Baby it's cold outside. [Open to ALL teachers]

Ebony let out a whistle of approval as she stepped into the lake house. Her eyes dipped up and down, accessing her surroundings- making sure to touch every little thing that she happened to come across. She was basically looking for a place she could bring her students, because teaching in a classroom was just plain boring.

Yawning loudly, Ebony stretched her arms out wide causing a tinkling noise to spread throughout the empty lake house. It was early morning, about 5 minutes before 6 o'clock and Ebony knew that she should have done this last night. She also knew that she'd end up falling asleep by noon, it was just how her sleeping pattern was. Shaking her head with a small sigh, Ebony held her brown thick cotton jacket closer to her body and began to hum. Soon the humming turned into words, "Baby it's cold outside..."

Walking over to where some canoes were docked, Ebony stared out at the water- trying to imagine how she would paint it.

MacKenzie wandered around the school. Why he'd come so early, he couldn't remember. His cats wouldn't let him sleep, for one. So he got up to feed them and ensure their happiness. Then he just couldn't get back to sleep. Thus, he'd showered, dressed and stepped out of the house the school had given him for his stay in Maine during the school year. When he'd stepped outside, it had still been pretty dark. MacKenzie, hating to have nothing to do, went off to the Theater Tech Room and made sure it was neat and tidy.

Now, however, he found himself wandering aimlessly. Perhaps it would be best to go back to his warm home and his attention-seeking cats. Nodding decisively, he left the school, however he paused on his way across the grounds towards the teacher parking lot. There was someone entering the lake house. Curiosity tugged at him and he let it lead him down the grounds to the quiet, dark building.

Soft humming reached his ears as MacKenzie reached the door. Hey, wait a moment, he recognized that voice. Pulling the door open and stepping inside, his eyes confirmed what his ears had already picked out. "Ebony...Good...well, Good early morning."

Lost in a daze, Ebony was still humming to herself as MacKenzie walked through the door. Even when he greeted her, it took her a few minutes to respond- but as she did, she spoke as if she had immediately spoken to him (does that make sense? xD). "Oh! Bonjour, Hola, Greetings and all that jazz... why are you up so early?" she asked him with her eyes widening a little bit; frightened Ebony tended to be slightly funny looking Ebony.

The delayed reaction to his greeting was rather amusing, although he kept that to himself. Several different languages popped out of Ebony's mouth, too. He blinked at her, confused as to why she looked so frightened. "I...Er...My cats. They woke me up and once I was up I couldn't think of a reason to lie back down." He shrugged helplessly. "I didn't mean to intrude. I just saw someone entering the Lake House and was curious to find out who it was."

"Oh," Ebony replied stupidly for a moment- not realizing that she seemed to be standing closer and closer to the water in the lake. Looking at him with an inquisitive tilt of her head, she asked him politely "How are they?" only waiting so long for a response though- hugging her jacket closer to her body she began to speak again "I've been wanting to get a kitten, haven't had the time yet though."

It was so early. Erika had only just dragged herself out of bed for a short run- one she'd take around the lake- that was her favorite place in all of this school. The lake reminded her of summer, which reminded her of her abuelitos, and Puerto Rico- the best times of her life.

She stretched beneath a Willow tree, her jogging sweats collecting on their fringed edges the moistness of fresh morning dew. Her faded purple sports tank top felt especially clingy this morning- she reminded herself that she should probably go shopping for some new clothes- she had some extra cash from summer jobs, and her books. Not a lot- but good enough.

She looked toward the Lake House on a whim, and caught sight of two figures- one of them MacKenzie's. And the other... Ebony? Was there some sort of teachers' meeting she'd missed the announcement for? Oh God- she straightened up, and set into a jog, headed for them both. It was only a matter of a minute or so until she entered into their presence.

"Oh, ah- good morning..." she breathed only a little heavily, she leaned her body against the door frame and brushed some stray hair back behind her ear. "Is there some sort of meeting this morning? Or perhaps the early morning study of the Lake House is a hobby we all share?"

Maiya had wondered what it would be like to step out of the warm comfort of the school onto the grounds and go for a wonder again. That time had come, she had a free morning and though she missed not having to teach her pupils dance it meant that she actually had time to do something of her own since she had gotten to the school. Through all of the planning, helping sort the choreography for White Christmas, Mai decided after getting dressed in jeans, a large t-shirt and grabbing her woolly jumper on the way out that morning, she had slipped on her flats and decided to brave the great outdoors.

Maiya hated the cold, it was annoying and pointless, it just marked the winter season and she was certainly no fan of winter. She walked slowly out of the dance studio, having to go over and collect some papers she had forgotten, her arms folded, while her cell phone was in her jeans pocket just in case there was some sort of emergency. Maiya came to the front of the school, she pushed open the doors, a gust of wind blowing her hair back in delight. The look on Maiyas face clearly said differently, was it worth going to the lake house and sitting in one of the most relaxing places of all time for that?

Sighing, she stepped onto the cold gravel, beginning to quickly walk along to her chosen destination. After this, she would just get a taxi home, her flat wasn't that far from Harriman, she was walking from the path, until it grew thicker, brushing her feet with the soft grass. It wasn't wet, at least that was a good thing, it was just cold outside. Walking towards the lake house, Maiya heard voices frowning, her pace quickened until she saw the small group of teachers. "Hello? Is there a reason everyone's like this?" Folding her arms across herself, Maiya wondered if they had scheduled a meeting and she had missed the notice.

MacKenzie's gaze snagged on the fact that she was getting rather close to the water. Carefully, he stepped closer to her. He knew very well that she was terrified of water and did not want her falling in if he could help it. He smiled warmly when her question reached his ears. "They are perfectly wonderful little things. Kings and Queens, they seem to believe themselves to be. Luckily, I haven't the heart to persuade them otherwise." He inclined his head in thought. A kitten, huh? That could be arranged, couldn't it? "If you'd like, we could set a date to get together and go out kitten-shopping. It would be a most entertaining day." To help, he'd probably look up good pet shops to stop by, with the help of the nosy Titania.

He turned when another presence joined them. Ah, Erika. Another smile filled MacKenzie's features. "Good morning, Erika." The mention of a meeting surprised him. He glanced back at Ebony inquiringly and then realized she was talking about the lake house. Mentally berating himself for being so silly, he returned his gaze to Erika. "Ah, this? No, no, it was a chance meeting. I saw Ebony scouting out the lake house and decided to investigate. Now, here you are...presumably investigating as well?" Merriment filled his eyes. "We could make it a meeting, if the two of you would like. Perhaps about ambushing Lucas?" He was only joking, of course. Yet, it had been a while since he'd last run across the photography teacher.

News of the non-existent meeting had spread fast, he saw, when yet another familiar figure stepped into the lake house interior. "Maiya. No particular reason, actually. We all just happened to be at the right place at the right time." His eyes widened as he remembered he needed to ask Maiya a favor and he stepped cloer to her. "I hadn't gotten a chance to ask you, but I would be honored if you would help me make the winter musical a success. We both know very well that I am no professional when it comes to dancing. Would you be willing to step in?"

Ebony nodded at Mac with a small laugh, "Indeed it will." At the arrival of another teacher, Erika- Ebony offered up a little wave although seemed to step back again closer to the water without any real reason. "I was actually looking for a place to hold class," she said idly- noticing that once again another teacher happened upon them. Whether it be accident or concidence, Ebony seemed to be getting closer and closer to the water without realizing it. Her body, amusingly enough seemed to move on it's own without the aid of her mind. Before she knew it, Ebony let out a small gasp as one of her feet touched thin air instead of wood- and Ebony was sent falling backwards into icy water. It was only when she was fully submerged underwater, that Ebony actually realized what was happening- clawing her way to the top of the water, she started to panic. As she managed to get some air, Ebony found herself sinking again. The lake in this part of the area really wasn't that deep, but combined with the inability to swim and the fear of water- it could cause perhaps anyone to freak out.

MacKenzie whirled when he heard a splash. "Ebony!" Without really thinking about it, he yanked off his coat and dropped it on the floor, then rushed to the edge and jumped in after her. He quickly came to the realization that the lake here was only a bit deeper than he was tall. Thankfully. He surfaced long enough to see her sinking again and then dove back into the icy depths, fingers searching for her. He pushed himself down into the water with all his strength, arms stretching, searching. Finally...a sleeve. Catching it, he pulled it toward him and found an arm inside that sleeve. Wrapping his hand around her wrist, he pulled Ebony against him and then flipped his body so that he was aligned towards the surface. Wrapping an arm securely about her waist, he pulled her with him as he swam back up. When they broke the surface, his lungs yelled at him for staying under longer than they'd liked. MacKenzie was too busy getting Ebony back to the docks to pay much attention to his organs, though. "Help me, please." He didn't think he could lift Ebony and stay surfaced at the same time.

There was nothing like hearing one's own name leave the lips of a loved one, or liked one, or however she might describe what it was she was trying to describe... words were, as they only did when she was rather deeply affected, failing her. Erika felt her face heat up at the sound- thankfully, the flush in her face seemed unaffected, as her cheeks were already pinkened by the cool air and her run.

She laughed softly at MacKenzie's responses. "I do always try to add variety to my life- detective work just might become me! However, I believe the more appropriate answer would be anxious curiosity- oh- that and a morning run, as you might assume from my attire..." She nervous reached to her face to brush away more hair. "Ha! At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if he popped up from behind one of these trees and surprised us!"

As MacKenzie turned his attention toward Maiya, Erika's eyes turned to Ebony, slowing dropping from there to the ground, where she noticed the fellow teacher's fallacious step, and began to open her mouth to warn when the woman went flailing back!

"Ebony- Ay Dios mio!" She exclaimed instinctively, her hand flying up to cover her mouth and her body freezing for a moment. A moment. And then, she might have jumped in herself had MacKenzie not been, and thankfully of course, quicker. She watched the water, running to the edge of the water and keeping up with MacKenzie where he swam.

"Of course..." She replied at the dock, taking Ebony by her forearms and pulling her upward, out of the water. The dock, she thought was rather shabbily put together itself, and she was anxious to see both Ebony and MacKenzie on regular dry land again. "Cuidado- ah- I mean- careful- there are some nails sticking out along the edge..." she warned, so thrown off she could hardly remember what language to use to speak.

Ebony J. Queen, MacKenzie Butler and Erika Servena were all standing there and it looked a little odd. Most of the teachers all in one place, bar a couple, it was merely a coincidence. "Ambush Lucas? He's probably busy or something" Maiya sighed, walking closer to the group, MacKenzies eyes widening at something. She frowned, an eyebrow raised as she stood next to Erika, Mai smiled as MacKenzie mentioned the school musical.

He was asking her to step in, Maiya grinned, "I would love to, I've started on choreography with Izz and Simon, I'll start the rest as soon as I can" She would love to officially be a part of the musical team, White Christmas was a great story and everyone would be brilliant when it was finally presented on the stage.

Her eyes darted to the water when she heard Erika shout something in .. spanish? Maiya wasn't sure, the water was rippling and Ebony was nowhere to be seen, her eyes widened, MacKenzie suddenly in the water and diving underneath. She looked around the water, two bodies emerging, Mai reached out with Erika, pulling on Ebony's forearms until she was almost out of the water. "Are you ok?" Her question directed to MacKenzie, Mai was worried for the both of them. It seemed Erika was worried too, the best thing to do was to get them both out of the water and into the warm.

Ebony was slowly coming out of the water, she was practically dead weight compared to the both of them considering she wasn't giving much help to the task at hand. Maiya wondered if she was unconscious.

Everything went by quick, and when the realization hit her that MacKenzie and the other teachers were trying to help her get out of the water- Ebony finally managed to do something correctly. As she was pulled up by Erika, Ebony came about and used the rest of her strength to completely get out of the water. She rolled onto the dock, narrowly missing some of the nails that Erika had mentioned. Being on her back for just a split second, Ebony moved onto her knees instead and coughed up some water that had managed to get into her lungs. She was completely frazzled, and shaking like a scared little puppy. "Of course," she mumbled to herself, seeming to be thinking outloud. It was just her luck that the one time she would come near water something like this would happen.

MacKenzie waited patiently while the women pulled Ebony out of the water. He felt like his lips were going to turn blue, but he was more concerned about Ebony than anything else. He knew she was deathly afraid of water and so he was doubly concerned that she might react violently to the help. Some people, when in the grips of terror, did as such. Hearing Maiya's question, he snapped his gaze up to her. "I should be fine. Thank you for your concern, Maiya."

He clung to the edge of the dock as Ebony was pulled away from the edge and then slowly began to lift himself out of the water. His arms trembled from the cold. He'd have to remember never to jump into icy water unless he could help it. Carefully avoiding the nails Erika had mentioned and shooting her a grateful glance, he settled onto the dock. Yet, the first thing he did was scramble off and grab his coat. When he returned, he gently pulled Ebony into a sitting position and wrapped it around her.

"It isn't much, but this should help until we can get you home." When he touched her, MacKenzie realized his friend was shaking and his arms immediately wrapped around her reassuringly. "Are you alright, Ebony?" He was prepared to carry her back home if she need him to, but he didn't want to do such a thing against her will.