Off on a tangent. Parabola. Apex. Whatev. [[OPEN to five more]]

Alicia smiled as she walked into the Auditorium. Looking around, she grinned even bigger at the potential. Conference desks, rows and rows of seats, layers and layers of stairs. It was perfect.

She set her basket of ping pong balls down by the empty table that would typically hold a projector. Putting the two sleeves of plastic cups down on the surface, she checked them off of her mental list and realized that if she were careful, she would only have to make one more trip for the ladders, a couple of easels, and of course the snacks and beverages.

Five trips later, she was ready. Dinner would be wrapping up soon, so Alicia helped herself to a cheese cube and a can of Sprite while she waited to see who showed up, if anyone did. If nobody did, that just meant more cheese for her.

'That's what I call a win-win,' she thought to herself with a contented smile.

Jay crept (yes, that was was what she was doing, creeping around in her own school) towards the Auditorium, wondering what the commotion was. She was vaguely aware of talk around the school that there would be some kind of small gathering going on in the Auditorium this evening, but she didn't have the slightest idea exactly what was going to happen. Alicia's name had been dropped a few times in the conversations, though, so Jay was a little hesitant to find out for herself. Her curiosity won over in the end, though, and she figured that she could always just call Will and demand that he get his fine ass down here to bail her out. Or hold her hand. Or get swept up in whatever was going on. She'd admit it readily; Will was her security blanket. Well, actually her security blanket was her security blanket. Will was her security person, her bouncer if you will. Some people would be confused by her choice, but it was quite a simple one in her mind. Will was the best friend she knew, even if he was a bit flawed, and so far in their friendship he hadn't ever forsaken her for something stupid. He had a perfect batting average and, until he proved her wrong, there was no reason for her to ever doubt him. So she didn't.

Jay straightened her maroon v-neck and put her hand over her back pocket, where her clunky cell currently was, and resisted the temptation to just call him now. She would check out whatever Alicia was doing, maybe say she was just checking out the sound system in the auditorium to make sure it was up to Cinema-awesome! standards. Or she could just go in there and tell the truth... Jay pulled open the door, staggering a little with the weight of it, and walked in before she convince herself not to do so. "Hey Alicia, what's up?" she said, wary eyes roaming over cups, ping pong balls, and snacks. "We having a beer pong tournament or something?" she said, a smile that felt fake surfacing on her lips. She clasped he hands behind her back, mentally yelling at herself for being so stiff around Alicia. Heaven knew the girl hadn't ever done anything to Jane, it was just discomfort on principle. Jay moved her hands to the pockets of her comfy brown semi-slacks, trying to figure out how to be comfortable around Alicia. It didn't help that nobody else was there. Jay really wanted some of that cheese, but she wasn't entirely sure if she was welcome to it. Beer pong might be kind of fun. Well, without the beer anyway. If she did call Will she could always get him to drink her share too, she was pretty sure he wouldn't mind.

If Alicia had been the self conscious type, she may have felt offended. It didn't take an expert in body language to know that Jane was uncomfortable. That was one of the many reasons Alicia rolled her eyes from time to time at this magical wonderful school that breeds cliques and distrust for people outside of one's own social circle.

Luckily, Alicia wasn't the self conscious type.

Taking the cordial smile that seemed a bit forced, Alice returned it with one of genuine surprise and joy. Of all the people that could have shown up first, she wouldn't have expected it to be Jane. And she had risked coming by herself? Alice was warmed by the gesture, and it showed on her face.

"Chillin'. Maybe you can help me out- I'm trying to think of a few ways to set this up before everyone else gets here. Something fun, but maybe not too challenging, y'know? At least until it starts getting competitive," she said.

Realizing that Jane might still be a bit ill at ease, it also occurred to Alice that she hadn't answered her question. That was so like her, to get ahead of herself. "Yeah, it's kind of a beer pong thing, but it's just for giggles. I figured it would be fun just to bounce some ping pong balls around."

Alice eyed the setting a bit, dwelling for a moment on the problem at hand. What to set up? Idly snacking on another cheese cube, she looked again to Jane. "I don't have any proof, but cheese is definitely a brain food in my world, so help yourself. There's sodas on ice over there too- so take your pick," she said, pausing for a moment. "You don't have any objections to being the captain of the other team, doya?" she said with a wink before tossing the rest of the cube-y goodness in her mouth and hopping up to have a seat on a nearby table.

Kaylor was finishing a painting...One of the sketches she'd drawn on the first day of school had had enough potential that she'd pulled out an easel. She'd spent a good half an hour just studying it and debating what to do with it. Then she'd gotten to work. While she'd been busily painting away, conversation had flowered around her. She wasn't invited in and she didn't force them to allow her to join. The pleasant chatter was gentle on her ears and she appreciated it, even if she couldn't join in. There was conversation of boys and summer vacation; a small smattering of giggling was sprinkled between the various topics, keeping the air tension-free and happy. Then the conversation turned to a name that Kaylor recognized. Her hand faltered in the midst of returning to the canvas. Freezing her muscles so that the wet paint on her brush did not meet the fresh canvas, she heard the chatter stop.

When her brush returned to its movement, the girls picked up again. Alicia Allred had something planned for the day. There was no mention of what exactly was planned, but Kaylor caught, quite clearly, where Alicia planned to do whatever it was she was planning to do. Apparently the Auditorium was the place of choice. Immediately filled with curiosity, Kaylor decided she'd pop in later to see what she could see. Sinking into the painting, she ignored the conversation around her in order to complete her task.

Three hours later, Kaylor exchanged her paint-splattered artist clothing for a pair of patchwork jean pants and a loose tunic. Running her fingers through her wild hair, she rushed down to the Auditorium. Pausing at the door, she slowly pulled it open and peered inside to see if she was too early. There was Alicia, of course...And, surprise, surprise, Jane had beaten her to the Auditorium. Slipping inside and letting the door close behind her, Kaylor smiled warmly. "Good evening, girls. I heard something about an event planned by Alicia taking place and I thought I'd investigate."