A Possible, Painful Meeting [Open]

[leslie]

[Some offensive language. If you are easily offended, do not read any further.]

The sun fairly burned through the row of windows just below the roof line of the large building that held a good portion of the student body as they settled down to their various lunches. People intermingled and kept apart, talked and were silent, even laughed and cried all within a close proximity of eachother - and to Leslie the sound was overpowering. The complex noise of everyone trying to be heard above the others that screamed around them, the clatter of trays coming from the lines and tables, even from the staff themselves as they doled out food and checked off students.

Avoiding the majority of the student body though finding there wasn't an empty table in the entire building, Lin eventually made her way to a less crowded table composing of boys crowded on one end around something of extreme interest to them. Yet as she was uinterested, Lin quietly sat then pulled her lunch from one of the larger pockets on her pants as well as her book then spread out comfortably only to begin to eat. It was then that the group seemed to notice her presence. Leaving whatever it was they had been gathered around, they gradually made their way around Lin - easily cutting off her escape with sheer numbers.

"This is our table and we didn't invite you over here chink. Unless you were looking for a good time."

Leering gazes that burned Lin's face made their way over her body, seeming to linger over her neck and back as she tried to ignore them. While she didn't want to fight the group as a whole, it was growing more and more difficult to simply keep quiet and still. Obviously annoyed by her lack of attention, the leader of the group, a rather large black-haired boy, stepped forward and jabbed her side rather harshly, "I was talking to you girly. I suggest you pay attention if you don't want to end up with bruises all over your pretty face."

Her mouth set in a stern line as soon as she felt him move closer, Lin had begun to estimate her chances of escaping unscathed with her book... and those numbers were growing more and more slim.

"I don't want to fight. I'll move."

[Gilsin]

The cafeteria was always a place with problems. Ein's eyes surveyed the large room with such a thought twisting through his head. He knew there were too many opposing forces crammed into the one room. Too many ambitious and greedy minds thinking of what they can get their hands on. His eyes would keep watch while his body fell slowly out of mind.

His mind would be working harshly as he finally registered a lone asian girl walking and sitting at a partially occupied table. The boys that had occupied the table had surrounded her before he started moving. There would be a cruel sneer on his face as he drew closer, knowing they wouldn't realize his prescence untill he was closer. The cafeteria was already going quiet as the rest of the students knew what was about to happen.

The large black haired boy's finger would still be pointing at the girl when a large arm when around his throat. His eyes going wide, then his face twisting into pain as Ein drove his knee into the center of his back harshly. He would use his strength to keep the boy upright as he spoke.

"We do not surround and threaten students at Hircine. I know the hungry look in your eyes, I've seen such things before. I know the thoughts spinning through your minds, you will loose them. You know what I can do and you should walk away....."

To drive his point home, Ein would slam his knee into the black haired boy's back again then let him fall to the ground. His eyes cruel and daring the other's to retaliate.

"If you can still walk away..."

[tray]

Traytaine had gone through his classes fairly quietly, it was one of the only places in the school that he wasn't bombarded by large numbers of people talking over each other. It seemed to be something normal to everyone else. Traytaine on the other hand was having a hard time dealing with it. He couldn't even manage to block out the noise naturally, which he had an acute ability to do beforehand.

The bell rang, a shrill sound at best, and then everyone began to file out of the classrooms and down the halls like cattle. Which of course could only mean one of two things. School was out, or the just as popular: lunch. Gathering up his things and shoving them unerringly into his backpack he joined them, weaving his way through the last few that went into the cafeteria.

It didn't take long to go through the line thanks to the fact he went in a bit late, but everyone had taken the 'best' things for themselves. Quite literally picking up a few of the last decent pieces of food and placing them on his tray he would make his way to one of the less crowded tables, wishing that he could just go outside to eat. 'Maybe I can bring food..'

The only table that seemed to have only a few people had a familiar form sitting at it. The girl he had met once before. He moved forward again now that he had a place to sit, and placed his tray down fairly loudly on the lunch table as others began to walk away from the table. He presumed that they were done, but when he looked up from his tray before sitting down he noticed that hey were focusing their attention on the girl.

He didn't feel that nervous about it though, even hearing what they had said. Because he was still standing, and could quite easily garner their attention. His body tensed as one of the larger boys jabbed her side, and threatened her. But she was going to leave, which hopefully would end it. As he was about to, quite literally, throw sharp objects at them he saw why the cafeteria suddenly grew quiet.

It was fast, the older student grabbed him by the neck and he saw two impacts from his point of view, but didn't know what had done them. Their attention turned from the girl to the older male, all at the same time. Traytaine doubted that they would be deterred so easily, he was only one student. Coming around the edge of the table, his eyes firmly set on a single male toward the outside of the pack.

He knew what he was about to do was outside his direct nature, but there was also the fact that he hated what they were doing, and that the girl had been respectful of his space. And went as far as to help him as well. But as he wasn't personally threatened, he was in his natural mind. Which made him, slightly, less vicious.

His right leg raised, and a fast kick hit the back of the red heads right knee. As his balance would go Traytaine's body would pivot, and a punch would catch him in the his left temple, and sending him straight to the ground. Now that his presence would be known, he took a single step back, and his fading blue eyes shifted carefully around him.

[leslie]

Tensed from the atmosphere that surrounded her as well as the multitude of thoughts that crowded out all other unnecessary thinking at the moment, Lin’s lips momentarily firmed further as the boys refused to back down and let her through, moving closer instead of what she had hoped they would do. Looking across the table, Lin frowned as she saw the familiar face of the poncho-adorned male from earlier. While he didn’t seem too concerned about the entire event, Lin made every attempt to remain calm and collected. Her uncle’s first rule to her was to never show emotion that would betray her. Fear at the right times was called for, as was anger and frustration – but when shown to a useless extent, they became the enemy. While she thought over her choices, fate had it that the antagonist in the entire event would not be so lucky. As Lin continued to size up her options while stalling for time, she heard the cafeteria quiet and wondered why for a moment… the answer coming in the form of the boy’s body being pulled backward while he was given one sound knee in the back followed by a gruff voice speaking.

"We do not surround and threaten students at Hircine. I know the hungry look in your eyes, I've seen such things before. I know the thoughts spinning through your minds, you will lose them. You know what I can do and you should walk away."

While it was an inward relief to have help, the odds still did not stack up for either Lin or the newcomer despite the inferred size difference with the force of the attack. Slowly standing to turn around and face the majority of her attackers, her eyes flickered briefly over her ‘rescuer’ then over the group that still surrounded them.

Shocked by the sight of their leader so easily surprised and overpowered, the group momentarily hung back but never broke formation. On the ground, his face buried in the floor, the black-haired boy turned his head to the side and spat blood toward the block of flesh, “You’ll pay for that. Show him.”

Brought back to reality by the sound of their leader’s voice, three quarters of the group turned toward his attacker while the other quarter turned on the smaller boy. Fanning out between them so as to maximize their numbers, they never saw Lin shift slightly to free herself of the table.

“I don’t appreciate people picking on me.”

With that, Lin reached out and grabbed the nearest boy’s arm, one hand gaining a firm hold while the other straightened into the top of his shoulder, her leg stretching out slightly to catch his lower shin while pulling him over it – the inertia forcing him to the ground as she dislocated his shoulder. Using very little energy to accomplish a great amount of movement, she used surprise to her advantage. Two boys turning toward her as the others rushed Tray and Ein, she dropped, tilted herself forward then darted toward the closer of the two – using his momentum and weight to swing him into his fellow. Though they wouldn’t be greatly troubled by their injuries, the shock from the impact left Lin enough time to move herself alongside Tray for extra support and safety.

[Gilsin]

Ein growled lowly at the resolve of the ignorants. They should have thought before reacting, even with their numbers, fighting a pillar was a certain sort of suicide. Their actions might be equated to something similar of Suicide by Cop. Still, that was their decision and the Leader of Genaht was about to make his prescence known and give credence to the whispered rumors that circulated around him and kept him from harm.

Ein's body lashed out, long legs pounding against the tile as the four men came at him. His body was aligned with the man on the right most flank, left shoulder lowered and prepped as if he was going to simply ram into the man. He didn't expect it when Ein stoped and pivoted on his left foot and sent his right hand at the thug's throat. Ein would use his strength and position to divert his opponent's momentum into his comrade directly next to him. The choked man was certainly going to be knocked out, while the other was simply knocked to the floor temporarily.

Ein's body would be jolted to the side as one of the other two slammed a fist into his side. The jolt awakened the nerves in his kidneys and his brain sent a jolt of pain there as a response. The large man would stumble a step before turning to take another blow that was aimed for his nose but was sent slightly off and slammed into his cheek instead. The thug might have been winning,if he hadn't gotten so close to Ein. Ein pushed through the punch, moving his body forward the step it needed and wrapping his strong arms around the other man's torso as he was winding up his third punch. The strong muscles would clench and begin to squeeze the man with force.

Of course there was still a third man who proceeded to punch Ein in the back as his comrade was in this deadly bear hug. Ein wasn't about to release and instead went with the motion, taking the blow and falling forwards, with his gripped opponent as a cushion. It only took that moment of lost breath to put that one out for the fight.

Ein would release and begin to get up, only to find a boot slamming into his side and sending him rolling harshly. There were still two more able thugs and they hadn't been touched in any harmful way as of yet. Ein would roll far enough away so he might gain his feet, but the two harsh blows to his side were leaving him in a small deal of pain.

The two thugs would approach the Varronite Pillar cautiously, they had an inkling of an idea what he could do. If they had a better idea, they might have reconsidered their actions. Ein waited watching them get closer, examing their steps. There was an opprotunity, but the timing would he a hard one.

One was a step ahead of the other, and when he got just close enough, Ein lashed out once more. His right fist would come down on the boy's jaw from above, his whole body moving dowards with the move and adding a fearsome strength to it. In the crouched position, Ein's legs would go taunt, forcing the body upwards as his left fist was driven into the second man's stomach. But not before a harsh blow was landed on the back of his neck.

Ein's world would momentarily fade away from him as both he and his opponent fell down. One knocked out as his air left him, the other for only a second as the shock made him loose his legs.

There would be one last thug, getting back up from the vicious punch to the jaw Ein had just delivered. Ein himself would be getting up himself, trying to remember if there were any more he needed to fight. When he saw the man with the chair in hand, he knew there was one more.

The last thug rushed forwards, the chair overhead. Ein moved to meet him, as quickly as his unsteady feet could carry him. His left arm would raise as the chair would come down. There would be a harsh crack of metal on bone through skin. Then both men falling down.

It would end with Ein on top of the man, his left arm still holding the chair back while the right was seized harshly around his throat. Ein would jerk the throat back and forth twice, slamming his opponents skull against the ground twice with sickening cracks Then release and stand. His left arm would be trickling blood from a gash induced by the blunt trauma as well as fractured from the force. But he fared better than his foes, he could only hope the other two could do half as well.

[Nathan Branigan]

Nathan was starving. He hadn't eaten breakfast that morning. This was because he overslept. He was forced to deal with a growling stomach for the first few hours of school, tormented with a hunger he could not yet feed. He would have skipped class to go eat, but he had done so too much recently and his grades had begun to suffer. He had to start going to all his classes for at least a few weeks to get his head above water. Nathan wasn't an idiot and he paid attention in class so such things as this did not affect him.

Not knowing many people personally in his lunch period, he would just sit wherever there was open space. Unfortunately for him, he was forced to sit near a group of incredibly obnoxious students that showed a complete lack of acceptance and intelligence. Such people always seemed to stir old memories in Nathan. Memories that he did not enjoy remembering. He became increasingly frustrated with them, but decided to keep quite. That is of course, until they pushed the limit. A girl came along and needed a place to sit, so she sat at more empty section of their table. The students then crowded around her and began to taunt her. This continued until it became more physical when their supposed leader jabbed her in the side. At this point, Nathan lost it. He barely contained his feelings for such actions and only to strike at a key moment. Soon two students got involved and so did the girl. She was able to slow down two of the bullies with little trouble. It was now at this moment that Nathan would strike.

The two boys ran at her once again. Nathan quickly grabbed the only tool he had near him. A plastic tray. He dropped it on the ground at such a placement that one of them would step on it. This caused a sort of "banana peel" effect and he feel flat on his rear. Nathan then got up and hurled himself at the standing student. This tackle drove him to the ground, with Nathan on top. This gave Nathan a psychological advantage, towering over him and pinning him down. As the student thrashed to get free, Nathan sent several strong right punches directly at his nose and mouth while holding him down with his left arm. This would also cause the back of his head to slam against the floor repeatedly. This coward seemed the type to pick on those weaker than them when having greater numbers at their back. He would be easily beaten with such an onslaught. However, the other students that still stood could prove to be a different story. After all, surprise attacks always caused weighted advantage

[tray]

OOC: In case there is any confusion, I wasn't pinned by you, but by one of the students. And then pushed you off the one you did pin.

Traytaine watched carefully as the group of males split, fanning out between them. It was a surprising tactic in his mind. Meaning, it wasn't very smart. With overwhelming numbers it would be best to simply charge the strongest looking threat, which be the male student that came at them from behind, and not split up. But this wasn't a bad thing. It left him more room to breathe, and put him in a situation where he could hopefully handle himself.

The sounds of the fight began to deafen him, one male already charging and shouting not helping manners. Traytaine backpedaled two feet to give himself more time to react, and then watched as the student ducked down. The maneuver struck in his mind quickly thanks to the position of his fist. He was trying to throw an uppercut while jumping diagonally out at him. It would be very damaging, but he made it too apparent as well. Setting his left foot behind him he raised his right, and pushed out into the raising student.

Adding these together and the student ended up rolling backwards twice before sliding under one of the tables, probably bumping his head on the way. His leg still not balanced yet, his pale blue eyes turned to the side and saw that the girl came closer. Unfortunately, her timing was a bit off. A second male had came at him while his eyes were elsewhere, and drove his shoulder into Traytaine's stomach. Already off balance the two collapsed, the male above already set out to throwing punches wildly, which all hit his ribs.

What the male didn't have however was weight advantage. He couldn't keep Trayaine pinned there for long, with a vicious shove the student ended up on his back, and Traytaine pushed himself up as best as possible, somehow managing to get up before him. As the student came up, he went forward, placing himself at an angle to the side. While the student wasted time turning without attacking Traytaine threw a side hook which connected with his temple.

A sickening crack followed, but it didn't come from his punch, it came from somewhere behind him. Frowning slightly at the sound he turned, seeing that the one who was helping with the fight had taken a hit from a chair. This drew his attention too much, the student didn't drop like he had hoped, and tried to tackle him from behind. Pushing his right foot out he planted his balance and pivoted, throwing his elbow behind him and watching the student in the shoulder.

As the student recoiled Traytaine shifted himself to square off with him again. The student was quite simply persistent, and charged again with a straight punch. But he overcompensated for height, and when Traytaine ducked it went over his shoulder. While ducking he grabbed the students neck with both hands and pulled down while raising his knee to connect with his ribs before releasing and watching him fall to the ground, scratching all the way down Traytaine's poncho as he did, and presumably trying to catch his breathe on the ground.

Behind him he saw that someone else was fighting, pinning someone he could only assume was one of the aggressors to the ground and relentlessly pounding his face with consecutive punches. Frowning slightly at the sight as blood began to fall on the ground from each impact he went forward, and sent a kick meant only to push him off, at the male shoulder, staring purposefully in case this provoked another student to attack him.

[leslie]

[Short for the reason that I didn't have any bad guys to fight!]

As soon as she had positioned herself by the ponchoed boy, she saw problems begin to arise. For one, the male who had initially come to her 'rescue' was taking a beating from four different attackers while she and Tray had to take on two fresh opponents plus the two she had already stunned slightly by swinging them into eachother. Attempting to keep Tray's back free of opponents, she grunted slightly as the boy who she had initially defended herself from grabbed onto her with his good arm. His other arm hung from his side at a painful angle from his shoulder - proof of what she could do when she had a mind to. Reaching down to grip his wrist, she pulled him forward then twisted - his balance set off enough that she was able to turn his arm around into a good submission. Turning her head slightly, she saw the fight continue and huffed - jabbing her sneakered foot into the boy's stretched shoulder to damage that one as well before returning.

Seeing as most of the foes had been accounted for by either one of the two boys, she surveyed the scene and judged the downed rescuer by the table to be the most needing of her help. Lin approached slowly, taking off her extra shirt to help bind any wounds that might have been inflicted only to see that it wasn't him that was bleeding. "Can you stand? I don't know where the nurse is but I'm sure I could find it. Both of you," She pointed toward Tray, "need attention."

[Gilsin]

"The fallen fools need the attention more than I." Ein's eyes scanned over the girl he had effectively saved from some unsavory fate. She seemed to be in well enough condition and more improtantly in a decent state of mind. Then again, perhaps she would just have a mental break down later.

Ein would simply sigh at this point, looking down at the thug he had finished last. A small pool of blood creeping out from the back of his head, it was to be expected from the sharp slams he had received.

"You two, grab some bodies and start dragging them." Ein kneeled down grasping the one boy by his shirt with his good arm. The damaged and bleeding left arm simply hanging, the pain too much for Ein to attempt to move it yet. "Follow me, we won't be stopping untill they are all taken care of...."

Ein would leave the girl out of it, beginning to drag his victim to the nurses and fully expecting the other two participants to pull their own weight. The consquences for not doing so would be dire.

He only needed one arm to strangle someone.

[tray]

Traytaine looked about the cafeteria, judging whither or not that anyone else would join in after it had ended, and when finding that no one else would join his attention was taken by the girl. She lifted off her over shirt, for whatever reason, and then looked between both of them. He frowned slightly, not understanding it, and then seemed to look confused as she pointed at him while saying about attention of the nurse. He walked forward a few paced and then looked down slightly.

"I don't need a nurse either." He responded, just after the male student, who was looking down at one of the students. Seeing blood he faintly frowned, and lightly shook his head. He went a bit far, although he would probably go farther if he ended in a different situation.
Then he knelt down and ordered him to pick up some bodies, and drag them. He frowned slightly and looked down at the two he left behind him.

Deciding that he would help, even though it pricked at the back of his mind to be taking an order from someone that seemed a bit more intense. He walked back to the two, shorter, male students. One he grabbed by the belt loop and lifted up, dropping him on his shoulder. The other he grabbed by the collar and began to drag behind the male that had helped him, his eyes seeming a bit distant.

[leslie]

While the larger student intimidated her more than she would ever admit (though it was obvious in the way she seemed to shrink as he looked her over), she simply stood her ground and began to point out the obvious as though he needed her to remind him of his own injuries. “You took on four boys of your same size – it’s impossible that you wouldn’t be touched.” Her voice was almost demanding, needing to make sure that her ‘rescuers’ bore no hardship from the fight that they had only entered after seeing her in trouble despite her conflicting need to escape from the entire situation.

Drawing in a deep breath when she saw she was going to be ignored, she squared her shoulders resolutely then walked hesitantly over to the pair she had helped take down a peg. One was still conscious, his arms hanging from his side as he stared sullenly upward at her as though it was her fault. Instead of cowering away as she might have done had it not been for the adrenaline pumping through her system, she merely marched forward then knelt down next to him and his unconscious fellow, “Your arms need to be relocated into their sockets. I can do that but you have to stay still.”

The boy frowned, glancing toward the others only to nod – his mouth still set in a line. “Fine. Hold still and bite your lip.” She carefully reached over, one hand on his shoulder while the other gripped his arm just below where it ended, pulling slightly only to jerk it upward. The boy fairly screeched in pain, remembering to bite his lip only after. “See, that wasn’t so bad. Now for the other one.”

Repeating the same procedure on the other side, she was prepared when the male fainted – catching him and laying him as gently as possible onto the floor while shaking her head, “So much noise. Uncle would have whacked you good.” A small smile creeping onto her lips as she remembered the multiple times she had accidentally dislocated or broken something training and her Uncle’s reaction to it. Sliding onto the floor completely, she pulled the fainted boy’s arms over her shoulders then leaned forward while wrapping his legs around her stomach for extra support. Once he was settled, she gingerly stood up – her legs straining under the excess weight as she reached out for the second boy. Nearly at her limits for weight, she stubbornly grabbed onto his arm then began to pull, carrying both of them in the direction that her rescuers had gone.

[Gilsin]

"You understand your participation in this wasn't required, nor was it smart. If you had any hopes of not appearing atleast slightly with the Pillar's, such hopes are far gone."

Ein would be talking to the half starved looking little vagabond boy as he dragged the still bleading head trauma case down the hall to the nurse. His arm's muscles pulling taunt as he pulled his victim alittle further forward. The boy would be groggy about now, making small grunts as he tried to awaken.

"As for the girl, she may have had a chance, but she decided to not listen to my words as picked up afew ignorants as well. It is a shame you lot don't know how to think before acting. You might have been worth more..."

Ein would turn a corner with those words, then take another turn into the nurses office. She wouldn't be exceedingly surprised to see the pillar, though she was slightly intrigued as to his condition. She expected to see Ein's victim with a good deal of damage, but it wasn't usually the Varronite that came out so poorly.

[tray]

Traytaine knew that Leslie would be ignored. Her worries weren't completely off. But there was also the fact whoever the student was he had no intention of showing his weakness in front of half the school. Over his shoulder he noticed that she, for whatever reason, helped two of the students she had actually hurt. That made no sense to him of course, but he didn't doddle on it. Instead he saw that she had pulled one over her back and seemed to be far to strained.

He stopped, releasing his grip on the one he had been dragging, and walked back to her as she neared the exit of the cafeteria. "You're not built for something like that." He said as he grabbed him by the collar, his arm tensing as he pulled him off her back and dropped his legs to the floor. He dragged him all the way to the other, and dropped him on top. Once he was sure he wouldn't slide off he grasped the first and began forward, catching up with the one who had helped, just in time to hear him talking over his shoulder at him.

"You understand your participation in this wasn't required, nor was it smart. If you had any hopes of not appearing atleast slightly with the Pillar's, such hopes are far gone." This brought a slight frown from Traytaine, he didn't really understand the statement. "I don't understand. What is a Pillar? And we did something wrong?" His frown even slid into his voice, making him seem a bit dejected. He really didn't learn enough about the school before being sent to it.

As they turned the corner he saw the nurses office. The nurse herself was in front of it, seemingly unsurprised, and began to appraise the situation. Dragging the three closer he released them slowly, and then rolled the last off his shoulder to the floor. "I saw a girl, weak," He turned and looked at Leslie who had lagged only a bit behind, and then back to the point of authority. "and saw that she needed help. I didn't do the damage I could have.. I just knocked them out."

[leslie]

Leslie continued to haul her two burdens without complaint, dragging the second behind her slightly until she saw that the ponco’d boy had paused and dropped his load to walk back over to her. Ignoring his words though she knew he was right, she stubbornly held on to both of them until he grabbed one of her two, “I’m all right. Really.” Her lips coming together in a frown as he continued to ignore her, she gamely clung to the first who was still situated on her back – piggy backing him toward the nurse quickly since she didn’t have to slow down to drag another.

“You know I didn’t ask for help.” She would reiterate that she hadn’t asked for help, before or after the fight. What they did was to their own volition. Hearing the larger of the two speak to the poncho’d boy about his participation. But after he had been ‘reprimanded’ his reaction caused her face to redden and her eyes to fall to the floor even while her voice remained even.

“I don’t like to fight. There’s a difference between avoiding fighting and being weak.”

[Gilsin]

"You two must be rather green not to know what a pillar is. And yes, you did something wrong, the girl might have fought her attackers, but you had no reason to fight."

Ein would sneer slightly at the homeless boy, his ignorance in all this was understandable due to the time spent, but he should have sought more information sooner.

"And no you didn't ask for help, but a Pillar has the responsibility of giving it reguardless."

Ein's eyes would fall on the girl, who was by now looking rather ashamed and perhaps crying. As the nurse began to take care of the injured, he took a roll of guaze and began to wrap it around his injured arm tightly.

"Now if either of you have any questions, I shall be happy to answer them for you. I do suggest you start asking, because you need any and all knowledge you can acquire."

[tray]

Traytaine felt a little bad for calling her weak when he saw her reaction, but it was his point of view, the truth came easily to him. And left him just as easily. "If someone is intent to fight you then it's going to happen even if you do try to avoid it." He had learned that when he was young, although in a different manner. If someone wants something, they'll make it happen. You just need to be strong enough to make sure they don't win when the time comes.

'Did she say she didn't know what a pillar was?' He didn't voice it, but frowned slightly as he was sneered at, taking a step back and setting his legs in such a way that he was half in stance to be ready for defense. "I only was brought in two days ago." He informed, and then continued as he fiddled with the bottom of his poncho with his right hand. "Why does one person have the responsibility to help, and I don't?"

OOC: I don't really know how I'd exit here without it seeming odd, so, it's going to be odd.

BIC: "I'll find out about it all on my own, I have to go.. I don't want to be late for my next class." He said with a small wave, turned and headed out to his locker to pick up his backpack, and head off to his next class, leaving behind the Pillar and the Asian Girl.