Realistic or Modern Echoes of Colors Past: Highschool Slice of Life.

[ZenailTGN]

Welcome to Avidale.
Avidale is a sleepy little town on the east coast that has a population of a little over 700. Not a very large town at all and in fact, it's one of those little places where it seems like everyone just happens to know everyone else. Someone's parents always knows yours, your parents know theirs, and it cycles on like that....noone remembers the last time anyone actually left the town, and even stranger noone remembers the last person to move in. Yet, time marches on here, same as it does for the rest of the globe. Technology, standards, cable TV, Internet, streaming services, the whole nine yards. So it wasn't like this town was separated from the world in any way, it just happened to be a little out of the way and so small that it hadn't been added to any maps as of yet. Though, the adults have been working on that for over 30 years of the town's 500 year history.

Here, all four seasons are in effect and the temperatures never really do dip too far into one extreme or the other with 92 degrees Fahrenheit being the hottest it's ever gotten, and about 32 degrees Fahrenheit being the coldest in the town's recorded history. A pretty temperate zone. There's a single highway that acts as both the entrance and the exit to the town with the faded words, "Welcome to Avidale!" Written on it in chipping, peeling red metallic paint with a cheery image of a smiling sun to greet new visitors, along with a matching sign on the back that reads, "We hope to see you again soon!" Written for leaving townies.

In the center of the town, sits Avidale High - Home of the Avidale Sentinels. The only league recognized sports team in the entire town, also the town's pride and joy.
It's here that the town raises future generations of town dwellers. People who would inherit their parent's houses one day or maybe even break the mold and strike out on their own and make their mark on the world some how, some way. Young teens who are happy with their life here, some desperate to get away, Some dealing with dark secrets - maybe even some related to the mysterious status of the very town itself....

This is a simple story about the light and hope of youth struggling to achieve their dreams, whatever they may be. A story of friendships forged and broken, souls linked and hearts touched or shattered within the same few instances - maybe even a few chances to watch love bloom in some of the most unlikely of places.

 

[ZenailTGN]

Arinn Nordes | 15 | Male | Tag: None | Location: Just Arriving in Town.
The rumbling of the engine almost seemed distant to the boy sitting in the cargo bay of the moving truck, making sure none of their father's belongings fell or were damaged in the transport from one town to the other. Still, it was hard to believe that their dad decided to leave everything from Ireland behind to move out here to this town in the middle of nowhere. Arinn wasn't normally one to question his father's motives...afterall, the man was a leader beyond doubt back in the home country...but, why move out here where the Nordes Family doesn't bear any weight? He furrowed his brow, deep in thought as he bit the corner of his bottom lip anxiously. Maybe this wouldn't be making him so nervous if he could still see...though, again, his father made sure to take that privilege from him years prior.

Arinn was suddenly yanked from his thoughts as the truck stopped without any warning, sending him lurching forward and nearly tumbling towards the doors of the moving truck. He landed on his knees hard, just barely managing to throw his arms out in front of him to prevent his head from smacking against the metal bottom, "O-Ow...." He groaned under his breath, the slight pain pulsing through his body with a dull, barely noticeable throb. He slowly rose to his feet and listened hard, had they arrived finally? It's felt like it's been ages in the back of this truck and even if his entire world was dark and void of anything, he could still feel how cramped it was in here. Not to mention the total lack of Air Conditioning. What an absolute nightmare of a drive.

The sound of the backdoor opening drew his attention towards them and he silently reveled in the feeling of fresh air blasting him from the front - those heavy door creaking open almost too slowly for his taste. He needed to get outside, to breathe in the fresh air again after hours upon hours of the stale truck air. God, it was like he could taste the staleness of it at this point, and he was fairly certain it would take forever to wash his sweat off. But, seems like the trip was finally over, they had finally arrived in Avidale. A small, almost invisible town in the middle of nowhere somewhere in the central United States.

Father, Arinn thought to himself, running his fingertips over the blindfold that covered his eyes, I hope you know what you're doing.

________________________________________________________________________

Mara Nordes | 15 | Female | Pan | Tag: None | Location: Just Arriving in Avidale |

It had felt like absolute for-freakin'-ever since Mara was last able to step foot out of the truck, and just when she was resigning herself to the fate of never being outside again - her father said the words that made her heart jump with excitement.

"We're here."

Oh god, yes! Finally! Mara practically leapt out from the cabin immediately, landing rather ungracefully on the ground after overshooting her jump and completely missing the step down from the rather tall cabin. She stumbled for a second before someone caught her arm and steadied her again, it was her mother. Those soft hands and that gentle, yet firm guidance could only be her. She smiled up in the direction her mom was standing and giggled, "Thanks mom, that first step is a doozy." She stuck her tongue out playfully before moving to place a hand on the side of the truck, following it around to the back where she felt around for the handles of the heavy doors. She'd been away from Arinn for far too long in her mind, and no doubt he was feeling something very similar himself.

She'd been blind since birth, but only recently adopted wearing a blindfold like her brother did as a sign of camaraderie and unity with him. So that he knew she was going to be there to help him through it. She finally found the handle and with a small grunt unlocked the doors, slowly tugging them open - which was not easy to do on a gravel driveway in heels! She finally felt the doors open up and there...almost immediately she could sense her twin's presence, icy calm as always and most likely lost in his own thoughts again. She breathed a small sigh of relief as she held out a hand for him, "Arinn. We've made it to our new home!" She spoke with giddy excitement, the rush of a new adventure sending little electric tingles through her body.

Oh, how she wanted to spend today running about the town, figuring out where everything is and what this new place had to offer! For real, she had been raised in Ireland all her life up until this point, but now she was here in America of all places! A literal melting pot of culture and diversity! She couldn't wait to find out what kind of people lived here, who was friendly and who wasn't, what backgrounds they all had, what hopes and dreams she'd discover and all the new friends she could make! Who knows...maybe she'd even find her special someone here too, hard to say right now but it was an enchanting thought!

She felt Arinn's hand find her own and helped him from the truck, bouncing a little on the balls of her feet as she wrapped her arms around her twin tightly, "Ah~ That's better. The connection has been re-established!" She chirped.

"You...are so weird, Mara."

Arinn's response made her smile a bit as she gently punched his shoulder, "Yeah, so are you. That's part of the whole Twin thing." She turned a little, listening to her father giving instructions to the other movers not too far away, so she lead Arinn by the hand towards their new home. Hope filling her heart and the promise of adventure lighting up her eternally dark world.

 

[Hugh Flynn]

location?
Sitting in the window sill seat of his room overlooking the street outside.
interactions?
None.
mood?
Curious.
outfit?
A blue hoodie with grey sweatpants with headphones on.
misc?
Has his Nintendo Switch in hand, game paused as he looks outside.

Ayden Jackson

Saturday. Ayden's favorite day of the week. Morning. Ayden's favorite time of the day. A blue hoodie. Ayden's favorite article of clothing. The young boy sat on a wide window seat in his room, which overlooked his neighborhood. In his hands rest a classic red and blue Nintendo Switch, its joysticks worn and frayed from rigorous hours of use. His Bose 700 headphones blasted tracks from his top playlist straight into his ears. Everything was perfect.

H̯͖͉̻̫̩̰͊̅ͤ̓͘Ę̦̰̿̎ͫS͔̭͎͉̬̱̬̅͜ͅ ̰͙͔͇͍̖̺̒̔ͮ͐͜D̷͓̜̣̤̬͆̔͂E̦̘̲͕͕͍̅́A̹̘̰̓ͩ̎̑̕ͅD̙̬̲̣̺̹͒̽͛͜​

The thought slammed into his mind space, completely destroying and replacing every thought of contentment he had. Ayden dissociated, his gaze staring blankly at the space between his hands where his Switch once was. The gadget now hung limply in his left hand, memories of the traumatic hiking incident flashing in his vision. The unfortunate event had only taken place a month prior, but it felt like it was just yesterday his world completely flipped upside down.

Ayden shook his head in an effort to physically shake away the visions before pulling his knees closer and burying his head in them. You'll be fine, Ayden. You'll be fine. He repeated the thought over and over in his head, his late friend's signature mantra. The two had shared his room for the longest time, so his friend had grown accustomed to Ayden's night terrors; he was one of the biggest contributors to finding ways to help with said night terrors.

The sound of a car pulling into the driveway snapped Ayden out of his saddening stupor. The teen's head slowly poked out from inside his knees, just enough to see the culprit of the noise. When the glints of moving vans met his eye, he fully came out of his turtle formation, the emotion of curiosity trumping his flashbacks. His interest piqued when two kids came out of the vans.

Well, it wasn't necessarily the kids that piqued his interest but rather the blindfolds they wore. His gaze followed the pair as they stepped foot into their new home, a bright beaming smile on one face and a nervous look on the other. He couldn't tell what they looked like but he could definitely tell they were teenagers.

Oh boy, we're going to have an interesting school year this year, he thought, If I can even survive it without Dylan.

you'll be fine, dan. you'll be just fine.

coded by incandescent

 

[ZenailTGN]

Bump because everyone except for hugh disappeared.

 

[Roast Beast]

It was Saturday morning and already Carson was hard at work mowing Mr. Heins' yard. Mr. Hein was an older gentleman who had lost his wife about a year ago from the flu at first Mr. Hein insisted on paying Carson for helping manage his lawn and garden but after constant refusal form Carson he gave in and simply let Carson do his work while providing him with coffee and other refreshments. As he finished with the lawn Carson decided he would check with the neighbors and see if they needed help with anything as he usually did on Saturday mornings, he assumed he would get the usual responses of very polite refusal for his help usually with some remark about how he does enough for everyone else, or how he should just go be a kid. All the same, he would ask anyway even if he was refused at least he would get some nice conversation.

Carson said his goodbyes to Mr. Hein before heading over to the Jackson residence. Just as he was about to ring the doorbell he heard some cars and a bit of commotion from behind him. " A moving truck?" Carson thought to himself delighted to see someone finally moving into the Smith house. "perfect time for a warm Avidale welcoming." he thought as he turned his attention and began walking to the house across the street.

 

[ZenailTGN]

Arin Nordes | 15 | Male | Unknown | Location: His Front Walk | Tag: Carson, Mara |

Arinn was the first to notice the sound of footsteps approaching from a few yards away and his first immediate thought was, 'Here we go.' He stopped dead in his tracks and turned his gaze towards the source of the footsteps, catching the scent of freshly cut grass even from across the street. The steps were light, but also full-weighted...definitely not an adult. Someone his age most likely. He drew in a slow breath, mentally preparing himself to find out what sort of visitor he was about to receive - knowing full well that his father was somewhere, watching this encounter.

"You there." He called out, his voice thick with his irish accent, "What can yeh be wantin' 'ere?" He started to move towards the other person with calm, calculated steps in order to make sure he kept his own blindness hidden from the other person - though, the blindfold may give it away...or just make him look like a weirdly eccentric out-of-towner. Whichever situation it ended up being, Arinn would handle it accordingly. A soft hand on his shoulder stopped him once more, and he recognized it immediately...especially the voice that accompanied it...

-------------------------------------------------

Mara Nordes | 15 | Female | Pansexual | Location: Her front walk | Tag: Carson, Arinn |

Mara could already hear the footsteps as well, though her mind was in a much friendlier place than her brother's was. While she could understand his point of view, she really couldn't let it slide. Especially not on their first day in town! No, no. This required a much friendlier face and maybe even a more charming touch if she did say so herself. Afterall, you only get the chance to make a first impression once!

"Arinn. Dearest Brother, Why must you always sound so confrontational?" She asked him, gently squeezing down on his shoulder to get his attention properly, "If we have a visitor, we mustn't be hostile. We're the new people here and we should be doing our best to make our neighbors feel comfortable with a couple of blind kids living next door to them." She tapped his nose lightly and breathed a small, almost unnoticeable sigh of relief as she felt the tension drain from him.

She often found herself wishing he'd talk about what happened all those years ago, but he was still as tight lipped about it today as he was when it all happened. Ah, well. Nothing she could do about it but be there for him whenever he was ready to open up about it all. She cast her own face towards the approaching footsteps and gave a warm, friendly wave over to the young boy - she could tell because his steps were a little on the heavier side, not the light and dainty steps of a girl - girls always put a little more emphasis on swaying their hips, which made them step lighter and a little more agile than most males.

 

[BasilOwO]

Minerva scowled at her phone screen, rereading over and over the text her parents sent her. Of course they didn’t trust her, they didn’t trust anyone. “Fucking hell.” She muttered, turning her phone off. She glanced out her window at the moving truck parked just a few houses down and frowned. New kids were always trouble, or that’s what she’d learned after beong the new kid two years ago, when her parents thought to drag her here, hoping to make a better life for them and their family. Yes that’s how her parents worked, they didn’t believe in friendships and the like and when she wanted or needed something, they told her to do it herself and that she shouldn’t be bothering them. It was bullshit the way her parents treated her, but if she thought about it, she could tell why. They wanted to protect her, but they didn’t have a clue how. Funny as it sounded, this was most likely true. Standing, she’d open her door, sliding past her parents bedroom to the door. Opening it, she’d step outside, watching the moving truck as closely as she had inside.

 

[Roast Beast]

Carson Smiled as the two teens approached him they were dressed very... different from what he was used to but everyone has their own taste so he shrugged it off THeir blindfolds gave Carson the Assumption they were blind and while he was curious about it he decided not to bring it up saying "not a first meeting kind of thing." to himself. The boy spoke first his voice thick with his Irish accent and obvious Distain maybe that's not the right word Carson thought Either way he didn't seem overly welcoming but the boy intrigued Carson none the less.

Suddenly the boy's sister stepped forward and greeted him with a warm welcoming smile and a wave hello. "Hey, I'm Carson welcome to Avidale.. Sorry I come to you all sweaty and empty-handed" Carson smiled " but I just wanted to say high and welcome you to the town if you ever need help with anything at all please let me know I am always up for helping." Carson smiled warmly as he finished. He looked around the neighborhood to see if anyone else perhaps needed help with anything quietly planning his day in his head. He saw Minerva standing outside her house Carson turned to her giving her a warm smile and a wave over.

 

[BasilOwO]

Minerva flashed him a smile, hopping down the steps. She trotted across the street, standing next to him. “Who might I ask are they?” She asked, blinking at the the blindfolded kids. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen them before.” She frowned, fingers twitching against her legs.

She looked behind her at her quiet house, sighing. Of course her parents were hiding away in their studies, planning their next course of action. She shook her head, turning back to the other three. “If you two are new, well then welcome to Avidale.”

 

[ZenailTGN]

Arinn Nordes | 15 | male | location: front yard | tag: Carson, Minerva |

A second choice just to his left made his heart skip a beat and he turned his face towards the incoming sounds of much lighter footsteps. Female. He unconsciously scowled a bit to himself, planting a hand on his hips before letting out a soft, exhausted sigh, "Mara... You handle all this. I've been in the back of a moving truck all day and I'm going to go sit down before father decides it's time for another chat." he grumbled to himself, giving a small, dismissive wave of his hand and starting to walk away... Only to have Mara place a hand on his shoulder again and correct his path.

"The house is that way, Arinn... About thirty steps."

His cheeks flushed with color and he let out a small groan, "Righ' yeh are. Just dun be takin too long, we've got unpackin' ta be done."

And with that he let himself disappear into his new home.

_______________________


Mara Nordes | 15 | Female | location: Front Walk | Tags: Carson, Minerva |

Mara soon found herself alone with the two strangers and placed a hand over her own chest, "Well, thank you for the greeting, Carson.. Was it? It's going to be a big change from what my brother and I were raised with, that's for sure. But, I hope we can become friends!" she replied warmly, and her ears perked up as Minerva spoke next.

"I'm Mara, my not so friendly twin is Arinn and yes, we're both very new to the United States in general. Never been out of Ireland before this!" she chuckled and introduced herself, "We'll be attending school here come the new semester, so it would be nice if we all could get along with each other."

she paused for a moment or two before shifting her face between her two guests, "And, just so I can address the elephant in the room, yes. We're both blind. I was born this way, and my brother had an... Incident... A few years back. But, we're both very capable of getting around and handling most anything despite not being able to see."

 

[Roast Beast]

Carson was a bit taken back when Mara so bluntly and openly talked about hers and her brothers blindness without anyone even asking about it. “Well You two certainly look very capable wouldn’t dream of assuming your not. Trust me.” Carson spoke with a warm playful tone. “And im sure your brother will come around...or he wont either way plenty of great people in this town he bound to take a liking to somebody.” He continued dragging more to the playful side of his voice as he went on. Now knowing they were definitely from Ireland Carsons mind wandered to what it must be like to come to the US for the first time after living somewhere as different but cool as Ireland your whole life. Carson was fascinated with most European and Scandinavian cultures and was excited to in time learn as much as he could from these two.

“Well i have my rounds around the neighborhood to make sure nobody needs any help today.” Carson said with a smile he wasn’t leaving just yet. Carson almost never left a conversation when he says he would it usually end up being another five to ten minutes before he would finally actually get around to heading out .