Cruising (Open)

[Aurelian Kinzoku]

A sweat beaded down his lightly tanned face as he gazed at the counter top in front of him. This monstrous thing shouldn't have existed and yet there it was... staring back at him and mocking him to his face. It taunted him... saying there would be no way he could defeat it. The regret was flooding every nerve of his being, palms were sweating as his hand slowly reached out to get a grip on the hot abomination. His bright golden eyes were transfixed on its horror... on it's glory... and yet still so unnerved was he that he slightly forgotten that he was still standing in line. "Did we get your order right?" The girl from behind the counter looked slightly worried as Aurelian quickly looked to her... and then back down at his drink order.

"Triple mocha chocolate cappuccino with two shots of espresso, extra large and whip cream." He repeated it and looked at her and sucked in a deep breath. "If this doesn't get me through the rest of the day then nothing will." he chuckled as he turned with the large drink in hand. Indeed he still had a teacher meeting to go to that night which meant the boring part of his job. Listening to teachers complain about students, complain about supplies, complain about every little thing! So he took a drink of his coffee and sighed happily as the warm liquid calmed him... and left a tad bit of whipped cream on his nose.

He wiped it away before taking a seat at one of the many tables in the food court, watching people was his favorite past time especially sipping on a hot coffee. Sitting there dressed in a pair of dark brown slacks with a with a white button down shirt... he felt at ease. He had removed his tie hours earlier... not wanting to have it on while having a little time to himself. His golden blond hair was a little messy as always, but the locks were never good at being tamed so he had given up on them. A quick glance to his simple watch on his left hand told him he had another hour and a half before the meeting. More than enough time to conquer his foe in his right hand.

[Apollodorus Damascus]

Apollordorus was walking down the walkway of the Sunset Hall, having an amazing morning. He went shopping, got some new clothes, new soldering kit and mini motherboards for his robots and come plastic casings. He was enjoying a great day so far but the one thing he couldn't go without was a cup of coffee. He spotted a nice little place, people coming and going, fairly busy place. "Shouldn't be to bad" he thought to himself. He is have a great day, nothing can go wrong. He walked into the shop and saw there were only a few people in line, he plucked out one of his earbuds and looked at the cute cashier, he thought to himself, "why not, I might just be lucky enough." He got his order of an iced coffee, got turned down but wasn't discourage and took a seat putting his bags on the table in front of him.

He spotted a disheveled looking man in one of the chairs across from him staring intently at his coffee. Kinzoku must have had a rough night he assumed, either that or really isn't a morning person. I could never really tell with him though, he always seemed a bit weird to Apollodorus but that's what made him unique in our type of world. He figured he would go say hello, so he got up from his seat and carried his stuff over to his Principals table. "Have a bad night, old man?" He snickered lightly as he slid to the seat across from the "Old Man".

This old man wasn't really that old at all, well just by looking at him at least. It was always rude to ask about an age for anyone but Apo was a young man so anyone older than him was classified as old but he knew that his Principal could take a joke, even from him...He hoped anyways.

[Aurelian Kinzoku]

Aurelian's mind was up in the clouds, trying to remember if he had forgotten about anything he was supposed to bring to the meeting or any issues he would need to discuss with the teachers. His golden eyes shot up to the young man who flopped down in front of him. He knew must have been spacing out since he hadn't even heard him coming but then he really hadn't been paying attention. He smiled and sat up a bit with a nod, seeming to be in an easy going mood despite the very large, hot, caffeinated drink in his hand. He settled it onto the table, the warmth was making his hand a little too warm.

"Have a rough evening to come, actually. Teacher meeting so I can hear all the things I still have yet to fix or the new problems that will soon be added to the things I need to fix." he chuckled softly and gave a small shake of his head as tried not to think about it too hard. The teachers always had something to say to him... the females were sometimes like pestering hens but it was true that the building was starting to become old in some places. He would need to rebuild some parts soon just for zoning laws. But he pushed the thoughts aside and looked at the young man in front of him.

"Out getting new parts for your bots? You know... I had two sodas and a water the other day missing from fridge. You wouldn't happen to know anything about that... now would you?" he grinned a bit, teasing the boy since he damn well knew Apollodrous had taken the drinks. They weren't at school though, so his demeanor was anything but strict.

[Apollodorus Damascus]

Apollodorus smiled happily, "Well, you know me Aurelian. I do enjoy my liquids. At least I shared the water with that girl..." He tried to think of the name with the Deep Magenta colored eyes. "...Lien? I think it was. She looked like she didn't want to be there and knowing how you can be," he pointed to his principal, "You can drag anything out till someone dies from boredom." He rolled his eyes and took a sip of his iced coffee, enjoying the cold sweet bitter taste rolling down his throat. "I figured I would keep her company, for fun of course."

"Yes sir, I am working on a new project. My Apolytes are slowly getting better and better, sooner or later, I might make a child size robot." The is dawned on him. And he smiled happily, "Heeeeey, it can be like your little man servant. They can take a beating, strong as an ox and controlled by you and I can install a queue system to do your bidding when you are too tired." He started listing off the positive qualities of his bots.

Apo would be getting his hopes up but he liked his pain in the ass Principal. Being without a father figure in his life, Apo enjoyed the company of this man and couldn't help but thinking about assisting him.

[Aurelian Kinzoku]

Aurelian chuckled at Apo, shaking his head but lifted the drink that now had melted whipped cream and stirred it in slowly. "Lien's an interesting young girl but I'd stay away from her if I were you. She's... got some issues. But she had the wait coming for her. I swear she gets into trouble just to ditch PE." he sighed a bit. Aurelian was a father figure to many of the children at the school. He hadn't had his father for very long and so many of the students at Kumorai came from such troubled backgrounds that he really extended his heart to all of them. Lien was a troubled case... she didn't close to anyone it seemed.

"That's really great that your bots are coming along so wonderfully, Apo. If my sister comes into town I'll shoot her your way. She's a technopath and just finishing up college from the last letter she wrote to me. I, however, do not need a little man servant. I like taking care of my own business and... tech has never really been my thing. Unless it's one of those great massage chairs. Now those I could spend hours with." he chuckled again before taking a slow drink of the hot coffee. The warmth filled him and he sat back in his chair again to relax.

"And how have you been doing in your classes lately? I hope you're staying out of trouble as well." he smiled brightly, he had high hopes for Apo since the young man seemed so dedicated and interested in things beyond using his abilities.

[Apollodorus Damascus]

"Really? Your sister is good with tech? I'll have to request her assistance on some projects that I am running into trouble with." He brightened with anticipation, knowing someone that can help him further is knowledge is technology is great. He has always enjoyed technology and what new things are out there. "If there's a way I could meet with her, I'd do it." He thought about his wordage and blushed lightly hoping his Principal wouldn't take that the wrong way.

He leaned back in his chair heavier than normal at the mentioning of his classes. "Classes have been fine but its English that I am having a problem with." He sighed and sipped his drink. "I understand the words and the meanings but its the punctuation that's hanging me up." He stopped and smiled brightly, "Things would be perfect if it was coding instead of punctuation."

He cased his eyes downwards at the thought of the girl, scrunching his eyebrows in remembrance. "Lien did seem like she has had something wrong with her but I couldn't put my finger on it." He thought about the Magenta eyed girl. She seemed nice but there was something weighing her down but since he was there on another mission he really didn't think to much about her. "Its probably not something that you can say but would you mind if I asked what happened to her?"

[Aurelian Kinzoku]

"Copper is out of state at college right now. She'll probably be here in the winter since this is her last semester." he assured him and thought about his younger sister. She was a bit... eccentric... but Aurelian wasn't going to give the young man any warning. It would be interesting to see how things played out. She used to be so wild... he could remember her running around with all sorts of gadgets and getting into everything. She took apart everything at the house to see how it would work and far more times then he could count she had given him a heart attack with her schemes and playing. It all seemed like so long ago now though.

Aurelian put his attention back to Apollodrus and smirked. "If you need any tutoring just let me know. I can probably get one of the honors students to help you." he offered and thought about his adopted daughter, she was in honors English but he wasn't sure about her having any free time at the moment. Her current obsession seemed to take up every minute when she wasn't at one of her school meetings or in class. He had even caught her several times working on things while she was supposed to be eating lunch.

"I can't really speak about Lien's troubles. That is confidential." he gave a shrug but it was how he was. It was also why the students would come to him so easily. They all knew Aurelian kept secrets tighter than any locked box. "Let's just say that she's not at the part in her life where she's ready to be close to people." he sighed a bit, gazing at Apo. "But I am glad to see that you have been trying to get close to girls." he teased softly. "Some of the members of the student council have been pestering me to let them throw a winter ball. We used to have one a long time ago people stopped going. You think kids would still be interested in balls again now?"

[Apollodorus Damascus]

He blushed slightly from the mans suggestion of Apo getting close to girls and nodded in regards to Lien and her situation. "I understand, say no more. We all have our secrets and they are as such." He spoke as if he was some rich professor.

He was deep in thought about the winter dance and he brightened considerably, "I think, this is just speculation of course, but I think that if we can get some of our Elementals from the school, we can manage something quite interesting." But we would need some place big to hold the festivities.

"Would you object with me speaking with the student council about this?" He would have to arrange somethings with them and also see if there were a few weather manipulators willing to help out. Then he started thinking about the football field as the place to set up. There was still quite a bit of time before any of this needs to be officially started but its best to get the information out first.

He got lost in thought and snapped back to reality with a wide smile, "Sorry about that, you know how I like to space out. I was just thinking ahead." He laughed boisterously while scratching his head.

[Aurelian Kinzoku]

It was almost adorable when the students tried to act all smart and deep... it reminded Aurelian so much of himself when he was younger and thought he was a deep soul. Oh if only that soul had known how much pain and true anguish he would see. But he shook those thoughts away and focused on the happy moment he was in right here and now. "Well it already snows here in the winter but with the right elementals I'm sure we really could make it a beautiful Winter Ball. Too bad it would also be freezing if we did that so I think it would be better if we went with more artificial decorations. If you want to talk to the council go ahead... my daughter is on the committee." he rubbed his chin a bit, thinking about it all and drew a breath. "And it would have to be safe for the insurance, Apo... we couldn't really make a giant ice castle if that is what you were thinking of." he chuckled a bit.

"We'd have to use one of the buildings and make sure there was a safe place for food, enough chaperons, and a big enough budget. I could probably get a budget together for it this weekend. It would be a great thing to bring up at my meeting with the teachers tonight. Perhaps if they go for it this might be such a bad idea." He picked up his now warm coffee and took a long drink of it. He didn't want to risk it going cold with how expensive these things were here.

[Apollodorus Damascus]

Apollodorus shook his head and started to laugh, "Good idea but no, I was thinking more low-key. We get the ice and water elementals to make an ice rink over the football field. We get some fire elementals to design some ice sculptures from large chucks of ice. Flowers and all that. More planning and ideas are in the process but I'm sure that it is doable."

He sobered and got fairly serious, "It will also get the students involved in something other than just school. If you give them some time after school or during there study halls they wouldn't be so stressed out." He sighed thinking about how students can be, "It might even gets those who are anti-social or those who are just plan bored doing something. Better than sitting around on computers or watching television all afternoon."

"Well, there you go." He said in turn. "I would think they would like the opportunity to assist in the festivities." He took a larger sip of his iced coffee and savored it.

[Aurelian Kinzoku]

Aurelian sat back and sipped on his warm coffee as he contemplated what Damien said and then drew a breath. "Giant ice sculptures wouldn't be safe either. And we'd have to make sure the ice users continue to pass by and freeze them again when they start to get a little melty. We couldn't have anyone slipping. Same with making an ice rink... it wouldn't be safe. And... i really don't want to have to re sodder the entire field's grass. Even with the plant manipulator's help that seeding really isn't cheap." he pointed out and rolled the cup slowly in his hands as he thought about but then drew a breath and pulled out his cell phone and a pen.

"Here is my daughter's number. Don't get any funny ideas because I'm not condoning any of those. She's the student council public relations director so she could probably come up with ideas with you." he wrote it down on the napkin before pushing it over to Apo and gave him a very serious look now. "She is my daughter... no funny business you got me?" This was no longer the teacher or the friend speaking, but a father. But then again Aurelian was barely in his early thirties and still a spry young man. His daughter must have been young still. He released the napkin and sat back in his hair as he looked at the time again but he still had plenty.

"You will address her by Canary and be respectful. She's a good girl with a very level head on her shoulders. She's actually the one really bugging me for this ball. She's gotten into her head that she can make it an even bigger event then prom. I don't want her to be disappointed if it doesn't turn out to be." he sighed softly as his eyes got the worried look he got from time to time when talking to many of the students.

[Apollodorus Damascus]

Apollodorus looked shocked, he may be a growing boy but he knows not to mess with a woman, especially his Principals daughter, "Got me sweating Mr. K but you know I am not the one for that type of thing and she WILL be respected. If we can help each other out then its mutual gain, right?" He grabbed the napkin and put it in his pocket taking care not to tear it.

He thought a bit about the ice rink set up, "I may not be the nature guy but what it I was able to place and remove the ice myself, takes a bit of energy but with enough practice it is manageable but do you think it would still damage the grass underneath?" He rolled it through is mind for sometime, taking the occasional sip of his coffee.

[Aurelian Kinzoku]

Somehow the words "mutual gain" and the idea of his daughter with Apo didn't settle Aurelian's stomach in the least. He supposed he should trust them though as Canary certainly wasn't the type to do things against his wishes... he had been raising her really well these past few years even if he was basically a single father. he shook the thoughts from his mind to refocus on what the young man was talking about. Party plan, ice, the grass... not his little girl.

"No actually after one night of having freezing ice and hundreds of students on top of said ice making the ice press down even harder... I'm not really sure how the grass would be doing. But I do know it's not cheap grass so let's keep it somewhere else. Maybe if you guys help raise some money for the dance you can rent a nice hall. If nothing else you can use the school gym. It has a lot of room." he pointed out as he started to finish off his coffee, really starting to feel the espresso kicking in.

[Apollodorus Damascus]

Apo nodded dejectedly but he knew there had to be another way around this without ruining something. Maybe talking with this Canary girl will clear some things up. "I suppose you are correct, we could plan something out. Make money and such. I can talk with the student council about that." A lot of talking and thinking and planning is going to be needed for this set up. He's trying to psych himself up so he can think about more possibilities.

He stood up and spotted a few cookies in one of the bins on the counter, he bought 2 chocolate chip cookies and handed one to the Principal. "Well, I should be head back to the dorm. I have my own projects I need to get done." He smiled, patted Aurelian on the back, threw away his empty container and made his way out the shop to become one with the crowd.

[Aurelian Kinzoku]

Aurelian nodded a bit. "Well it's a good thing you have a few months till winter break. Canary wanted to hold it right before the break as also a sort of celebration that finals are over and such." he pointed out and watched as Apo went and bought some cookies before bringing one to Aurelian. He gave a sort of "cheers" to the young man with his cookie before taking a content bite. "See you around school." he waved to him and then after finishing his cookie and the coffee, he went and ordered a regular hot coffee for himself before he too headed back to school. He figured if he got to his office early he could start to budget something out.