you don't have to feel safe to be unafraid [Matty]

[parker]

Parker decided it was a nice enough day to attempt to do her homework outside today. Yes, even though it was a Saturday, she was doing homework. She was that girl. The one who mostly did everything on time and was a pretty decent student. Was it fun? Not exactly, but she liked doing well more then she disliked doing the work. She stuffed her books into her schoolbag and headed out to the lake. She sat down under a tree and watched the other students walking around, a couple of guys were tossing a football around. Yeah, she was a bit of a nerd but she was okay with that.

With her back against the tree, she wiggled around to get comfortable and then took out her book and started reading. Of course, she had biology homework, but she wasn’t going to do that just yet or ever. She avoided that homework as much as she could to the point where she’d be happy if she didn’t end up failing the class or any other science class that she might have to take in her high school career. When she was finally getting into the groove of reading, her phone started buzzing. She scrambled to get to it only to see the word ‘Dad’ on her call display. Yeah, she so wasn’t answering that. She didn’t exactly get along with her mom, and her dad even less so. It seemed like every time she spoke with them they fought. A couple seconds later, her phone beeped, telling her she had a voicemail.

“Oh yay. You left a message.” She muttered under her breath, looking at her phone before tossing it a few feet in front of her. That was another good thing about coming to school here, she could get away from them. It had to be one of her favourite things about being here.

[matthias]

Saturday, that one day of eternal bliss where the only thing meant to be worried about was figuring out the best way to slack off. It was the one day of the week in which total relaxation was considered possible, the natural stresses of life suspended until Sunday decided to crash down like a an angry wave. Matty generally liked Saturdays. Given the conversation he was currently having with his mother, however, this one probably could have been better.

Walking and talking on the phone was as natural to students during their free time as breathing. It was the sort of multitasking action that required the attention span of a gnat. Therefore, you would think that the animated red head would have been a bit more graceful as he argued with his mother over whether or not he was spending enough time on all his homework (the boy was a firm believer that Saturdays were not meant to be used for thinking about school, which was all his dear mum seemed to want to talk about).

But Matty's mom wasn't like most mom's, and the sort of phone call he was having wasn't like most calls. Typically speaking, a phone call involved holding the phone in question up to an ear and listening, leaving the eyes free to observe the chosen path. They did not (as this one did) involve holding the phone in front of your face with one hand and rapidly gesturing at it with the other. But Matty's mom was deaf and so they spoke with their hands and not their mouths, which meant that through the entire conversation the boy was looking at his phone and not at all where he was walking.

The sound of something unnatural crunching beneath his foot startled him mid-sign. Signaling for his mom to hang on, he looked down at whatever it was he'd just stepped on. It appeared to a cellphone not unlike the one he was currently holding. Panic instantly washed over him as his wide-eyed gazed searched for whoever must have owned the thing. Maybe they weren't around and he could drop it off at Lost and Found, telling whoever was in charge that he had found it with the cracked screen.

Pity the owner was sitting right there, several feet away under a tree. It was a pretty girl, no less, brunette and seemingly a little bookish. Matty stared, horror stricken at what his obliviousness had just done. From the corner of his eye he could see his mom on the small screen, still yelling at him in American Sign Language. Hopefully his hanging up on her mid-rant wouldn't further incite her wrath, because right now he had bigger problems than not doing his homework. How on earth was he supposed to apologize for possibly breaking this girl's phone? "I... I... I'm..." The apology was stuck in his throat, coated thickly in horrors of his carelessness.

ooc: i apologize for parker's cell ^^;;

[parker]

After throwing her phone, she decided to go back to reading. With her phone far enough away from her yet not completely out of sight, she would be able to concentrate and forget about her parents and the fact that her dad had been calling her nonstop all day. She read a few pages until she heard a crunch. Parker quickly looked up and saw a boy standing on her phone. Oh. Well this was just perfect. This day was just getting even better and better. She slammed her book shut and scrambled to her feet. She was torn between wanting to yell at him and wanting to break down in tears. Her parents were going to kill her.

Her anger subsided a little when she his face. He seemed to feel really bad and she felt really stupid for throwing her phone. It was all her fault. How could she have been so stupid? Who throws their phone on the ground? People walk on the ground. Of course someone would step on it. It was only logical. And now she was going to have to call home and ask her parents to send her a new one phone. Knowing her parents though, they probably weren’t going to give her a new one. Tears of frustration were starting to form in her eyes, so she tried to blink them back. She didn’t even know what to say. She just stood there, her mouth hanging open a little.

When she finally got control of her mind, she was able to form words again. “This can’t be happening.” She muttered under her breath. Parker didn’t like to yell at people, afraid of being the center of attention. It just wasn’t her style, plus he already looked like he felt bad enough, so she wasn’t about to make that even worse. She took her phone and examined it. Great. The screen was cracked. She tapped it to find that it was still working even if the cracked screen was really annoying, at least it was still working. That was a little disappointing, because now her parents were definitely going to make her keep it. “It’s fine. It’s perfect. It’s just what I needed, actually.” She was annoyed, but she still sounded as though she was about to cry. She sighed, and rubbed at her eyes, smearing her makeup a little. It wasn’t exactly his fault, but would it have killed him to watch where he was going?

She let herself fall back onto her knees and sat there, looking at her phone. “How could I be this stupid?” She mumbled again, shaking her head.

[matthias]

She looked like she was about to cry; Matty felt worse. He hadn't meant to make the pretty girl want to cry. He hadn't meant to step on her phone at all. He'd just... well, it was more difficult to sign and walk than it was talk! And he wasn't going to use an interpreter to talk to his own mother. The last thing he wanted was some middle (wo)man pitying him for getting yelled at.

"I... I... I'll pay for it! Here!" The boy reached into the front pocket of his pants, pulling out everything he had stashed there. This included a very crumpled ten dollar bill, a couple singles and some coins, a spearmint gum wrapper, an old T-ticket that had clearly gone through the wash a few too many times, and the key to his dorm room. Without thinking he tried to force the pathetic amount of cash towards the girl, insisting that she take it. "I know it's not enough, but it's all I've got on me. I can get the rest when I... when I... crap! My mom's not gonna like this..."

Matty clapped his empty hand over his eyes, face grimacing at the thought of calling his mother again. Doing so would be an absolute nightmare. The boy loved his mother, he really did. But sometimes, sometimes she could get a little carried away and her scoldings were something to be feared. He'd already hung up on her in the middle of one rant; calling her back just to give her another reason to tell him off was essentially digging his own grave.

But what else was he supposed to do? It was his faults the girl's phone was now broken. He couldn't just leave it at that and walk away. He'd always been taught to take responsibility for his actions, and since he broke the phone he would find a way to fix it. He just wished he could figure out a way to make her look less upset. Matty didn't like it when girls were upset. He never knew what to do or how to act around them when they were in teary emotional states. So, still frowning, he dropped his gaze to his shoes and fidgeting a little, unsure of what else he could do to help. "I really am sorry."