Post by Jude Dorrian on Jan 3, 2008 16:48:42 GMT
So maybe it wasn't the most glamorous of locations.
But really, what did Jude expect?
The Secret Cardsdale Resistance- or the SCR, as it was more commonly known- was a shabby building at the edge of the estates. It was brick red, with boarded up windows and a broken, gray slated roof. The whole thing towered three, small floors; a lone terraced house in the middle of a road. Around it, kids from the estates and their domes ran and played; giving the house itself a wide berth.
Perhaps they'd been told by their mothers not to go too close to it.
Or perhaps they just mistrusted it; knew it shouldn't be there.
It didn't look like it belonged.
And yet, as the group of volunteers walked up to the rickety old thing, and knocked on the door; a sudden sense of officialness washed over them. A woman answered the door; someone young, and dark-haired, whose eyebrows shot up sky-high at the bunch of Orchid Hill students who'd arrived at her doorstep.
"Good afternoon, Mrs Graham," Prof. Thandie said breathlessly, stepping forward. "I trust you received our forwarding letter?"
"Oh, yes," Mrs Graham replied quickly. "I mean... sorry, I just wasn't expecting you so soon! Deron kept telling me to hurry up- but gosh, sorry... right, um, come in!"
The students were ushered in, past the door and through into a surprisingly spacious hallway. It was wooden, and along the walls, were notice board, after notice board, many of these pinned up with maps, and names, and pictures of the village and Orchid. Mrs Graham kept in step with Prof. Thandie, talking in hushed voices. Jude- who was just behind them- caught words like dangerous, and damage. He pressed his lips together, feeling the weight of the medication in his bag.
How the heck was this going to work?
Heading up the wooden staircase, there was a general clattering as students tried to arrange themselves into a more orderly line. The staircase only had enough width space for one average-sized person at a time, and for some of the rugby players (i.e. Jack) this proved far too limiting.
Finally, they arrived on the second floor, and followed Mrs Graham straight through into a brightly lit wooden room.
It was quite long in length, and rectangular in shape. The floor was wooden panels- though what kind of wood, Jude was unsure. The walls were of the same, dark brown tint, and they too were paneled. The ceiling however, was were the wood ended, and it was a faded, painted cream color. Down the middle of the room, a long, wooden table stretched, covered in papers, and around it, four men sat. A final boy stood at the far end of the room, beside a giant window, which was where all the light of the room was streaming through from. His face was shrouded in darkness, but Jude could see from his build that he was clearly a boy of 16 or 17...
... and probably the infamous Mr Miles.
Kira Norris' boyfriend was a mystery to most- unless, of course, they had met him at the school camping trip earlier in the year. Jude hadn't been fortunate enough to be picked for this, but he heard later some incredible things. Apparently, this villager had been given a death threat by Parmida- who had actually held a knife to his throat. Anything else that was known of him, was limited to Kira's vague recollections of their dates.
Dates which had been becoming fewer and further between, lately...
The students observed Mr Miles (as they would address him) step forward, to the end of the table, grinning at them in a way that was most unsuited to the situation.
"Hi," he said, unable to keep the grin of his face. "Lois, is this all of them...?"
"Yes," Mrs Graham nodded breathlessly, stepping around to the students. "Well, welcome, kids, to the SCR!" She paused impressively, as though expecting applause. When there was none, she continued, "I'm Mrs Graham- and down there, that boy, he's Deron Miles."
Several students who hadn't known this already gave little gasps of, 'oh!' and many of their heads swiveled to look at Jack and Jude. It was common knowledge they were friendly with the Norris cousins.
"That there is Jonny Pepper," an old, wrinkled man inclined in his head, "this is Ashwin Modan," an Indian man smiled from the far right of the table, "and these are Lucas and Rufus Mellows." A pair of brothers waved jovially at that.
Prof. Thandie inclined her head to each as they were all introduced, then, cleared her throat. "Now, then, I should like this situation to be kept as low-key as possible. The villagers may panic to realize that young Mr Ritzski is in their midst-"
"What are his powers, again?" Deron Miles had spoken, watching Prof. Thandie carefully.
"The threats to you are his power to create and control powerful electrical surges, and explosions," Prof. Thandie said, looking slightly disgruntled at the interruption. "Steve Ritzski is easily identified by his 'mood' hair- it changes according color according to his mood. Now, I-"
"Do we all get a sample of his medication?" Deron interrupted again. "Otherwise, it could be hard to pacify him."
Prof. Thandie coughed. "Yes. Yes, you do- but it would be preferable if you didn't have to resort to using it. I'll be splitting you all up into groups- all of you non-magic folk need to have at least one Orchid Hill student with you-"
"Why?" Deron said quickly. "Think we can't cope?"
"Deron," Mrs Graham reprimanded him quickly. "Please."
He glanced at her, then fell stonily silent.
"No, Mr Miles," Professor Thandie said, seriously rattled now. "Not that you can't cope- merely as a precaution. Alright then, we shall leave immediately. Mr Dorrian, if you would...?"
Jude nodded, slinging the bag off of his back, and setting it down on the table. In total, there were 6 vials of medication; so there would be six groups. There was a general hustle and bustle as the students were arranged into groups; many pairing with their friends. There were only 12 students present in total, so along with Prof. Thandie and the villagers, there were 19 people in the search in total. So, there were 5 groups of 3, and one of four.
Jude was placed in a group with Jack, Olivia and the big mystery; Deron Miles.
"Well then," Prof. Thandie sighed, standing at the door. "Good luck, kids. We'll meet back here at 6 o' clock sharp. And I pray, for his sake as much as our's, that we find Mr Ritzski as soon as possible."
But really, what did Jude expect?
The Secret Cardsdale Resistance- or the SCR, as it was more commonly known- was a shabby building at the edge of the estates. It was brick red, with boarded up windows and a broken, gray slated roof. The whole thing towered three, small floors; a lone terraced house in the middle of a road. Around it, kids from the estates and their domes ran and played; giving the house itself a wide berth.
Perhaps they'd been told by their mothers not to go too close to it.
Or perhaps they just mistrusted it; knew it shouldn't be there.
It didn't look like it belonged.
And yet, as the group of volunteers walked up to the rickety old thing, and knocked on the door; a sudden sense of officialness washed over them. A woman answered the door; someone young, and dark-haired, whose eyebrows shot up sky-high at the bunch of Orchid Hill students who'd arrived at her doorstep.
"Good afternoon, Mrs Graham," Prof. Thandie said breathlessly, stepping forward. "I trust you received our forwarding letter?"
"Oh, yes," Mrs Graham replied quickly. "I mean... sorry, I just wasn't expecting you so soon! Deron kept telling me to hurry up- but gosh, sorry... right, um, come in!"
The students were ushered in, past the door and through into a surprisingly spacious hallway. It was wooden, and along the walls, were notice board, after notice board, many of these pinned up with maps, and names, and pictures of the village and Orchid. Mrs Graham kept in step with Prof. Thandie, talking in hushed voices. Jude- who was just behind them- caught words like dangerous, and damage. He pressed his lips together, feeling the weight of the medication in his bag.
How the heck was this going to work?
Heading up the wooden staircase, there was a general clattering as students tried to arrange themselves into a more orderly line. The staircase only had enough width space for one average-sized person at a time, and for some of the rugby players (i.e. Jack) this proved far too limiting.
Finally, they arrived on the second floor, and followed Mrs Graham straight through into a brightly lit wooden room.
It was quite long in length, and rectangular in shape. The floor was wooden panels- though what kind of wood, Jude was unsure. The walls were of the same, dark brown tint, and they too were paneled. The ceiling however, was were the wood ended, and it was a faded, painted cream color. Down the middle of the room, a long, wooden table stretched, covered in papers, and around it, four men sat. A final boy stood at the far end of the room, beside a giant window, which was where all the light of the room was streaming through from. His face was shrouded in darkness, but Jude could see from his build that he was clearly a boy of 16 or 17...
... and probably the infamous Mr Miles.
Kira Norris' boyfriend was a mystery to most- unless, of course, they had met him at the school camping trip earlier in the year. Jude hadn't been fortunate enough to be picked for this, but he heard later some incredible things. Apparently, this villager had been given a death threat by Parmida- who had actually held a knife to his throat. Anything else that was known of him, was limited to Kira's vague recollections of their dates.
Dates which had been becoming fewer and further between, lately...
The students observed Mr Miles (as they would address him) step forward, to the end of the table, grinning at them in a way that was most unsuited to the situation.
"Hi," he said, unable to keep the grin of his face. "Lois, is this all of them...?"
"Yes," Mrs Graham nodded breathlessly, stepping around to the students. "Well, welcome, kids, to the SCR!" She paused impressively, as though expecting applause. When there was none, she continued, "I'm Mrs Graham- and down there, that boy, he's Deron Miles."
Several students who hadn't known this already gave little gasps of, 'oh!' and many of their heads swiveled to look at Jack and Jude. It was common knowledge they were friendly with the Norris cousins.
"That there is Jonny Pepper," an old, wrinkled man inclined in his head, "this is Ashwin Modan," an Indian man smiled from the far right of the table, "and these are Lucas and Rufus Mellows." A pair of brothers waved jovially at that.
Prof. Thandie inclined her head to each as they were all introduced, then, cleared her throat. "Now, then, I should like this situation to be kept as low-key as possible. The villagers may panic to realize that young Mr Ritzski is in their midst-"
"What are his powers, again?" Deron Miles had spoken, watching Prof. Thandie carefully.
"The threats to you are his power to create and control powerful electrical surges, and explosions," Prof. Thandie said, looking slightly disgruntled at the interruption. "Steve Ritzski is easily identified by his 'mood' hair- it changes according color according to his mood. Now, I-"
"Do we all get a sample of his medication?" Deron interrupted again. "Otherwise, it could be hard to pacify him."
Prof. Thandie coughed. "Yes. Yes, you do- but it would be preferable if you didn't have to resort to using it. I'll be splitting you all up into groups- all of you non-magic folk need to have at least one Orchid Hill student with you-"
"Why?" Deron said quickly. "Think we can't cope?"
"Deron," Mrs Graham reprimanded him quickly. "Please."
He glanced at her, then fell stonily silent.
"No, Mr Miles," Professor Thandie said, seriously rattled now. "Not that you can't cope- merely as a precaution. Alright then, we shall leave immediately. Mr Dorrian, if you would...?"
Jude nodded, slinging the bag off of his back, and setting it down on the table. In total, there were 6 vials of medication; so there would be six groups. There was a general hustle and bustle as the students were arranged into groups; many pairing with their friends. There were only 12 students present in total, so along with Prof. Thandie and the villagers, there were 19 people in the search in total. So, there were 5 groups of 3, and one of four.
Jude was placed in a group with Jack, Olivia and the big mystery; Deron Miles.
"Well then," Prof. Thandie sighed, standing at the door. "Good luck, kids. We'll meet back here at 6 o' clock sharp. And I pray, for his sake as much as our's, that we find Mr Ritzski as soon as possible."
