Welcome Back Harriman! [Open, Open, Open!]

Jay was about to jump into the water when the faster-than-a-speeding-bullet Izz rammed into her full speed and splashed her down into the cool, splashy, wetness. "Izz, you fiend!" Jay spluttered, bobbing her head back out of the water and brandishing a pointed finger at her friend. She noticed that Will had been brought into the water in a similar way by the other Cauldine and she began splashing him ruthlessly. His reply was a stuck out tongue which she happily returned the favor then sank in the water so just the top half of her head was above it. She blew bubbles happily as Will tossed Izz away like a sack of flower and Saffie joined their raucous group. She gave a wave to her friend, smiling warmly at the way Saffie and Will interacted. She wondered how they would do as a couple. Saffie was definitely not the worst Will could do, not by a long shot, and she was probably one of the less reckless girls in school. Even if she was cah-ray-zy. Jane looked up at the clear September sky then took a deep breath. She sunk all the way underwater to sit comfortably at the squishy bottom, murky figures of the people she knew visible through the lake. It hurt her eyes to keep them open in the water, so she squeezed them shut and listened to the muffled noises coming from above her. It was very nice and calm down here, and though she knew she would have to come back up for air before somebody began to worry, she took a moment to let the peace of being underwater take its effect. She was sure Will was up there counting the leaves on the trees or staring up at the sun or something equally adorable and stupid, though from the sound she figured that Saffie had wandered off for some reason.

Jay opened her eyes again, about a third of a breath still remaining, and decided to use what oxygen she had left to play shark on Will before she resurfaced. It probably would have been easier to have done on Izz (who was much smaller than Will, if not almost as strong), but Izz still hadn't seemed to have made her way back near enough for Jay to reach. Jay shrugged underwater, with nobody to see her do so, then launched her curvy body at the toned pair of legs beside her. She put one hand firmly behind Will's knees to make his legs buckle, and reached up and grabbed his torso to pull him down. She was a master at roughhousing, and she was pretty sure that Will being preoccupied would mean that he would end up fully submerged in the water. As he came down, Jay yanked herself up and brought her face out of the water again, taking a deep breath of air. Her lungs burned just a little bit from her exertion, but the oxygen was quickly taking care of that. She was wondering how Will would react to her hostilities when she noticed that Gerard was apparently contemplating joining the rest of them in the water. She waved over to him, Saffie, and Kaye. "Don't be afraid Gerard, the water's magnificent!" She smiled at the group of them, a small voice in her head belittling her for her word choice. Honestly, who said 'magnificent'?

Gerard gave a wide grin which he quickly toned down when he noticed Saffie's excitement at seeing him, and he toned it down further to a satisfied, happy look as she splashed closer, through puddles and that sort of thing. As he was wrapped into the hug, he breathed in a little, feeling the wet top stick to his bare skin. "Hello to you too. Thanks for the water and all that jazz." he chuckled, rocking the pair from side to side and refusing to let go, like a small petulant child. "Same old, same old. You better have pictures from your summer, it's always better than mine, and you know it. You have your family there, I got abandoned. Again. But no biggie, right?"

He wasn't really concentrating on how lonely he'd felt over the summer, Saffron had grown and changed slightly over the summer. Hair was longer, legs were longer and heck, she looked incredible. Gerard flicked his eyes to Kaylor as she called to him, and flicked two of his fingers in the air, laughing as Jane surfaced. Then a devious look flickered across his face.

"Saffie, get ready." Gerard murmured gently, then, unravelling himself from Saffie, took off and went to tackle Kaylor, falling over the quilt at the last minute and landing in a heap on the soft material. He gave Kaylor a sheepish smile. "Hi." Another moment passed as Gerard flushed a gentle pink. Another and he was on his knees ready to pin Kaylor down and throw her into that lake.

Saffie's smile couldn't have gotten any wider as Gerard asked about her summer. It was great how the two were always on that same wave-length. He just always seemed to know what she was thinking; always said the stuff that she wanted him to. That was just Geerara for ya.

"Aww; yeah no biggie. You're here now, anyway!" Saffron's mouth shifted into a rather sympathetic expression. Maybe her summer hadn't been so bad after all, when compared...

Gerard's mischievous grin sent Saffie's eyebrows skyward. She smirked back at him, wondering what he was thinking, and trying to get that bff telekinetic thing going again. But he was going too quickly, and she just couldn't keep up. "Okay..." she laughed as he pulled from her and rocketed off toward Kaylor. She laughed, watching the roughhousing continue.

"I'll bee are bee, just gettin' Fred!" She sprinted off to her hunk of junk, opened the door quickly, turning her head back toward the group a moment to smile as she heard the giggles and yelling carry on; she dried her hands on the fabric of her front seat, very quickly changed her tank top to one that she found lying in the back seat and didn't smell bad or look stained or anything, and then in one sweeping movement Fred was around her neck and in her hand. She ran back toward the group, her top half pretty much dry again; she had to be careful where Fred was concerned. She'd absolutely die if anything happened and he stopped working! No inanimate object could possibly replace him! "Fred's here to par-tay! Anyone who wants to see my pics from this summer better get their rearends over here!"

While Gerard and Saffie conversed, Kaylor turned back to her sketch pad. Flipping to a fresh page, she began to sketch them as well. Well, what else was she going to do? Interrupt their meeting after spending a summer without seeing anyone? No way. She turned the page, using a lines and then shading to create their hair. Saffie's, wet and dripping and Gerard's soft and shiny locks. He was always so well groomed. Pausing in her sketch, she studied him and then Saffie. Interesting....What was interesting? Only Kaylor knew and she meant to keep it that way. What she might find interesting, others found really weird. Before returning to her sketch, she caught up one of her own locks of hair and made note of how untamed it was.

Well, whatever. Still, it was interesting to note how each person cared for their hair. Ok, now she needed to stop, she was wandering again. She returned to land of the here and now and set about finishing her sketch while her models still stood around. When she was done, Kaylor finally closed her little book and set it, and her utensils, aside. Laying back on the quilt, she closed her eyes and soaked up some sun. Not that she needed to, Kaylor was already baked nicely, her skin glowing with health and a the bronze kiss of the sun. She was debating between a nap or getting up and actually joining everyone in the most-likely very cold water when she heard the rush of feet heading her way.

Opening her eyes, Kaylor had barely begun to sit back up when Gerard landed next to her on the huge quilt. Surprised, she raised her eyebrows questioningly. His sheepish smile pulled a warm one from her. "Hi," she answered, knowing that he was up to something. The soft pink coloring that filled his face had her struggling to keep from laughing. She was about to loose the battle when he got to his knees, and that was when Kaylor realized his plans. "Oh no, I'm not going in if you aren't." Knowing she couldn't really get away from him, she crawled backwards anyway, trying to at least keep him at a safe distance. "Besides, I'm still dressed!" She gestured at the clothing covering her bathing suit, as though that would matter.

Abi had just rushed up the school, already scarily excited for her final year at Felicity's. Parking up her red 8C Alfa Romeo, she could see hardly anyone rushing around the school. Her car had been packed with everything for the start of term, she had been worried it wouldn't fit, and so a few bags had been able to fit in the small boot of the car, her small suitcase sat next to her in the passenger seat and her largest one, fitting most of her clothes on was lying along the three seats in the back. Abi clicked open the car door, pushing it open, while grabbing her purse with containing her phone and stepped out of the car. Deciding to take her bags quickly upstairs and unpack, Abi slammed the door behind her, brushing the cooling metal as she did. Facing away from loud hearing laughing and shouting, she frowned, growing curious.

Opening the boot of her car, the two shoulder bags sitting comfortably in the back were lifted onto her shoulder, her guitar snuggled in the guitar case behind the two bags. Struggling a little at the weight, she walked along the side to the back door of her car and dragged out her large suitcase. It took a few minutes, finally having to take the two small bags off of her shoulders before taking out the ridiculously large suitcase that Abi loved. Falling to the floor, she stood it on it's wheels and then placed the bags on her shoulders again, pulled up the handle on the suitcase and started dragging it along the ground, to the front passenger seat. Turning back, she slammed the back door shut, and opened the front door, pushing on the large suitcase so Abi had enough room to pick out her smaller suitcase. Once again, standing it on its wheels and pulling up the handle, she turned around and walked towards the school. Shaking her long platinum blonde locks away from her face, having gone to the hairdressers in the holidays, finally. She was back!

After about ten minutes of signing in, getting upstairs, she opened her dorm door. Grimacing slightly, Abi would have to unpack before she went down to the lake, she knew she had to change into her bikini before going down, as she would want to jump in with the rest, so long as it wasn't too cold. Her suitcases now lay in the center of the floor, she would have some other roomates coming in soon, but Abi was thinking more about getting outside and sitting in the shade as much as possible. Hoping it really wasn't as hot as it looked. Shuddering, Abi picked a hat tucked in underneath her hairdryer, in the small shoulder bag. Putting it firmly on her head, covering the top of her head, in a checkered black and white hat, it was her backup had the clouds not come. The Sun wasn't nice to Abi, making her burn without sun cream - an emergency supply in the other bag.

Lastly, placing her brown leather jacket in the wardrobe, neatly, sweeping the lint off she shut the wardrobe doors and sighed. That was everything. Her two suitcases were empty, everything neatly away in a drawer or cupboard. Abi knew it wouldn't last long, it would be nice until that changed. She wondered where to put her suitcases, unsure as to whether they would tuck in under her bed. Abi hadn't taken the larger suitcase, closing it and zipping it up, she shoved it underneath her bed finding just enough space for the smaller suitcase. The other two shoulder bags in the wardrobe, at the bottom with her shoes. Her guitar had been put at the end of her bed, leaning against the wardrobe. It would most likely be taken out by tomorrow to be played, Abi loved playing her guitar. She remembered the Lake and walked out the room, the door shutting with a little bang, already Abi was by the stairs, practically jumping down them.

The noises were still carrying on, even louder than before, then Abi heard splashing. She rolled her eyes. It was the start of term and already they'd jumped in the lake without her!? The sounds getting louder, she smiled seeing everyone around the lake, the teachers and students lying around on the grass or in the water splashing each other. She was reminded of the morning before coming back to Harriman, it was manic. Rushing around the house trying to find her flats, she slipped them on her feet and ran to her car, already having stuffed her bags in the car earlier that morning, it was so early, just to drive to school on time. She hadn't needed to think about what she was wearing, about the school rules, it was irritating to have to buy new clothes and not pack spaghetti strap tops or t-shirts with cool pictures on that the school would clearly say to her would be against the rules.

Seeing everyone, her friends again she didn't feel as tired as Abi previously thought. Instead she hurried over to the location of all the commotion. "I've missed you guys so much!", she shouted, running towards the front of the lake. Many of them were in the water, Sophia, Isaac, Will, Jane Saffie and Gerard, and as Abi looked up at the clear blue sky she rolled her eyes. Dumb sun. After putting the suncream over her shoulders, in the dorm room, she really wasn't too keen on getting all warm sitting in the sun. A nice piece of shade was all she needed, unless she did go in the water. "Is it cold?" She asked, nevermind the answer she still bent down, Abi dipped her finger in, flicking the cold water away at the sharp temperature, too cold to go in right now. She was surprised anyone was in the lake when it was that freezing, instead, Abi decided to sit on the grass, going in when it was a bit warmer. Of if Abi got used to the temperature of the cool air. Abi watched the girl refusing to get in, she was dressed! Wondering what her name was, Abi watched the conversation, hoping to hear the girls name called from someone.

Funny how someone could miss a place so much. Rea never really liked school until she came to the beloved Felicity J. Harriman School for the Arts. People here were diverse, and not only that but instead of being surrounded by jocks she was surrounded by artsy drama kids and lithe dancers. Rea's stomach churned with excitement as she played with a silky lock of her dark hair. She couldn't stop thinking about the times to come. Last year was dramatic and much more of an adventure than she had expected so she had no expectations for this year. The brunette strolled onto the grassy knoll, her eyes grazing across the lake. She watched the sunlight bounce off of the partially glassy water, interruptions catching her eye.

"I should have brought my bikini?" She was talking to no one in particular as she walked to the waters edge. The dancer was dressed in a simple gray American Apparel V-neck and a vintage navy cardigan that offset her dark navy skinny jeans. She was already pulling off her vintage leather 80's boots that were a classic 'peanut brittle' color, as the saleswoman had said. She pulled her socks off and stuffed them in the boots, nonchalantly tossing them aside. Being as outgoing as she was, she'd probably just jump in with her clothes on.. or well most of her clothes on.

Rea Victoria glanced at her sister, her blue eyes bright as she grinned at her. " Comee onn little sister, lets go, just take your pants and shirt off." She smirked mischievously, knowing her best friend wouldn't do it. It was still fun to tempt though. She reached over, playfully shoving her. The push was just light though; a little threat that was just there to help scare her towards the lake. She stripped off her cardigan, aiming her throw towards where her boots lay. She missed by a foot, oh well. She had plenty of other cardigans if that one got ruined.

MacKenzie woke up earlier than usual that morning. At first he thought he was still in Michigan, what with the horrible humidity and all. After a few bleary seconds he realized he was actually in Maine now, in the little house he lived in during the school year. With a groan, he sat up somewhat reluctantly. Time to get ready for...well, not school...The welcome back day. Yes, that was it. At least he had the day off. He'd finished his prepping for the classes he would be teaching this semester, so everything was all set for him to walk into school and begin rattling off to his students what he wanted them to do. Part of him couldn't wait for that first day of class. To see all the new, eager faces and to be reunited with the familiar ones. Then again, that would happen today too, on a much larger scale.

Pushing himself off of the mattress, he wandered aimlessly about his bedroom for a moment until his mind became aware enough to recognize that fact that he need to change out of his pajamas. Pulling several drawers open on his dresser, he compiled his outfit of the day. His favorite pair of paint stained, somewhat ripped jeans, a white button up with a tank underneath and his sandals. It didn't take him long to dress, then he was downstairs brewing himself some coffee. One of his four cats jumped up onto the counter with a piteous meow. "Good morning Romeo. Hungry already? You silly old boy, there's still plenty of food in your dish." He nudged the cat back off the counter where Romeo rubbed against his legs pleadingly.

Chuckling under his breath, he scooped fresh food into the two bowls on the floor. Grabbing the two water bowls, he dumped out the old water, cleaned and rinsed the bowls and then filled them with fresh, new water. Setting those bowls on the floor again, he set about making himself some toast while he waited for the coffee. About the same time the toast popped up, his coffee finished. So, he buttered up his toast, poured himself a cup of coffee and left to join Viola on the couch. The other two, Othello and Titania, were probably still sleeping in their special, hidden spots. After the traumatic move from Michigan to Maine, MacKenzie was more than willing to leave them alone for the time being.

Viola woke up when he sat down, but otherwise ignored him. So he ate his breakfast in the companionable silence of his cat. Once finished, he was off again, running around the house collecting keys, a pair of sunglasses, a hat, swim trunks, a towel and a blanket. The blanket was for his spot at the picnic. Hopefully Deidre remembered that he’d said he would bring their ‘table’. The swim gear..? Well, what if he wanted to go swimming? It was always nice to be prepared. Packing his shoulder bag, he finally climbed into his car, a metallic orange Honda Fit Sport. He’d bought it brand new the year before and had just finished paying it off. He was in love with the damn thing, though perhaps most of his students wouldn’t understand why.

About twenty minutes later, he pulled into the teachers’ parking lot and parked his car. Grabbing his bag, he got out and locked the car behind him. Then MacKenzie made his way towards the lake, where the activities were taking place. Ok, so he was a bit late, a bunch of the students had already arrived. But who wanted to be on time? Spreading his blanket on the ground, he took a seat and surveyed the area. It was good to be back among his students again.

Nikki got off the plane in Bangor. She had been on board this plane only since changing in New York. She at least had slept during the cross country flight, getting back to school was always such a big deal. There were no direct flights to Bangor from San Jose International, or even from San Francisco, and Oakland was a joke. So she took one plane from home to New York and switched airlines and headed into Bangor. At least she didn't have to drive the whole way. She had done that last year and it took forever, over 10 hours from New York. This time she had made arrangements for her car to be shipped to Bangor and be waiting for her in the parking lot. She scanned the parking lot for her burgundy colored Model A. There it was in the far back away from other cars so it wouldn't get scratched. She smiled. The moving company would be getting a nice tip from her. She was proud of her car and didn't like to see any damage, not that she couldn't have repaired it, but she shuddered to think of anyone hurting her baby.

Once her bags were placed in the back, she headed out onto the highway. She sang along with the radio as she drove. It was good getting back to school, she missed it terribly. She was more at home here with her friends, than she was at home. Dad was always on his computer, both at work and at home and mom was always more concerned with her latest cause than she was with her or her brother, now that the two of them were old enough to take care of themselves. Her brother had been staying with friends in Los Angeles, and they just couldn't make their schedule work to meet up and come together. So she had to take the trip by herself. Well, that's what they made iPods and laptops for.

So here she was pulling into the student parking lot, MonaLisa, the Model A, standing out among the old cars that would be classics soon, and the expensive toys of the richer students. She grabbed her bags and headed up to the Senior year Girls Dorm. No one was there, so she dumped her bags on her bed, they had worked out who slept where last year. Then she donned her swimsuit and threw a clean pair of jeans and a Spore teeshirt on and got ready to head down for the picnic. She was a bit late, but not enough to miss lunch. Grabbing her bag and a beach towel, she headed down to the lake.

Almost everyone at school was there. Where was Abi? There was Jane, and the twins, and all the usual people. She was home, at least until June. Then, what she would do, she didn't know. She would have to figure it out, this year. Most of the other kids were in the water already, she knew from experience that it was cold, though not as cold as the ocean at Santa Cruz, where you needed a wetsuit if you were going to surf. So it wouldn't be too bad. She wandered around the picnic grounds, saying hello to people that she knew, until she finally found Abi. “Hi Abi, how was your summer?” she asked as she dropped down next to her roommate and close friend.

Abi was staring at the lake, with thick distaste. If anyone splashed her this year, they'd be dead. She stood up from her spot under the tree, noticing Mr. Butler just arriving. Averting her eyes, she realised that Nikki was her, smiling Abi stretched her limps, the sun was shining and it was warm, her arms and legs had gotten stuck in the same comfy position for the last ten minutes. A good stretch was all she needed. Walking over to the lake's edge, Abi looked over towards Jay, "You both ready for tonight?"

Of course, she was hinting at the traditional night that they first stayed at Felicity's, it could be considered fairly childish but it was a ton of fun for everyone and they all enjoyed it, as least that's what Abi's take on it was. "How was your holiday, Nikki?" She jerked her head towards her friend in question, she had hardly heard from any of her friends and Abi had missed them all so much!

"Mine was brilliant! I went shopping tons, and I didn't see my parents alot of time. I'm so glad I'm back though, not for work, just for friends!" Abi smiled, in truth. She hadn't seen her father alot of the time, working abroad from week to week, in the holidays she was lucky when she saw him at the weekends. Her mother was out with friends almost all of the time, staying out to party and getting back late at night. Abi hoped her mother would stop the party scene, she was getting too old for it! She loved staying at her house, but it was big even with her two sisters, so Abi prefered to be out shopping, singing if she could. Her holidays in fact, could've been better.

Abi wondered if she should've brought her guitar down, but she just wanted some relaxation time, and not some hard thinking after driving all the way over to Felicity's. Her poor Alfa Romeo, she loved driving her car, Abi just felt bad for having to drive it for hours and then have to leave it for a few days, when lessons started. Things always got a bit hectic in the first week.

Nikki gazed over to where Abi was looking and spotted Mr Butler. She smiled, he was such a treat to look at, then she panicked a bit, she was going to have to take some drama classes this year if she intended to be in the school musicals. She though that Mr. Butler was Hawt with a capital H and if she had to interview with him to see if she could add some drama classes, it might be embarassing if she drooled all over him. She was going to have to get herself under control.

She turned back to Abi. "Good to hear you had a good summer, mine was quiet, spent lots of time at the beach and of course playing on the computer. I did some beta testing of a new game, I have a copy so we can load it onto everyone's computer and have a LAN party. Most of the bugs are gone so it is actually playable now. Other than that I didn't do much. And of course I wouldn't miss tonight for anything! Me, miss our last first night of school get together? You must be crazy woman. Oh and I have a design just aching to come out in Sculpture, so you might not see much of me in the next week or two until I have it well underway. You know how I am when I start a project. I have to get it out before the inspiration disappears, but I won't be in the lab tonite. I'll start it tomorrow, when I get the okay from Mr. Chalmette. I am going to need to do a lot of work outside class as this one will be big. Oh did I mention that one of my pieces actually sold? Yes, the one I did last year, "Aria", I took to a friend of Mom, and he actually put it in his gallery, he really liked it. And just before I left, I got a call that it sold! For $350!! I am a professional artiste already." she laughed. "Now all I have to do is sell the other 3/4 of a ton of scrap metal as my father calls it. I have it out in the back yard at home. Damned stuff is so heavy that no one can move it without a block and tackle. So I don't have to worry that anyone will steal my masterpieces. Mr. Chalmette will be proud of me."