undergrounds | Game Opening: May Ball

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Game Opening: May Ball

LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED.

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 The lights are off, the desks and chairs have been replaced by beanbags and there's a table in the corner with a chocolate fountain, marshmallows and strawberries.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.

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"Cooper!"

Guess who is excited to see him here, also enjoying himself to the world's most wonderful music? A beaming Clara, that's who. While she stands out from the crowd thanks to her almost monochrome appearance and her seethrough form, the colorful decorations and lights around them almost pale in comparison to her smile.

Which simply become brighter when she goes to him, happy to see he was here too. It was so nice to see a friendly face here. And one she could speak to was a bonus. "Care for a round or two? This old bag of wind has some moves left in her, you know."

Cooper's head whips around when he hears someone calling his name. He has a smile that could light up a room when he spots Clara in the crowd. "Look who it is!" Much as he's a social butterfly, sometimes it's just nice to see a familiar face at an event like this.

He joins Clara in her dancing. The two of them can look like a pair of dorks for all he cares. He's here to have fun. "Hah! If you're old, what does that make me?"

It's amazing to see him here! She was wondering if she would be able to even catch a glimpse of him or not. To actually run across him and enjoy a dance just has her all bubbly and excited.

"A very graceful ager," is her quick reply, her smile matching his since she's just so happy, being able to enjoy herself with someone she considered a friend. She does a twirl, forgetting herself for a second and causing nearby dancers to shiver at the sudden coolness around them. "And a graceful dancer too! Look at you, busting out the beats as the kids would say!"

Because that's what the children would say. Right?

Oh, Clara. Don't you ever change. "Yes, that is exactly what the kids would say." He even manages to say that with a mostly straight face. Several of the dancers are giving them a wide berth now, perhaps to avoid the sensation of (pardon the terrible pun) having a ghost walk over their grave.

Though he lacks a drink in his hand, he still raises it up as if for a toast. "Here's to a night we won't soon forget!"

Clara just has to cover her mouth to smother her laughter, knowing fully well that no one else could hear her except for a select few but that doesn't stop her from minding her manners.

"Agreed!" She mimics it, her motions more dainty. Even in life she wasn't that kind of party girl, preferring dancing to drinking. "It's so good to see that you're having a good time! I couldn't help but notice that the others seemed-- Less than enthused by the music tonight."

"That's 'cause these kids have no sense of good music. They think One Direction's musical talent." Was One Direction still cool? Who knew. Cooper's sense of good music was stuck firmly sometime before the year 1980 had rolled around. Of course, he included everyone under the age of fifty in the kids category as well.

"Met anyone interestin' tonight?" Knowing how Clara got along with just about everybody, he could only imagine who she'd talked to. That is, assuming of course, that they could see her to begin with. Sometimes, even he forgot not everyone could.

She laughs a bit, trying to show she didn't agree with that but... It showed a bit. Just a little. The younger generation these days and their tunes. Sometimes it's what spurred her out of the coffee shop but at least it has her traveling more and more these days, visiting her friends like Cooper and the others.

"The usual suspects," she admits to him, feeling more comfortable to be near familiar faces than risk talking to someone and A) not being heard or B) surprising the poor thing and going through the usual cycle of explanations. It gets a bit tiring after a while. "I did meet one new person! A new teacher here in the school, Dr. Morgan. Promised to watch over Magra now and then when he's not too busy. He's such a gentleman."

"Good on you. The name doesn't ring a bell, but I've not talked to many tonight." He'd been much more of a mood to observe, take in the sights of those that attended the ball, instead of being active and seeking people out.

"Thought about not even coming, but I got t'be a good representative for the clan 'n all that." There were certain responsibilities that came with being in Islington and attending functions like this was one of them. His loyalty to the other vampires was without question. Cooper personally considered it to be his best quality.

Representative...? Oh! What wonderful news.

"I'm sure you're wowing everyone with your dance moves at the moment," she teases him a bit, smiling happily at him all the same to hear he has such an important job to uphold. "Congratulations on it, by the way. Having this job. It must mean a lot to you to have their trust that much."

While she didn't know much of the Islington Clan, she's sure they're a fine bunch. Cooper is among them after all and he's a dear friend to her through and through.

"It does. I've spent a lot of years wanderin' around without a place to hang my hat. To have a place to belong is a welcome change." Normally, he doesn't get quite so candid about his feelings with people. Clara is different. She's someone he can confide in without worrying about judgement or about what she's heard reaching the wrong set of ears.

"Oh Cooper." She would never tell people about what he tells her or give him any judgement for him. Instead she simply gives him a smile, quite happy for him that he has that.

"Well-- If it means anything to you, I just want you to know you're also always welcomed to the coffee shop. Especially on Thursdays." Hoping to keep the tone light, she pretends to lean forward so no one can hear her whisper, "Because on that day, you can order a drink and get a freebie with it if you order between 1 PM to 3 PM if Cynthia is the barista."

"Givin' out insider tips, are we? For shame, Mrs. Seville!" He mock scolds as he wags a finger at her. "I really do appreciate it. Coffee helps with the cravings when they hit something fierce." He couldn't always just grab the nearest person and chomp down when he was hungry, so making do with alcohol and coffee had become essential.

She gives him an innocent 'who, me?' look but that smile is anything but innocent. "Well, I would like to see them catch me if I can. If the first spiritualist couldn't shoo me away, I think I'll be sticking around for a long time."

"...." There's a thoughtful pause as she reconsiders her words, remembering how long she's been around but also remembering all her run ins. So she turns and knocks on the closest piece of wood to her. Which happened to be a clipboard of a passing teacher, causing them to squawk in surprise. "Oh! I'm so-- Oh dear. I never seen someone run so fast in dress shoes. I hope they don't trip."

Cooper cracks up with laughter as he watches the teacher awkwardly spring away. Clara's like the least-threatening person he knows. Clara the Friendly Ghost right there. "Y'know, there's some poltergeists that would pay good money to be able to do that naturally."

He has no worries about Clara getting exorcised. People who did that for a living tended to go after aggressive ghosts who were disrupting the status quo. Even if one did bother her, all she would have to do was mention it to Cooper and he'd make sure the next placed they performed an exorcism was the middle of the Russian tundra.

She winces as the teacher disappears in the crowd, looking at Cooper with a sheepish expression when they've vanished among the throng of people.

"I still feel so bad whenever it happens though, accident or not." Because she never means to scare them and she feels awful when it does happen, accidentally or not. Both for herself and for the person who got caught up in it. "Long as he doesn't report it or go investigating later, I think it'll be alright. Who knows? It can be a funny story for him to laugh about later. Like you dancing with a ghost and some people's expressions! Their faces were priceless. Did you see them?"

In the past she would have been more worried about the possibility of getting exorcised or banished. Nowadays? There's a sense of security knowing Cooper and the others were there to deter it in their own ways.

"It's a good experience for them. None of these teachers will last long if they don't get used to supernatural occurrences early on. Hell, I'll bet there's even a few little ghostie students this year." Cooper had a certain fondness for ghosts. It was so much easier to let his guard doen around them when he knew there was no possibility of him hurting them.

He laughed a little when Clara asked if he had seen people's faces. "That I did. Bet most of 'em were jealous." Or possibly terrified, but then that was their loss.

Her interest is quipped when he mentions the possibility of ghost students being here with them. She's already looking around to see if there were any lurking around the corner, simply out of sight and out of mind, because if that's the case goodness.

"I hope they aren't and they're at rest," she comments to him, her smile wistful and worried. "I would feel awful if I never noticed them before. It can get lonely sometimes when you're a new ghost and don't know the new world yet."

Realising how depressing that must have sound, she looks back at him and adds, "Unless you have good friends and have a great deal of luck, of course. It's thanks to you and the others that my life has been so colourful since I never went through that door."

"You're probably right. Most people tend to pass on when it's their proper time." Not that Cooper would know. He was terrible when it came to spotting other supernatural creatures. It had only been pure dumb luck that he'd even seen Clara in the first place.

"Sometimes, you only really start livin' after you're dead." Cooper can fully attest to that. His life hadn't exactly been boring before being hanged, but the next two-hundred odd years had left him with many more stories than he would have had otherwise.

"I wish my husband was able to linger a little bit longer then..." It would have been nice, being able to catch up with him again and get some time together. She looks a bit sadly as she peers out a window near them, enjoying the view and knows he would enjoy it too. That or the bar nearby. Whichever he saw first. "But! Let's not be a downer tonight. We're here to have fun."

The music switches to another song that Clara knows and, thankfully, it's a song that Cooper can both dance to and know is considered not that bad. "Come on! I haven't shown you how to do the funky chicken yet. It was all the rage when I was young."

Being undead isn't that all bad. It does allow people to have more adventures, stories than their old lives would have allowed. Give them chances to live in a way that being actually alive didn't allow. And Clara here is determined this night will be one of the many stories to have in the future.

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Game Opening: May Ball

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I got this halfway done and my phone ate it! :(

booo phone you can't stop us

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