After A Hard Day's Work (open)

[Matt McArthur]

The Recreation Room was buzzing with the chatter of youths, some discussing homework, some talking loudly about their plans for the weekend. Over on one side, however, there was one youth stretched across the entire length of the biggest sofa in the room, not making a single noise. Instead this youth was concentrating with increasing difficultly at a piece of paper he held but a few inches away from his nose.

Matt was staring blankly at that week's Geography homework, he had been doing this for the past ten minutes. So far all he had managed to do was read the title, which was typed in bold print on top of the piece of paper: "Rejuvenated Rivers: a river that is raised by tectonic uplift". Well let's do this systematically... he thought to himself, going through each word of the title one by one. Rejuvenated... Matt knew approximately what that word meant, something about becoming young again. Satisfied with his progress so far he carried onto the next word, river (that one was easy), then the next, a (pssh, even easier), then the next and the next all up until he reached the word tectonic. Now here was the clincher, and he had been doing so very well. Never mind, he thought with a sigh, at least they couldn't say that he didn't try.

Letting his homework assignment drift slowly to the floor, Matt stretched himself out even further on the sofa, head resting on one armrest at one end and feet (which were covered in socks that were more holes than actual fabric) dangling off the opposite armrest. Perhaps a nap would do his mind some good. Matt always felt so much better after having one. With a yawn and one final stretch, the young man let his eyelids drop as he soon drifted away into the land of nod.

[Raine Abney]

Raine stumbled in after a long day of rehearsals. She had her bag over her shoulder, filled with the homework she didn't want to do and probably wouldn't do. The rec room was one of the many places she could just come and chill. Right now she didn't feel like playing her guitar, not like she would have it in here, so she dropped her bag in one of the chairs and sat on it. All the papers and books made for a lovely seat, not. She removed the bag from under here and put it on the ground.

She looked up to see a boy napping. How on earth could you nap in this room was beyond her. He had the remains of socks on as well as normal comfy cloths. Raine was in paint splattered jeans and a shirt. Her shoes were in no better condition, the old converse had blue and green all over them. She was pretty sure she had pain in her hair to, after the paint war she got in backstage. The back wall was now a pretty shade of puke. Blue, green, brown, black, and other colors created it. But it was fun.

She noticed a paper on the ground. Without really reading it she knew what it was and she didn't' like it. That was the first class she dropped. She was horrible at it.

She leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She could relax or hope to. With out knowing it she was leaning back taking the first two legs off the ground. Still not knowing it she leaned back more and that was when the chair gave way. She fell backwards with a thud. That was when she started giggling. Others were laughing too.

[Matt McArthur]

Matt woke from his quiet slumber with a start, the loud thud and the sound of laughter reverberating in his ears. Bleary eyed and still rather fuzzy in the head, he peered over his wiggling toes to see a rather amusing sight before him. A girl had collapsed backwards on one the chairs whilst a throng of observers giggled around her. She too was giggling in her awkward position on the floor. Soon, however, the crowd dispersed, the spectacle obviously losing its amusement factor. With a great lion's yawn and a stretch that could reach for miles, Matt sat himself back upright on the sofa.

"Those chairs do that sometimes," he said to the girl, a hint of nostalgia in his voice. Matt remembered in his earlier years at Sominum the many times he had bruised his coxis bone falling back off those things. It was why he always took the sofa when he had the chance. The sofa had already begun to smell like him, as if he had marked it with his scent from having spent so long lying motionless upon it over the months.

"It's a safety hazard if any," he said with a confirming nod and another yawn. Matt wasn't entirely awake yet, but then again he rarely ever was. Sleep was, after all, his favourite thing to do, though his enjoyment of it was ever so slightly hindered by being transported to the Dream World every now and then.

It had yet to occur to Matt that it would be polite to assist the girl, who was still in her uncomfortable position on the floor. He wasn't being mean, just thoughtless.

[Raine Abney]

Nearly upside down Raine's giggles turned into coughs. She was choking on her own spit. She struggled a bit but soon slid off the chair to sit up. Once she sat up her coughing fit stopped. She looked over the edge of the seat of the chair and saw the boy was awake. He was right the chair was a hazard.

"You'd think that I would have learned my lesson the first time," she stood up and fixed the chair. instead of sitting back in it she sat on the floor. "I'm a klutz though. Just look at the pain all over me and you can tell."

She could tell he was still half asleep but that was okay. She wanted to sleep herself. "How do you sleep in here," she smiled up at him. "I don't think I could." It was true. Things had to be a little bit quiet for her to fall asleep. Any little bump made her jump. She was a light sleeper.

"Oh I'm Raine by the way."

[Matt McArthur]

"Well," Matt explained with a slight smirk upon his lips. "Well I just close my eyes like this." He demonstrated the action by snapping shut his eyelids. "Then I just lie back like this." He leant back to his preferred horizontal position on the sofa. "And then it just comes to me." With a flurry of movement, Matt brought himself upright again and looked over to the girl, giving her his trademark grin.

He had always had the ability to fall asleep in most every situation. It was a gift, really, a truly amazing capability he wouldn't trade for anything else. Except perhaps the power to manipulate time, but Matt highly doubted that that was going to come knocking at his door any time soon.

"Hey Raine," he said with a wave in reply to the girl's introduction. "I'm Matt. I'm in year eleven. Though..." he paused, a somewhat comical look of nostalgia upon his face, "I used to be in the year above. Good times..."

[Raine Abney]

Raine watched as he demonstrated how he slept in this room. He could fall asleep here, he was bound to do it anywhere. Raine couldn't do that however, she had always been a light sleeper. It was something that she had since she was little. Her dad was also a light sleeper. Which may have Ben why she could never sneak out.

With a grin the boy looked at her. He had a nice smile. Unlike some of the others here who didn't at all. "I'm in year twelve," she said with a smile. "With half the smokers and drinkers and what not. Year twelve is a messed up year." It really was in her mind. But she didn't totally mind, not that much anyway.