x.Chasing Sunshine

[KERFUFFLE]

Yeah, it is, especially because I happened to bump it on the very same day, after contemplating it for a while.

I had to, you see, because right now loads are just getting deleted at weird times, and I'm annoyed about it, so I thought I'd better save it.

Brandon didn't say anything, and tried not to look too surprised by her statement. It still amazed him how different their lives had been-- and still were in so many aspects, really. And in a lot of ways, though he never talked about it with her, he sometimes wondered if her parents were right not to accept him just yet. He felt undeserving of her. She was beautiful, talented and her family wasn't exactly short of money, and that meant she could have pretty much any guy she wanted, especially from around here; guys much more in her league. Of course, the fact that she was happy with him only made him love her more, but he couldn't help but feel a little guilty that she had settled for a guy from the rougher end of London, no close family to speak of, who was unable to give her so many things that others could. He snapped out of his thoughts when she kissed him on the cheek, and her friends were then arriving. He smiled and stood up, greeting all of her friends.

"Hey, Sierra," he said, "It's lovely to meet you all". He felt like he really stuck out now with his accent. He never had done before, but now that he was surrounded by New Yorkers, all talking to him, he felt it was noticeable. "She talks about you all a lot, too," he continued, "I'm sure she'd come back to you guys in a heartbeat if I wasn't keeping her prisoner out in the middle of nowhere," he chuckled.

 

[Penguins.]

Oh, haha. Well, you picked a good time.

So how have you been?

Avery had just seemed to realize that Brandon had been completely lost in his thoughts before her friends had joined them, and made a mental note to ask him what was on his mind when they got back to the hotel. She sat back down as her friends sat down across from them.

"Actually, she really seems to like it there." Sierra replied.

"It's true," Elysa added "Avery's always going on about how nice it is. I don't think she's said anything bad about it at all."

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Telepathy, clearly

Uhmm.. Really stressed for a while, due to an overload of art coursework. But now I've sorted it, and I'm much better. Doing good, glad it's the weekend =D How about you?

"Really?" Brandon seemed genuinely surprised now. Of course, there were the great beaches, but he still seemed to think she liked New York better. He did know that part of it was to do with him being there, because that was how he felt, but he didn't realise she had come to have such a liking for it. "Well, good. I don't think I'd want her going anywhere else." He slipped his hand into Avery's underneath the table and smiled.

 

[Penguins.]

That's good

I've been super stressed. I took the PSAT on Wednesday and it feels great to have that over; however, now I have to focus on the SAT in January. We're working on the musical now at senior high and it's so much more intense than it was at the high schools. They moved the musical up so instead of being in January it's in the first week of November. And homework is INSANE.

Avery squeezed his hand gently once she felt it. She wanted to tell him that she was not going anywhere else, not without him at least. She wasn't sure if her friends had realized how serious she was about him, however.

"Have you ordered yet?" Rhett asked, interrupting her train of thought.

"No," she shook her head. "But really, I'm just getting my usual. Brandon, you should really look through the menu."

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Oh, wow, somebody else who really knows how I feel right now. At least I don't have a musical this year.. That's just a crazy amount to do. It's okay, we'll get through this, Diva

Brandon looked a bit thoughtful for a moment, picking up the menu and flicking through, before he said, "I think I should do as you guys do, I'm really curious as to what 'the usual' is, so I'll go for that, thanks."

 

[Penguins.]

Yeah. Junior year. :/

I'm on costume crew, and although it isn't too costume heavy, it is really intense.

"Well, the portions here are huge," Elysa said. "So we usually just order about three different dishes and split them all. And there's always leftovers so I'd say the five of us can eat three."

"We usually get the sweet and sour chicken and the kung pao chicken, and we usually pick a different third everytime. Do you want to pick the last? They're all really good," Sierra added.

 

[KERFUFFLE]

I've got all my finals this year for my GCSEs.. And then I think, it'll all be over, and then I remember my A levels for another 2 years after this..

The costume crew for Seussical looked pretty intense, too, so I can imagine, actually.

Brandon checked through the menu again, and picked out something he'd always really liked whenever he got Chinese and home. "Okay, I'll go for.. The black bean beef, if that's okay with you guys. It all looks and sounds great to me, though." He smiled and set down his menu, suddenly feeling hungry.

 

[Penguins.]

Exciting. :/ my exit exams are this year, and my SAT is in January. My first one is at least. My exit exams are going to be a joke so I'm not worried. I just need to keep my grades up in school.

Yeah. Sewing, sewing, and sewing.

This new look is different. ...I'm going to play with some of the new things here.

(WE HAVE INDENTS!!!) "That's fine," Elysa answered. They had decided just in time because a waitress was making her way over to them to take their order. Elysa relayed the order to the waitress who nodded and left.
(Actually the indents are weird, since I don't know where they end...)

"So what part of England are you from, Brandon?" Rhett asked.

 

[KERFUFFLE]

A joke? So you mean they're going to be easy?

I wish I could say the same. Still, my art teacher's raised my coursework grade, so I can breathe a sigh of relief that I'm already on target for the best grade I can get.

I admire your patience. I actually prefer hand sewing. Machines just.. Don't like me. I swear, they just always break on me.

It is interesting, isn't it? I'm kind of interested, yet indifferent about it. I mean, loads of people are either going to love it or hate it.

And, I didn't even notice the indents xD

Brandon said to Rhett, "Oh, I'm from the West End of London. Just on the edge, really, so not Piccadilly or anything, but near there. It's easy enough to walk to get to the centre. I think I'm pretty lucky. London's a really great city. Are you guys all from Upper East Side Manhattan?"

 

[Penguins.]

Yes, unbelievably easy. The SAT is going to be hell though. :/

The only grade I have below a 90 right now is AMSTUD, which is a 79. And seeing as it's a double block AP class, I need at least an 80, preferably an 85 to keep me happy. I'm nervous about Physics though.

The only sewing I'VE done so far is hand sewing. I'm kinda scared of the machines, but I loved the serger.

I don't like that it's just a social networking site now...

"Our mom's from Brooklyn; our step father's always lived here though. His apartment's only a couple of blocks away. We only moved in with him after my mom married him. That was about three years ago," Elysa said.

"And I'm here for college," Rhett said. "Otherwise, I've lived in Texas my whole life."

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Oh, I see. I take it your SAT tests are totally different to ours, then. We had them a couple of years ago, in our core subjects.

Love physics.. Ahem, no. I don't think I'll be taking any sciences next year.

Well, the best of luck, anyway ;]

It does seem to be what a lot of people are going to use it for now.. And then it takes away from other areas.. People may just come on here now to get to know others and not post in any forums whatsoever.

Brandon nodded and asked Rhett, "So you've come all this way to college from Texas. Must be really important to be so far away. What are you studying?"

 

[Penguins.]

Well our SATs are college entrance exams, basically. Colleges ask to see your scores and the better your score, then in general, you have a better chance getting into better schools. Taking everything like GPA and class load and extra curriculars into consideration.

I'm taking APES next year. AP Environmental Science is supposed to be a blow off AP class.

Ehh, the constant emails bother me. I can't figure out how to turn them off..

"Film, at NYU. Have you heard of Tisch? It's the art school at NYU and it's one of the best in the country." Rhett said. "I don't really mind being away from home anyway. It's different, but I've gotten used to it."

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Ah, I see. Pretty much what I'm doing right now, too. Except as of next year I start a different set of qualifications. And then the year after are the extended versions of that.

Well, I would if it was like that. But none of our science classes at A level are blow offs. It's either Bio, Chem, or Physics. That's it. And I have no desire to work in the science field, even though I do well in science, usually.

Oh, really? Uhm.. I managed to somehow. When I remember, I'll get back to you.

"Yeah, I know Tisch. Tisch, at NYU and Juilliard, they're the schools I know of," Brandon replied with a smile, nodding in recognition of the name. "I know what you mean. I'm so glad I met Avery. I think I'd go crazy over a million different things back at Ivory Bridges (is that what it's called? I can't remember exactly) if she wasn't there to keep me sane. And it's an especially long trip home."

 

[Penguins.]

We take Bio, Chem, then Phys. Then a fourth year. AP classes in those three, APES, and a variety of regulars classes like Anatomy and stuff, but I want AP credit. I would do Chem but it's a double block and I don't have space. Physics is 1 period, but there's no way I can do that.

I'll just explore the site some more, haha.

Avery, who had been talking to Elysa and Sierra, looked over slightly at the mention of her name and smiled at Brandon before resuming her conversation. They were telling her about what she had missed, although it wasn't much.

"It was hard at first," he admitted. "I have two sisters and two brothers and they're all younger than me, so I was the first to go. It was just weird going from having lots of people I knew around me to knowing nobody."

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Wow, it all sounds very complicated compared to our system. Next year, we just pick up to five subjects that we want to take and they fit it all around us, and they're all just A Levels worth UCAS points for university.

Discovered it yet?

Brandon had smiled back when Avery turned and smiled before going back to his conversation with Rhett. He nodded at what he'd said, obviously in perfect understanding of that. More probably than Rhett realised, really, but he didn't want to let that on too much. He pursed his lips and composed himself while he still spoke. Avery was the only person he'd told what had happened, but he had no idea who she told and such, if anybody. "Yeah, it is hard to leave all of that behind," he said, not really sure how else to elaborate without giving anything away.

 

[Penguins.]

We can do that, assuming we've filled all our requirements. It's hard to explain. If you had the sheet outlining a basic high school program, you'd get it. It's just that there's a lot of exceptions.

Nah, I'm too lazy to look around. xP

Rhett was going to be ask about Brandon's family, but was distracted by Avery, who got up and excused herself from the table. She said she was just going to the bathroom again, that she wasn't feeling very well.

"Is she okay?" Rhett asked, once Avery had left.

pfft. we definitely need to add another couple in here soon.

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Okay, fair enough. Still sounds a lot more complicated than my system. And all these different choices within subjects, they're even more specific than ours at A Level.

Haha, okay. Well, I'm still yet to check it out, I'm feeling lazy, too.

Brandon watched after her, a look of deep concern on his face. He knew she hadn't been feeling well earlier; he hoped it wasn't anything too serious. He said, "Well, I don't know. Earlier today she wasn't, but she seemed to think it had passed. I think I'll have to get her to see somebody soon.."

Yeah, kinda xD RPs like these are really hard to keep going because everyday life is just so uneventful.

 

[Penguins.]

Yeah, it's mainly the difference between workloads here, but then in math and science you can pick specifics.

I'll get around to it...maybe.

"That'd be a good idea," Elysa nodded, concerned as well. "Ave usually doesn't get sick, not often at least. It's probably just a bug going around or something."

I know! hahaha...blech. The next couple should be set somewhere more interesting...Avery and Brandon should just move to New York or London, and then everyone can live there.

 

[KERFUFFLE]

Ah, okay, I see. Well, the workloads here just depend on what kind of subject it is. Such as, they encourage you to choose wisely subjects that require a lot of practical work, like art, which I know only too well. Narrowing it down next year is going to be really hard.

"I hope so. You never know with these things, even jut from being in Europe, it affects people sometimes, weird things like that. Still, it's worth checking out, since it's summer and such, I don't want her to lose out one too much," Brandon agreed thoughtfully. He said, "Excuse me for a minute," and got up, just to walk over to the doors, to wait for her, to see how she was doing.

Yeah, that's true. I guess when your characters are in the middle of nowhere they're always just going to end up somewhere else.

 

[Penguins.]

Are you going to take art again?

Avery had just exited the bathroom and smiled seeing Brandon. "I don't know what's going on," she admitted. "I felt sick, but I didn't get sick this time."

This is true; I also feel like they should be older...dealing with them going to school is annoying, honestly. I want to make a new character though I have no idea what to name her.