03.2023 | WELCOME BACK! Hello friends old and new! I'm so excited to welcome you all back to SITW! I've made some changes to the plot and added the ability to play supernatural charcaters! So come and check it out! I can't wait to jump back into this little town with all of you!
A strange history surrounds the town, it is a place where mysterious and supernatural things have been known to happen. The reputation of the town reguarly draws in visitors and newcomers alike. While some residents avidly believe in the supernatural, others are far more skeptical. What do you believe?
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Nov 27, 2023 22:30:36 GMT
[for Phineas Thorne, open to all HS students/staff and firefighter after]
It was a sleepy morning, fog hanging around late into the day and making time run in slow motion.
The automatic fire alert came in at 10:59am from the classroom wing of the high school, just around the start of third period. Ferris and some of the other volunteers had been going over gear checks and finishing a late breakfast. They were dressed and, on the way, just shy of a minute later, not bothering to wait for further information because these days, there always seemed to be a fire and they weren't about to take any chances, especially with any of the school buildings. Not unless Principal Jack Hollifield called the Fire Chief personally. Dispatch didn't have any more information, but it being a public building, the team knew it rather well.
By 11:05am, the Fire Chief parked the engine around the back of the building and in the fire lane, near the hydrant and closest to the main classroom wing where the alarm had come in from. It was immediately telling to see students huddled on the far side of the parking lot, with a smaller group near the doors. But there was also no smoke leaving the building. Ferris signaled the team to ready up. He cut the audible alarm and stepped out of the engine, boots hitting the pavement with a thud. Red and white lights bounced off the side of the building in the chilly late morning air.
The only times he set foot here was for alarms and the annual fire safety meeting (because inevitably some group of teens decided to camp out and smoke in the woods). The public speaking to a crowd that was only half paying attention at best was arguably more stressful than an alarm call. At least most of those hadn't resulted in any injury or much damage. Once, a kid mis-used the microwave on their packed lunch; another, a problem with the gas heater leaking; multiple times (usually or allegedly accidents), a student had pulled the alarm, a handful of which the principal called to inform them was false before arrival; and twice, a science experiment gone wrong.
The team hooked up a hose and Ferris turned to Francisco ‘Cisco’ Irwin and gestured around the building. "Radios on. Take Calvin and check the perimeter," he ordered priming everyone to start fire suppression and search and rescue as needed on his order. Ferris approached the group of staff near the doors, one of which he recognized as Phineas Thorne, the chemist, from some of his prior visits. "Mr. Thorne. Is everyone accounted for? What can you tell me about the alarm?" He asked quickly.
Post by Phineas Thorne on Nov 28, 2023 22:31:43 GMT
His class had just started: The students paired up into new lab groups and were getting settled as Phineas began the lesson. On the whiteboard in the front of the class, all that was written was the following:
“Alright class– what can we blow up today?” He rubbed his hands together in an excited anticipation, a goofy grin on his face. “Hah, just kidding!” The classroom was filled with half groans, half laughs and Phineas slapped his hand over his chest as if he was crushed by the groans and offended by the laughter. “Or am I?” He teased them and knocked on one of the lab tables he stood in front of.
“On your lab tables, you will a list of the items you will need for today’s experiment… Let’s tryyyy not to blow things up today, because the school frowns upon that sort of thing, apparently...And I’m going to assume that all of you would prefer dealing with crazy ole’ Mr. Thorne over some old man that stands up front and reads you the textbook like the dude from Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, and makes you take notes, right?”
The class erupted in laughter and Phineas held his hands up, “Thank you, thank you… I’ll be here all week.” He snapped his fingers and pointed at the lab desks. “Let’s gooo!!! Time’s-a-wasting. Let’s get that sodium and some HOT water… and some phenol-pha-tha-lei-eennn stuff! Tongs, tweezers, and a BOROsilicate beaker!” He rattled off the items without needing to look at the list he left on the desks and the classroom scrambled to find the items.
But, just before things got started, the fire alarm blasted through the room. Phineas’ eyes widened and he looked around, expecting to find fire or smoke nearby. There was no way something had already happened! “Come on! We just talked about this!” He shouted out over the loud buzzing. He motioned for them to all stop what they were doing and file out of the room to follow the typical evacuation procedure set in place. Before leaving the room himself, he circled around the room to make sure all the Bunsen burners were turned off and that there was no fire in his classroom.
He followed after his students and out into their designated spots. As he left, several of the teachers called out after him, asking him what he did. Phineas held his hands up in mocked defense, “It was ONE time! Never gonna let me live it down, are you?” He shook his head, laughing slightly before he lined everyone up and counted to ensure everyone in his class was there.
Soon after, he had one of the firefighters approach and address him specifically. Was he really already known for being the one who knew about fires happening? Phineas raised his brows and shook his head in exaggerated denial. “Sorry… Not me this time. We hadn’t even turned the Bunsen burners on yet! Maybe it was the other chemistry class, for sure.”
Post by Jack Hollifield on Nov 29, 2023 2:46:19 GMT
Jack had down what he could to make sure everyone was leaving on his own way out as well. A few students were ignoring it, assuming it was just a drill but Jack knew better. He did have time to grab his jacket before leaving the building and was soon making his way over to the firefighters who were talking to Phineas. That made him smile but for all he knew at this point it just might have been the chem teacher's fault again.
As he reached them all he heard Mr. Thorne assuring the firefighters that it wasn't his fault. Hmmm. Had anyone else seen what happened or had a kid pulled the fire alarm again? "We appreciate the speed of your team, Chief. Though I wish I had more information to offer than Mr. Thorne here. Unfortunately I'm not sure where it originated either."
Post by Alexis Vanderson on Nov 29, 2023 3:11:37 GMT
Alexis had been startled just like everyone else by the sudden fire alarm. First instinct told them all it was probably just a drill but the shrill sound of the alarm was still enough to keep people moving quickly to get out of the building. Alexis held the hand of one of her friends but once they were outside she started looking around for Ellis D. Youngblood. If it was a real fire then she wanted to be sure he was okay and had gotten out. She also found herself looking for Calliope Bartlett, wondering where she had been at lunch. She hadn't spotted her anywhere today.
Post by Delaney Arquette on Nov 29, 2023 3:15:41 GMT
Delaney had been in Phineas Thorne class when the alarm had gone off. She really liked Mr. Thorne. He was funny and really cool, especially for being a high school science teacher. He was also very cute. Not that she'd ever said that out loud to anyone. She didn't think it was terribly uncommon to have a crush on a teacher but she wasn't about to let that kind of rumor spread through the school if she told the wrong person. She raised her hand in class often though every time he picked on her she would respond to the question with a growing blush that she couldn't help. She hurried out of the building with the rest of the class but looked back to see Mr. Thorne ensuring all the burners were off before he left too.
Once outside she stood around shivering as her classmates talked about what happened, all sure that nothing in their classroom had caused it. After a few minutes though Delaney was getting tired of the conversation and stood on her toes to keep an eye out for Dakota Bartlett. She wondered what class she'd been in when all this had happened and what she thought about it all. Maybe she knew something that Delaney didn't.
Milo hadn't exactly hurried to third period so he was still in the halls when the alarm had gone off. He grinned as it did. Drill or not, it meant getting out of class for however long it took to solve and that was a win in his books. He immediately spotted @journey and came up behind her, wrapping his arms around her and spinning her around playfully before setting her back down. "You think if the school burns down we'll get a couple months off?" he joked, knowing that wouldn't be the case.
Post by Calliope Bartlett on Nov 29, 2023 3:46:27 GMT
Callie’s mind was on autopilot as she looked around the crown of students outside, silently wishing she could make her way to a restroom. She was in dire need of a little freshening up after her eventful lunch hour. It wouldn’t have her feeling so aware if she could at the very least wash her hands, as her right hand still smelled of her sex. Which made her grin more than it ought to.
She was pulled from her thought as she decided to look around as she spotted Alexis Vanderson, making an almost immediate beeline for her as she maneuvered through the students to reach her. “Hey, have they said what’s going on yet?” She asked with a raised brow, her eyes taking in the rest of the gathered groups. She spotted a few familiar firefighters and smiled as she waved to Cisco and Calvin before they disappeared to follow orders issued to them by Chief Felwinter, who was in conversation with Mr. Thorne and Principal Hollifield. The rosy tone in her cheek having finally calmed down, she averted her gaze to not be drawing any attention to her notice him. Instead she grinned at Alexis. “Did your birthday come early, because there are a lot of sexy firefighters here and we’re out of class.”
Human
Head Editor at The Tribune & Volunteer Firefighter
Post by Francisco ‘Cisco’ Irwin on Nov 29, 2023 13:45:29 GMT
“Yes Sir, Chief.” Cisco said with a nod, ensuring he had indeed turned his radio on and gave a nod to Calvin to get started on their task, but not before catching not one, but two familiar faces in one of the groups of students; Callie and Alexis. He gave a wave, but was right back in task. He might have been a bit of a horn-dog, but he knew when it came to the emergency situations it wasn’t a game. Lives could be at stake.
While Calvin and Cisco checked the perimeter for any signs of fire, or reasons for the alarm to have gone off and so far had located nothing of concern. “So far nothing concerning, Chief. No visible signs of smoke or a fire.” He clicked his radio, making casual conversation with Calvin as they continued.
Another five minutes and they were returning from the other side of the building and walking toward their fire Chief. “Outside seems clear, no signs of smoke from any windows or doors, Sir.”
Post by Ferris Felwinter on Nov 29, 2023 20:36:08 GMT
Ferris studied the chemistry teacher as he spoke, from his neat ensemble to his windswept hair, listening carefully. Even the fact that Phineas didn't know anything was useful information in its own way. Still, even the Fire Chief wouldn't let him live down that one time. Ferris glanced around at the other teachers, to see if any of them had any information to volunteer, but they all just looked at him with expressions of mild concern to amusement. At least everyone looked collected enough.
He turned his attention to Principal Hollifield as the man approached the group. It wasn't that Phineas ceased to exist, but moments like these called for brevity and command. The Fire Chief gave a brief nod in recognition to Hollifield. His lack of information wasn't directly helpful either, but it was also still something. The man knew his campus and any class projects or larger scale concerns. This was most likely either an alarm pull or something unsanctioned, or a freak issue with the heating system. Still, even without any smoke or firsthand accounts, they were taught to be careful.
Cisco's voice crackled over the radio before he could answer Hollifield. Ferris reached up and hit his mic. "10-4. Return to A Side."
"It's enough to work with, sir. No signs of fire on the exterior. We'll walk the classroom wing and let you know what we find. Hopefully get you all back inside soon." Ferris relayed the brief plan to the principle, so the man had some idea of what to share with everyone else.
He turned back to his team, which consisted of two other full time and the two volunteers. He spoke into the radio again. "Probable Code 2 response but stay ready. Ethan, with me." They would go inside once Cisco returned. Even in what was probably a safe environment, Ferris didn't like sending the volunteers in. Not because they didn't know what they were doing, but he liked to minimize the risk to those who were just helping, rather than had dedicated their lives to training and studying emergency situations. But this was a big building and if there was a problem, they didn't have a lot of time.
Ferris looked back over at the students, not paying all that much attention to details except to be sure everyone was okay. The moment Cisco returned, he nodded. "You and Calvin take the ground floor. We'll go up. Don't forget to check the bathrooms," he added, pointedly looking at Calvin. Ferris led Ethan into the building and to the closest staircase. He left his face shield raised, not expecting any smoke and fortunately not finding any as he began carefully opening doors.
Post by Ellis D. Youngblood on Dec 2, 2023 12:01:02 GMT
Ellis D. had been in P.E., blessedly, and managed to carry out a basketball with him. He stood with his class, a few of them passing the ball when the teacher was distracted. He ignored the familiar scent of Alexis Vanderson, keeping his full attention on the ball when it was his turn to catch it.
Kalena was on her free period, the one she spent planning lessons. She came to the high school three days a week to teach, and could otherwise be found at the college.
Dressed in a black pencil skirt and a hot pink button down, Kalena stood alone in the bus lot, arms crossed over her chest. Fire alarms were stupid. Especially in a small town like theirs. Regardless, she wouldn’t spread her opinion.
She opted to let her gaze flicker over those around her, noticing the teacher social circles, the kids doing what they should, and the kids doing what they shouldn’t, all with a general irritable apathy.
Post by Alexis Vanderson on Dec 5, 2023 18:42:07 GMT
Alexis spotted Ellis D. Youngblood finally with a basketball. He hadn't noticed her but she was relieved he wasn't still inside somewhere. She was about to go over there when she spotted Calliope Bartlett and the girl came over to her. She smiled at her friend and linked her arm with Callie's. "No, nothing yet," she answered but her gaze too had been lingering on the firefighters. Many girls were doing the same. Something about a strong man in a uniform. She grinned and bit her lip as Cisco waved in their direction and her cheeks turned a soft shade of red.
"It is almost my birthday actually," she said with a grin. "Mmmm. I love firefighters. Wish we had more of these drills."
Post by Calliope Bartlett on Dec 5, 2023 23:10:36 GMT
Callie gladly took Alexis’ arm and smiled coyly, watching as the fire chief began to issues further orders for his team before they made their way into the building, Cisco’s wave in their direction wasn’t lost on her, especially not when she noted Alexis bite her lip. “Oooh, do tell. Do you fancy my new boss?” She asked with a playful wiggle of her eyebrows, giving a little chuckle as she did.
“Maybe we can get you a birthday cake that a firefighter jumps out of… then you can lick frosting off him.” She offered with a wicked smile, her eyes glancing back to where Principal Hollifield stood only for a brief moment as she looked around and suddenly became aware of the fact that she hadn’t seen her sister, Dakota Bartlett yet. She grabbed her phone out and sent her a text, hoping she was just in a different area outside.