Whining and Dining | Metric School of the Arts

Becca
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Whining and Dining Jul 21, 2015 23:33:39 GMT -5

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Post by Becca on Jul 21, 2015 23:33:39 GMT -5

Natalie giggled at Johnathan’s comment about her messiness. Although she always kept her appearance tidy and put together, she certainly could not say she did the same around the house. Her and Rhett had been notorious packrats and their house was almost never clean. It just did not seem worth the time to pick clothes off the floor when more just ended up in the same spot a day later. Luckily John, the wonderful man he was, tolerated her untidy nature. “I only do that because I know how much you just love picking up after me,” she replied innocently before she leaned over and gave him a small peck on the cheek. Her eyes moved to Annabelle, and she smiled when the little girl whispered her order for her father to relay to the waiter. Hopefully this was just a phase and she would soon grow out of her shyness. At least it was not an ordinary occurrence for her…and especially not when she was with her friend Addy.

She made a tiny ‘mmm’ noise when John ordered the salmon. That certainly did sound delicious, though pasta sounded more tempting at the moment. Her eyes softened slightly when she heard Heathcliff’s half-hearted response to her question. Natalie expected as much from her son, but it was still slightly disappointing to see him refusing to open up. He could have at least given her some detail as to how things were going. She knew he shared one of the houses with his best friend but other than that she really did not know much about his school life. Of course it was not for lack of trying. Being a teacher at the high school she would see him in the halls and smile at him but that was about the extent to which they interacted. She felt so shut out of her own son’s life. It was a shame, and she could not help but feel she’d done something wrong and failed as a mother.

“Well, that’s good to hear, honey. How’s Noah doing? Are you boys behaving?” she inquired joking with a small smile to try and lighten the mood. Nat wished just once he would smile, really smile at her. She felt like she had not seen that beautiful smile of his since Rhett passed. If she could just keep him talking rather than staying silent she would consider it a small victory.

Annabelle smiled in delight when her father agreed to let her sit on his lap. She waited patiently to be unbuckled but immediately held her arms out toward him when he freed her. “Okay-doke, Daddy,” she agreed with a nod of her head when he informed her she would have to go back in her seat once the food arrived. She took her crayons from her dad and started to color in, without much accuracy, a picture of a mouse on the back of the children’s menu. Her little tongue poked out of the corner of her mouth as she focused on the task at hand as she quickly hummed ‘Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star’ to herself. She could not care less about what the grown-ups were talking about now.

Teachers: Dr. Westley Coxx, Mrs. Natalie Hall
High school: Pippa Scott, Noah Wilson, Issy Romero, Lucian Livingston
College: Gracie Fischer, Wyatt Prescott, Oliver Fischer, Mallory Abbott, Maxine Rossi
Other: Fletcher Willoughby

Shelby
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Whining and Dining Jul 22, 2015 10:02:28 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Jul 22, 2015 10:02:28 GMT -5

The shortness of Cliff's answer to the question hadn't been much of a surprise to John, and probably not to Natalie either he figured, but it was still disappointing to hear him only give a simple answer like that. Just once, he wanted to actually have a full conversation with the boy since he felt as if he never had been able to do that before with him, but even while he wanted to John felt as if the opportunity was never going to appear. The only time he really ever saw Cliff, after all, was when Cliff was at home with the dog and if Natalie persuaded him to come home somehow, but even in those times those two hardly had any contact with one another. John would give a passing glance over to Cliff and try to think of something that he could say to him to get him to talk, but half of the time Cliff didn't even look at him and acknowledge his existence there. It was still a hard fact to swallow that his step son didn't like him in any way, but what else could he really expect? Would he act the same way Cliff did to him if he was put in Cliff's situation?

Thinking of that never made him feel any better. He wanted to be apart of the boy's life to not be a replacement for his father but to just be another male figure in his life. He didn't ever think that Cliff was ever going to look up to him and he was fine with that; he just wanted to know that he at least held a little bit of importance to the boy's life, but, again, he doubted if something like that was ever going to happen. Cliff was probably still so stuck on his father, not that John could blame him, that he was going to reject his step father for the rest of his life and John felt as if he wasn't going to be able to do anything about it. It was difficult, but he tried to work with it as best as he could. He gave Cliff the space he needed, yet he tried to get close to the boy to talk even if every attempt he had ever tried was pushed down as quickly as he brought it up. But maybe something had to happen at some point. Maybe, sometime in the future, Cliff would turn around and actually want to talk to him at some point.

Again, that almost seemed like it was unlikely, but John could always hope, right? And he could only hope that Cliff's relationship with his mother would get better too, though that also seemed unlikely, as sad as that was to admit. There was still a big part of John that felt that Cliff and Natalie's relationship would be better had he never come into the picture, and every time that thought crossed his mind it brought sadness to him because he hated to think that he had been the one to drift them apart. If only he hadn't come into their lives... Would Cliff be closer to Natalie? If Annabelle had never been born... Would Cliff be more inclined to be nicer to his mother?

With his lips having dipped down into a frown after hearing the response, John shook his head and took a breath as he turned his frown into a little smile, his eyes still locked onto Cliff even as he could start to hear Annabelle hum to herself, the familiar melody playing in his ears as he tilted his eyes down for a second to watch her drawing all over the menu. "Oh come on, school's got to be a little better than just 'good', right? Don't you have projects, or test or... Any upcoming events to look forward to?" He picked his eyes to look back up to Cliff as he responded, giving him an expectant look before he scratched the back of his head. He wasn't expecting his response to be listened to, so when Natalie spoke up shortly after he spoke, he turned and looked at the woman and listened to her ask her own questions.

The waiter approached the table shortly after that with a tray in hand with four drinks sitting on top of it. He stopped at the table and set the drinks down in front of their respective person before the man nodded to them and left them be after asking if there was anything else they needed.

High Schoolers:

Nora Acker || Chase Smith || Chance Smith

College Students:

Chardonnay Nicholas || Ace Harrison || Max Carter || Niko Connor || Toni Locklear

Teachers:

Jonathan Hall || Leo Fletcher

Academy Staff:

Scarlett Oak

Kenzie
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Whining and Dining Jul 22, 2015 10:44:01 GMT -5

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Post by Kenzie on Jul 22, 2015 10:44:01 GMT -5

Cliff knew that both Natalie and John were unsatisfied with his response, especially when John pressed for more information and Natalie asked a new question. Cliff blinked before he turned his gaze onto John for the first time that evening, his chins till help in his palm as he stared at his step-father with an unimpressed gaze. Who did he think he was, trying to elaborate on his mother’s question? If Cliff wasn’t going to answer Natalie he sure as hell was never going to answer John. At the expectant look, a sneer crossed Cliff’s face.

”You’re a professor. You know better about upcoming events than I do.” He said, looking away as his face grew blank again, turning back towards Natalie. If John wanted to know his opinion about upcoming events than he might as well have asked straight up. Still, all he would have gotten was ‘they’re lame’, so really, it wasn’t John’s fault for not pressuring. In regards to homecoming Cliff was kind of excited to see Noah bring Shyanne just to laugh at the image, but he didn’t have a date himself. He probably wasn’t going to get one anyway, and since Noah was no longer going stag… well, that meant Cliff would just be alone with nothing but the punch bowl for company assuming that Shyanne didn’t dump Noah in the middle of the dance or something. Though frankly he wouldn’t put that past her.

”Noah’s OK. If we were in trouble you’d know. Oh. He’s got a date to homecoming.” Cliff said in his deadpan, accepting the drink from the waiter with a thank you, taking a sip of his lemonade. He wondered where the food was at… he was not only hungry, but now he was in the twenty questions game that always happened when he went out to eat or even ate dinner with his mother and John. Though if he kept the conversation about Noah, perhaps they wouldn’t be so curious about him.

Cliff took another sip of his lemonade.

Amy O'Neal || Todd Bennett || Chad Richardson || Arthur Summers || Hallie Grey || Clementine Coleman

Cliff Arkwright || Ash DeCosta || Shyanne Volle || Seamus MacAlister || Savannah Nieto || Daemon Jeong

Ms. Susan Summers || Mr. Jean Audet

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Becca
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Posts: 634

Whining and Dining Jul 23, 2015 2:24:29 GMT -5

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Post by Becca on Jul 23, 2015 2:24:29 GMT -5

Natalie’s lips pulled down into a slight frown when she saw the look Cliff gave her husband. It was an all too familiar look to her, but it did not mean she liked it. She just wished for once he would address Johnathan with a better regard. He never even gave him a chance, just blocked him out as he had with her after Rhett’s passing. John was such a sweet man and she knew even though Cliff was not his son that he cared for the boy. If only Cliff would give him a chance he would see that he was a great man who also wanted what was best for him. Of course she did not expect her son to view him in the same way he did with Rhett, there was certainly no replacing his father, but at least he could try a little. Everything she had done after Rhett was to try and make things better for Cliff, and when John came around she finally did something for herself. John made life so much easier, he made getting out of bed so much less of a hassle than it previous had been.

At Cliff’s rather matter-of-fact answer to John’s question, she sighed and silently shook her head. “Heathcliff!” she warned, giving him a slightly disappointed look. There he went again, shooting John down when her husband was only trying to be nice. She reached under the table and gently patted Johnathan’s knee affectionately. He was trying with Cliff, he really was, and that was all she could ask for.

She took a deep breath before the smile returned to her face. Natalie rose a brow when Cliff explained how his friend Noah had a date to Homecoming. From what she remembered of the boy he was always talking about girls yet never actually had a girlfriend. “Oh, that’s wonderful for him, I’m sure he’s very excited,” Nat replied before looking at her son warmly, “And what about you, dear. Have you found some special girl to take to Homecoming?”

Annabelle bounced happily in her father’s lap as she continued to hum and color in her menu. When the waiter returned with their drinks, she immediately froze like a deer in headlights. He reached over to set her lemonade in front of her, and the little girl immediately turned around and buried her face in her father’s chest. She waited until he finally left before she turned back around and continued doodling. “Wook, Daddy! Puppy wike Ewvis!” she pointed at the picture of a dog on the menu she colored in blue. "What sound doggy make, Daddy?" Annabelle inquired, fully aware what sound a dog made but wanting to hear her father make the noise.

Teachers: Dr. Westley Coxx, Mrs. Natalie Hall
High school: Pippa Scott, Noah Wilson, Issy Romero, Lucian Livingston
College: Gracie Fischer, Wyatt Prescott, Oliver Fischer, Mallory Abbott, Maxine Rossi
Other: Fletcher Willoughby

Shelby
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Whining and Dining Jul 23, 2015 8:10:56 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Jul 23, 2015 8:10:56 GMT -5

Would he ever really be able to get a decent response out of Cliff, John was beginning to wonder? Of course, though the response had been relatively curt, he figured that it was a little bit of a win to get two sentences out of the boy instead of just a one worded reply, but did he have to look the way he did and talk the way he did towards him? It made John frown, causing him to turn his eyes to look down at the table to watch Annabelle draw on the menu. He told himself that he couldn't be angry about this, and he told himself that he just had to be patient with Cliff and that, maybe eventually, he would come around to the idea of having a step father, but sometimes it was hard to not be angry about it all. Here he was, being nothing but nice to the boy, and he wasn't given any sort of respect from him. He sighed at that, raising one of his hands and running it through his hair before he quickly snapped his attention over to Natalie as she just about scolded the boy for what he had said. No, this was not how he wanted to dinner to go; he didn't want anyone yelling at anyone, especially not Natalie and Cliff, and he didn't want Cliff pulling further away from Natalie because of something like this.

So when she put her hand against his leg he used his free hand and rested it against hers, taking a hold of it as he gave her hand a reassuring squeeze before he put a smile on his face to make it seem like everything was okay and that he was fine. Really, he was okay, but the smile he put on was a little forced even if he tried his best to hide it. "It's fine, Natalie," he stated, giving a small nod of his head before he shrugged his shoulders and flickered his eyes over to look at his step son. "I mean, he's not wrong, per say. I am a professor, and I have heard of the events going on between the schools, but I guess I don't really know that much about it all." He shrugged his shoulders again before he gave Natalie's hand another gentle squeeze. That was all he was going to say about that, and instead of trying to add onto anything else that, he decided to stay quiet so that he could just listen to the two of them speak. That may be the best option at this point, so when Cliff mentioned something about his friend having a date to the homecoming dance he smiled at that a little more, the smile actually a genuine one, but stayed quiet.

He heard Natalie's response and rose his brows in curiosity to Cliff to see what his answer would be, actually wanting to know whether or not he had a date yet or if he was looking for one, before his attention was pulled onto Annabelle who, after having pressed her face into his chest when the waiter came over (something that he couldn't help but chuckle over), started to draw again until she found something that she wanted to point out to him. He looked down at what she was pointing at, nodding his head and smiling widely. "Yeah, a puppy like Elvis." Even though Elvis was anything but a puppy, but he decided to go along with her at that point. "Except I don't think I remember seeing Elvis' fur being blue," he joked. But at her question he made a 'hmm' noise, as if he really had to think about what kind of noise a dog made before he tilted his head and shrugged his shoulders. He knew the sound that a dog makes, because Elvis sure enough barked at him a lot of the time, but he wanted to play around with her, or play dumb, rather. He released his hand from Natalie's, even though he really didn't want to, and rose it to tap a finger against his chin as if he was really thinking about it. "I don't know; I forgot! Can you remind me? What sound does a dog make?"

High Schoolers:

Nora Acker || Chase Smith || Chance Smith

College Students:

Chardonnay Nicholas || Ace Harrison || Max Carter || Niko Connor || Toni Locklear

Teachers:

Jonathan Hall || Leo Fletcher

Academy Staff:

Scarlett Oak

Kenzie
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Joined: March 2013
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Whining and Dining Jul 23, 2015 11:46:02 GMT -5

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Post by Kenzie on Jul 23, 2015 11:46:02 GMT -5

At the sound of his fill name Cliff shut up, but didn’t feel that bad about what he said. What, he just made a perfectly valid point. Cliff held little to no interest in the events that the school put on. John was the type of person who’d be kept up to date about these things. Cliff didn’t really like to go to things anyway—he only went to hang out with Noah, plus he basically lived right there, so he might as well go and make fun of people. He also supposed, being the reason Noah asked Shyanne to the dance in the first place, Cliff had some sort of obligation to go and pick up the pieces if Shyanne dumped him in the middle of the event.

Though he planned to keep the subject matter focused on Noah, it backfired when his mom asked about him. Cliff’s face fell for a second before he looked away from everyone, at the back wall of the booth. Yeah sure mom, I totally have a date, he sassed in his head. That non-existent girlfriend of his absolutely loved to dress up and go to these kinds of things. He had zero luck with girls, and zero game. At least in Noah’s case the guy tried. Cliff just recoiled back up into himself and had decided that he’d just be single and dateless for the rest of his life. Though he wanted to eventually have a son someday… well, he’d move to Springfield when he was old enough to be on his own. He’d find a girl in Springfield, not here in Salem.

”No.” he said in a very dull tone, turning to watch as Annabelle said something about Elvis to John. He stared at the little girl who was asking her dad to bark. And either John was really stupid or he was playing dumb—though Cliff knew that the latter was more likely, he liked to pretend it was the former at moments like this—but either way the entire display made his stomach churn. Where was the food? He craned his neck to look towards the kitchen, to hopefully see if a waiter was coming. He saw none.

”Dogs bark.” He deadpanned.

Last Edit: Jul 23, 2015 11:46:25 GMT -5 by Kenzie

Amy O'Neal || Todd Bennett || Chad Richardson || Arthur Summers || Hallie Grey || Clementine Coleman

Cliff Arkwright || Ash DeCosta || Shyanne Volle || Seamus MacAlister || Savannah Nieto || Daemon Jeong

Ms. Susan Summers || Mr. Jean Audet

Lennox Richardson

Becca
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Joined: June 2015
Posts: 634

Whining and Dining Jul 23, 2015 13:44:10 GMT -5

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Post by Becca on Jul 23, 2015 13:44:10 GMT -5

Natalie smiled softly when she felt Johnathan’s hand close around hers. She looked over her shoulder at him and gave his hand a tiny squeeze in return when he assured her it was fine after the comment her son made. No matter how hard either of them tried it appeared there was no way to persuade Cliff to try and act nice. The thought had occurred to her multiple times that perhaps she could bribe him with a new video game or something in return for him being nice to John but that just did not seem right. She should not have to bribe her son to be nice to the man she loved. Nat just wished Cliff could understand how much better Johnathan made her life. He showed her she could love again and move on while still keeping the memory of Rhett in her heart. He listened and supported her even when they weren’t in a relationship, and it was that kind heart of his which made her fall in love with him.

She reached forward and took a sip of her iced tea before her eyes settled back on her son. Natalie refrained from sighing at her son’s one-word response to her question. It was so hard to keep a conversation with the boy when he pretty much only answered in one word syllables. “Well, I’m sure you’ll find someone to take. There are plenty pretty girls at school and any girl would be lucky to be asked to the dance by you,” she replied with a genuine smile. There was no need to sugar coat things, and she actually did believe every word she said, and not just because he was her son. Heathcliff was a handsome boy, just as his father had been. It was almost painful how alike the two were, especially in attitude. His father used to react the same way to her that Heathcliff did now.

When she heard Annabelle and Johnathan conversing about what sound a dog made, she smiled to herself. Obviously the little girl knew what sound a dog made because they went through animal noises about a million times when she first started to learn them. She remembered Annabelle’s favorite had been the lion because she could roar very loud. Nat reached over and ran her fingers through the back of Johnathan’s hair as she admired their crazy little girl. Even though Cliff ruined a bit of the fun by answered the question, she looked over at him with a joking expression. “Would you like to demonstrate for her, Cliff?” she teased.

Annabelle giggled when her father made a comment about Elvis not being blue. A blue puppy would have been so much better, just like Blue from Blue’s Clues! She looked up at her father curiously when he pretended not to know what sound the dog made. Being young and gullible, she actually thought her father forgot what the dog said. Her big brown eyes shifted to her step-brother when he answered the question. She clapped her little hands and nodded eagerly. “Yay!” she shrieked before tilting her head curiously at her mother's suggestion, “Cwiff bark?” Annabelle then looked up at her dad and demonstrated how a dog barked. She then stuck her tongue out and pretended to pant before lifted up her head and licking his cheek.

Natalie put her hand over her mouth and giggled, finding it extremely adorable yet somewhat inappropriate for such a fancy restaurant.

Teachers: Dr. Westley Coxx, Mrs. Natalie Hall
High school: Pippa Scott, Noah Wilson, Issy Romero, Lucian Livingston
College: Gracie Fischer, Wyatt Prescott, Oliver Fischer, Mallory Abbott, Maxine Rossi
Other: Fletcher Willoughby

Shelby
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Joined: March 2013
Posts: 1,028

Whining and Dining Jul 23, 2015 15:30:33 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Jul 23, 2015 15:30:33 GMT -5

Well, John certainly hadn't expected Cliff to enter into the conversation that he was having with Annabelle, and he certainly hadn't been expecting him to blatantly speak out his words like he did. So when he heard Cliff's voice after having nearly blocked him and Natalie out for a moment -though he did remember faintly hearing that Cliff had no date for the dance and that Natalie was confident that any girl would be lucky to have him as a date- he picked his head up to look at the boy with his brows raised and his eyes blinking, dumbfounded almost. What a way to state the obvious, though John wasn't going to let that get him down. He looked down to Annabelle and saw that she was still excited about the matter and even screeched out a yell, which caused him to smile and chuckle lightly before he sighed and nodded his head. It wasn't as if Cliff was wrong, anyway.

He could feel a shiver run through his body, causing him to shake his shoulders and head a bit, when Natalie decided to run her fingers through the hair that rested on the back of his head, causing him to give a quick glance to a woman where he gave her a wide smile and softly laughed. God, he loved this woman... He blinked his eyes before quickly nodding his head at the suggestion that she had brought to Cliff about demonstrating how to act like a dog since he answered the question as easily and quickly as he had. Now that would certainly be a sight to see. "Yes, Cliff. I'm sure your sister would lo-" But before he could get the rest of his sentence out he felt a wet sensation streak across his cheek, causing him to scrunch his face up before he turned and looked down at Annabelle after she quickly barked and acted as if she was panting like a dog. Even if the sight was humorous, he couldn't help but turn his his and eyes to look at their surroundings, wondering if anyone had happened to look upon the scene just a second ago. It didn't seem like anyone had, or rather it didn't seem like anyone cared.

When he realized the the coast had seemed clear he finished up what he was saying as he went to wipe his cheek off with the back side of his hand, himself quieting down the laughs all in the same process, "I'm sure your sister would love to see you demonstrate how a dog barks, even if she seems to have gotten it completely figured out by now." He turned and pointed his head to look down at Annabelle as he used his two hands to tickle her sides. "You make a very convincing dog, little Missy," he said as he bent his head down to kiss her cheek before he pulled his head back and stopped tickling her sides. "But what have I told you about licking people's faces?" This certainly wasn't the first time that it's happened to him before, though it would be a lie to say that it wasn't a first out in public. It wasn't something that he minded too much since he knew that Annabelle was only a three year old and just wanted to copy Elvis and what he did when ever she could, but he didn't know how comfortable he was about it being done in public, or rather a restaurant like the one they were at now. "You're not really a dog, and that's something that only dogs do. Remember?" He raised his brows at her, keeping his tone light and teasing just to let her know that he wasn't upset with her because of what she did and that she wasn't in trouble. "You don't even see Mommy or Cliff do that, right?"

High Schoolers:

Nora Acker || Chase Smith || Chance Smith

College Students:

Chardonnay Nicholas || Ace Harrison || Max Carter || Niko Connor || Toni Locklear

Teachers:

Jonathan Hall || Leo Fletcher

Academy Staff:

Scarlett Oak

Kenzie
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The best people in life are free.

Joined: March 2013
Posts: 2,535

Whining and Dining Jul 23, 2015 16:21:31 GMT -5

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Post by Kenzie on Jul 23, 2015 16:21:31 GMT -5

When his mother suggested that plenty of girls would be honored for him to ask them to the dance Cliff merely shrugged, ending that conversation before it had a chance to start. Of course he just assumed that his mother would say things like that because she was his mother. No girls had ever expressed any interest in him. Then again, Cliff had never really expressed an interest in any girls… he occasionally recognized one as pretty but he had more important things to worry about. Like hiking, archery, anime, and video games. Who had time for a girl? Not Cliff.

When John and Annabelle continued their display and Annabelle decided to become part dog for the night Cliff watched them, his eyes focused on the high chair Annabelle had vacated. When Annabelle asked if he was going to bark Cliff made eye contact with the kid for a second. He debated growling just to get her to lose interest, but he didn’t want to make her cry and make a big scene here in public. He might’ve just barked to get Annabelle to look away from him (he had a hard time looking at her eyes sometimes) when John spoke up and Cliff glanced over at John’s pretty boy face, as he turned to Cliff and told him that his sister would love it if he would demonstrate how to bark. He’d been interrupted, but he knew what John was trying to say.

His sister? Who gave John the right to talk to him like that? To tell him to do something for his sister, like he held any sort of authority over him? Of course John meant nothing by his words and was only trying to help alleviate the awkwardness Cliff had instigated by giving a deadpan answer to Annabelle but to Cliff it was John trying to be the father in the booth. Your sister, your sister… how dare he say that to Cliff? Annabelle was John’s daughter, and she was Natalie’s daughter too, but she was not his sister. Any potential siblings of his died with Rhett.

He glared at John for a long time, not moving, not saying anything, just glaring. He would not say any of his thoughts out loud, because he’d just get lectured about it by his mom, but he still felt everything strongly. He wanted his glare to communicate something equivalent to “I don’t care”.

Though John was distracted by Annabelle licking his cheek and Cliff knew that his silence would go generally unnoted—what really could you say to a glare—so he just turned away from Annabelle and John’s display of puppy dog love (literally). He looked away from the three again and felt alienated by their love for one another. It was a love that Cliff had every opportunity to be included in but he tore himself away selfishly, not wanting to betray his dad, not wanting to move on when his mother had so easily cast their life aside and created a new one. Cliff glared down at the placemats in front of them. He remembered when he was in the single digits, sometimes Rhett took Natalie and Cliff out to small restaurants like this. He liked to color outside of the lines on the children’s menus and when he was done with those he’d grab the adult placemats and draw on those, too. Cliff closed his eyes and sighed.

This was tiring.

”No, thanks.” He eventually said in response to his mother, who had asked if he wanted to demonstrate for Annabelle.

Last Edit: Jul 23, 2015 16:22:04 GMT -5 by Kenzie

Amy O'Neal || Todd Bennett || Chad Richardson || Arthur Summers || Hallie Grey || Clementine Coleman

Cliff Arkwright || Ash DeCosta || Shyanne Volle || Seamus MacAlister || Savannah Nieto || Daemon Jeong

Ms. Susan Summers || Mr. Jean Audet

Lennox Richardson

Becca
God

Joined: June 2015
Posts: 634

Whining and Dining Jul 24, 2015 2:38:17 GMT -5

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Post by Becca on Jul 24, 2015 2:38:17 GMT -5

Annabelle giggled wildly when Johnathan ticked her sides, finding the whole situation extremely funny. She writhed about in her dad’s lap as she tried to escape his tickles only to sit still once he stopped. Looking up at him with her big brown eyes she smiled innocently when he asked her what he’d said about licking people’s face. “I dunnoooo…,” she responded in a sing-song voice even though he had told her multiple times not to lick people. At least with her shyness they did not have to worry about her licking any strangers, that might have been awkward. Her eyes glanced from Cliff to Johnathan when she saw the glared her brother gave her father. It was a strange look which made her tilt her head. Was Cliff mad? Annabelle snapped out of her blank stare at her half-brother when her father reminded her she was not a dog. “But I wanna be a dog, Daddy!” she stated, making a whimpering nose like the kind Elvis made when he was begging for food. Obviously she had no clue that it would be impossible for her to actually change into a dog.

Natalie smiled back at her husband when he turned his head to smile over at her. She could tell he was doing his best to make the most out of this dinner and appreciated it. He always handled Cliff’s callousness with such grace, it was truly admirable. Her eyes lowered to Annabelle and she giggled, fondly smoothing out her daughter’s hair before she silently shook her head. “But Annabelle, sweetie, dogs can’t eat dessert,” she reminded her with a smile, hoping that would get her to stop acting like a puppy while they were in the restaurant. It seemed to work because Annabelle immediately stopped the whining noise she made as she stared up at her father. With that situation taken care of, she was finally able to focus on her son once more. She always felt the slightest bit of guilt when she interacted with Johnathan and Annabelle in front of Cliff though she really should not have to feel that way. It was not like she was ignoring her son, she desperately wanted him to be included. Nat knew it must be tough for her son, but it did not mean he could just block her out. At least the only saving grace was he answered her when she spoke to him, even if he did ignore John.

When she caught Cliff’s glare directed at John, she rested her hand back on her husband’s knee for support as if just her touch was enough to keep him protected from her son’s death stare. She gave Heathcliff a pointed look as if telling him to watch what he was doing before sighing. “So, Heathcliff, honey…have you be practicing with your bow lately?” Natalie inquired, hoping talking about something he enjoyed would make him talk more than he had been. She knew archery was something special to him because Rhett taught him but did not stop to think how the question could also bring up old memories. Natalie wished she still had things which connected her and her son. She remembered cooking dinner with Cliff while Elvis rested on the floor and they played music in the background. Life had been so much simpler back then when he actually talked to her about things. Now she was lucky is she could get him to have dinner with them let alone actually make dinner with him.

Teachers: Dr. Westley Coxx, Mrs. Natalie Hall
High school: Pippa Scott, Noah Wilson, Issy Romero, Lucian Livingston
College: Gracie Fischer, Wyatt Prescott, Oliver Fischer, Mallory Abbott, Maxine Rossi
Other: Fletcher Willoughby

Shelby
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Whining and Dining Jul 27, 2015 16:11:05 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Jul 27, 2015 16:11:05 GMT -5

It wasn't something that he could see because of the focus he kept on Annabelle, but John couldn't help but feel a shiver run down his spine throughout the time that there was hardly anyone else speaking other than Annabelle as she continued to imitate Elvis. In his mind, it was almost as if someone was staring daggers right at his face, just wishing for him to go away or at the very least to stop talking. But, by the time he picked his head back up to look and see, Natalie had rested a hand against his knee again, which caused him to look down for a second before he looked at her and then quickly turned his attention to look at Cliff who was looking in another direction. So, it didn't seem as if Cliff was going to be doing much speaking after the little suggestion for him to act like a dog for Annabelle, not that John ever thought that something like that was ever going to happen, but still. Cliff's response of 'no thanks' was an indication of that, though John had only heard the statement half way since John knew that the boy was only speaking to his mother at that point. He breathed out a bit of a sigh before he tilted his head and looked down at Annabelle, smiling as she whimpered in his lap because she wanted to actually be a dog.

Before he was able to answer, Natalie spoke up. He shut his mouth for a second before he chuckled out a laugh and nodded his head at the little girl's quick change of attitude over being told that if she was a dog she wouldn't be able to have any more sweets. Well, if there was anything to get Annabelle to stop thinking about something, threatening to take sweets away were a good way to go. Either that, or it was a good way to upset her enough to set her off on a terrible tantrum because she wasn't getting something that she wanted, which, thankfully, wasn't happening in that moment.

He shifted the little girl on his lap to stop the numbness that was beginning to overtake it due to the pressure that was on it, but he settled her back and nodded his head in agreement to what Natalie had said with the raise of his brows. "She's right," he started, grinning. "Dogs can't eat sweets like you can, especially not chocolate; they'll get sick from it! And you wouldn't want to stop eating that, would you?" Not that he could say he really liked chocolate anyway given how he was allergic to the treat, but still. "And, I'd miss you being you too much to let you ever become a dog. How else would I be able to talk to you, or do anything with you?" He gave her a bit of a pout at that, tilting his head a bit before he reached a hand up and pinched Annabelle's cheek lightly.

When Natalie's question to Cliff came up, John flicked his eyes up a bit to look at his step son to see if he was going to say anything about that. It was no secret to him that Cliff, more often than not, spent a lot of his time out in the woods due to Natalie's telling him of that. The woods weren't something that interested him, nor did archery but it would be a lie to say that John hadn't tried to start some sort of conversation dealing with that to him in the past. But, like more conversations, it went no where. Actually, now that John though about it, it had probably been a few years since he had spoke anything like that to Cliff, or tried to rather.

High Schoolers:

Nora Acker || Chase Smith || Chance Smith

College Students:

Chardonnay Nicholas || Ace Harrison || Max Carter || Niko Connor || Toni Locklear

Teachers:

Jonathan Hall || Leo Fletcher

Academy Staff:

Scarlett Oak

Kenzie
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The best people in life are free.

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Whining and Dining Jul 27, 2015 17:55:31 GMT -5

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Post by Kenzie on Jul 27, 2015 17:55:31 GMT -5

Cliff ignored the conversation Annabelle and her parents were having about dogs and sweets, though he did listen just enough to make sure that they weren’t tell her lies or anything. He knew that sweets were toxic to dogs and he did not want that kid getting any ideas in her head about feeling Elvis them. Though Natalie seemed to have that under control, so Cliff turned back to his placemat, hearing a few conversations around them. He sighed slightly, the rumbling in his stomach growing noticeable. Though he’d requested they order food immediately to leave faster, there was also just the fact that Cliff was hungry. He drummed his fingers on the table as he waited, sitting with a slouch, his elbow on the table and his chin propped up on it.

At his mother’s question Cliff turned towards her, blinking. Of course he was practicing arrows in the woods. He knew his mom was trying to get him to talk but Cliff used his silence as a weapon. He couldn’t scream at John, he couldn’t get mad at Natalie for remarrying and moving on, but he could cut himself off from the family he wanted no part of. He probably could have gone into a longwinded, detailed explanation for how he had improved with the arrows and how good he was getting and maybe offer to show her how he was as good as Rhett was now, but no. His silence was the only way he could express something was wrong, and god damn it, that was what he was going to do.

Besides, the question itself was preposterous to Cliff—of course he still practiced. That was his only connection to his father.

”Yeah. It’s all I ever do, mom.” Cliff said, and like that he shot down his mother’s attempt at socializing. Fortunately for Natalie, something more exciting happened after that. The waiter returned, with their food and another waiter in tow, carrying more of the food. Cliff sat back as the waiter put his burner with onions and fries in front of him and for the first time all evening Cliff’s eyes lit up as he didn’t wait for the rest of his family to get their food—he said thank you to the waiter and then started stuffing fries into his mouth, before he grabbed the ketchup and smothered it all over his fries. Cliff put the ketchup down and watched the waiter as he asked Natalie and John who had what meal, both of their orders in his hands.

Last Edit: Jul 27, 2015 17:55:43 GMT -5 by Kenzie

Amy O'Neal || Todd Bennett || Chad Richardson || Arthur Summers || Hallie Grey || Clementine Coleman

Cliff Arkwright || Ash DeCosta || Shyanne Volle || Seamus MacAlister || Savannah Nieto || Daemon Jeong

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Becca
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Whining and Dining Jul 28, 2015 2:08:55 GMT -5

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Post by Becca on Jul 28, 2015 2:08:55 GMT -5

Annabelle tilted her head curiously when her father agreed with her mother about dogs not eating sweets. She remembered her mom telling her that once before after she tried to share a cupcake with Elvis. It had certainly confused her because she was only trying to be nice to the puppy and her parents always told her to share! When her dad mentioned no chocolate, her face fell. Chocolate was probably one of her favorites aside from jelly beans. “No chocowate wike daddy?” she inquired, recalling her dad couldn’t eat chocolate either. She giggled when Johnathan pinched her cheek before wrapped her arms around one his arms and pressed her face into his chest. “Okay, I no be doggy juss for you!” Annabelle assured him with a grin.

Natalie smiled to herself as she watched the two, reaching over to smooth out her daughter’s hair. She had not even been running around and somehow her hair managed to become a mess again. “That’s right, daddy can’t have chocolate, so usually momma eats all of his for him,” she teased before smiling over at her husband. Although it was a bit of a bummer he was allergic to chocolate at least she knew if she bought any chocolate for the house it would go untouched as long as she kept it out of Annabelle’s reach. She always had some stashed around the house if not for her own pleasure but for when Susan came over for girl time.

She had been hoping for a little more conversation from her son, especially when she brought up archery. Natalie distinctly recalled Cliff and Rhett talking about archery for almost hours at a time. If bringing up his favorite hobby would not work she did not know what would. Chewing on her lower lip, she forced a small smile before nodding her head. “Of course it is, dear. I remember you going out every day with your bow. I’m glad you’ve kept it up,” Natalie replied. She was about to add how proud Rhett would have been but decided against it. Talking about his father was certainly a topic she chose to avoid. There really was no telling how he would react. He probably thought about Rhett every day as she did, even if he did think she had completely forgotten about her former husband. You couldn’t just wipe away the past, and Nat would not want to even if she could. The memories she had with Rhett were precious but so were the ones she was now making with Johnathan and Annabelle.

When the food finally arrived, Natalie could not help but feel relieved. At least now there would be no awkward silence. She informed the waiter which plates went where before she thanked him and he walked off. Seeing the way Cliff rather impolitely dug into his food, Nat winced before looking over at Johnathan. “Annabelle, sweetheart, you have to go into your high chair now to eat dinner,” she instructed, smiling over at John before her eyes moved back to her son who was now busy covering his fries in ketchup.

“Would you like some fries with your ketchup, Cliff?” she teased with a giggle as she picked up her fork. She swirled the end around in her chicken alfredo before taking a bite and slurping up the noodle as gracefully as she could.

Teachers: Dr. Westley Coxx, Mrs. Natalie Hall
High school: Pippa Scott, Noah Wilson, Issy Romero, Lucian Livingston
College: Gracie Fischer, Wyatt Prescott, Oliver Fischer, Mallory Abbott, Maxine Rossi
Other: Fletcher Willoughby

Shelby
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Whining and Dining Aug 5, 2015 17:19:27 GMT -5

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Post by Shelby on Aug 5, 2015 17:19:27 GMT -5

John knew how important talking to Cliff was to Natalie; he knew that all she wanted to do was have a conversation with her son so that she could get back on his good graces and so that she could have back the boy that she remembered him to be, so when Cliff so easily passed off on a conversation that he had hoped the boy was going to expand on, John couldn't help but frown and turn his head to look down at the table. He caught the forced smile that came from Natalie and felt a sliver of his own irritation beginning to show over the matter, but he kept his emotions at bay and continued to keep himself calm. No need in getting upset, even if the matter was more than upsetting to him he told himself. All Natalie wanted to do was talk to her son; was it so hard for him to want to do that for her? Was Cliff really that upset with his mother?

Maybe those were questions that were better left unanswered, however John couldn't deny that it hurt to see the small interactions between the two because he knew that, more than likely, he was the cause for the rift in their relationship. Him and Annabelle actually, even if Natalie had told him that Cliff had begun to pull away from her even before they moved to California. It just didn't make any sense to him. If anything, he felt that Cliff should put his anger on him, not on his half sister and certainly not on his mom. He could take it himself. He could understand if Cliff was still angry with him and would never accept him into the family because he didn't want him there and because he only wanted to remember his father, but what he couldn't understand was his distancing from Natalie.

It could have been an entirely different matter though, John told himself as he shook his head and took a deep breath as he let it out. Perhaps Cliff just didn't like to talk about archery in front of them because it reminded him too much of his father. That seemed like a plausible reason, yet John had a hunch that that wasn't the only issue with the matter.

He tried to push it aside, however, and instead looked back down to Annabelle when she spoke up. He smiled at her and nodded his head as he pat her sides gently. "Yes. No chocolate just like me." It was a bit of a shame that he was never able to enjoy the taste of chocolate, but he figured that he wasn't missing out on too much, even despite the popular opinion on it. He didn't have much of a sweet tooth to begin with anyway, though he still couldn't deny that when ever they passed by a place that sold chocolate or when ever Natalie decided to satisfy her sweet tooth at home that the chocolate smelled so good. So good that, at times, he just wanted to test his luck to see if his food allergy had passed or not.

But, he wasn't brave enough to risk it. The last time he had any chocolate was when he was little and he nearly died from an allergic reaction to it after his throat started to swell up unexpectedly. It was something that caused him to typically avoid the treat when ever possible.

A small chuckle came from his lips as Annabelle pressed her face into his arm. "Good! I like you being a human; you're a lot more enjoyable just the way you are." And she didn't growl at him, which was another plus.

When the waiters had finally come to the table with their food, John sat back and watched as everyone was passed their plate before the men walked away and told them to enjoy their meal. The smell of the food drifted into his nose, causing his stomach to growl, though causing him to smile all in the same instance; he hadn't realized how hungry he was until now! But before he was even able to make the next move, Cliff was already attacking his food with vigor and speed, the sight alone causing the man to raise his brows. "Slow down there, Cliff," he advised with a light tone in his voice, "we wouldn't want you chocking on you food. Besides, the foods not going to go anywhere, and we've got plenty of time." Yes, they all had plenty of time to spend with each other and eat, even if he knew that that was exactly what Cliff didn't want to do.

He turned back down to look at Annabelle before he shifted and picked her up, reaching over and placing her back into her high chair before he strapped her back in and sat back in his seat. He pulled the high chair back to the table and pushed Annabelle's plate of food closer to her so that she could reach it without straining herself. "There you go, Annabelle; eat up! Do you want any ketchup with it?" He figured it would be best to get her all settled with her meal before he started to eat his own.

High Schoolers:

Nora Acker || Chase Smith || Chance Smith

College Students:

Chardonnay Nicholas || Ace Harrison || Max Carter || Niko Connor || Toni Locklear

Teachers:

Jonathan Hall || Leo Fletcher

Academy Staff:

Scarlett Oak

Kenzie
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The best people in life are free.

Joined: March 2013
Posts: 2,535

Whining and Dining Aug 5, 2015 18:53:08 GMT -5

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Post by Kenzie on Aug 5, 2015 18:53:08 GMT -5

Cliff glanced over at his mother when she asked him if he wanted fries with his ketchup, narrowing his eyes. He didn’t criticize her food choices. Out of pure spite, Cliff just grabbed the ketchup again and poured some more ketchup on the fries. Yeah, they’d be soggy now and this was more ketchup than he wanted, but Cliff had made a point and that was all that really mattered. Cliff then took one of the ketchup smothered fries and put it in his mouth, the prominent taste of the condiment making it basically impossible to taste the fried potato underneath.

”I like kash-up.” Cliff said with a fry half consumed in his mouth. Now he knew his mother absolutely hated it when he talked with food in his mouth, but if he did that enough maybe they’d think twice about inviting him out. Besides, at least he wouldn’t be playing with his food like the baby would no doubt be doing in a few minutes.

His challenge at Natalie’s words was much different than the one he wanted to give John, though. He took a sip of his lemonade to wash down the mush in his mouth as he turned to glance at John after he told Cliff to slow down and not to choke.

Even though John said that, Cliff was pretty sure his life would be a lot easier if Cliff choked to death at dinner. Yeah they’d all get sad or whatever but then there’d be no Cliff around to drain on the family atmosphere. His mom could just latch onto the ‘fake family’ (as he called it in his head) and then they’d get over it. Annabelle would grow up to be the not brooding child his mother had no doubt always wanted, maybe she’d steal the bow from his room when she got older and take over that hobby, too.

And then Cliff would be with his dad. Or if there was no such thing as heaven, he’d just be dead, and wouldn’t have to deal with anything. He’d feel nothing, like sleep only it was forever. And on the off chance ghosts existed, he and his dad could wander around the earth and hike as dead people. He supposed hiking while dead meant that you didn’t have to break for meals or sleeping… in his troubled head he assumed that his mother would replace him like she had replaced Rhett, this time him with Annabelle. Like it’d matter, if he died.

Cliff took another slower bite of his burger, not because he was listening to John but because he felt very lethargic all of a sudden. He glanced back over at John, remembering what he said about plenty of time. Ugh. He didn’t want plenty of time. He began eating faster.

”S’nt matter, ‘m hungry!” Cliff said in response, demonstrating for the table his horrible table manners. What did John know about taking time to do things anyway?! He was the one who impregnated Cliff’s mom and then rushed into a wedding! So gross. Cliff didn’t want to hear that from him of all people!

Amy O'Neal || Todd Bennett || Chad Richardson || Arthur Summers || Hallie Grey || Clementine Coleman

Cliff Arkwright || Ash DeCosta || Shyanne Volle || Seamus MacAlister || Savannah Nieto || Daemon Jeong

Ms. Susan Summers || Mr. Jean Audet

Lennox Richardson

Becca
God

Joined: June 2015
Posts: 634

Whining and Dining Aug 12, 2015 13:30:25 GMT -5

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Post by Becca on Aug 12, 2015 13:30:25 GMT -5

Natalie glanced over a Johnathan after catching the frown he directed at the table. She slipped one of her hands over his and gave it a small squeeze to show it was alright. Though it pained her to see the way Cliff distanced himself from her and the rest of his family (even if he did not consider John or Annabelle family), it reached the point where now she expected it from her son, which was sad. If there was anything she could do to make him feel more comfortable with them she would do it in a heartbeat. All she wanted was for the three living people on this Earth she loved to most to get along together. Even if Cliff attempted to make conversation without being sincere it would be so much better than this broody silent thing he so often did.

Her eyebrow rose curiously when Cliff opted to pour even more ketchup on his fries. Now, that just seemed terribly unnecessary. She winced at the sight, knowing it would be nearly impossible to taste any of his food under all that. “Well, as long as it tastes good to you, hon,” Nat forced herself to say with a small smile. If she could tip-toe around issues like this for the sake of making the evening more enjoyable, she would. He could be drinking ketchup out of the bottle for all she cared as long as it meant he was here with them. She twirled some noodles around her fork but did not actually make any motion to eat. Instead, she glanced over at Annabelle to make sure she was situated.

Annabelle smiled up at her dad. As much as she wanted to be like him, she liked her chocolate way too much to ever give it up. She was still excited about what she wanted for dessert even if she had to actually eat dinner first. Maybe if she ate as fast as Cliff did they could order dessert faster! When it was time to go back in her highchair, she pouted and quivered her lip. It would be much more preferable to her if she could eat on her dad’s lap. She just felt so far away from everyone in her high chair! Staring down at her plate, Annabelle poked one of the chicken strips which looked threateningly large to the little girl. Pushing her plate away, she wrinkled her nose. “Momma, help!” she demanded, pointing to the chicken.

Natalie smiled and leaned Johnathan to grab Annabelle’s plate. She should have figured the little girl would want her food cut up, and Nat felt much better about giving her food in smaller pieces to keep her from choking. Cutting up the chicken strips, she passed them back over to her daughter once they were shaped into bite-sized pieces. “What do you say, Annie?” Nat inquired with a raised brow.

“Thank you!” Annabelle chimed in a sing-song voice before grabbing a piece of chicken in her little fist. Her big doe eyes then looked up at her father when he inquired about ketchup. She nodded eagerly and gestured over to Cliff’s plate which looked to be overflowing with ketchup. “Lotsa ketchup!” she ordered as she then pointed toward the empty space on her plate.

Natalie chewed on her lower lip when Annabelle asked for the same amount of ketchup Cliff had on his plate. Boy, her son sure was influencing the little girl and probably not in ways she would have preferred. Hopefully she didn’t adapt the same attitude as he did because she was not sure she could handle two children being passive aggressive toward her. She glanced over at John and gave a tiny shake of her head, assuring him she did not need that much ketchup on her plate. Her gaze then drifted back over to Cliff as he spoke with his mouthful. This whole time she had been pretty lenient on Cliff and his actions but bad table manners were not something she readily condoned. “Cliff, please don’t talk with your mouth open,” she commented before she began to enjoy her own meal.

Teachers: Dr. Westley Coxx, Mrs. Natalie Hall
High school: Pippa Scott, Noah Wilson, Issy Romero, Lucian Livingston
College: Gracie Fischer, Wyatt Prescott, Oliver Fischer, Mallory Abbott, Maxine Rossi
Other: Fletcher Willoughby

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Whining and Dining (643 views)

Post by Becca on Jul 21, 2015 23:33:39 GMT -5

Post by Shelby on Jul 22, 2015 10:02:28 GMT -5

Post by Kenzie on Jul 22, 2015 10:44:01 GMT -5

Post by Becca on Jul 23, 2015 2:24:29 GMT -5

Post by Shelby on Jul 23, 2015 8:10:56 GMT -5

Post by Kenzie on Jul 23, 2015 11:46:02 GMT -5

Post by Becca on Jul 23, 2015 13:44:10 GMT -5

Post by Shelby on Jul 23, 2015 15:30:33 GMT -5

Post by Kenzie on Jul 23, 2015 16:21:31 GMT -5

Post by Becca on Jul 24, 2015 2:38:17 GMT -5

Post by Shelby on Jul 27, 2015 16:11:05 GMT -5

Post by Kenzie on Jul 27, 2015 17:55:31 GMT -5

Post by Becca on Jul 28, 2015 2:08:55 GMT -5

Post by Shelby on Aug 5, 2015 17:19:27 GMT -5

Post by Kenzie on Aug 5, 2015 18:53:08 GMT -5

Post by Becca on Aug 12, 2015 13:30:25 GMT -5

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