14697/Happy Harbor: Prom 2023

Happy Harbor: Prom 2023
Date of Scene:	27 May 2023
Location:	Legacy Castle
Synopsis:	Prom for HHHS is interrupted by the Puritans...and justice is served!
Cast of Characters:	Morrigan MacIntyre, Tommy Shepherd, Xiomara Rojas, Colette O'Connail, Michael Hannigan

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Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
This years prom was back at the Legacy Castle given it was a great setting in general. This meant that the students, faculty and others were away from Happy Harbor High School for the evening. This years theme was black tie and a bit more laid back with things the students needed to do. Just find a fancy suit, dress or something and arrive when they wanted.

The school had even taken those shopping that wanted to go and footed the bill for suits and things as well.

There is a bit more security than the last few years and that is due to the protests that happened and...well...you can never be too careful. There are photographers stationed and goodie bag tables along with buffet, because you have to feed people!

Morrigan's been a bit of a shadow this evening, moving around and making sure that things are alright with caterers, personel and all the other things that go on behind the scenes. And of course she is dateless this evening.

Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    There's no way Tommy would show up to prom as a student. He's feeling his age a little too sharply for that, being a twenty-year old amidst a sea of teens, and graduation can't come fast enough. In the meantime, though, he's willing to play chaperone, and put his superspeed to good use by making frequent laps around the property to ensure no one is trying to get in that shouldn't be here.

    Things on the inside, though? Not so much his purview, purposefully. If some kid manages to spike the punchbowl Tommy will be proud, and he's more than willing to turn a blind eye to kids sneaking around. Because ultimately he's a kid too. Clearly he's not the type to let a little bit of authoritative power go to his head.

    Speaking of punch, though, he does make a pitstop at the refreshment stand to get some sugar in him. All this running around requires energy, and nothing like some ambiguously fruit-flavored red liquid full of empty calories to take care of that.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
High School Senior Prom. It was supposed to be a big deal, some kind of 'right of passage' for American teenagers. Crush had gone back and forth in her head about the whole thing and finally decided she would make the attempt to be an American teenager and attend the prom. She'd done a lot of research on what the prom was supposed to be like, and of course threw all that information right out the window. She wasn't going to spike the punch bowl and unsurprisingly no one asked her to go with them and she hadn't bothered to ask anyone, so there was no 'first time' planned. She was too old for that anyway, what with if having taken her longer to reach graduation.

Lack of a date didn't stop her from going out to find a punk-goth styled jacket of leather and lace with high collar and long sleeves to wear with a new pair black leather pants and of course the black chain wrapped two times around her waist. A brand new knee high boots were laced in placed on her feet, and thankfully for everyone involved, they were flats.

It was difficult for someone of her height and complexion to be a wall flower, and it wasn't really her style either, but she had no intentions of dancing. She intended to eat the little horderves, drink the crappy punch, listen to the music and people watch.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Twenty is an odd age to find yourself at a high school prom, as Crush and Tommy are each discovering in their own way. You're definitely too old, and you know it. On the other hand you're far too close to being the right age for it to feel properly differentiated. The authority figures are generally much older.

    Miss O'Connail had been twenty the first time she was at a Happy Harbor prom too, in her case as a TA, and thus supposedly an authority figure to some extent. Three years on and she's a teacher, an old hand at this, and just about old enough that she's no longer in danger of being mistaken for one of the students.

     Not that even three years ago her attitude was as easy to mistake. Even as a twenty year old TA she had exuded a mixture of cynicism and self-confidence that sold her as a figure of authority pretty effectively. Now, standing close to the buffet and radiating an aura of stern indifference, she has a fair degree of certainty that students planning to cause trouble are likely to attempt to do so where she can't see them. As a teacher she's pretty laid back right up to the moment any student is foolish enough to earn her ire; not that easy to earn, but inevitably regretted if that is achieved.

    On the subject of spiking punch bowls, it might however be observed that Colette has placed herself at the far end of the buffet from said punch bowl. This, apparently, is not in her purview. Perhaps this is intentional.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Mike never really got to attend a school prom as a student. Well, by the time he got to the age it would be a thing, he was being homeschooled and well- yeah, no prom. He'd probably have skipped out on this one as well, but his schedule was permitting and the chaperone signup sheet looked pretty blank so here he is.

The musician has even taken the time to follow along with the theme of the prom, dusting off something he'd generally wear for a fundraising event when he's having to su- uh, APPEAL to the wealthy to consider donating. His long hair has been tamed, pulled back with a rather elegant ribbon covering up the hairband that's actually doing all the work. He is wearing a black suit, complete with black tie. However instead of the pristine white, he has gone with a red dress shirt instead.

He has drifted over to the refreshment table and is taking his duty seriously by making sure the punch has indeed not been altered. It is still safe.

Mission accomplished.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Declan and Delia are here, both dressed nicely along with their dates. Delia's going through a goth phase, so naturally everything is black today. Her date isn't from the school, which is surprising, but seems to fit the usual MO of the young lady.

Tyler arrives dressed in all black and makes a bee line for where Morrigan is standing.

Not too far behind him is Riordan, dressed smartly in a black tux with dark purple accents. His hair is slicked back and the tattoos at his throat and hands can be seen. He seems to just be enjoying the atmosphere before he starts to make a circle to check in on people.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
Making her way over to the punch bowl, Crush takes note of much how many of the teachers are watching it and finds herself internally laughing. So it really was a prom thing for some student, usually a jock, to try and add alcohol to it, a tradition some might say. Not at this school, clearly, far too many teachers and chaperone's paying attention to it. What that meant is the students who were interested in alcohol would find another way to add it to their own glasses.

Getting herself some of the very much NOT spiked punch, she moves along the table of refreshments, ignores them, then starts looking for a place to hover that is out of the way where she can take up the second part of her plan for the evening. Watching people and hating things.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Why would anyone spike the punch bowl anyway? Spiking your own punch makes more sense. Bring a flask full of something strong and top up your own glass, and those of your friends. Empty it into the bowl and you'll end up drinking something far too weak anyway.

    This at least is Colette's thought on the matter, and perhaps why she's paying so little attention to the punch bowl compared to those teachers Xiomara finds so amusing. Let us gloss over the fact that the bottle of mineral water she has contains a liquid that, were the lights stronger, might be more obviously the wrong shade of single malt Scotch whiskey to actually be water.

    She takes a few moments to give Declan and Delia tellingly suspicious glances of the type intended to remind them they are being watched, before greeting Mike as his rounds bring him to her end of the buffet. "How do you always end up getting roped into volunteering for school things, Mike?" she asks. "I'd speculate that Mo must have compromising photos of you, but honestly the scandal would probably just be good PR for you."

Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    As Xiomara makes her way down the refreshment table, Tommy obligingly moves out of the way while consuming his second... no, third... cup of punch. He tips his head at her and straightens his tie, because yes, he's wearing a suit to "blend in" the same way as Michael is, though his is rented on the school's dime the same way many of the students attending the dance are.

    He starts to do a slow circle of the area (slow for real, which means it's a *real* crawl of a pace for Tommy), looking back and forth as he exits the dance floor for anyone who shouldn't be present. While also nursing his fourth! cup of punch.

    Hey, what can he say. It's good stuff even when it isn't spiked.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Hearing the question, Mike looks over to Colette, giving a small smile. "I don't ALWAYS get roped in to chaperoning." He first corrects, "It's just that I have a tendency to volunteer for things when my schedule permits." He lifts up his punch glass, "No compromising photos needed."

The musician sips his punch, eyes glancing through the clear plastic edge to the group of students milling about. He takes note of Crush moving away from the refreshment tables but not going to join the rest of the students. The cup lowers.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
There's a few of the seniors that had went out to get air and take pictures with their dates and group photos. They come back in looking a little spooked, but they don't call for any security or anything.

Tyler had been speaking quietly with Morrigan though and the woman reaches out to pat his shoulder gently and then motions for him to join Declan and Delia or one of the chaperones.

There is the sound of someone shouting over a bullhorn outside.

Because the evening was going so well so far!

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
Instant rage flashes across her eyes, meaning Crush's eyes go red and unfortunately stay that way. The glass of punch is dropped onto the nearest table as she growls out a loud, "Enough!" then heads for the exit.

No one else had to be blamed, no one else had to involve themselves, but it was time to put an end to the protesting that was effecting every student at the school. If it meant going to jail, she'd go to jail, she'd let the cops do what they had to do, but that asshole in charge of the protesting was getting two broken legs.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    As it filters through to the awareness of the people here that the protesters are back, Colette gives a soft sigh and takes a swig from her water bottle. At times like these you need a good stiff drink of water. Especially water that has been aged for 18 years in sherry casks.

    Fun fact, the Gaelic word for water is 'uisce', from where we get the word 'Whiskey'. Colette's being perfectly honest here.

    "I suspect Crush is going to find herself the subject of compromising photos," she says to Mike, watching the Czarnian's exit. "At least if we don't do something. Coming?"

    She offers her bottle of water to Mike before heading towards the exit to follow Xiomara out. "Need a shot of water to fortify yourself first?" she asks.

Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    Welp, sounds like it's time to make his way back outside again for another sweep. Things can be done at superspeed that normal human perception straight-up can't see, so if a few protesters need to be punked then Tommy's your guy.

    But he does screech to a stop when he sees Xiomara start moving that way, and in solidarity he falls into step with her instead. "You thinking what I'm thinking?" he asks her, only to mime zipping his lips when he sees their tail, looking nervously over his shoulder towards Colette before he faces forward again.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
As the faint sounds of a bullhorn start to filter over to Mike's ears, the eyes start to roll. "Don't those people have lives to get to?" He mutters. He doesn't have much of a chance to ponder this as he sees Crush start to make her way to the door. Colette's words seem to reinforce his decision as he gives a nod, only to pause. There's a slight shift to his form before he moves over, taking the bottle and removing the top. He hands the bottle back without taking a sip, or returning the cap. "Thanks."

With a new priority in place, Mike sets down his own glass upon a table to pursue the larger sized person. Prior to exiting the building, he fades from sight.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
"Let's not do anything rash." Morrigan calls out as the noise outside gets louder and there is a call for the DJ to stop. The students know this drill. It's called Hello Darkness My Old Friend, Someones Fucked Up Prom Again.

"Melvin's not here. He's at the school." she frowns as she heads after the other Harborites. Security is already outside and talking to the man on the bullhorn. Trying to get them to disperse. Morrigan's heels click across the pavement until she's at the roped off area where a line of people are set up, "If you do not disperse and let my students enjoy their night I'm going to start identifying as a HUGE problem." she snaps at them. Which makes the security guards start looking to both sides.

Uh oh.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
Tommy gets a single nod, the only recognition that Crush offers beyond her intentions and actions. Moving outside, she is not running but she is walking at the faster pace her long legs allow.

Outside she finds herself wondering how Dr/Ms. MacIntyre moved so fast, but its a fleeting thought through the anger. Weeks of this, weeks of the students having to sneak in and out of their own school, it was enough.

"You all got exactly five seconds to get the fuck out of here!" she bellows toward the crowd on the other side of the rope. "Cause I've had enough of this bull shit, you aren't ruining their prom too!"

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Of all the things Colette might have predicted to happen tonight, having Mike steal the cap to her bottle was a very long way down the list. Nevertheless she finds herself making her way rapidly out of the building with a now lid-less bottle in her hands. She can't exactly slip it in a pocket now, and it's far too good to just throw the bottle away, so Colette resolves the problem by glugging down the bottle on her way out.

    Mike is the only person there who might realize that means she's just chugged about sixteen ounces of neat whiskey, but fortunately he's not around to notice. The bottle is gone by the time she's outside and standing behind Tommy and Xiomara while Mo threatens trouble. It's Xiomara's threats that are Colette's more immediate concern though.

    "Crush, while I very much agree with the sentiment," Colette tells her, "I'd also prefer it if you don't end your prom night in a jail cell. Let Doctor Morrigan try to deal with this first, and don't throw the first punch, okay? You are of course entitled to use reasonable force in self-defense."

Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    Tommy is there at the protest line besides Xiomara, but he doesn't make any threats of his own. He looks... not afraid, but wary, especially once Colette mentions the possibility of someone ending up in a jail cell. Which is when he steps back a bit and shakes his head, clearly not willing to go down for this. Soon enough he's backed up far enough to blend in with the other students.

Michael Hannigan has posed:
Ok Tommy he can understand, but as he finds Mo and Xiomara already with the protestors, he can't help but to have a bit of a mental curse. DAMMIT HOW DOES EVERYONE MOVE FASTER THAN HIM?! Either way, his presence isn't all that noticable being that he opted to be unseen for this approach. Be it for safety or what not. Colette was right in that they had to do something to keep Crush from getting into trouble. But they also needed to do what they could to not ruin things for the other students.

So as Morrigan is distracting the protestors, Xiomara is advising the group to disperse and Colette is doing what she can to prevent Crush from breaking someone's limbs. The musician takes a more direct route by walking over to the one with a megaphone. Cap in hand, he proceeds to shove it into the electrical portion of the megaphone. Upon it leaving his fingertips, it loses the loaned out ability, becoming hole again within the megaphone's innards. He steps back and moves over towards Xiomara. Just in case he needs to do something over there.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
There is one police officer among the security detail. And thankfully they are close. The sirens flip on and the car starts to roll slowly around the crowd, "DO YOU HAVE A PERMIT?" the question rings out over the speaker from his car.

Thankfully some of the police aren't inept!

The security guards are making sure to keep the two groups apart. "Identify as a `bbrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!' the speaker on the bullhorn starts to screech and it finally burns out. A little smoke coming from it.

"Damn it." the man in charge growls out. There are people looking to Xiomara and to Morrigan like they might grow ten feet tall and start attacking.

But Morrigan knows better. "They do not have a permit and the one they had for protesting outside our school expired a week ago. So this is harassment." she points out to the cop as they start to call for backup.

"Our students are trying to enjoy their Prom and these people have ruined it." one of the teachers calls.

The officer holds up his hands as he approaches the barrier, "I need everyone to just remain calm. People who are protesting, if you do not have a permit then you'll have five minutes to disperse or we'll start arresting people. It's a holiday weekend so you won't be arraigned until Tuesday at the earliest." the officer warns.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
Crush's reaction to Colette's voice is to glare at her with bright red, full on Czarnian eyes. It was the first time in a year she'd lost the battle against her inherited temper, the first time many in the area would have ever seen her with red eyes.

The words don't seem to fully sink in, but perhaps in some way they do as she screams at Colette, "We've been puttin up with this shit for weeks and no one's done shit about it! They just keep coming day in, day out, to tell us we don't belong!"

She looks back toward the man with the no longer functioning bullhorn and points at him, continuing to scream, but at least if she's screaming she's not acting, right? "We got just as much right to exist, to be here, to have a fucking prom without these pieces of shit ruining it as any human on this planet! Your own Christian God preaches kindness and generosity yet here you are, acting like you got the right to judge... Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matt 7, so go fuck yourselves!"

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    "Yeah Crush," Colette replies, apparently wholly unfazed by having a red-eyed Czarnian bellowing in her face. "That's because they're a bunch of fucking asshats. Who'd love to see you thrown in jail, so don't give them the satisfaction."

    "These asshats would love to see you behind bars, treated like a criminal rather than a part of society. They want people to be scared of you. They want people like you to be seen as the bad guys. "

    She gestures at the officer threatening to arrest the protesters. "Let them be the ones who get arrested instead. Let everyone see that they're the bad guys. That's how you win this fight. Shout, yeah. Threaten, okay. They deserve it. But don't disappoint Mister Stadler and my dad, okay? They've believed in you. Prove them right, not the asshats."

Michael Hannigan has posed:
After a moment a raven flies down from the skies, perching upon Xiomara's shoulder. The bird looks over to the protestors for a moment before giving a croack of distaste in their direction.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan is going to let the cops handle it, but Xio gets a knowing look after her screaming and she cannot blame her for it. "Officer, my apologies, but emotions are high for our students. These people do not have a permit to be protesting here and for them to continue to harass us many many miles from our school is just uncalled for. Especially on a night that is supposed to be remembered in a good light." she states to the cop.

The crowd starts looking a bit uncertain and there are SHOCKED visages when Xio throws bible verses at them.

They start to thin out as the school has proven not to be short-fused or able to be baited, again.

The blonde man that was talking on the bullhorn loses his cool and tosses the bullhorn at Morrigan. The woman catches it and proceeds to crush it in her hands, "You absolute sandwich..." she whispers to him.

They do get to see the cops tackle the man as he howls out in anger and fights them.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
The pacing, constant movement, using up the energy that comes with a sudden rush of anger, Crush is using every weapon in her arsenal not to launch herself into the crowd and start punching. Aiming part of the anger at Colette, or more accurately screaming at the woman to redirect her attention had helped a little, but in the end she found herself staring at the blonde man again and really, really, REALLY wanting to break his leg. At least she was down to one leg instead of both.

Then the one of the names that always strikes her in the chest is spoken and the red eyes snap back to Colette. Breathing as if she just ran a marathon from one side of the country to the other, she stares at the unphased teacher with a serious of expression crossing her face, all at the same time. Really for one brief moment she looked so conflicted and confused that if the people looking didn't know the depth at which the Czarnian temper went, would likely have laughed at how messed up it made her look.

The final straw to push her into deeper, calming breaths was the raven landing on her shoulder. "They don't get to win," she breaths out, now realizing that it was all a final attempt to shove one of them, any one of the students or teachers, into making them right. "I won't be the reason they win."

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette nods her head at Xiomara when she says the protesters don't get to win, and nods the more vigorously when she announces that she won't be the reason they win.

    That's it though. There's nothing more that needs to be said, apparently. Xiomara has passed a test, but Colette's not congratulating her for it. That would be patronizing, after all. Perhaps Colette simply expected Xiomara to pass the test all along.

    Instead Colette steps up to the rope, taking the place Tommy had vacated, and raising her phone to start filming the protest leader get mobbed by the cops. Her phone is held high, the LED light shining brightly. Before long there are a lot of other people following suit and filming the guy getting arrested. "Make sure to zoom in on that ugly rage-filled face," Colette encourages the person standing next to her.

    She raises her voice to be heard over the crowd. "And don't forget to film the rest of these protesters too, we want everyone on Youtube to see who these criminals really are. This is going to look /so impressive/ to their employers."

    Can't hurt to try encouraging that crowd to thin itself out as rapidly as possible...

Michael Hannigan has posed:
With Colette fighting questionable protest practices by wielding the most powerful weapon against them, the internet, there's not much more to do here. The ring leader's getting arrested and the sane protestors will likely realize how stupid they're being and head out.

But there is the matter of a student being out there. The raven looks over to Xiomara for a few moments. Once he's certain she sees him, he tilts his head in the direction of the prom where the other classmates should be.

Time to head back inside.

Morrigan MacIntyre has posed:
Morrigan gives a look over the officers and then to the students and faculty that are out there as well. "They aren't going to win, no." she tells Xiomara. "And I hope that this act will let them and others know that they shouldn't try this again. Plus I'm sure when this goes to court and they are banned from our grounds they'll remember and not bother others." she states to all of them.

The cops fight the leader into the back of a squad car and get statements and things from others. Towards the end it is decided that a few of the officers would stay for extra security and for escorting students and others back to Happy Harbor when they needed it.

Apparently there was some light in the darkness this night.

Xiomara Rojas has posed:
Crush stays to watch the wrestling, and does not turn to head back inside until the man is in the back of the squad car. She won't be staying for much longer, she is no longer in the mood to people watch, listen to music or do anything remotely American.

"You should probably change back," she mutters at the raven. "I ain't staying and you can't chaperone like that."

She is true to her word, she stays maybe thirty more minutes before she leaves and returns to the school. A part of would rather check on Melvin anyway, then return to making certain the school is safe.

Tommy Shepherd has posed:
    Tommy can be found back at the punch bowl, rehydrating. In completely unrelated news, someone used the cover of the commotion outside to spike the punch bowl.

    Unfortunately, Tommy saw nothing. And he doesn't say anything either, even after several more cups of punch.

Colette O'Connail has posed:
    Colette gives a small nod to the raven riding on Xiomara's shoulder as she carries him back inside. At some point in the future she's going to ask him why he stole the lid of her water bottle, but the time is not now. Not while he's in raven form.

    That would be /weird/.

    She gives a nod to Morrigan too, and as the fun seems to be over, she turns her attention to herding the crowd. "Okay everyone, show's over. Let's get back inside and back to the prom. Quick! Before someone spikes the punch!"

    This is a very illogical threat, yet oddly effective. Cogs turn in students minds, and the thought that someone might have spiked the punch while all eyes were on the goings on outside is rapidly followed by the thought that they should get inside and grab themselves some of that punch before any such spiking might be discovered.