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The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Andrew sat down and ate across from his sister as he blushed faintly and recalled a time when she used to cook all his meals for him and they would eat together like this. It was... nice. He liked being together like this with his sister although he never knew how to say it or if he should say it.

Before he could muster up the courage to properly thank Charlotte she was out the door and running off to get prepared for the festival. Oh, right. Tennessee sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. Unlike many of the other students, his preparations for the festival had ironically started before he even knew there was going to be one. The young man went back to his room and fished out some of his own home grown goodies that he had brought on a whim as well as his beloved fiddle, Knoxville. He couldn't help smiling a bit as he admired his former capital. Back when he was little he had always thought it was the most beautiful instrument in the world and he still deeply treasured it.

The Tennessean gathered his things, threw on some regular clothes then paused just outside of Georgia's room. He glanced inside at the mess of CDs he had left on the floor. His eyes narrowed slightly when he found himself feeling a nasty sort of satisfaction rather than regret for messing up his brother's things as his heart stung with vindictive pleasure. Andrew sighed and shook his head as he went to the door.

"Come on, Iris! Violet, you can come, too," he announced to his animals. They were just as much a part of his culture as anything else, after all. The boy lingered for a moment as he glanced back at Brat and Dog. "I guess y'all can come along if you want..." Since it was going to be an Appalachian themed cultural booth the Georgian bobcat and gofer turtle had just as much right to be a part of it if they so chose. He didn't wait to see if they would be interested in joining or not as he headed down towards the festival grounds to set up.

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Andrew felt exhausted after finally making his way home and just tossed his stuff in the hall except for the purple lei and koa club Hawaii had left with him. His body felt completely drained and he didn't have the energy to worry about what might be waiting for him at home. The day hadn't been all bad and he blushed softly to himself as he recalled America giving him a pat on the head. Sometimes it really was the smallest gestures that could make things feel all better. Still, he was emotionally and physically worn down after all the drama and illness. The Tennessean all but collapsed onto the couch since it was the first piece of furniture he saw. All he wanted to do was close his eyes and rest...

Laying there it only felt like minutes had passed, but when he opened his eyes again it was morning. Andrew was more than a little startled to realize he spent the night on the couch again. During all that time he never once heard a peep outside of the animals who had followed him back to the dorm which was a little odd. Andrew eventually lifted his head and glanced in the direction of Georgia's room. While he suspected his sibling had gone into hiding like he usually did when he was upset, normally there would at least be some sound of life, right? The boy frowned softly and, as angry as he was and despite his decision not to care what happened to his big brother anymore, he couldn't ignore the warning signs that something might be seriously wrong. No one was that quiet... Especially not someone Tennessee had anticipated would come after him for breaking his CDs the other night.

Andrew lifted himself from the couch and quietly crept to his brother's room to see what the blonde might be up to. Very carefully he peeked inside. Nothing. No, not just nothing. There was a distinct lack of anything. Tennessee's eyes widened as he snapped on the light and surveyed the room that had been nearly cleared out.

Georgia was gone...

Tennessee stared quietly at the room as it sunk in that Christian hadn't just run off into hiding while he sulked. He had literally run away. While it was true Andrew had accused his elder brother of shutting the rest of them out when things went wrong he hadn't actually expected Georgia to take it this far. All he could do was stand there in the doorway of his brother's empty room before quietly shutting off the light again and slinking back to the couch. He curled up on it and hugged one of the pillows against him as he laid in the empty dorm with no one but himself and the animals.

"... idiot..." he mumbled as he buried his face into the pillow. Andrew had known this about Christian but he didn't want it to be proven to him. Whatever reason the elder state had it all came down to the fact that, despite all they had been through together in the past, and despite all the times his big brother had tried to reassure him he wasn't dangerous, and despite all the times Tennessee had tried to reach out to Georgia so he wouldn't feel like a mere meat shield, in the end George Christian Jones had no faith nor trust in him and wouldn't hesitate to shut him out entirely when things went wrong. Though Andrew had said it at the festival he hadn't wanted it to be true. He hadn't wanted to be right.

Deep down he had always wanted to believe that, no matter what, Christian would still believe in him. Maybe Tennessee was the one who had been lying to himself all this time.

Andrew laid on the couch for a while longer before sighing and dragging himself off of it to go get changed. There was no sense in laying around and he had other things to worry about besides stupid Georgia and his stupid stupidness. Once he was dressed the boy returned to the couch and looked at the koa club still laying by the couch. He frowned lightly and sighed as he ran a hand through his hair. He definitely had other things to worry about...

He reached down and snagged up the club before heading off to return it to its owner.

Grade 9
The Volunteer

The State of Tennessee
☀Andrew S. Hickory☀

Andrew groaned lightly as he woke and laid in bed listening to his alarm shriek at him. He stared at it almost as if unable to understand why it would be making so much noise. Belatedly he finally raised a hand to turn it off and rubbed at his eyes. He felt nauseous and his whole body ached. The state didn't even need to check his messages to tell that more cases of the current outbreak had been uncovered. He could feel them. Eventually he managed to drag himself out of bed and went to the cabinets only to remember Georgia was the one that kept the medicine. Most likely when the elder state had moved out he had taken his CDC gear with him.

Tennessee ran a hand through his hair in frustration and miserably resignation that he needed to go out to the store. Though he loathed to get out of his comfortable pajamas he resented the idea of letting his fever and aches persist unchecked by modern medicine. He shuffled back to his room and threw on some comfortable old jeans and a slightly over sized hoody before heading out in search of relief from his symptoms. Screw his governor's warnings. He didn't need a doctor or a hospital; he just needed some aspirin!

Grade 9
The Volunteer

After somehow managing to loose sight of Christine from all the fuss back in history, Charlotte went ahead to her dorm and grabbed a few things that she knew her 'sister' would need far as clothing that would help minimize revealing certain things that girls shouldn't been showing at a school. If boys were caught with pants sagging or girls with showing midriffs, cleavage, or their skirts were an index card above the knees at any of the North Carolina schools, you would be automatically sent home. It was to promote a more professional wear and habit once students graduate expecting decent jobs. Though if the school board would quit changing the rules every other year, maybe parents and children wouldn't complain as much on the dress code.

Since they had agreed to visit Andrew right after class, she figured meeting by the door would be best. Chris did say that she had to grab her things from Rutilio's dorm. Not to mention, wanting to make sure Chris' sudden change wouldn't cause Drew into another smother attack.