Otakus Are Us

[Masquerade1412]

Just stay calm...breathe...
Alex paused for a moment.
"I-I would l-like to join the anime club. I'm kinda new to it and haven't watched a whole lot, I want to be a part of this club!"

[rocklobster]

"Sure, you can join. But first, you have to tell me your name." Christa tried her best to refrain from laughing impolitely.

[Masquerade1412]

YOU IDIOT!! How could you forget your name?
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Forgive me. I forgot to introduce myself."
You're mummering again...just tell her your name!
"Let me s-start over. M-my name is Alexander Reed. May I join your club?"
I'm making a fool out of myself! I hope she doesn't think I'm stupid or anything.

[rocklobster]

"Don't be so nervous. You seem like you're on American Idol and thinking I'm Simon Cowl about to eliminate you. And I'm not. So, you're in. The name's Christa. Here's my info: address, Facebook, and e-mail. So, what anime have you seen so far?" she asked.

[Masquerade1412]

...just stay calm. Stop being so timid.
"W-well, a friend of mine introduced me to Tsubasa: Resevoir Chronicle. I also watched Clannad, but that's all I have seen so far..."

[Beau Soir]

From where she sat at a table nearby, Erin watched the scene unfolding. That guy seems pretty nervous... She thought, her interest piqued. I wonder if he likes Christa? He looks like he could use some ice breaking. Maybe I'll go see what's up, I want to ask Christa about the anime club anyway.
With that, Erin dismissed herself from the table and slowly approached the scene of Christa and the timid boy.
"Hey, guys!" Erin gave a small wave. "Sorry to interrupt. I was just wondering if I could sit here, Christa? I'd like to talk about the anime club this period."

[rocklobster]

"Oh, hello, Erin--is it? This is Alexander, he's thinking of joining the club too. What would you like to know about it?" Christa said as she finished her sandwich.

[Phantom_Sorano]

OOC: Miss Atria, Lio is not in the cafeteria. She is sort of a loner at lunch.

Toby took a gulp of his large glass of water and reached for Alex, grabbing his shoulder and gently tugging him to take a chair.

"Hey man! Pleasure to meetcha! I thought you were new because I haven't seen you around. Name's Toby.", he said with a smile.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Tadah!"

Leah bounced around the corner and over to her sister and her growing table. She circled over to give her sister a hug before sitting herself between Talia and Toby.

"So what's going on in the Land of High School?", she asked as she took a slice of pizza from Toby's tray. She knew he didn't mind, and he only tousled her hair as punishment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lio held her half-eaten sandwich in one hand, and a paintbrush in another as she stood in front of a large art mural. This was one of her babies; part of a major personal art project for a collection to send in for art schools. But more importantly, these paintings were personal. She came in here everyday for lunch, put on her music, and spent the thirty minutes on her art. Today, nothing good was coming from it.

[Atria35]

OOC: Ooops! Sorry!

Talia waved at the guy who was sitting down and smiled. He was so nervous- it was so cute!

((Hi! I'm Talia!)) she signed, hoping that either one of the others would translate, or he'd know some sign language himself.

[Masquerade1412]

Okay, I wasn't expecting THIS many people...at the rate things are going, I'm going to say something really stupid, and everyone's going to laugh...
...what is something that I can say that everyone can relate to...?
Alex took a nervous breath. And another. Finally he said, "W-when is the first meeting?"
Hey, that was a totally normal question!...I'll try another...
"A-and what are we going to talk about? Since I don't know a lot about anime, I thought that if it's about something I don't know, I could just Google it and get the basics.
Of course, that kinda sounds like cheating...and now I'm rambling again and making a fool out of myself..."
YOU IDIOT!!! YOU JUST SAID THAT OUT LOUD!!!
Alex tried to force back the tears but felt the dam about to burst.
"I'm sorry. Maybe I'll just go..."

[Atria35]

Talia was very distressed. She leaned over to grab his hand. She held it and shook it, smiling. She could sort-of read his lips, but he was talking too fast for her to make much out. She hoped that one of the others would clue her in.

[Masquerade1412]

...eh?...This girl is holding my hand...and smiling...now that I think of it...she hasn't said anything since I got here...maybe she's shy, like me...
...maybe she is asking me to stay...well...I guess I have no choice...
Alex, cherry red from embarrassment, sat down at the table. Then, he slowly said,
"I apologize. I've never been any good at making friends...or talking to people...so I tend to say what I'm thinking without knowing it.
I'm sorry if I have been a bother. If you don't want me in the club, I understand. 'All's fair in love and war.'"
Alex, exhausted from his wild emotions, lowered his head and closed his eyes, waiting for the blade to drop.

[Phantom_Sorano]

Toby was grinning ear to ear. Poor Alex...this guy was super hard-wired. He grabbed a notebook from his bookbag and wrote out what Alex had been saying, and handed it all to Talia to get caught up.

"Just chill", he said reassuringly, " we're not gonna judge, so just relax. Christa is a mellow person, so you don't hafta worry bout impressing her or anyone at this table: we are equal-oppurtunists here."

He laughed at his own poor joke and ate another bite of food.

Leah hoped from her chair and gave Alex a big hug.

"Don't worry. My sister and her friends are really nice. I'm not even in high school yet and I still hang out with them; they're super fun."

She giggled and signed out to her sister before leaving back for the middle school.

[rocklobster]

"Alex, there was a time when I didn't even know what anime was. Then my mom took us to see Spirited Away. I loved it. Some time later, Cartoon Network started playing stuff like Gundam Wing, which I thought was awesome. I did research, and was blown away at what i found. Before I knew it, I was hooked. Besides, I'll gladly let you borrow my stuff. So, you're in. Welcome to the club. You'd better show up today, though." Christa said.
OOC: Atria, have Talia tell Alex her first anime experience.

[Atria35]

Talia had taken the pad of paper and was surprised by what she was reading. She felt a bit sorry for him- it wasn't easy to get to know a new group of people, and he was apparently very people-shy. But! That could change.

She handed it back to Toby, signing ((Thank you!))

And then she started signing out her first experience. ((I got into it because, when you're deaf, there's very little in the way of stuff to watch and entertain yourself outside of books and foreign films. I know that a lot of tv shows say that they're close captioned, but the words would get messed up or translate something wrong, and I'd miss key parts and lines. But I liked Sailor Moon when I was little, and a few years ago decided to watch it online... I didn't know it was an illegal streaming site at the time! I just thought it looked weird!.... and saw that it had subtitles and was totally different. I had no idea about it until then!))

[rocklobster]

"Yeah, thank goodness there's legal streaming." said Christa. "Now I don't feel guilty watching an anime illegally."
OOC: Christa is totally against illegal streams.

[Masquerade1412]

Alex nervously chuckled at Christa's remark, obviously confused.
Oh!, thought Alex.
...Talia can't hear...so maybe that's why she grabbed my hand...
...she certainly is very energetic...but I'm not sure what she's saying...
...I'd say something...but with all of the commotion I caused earlier...I would just be a bother...so...
...I'll just play along...maybe I can learn some sign language when I get home...

[Atria35]

Talia tilted her head, and then realized what Christa had failed to-

The boy didn't know sign language.

It wasn't that hard to figure out by his expression- the nervous, blank look that most people had when they were baffled by her flurry of hand signals. She poked at Christa and signed urgently ((TRANSLATE IT!))

[rocklobster]

Christa made the "stupid me" signs and said to Alex. "Talia's saying her first experience with anime was when Cartoon Network aired Sailor Moon. She likes anime because she can watch it with subtitles, and usually stays away from TV because the captions translate words poorly and often misspell them. Really, the best way to start watching anime is to try to figure out what kind of stories you like best and watch anime with those kind of stories. I like sci-fi, for instance, and my sister, Leah, likes romance and other girly stuff."
OOC: Tomorrow we do the first meeting.

[Beau Soir]

(OOC: Hey guys, I think I'm going to drop out of the RP now. Sorry to say, but I'm not exactly contributing and it's not good timing for me right now. ): But it was fun while it lasted- thanks!)

[Masquerade1412]

(OCC: Aww...oh well, glad you had fun!)
"Thanks. Sorry about that," said Alex.
...What I like best, huh...Interesting...I guess that means I have to do trial and error...
"Um...I know I asked this earlier... but what is the first meeting about?"

[rocklobster]

"We're just going to watch one of my favorite titles, Whisper of the Heart. It's a bit on the girly side, but it's pretty. And like I said, I have lots of anime and manga titles that I'll gladly let you borrow."

[Masquerade1412]

"R-really?" Alex stammered. "A-are you s-s-sure? I mean, I'm grateful and all, but..."
Look, you nervous wreck!...She is just extending her anime in friendship!...It's not like she's asking you to DIE for her!..so RELAX!!
"...Thank you. I really appreciate it. I can't wait for the meeting!"

[Phantom_Sorano]

Toby stood up, patting Alex on the back as he gathered his tray.
"See you at the meeting."

He kicked at his skateboard before rolling to the trash and then out the door. Class would be starting up soon, and about this time is when he had to go and pull Lio away from the art room. This was a typical ritual for them; she had been going off by herself everyday at lunch since they were in grade school. It wasn't even strange; some people just need a break of alone time.

Lio was tapping the brush against her chin, splashing green paint on her face but oblivious to the fact. She just couldn't get focused on this one today. The canvas almost looked like it was mocking her; it was not playing well on her nerves.

"Hey. It looks good."

"NO. It doesn't.", she said sharply as she spun around to meet Toby's amuzed gaze.

"I like it."

"Of course YOU would...you don't understand art. It's awful!"

"You really are your worst critic, y'know?"

"Whatever! I'm being honest with myself!"

"Alright Ms. Honest...c'mere", he said wiping the paint from her face, "we're gonna be late."

"It's just not my day...."

"Well, cheer up. The anime club meets up in a few classes."

She rolled her eyes at his optimism, and muttered under her breath in broken Italian as he held the door for her.

[rocklobster]

OOC: OK, time to fast forward to the afternoon.
Christa came home and checked out her to-do list. It was Friday, and she'd purposely done all her projects early in the week so she could have enough time to devote to the club. Her mother came in and said, "OK dear, you and Leah are in charge while we're gone. We'll let you do your club thing, but remember, they have to be responsible too. If one thing is out of order, your club is over before it even starts. We have our emergency numbers on the fridge if you need us."
"Not a problem, mom." said Christa. "You guys do the important stuff to keep that Best Buy running. We can handle this."

[Atria35]

Christa had a nice house. She met her mother on the way to the car- her mother was very polite and said 'hi'- and then Talia went up the walk to ring the doorbell. She had to admit, it was pretty exciting!

[Masquerade1412]

...ugh...Why can't I ever get to anything on time?...
Alex quickly strapped his bag onto his bike and hopped on, pedaling furiously.
...Great...I'm going to be late for the first meeting...unless I fire up these engines I call legs!...
Alex picked up his pace, feeling the familiar twinge in his thighs, and headed towards Christa's house.

[rocklobster]

Christa opened the door and let Talia in.
{{Welcome}}she signed. {{I'm glad I have you in the club. At least I have two people I can trust not to break stuff. Sorry, guess I'm a little nervous.}}
She went over to the pantry and got out two bags of microwave popcorn. She put one in the microwave and pressed the correct combination of buttons to start it up.

[Masquerade1412]

Exhausted, Alex slowly climbed the steps to the house.
...I really need to work out more...At least I made it here...
Alex knocked on the door. Suddenly an old man came out waving a Taser gun.
"GET OFFA MY LAWN, YOU WHIPPERSNAPPERS!!"
After running for 10 minutes, Alex took another look at the house number.
...whoops...wrong house...Christa's house is across the street...
Alex stumbled across the road and rang the doorbell.

[Atria35]

Talia had to laugh at Christa's comment. She knew that someone had once told her that it sounded awkward, like a duck quacking, but she didn't care. She liked to laugh. ((I'm going to keep watch for people, okay?)) she scurried off to the front door as she smelled the popcorn starting to pop.

As she turned the corner, she saw Alex through the window by the door. She opened it up to let him in, smiling as she did so. He looked exhausted! What on earth could he have been doing?