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Post by ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH on Sept 4, 2011 21:03:42 GMT -5
As he was only in Maple Hollow for half of the summer, seeing as he was rooming in a hotel and had to go back to his family in Vancouver for the last half, Ashton wanted to make the most of it. He hadn't spent a lot of time exploring the Hollow despite having gone to school here since the ninth grade--he'd mostly just stayed at the Academy and found his fun by hanging out at the lake or in the gardens. Maple Hollow was a lot bigger than he'd originally thought. It turned out that some just called it a town out of habit--it was actually more of a city, with more rural homes on the outskirts or in the upperclass part of the neighbourhood where the homes were pricey but secluded. He thought about dropping in to visit one of his friends but decided against it considering whilst he knew where a lot of them lived, he wasn't exactly sure that they would be home or up for hanging out. Maybe they were busy with their love interests or other friends or relatives or something. Not wanting to be a burden to anyone, Ashton decided that he would just hang out on his own for now.
A trip to the carnival proved to be interesting. There were a couple of people having a sort of break dancing competition in the parking lot and he stood back a bit to watch before heading further in. There were also several vendors parked haphazardly around the place. Cotton candy, ice cream, hot dogs and hamburgers were only some of the things that they had for sale. He bought himself a hamburger and a large soft drink but skipped out on the temptation of dessert. He didn't have much money, seeing as most of it was going to the cost of the hotel. To make up for most of his living expenses Ashton had gotten a part time job at the local fair. His parents were proud of him for finally starting to gain some independence but Cameron still wasn't too pleased. He was thinking of asking his parents to drive up and take his little brother to the fair to cheer him up a little. He'd have done so himself, but Ashton didn't own a car. He was staying at a hotel that was practically on site, only about a block away from the place itself. A lot of tourists showed up there during the summer.
He had to work in another hour or so, but until then Ashton had some time of his own. Going on rides wasn't quite as fun when you were alone but seeing as he worked here he had a free pass for all of them. The games were not as such and though some of them looked quite fun and tempting Ashton knew better than to try his luck and spend all of his money. Instead, he sat down on one of the benches and placed his soft drink beside him, taking a large bite of the burger. It was a rather hot day in July and he was glad for the frigid cola, though glancing at the lemonade stand there was a part of him that wished he'd waited so that he could get some of their cherry lemonade. No, I can't spend too much, he scolded himself.
[ASDFGHJ short, sorry >.<]
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Post by lucinda on Sept 4, 2011 23:01:40 GMT -5
During the summer when her peers from the academy went back home to visit their families, Lucinda was forced to stay in the Maple Hollow area. Truth be told, she didn't really mind. Over the summer she was able to live with her mother in the manor they had inherited from Lucinda's grandparents after they were murdered by the human government. The only thing she disliked about staying in Maple Hollow for the summer was the fact that she had to be a part from a good amount of her friends. Her friends meant the world to Lucinda, she knew that she would miss them over the course of the time that they were gone.
With a bunch of her friends out of the picture over the break, Lucinda was forced to spend time with her mother or by herself. It wasn't as if Lucinda didn't want to spend time with her mother (in fact she cherished those moments), Lucinda was just more of an outside girl and didn't like being cooped up in the manor for too long (no matter how luxurious it was). So she headed out on an adventure, that offered her plenty of fresh air and the freedom that she desired.
Lucinda was usually a social person, but tended to enjoy alone time as well. She didn't need alone time for long, enough time to reflect on her own thoughts was all she needed most of the time. What she also enjoyed was people watching. It may have been a little odd, but if you gave her a large crowd of people to look at, she would have been happy. She was a very curious girl and was very observant. She liked to observe the different ways people acted in public and imagine up different stories for them.
Today Lucinda found her way to the carnival, thinking that some good old fashioned fun would do her good. She wore a pair of denim high waist shorts and a black and white striped shirt that was tucked in loosely. To accessorize, she wore a red pair of converses, a pair of sunglasses and a small black satchel bag that held her money and the other necessities. It was all about comfort for her today. Lucinda had avoided the rides at the carnival for now, but was fairly successful in all the side games that involved water. On a side game that involved shooting water into a clowns mouth, Lucinda had won herself a giant teddy bear (much to the game attendant's annoyance, as he seemed to believe his game was impossible to beat). Her gift of controlling the water element may have played a part in her success, but she knew when to tone it down, merely making it seem like she had gotten lucky with winning a prize.
After purchasing herself a cotton candy on a stick, Lucinda began strolling through the carnival, taking in her surroundings as the sun shone down, nibbling on her treat happily. She wondered if her best friend Ashton was working today. She knew that he was staying in Maple Hollow for half the summer, much to Lucinda's delight. They didn't get to hang out all the time because obviously Ashton had to work, while she helped her mother at the local art gallery where her mother now worked as the curator, but she was glad to have her friend near by for some of the summer.
Speak of the devil. Lucinda's face lit up when she spotted her Ashton himself sitting on a bench. She immediately halted in her tracks and strolled over happily as she playfully scooted next to him (setting her giant teddy bear on the seat next to her). "Hello stranger." She said with a grin. "Are you avoiding working today?" She added, in a mock scolding tone as she wiggled her finger in a disapproving manner, all based on humor of course. She guessed that Ashton was on a break or something.
((OOC: It's all good xD))
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Post by ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH on Sept 4, 2011 23:22:41 GMT -5
Ashton was sipping quite contentedly on his drink when someone spoke to him and snapped him out of his stupor, making him jump slightly and choke a little on the drink. After recovering with slight tears in his ears from the force of the coughing fit he nevertheless gave a broad grin to the one who was cause for the disruption. It was always nice to see a familiar face at the carnival. A few of the students from the Academy lived in the Hollow so he recognised some people. He supposed it was convenience, really, living near where you went to school. He didn't mind being forced to travel home to Vancouver every summer. It was nice to have a change. "Lucy," he returned, drawing out the 'y' in her name to express his good cheer at being able to see her again.
Pretending to act shifty, Ashton looked around for a boss that probably wasn't anywhere near this part of the carnival as if worried that he was going to get into some sort of trouble. "Shh," he cautioned as if frantic, pressing a finger to his lips. Laughing, he broke his careful façade as he shook his head. "It's break time for me." He held up his drink in the same way one might if they were intending to make a toast, but Ashton was just indicating the fact that he was using said break time to get in a quick drink and a bite to eat. He wasn't and had never really been someone that would have the confidence to intentionally shirk his duties on the job. Sure, he'd skipped classes a few times but certainly not as much as your average high school student. He was always concerned that he was going to get caught and into trouble. Not only that, but being hired for a job meant your employer was trusting you. The idea of breaking something like trust was uncomfortable to him.
Spotting the teddy bear, Ashton shot his best friend a lazy sort of grin. "Where'd you win that?" he inquired. He was familiar with a lot of the games but not so much with their prizes. If he caught himself staring for too long at one of the booths, the desire to spend his money became almost maddening. A lot of the wealthier kids or people with their parents' funds to spend would have a field day with the games, but Ash was much more responsible than that--or at least he kept telling himself that he had to be in order to combat temptation. "Are you here alone?" He knew that some came with their boyfriends and others with their actual friends, but since he was here alone he supposed there were solitary folk as well that just came to enjoy the holidays. He wondered if Asha had been yet and then tried to push the thought from his mind. He hadn't spoke to her in quite a while and didn't have the guts to stalk her down and demand why she wasn't talking to him. It had been silly to think there was anything between them.
Even though he was all ready and willing to return home as soon as his two-week 'vacation' was up, Ashton was still going to miss being close to the few friends he had that lived in the Hollow. He had a couple of people he knew back in Vancouver but his childhood friends had grown apart from him when he had started attending the Academy. He supposed he could see why they didn't find him as worthy of a friendship any more. He was away at school most of the time. Still, there were a few that would talk if he said hello. That was better than nothing. He wondered how the summer holidays were treating his friend and, with nothing better to do, decided that he would ask. "So how have you been, Lucinda? Summer treating you well?"
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Post by lucinda on Sept 8, 2011 20:10:45 GMT -5
A sheepish, but amused smile fell upon Lucinda's face as Ashton greeted her after he nearly coughed up his drink. "Sorry about that Ashy." Lucinda replied, playfully matching Ashton's tone by drawing out the 'Y' in his nickname. It was amazing how the simple presence of one of Lucinda's closest friends could amp up her mood, even when she was already in a good mood in the first place. Friendship was something that Lucinda valued greatly. If you proved to her that you were a loyal friend who could be trusted and respected, she'd easily offer you the same treatment as she was very much a 'treat others how you would like to be treated' kind of girl...unless of course, you had gone out of your way to make an enemy out of her.
She was absolutely delighted when Ashton matched her playfulness, which added to the entertainment that Lucinda was now experiencing. "Ah and here I was thinking you were slacking off." Lucinda replied with an amused grin. "Well, you can spend some good old time with your best friend for the rest of your break. Lucky you." She added, nudging Ashton lightly, her grin still intact. It was an amusing thought to think of Ashton slacking off. Never had Lucinda seen Ashton slack off more than missing the odd class here or there. When he had a job to do, he did it, which was why Lucinda was able to trust him so quickly when they first met. It was why she continued to trust him now.
Lucinda glanced over to the giant teddy bear that sat next to her on the bench as Ashton inquired about it. "Oh, I won it on that game where you have to shoot the water into the clowns mouth...I may have had a slight advantage." Lucinda replied with mock innocence, before she put on a sly smirk, reinforcing the idea that she had used her ability to control water to win a decent prize at the side game. She wasn't stupid, she knew when she should and shouldn't use her gift around non-elementals (as well as the extent of which she could use wield it). However, that was her idea as to when she should and shouldn't use her gift. Her teachers at the academy would have said that using her gift at all among the non-elementals was a risk, but the impulsive side of Lucinda's personality urged her to be a little bit rebellious every now and then.
"Nah, I have my army of body guards stalking you right now." She joked, amusement glinting in her eyes. "I'm alone." She confirmed with a nod, wishing that her time with Ashton wasn't limited to his break. However, she would make sure that the two of them would catch up before Ashton took off to Vancouver for the rest of his break before the next semester began. She knew that she would miss him, but also knew that they would be going back to school soon. Lucinda was actually excited to return to the academy. Not so much for the classes that she didn't enjoy (such as science and math), but she was eager to begin training once again. She needed that knowledge to continue teaching her about her gift. She had come a long way since first arriving at the academy, but was aware of the fact that there was still so much that she needed to learn.
"Summer has been treating me fairly well, but I'm actually keen to get back to the academy." Lucinda replied with a mock gasp as she expressed the idea of actually wanting to go back to school. "I miss being myself so openly." Lucinda added, more seriously now, knowing that Ashton would translate what she said into 'I miss using my powers without having to worry about a non-elemental witnessing it'. The elementals had to be careful with how much they said about their world when among the non-elementals. "And you, my friend?" She asked with a smile.
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Post by ASHTON CAMDEN RALEIGH on Sept 8, 2011 21:16:00 GMT -5
Ashton grinned slightly. "Lucky me, indeed," he agreed. He was being genuine about this--spending time with his friends was always a good thing in his opinion. He had a lot of friends seeing as he was such an open and social guy by nature. However, having a lot of friends meant nothing if you never hung around them. "Here I was, thinking that I would have to spend my break all alone," he said dramatically, fluttering a hand over his heart as if this affected him deeply. "Then you came along and saved the day!" Laughing at how silly he was being, Ashton returned the nudge with his bright green eyes sparkling. This was a pretty fine start to his break, really. He didn't mind working but if it was a choice between operating rides and hanging out with Lucinda there wasn't even any contest toward which activity he'd prefer. Work was work. It wasn't as fun as friendships.
He immediately understood what Lucy meant by having an advantage but Ashton didn't bother scolding her about it or acting like it was some sort of sin. He was sure that if there were ever a time to use his powers in his favour and get away with it that he wouldn't hesitate to do just that. Ashton might have avoided doing things that were too rebellious but that didn't mean he was perfect. He broke rules sometimes and he pushed boundaries when he thought he could get away with it. On top of this, Asha had been bringing out his more adventurous side. Unfortunately it didn't seem like he and Asha were dating after all--seeing as she'd been going out of her way to ignore him. "My lips are sealed," he promised with a grin. "The guy--or girl?--didn't suspect anything, right?" He was just worried that his friend might get herself into trouble, not that it was wrong. Ashton had priorities. Friends before rules any day.
He also picked up on what she meant by 'being herself'. "Yeah, it sucks," he agreed with a wistful sigh. Sometimes he wished that they could just do whatever they wanted with their powers. However, he also understood the consequences of what would happen if they did. The government would step in and--no, he didn't want to think about what would happen then. Even the thought made him want to shudder. "My parents know who I am so I can be myself in the house, but outside of it..." He trailed off with a half-hearted shrug. It was clear that he was implying he was shit out of luck everywhere else. He was sure that there were at least a few other elementals in the large city of Vancouver but as no one went about parading it there was no real way to understand who was who. He wondered if Lucinda felt the same way. There were a lot of elementals in the Hollow--probably because it was so close to the Academy--but again, they didn't make a big deal out of their powers. There were humans here, too.
When asked about his summer, Ashton gave a pause to think about that question. "It's been pretty good," he replied, always the cheerful optimist. He couldn't really say that something was bad unless it was terrible and by all standards this summer had been great so far. "I miss my family a lot but I know I'll be seeing them soon enough." He wished that he could introduce Lucinda to his parents and his little brother so that she could see how great his family were but the distance between their homes was far too much for that kind of thing. He didn't have many friends back home that he could invite over for dinner or anything. "Having money of my own has been nice, even if I do have to work for it," he mused. It gave him a sense of accomplishment to know that he earned the cash in his wallet rather than just taking it from his parents. "Since you really like the Academy, are you staying for college?" he asked curiously. His parents wanted him to come home after he finished high school but Ashton was slightly more keen on staying. He'd cross that bridge when he got there, he supposed.
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