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Chapter One - A Story That Began Before They Knew It​

[FONT="Calibri]Miss Tabitha Lily stood at the forefront of the classroom, leaning back against the blackboard behind her and eyeing the small group of teenagers in front of her. Each of the group had their own problems and it was her role to help them overcome them in order to help set up a prosperous future for Beati, and more importantly to allow them to live happy and healthy lives.
Social trauma, social trauma, addiction, childhood troubles and parental issues… these are all things I have learned about and I am still certain that the best thing for me to do is to simply act as an advisor and facilitator.

Tabitha yawned rather indiscreetly, tired as always.
"My name is Tabitha, technically you're supposed to call me Miss Lily but I think that's pretty stupid. I'm not your teacher. As far as I see it, it's my job to keep an eye out for you and to be here to advise you if you need anything but really only you guys can achieve fulfilment in your lives program or not. That being said, welcome to your first day as a part of the New Dawn project. The way this will work is simple; this classroom more or less belongs to this group. For starters you'll just socialise in here and get to know each other but eventually you're supposed to start planning group activities. I guess that's all there is to it for the time being. I suggest you start getting to know each other."


This was ten minutes ago during the first minutes of day one of the New Dawn program. So far nobody has said a word and Tabitha Lily has taken to dozing in the chair behind the desk of whichever teacher worked from that class during school hours. She felt that forcing you to speak would only make things feel even more awkward at this stage.
It's quiet and a bit awkward, but someone will speak up eventually. This is more or less what many expected of their first few days involved with New Dawn. All is not as it seems however, you don't know it but you're being watched. You don't know it, but the clock is rapidly clicking down to Heartseed's first phenomena.

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As the... counselor, introduced herself as Miss Lily. Karter studied her and noted the "Miss". He looked around the shaded room, shaded due to the... 'Shades', and saw an amount of different individuals. Some of them hes seen around town, others he wondered if they were even from the area.

Looking around the room, he finally noticed the incessant vibration in his pocket. He pulled out his phone and looked at the message count.

10+ Messages

He sighed and quickly scrolled through all the messages, Some from admirers, some from haters, one from his best friend Westy, and other random stuff. Deleting almost all the messages he put his phone back in his pocket, just for it to blow up again. He finally turned it of and waited for someone to break the ice.

"... so... uh, how is everyone?" A boy to his right asked.

Karter had to slap his hand on his mouth to stop from laughing out loud. "Gotta give him credit though," He said to himself.

And then the unthinkable happened. A boy sat up, and answered. "I'm great, thanks for asking!"
That was the last straw. Karter bent over in his chair and started to burst with laughter, stopping only after he ran out of air.

Then, the boy started to introduce everyone. Karter halfway listened to the boy while he attempted to say everyone's name. "I'm sure he got at least two of those wrong," He said to himself. Turned out he was the last one to be called out.

"Karter Devven, right?. Heard about you too! In a good way, good way, of course." The boy said.

Karter snickered while the boy introduced himself as Murphy. He laughed and decided to follow suit.

"Well, now that we're all in the open, lets try that, "How is everyone" again. Oh, and im fine," Karter said out loud, barely holding his laughter back.​

Silence reigned in the room around Sofiya, meaning that as of yet the New Dawn program was getting nowhere. Sofiya looked over at their supervisor who had already fallen asleep. For a program meant to do something as important as restore Beati's peace, the program seemed to be run ridiculously badly. She wasn't even sure it could really be called a program from how things looked so far. Or perhaps this irresponsible woman simply lied her way into her position. Although blame still fell on those running the program for failing to properly review her before giving her such an important position.

A sigh threatened to escape Sofiya's lips, which were presently forming a soft, practiced smile, but she managed to keep it in. She knew that this "program" would be a waste of her time, even if it did all go perfectly, but now it was beginning to look like it would waste everyone else's time too. It was painful to imagine all the other things she could be learning with this time instead. She looked around to each of the other kids, the people who were supposed to become her friends, bound by a friendship transcending race, religion, status, and whatever else was advertised to her parents. She knew of most of them, either having seen them around before, having heard of them from others, or from having spoken to them on one or two occasions.

Finally, after several long minutes of silence, someone spoke. Surprisingly enough, it was the kind of meek-looking boy with the blonde bedhead who had been shifting in his seat, clearly uncomfortable. "...so...uh, how is everyone?" Sofiya hadn't seen him around. Sure she didn't really care to know everyone at school, but most of the faces in the room were at least somewhat familiar. Maybe he was new to town? No, he looked a little older, so maybe she didn't know him simply because he was in a different grade and had failed to stand out enough for the people around her to take note of him, otherwise at least one of the girls who called her their friend and had nothing better to do than gossip all day would have said something about him.

The boy's inquiry was met with an enthusiastic answer by another giant of a boy she recognized as Murphy, although she had forgotten his last name. He proceeded to introduce not only himself, but everyone else in the room as well. She was surprised at how he knew all their names already, even Dareon's, although he did seem to struggle with last names, hers especially.

She had to admit, Murphy had done a much better job of breaking the silence than Dareon. The older boy had been completely overshadowed. She flashed a reassuring smile towards Dareon as a sort of "You did your best" gesture. She had receded back into her mind for a moment when it occurred to her that maybe the sooner they befriend one another the sooner this pointless program could end. She had no way to prove that was how things worked, but she might as well give it a shot and get to interacting. Anything to be done with this and back to her research. She opened her mouth to comment on Murphy's little round of introductions, but was interrupted by a loud burst of laughter from another participant.

Looking to the side, Sofiya saw Karter laughing his lungs out, presumably at Murphy's opening to their first session, or meeting, or whatever this was. Once he had calmed down, he reiterated Dareon's earlier question. "Oh, and I'm fine," he answered his own question. Although, it seemed like he was holding back another burst of laughter. There was seriously something wrong with that boy for him to be laughing so much over nothing.

Regardless of what she thought of Karter or of anyone else in the room, and regardless of how much she didn't want to be there, Sofiya smiled that kind, warm, and "sincere" smile that she always smiled. "I think I've been doing pretty well," she said in a more quiet tone than Murphy's or Karter's.​

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Devon Lliam - And So It Begins​

[FONT="Calibri]Devon sat in a chair close to the door, watching the others in silence… in fact at that time everyone was silent. It seemed that he wasn't the only one feeling uncomfortable with the situation, although he doubted the others were paralysed with fear like he was. Everyone in that room was there for their own reasons; he couldn't help but feel that expecting them to understand his fear on the first day was a bit of a stretch.

Devon scanned the room, taking in his surroundings and assessing those around him. First off was their councillor, a young albino woman who looked as though she could be barely older than any of them if at all and was sleeping contentedly at the front of the classroom. Devon couldn't deny he found this disconcerting. She'd said something about being there if they needed them but preferring to let things develop naturally. It only sounded like a cop out to Devon which hardly eased his anxiety.

A stony-faced girl who clearly didn't want to be there… she was an intimidating presence looking to Devon like a thug who took violent lyrics a little too seriously. She seemed the type to beat you over the head with an electric guitar, not someone he'd want to mess with or be around too much at all.

Next Devon looked over a proper looking blonde girl who didn't look like she should be there at all. Devon felt that she must have had some pretty serious issues herself but he couldn't pin point what. If you looked completely normal, chances are you weren't.

A bulky looking boy with dark hair but a face suggesting he was younger than most of the others. He seemed to be your typical rough, bully-like guy who had a lot of people around him but nobody he actually cared about.

There were a lot of people in the room really, each for some reason put into a program intended to foster friendships between people who'd normally struggle socially or morally or who had some other issue. The one that really caught his attention though was another boy with bright white hair and red eyes, not an albino like Tabitha Lily though – Devon was pretty quick to assess he'd chosen that appearance. This boy introduced himself – and weirdly enough everyone in the room – in a friendly and confident manner… too friendly and too confident. There was something innately suspicious about a person who apparently had issues being so comfortable and forthcoming in a room of people he'd never met. Murphy unnerved Devon more than anyone else in the room, he seemed the type who'd easily manipulate things to his advantage.

Still the ice had been broken, people were slowly beginning to speak up more or less.
"Uh… yeah like Murphy said… I'm Devon Lliam. Nice to meet you all…" Devons voice trailed off.

Toughen up Devon this is why you're here. To be social and make something of yourself so you can make Seraphina proud.

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While at first it seemed like Murphy's group introduction had banished the awkward silence between the group, it wasn't long before it returned. The people here really didn't look like they wanted to be there. Most of them, at least. While this was true for Sofiya herself as well, she made an effort to look like that was not the case. After a few moments of planning, she smiled softly at Murphy while she answered his new question in his second attempt to get people talking.

She'd hoped to avoid talking and let the others take over, but if nobody else was talking, she had a feeling she would end up having to stay there longer than she would like. "Well," she began, "for me there's not really much to tell. I'm just a 16 year old girl who came here to meet new people. Although now that I'm here, I'm not really sure what to say, haha…" Of course, her given reason for coming was a lie, but it wasn't like the others could know that.

Sofiya never really told anyone meaningful information about herself because then they got interested or worried or judgmental or whatever, every outcome being just as bad. On one hand, someone might become interested in her and try interacting with her more, which, of course wastes time. She had to deal with enough self-proclaimed friends in the day already. On the other hand, she might provoke bullying or concern for her views and way of life, which would not only also trigger interaction and waste time, but it would also cause problems at home, which would lead to even bigger wastes of time like arguments and, well, the New Dawn program.

"Normalcy is often the best disguise for a lie."

These words bounced around in Murphy's head as he waited for another response. Considering the results of his previous attempt, he expected all the following responses – if any – to be relatively straightforward as well. The only thing that reassured him were those words. A saying, apparently, though he'd never caught wind of it until a particular old man by the name of Gregory had spoken them to him. Gregory was a retired, gentleman-like man who lived in Murphy's neighborhood. After speaking to him once, he discovered that in his youth, Gregory was quite the socialite. This intrigued Murphy, who wished to learn on how to improve his people skills at the time, so they began to speak more often. As such, Murphy knew the information's source was reliable. Still, that didn't mean it applied to every situation. In this day and age, people's mindsets might have changed compared to when Gregory was young.

Murphy was in the middle of considering whether or not to follow Gregory's logic right now when a voice broke his train of thought. He looked over to see one of the girls, Sofiya, smiling over at him. He couldn't help but breathe a small sigh of relief as she responded; sure, it may have been a normal response, but it was something. Still, it didn't make sense. How could someone come to a program reputed to be for troubled kids without any troubles? Greg's words once again began to nag him.

Now the clock was ticking – it was statistically proven that things got awkward after a maximum of five seconds. Or so he assumed. He had to decide whether or not this response was satisfactory, or even true… following Gregory's logic, it was a big fat lie, but there was no way he could know for sure. If he tried to push for a better response when there was none, however, he might end up looking stupid.

"Screw it, what do I have to lose?"

"You could tell us a bit more about yourself," Murphy suggested, returning the smile. "In fact, we all should. If we wanna get to know one another, simple introductions won't cut it, right?"

Sofiya was irritated by the Murphy's push for more information from her, although she made sure not to show it. Fortunately, this wasn't anything she hadn't dealt with before, although usually people respected her boundaries to a certain degree. At this point she had three options. First was to continue offering lies and half-truths until he was satisfied. Second was to find a way to change the subject or otherwise divert attention from herself. Third, she could simply refuse to tell him anything more.

Option three probably wouldn't leave a very good impression with the others, so that was out. While one was the easiest of the remaining two, but there was no guarantee Murphy would ever be satisfied. Two might work well given how Murphy implored the others to tell more about themselves as well. Maybe she could just throw someone else under the proverbial bus. No, that wouldn't look very good for her either.

"You know, Murphy, maybe you could tell us a bit about yourself," Sofiya suggested sweetly, apparently having gone with option 2 anyway. "Maybe setting the example might make everyone else a little more comfortable with opening up?" Regardless of her real reasons, she wasn't wrong, and the end goal was still being finished with this program via helping along the friendship process.

Murphy had to hold back a wide grin. Now this was an interesting response. A person who had nothing to hide most likely would've responded with at least some additional information. Of course, whether or not what she had to hide was interesting was up for debate, but it was the best lead he had so far.

What amused him even more was the effect of the response itself. She'd essentially put him in the spotlight, to avoid having to say anything – at least, that's what he guessed. It was interesting, sure, but the fact remained that he now had to say something himself. Deflecting the question back at her, or throwing it to someone else, would be stupid at this point. He knew that to avoid suspicion, he had to come up with a lie himself. Of course he couldn't just go and tell them the truth – that he was here because he was interested in learning about people, and for that same reason had become the notorious drug dealer Murky. Any chances at friendship would be ruined; even outside this small circle of people should the information spread. On the other hand, he realized that if he was going to elaborate on himself and his reason for being here, it'd have to be something that made sense given the context. Meaning, something that made him look like a troubled child.

So, in essence, he was given two choices: lie convincingly but look bad, or lie unconvincingly and look just as suspicious as Sofiya, or worse. Murphy grinned; he couldn't help it. This was just too fun!

"Sure," he responded with a chipper tone. "Let's see…" He thought for a moment, coming up with a convincing lie. He'd decided to go for the first option after all; all he could do was hope that the other troubled kids here would be somewhat sympathetic. "Basic info first. Name's Murphy Edgson, age 17, feel free to call me Murph. Not much of a nickname, but whatever. My hobbies include video games, drawing, some occasional football, and… hehe," he paused for a moment, "vandalism."

"See, this city's boring, you know? I've lived here my whole life pretty much, I should know. So, one day, my dad gave me a can of spray paint, and I said: 'y'know what? Let's liven the place up a little'. Oh, it started with some occasional graffiti here and there. I'm a pretty artsy kid, can't help it. But then, they started removing my majestic art. Man, was I pissed! But I took that as a challenge. So ever since that day, it's been me versus the system in a battle for artistic freedom!" His grin widened and he once again motioned as if to tip a non-existent hat in Sofiya's direction.

"Well, that's pretty much my story. I guess you can fill in the blanks from there – my parents got mad and sent me here. But I figured hey, while here, why not make some friends, y'know? What else am I gonna do with my time?" He chuckled lightly, not seeming phased at all by the weird looks he must've been getting. It wasn't the best lie, but it would have to do.

"So, Sofiya, what's your tale?" he once again queried. He knew that he was pushing it; pushing someone who had something to hide to spill their secrets was not a good way to make friends. And he certainly was putting her on the spot now, though his own story probably masked the suspiciousness of his insistence. Still, he found himself curious to see how she would respond this time around. Would she too create a cover story? Or was he simply deluding himself into thinking she could be interesting?

Idiot. That was the first thought to come to Sofiya's mind after hearing Murphy's story. Sofiya didn't think much of anyone who wasted their time on art, and much less of someone devoting themselves to something like graffiti, which not only wasted their time but also that of the police, the property owners, and whoever ends up cleaning it. It barely even qualified as art anyway. People usually didn't think their pointless little acts of rebellion through. Although she had to wonder why his dad would suddenly give him a random can of spray paint.

Sofiya wanted to frown in disapproval, but she managed to keep her smile mostly intact save for when she gave a look of surprise at the mention of vandalism. It was a good reminder of exactly what sort of program she had been put into. She began to wonder what brought all the other kids here. Were all their reasons as shallow as vandalism? Or were they more serious things such as theft or maybe even arson? Well, it didn't really change anything as she hadn't planned on befriending them anyway.

Her mind now focused on Murphy's question. Judging from his response when she asked him to talk about himself, it seemed he wanted to know her true reason for being here, or rather, what constituted her as a "troubled" child. He just kept pushing and pushing, and it was really getting annoying. Didn't he have any respect for a girl's privacy? She figured the others probably had things to hide too. Everyone hides something. Then why was this guy so intent on getting her to spill her secrets?

"You're very trusting of others, aren't you Murphy?" Began Sofiya, deciding to making a comment on his story first. "Most people wouldn't tell something like that to strangers they just met. Well, I wouldn't, at least." She paused for a moment, looking down with an apologetic look. "I wasn't lying about coming here to meet new people, but as you probably realized there's more to it than that. Sorry, I want to open up like you did, I really do, but my real reason for being here involves things I've only told my closest friends." She looked up again, her expression becoming just a bit brighter. This time she looked over at everyone else. "I hope we can all become really good friends someday, and that eventually there will be no secrets between us. But I also hope none of you feel too pressured to tell us anything you don't want to tell us. We should take this one step at a time."

Finally, she looked back at Murphy, flashing him another smile. "While I can't exactly tell you my tale, I can tell you a little bit about myself. I was born here in Beati, but both my parents are Russian immigrants. That's why my name is spelled so weird and my last name is so different. I'm the youngest in our family, having two older sisters, although my oldest sister already left the house. My favorite hobby is cooking, actually. Maybe I can bring some stuff for you all to try one day?"

Mentally, Murphy sighed. He... probably had gone too far with that one. Gotten caught up in the moment, it seemed. He couldn't help but feel guilty that he was trying to get this girl to spill her secrets in front of a bunch of strangers. In fact, he wouldn't have blamed Sofiya if she'd just thrown a retort at him then and there. Murphy made a mental note to apologize to her for this in the future.

"That'd be great! I wouldn't mind some waffles," he chirped. Resting back in his seat, he put his hands behind his head and shut his eyes as if resting.

Sofiya was glad that Murphy finally stopped his line of questioning. It was tempting to give a victorious smirk, but she managed to hold it back. "Let's let the others give their two cents before I actually bring anything, haha."

"So yeah," Murphy began. Wait... his voice sounded odd all of a sudden. It sounded higher than it had before; more... feminine. A trick of the mind? In any case, he couldn't stop mid-sentence. "Like Sofiya said, you don't have to go into details about how y'got here and stuff... heck, the vandalism stuff was probably a bit too honest, but hey, I'm an honest guy."

Murphy could only hope the statement would help to wash away the stain he'd most likely put on his reputation. He had a whole box-full of lies prepared should the false information he'd shared leak out beyond this small circle, which it most likely would. But, it was said and done now. Murphy didn't have time for regret right now.

Even the rest of his sentence had sounded off, as if he wasn't the one speaking the words. But he was, though. Right? Murphy opened his eyes, ready to add a little something to the conversation just to check, but he quickly stopped as he registered what he was seeing.

The first thought that came to his mind was, "Wait... how'd I get to the other side of the room?"

The next thought was, "Wait... who's that albino guy sitting at the far end of the room?"

Finally he looked down at his hands and thought, "When did my hands get so... slender?" Looking further down, his eyes widened. "And since when do I have-?!"

He looked back up towards the albino boy he knew was him, surprise and panic in his dull green eyes. He couldn't help but muster out an astonished, "Whoa... what?"

Meanwhile, Sofiya opened her eyes to find that everything had suddenly gotten...smaller? The second thing she noticed was the petite brunette on the other side of the room looking herself over. Something was very wrong. She looked at her own hand, which was awkwardly big. She began to get an idea of what was happening, and she did not like it one bit. Her hands searched her own body for some sign that her premonition was wrong. Her wandering hands landed on her chest, where her admittedly small breasts were missing completely.

She stopped. As one last confirmation of her fears, she shifted her legs and felt that something was definitely wrong.

Sofiya would have liked to believe that someone as intelligent and capable as herself would be able to keep calm in an unexpected situation. However, the truth was that aside from her beliefs, she was just a normal girl. Her breathing grew quicker and quicker until suddenly she just let out a loud, piercing, terrified, and manlier-than-expected scream. "KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!"
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Karter Devven​