So that's it?

[Addison Micklesen]

A

[/color]ddison made her way to her dorm room, dragging her bags along with her as she stuck her cellphone between her shoulder and ear so that she didn't have to hold it - not that she was paying much attention to what was being said anyway. She rolled her eyes and sighed as she listened to her mother rambling on the line, paying just enough attention so that she could say what was expected to say when it was expected to be said, and then her mother would go off again. When she arrived in front of the door which held the number '217', she reached into her jeans' pocket and took out a small piece of paper on which she had written her dorm room number. It was the same. "Mom, hold on I just got to my dorm and I have to get the key from my purse," she said, tempted to hang up on her and say she had accidentally closed it, but she knew it was no use when her mother would call her back in... oh, about five seconds.

S[/color]he set the cellphone down on the floor as she knelt down, searching through her purse to find the tiny key they had given her at the reception. It was the kind of key just small enough to make he lose her habit of holding stuff in her mouth when she has no more place in her hands (she mainly did that with pencils and paint brushes) - with her luck, she'd end up swallowing it. "Ha!" she said triumphantly when she finally found it, taking it out of her purse and unlocking the door before stuffing it in her pocket and taking her cellphone off the floor, putting her back to her ear. "Okay mom now I'm gonna have to go unpack so... what?" she asked, hoping she'd heard her wrong. "Come on mom please tell me you won't do this all year long... I really don't need you calling me everyday, I'm gonna be busy enough as it is with homework," she tried that argument, munching on her nails as she waited for an answer. "I... no... mom... oh alright, whatever, I'll talk to you tomorrow," she muttered, hanging up and turning her phone off before her mother could call her back to tell her not to be rude. Which she was very likely to do.

S[/color]he put her cellphone away in her purse and entered the small room which she'd have to share with some random girl; she hadn't checked the name written next to hers on the list though she'd noticed it was a freshman - just great. She didn't usually mind sharing her room with a stranger, as long as the girl wasn't too annoying and minded her own business. As she pushed the door open, she looked around with a light frown, wondering if they were allowed to decorate - it was worse than the room she'd gotten the previous year, that one at least had color. The furniture was very plain, though the beds did look rather comfortable, but the room wasn't all that big. It was actually pretty small to be shared by two, smaller than the one from last year. She'd heard they'd done renovations during the summer to fit in more dorm rooms, but she hadn't realize it'd mean she'd get stuck in a tiny space. There were two desks, one drawer, a closet and two beds along with two bedside tables. There was also an armchair by a window, in a corner of the room. Overall, it was pretty much like her own bedroom, only a bit bigger with two beds and desks instead of one. The furniture was all made of wood - the cheap kind, she noticed - and it was painted white, just like the walls, the curtains and the ceiling. She shrugged lightly and made her way to one of the beds, putting her stuff down on it - she'd have to do a bit of painting. She knew it was allowed, the only downside is she'd have to put it back to white at the end of the year. Maybe she could manage with just a few colorful items here and there...[/size][/font][/blockquote][/blockquote][/center]

[Mandy Steele]

Mandy headed down the hallway, carrying all her bags with her. Well actually, she was only carrying one, she had two roll along suit cases with her also. Both of them were simply beige colored, as was the bag she was carrying. She'd decided it would be best to be senseable when coming there after all it was bound to be a serious place. But she was excited. Very excited actually. She had been waiting all summer for the day that she could come to school and it'd finally arrived. Of course her mother and father were both worried sick about her and she'd promised to call once she got situated in her dorm room. She watched the numbers as she kept walking down the hall, stopping in front of room 217. Which was her room, she'd been told. Well... her room and someone else's room anyway. They hadn't talked about the girl she'd be rooming with, only mentioned that she'd have a roommate. She'd assumed that it would probably be another freshmen. Maybe someone she'd even end up being friends with. Which was something that she needed here at a new school away from all her old friends. And besides that she just loved meeting new people. So it was a good chance to get to do so.

She reached into her pocket and pulled out the small bracelet which she'd already attached her key to. So that she wouldn't loose it, plus it would just be a lot simpler for her to have it on her bracelet, she couldn't ever forget it either if she always wore it. She didn't know if she'd actually need to use her key, as her roommate might already be there, but it was better to just use it anyway. She put the key into the lock and turned it, before walking into the room. She smiled as she looked around. It wasn't that big of a space but she thought it was pretty good. After all it was where she'd be spending her time for the up and coming year. The room itself wasn't all too colorful. White, but that wasn't a big deal for her. She liked white, after all that was the color of her room at home. She'd never really wanted to paint it, there weren't very many colors she liked well enough that she could look at ever single day, when she woke up and before she went to bed. So she figured that white was probably best to stick with, it had a nice feeling of comfort that came with it. She walked over to the bed that Addie wasn't occupying and set her things down next to it.

Then turned to look over at Addie. She definitely wasn't a freshmen maybe a junior or sophomore. But that was alright, it wouldn't do any harm to room with an older girl. Though the only problems she could see is that the girl might not exactly be the type of person that she'd want to be around. However, she'd just have to work past any issues that she'd come along. After all she'd spent a lot of time that summer preparing for that possibility of having to work with or even live with someone who she didn't exactly approve of. Maybe she could even be a good influence on the girl. That was a good possibility. She smiled at Addison for a minute, getting up and walking over to her. "Hello," she said cheerfully. "You must be Addison! So I guess we're gonna be roomies huh?" She offered a hand out to the girl. "I'm a freshmen and you're a Junior right? Maybe a sophomore?" she quickly changed subjects without giving her a chance to even respond to her first saying.

[Addison Micklesen]

A

[/color]ddison was already busy taking her clothes out of her bags, placing them in the closet that was on her side of the room and in the drawers of her desk. She was really getting depressed with the lack of color and vitality in this room, and she was already making plans mentally of what she could do to change it. She was decided to change at least her side of the room even if her roommate wasn't too happy about it - if she didn't touch her side of the room, she didn't have anything to complain about, did she? She'd have to talk to one of her friends to plan a shopping trip at the Curious Sofa - she'd been working this summer and finally had some money to spend on furniture. Maybe she could buy a few see-through drapes to hang on the walls to bring some color inside without having to paint on the walls. Then, she'd probably get a new quilt and bed linens, along with pillows and a few cushions. She'd just have to decide which colors to use, but when going there she would probably see something she liked that would fit well. Then maybe a small round carpet to put beside her bed, and she wanted some candles too. She was still making the list in her head, looking around for a pen and paper to write it down before she forgot, when the door opened.

S[/color]he turned to look at the girl and forced herself not to frown or groan. The girl was definitely younger - probably a freshman. She didn't really have anything against freshman, but she'd rather have stayed with someone a bit older. She usually got along better with people who were older than her, but she guessed she could make an effort. After all, the year would be very long if she didn't get along well with her roomie. Something about the way she looked, however, bothered her slightly. Not her looks itself, more like the way she held herself, the way she dressed... she didn't want to judge without knowing, she hated people who did that, but she had a bad feeling about that, and her bad feelings were usually right. This girl seemed stuck up and as though she considered herself to be better than what she really was. She then ordered herself mentally to stop thinking things like that. But as she started talking, the cringe was harder to supress. Great, a hyper chatterbox. Things were just getting better and better, weren't they? As she listened to the girl, who guessed her name without introducing herself, she wondered if she'd need to buy some aspirin on her shopping trip while she was at it - if she always talked like that and this fast, Addison was bound to get a few headaches.

S[/color]he wasn't a rude girl though, and she mainly tried to act friendly and be nice as she got to know the person. She held out her hand to take the offered one, shaking it with a smile. She was about to answer her first question when she quickly moved onto her second one, and then third. Addison let a few seconds of silence go, expecting a next one, when she realized it was now safe to answer. "Junior, actually," she said, confirming the girl's first guess. "And yeah, guess we are gonna be roomies..." she added, trying to sound as cheerful as the girl as she said it. "I didn't quite catch your name though, what was it?" she then asked, tilting her head slightly. She was well aware she hadn't said it at all, but she couldn't help herself.[/size][/font][/blockquote][/blockquote][/center]

[Mandy Steele]

"My name?" she repeated, her tone just as upbeat and hyper as before. She thought for a minute trying to recall if she'd even said it, she must not have though. Otherwise Addison would have remembered. "Well I guess I didn't say it. My name is Mandy, Mandy Stevens." She kept smiling at Addison, thinking about the girl in front of her. She was a couple years older then her, but they should get along fine, if everything went according to plan that was anyway. It'd be a real bummer if it didn't and she was forced to share a room with someone who didn't even like her. Or - for that matter - that she herself didn't like. It would just complicate things and she didn't like complications. It was part of who she was, she preferred that things went the way that she'd planned. It just made her life a lot easier that way and she preferred her life to be as easy as possible.

She looked away from Addie and walked over to her things and grabbed her bags that had her clothing in it, beginning to unpack her clothes and put them in the closet. She stayed quiet during this time, something that was rare for her. She really hoped that Addison didn't expect her to be so quiet all the time. Even after their short meeting, she should already expect her to be the type of person who doesn't shut up so simply. She kept unpacking her things in silence, before beginning to speak again. The silence was killing her already, she hated it. It just always felt so empty, which was why she preferred to have noise as often as possible. She glanced over at Addie before speaking, trying to see how she would react her deciding to strike up conversation again. She didn't want to talk to someone who would be unhappy with her talking to them. That was just always something that just killed the whole happy spirit, which definitely wasn't any good.

"So what kind of student are you?" she asked her. "I mean what's your talent?" She was still unpacking things, but she watched her out of the corner of her eye. "I'm a vocal student myself, so I sing a lot of the time. Especially when I'm working," she said as a sort of warning to her. "You're alright with that right? You aren't going to be annoyed by it are you? Because I know that some people are totally annoyed by that type of thing. Though I can't really see why because singing is just so great. It seems impossible that someone could ever hate it even the slightest bit, ya know." She had began to ramble a little, but that was common for her so she didn't worry or attempt to stop herself. "Well then again maybe it's the music that I sing, do you think that maybe that has something to do with it? Because I happen to think that I have pretty good music taste myself. I mean it's not always exactly the hottest thing on the radio but it isn't completely and totally unpopular either."

[Addison Micklesen]

A

[/color]ddison was getting worried more and more as the girl kept talking. She could feel it, it wasn't going to go so well. That girl seemed to be more hyper than a four year old to whom you'd have fed sugar and caffeine... okay so maybe she was aggravating things a little but it'd been a while since she'd seen a four year old high on sugar and caffeine. And at the moment, Mandy seemed to be rather close to it. Cause she'd finally learned in between the chatter that she was named Mandy. She tried to tell herself that she shouldn't base her thoughts on a first impression, maybe they'd get along well after all. Things could turn out fine, she should try to just give her a chance and maybe she'd learn to appreciate the girl. And that was one of the moments during which she really wished she was a judgemental bitch who hated people right away according to the first encounter. Then again, those were the kind of people she hated, so it wouldn't suit her very well either.

A[/color]s she sighed inwardly, deciding to stop having these kind of thoughts about a girl she hardly knew yet, she noticed that she'd stopped talking. She figured she shouldn't get used to it - she was probably just so deep in concentration that she'd decided to let her tongue rest while she was placing her stuff around, and Addie was quite thankful about the silence, which was weird. She didn't usually like quiet - she, herself, was anything but quiet. That is, except when she was painting or drawing or anything of the sort. Then she needed absolute silence to concentrate, as though she went in some kind of bubble and nobody was allowed in - yet. But apart from that, she was the kind of girl who listened to music rather loudly, just at the limit of what's acceptable so that people wouldn't come and complain to her. She talked a lot as well, though this girl made her seem like someone who rarely opened her mouth. Or maybe that was simply because there was no way of getting a word inbetween what she was saying.

A[/color]s Mandy asked her a question, she was about to answer but, again, the girl went off and started talking (more like rambling) again before she could say anything. She decided to wait until she was done talking, cringing inwardly as she mentionned she sang a lot. Addison had the slightest doubt that they didn't exactly share the same taste in music - though she was rather open about what she listened to, the only things she couldn't deal with was pop, most of those who sang that type of music simply made her want to pull her hair out. When she was sure that Mandy was done saying what she had to say, and thought it was her time to add something, she nodded slightly. "Yeah that's fine. I'm an Art Student," she then added, deciding to use the same strategy as her to get what she wanted done for the room. "And I usually paint a lot, like furniture and stuff. I won't touch your side of the room but mine's definitely not staying white," she added, wrinkling her nose. After all, it was understandable. She couldn't stand uncolored things. She did like white from time to time, but not on walls, furniture, everything. She felt like she was in an hospital room and half expected someone to come in with a straight jacket that matched the room.[/size][/font][/blockquote][/blockquote][/center]

[Mandy Steele]

She listened as Addison spoke, nodding slightly as she heard that she was an art student. Well that could be potentially bad, she wasn't big on bright colors. Or many colors for that matter. They just had too many different meanings and interpretations to actually be efficient. Plus they were so limited. White had a lot of possibilities, at least in her mind it did. Which was all that really mattered anyway. No matter how odd the other half the things would look painted, it'd just have to look weird. She was definitely keeping her things white. There'd be a clear difference if anyone ever walked into their room, they'd be able to tell who's side was who's and which things belonged to who. "That's cool," she said, though her voice wasn't quite as happy as before. It was hardly noticeable though. "I like white myself, so my half is definitely staying white. I don't really like a lot of colors, they're distracting and eventually annoying to look at. Or at least I think so anyway," she said not bothering to worry if she was offending her art student of a roommate. She shouldn't be, she was just talking about colors. It wasn't the end of the world or anything.

She smiled at her and went back to get her bag, getting a few more things out. She had finished with her clothes, now there was just personal things. She got out a few things for her desk, a picture of her family, a stationary, a cup already filled with pens and pencils (she'd bought it that way and hadn't actually had a chance to open it yet, but made travilling easier), and a Bible which she placed all right on top of her desk in an orderly fashion. She began to hum along to a song as she did so, something very 90's pop. It was either N*sync or the Backstreet boys, maybe even 98 Degrees. She couldn't remember though and wasn't bothered by trying to figure it out either. She just went along humming it and going back to her bag and grabbing a few more things out. This time it was posters, and a container of tacks. Sadly enough she did buy into the poster thing, and her whole room back home was covered in posters of her favorite music bands and celebrities. As she began tacking them up she looked over at Addison.

"You don't mind right?" she asked, though she wasn't going to take them down even if she did mind. "I mean I just love posters. They're so great, I only took the ones I really liked from home though. The rest of my room is still covered in them. There are just so many great ones, ya know?" Her speech hadn't changed and was still that same upbeat and chipper tone. She didn't really think that Addison seemed like an upbeat and chipper person, but that was judging before she really knew so she kept those thoughts to herself. After all maybe she was just having an off day, everyone had one once in a while. She decided as she put up a few more posters. When she was done she stood back to admire her handiwork. Now the wall next to her bed was covered with posters, of her favorite (90's) pop groups, Christian rock groups, and a few celebrities as well. She thought it looked alright, she managed to match it so that it didn't look so randomly put together. After she was finished admiring her work she turned back to Addison once more. "Do you have any posters?"

[Addison Micklesen]

A

[/color]ddison couldn't help but smile brightly at the other girl, seeing she didn't seem to pleased with the information that she planned on painting and decorating the room. Well after all, the girl was threatening to sing a lot and they were probably not songs Addie liked. "Oh that's fine," she then said when Mandy told her she wouldn't paint her half of the room. "Two different sides of the room will look much more interesting anyway," she added. "Kind of funky." She was making it sound much more important than it actually was, but she was having fun. She loved teasing and pranking, and this girl seemed like the perfect kind she could play with. She was already back to making plans of what her part of the room would look like in her head, and somehow it was a bit more colored than before. Not overly colored, she had to like it herself after all, but there were a few more details that hadn't been there earlier, and she was sure it would look great. Or at least, as good as a dorm room could look like.

T[/color]he smile faded lightly from her face when she heard Mandy had started humming, which at least confirmed something - they most definitely didn't have the same musical taste. It was even worse when she started putting posters on the walls but Addison forced herself to keep her smile while she mentally added a few more details to the decoration of the room. So this wasn't exactly a contest but Addison had a slightly competitive mind - she was pretty sure Mandy wasn't doing this on purpose, but to her it was practically torture. She couldn't stand posters - if there was one thing she hated in bedrooms as a decoration, it was posters, without a doubt. Why would you want to wake up to stare in the face of a dude or a girl you'd never meet anyway? She loved pictures, planned on placing a few on her side, but they were pictures of her family and friends. People she knew.

"It's fine,"[/color][/b] she said with a fake bright and cheerful voice - she didn't think Mandy would notice the fakeness of it so she wasn't about to keep herself from doing it. Was this girl ever... quiet? "I don't mind, it's your part of the room," she added with a shrug as she sat on the (white) quilt that covered her bed, knowing she'd have to do something about that too. She took out a small pad and started sketching in it, reproducing the room the way it was, practically in a perfect way, not forgetting to put a clear separation line between what she guessed was her side and Mandy's. It was a good thing that the room was so perfectly divided, with two closets on each side instead of just one big one. When she was done sketching the room itself, she took out her crayons, keeping the pink, blue, bright green and purple ones, along with orange and yellow in case she'd need them, putting the others away as she started coloring the details that'd be colored. When she heard Mandy ask her a question, she looked up at her and tilted her head slightly. "Me? No, I don't," she said. "I don't personally like posters. I prefer having pictures of people I really know," she added before looking back down at her sketch, thinking it looked fine for now.[/size][/font][/blockquote][/blockquote][/center]

[Mandy Steele]

She was a bit offended by the statement, but didn't show it and instead just smiled more at her. "Yeah I've got pictures of everyone back home too, it's just a hassle to put them on the wall, besides they bought me this great little photo book to keep all of them in. Thanks for reminding me I almost forgot completely about it," she said as cheerful as ever. She grabbed a final thing out of her bag which happened to be a huge photo album, it was a light pink and had some hearts and stars on it. She walked over to her desk and sat it on there as well. She looked back over at Addison who seemed to be coloring something, though she had to clue what it even was. She thought about asking but she didn't want to intrude on other people's buisness. Not right now anyway, she didn't want her new roomate to think that she was a completely annoying freshmen. She was new and at the bottom of the food chain, so she wanted to try and keep things as friendly as possible between her and everyone else. That way she could make a good impression on them.

She went over to her bed and sat down for a minute. Having a few questions about general things, she was a bit scared of the school in all honesty. She didn't want to fail, she knew she couldn't fail it just wasn't an option. But that didn't keep her from being scared as heck. She bit down on her lip slightly as she kept thinking. The more she thought the more worried about it she got. It wasn't exactly a fun thing to do. She hated worrying, but it was a second nature with her. On top of that she had no clue what to do about it, any of it. She wondered if Addison wouldn't mind answering a few of her questions, after all they were going to be roommates the whole year right? So it made sense that she'd help out just a little with things. Right? Right, it all made sense in her mind anyway.

She looked over at Addison. "Hey Addison?" she asked, she was a bit worried that the older girl would get upset with her. After all she didn't quite seem like the always helping people type. But she didn't let that stop her. "What's the school like from a students prospective? You know like the classes, I mean I know they've got to be good but are they really difficult. And what about the teachers are they really strict?" She tried not to let her voice change with the questions, but it was a bit hard not to. She did however manage to keep a bright smile on her face, despite her fear of the answers. She waited patiently but nervously for Addison's answers to her questions.

[Addison Micklesen]

W

[/color]hen Addie was done with her first sketch, she decided to start another one that would look a bit more sober and then she'd choose between the two. She still wanted colors, but she thought mixing a pretty bright color with a neutral one might end up looking better than simply putting many bright colors in the room. She glanced down at her first sketch and started drawing the same thing again, glancing back up only when Mandy mentionned her album photo. It was pink, with hearts and stars, very girly, something Addison would probably never consider owning. She didn't mind pink, she actually liked some shades of it, but she still kept it to a reasonable amount. Besides, orange was her favorite color, and it didn't exactly go well with pink, so most of the time she just couldn't match the two together and dropped the pink. "Looks nice," she said simply when she saw the album, smiling lightly. She wasn't being sarcastic or anything, she was actually trying to be nice, figuring that the year would be very long if the two didn't get along well. But the harm seemed to be done already anyway. She looked back down at her new drawing, taking out her blue and brown crayons when she was ready to color again.

A[/color]s an habit, Addie wasn't a mean girl, nor full of prejudice or anything. She liked meeting new people, often gave them several chances before she made a real and stable opinion on them, but she couldn't figure out why, this girl was simply making the worst in her come out. Maybe it was because their personalities clashed so bad together that they didn't even have to know one another to figure that out. It seemed like the most likely option to Addison by now, because she couldn't understand at all why she felt like pulling her hair out at the thought of spending a full school year stuck in this room with her. It wasn't a feeling she liked, being this way, she felt that she was acting like the people she didn't usually appreciate all that much, and it wasn't a fun place to be. But with her own bunch of personalities, it was to be expected sometimes.

W[/color]hen she heard Mandy talk again, she looked up to see she was now sitting on her bed and was looking at her in a way that seemed more vulnerable, worried, maybe even a little bit of fear. Her question was a normal one for someone who was new in such a school, and Addie suddenly felt like she ought to try to be nicer to a Freshie who had no clue of how this place worked. Shrugging lightly, she placed her sheet of paper and crayons down on her bed and turned to look at Mandy. "I won't lie, it is really hard. I don't know if you've looked at your schedule, but there's rarely any free time during the day, though some of the teachers sometime give some time in class to do homework. And there's a lot of it, too," she added, not wanting to scare Mandy but wanting to be honnest. "As for how the professors are, well it depends. Some are nicer, others are really strict. You're lucky, you aren't getting Anderson until Junior year, but he's one scary guy. Freshmen and Sophomores usually get nice profs though, I guess it's to keep them here. Some are a bit boring, others are really great. The talent teachers are amazing, but they push you really hard. You just have to be the best, that's why you're here," she said.[/size][/font][/blockquote][/blockquote][/center]

[Mandy Steele]

Mandy listened to Addison with a nod. "Thank you Addison," she said with a small smile, before turning back to her things making sure that everything was in it's proper place. She was happy that she'd at least been honest with her. She'd have felt a confidence that wasn't really all that deserved had she lied to her. Now at least she was ready for what was going to happen. She was prepared for it and therefore could do her personal best, even though it would mean working harder to achieve it. She'd be able to keep up with her previous achievements if she had to die to do so. That was her own personal goal, and she always managed to make herself meet the goals that she set. No matter how difficult - or bad for her - it happened to be. She thought about calling her parents like she promised that she would, but she didn't quite feel up to it at the moment. It just happened to be one of those rare times when she felt like she didn't want to talk to her parents. For some reason though she felt like talking to one of her older sisters. She rarely talked to them as they didn't get along too well but it was what she felt she needed at the moment, more specifically to talk to Candice.

She didn't really get along with Candice so the two rarely talked. Candice had become an atheist early and had basically disappointed her family a lot. She still lived at home though as she was only a junior in high school, but she often avoided Mandy at all costs. Probably because her parents often tried to hold Candice to the same standards as they held their youngest daughter. The two of them kind of had an unspoken agreement. However she was going to break that agreement, she hit the send button on the phone and listened as it rang. Her sister didn't answer and she got the voice mail. She wasn't sure if she'd looked at the caller ID and not answered or if she just didn't have it with her or on. Either way she was just going to have to accept that was the way it was. She listened as her sister's voice told her to leave a message. "Hey Candice it's me Mandy. Obviously you aren't answering the phone right now and I know you probably don't want to talk to me anyway but I'd appreciate if you could call me back. Thanks, talk to ya later."

She hung up her phone with a sigh and sat back on the bed. She waited for a moment trying to figure out what she was going to do now. She looked over at Addison again, she hated to bug her but she just wanted to make sure. "We don't have to be here now, right? We can go out and try and find something else to do?" she asked. She just wanted to be sure that she wasn't going to miss anything big or important. Because that would be very bad considering it was only her first day. Though she felt that maybe she'd be a bit happier if she went around and explored a little. Just to see where she'd be for the year.

[Addison Micklesen]

"You're welcome,"

[/color][/b] she said. "Just to have you prepared. Some students come here expecting to have a good time, and it's true, it is really great," she added with a light shrug. "But it's no holiday or anything, just because you're doing something you're passionate about. And it's actually a good way to see if you're really passionate enough about what you're here for," she leaned back on the headboard of her bed, wrapping her arms around her legs. "And if you have the talent too. Those who don't, don't last too long. You'll notice it as the years go by, there are less students in some classes. The dance one is usually the most strict, because it's one of the hardest jobs to break into. Apparently, dance isn't just a job, it's a life style for those who decide to go through it, and it's very competitive. I wouldn't want to be a dancer," she added, wrinkling her nose lightly. With her two left feet anyway, it wouldn't be too much good. She'd fall more than she'd dance probably. The only times she danced was when she was at a party or something, and it couldn't exactly be called dancing anyway.

A[/color]ddison went back to her drawing as Mandy grabbed her phone and called someone, trying not to listen to what she was saying as she concentrated on coloring nicely, keeping the right colors inside the right lines. It reminded her a little of her childhood, when her mother would buy her a coloring book four times a month because she'd end up having filled one at the end of the week. She really did love coloring when she was younger, and even now she sometimes felt like doing it again, she just rarely got a hold on one that she felt like having. She felt drawings weren't as nice as they used to be when she was little, but then again maybe it was because they didn't hold the same interest for her anymore. But she was still a big kid at heart and her friends knew it - she often got kid stuff at her birthday and Christmas from them, though she never really asked for anything. It was more of an inside joke, and she still had a superball and a barbie doll, which she sometimes used as a model for some of her drawings, from her last birthday.

S[/color]he'd been done with her drawing for about five minutes, busy glancing at it from every angle to make sure it was fine, when Mandy asked yet another question. She glanced up at the girl and shook her head as she finished her question. "Nope, you don't have to stay here all the time," she said. "All classrooms are left unlocked so that students can go practice if they want to. There are cameras around of course, but that's pretty much it. Curfew's at midnight and you're free to go and do whatever you want until then." Addison really loved that rule, especially when it came to going out. Which she'd have to do soon. She hasn't been to The Hurricane in a while now.[/size][/font][/blockquote][/blockquote][/center]

[Mandy Steele]

She listened to Addison as she spoke about the school. As she kept talking she became glad that she wasn't a dancer. She didn't think she could handle the toughest stuff at a school that was bound to be tough in the first place. After all they weren't going to let just anyone in, so it had to be hard enough as it was. Then throw in on top of that even more hard work and one of the toughest ways to follow and it was probably enough to make more then one person a year break. She wondered how many people a year dropped out of the dance program because they just couldn't keep up with it. It was probably a high amount, after all that sounded like quite a bit of extra stress to worry about. Then they still had to go with all their core classes and get all the work that was demanded there done as well. Anyone in the dance program obviously had to be pretty strong mentally if they could handle all that. She wondered if those people got to have as much of a social life as everyone else. It wasn't likely. After all they'd probably have to practice a lot in their free time as well. "I'll be sure to keep that in mind," she said with a nod.

She gave a small smile and nodded as she heard Addison answer her question. "Alright, thanks for the help Addison." She liked that rule, it seemed reasonable she supposed. Plus it meant that she was free to go out when she wanted to, though she had no idea where she would really go. She didn't know anyone yet so she'd just have to find her way around and meet people as she did. Then once she had made a few friends she'd actually have people to hang out with and such. It'd just make the going out thing a lot easier and probably a lot more fun too. For some reason going out on her own every time she did so didn't seem like an appealing thought. For now though it would probably be best, that way she wouldn't get distracted by another person as she tried to learn her way around. With her luck she'd manage to talk with the person the whole time and not pay a single bit of attention to anything surrounding her. Which would be bad as the next time that she'd went out she'd most likely end up landing herself lost and having to ask for help. She hated asking for help.

She grabbed her cell phone and placed it in her pocket, just in case Candice decided to call her back. And so that she'd be able to check up on the time. She doubted that she'd actually stay out late enough to worry about it, but who knew? She went over to her closet and grabbed her jacket out off the hanger, putting it on. Smiling slightly as she headed for the door, it'd be a nice change to be out on her own for once. It was something that her parents never let her do and she was looking forward to this small bit of newfound freedom. For some reason it seemed a bit exciting and that was a weird feeling, she decided as she walked out.