considerable distance just to avoid her. Heavy waves of dark hair jounced furiously against the small of her back with every step.

That was my lab report! she fumed to herself, her blue eyes flashing an acid glare as they connected with the unwitting gaze of a passing stranger; he ducked into his scarf in alarm and hurried away. MY lab report that I spent hours on! And she copied everything! So why am I the one who gets in trouble?

Her boots bit hard into the moist soil of the park lawn as she began marching up the slope of the central hill. She totally deserved that punch to the jaw! Nemain’s molars ground together resolutely in support of this statement. But, no – she gets off scot-free, and I get suspended for two days! Where’s the justice in that? I--

The girl stopped in her steps and glanced up. She was nearly there – the location of that fallen meteorite she wanted to check out – but she wasn’t alone. “Speak of the devil,” she breathed aloud.

The last person on earth that she wanted to see, the deliciously swollen bruise on her jaw giving her away instantly, had gotten there first. But what was that thing attacking her? A Yeti?

Ducking behind a rock just in case, Nemain gritted her teeth again, the rough sound of bone grinding on bone reverberating through her skull. I ought to just let it eat her, she seethed vindictively, turning away from the fight. It’d just be karma, anyway. Serves her right. Still, her shaking hands clenched the flashlight tighter, and she chewed on her whitened knuckles in brief indecision. Ugh, I can’t. I passed John on the way to the park, and if she gets mauled here, everyone’s gonna think I jumped her!

…Fine. She closed her eyes tightly, angrily, and took a deep breath. Then, grasping her heavy-duty Maglite in both hands, she charged out of hiding at the hairy beast, a scream of challenge ripping from her lungs.

(EDIT: Someone PMed me and told me that her age might be a little too young for the new school, but I didn't edit the form because the contest is now closed. If it's all right, I don't mind making her older to fit the school. Sorry for the oversight, and thanks!)

[Melodine Cantus]

Name: Damon Amary

Nicknames: Day

Age: 18

Birthday: November 15

Sign: Scorpio

Blood Type: B

Fav. Food: MEAT

Hated Food: anything classified as "vegetables"

School: Sovereign Heights (Graduated from Hillworth Grammar School)

Hobbies:
Creating trouble-- Not exactly what would be considered a hobby, Damon seems to have a knack of getting into trouble, whether it was premeditated or not. Known as the guy who'll punch your face in if you piss him off, as rumors got out about how he got into Hillworth, those who actually dare to hang out with him are usually the crowd that gets into trouble more often than the others.

Keeping tabs on his sister-- Damon is highly protective of his younger sister, Delphine, and constantly does checks on her. He usually likes texting her and demanding to know where exactly she is at the very instant. Being the older brother, Damon feels like he has a responsibility over her. After that incident, he feels as though he has let his little sister down, and is determined to make it up and show her that he still cares, in his own annoying way.

Running-- It was a decision Damon struggled to make to switch from competing in team sports to track and field (he's now a long distance runner), as he felt that he wouldn't make the same mistake again. Running is also a time where he likes being alone to sort out his own thoughts and forget his troubles.

Gym-- As most boys of his age do, Damon frequents the gym to build up muscle, not wanting to look like, as he puts it, a 'wimpy nerd who stays at home all day reading books'. As with running, Damon prefers to do this alone, not wanting to be distracted from his workout.

Poker-- To try and take his mind off sports a little, Damon has picked up a hobby with cards, and is fond of secretly playing poker with his pals. He is often the dealer, and will be mad if anyone dares CHEAT. Well, this isn't helping his anger management issues.

Gemstone: Topaz

Virtues:
Loyal-- Damon is extremely loyal and dedicated to his family and those who he trusts enough to call them as 'friends'. Whenever they get into trouble, he is determined to do anything to assist them, whether they want him to or not. He is also highly protective of these select few, and constantly keeps an eye on them to make sure nothing untoward happens. Damon will do ANYTHING it takes to make sure they are safe.

Brave-- What some people would call 'reckless', Damon doesn't seem to care when he does something that could put him into dangerous situations. He doesn't seem to fear the notion of getting punishments (alright, he does think Killingworth is rather intimidating), and simply takes in into his stride. Even if someone is physically stronger than him, Damon will not hesitate to fight them if they push his buttons too far.

Don't you dare cheat!-- Damon is a stickler for rules in games (especially in poker and sports) and absolutely hates it when people cheat and try to escape the blame. He believes in a fair game and anyone who tries to tip the scales in their favor will be dealt with accordingly. Damon also cannot stand people who cheats in general, especially duping their loved ones, and finds it extremely difficult to forgive anyone who has does so. Cheat on your girlfriend, Hillworth boys? Congratulations, you've found a place on Damon's hate list. Damon himself refuses to play dirty, and even if his opponent does so, he will not stoop to their level.

Flaws:
Violent-- Whenever he gets into a messy situation, Damon automatically thinks of solving it with violence. He has gotten into quite a few fights and is a relatively decent fighter. Those who oppose him will meet his fists, and Damon rarely thinks of sorting out misunderstandings amicably. It is also a trait that has often gotten him into trouble in school.

Hotheaded-- A highly reckless individual, Damon does not stop to analyse the situation calmly, and often rushes into it without a second thought. He is easily swayed by his emotions and thus, contributes to him getting into trouble way too easily.

Insecure-- Below the tough guy image Damon exudes is a boy full of insecurities, a fact that he himself is only aware. After the incident that got him sent to Hillworth, he has done some self-reflection and feels extremely guilty for making himself appear as such in his family's eyes. This is a reason why he is making effort to control his temper, however difficult it seems.

Physical Description:

Hair: Black with dark blue streaks, messy

Eyes: Pale Gray

Face: Oval face shaped.

Body: Lean, slightly muscular. Pretty tall, considering that he once played basketball.

Fashion: Pierced his left ear, wears a silver skull earring. Usually wears jeans that are worn out at the knees and sleeveless/ short sleeved shirts. Also likes wearing sunglasses with dark blue tinted shades atop his head.

Why he got sent to Hillworth-- Originally a part of Meadowview's basketball team, Damon put much effort into playing and helping his team to win. Unfortunately, during a match, an opposing team member had crashed into one of their team members while attempting to score a goal. A quarrel ensued when the referee didn't penalize the other team (for some reason) and Damon blew up at the opposing team member, beating him up.

This display of temper led to him being suspended from the team and when warnings about his previous violent behavior was considered (hitting others who cut the lunch queue, causing food fights, etcetc), the decision was made that he should go to Hillworth instead.

THE STORY ENTRY

Damon Amary was bored.

He was also at home, though it felt like it had been ages since he had seated himself on the couch in their living room, what with spending the last year practically locked up in Hillworth Grammar School. No, it wasn’t right to call it a school. It was like a jail. A jail in which his term had (finally) came to an end, and his parents decided that one year was enough, and that he should go on to Sovereign Heights to prepare for college. It actually felt great to be in a new school, with no Killingworth and Collins punishing him when his temper got out of control, making him to run laps or do menial labour like they were famed for and thus feared by many boys. It was his remorse that he had let his family down, by going from Meadowview to Hillworth, that made him try his hardest to behave in Sovereign Heights, to prove to them, to prove to Delphine that he was a worthy older brother.

His parents were still doubtful, however, and after a conference between themselves, they had announced that he was going to get a pet, to learn to be responsible and to keep his temper in check. Damon had been horrified, and pointed out that they still had ‘that dusty old thing’, which was what he usually called their housecat, who had lived with them as long as they could remember. Delphine had retorted that she should have a pet too, and their parents had used Crystal Academy keeping her busy as an excuse. He was busy too, Damon had snapped back, but his parents’ minds were clearly firm, and the very next day, they had gotten him a puppy.

A puppy.

It had a very funny breed name; when he was first told it was a Goldendoodle, he had stared at it for a moment and then promptly told his parents it looked nothing like a bunch of noodles. He got smacked on the back of his head for it, and whether he liked it or not, Damon Amary was now in charge of the puppy that looked like it could fit into a stuffed toy shop. One of the hardest parts had been trying to name it; after discovering it was a girl, he had tried to name it ‘Delphine Junior’ (Damon was not good with names, goddammit) but after the puppy had shown herself to be very affectionate and very unlike his sister, he decided to just name it ‘Del’.

His sister had, of course, objected, and Damon retorted that if she wanted to, she would have to go and find a better name. Until then, the puppy’s name was Del, and Del seemed to respond to the name, wagging her tail and staring up at Damon whenever he called her.

Tonight, Del was seated on his lap as he flipped through the channels. There was nothing to watch, no interesting sports game (This was nonsense, how could there be none?), and for a moment, he paused at a news channel as Del attempted to lick the remote control and he had to keep it out of her way. As he did, his ears inadvertently caught what the news reporter was talking about “...a possible meteor sighting in Destiny City has everyone excited...” It was then when Del pounced on the remote and switched the channel, but Damon had heard all that he needed to know. Everyone had been chattering on about it at school, and he had to admit that he had been pretty curious himself too.

“Damon, have you walked the dog yet?” His mother called out, something which she had been harping on for quite a while now. The boy sighed, but acquiesced; the news had given him an idea, given him something to do other than attempt to find something interesting to watch.

Del was pleased; she was always pleased when she could go for a walk, and ran circles around him when he fetched her leash. When he had finally managed to hook it onto her collar, the boy and puppy set out for Destiny City Park, the former hoping to catch sight of something interesting, and the latter glad to have a good romp around outside with her owner.

He had snuck out a flashlight, intending to head for the hill in the park, and Del was fascinated with the beam of light that magically appeared out of the thick rod Damon was holding and liked to follow it, sometimes glancing back at him with a wag of her tail as if to say, ‘Look, I’m in the spotlight!’ He was momentarily distracted by her antics, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips, when he realized that they weren’t the first ones to the hill. No, there were shadows moving there, two shadows, actually, one of them bigger than the other...

Though the smaller one had caught his attention and his breath.

Gregory Acker.

Gregory “I am a douchebag that likes to cheat” Acker. The one who was the reason that Damon was sent to Hillworth (never mind that there had been numerous other reasons that contributed to his transfer), the opposing team member in the basketball match who had cheated. Damon remembered cheaters; he hated them to the core. He had beaten up Acker when the referee hadn’t penalized the other for crashing into one of their team players, and now, Acker was looking as frightened as he did when he had realized Damon was serious about bashing his face in. He remembered.

Del growled. She rarely growled, but when Damon looked at her, he realized her attention was fixated on the larger figure. The one that looked like the monster, the one with the gash in its side, the one that was terrorizing Acker right now. Had he looked like that when he had beaten Acker up? He wondered. That contorted expression with narrowed eyes, though through the slits, you could see that they were blazing with anger. Acker had managed to hurt it, which justified its fury, and for a moment, Damon saw himself as that monster. He too, had been hurt, albeit emotionally, when Acker hadn’t been penalized, and had sought for revenge. Was that why his parents had looked so shameful after that incident? Because they had seen their son as a monster? But Acker had deserved it, Damon told himself, not budging from his position. He was a cheater and an a*****e, which had deserved that beating and certainly deserved it now. He had an overwhelming amount of hate for Acker, and out of spite, Damon turned, intending to head straight back home.

That was when Del strained against her leash, barking at the monster, and its attention turned to them.

s**t.

Acker had noticed them too, all googly-eyed when he recognized the tall, dark-haired basketballer who had beaten him up then. The stupid idiot still stayed there, frozen in terror, and Damon cursed out loud, scooping the still yapping Del up and ran. Really, with the distraction, you’d think Acker would be smart enough to get up and flee the scene. It took the other a while to realize this, and soon, Acker was hot on his heels while the monster lumbered after them.

“You’re mad.” Damon spat out at Acker even as he tried to control the squirming puppy in his arms. “What were you thinking, riling up something like that? Are you always this stupid, Acker? Are you trying to court your doom?”

Acker did not answer immediately; he opened his mouth but found himself at a loss for words and instead, turned to make sure the creature wasn’t following before he slowed to a halt, panting heavily. “I think it’s stopped following us.” Acker mumbled, but that was the least of his problems right now.

Damon had put Del down, who looked curiously up at him as he lunged forward to grab Acker by the collar and give him a few sharp yanks. “Are you stupid, Acker?” He repeated, and Gregory Acker was probably wondering if dying at the monster’s claws would have been a better option. “Do you always have to do stupid things like that?”

“T-that was your fault!” Acker managed to splutter as he attempted to shove the other away, but Damon kept a firm grip on him, shaking him once again. “Was it my fault you fouled?” Damon bellowed, “Was it my fault you— ” He was interrupted by Del rubbing up against his leg, giving him a puppy dog pout. She wanted to go home, and she didn’t want to see him angry! The puppy whined and butted his leg with her head, and Damon released his hold on Acker, though he was still scowling.

“Next week, Acker.” He said. “Next week at the basketball court. You and me, one on one. We’ll settle this once and for all.”

Without waiting for a reply, he snatched up Del’s leash, turned his back on the boy he had always thought of as his arch nemesis, and headed home.

“Maybe mom was right after all.” He muttered to the puppy as she walked cheerily beside him. Maybe she was teaching him how to be more responsible, to stop being so hot-headed, to not always want to settle things the violent way. She wagged her little tail, as if she understood and he gave her a brief smile.

...She really needed a new name; she was nothing like his sister. No offense to Delphine, of course.