Game Opening: May Ball

[undergroundmods]

LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED.

"" (Watch on YouTube)

It had to be done.

Welcome all to the Redbright Institute's May Ball! This evening is a celebration of the Institute's achievements over the past year. Students aged 16 and above can attend on their own, while younger students must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Meanwhile, friends and guests of the Institute are invited as a gesture of friendship and harmony between the various factions.

Rules and etiquette
• This is a black tie event. Formal attire is required.
• No weapons. This is a school, there are children present. Any weapons or objects that could be used as weapons will be confiscated.
• No drugs or alcohol. Obviously. Don't try to sneak any in.
• No violence.

There is security within the school and present at the event. (In fact, if your character is a member of the Redbright Institute, you could have them acting as security if you want.) They will respond to and put a stop to any trouble.

Places to go
The main action takes place in the large Assembly Hall. This is where the Chancellor Sylvia Redbright will give her address. It's also where you can party later on. The disco is family-friendly – not exactly a rave, but the kids will love it.

Drinks and snacks are available in the dining hall. The drinks are non-alcoholic. Vampires, no need to worry about your cravings: blood cocktails are provided! They're given in good faith on the assumption that you won't be snacking on anyone else tonight.

Just off the dining hall, one of the classrooms has been converted into a chill-out area. The lights are off, the desks and chairs have been replaced by beanbags and there's a table in the corner with a chocolate fountain, marshmallows and strawberries. A video of young witches taking part in various night-time rituals (they mostly seem to involve chanting and bonfires) plays silently on the screen.

One of the lecture theatres has been opened up to showcase students' work from the past year. On the screen you can watch a slideshow of notable events and achievements. Strangely enough there aren't many people in this room.

Outside, there is a giant chessboard on the lawn. The pieces are made of plastic and can easily be moved around. Why, you ask? Why not, is the answer.

Finally, a large marquee has been set up in the quad. This is the adults-only area, with wine and cocktails served at the bar, nibbles available at a few high tables dotted around and a sophisticated atmosphere. No children under 18 allowed. (Note that the legal drinking age is 18.)

Timeline of events
20:00 – Doors open.
20:57 – Sunset.
21:15 – Sylvia Redbright makes her address in the Assembly Hall.
22:00 – Disco in the Assembly Hall. The DJ has atrocious taste.
01:00 – Disco stops. The event officially ends.

Comments

[apolly]

ASSEMBLY HALL

Apollo arrived to work in his red attire after racing hastily waking up from an unexpected nap, rushing to fix up his hair and grab the nearest suit available, and rushing to the Institute on a bike.

So while he loves Miss Sylvia and he sure the speech was fantastic, he's nearly half asleep by the time it's done and he feels slightly bad once it's done, but he claps along with the crowd anyway.

But once he turns, he bumps into someone and his hands immediately go up in surrender.

"Woah, I'm sorry about that."

CHILL-OUT AREA

One drink and one phone out later, Apollo's in one of the chairs scrolling through some documents and mumbling to himself that he will have to get onto some students on Monday. What a way to start the week.

It's not a long night but it feels like it is as he swirls the juice in his cup, but the sudden sound of the DJ being generally awful makes his head turn towards the noise and for his thumb to accidentally flick on a terrible pop song on his own phone. Loudly.

And, of course, Apollo hastily trying to turn it off.

Assembly Hall

[detectiveofthewest]

"You're totally not forgiven," said Heiji, grinning widely. "In fact, I'm thinking of telling your boss you were dozin' off during her speech."

You're under arrest, buddy -- for sleeping on the job.

[apolly]

[i just noticed how badly written my op is thanks to 4hrs of sleep BEAR WITH ME HERE]

Apollo seems to snap out of it, before his eyes squint instead. Oh, it's Heiji... of all people.

"Oh my god, please don't. I just woke up and had to get here in, say, a twenty-five minute time frame. Cut me some slack, here."

He looks down at his homemade coffee and takes a sip. This probably wasn't even allowed.

"What brings you here, anyway? Work?"

[detectiveofthewest]

[Don't worry about it!]

Heiji laughed. "You still tryin' to work two jobs? No wonder you're bushed!" But Apollo still had time to do his hair...

He wagged a finger at Apollo. "And you'd better hope not! Though it would kinda liven things up a bit." Heiji wasn't a fan of parties with teenagers everywhere. Get off his lawn, dammit. On the other hand, if someone was suddenly dead from cyanide poisoning, he'd be all over it...

"I thought I'd drop in in case somethin' interesting happened. And it did, didn't it? Though I guess Barnet's not under anyone else's control anyway."

[apolly]

This hair is top priority over all crimes and regulations. And then his two jobs.

"Yeah, still— more land means more debate. Someone's probably not gonna show up to the Council's door happy at all." The first thing that comes to mind is how werewolves like to throw a fit over everything from what he's heard, but (wisely) doesn't say.

Heiji's the type to stick his nose into anything. Apollo didn't think it'd include a party, but he was still learning about this guy.

"Well, congratulations Detective, you're one of the first to know."

[detectiveofthewest]

Way to keep those priorities straight buddy, you storm those courtrooms.

"Yeah, I bet. I heard they been driving those dark witches right out. Not like I'm crazy about dark magic, but..." But Redbright was affiliated with Daybreak, and Daybreak liked to seal off the Other Realm. Which meant Heiji and others like him would be SOL if they needed to get in or out of London in the southwest sector.

There was a bit of a twinkle in Heiji's eye, though. "One of the first to know in public. But it's gonna take coordination to consolidate Barnet. I'm willin' to bet all the essential personnel already knew about this. Which would mean they're pretty good at keepin' their plans under wraps."

[apolly]

"But witches like that are gonna practice dark magic whether or not, right?" Apollo definitely knew none of their books were in the school, anyway. It was probably best not to get into something he didn't fully understand yet.

"You're making this sound way more shady than it probably is. ...Like you're looking for a scoop or something." Nailed it.

[detectiveofthewest]

"That's my take! But they must think they can make folks stop by making it against the rules." lol humans.

Heiji grinned. "I wouldn't say no to one of them 'scoops'. But that's cause I gotta stick my nose in everything. Makes life interesting, yeah?"

Although honestly murder was better than conspiracy, shh don't tell anyone.

[apolly]

"You must be a riot at party game night," Apollo responds dryly before sipping his drink. Actually, that was probably a little too rude, so...

"What's not interesting about taking time off and having a vacation? When's the last time you left town and didn't think about dark magic and rules and stuff?" A pause. "And I don't mean there." Not the other Realm, don't you dare count that.

Chill-Out Area

[eyeforaneye]

The assault to his ears being suddenly made twofold is bad enough, but given that he'd been trying to very subtly glance at that phone from behind makes it feel like an alarm's going off and he instantly jerks back, splashing a small amount of coffee onto Apollo's shoulder.

Whoops. "Do you mind? As if it wasn't bad enough..."

[apolly]

The splash jerks Apollo out of his seat, just as he finally paused the song and set his phone on silent, but he whips his head to his shoulder then back down at whoever the hell did it.

"Sor—... wait a minute. Do you mind?" Apollo asks, pointing to his own shoulder. "You splashed me!"

[eyeforaneye]

"Because of something you did. It's coffee either way; it shouldn't stain."

... "Is it an expensive suit?" Because that's not a rude question.

[apolly]

Apollo stares, flabbergasted, before the expression turns into a scowl and he slams down his drink on the table next to him before swiping up a few napkins.

"Probably costed more than this DJ," Apollo grumbles to himself, wiping down his shoulder.

[eyeforaneye]

"And you think you'd do a better job with the music at your disposal?" Was that the Pussycat Dolls? Not that I would... know...

"I guess it doesn't matter." He glances briefly again around the still relatively empty room, finally stepping forward to actually take a seat without seeming even more out of place. "Are you part of the administrative staff? You're looking at class records on your phone and you're concerned about what the DJ is getting paid, so it makes sense."

[apolly]

Please tell us how you knew this song is from the Pussycat Dolls, Sasuke.

Apollo stills, a ton of thoughts running through his head. The biggest one being that this guy thought it was an alright conversation starter to throw some stupid coffee on somebody.

"I don't care what the DJ gets paid, it's not my money. But yes, I teach here. As of a few months ago."

[eyeforaneye]

It's funny how a man only thinks about the -beep-.

Sasuke's all too quickly making some judgments himself, just affixing the word 'money' to this man mentally regardless of his denials. "What do you teach? Are you human?"

[ ASSEMBLY! ]

[warmheartedly]

"Don't feel bad," Clara told him kindly as she appeared by his side after the person gave him a crossed look and huffed away. "You didn't mean too and I'm sure they'll get it out of their system."

Sooner or later. A person couldn't hold a grudge over a little accident after all.

[apolly]

Apollo jumps, luckily not spilling anything from his cup, but Clara being a ghost and all is still something he has to get used to.

But he smiles, politely, briefly thinking he should apologize. But he's pretty sure getting a heart attack from a ghost is common.

"I hope it's with party appropriate drinks then, because this DJ isn't making anybody happy. ... But it's good to see you, Clara. Having a good time?"

[warmheartedly]

"I'm having a great time," Clara answered him enthusiastically, her smiling a shade apologetic for spooking him like that. One of these days she'll learn to not just appear out of nowhere. Or learn to clear her throat before speaking at the very least. "I'm surprised to hear about the DJ. He's been playing nothing but my favourite songs for the past hour."

Her favourite.... Really Clara. Do you really like what the person is pouring out from the speakers and forcing the others to hear for what would be the majority of the event? Really?

... Really, it seems, with how honest and earnest her expression is. There is no way she's trying to pull Apollo's leg. "I hope you've been doing well too. That bump aside. Managed to get yourself a dance or two?"

[apolly]

"Your... favourite songs?" Apollo has to process that for a moment but, wisely, decides not to comment on it in the worst way ever.

"Well, it seems like the party was catered to keep you pretty happy." There, okay. That was pretty nice.

"I tried to... I'm not really a dancer, though. I make a fool out of myself pretty fast." This is no lie, at all. "But I'm doing good. I think my finances are finally stabilizing, so I won't be drinking like five coffees a day. How about you?"

[warmheartedly]

Her eyes are practically sparkling at this point. For the wonderful news about his finances and the brief skip down memory lane she's experiencing. "That's wonderful to hear. There are some benefits to drinking coffee but cutting down your amount never hurts anyone. For too long, I mean.

And I've been doing great! I feel like a young girl again. Reminds me of all the parties from before." She looks around, taking quick stock of what (or who) were there also. "Though a few less bellbottoms and no polyester in sight. I certainly don't miss those."

Maybe there's hope for Clara and her tastes after all. "The dancing though-- I'll always miss actually dancing the most. Hey! I have an idea: Do you want me to dance with you? So you don't feel bad about your style? Trust me, I'm far worse at it than everyone here combined."

[apolly]

"Ah no, I would, but... I actually brought my work with me." It's something that Apollo probably has to break as a habit, but it comes from years of studying over law books and getting things done.

"... Did you use to go to his school, Clara? I've never asked."

[warmheartedly]

Clara couldn't help but give him an 'oh you' look, surprised but not too surprised that he would do that. "Well, remember to enjoy yourself a little bit more before studying. All work and no play is no good for anyone.

"... Me? Oh no. From what I can tell, I never had, um, what is required here..." Trailing off, Clara clearly means metahuman abilities. She had been average her entire life, nothing like compared to Apollo or the rest. "I learned about it when the outreach program visited my husband and Magra one day. Never knew about any of this until then. It was so... much. If that makes sense."

Chill Out Area

[llywelin]

Ah, a friend! Or at least, Lion definitely considers him one. So with a chuckle, Lion approaches him and smiles.

"Oh, I don't know. I think it sounds better than what's already playing."

[apolly]

Apollo looks up from his phone frantically before recognizing who it is, and his body language immediately relaxed before he finally turns off the pop American song no one cares about.

"Ah— Lion," he greets, immediately standing up to shake Lion's hand with a smile.

"Well, I think that's a stretch. I'm really glad you managed to show up!"