Midnight Slackers.

[Lister D. Reynolds]

Doors shut at 11. Mind racing with mistakes made that day. Shouldn't have said anything. Shouldn't have contributed when you have nothing useful to say. Should have just said there and shrugged your shoulders when she asked you that question. Should have disappeared after class. Should have avoided the assholes. Shouldn't have been born.

LDR lay with his legs swinging over the edge of the roof, a joint stuck in his mouth. Eyes reflected the ever expanding set of stars above his head. The deathly silence that encroached upon this midnight hour was muffled by music blaring from headphones. He tried to distract himself from the ever-running hateful monologue by counting the stars.

Getting out of bed this morning was a mistake. Today seemed to be international 'Group Discussion' day. And as much as LDR tried not to interact with the class the teacher always dragged him back into the conversation, even though his answers ranged from a 'ye-ye-yes' or a shrug of the shoulders.

Door scraped open. His mind too blanked to notice the footsteps which echoed across the roof.

[Kai Baxter]

Kai had never had much regard for the rules. It wasn't that they broke them on purpose, just to do it, they simply ignored the ones they disagreed with. It didn't have anything to do with an adrenaline rush or wanting to disobey authority, it was merely that Kai mostly just did what they wanted to do. That night what they wanted to do was hang out on the school roof, regardless of curfews and off limit areas.

When they got out there, they were surprised to see that there was someone already there. They hesitated for a moment, contemplating heading back again, but then decided to stay. The boy was alone too, maybe he didn't want to talk and they could just mutually ignore each other. That would be fine with Kai. Or maybe the kid would be okay and up for a chat. If he was obnoxious or annoying, Kai wouldn't hesitate to simply leave.

Kai strode across the roof and sat down nearby. Not too close to be an obvious invitation to chat, but not too far away to completely discourage it. They were also not in range of their power, which was always nice. The boy had headphones on, so Kai merely gave a brief wave in greeting. For their own entertainment they had games on their cell phone, but for the moment they were content to just stargaze.

[Lister D. Reynolds]

Eyes flickered at the movement. Hard to tell who it is upside down... The person wasn't that far away but still only gave a wave. LDR returned the wave, sitting up slowly. Did he know them? Maybe. Mouth opened to speak but he turned his attention back to the sky. No light pollution seemed to affect the sky tonight. A glance back at whoever was sat near him.

He put the headphones round his neck. Ash flicked from his joint, eyebrow raised at the person "D-D-Do I-I..." A frown. He was sure he knew them but couldn't place the name. Not that he ever learned maybe people's names. Another drag taken. A cloud of smoke pooling out of his mouth. Confidence found.

"Do I-I know you or is it ju-just a recognizable fa-face?" He offered a small smile before shrugging and lying back down "Y-You do-don't have to answer that..." More smoke pooled from his mouth.

[Kai Baxter]

The boy had been lying down, but Kai just leaned back, weight resting on their forearms. They didn't feel like getting their clothes all dirty. There was another moment of silence before the boy sat up and acknowledged them. Kai shrugged at his question. "I haven't been here for very long, but there aren't that many of us either. We've probably seen each other around." They couldn't really place him either and didn't know his name, but at this point everyone looked vaguely familiar even if they hadn't talked to that many people. Kai had gotten used to moving around and so didn't bother to try to even learn everyone's name in classes. Besides those that they got to know, everyone else was just part of a crowd that passed through their lives.

"I'm Kai, in case that helps." The boy had laid back down, but hadn't put his headphones on, so Kai assumed that he wasn't against the idea of chatting. "Maybe we have a couple of the same classes or something," they added. "Dunno about the recognizable face thing, though."

[Lister D. Reynolds]

Kai. K-K-K-Kai. Nope. No bells. LDR shrugged at their answer. He held the joint in his mouth whilst bringing one leg up "Li-Lister but most people call me LDR...or..." He shook his head. Now let's not get depressive. That would only ruin the serenity of the roof. Sitting up, he turned to fully study them. Most of the people he met on the roof or in the dead of the night were those who found it hard to function. Sometimes they just needed a break from reality. That says plenty about LDR. Unable to function normally.

"So...can't sleep or d-do you ju-just get a thrill fr-from br-breaking th-the rules?" His gaze turned to the stars again, not wanting to make them feel uncomfortable. Another glance "You d-don't have to an-answer that either..."

[Kai Baxter]

Lister. LDR. Nope, didn't ring any bells for Kai either. Both were kind of weird names, so they probably would have remembered. The kid was kind of weird too. Kai wondered if the stutter was a side effect of anxiety or just the way he talked. He seemed somewhat uncomfortable, despite the joint, the way he kept backtracking on what he said. That was probably why he was out there, Kai mused, to destress. None of it bothered them, as long as the kid didn't turn out to be annoying.

Kai shrugged at his question. "Yeah, can't sleep, basically. I thought the roof would be a good place to chill, clear my head, all that clichéd stuff. And as for the rules, I don't really care about breaking them either way." They weren't going to get into the psychoanalysis of why they felt this way about rules and why being able to do what they wanted was important to them. Not that they necessarily would have been able to put all that into words anyway. "What about you? Just looking for a private place to smoke that joint?"

[Lister D. Reynolds]

LDR just nodded as Kai spoke. They seemed to be pretty chilled out. Which was good. The last thing he needed was to have to deal with someone who was highly strung. At their question he cracked a small smile "Yeah...so-something li-like that. The do-dorm monitors can smell it, plus it's kinda hard to think when your room smells like some crack-den." He considered for a moment, feeling the tin container in his pocket. Pulling it out he outstretched it too Kai "You want one?"

His smile widened "Don't fe-feel pe-peer pressured." He coughed, taking on a ridiculous public service announcement voice "Re-Remember kids, wh-wh-when a stranger offers you drugs just say n-no." The smile saddened slightly "Doesn't wo-work so well with a stutter, does it?"

[Kai Baxter]

So far LDR seemed alright. He seemed to have a self-deprecating sense of humor and that was always a plus in Kai's book. They imagined the stutter might bother him, but it was good to know he could make a joke about it too. Kai wasn't particularly tactful. So, although they wouldn't have purposefully made fun of him about the stutter, a comment about it could easily slip out. They could hold grudges, but they didn't try to be mean to people who didn't deserve it. Their bluntness was perceived that way though.

"Sure, why not," they answered, taking the joint from him. It wasn't something they did often, but they didn't have anything against it. They would just rather spend their money on other things. If LDR was offering though, they didn't see why they shouldn't take it. "Got a light?" they asked, shifting a little closer. They had moved in range of their power now, which was mildly annoying, but okay for the time being.

"Have you ever been caught out here?" They weren't too worried or anything, simply curious. Although they had never been expelled from a school, they had gotten in trouble plenty of times and gotten kicked out of a few foster homes. It was good to explore the boundaries of a new place. Since being at the school was for their own protection, could a student even get expelled? they wondered.

[Lister D. Reynolds]

LDR was happily surprised that Kai had taken up his offer of a joint. He flicked on his lighter, holding it out to them. At their question he thought before shaking his head "N-N-Nope never been caught smoking dope. The m-m-monitors do-don't ca-care as long as you do-don't ma-make a lot of noise." He had bumped into one or two people late at night but no one was about to rat him out when they were breaking the rules too.

He gave Kai a sly smile "Y-You plan on breaking the curfew a lot?" More ash was flicked from the end of his joint. It would be fun to have a regular person to chill with in the middle of the night, there was only so much he take of his sister talking to him. Not that he didn't love her but he needed some other form of social interaction, even if it was clouded by a drug-induced haze.