Food Shenanigans

[Yosuke]

[ooc: Lame Title. Date is September 12th, open to all students. Meant to be a thread for new students/characters that haven't been played in awhile] 

Yosuke grumbled a series of curses at his tie. He could never get it right. At the moment it hung sloppily around his shoulders, rather than actually just straight across his uniform. For the most part, he was fine with uniforms, after all he wore them at Yasogami High, but ties were another thing entirely. Struggling to even tie it correctly had proven so challenging that he was trying to do it in the cafeteria. 

Naoto could have done it, and he was sure that everyone else in his circle could do it. This was starting to be a great day. The cafeteria was still crowded, and as active as ever. There was a strange longing in Yosuke's heart, that made him think of back home. What if he never went back? He didn't want to think about it. Lunch time was meant to be a nice stress-free break from the homework and other school activities. 

Though that proven to be hard for the brown haired boy, seeing as that he was alone, if he had company maybe it would make him feel better. Instead, he stared down at his food, and poked at his food with his fork, ignoring the rest of the world. 

[Polka]

Perhaps it would have just been better to stay in bed...

Polka, obviously, was having second thoughts about the whole schooling affair. She wanted nothing more than to go home, to escape the discomfort she felt while in this environment, but knew there was no way for her to return. Until the time the students were allowed to leave arrived, she was stuck. Thus she found herself in a bit of a situation as she stood there with her tray of food. Polka could very easily have made her way out of the cafeteria like nothing had happened, if only to save herself from the pain that was sure to come if she tried to interact with anyone, but something compelled her to stay. Actually, it was the sight of a specific individual that drew Polka closer.

Having adjusted to the idea of people hating her and being afraid to even touch her, Polka couldn't help but feel a little sadness when she saw Yosuke all by himself. It reminded the blonde all too much of her own experiences. Maybe... Could he have possibly wanted some company? Even if it was only just one person reaching out... No. He probably wouldn't want her company. No one ever did. But on the other hand, Polka really did want to try and make at least one friend. Just one; that was all she wanted.

After a few moments, she plucked up her courage and slowly made her way over to Yosuke's table. When she reached it, she cleared her throat and began to speak up at long last.

"E-Excuse me. Would... Would you mind if I joined you?"

[Robin]

Robin was in his school uniform, as all the other students, but was happy to know he could keep his mask on at all times, he looked at his tray and saw some of the food he had gotten, he didn't see Beast Boy, Cyborg, Starfire or Raven as he sat at a table. I wonder how they are doing? He thought as he saw a girl and a boy at a table, he walked over to them. "Hey there, my name is Robin." He said to them. "Is it okay, if I join you two?"

[Cheetor]

Cheetor was, well being Cheetor.  The cheetah bot attempted to take this experience as something positive.  The fighting itself didn't bother him nearly as much as it might other students.  After all, Cheetor's experience before attending the school had been as a soldier...okay more like a scout, in a bitter galactic war.  Needless to say, he was a little bit desensitized to the concept of fighting.  Hey, he even thought a good scuffle was fun on occasion.  He did like to keep active after all.  But to say Cheetor was okay with the rigged manner in which these battles were set up would've been wrong.  The whole to-the-death thing didn't sit well with the Maximal, as it likely didn't with the majority of the school.  Cheetor's feelings overall were very mixed.  Even so, he tried to remain upbeat.  Surely some kind of protest against this thing was on its way, and Cheetor would be happy to put himself on the front lines of that!  In spite of this, the cheetah actually enjoyed the whole classroom aspect of the academy.  Learning new things was fun...if too boring for his liking on occasion.

But if there was one thing the cheetah bot was neglecting, it was making friends.  Now, Cheetor wasn't unfriendly.  In fact, he was quite the opposite.  Unless whoever he was confronted with was a complete jerk or a Predicon or something, Cheetor was often very nice.  And luckily for him, he was certain he hadn't met any Predicons yet.  So how bad could this place really be?  Now as for finding a friend, the cheetah bot had socialized a bit, but had not yet found anyone he could really click with.  Hmmm.  Maybe if there was a track team or something - he could run fast, after all - he might find a few students he could relate to more.  

However, the cafeteria was a good gathering place of people too.  And it was lunchtime after all.  Thus, Cheetor was around.  Still ever the ignorant that there was zero risk of using his robot mode - ya know, the form that has hands - Cheetor walked around as a cheetah, holding what looked like a raw steak in his mouth.  The bot ambled around for a while.  There seemed to be quite a few social groups already formed, and he was not in any of them.  Cheetor decided he wouldn't intrude.  Instead, his green feline eyes happened to spot a few students who looked lonely, or at least, not already associated with a big group.  Deciding he'd take advantage, he approached.

"Hi there," said the cheetah, his words muffled by the meat hanging from his jaws, "Is this table human-only, or can anyone join in?  By the way, while we're introducing ourselves, the name's Cheetor."

[Berlioz]

The shirt was itchy.

Unlike Yosuke, and probably any number of others, Berlioz hadn't had any trouble with the tie. He'd been wearing one back home for as long as he could remember, and though for the uniform he'd had to learn a different knot from the one Mama had taught him, the feline had taken to it easily. The fact that it was a simpler knot to tie than the way he'd known certainly didn't hurt either. He actually quite liked it this way, even if he didn't think the green was really his colour.

The shirt, however, was still a whole other matter entirely. Though he wore it neatly buttoned right up to the collar, Berlioz had spent the entirely of his first day here squirming and itching until the thing had become quite ridiculously rumpled. In the days since, he had come to somewhat adjust; but he still didn't find the thing at all comfortable, as evidenced by the slight twitch of his shoulder blades as he tried to subtly quell an itch between them. The pants weren't altogether comfortable either, but at least they didn't bug him so incessantly.

As much as he was glad he was the only one of his siblings who had been chosen to come here - so he could lord it over them when he got back that he had a fancy education that they lacked - Berlioz would have loved to see Marie struggling to get used to an outfit like this. She was always going on about how ladylike she was; watching her try to maintain that image while dressed so uncomfortably would just be far too amusing. And maybe he'd also have pulled on her tie a lot to mess it up and pay her back for the way she'd always done his back home; never mind that he always insisted that wasn't fighting fair, he'd take a good bit of revenge over fairness any day when it came to his sister.

With Marie absent, however, that line of thought was rendered mostly irrelevant, so Berlioz returned his attention to the here and now. He had, after some difficulty, managed to collect a bowl of cream from the food counter, and now grasped it unsteadily in his maw as he glanced around for a place to sit. There didn't seem to be many other animals around - just people - so naturally, the charcoal kitten gravitated towards the only other feline he could see; the cheetah who was, himself, approaching a group of humans.

Trying his hardest not to spill any of his lunch - where was a butler when you needed one? - Berlioz padded over, and then stopped at the girl's feet as he reached the group. He didn't really expect them to mind his company - he knew some humans would chase him away, but his experience with that type had been limited only to the driver of O'Malley's magic carpet - but what he couldn't figure out was how to get up onto one of the chairs, as he was clearly supposed to, without spilling the contents of his bowl everywhere in the process.

It might be a good idea to enlist some help. What had Mama said about approaching strangers - always be polite, or something? Just like a charming young gentleman... okay, he could do that. Berlioz set his bowl down, pawed at his tie once or twice, and then looked up at the group hopefully.

"Excuse me," he mewed, tugging at Polka's sock. Normally he would balk at asking a girl for help at all; but she was simply the closest to him. "Would you put my bowl up on the table with you? Please?" he quickly added as an afterthought. He hoped he wouldn't have to keep up this being polite for too long; it wasn't much fun.

[Yosuke]

Aug 16, 2014 8:51:26 GMT Polka said:

Perhaps it would have just been better to stay in bed...

Polka, obviously, was having second thoughts about the whole schooling affair. She wanted nothing more than to go home, to escape the discomfort she felt while in this environment, but knew there was no way for her to return. Until the time the students were allowed to leave arrived, she was stuck. Thus she found herself in a bit of a situation as she stood there with her tray of food. Polka could very easily have made her way out of the cafeteria like nothing had happened, if only to save herself from the pain that was sure to come if she tried to interact with anyone, but something compelled her to stay. Actually, it was the sight of a specific individual that drew Polka closer.

Having adjusted to the idea of people hating her and being afraid to even touch her, Polka couldn't help but feel a little sadness when she saw Yosuke all by himself. It reminded the blonde all too much of her own experiences. Maybe... Could he have possibly wanted some company? Even if it was only just one person reaching out... No. He probably wouldn't want her company. No one ever did. But on the other hand, Polka really did want to try and make at least one friend. Just one; that was all she wanted.

After a few moments, she plucked up her courage and slowly made her way over to Yosuke's table. When she reached it, she cleared her throat and began to speak up at long last.

"E-Excuse me. Would... Would you mind if I joined you?"

Yosuke looked up, surprised that he had even heard her voice. She must have been shy was his first thought. But he wasn't in the right to judge people so quickly. Giving a small smile, Yosuke nodded. "Please, I don't mind at all." he said. "The table is free for all to share." And share was what was next. In a few split seconds t three more individuals came up to the table. 

A boy named Robin, who despite wearing the school uniform looked like a super-hero from a comic book, a black kitten who almost reminded Yosuke of himself, especially when it came to manners. What followed as a...well Yosuke wasn't exactly sure what he was looking at. A robot? Maybe.  

"Ah, no everyone is free to sit here. Humans or non-human." The boy cleared his throat to try to hide his shock about just what Cheetor was. "I'm Yosuke, Yosuke Hanamura." he addressed this to everyone. 

[Polka]

All at once, Polka found herself somehow attracting more people to her. ...Okay, one other person apart from Yosuke. The other was some kind of cheetah. Before Polka really could get any sort of idea of how to react to any of them or whether or not they would take her her presence well, she felt something tugging at her sock. The feeling was odd, especially since the idea of someone doing that just struck her as out of the ordinary, but Berlioz's attempt at getting her attention did succeed. Momentarily, Polka set her tray down at the table (and silently hoped it was okay to do so) so that she could see who it was that apparently needed her help. Much to the blonde's delight, it was an adorable little black kitten. ...Blackish-grey. Whatever color he was, he was cute.

...He touched me, Polka realized after a moment. Actually, he had only touched her sock. It still counted, though. No one, not even the animals, back home would have dared to attempt such a thing out of fear of getting her illness. Her mother had been the only exception for the longest time. Yet there Berlioz was asking her for help. Polka didn't know whether to be delighted or simply mystified by the whole thing. After a few beats, though, delight seemed to win out in the end. Confusion still reigned within her heart, but Polka wasn't about to let that be known just yet. Berlioz needed help, and that was what ultimately mattered.

"Of course. I'd be glad to help you," Polka answered. She bent down to reach for Berlioz's bowl and carefully picked it up with ease. Once she had it in her grasp, though, Polka knew that she had to be careful. One wrong move could have spilt the contents of Berlioz's lunch. It was only as she went to place it upon the table that she realized the idea of introductions had come up. The blonde set Berlioz's bowl down and tucked a stray strand of blonde hair behind her ear. She still did feel a little weird wearing the uniform, but that was beside the point.

"...Polka. My name is Polka."

[Berlioz]

"I'm Berlioz." After watching her set his bowl safely on the table, the charcoal kitten padded around to the chair beside the girl and contemplated it briefly before jumping up at it. Though he didn't quite make it all the way up, Berlioz' paws managed to find purchase on the seat; and after a moment's struggle, he pulled himself up onto the chair, and then repeated the motion once more to get from he chair to the table, where he could reach his lunch.

Polite, Berlioz. Remember what Mama said, be polite.

"Thank-you for passing my bowl up here, Polka," he quickly added; and while the thanks did carry the slightly forced edge of a child prodded into it by his parent - not that Mama was actually here to enforce it - Berlioz was nonetheless genuinely grateful too. Nothing more was voiced immediately, however, as the little kitten bent to lap at his meal, and it was only a good few moments later that he looked up, cream dripping from his maw, to take in the rest of his present companions.

There was the cheetah, who Berlioz desperately wanted to speak to because he'd never had the opportunity to meet a big cat before, but decided he should wait for the larger animal to speak first; a pair of boys, one of whom looked fairly standard and one who wore an odd mask; and of course, Polka herself. The latter was probably the one whose company, under other circumstances, Berlioz would have been least likely to seek out; but she had helped him, and as long as she wasn't a sissy like Marie, Berlioz figured he had no reason to mind her presence.

[Cheetor]

"Well, don't mind if I do then," Cheetor replied happily.

The cheetah lifted his head and smacked the slab of meat he was holding on the table.  He then attempted to sit on the bench.  This was difficult for one shaped as such.  Cheetor's claws grappled the table top as he attempted to situate his hind end in a way that was comfortable.  He seemed quite consumed with this apparently challenging task for quite some time.  After at least thirty seconds, he'd apparently made peace with his seat.  Cheetor sat upright with his front paws firm on the bench.  The cheetah appeared slightly too tall for the table, now that he was elevated.  Just as he was about to reach out for his meal, he was distracted.  Wasn't it rude or something to just start eating?  After all, these were potential new friends.  He'd better think up something to day.  It seemed that they were still on the stage of small talk for the time being.

"Polka?  That's a weird name," Cheetor commented, before suddenly his ears perked up, "Oh - I mean - not that 'Cheetor' isn't, though."

Good job, Cheetor, he reflected inwardly.

Pretending he hadn't said anything, the cheetah turned to look down the length of the table.  Green eyes spotted the little black critter.  Cheetor had apparently been oblivious to Berlioz's presence before.  That was a small animal.  Not that Cheetor had never seen a small animal before, but he just wasn't used to interacting with one.  Every other bot he interacted with on a frequent occasion were all roughly his size.  Even Rattrap (three guesses as to what he transforms into) wasn't much smaller than him.  Cheetor supposed he just wasn't used to it yet.  Even so, he was sure he recognized another cat when he saw one.  To say Cheetor wasn't a little bit biased toward other felines would be an utter lie.

"Hey, you're a little cat," Cheetor said, his tail picking up, "I don't think I've a cat that looks like you where I come from."

Except maybe panthers...maybe.

[Polka]

"You're welcome, Berlioz," Polka said. She reached her hand out to touch the little kitten, but after a moment's hesitation she pulled it back. He probably wouldn't want to be touched by her. For the moment, until she could assess just how everyone was taking to her, she wasn't going to try and get too close to anyone. Not close enough to touch them, anyway. It was when she started to try and eat her lunch that Cheetor's comment got to her. He'd... He'd called her name strange.

Quite suddenly, Polka found that she wasn't as confident about her position amongst the group. Blue eyes shifted down to the lunch tray she had, focusing briefly on her plated spaghetti, and she fidgeted with her fork for a moment. Strange...? Was her name really that strange? Everyone back home had names of that style. Something about the place Polka had come from just gave off a sort of musical vibe, she supposed. That was why their names were the way they were. Coming here had made her realize that maybe it was a little odd.

Thankfully, she did catch the last of what Cheetor had had to say. Polka shook her head a little and glanced back up once more.

"No, you're probably right. My name does sound a little strange, doesn't it?" she asked. Polka wasn't even going to try and defend it. Not yet. Instead, she found herself wondering just where it was that everyone was from. Berlioz could have been from anywhere, given the fact that he was a kitten, but what about Cheetor, Robin, and Yosuke? Polka just had to know.

"If... If you don't mind my asking, where is it that all of you are from?"

[Yosuke]

Yosuke blinked, Polka. It was like the music. How odd, he almost wanted to make a wise-ass joke about it, but he held it back for the moment, he should at least get to know the group before bringing out his class-clown routine. "I come from a little town in Japan, its called Inaba. I used to live in the big city but due to my dad getting a new job we had to move." he said. "It's a pretty quiet place but its nice compared to the big city."

[Robin]

Robin sat down as he placed his food on the table waiting for someone to talk to him, he didn't want to be a bother when it came to group conversations like this, he had to admit that this was his second time seeing a robot, but first time realizing this isn't the same robot as Cyborg, he noticed how Polka began to try to touch Berlioz but pulled back.

He was curious on why she would do that but then again there are times when you have to realize some people or animals don't want you to touch them, he heard Polka ask him, Yosuke and Cheetor a question. "I live in a city called Jump City in a T shaped Tower, I stay there with Starfire, Raven, BeastBoy and Cyborg." He replied to Polka, he could've asked her where she was from but had a feeling he may make Polka feel uncomfortable.

[Berlioz]

The little kitten couldn't help but grin as the bigger feline addressed him. That was pretty much what Berlioz had been hoping for - because big cats were THE height of cool, but he hadn't had chance to meet any before now - so it was no surprise that all his attention was abruptly turned to the cheetah and he completely missed Polka's reconsidered attempt to touch him. Not even feeling rather miffed at being called little could damper the charcoal kitten's enthusiasm.

"I'm not that little," he pointed out defensively; the fact that he was indeed the littlest cat he knew notwithstanding. Even Marie was ever-so-slightly bigger than him, as much as that fact continually frustrated him. Why did he have to be the youngest, anyway? It always made the other two act like they were better than him. It was why he was so glad to have left them behind when he came here.

"And it's only because I'm still a kitten," he continued hurriedly. "When I'm full grown, I'll be bigger. Probably... half as big as you?" That didn't sound so impressive, now that he thought about it. But the cheetah was easily twice as tall as Mama or Mr. O'Malley; there wasn't much else he could say as far as that went. He'd probably always be small in the wild feline's eyes; but maybe, in time, he could impress Cheetor, regardless. At least, Berlioz hoped so.

Briefly, Berlioz considered asking Cheetor where it actually was that he came from, since he'd alluded to it, but a moment later Polka had beaten him to the question. The small cat lapped at his lunch a little more as he listened to the two human males answer and then, dripping a little cream down his tie as he straightened up, Berlioz figured his turn had come.

"I'm from Paris. My family are owned by a rich lady. It used to be just us, but now we have all the alley cats of Paris coming and going, and they make the place really swing!" His tail twitched a bit in time to the memory of Scat Cat's music.