{CO} Some Official Statements

[Seiji Lockard]

Seiji could not help but to smile as Selina started to come over to him, but he did feel a little bad that she was leaving behind the two people she had been talking to. That was why he had remained away to allow her to hang out with her friends. He didn't want to be a bother after all and he could always end up texting her later to see how she was doing and send a friendly greeting. He spotted her kiss the girl and he could not help but to blush a little as he felt like he was perhaps being too nosey and quickly turned to face forward.

Large crowds were no problem for him considering his height; 6'4", so there were not a lot of people that he had a hard time seeing over. Which was why he found it odd that Akiko was hanging out up in his hair when she had a decent view of everything from around his neck. The location that she tended to hang out on when she was on him or anyone that allowed her to be for that matter. "Hello, Selina. I'm alright, how have you been?" Seiji asked with a warm smile, already reaching up to get Akiko out of his hair at Selina's other comment.

Yes, yes indeed he did have a snake in his hair which was not normal to most people but for him he was very much used to it. That didn't seem to make the guy that followed along with Selina feel any better and he was outright hiding behind the girl. "Yes, I'm aware. This is Akiko, I'm Seiji, and who might you be?" Seiji asked, being polite as ever as he held out Akiko for Selina to take because Akiko was practically begging with words and her body language for the woman to hold her.

[Selina Taylor]

    Selina didn't feel any guilt whatsoever for cutting Kyle off as she made her way over to Seiji. Kyle was a big boy, he could deal. Selina then grinned at Seiji's answer, "I'm actually doing well, surprisingly," she replied to Seiji with a laugh as she watched him lift Akiko and held out her hands for the snake, as she had a feeling Akiko would want to visit with her. She glared back at Kyle as he made his crass comments. If he went any further, she would show him what fear really looked like. 

    Selina quickly turned her attention back to Seiji though and reached out to take Akiko from him, sliding her hand gently along Akiko's scales in greeting, "This is Kyle," she offered casually, her tone indicating quite clearly the shallow nature of their relationship. "He's a date," she added with a slight shrug. The way she figured it, if Kyle wanted her to be less brusque, he'd better learn how to treat her friends with respect. If he didn't, she had no problems walking away from him and leaving him to fend for himself. The added income was nice, but it wasn't worth him making her friends or the people she liked uncomfortable.

[NPC]

Yes, there was certainly enough of a crowd gathered. The aide smiled with only the slightest hint of nerves as he looked at the gathered people. Mostly students with a few staff but, well, that pretty well defined Bellefonte on the whole. Remarkable how they handled everything like that, just remarkable. Quite a few of them were already looking toward the Head, which only made sense. The man drew attention to himself quite easily, and he clearly looked ready to take command and center stage.

"I want to go ahead and welcome everyone here today," the aide said into a microphone. His voice had a clip to it, clearly European, likely upper class British. "It's a pleasure to see so many people gathered here to day. Bellefonte Academy has always prided itself on its ability to service a diverse crowd of students, not only addressing their special abilities, but also their unique backgrounds and walks of life. So naturally it's great to see so many different faces here today." The aide paused for a moment, directing a beaming smile across the crowd. "We'd like to begin by thanking the students and staff who helped put everything together, from the wonderful cooks," a pause for clapping, "to the organizers of this very event. Thank you so much for your contribution to the school. It's greatly appreciated," and the aid pulled back to lead in some clapping as well, nodding and smiling.

"Now, it's my pleasure to introduce the Head of the Board, who'd like to say a few words in addressing you all," the aide gestured and stepped aside, letting the Head step forward.

The man with the silver hair gave the crowd a warm yet obviously fake smile. He raised a hand in salute. "It's always a pleasure to talk to the students and faculty of this fine school," he said, his voice somehow as warm and fake as his smile. "I've had some of my fondest memories at this fine institution, not simply learning here, but growing up as well. It's my pleasure to welcome the newest generation of students to this fine school. Why don't we take a few moments to just welcome our new arrivals?"

And the Head backed up, raising his hands to applaud, smiling that smile of his while he looked around, clearly expecting everyone to join in.

[Elsa Bellefonte]

Was it bad that Elsa almost wanted to punch that aide in the face? The desire to just walk over and sock him with a closed fist was nearly overwhelming. She kept her attention on it, kept her expression blank, but inwardly she was entertaining the fantasy all too vividly. Elsa did take note of the gathered security personnel, glad to see Roxana and Vera there, even Devyn, to some degree. Oh wouldn't it be great of that bitch just attacked the aide? Two birds with one stone right there.

But no, instead the boring speeches would come, inevitably. They'd already started, with the aide prattling on to introduce and the head stepping forward to do his cheesy bit. Surely he had to realize that nobody believed him. Probably because he only showed up to publicity events like this, leaving the trenchwork to other people.

My my, when did you get to be so bitter, Elsa? the girl thought to herself, allowing a slight smile to twitch at her lips. Well, it was her own work to deal with, she supposed. Elsa clapped along with everyone else, making sure as she did to look around and pick out a few unfamiliar faces to nod at. A little extra never hurt.

[Kyle Underly]

Well, the Asian guy didn't sound like a psychopath or something like that. He had the whole warm smile and greeting thing. And Selina was glaring at Kyle like he was the one who'd messed up. Great, now he'd have to work doubletime to make up for it. Still wasn't going anywhere near the snake though.

Before he could offer a response, however, Selina introduced him instead. "I'd have gone for friend, really," Kyle said, adding a shrug, "and it's nice to see Selina's other friends. Sorry about being all weird and stuff. Your, ah, friend," he pointed at the snake, "threw me for a bit there," see? Kyle could totally be polite and talk to people like a normal person and stuff. He gave Selina a smile that would help show that he did get that he had to at least be nice to the people who were her friends. He'd actually been trying to be charming with the last one. Not his fault she had the personality of a porcupine with a skin rash.

The guy up front was talking now though, preventing Kyle from being more charming. he looked up at the young guy spoke first, and then the Head stepped forward to do his thing. Kyle was ready to make fun of him before he said they should applaud new arrivals. Kyle straightened a bit then, more than willing to accept all the applause as if it were for him alone.

He did realize that he should probably clap too, albeit belatedly. He fought from rolling his eyes and started clapping, pasting on pleasant smile as he went.

[Jun-Aaron Starr]

Jun remained up in the tree, not seeing any point in coming down, and really didn't want to have to try and put his wings away. Again, all of this was his fault for eating a bit too much and he could already tell that he was likely going to end up molting a little bit later on in the day. That meant he wanted to hurry up back to his dorm so he could get a shower, take some medication, and just sleep. First he had to get through this announcement which already seemed like it was going to start to drag with how the one speaking was taking his time, saying typical things, and then even wanting people to clap for the new arrivals.

He wrote up his current mood to be at fault with knowing what was going to come for himself, but he did at least start to clap. Still, if this was going to end up running to long, he had no problem just flying off back to his room. He was certain he would be able to gain enough speed for a takeoff that no one would be able to fully make out who he was or at the very least not really notice until he was up in the air and flying off. For now, clap, and wait.

[Seiji Lockard]

"That is always wonderful to hear and if you ever do have a bad day or have any trouble, please do not hesitate to tell me." Seiji responded, his smile as friendly as ever. It was always good to hear when a friend was doing well, especially a friend like Selina who he could not help but worry a little bit more for. He could tell there were walls there and while he didn't want to break them down with a wrecking ball, he did want to break them down and help her feel better about herself, the world, and other people. Baby steps for now and it was always good to see that she had other friends besides him, or at least he assumed they were friends.

Akiko made her way onto Selina's hands, nuzzling the girl's skin in the process as she flicked out her tongue. The snake really did like the girl and was paying no mind to how the human male reacted to her. She had someone who always complimented her, held her, and in general allowed her reptile ego to be boosted higher then Seiji would have liked it too be. Not that he was going to stop it or anything along those lines, because it was kind of cute how Selina affect Akiko so and how Selina actually seemed pleased with the snake. "Nice to meet you Kyle, and don't even worry about it. I'm use to that kind of reaction and far worst." Seiji assured him, offering to shake the other guys hand when Selina introduced him.

The way she did it seemed like she was less then pleased to deal with him, which had Seiji worried for a moment, but he would ask her about the matter in private. Selina said the Kyle guy was her date, so Seiji would accept that and just hope that there was nothing 'dangerous' involved in this 'date'. Then there was speaking going on up front which had Seiji facing forward again, leaving Akiko with Selina for now as he listened. He was all too pleased to be at the event, clapped when it was acceptable, and was all ears.

[Ava Ellis]

Ava had only just arrived. She knew she was late, but she had to spend a short while searching for her gloves. You would think she would remember where such an important thing would be... nope. Luckily she had found them and rushed down to the gathering.

It seemed she had missed most of the socializing and eating, but no matter. She grabbed a glass of punch, before skipping over to a familiar face. Hey Calliw! She whispered excitedly, nudging her friend. Her hazel green eyes look towards the man speaking, before she tappes her wrist with her free hand. Whats going on? She asked, taking a sip from her drink.

---

tag Callie Montgomery

[Riley Forrester]

Riley blinked when Zoe started calling someone over, listening to her as the girl hesitated before dragging another boy over. Her name was Erin and she was sort of Zoe's friend? That much was what Riley could gather as the girl came over with the boy. Riley smiled and offered the girl and the boy she had dragged over her trademark two-fingered salute from her temple. "Hi! Name's Riley." She replied back easily. Then she gestured to Valerie. "And this is Valerie."

"Hi and, um, hi again." She said to Erin and then Quinn, nodding to him with a slightly shy smile. She wasn't nearly as nervous since Riley was around, but she was definitely just a tad sheepish. But then the Head was finally talking and both girls glanced over to the front, listening. Well, sort of. Riley was more or less, although Valerie definitely was paying more attention. Which was why she beat Riley to the applause, clapping along with the rest of the crowd. Although the man seemed a little... Snooty.

[Quinn Wiley]

Quinn didn’t mean to end up surrounded by a bunch of girls but Erin seemed to hesitate between going to the ones who called her and sticking to him since he was closer. She decided to go for both and before Quinn understood what was going on, he was dragged by her all the way to Zoe and her friends she introduced as Valerie, that he already knew of, and the infamous Riley. So, there she was.

Quinn only nodded to the two of them. Valerie appeared a little less shy than last time they met but he was certain something came out when she greeted him. A nod was enough however. He didn’t feel like going with the whole introduction. Besides, there was a man who was hoping to get all of their attention. He did offer a nod to Zoe as well however, one that might prove they knew each other more since there was a hint of a smile too. He knew she did not call for him, only Erin. He wondered how they knew each other. He was not entirely sure he should like that the two of them knew at least enough for Erin to consider herself comfortable around her. Sure, it was a good thing, all in all, but he was still wondering how that made him feel. Luckily for him, he could ignore that and pay attention to the man, not really bothering to clap at his words.

[Thomas Hallowell]

    The first thing Thomas had gone to find was the food. He really didn't appreciate the cafeteria being closed, but he could just get something to eat and then hang out on the fringes until he was finished eating. Seriously manipulating people like him into being around such a massive crowd, when his powers drained him so drastically with the flood of emotions... like they should really take into account people's powers more often when they pulled shit like this.

    Ah well. It wasn't like he was going to go find somebody to complain to. That would take too much time and effort. He merely ate a hot dog and watched the proceedings with a bored gaze until some pompous ass started running his mouth. Thomas paid vague attention and refused to clap, as he couldn't quite force himself to care about the slime ball on stage. 

    Couldn't they have at least found somebody that could act little better? He was close enough to hear, but far away enough so that he wouldn't end up nauseated by all the students' emotions overwhelming him at once. It was a delicate balance, but one he maintained with ease.

[NPC]

well, not quite everyone was joining in with the clapping, but what did you expect from teenagers who had been ostracized from proper society? The aide looked more worried about the situation than the head, flashing a look toward a few of the student leaders who were clearly somehow responsible for this particular situation. The head just took it in stride, nodding and smiling all the while.

"Now, I do realize that this past year has been a tumultuous time for everyone. Between the incidents involving certain agencies and the International Mutant Athletic Competition, not to mention restructuring how the school is run, things have been quite hectic for all concerned. We wanted to open this school year with promises that this is all in the past. Bellefonte Academy is a safe place," he pointed at the podium, tapping it as if he were emphasizing each word. "Security measures have been developed that will further ensure the safety of the school. The Security Squad, led by dedicated students, will begin training the next generation of protectors of this school and humanity at large. Pretty soon we'll be issuing out black and gold uniforms with symbols on them," he chuckled, letting everyone know that he was hip and totally comfortable making an X-Men joke.

"We've made certain to hire new staff, and are currently in the search for new Heads of Security and other major positions. I promise you that only the best and most highly trained individuals will serve to help develop our students. We've also been making inroads with the community, reaching out to alumni to help build a community that---" the head paused, mostly because the aide was staring at his phone and prodding him. "We're reaching out to help build--what is it?"

The Aide stepped forward, clearing his throat. "Um, I just, it's, ah," and he tilted his phone slightly, letting people hear the message:

"This just in: Mutants Exist and are in Kalispell, Montana. That's right folks. That new group of hippies that moved into town has stepped forward to provide incontrovertible proof that mutants do, in fact, exist in this world, and not just inside comic books. We have the interview footage to prove it..."

"Can someone get this projected on the screen?" the head demanded, and soon enough phones everywhere were going out.

The screen would show a man who looked very much like the sort who would live in the woods. he'd cleaned himself up, tied his hair back, made certain to look quaffed, and was smiling. "That's right, we're mutants. It's very much like the stories that you've heard time and time again. For example, I just so happen to be able to regenerate minor injuries," he reached up, held out a hand, and then cut himself. There was a momentary gasp before the injury healed itself.

"That's no special effect. The footage is raw and unedited, and the group would go on to demonstrate conclusively the existence of mutants, also indicating that the local school, one Bellefonte Academy--"

The phone news fade ended.

"Right, as you can see," the head said, trying not to sound panicked, "we're already in the process of getting on top of this. That was just a local news story folks: nobody but the few people who were watching in town know about it. So just, everyone can calm down and not panic---"

[Vera M. Solway]

There were arms slipped around her, the familiar feeling causing her to smile and slightly look behind her as she was pulled in close. She chuckled, "Yeah, well maybe he needs to lay off the barbeque." Joking as her attention went back to the "matter at hand" or whatever it was. If this was some type of assembly to boost everyone's morale, he was sort of too late for that. The kidnappings, shootings, fires... those were long and gone but the scars everyone wore were still there, even if it was only mentally. She felt a kiss against her cheek, only to quickly turn her head and plant one against Devyn's lips before the girl managed to move her head away.

Rox mentioned something about being on alert and of course Vera had been showing an example of how you do the complete opposite. Her attention went back to the Head, her eyes narrowing ever so slightly as he made his speech. Vera clapped, and only because she appreciated the work of everyone who managed to put the cookout together and not because of him. The X-Men joke didn't fly past her because she was a geek at heart but he wasn't funny... at all.

Rolling her eyes at the mention of the search of a new Head of Security. While she could understand why it would take so long to find someone with the experience, years and dedication... it just sounded like they were taking their time with it. Had Vera not been as young as she was, a few wrinkles, and had years under her belt and maybe ass kissing techniques to get there, she'd surely go for it.

She was in mid huff-

"This just in: Mutants Exist and are in Kalispell, Montana. That's right folks. That new group of hippies that moved into town has stepped forward to provide incontrovertible proof that mutants do, in fact, exist in this world, and not just inside comic books. We have the interview footage to prove it..."

Her eyes widened, their attention hadn't left the screen as she watched the hippy display an example of his powers for all of local Kalispell to see. "...you've got to be kidding me..." They outed the school? Her parted lips never really did shut back together and especially not after that. "Those fucking hippies..."

[Logan Diacha]

Logan had actually been surprised by the kiss, and raised an eyebrow at Selina as she left. Luckily she dragged that boy with her that Logan had already ignored to listen in on the Head speaking. It was all fluff. Nothing that even piqued her interest remotely. She didn't even bother clapping for the guy. Why should she? She wanted information but none of this was worth her time at all. He was already chugging along on another speech when suddenly some guy interrupted.

Something about a video feed or interview, and then a video came up showing some hippie that displayed his power for the camera to see. Then he confirmed the existence of mutants and even name dropped the Academy. The Head was telling everyone not to panic and that they had everything under control and all as the video ended. Logan just stared. Unimpressed and unfazed.

Oh dear. So some random hippie reveals his power on local news. How dreadful. Wasn't like people hadn't pulled hoaxes like that before. Sure, this guy was probably real, but people didn't know that. Logan could already see people claiming it wasn't real, even if it was supposedly 'raw' and 'unedited.' Videos could be edited. That was the problem with the internet, and it's glory. Nothing was impossible, but the truth was trickier to catch than just about anything. Even the news could be faked. Nothing was truly safe from hackers and liars, especially good ones.

Was Logan worried? No. No not really. She had far more pressing things that could actually worry her than this. This had truly proven to be a waste of her time. Although there was a slim amount of amusement to be gained from the reactions of those around her.

[François Laffont]

Having all the past events, or should he say tragedies, being mentioned as if this was nothing felt weird on François. It was like the Head just shoved it all under the rug and pretended all was good now that they changed the people running the school. As if that was the main problem here! Then there even was an X-Men joke. Franck was not sure about it at all and it had nothing to do with whatever worries Jasper was dumping on him because he was so close to the boy. Since he applauded the man earlier, they no longer held hands but Franck remained close in case he needed to again.

The surprise however happened from to other person next to the Head. Franck startled when they could hear it all. Mutants are real. They live in Kalispell. The hippies. Franck looked around, in search for Elsa and Roxana. These two must not be all too pleased to have been right when he was wrong. Franck was the one worried now. He was the one who grabbed Jasper’s hand this time. Should anyone be any more panicked than he was... He had to get out of here before his power went out of control. “I need air,” he whispered to Jasper, hoping he’d help him get out of here. But would he get the hint that Franck couldn’t stay in the crowd if they ever start panicking? He didn't want to be melodramatic here, it was why he had to leave. If he stayed, he’d be worse than anyone else around. He was still looking around for his friends. Elsa, Roxana... they wouldn’t be too panicked, would they? They’d fix this.