[muffled meaningful song lyrics playing in the distance]

[crab]

WHO: all those who are participating in the student outreach program.
WHERE: chester miller secondary school.
WHEN: from tuesday 21st through to friday 24th.
WHAT: an open mingle log wherein heroes attempt to give pep talks and guidance to a school with a notably high concentration of at risk youth.
WARNINGS: discussion of potentially sensitive subjects (drugs, bullying, whatever comes to mind with the phrase "at risk youth"); specific warnings tbd.

Chester Miller Secondary School is a school with a bad reputation. The kind of school you don't particularly want to put on your resume. It is the general assumption in the community that most juvenile delinquents attend Chester Miller, most bullying occurs at Chester Miller, and that, in general, if you can afford another school, you should probably send your kids there. However, upon being admitted to the school grounds in order to fulfill their assignment, the heroes will find that it outwardly seems no different from any other public school. Exasperated teachers, bored students. The standard fare, really.

They will also be subject to quite a lot of judging, adolescent eyes for the duration of their stay. How will you go about reaching these kids?

Comments

[slightlyoffchilt]

You look somewhat adult-like.

[They wry comment was more centered on Terry's assumed age rather than any other concrete detail.]

And it isn't as if I am loving this prospect. We're in this together, you and I, so we're going to have to adapt with compromise.

[Which surely logically included Terry wearing the shirt! Such was Chilton's thought process. He balled the material in one fist, using quiet violence to smother some of the offensive hue.]

You know we can't just skip out on this endeavor. It's part of the deal. So -- bearing that in mind -- what is it that you want to contribute?

[demonspawn]

I'm trying to decide if it's too late to go drown myself in the boy's bathroom.

[ Not that it would've done any good. He was technically immortal, no matter how little he valued his own life -- or how morbid his sense of humor was. But right now, even a toilet bowl seemed like a better option than the hideous yellow shirt and an auditorium full of kids that resembled the antagonists from his unfortunate early pubescent years. ]

Can't we just put up a few flyers and bail? There's other people here. They can do the talking. Some people were born to be public speakers, some people were born for strategic flyer placement.

[slightlyoffchilt]

Don't do that, all right? Go on stage there and discuss suicidal tendencies, they might take you seriously.

[He gave Terry a look up and down, as if judging the younger man. As if there was something about his dark clothes and glower to suggest My Chemical Romance played frequently in the shadows of an unspoken bedroom.]

Flyers weren't part of the deal. [Though he won't deny that it's a good idea -- this Terry Ward had a working system, Chilton would give him that much credit.] Just give out he shirt as, I don't know, a "prize" or something, all right? We can give it to the flunkie who pays the most attention.

[demonspawn]

[ terry eyed him for a long, hard moment. it was a moment full of teenage petulance and stubbornness. or maybe that scowl on his face was because he was thinking very, very hard about disappearing -- as if by sheer power of will, he could make himself evaporate into thin air. that was a preferable alternative to all of this. public speaking had never been his strong suit.

people in general, really. ]

I'm immortal. I can't actually kill myself. Just so you know. [ one final act of smart-assery before he finally (reluctantly) snagged the shirt from chilton, exhaling irritably before pushing the auditorium doors open to face his face. ] But I swear, next time? I'm choosing the toilet bowl.