Thread Roulette - Jamie, Ryu, Sandy

[Admin]

Two juniors, one sophomore. Write.

[Ryu Kobayashi]

Saturday evening and Ryu had absolutely nothing to do. He hardly knew more than a handful of people and even then not well enough to call them and ask them to hang out. Life currently sucked. He shoved his hands deep into his pockets and set off. Venice Beach... Wasn't it a place usually associated with fun, excitement and such like?

Ryu scowled...

It was anything but!

He lifted his frown from the sidewalk long enough to see teh girl walking on the far side of the street. She seemed sort of familiar... Dark hair... nice eyes. Pretty.

Drama. Third period. They were re-enacting a Tennessee Williams play. Its title had sounded weird to Ryu... Something about a cat on a roof. It hadn't made mucjh sense. He remembered her from there. Her name, though, was a mystery. Still, it was someone he knew... Kind of.

He jogged across the road. "You were playing the role of Maggie... right?" he asked. He was almost positive this was the same girl but there was always that tiny area of doubt!

[Jamie Winchester]

Jamie was riding her skatebaord downt he walk way even though it said no skateboards allowed, but Jamie had never been told to stop, so she kept going. This was not her first time. She stopped by a random water fountain to get a sip of water when someone walked over. She recognized the guy from school and nodded when he asked if she was maggie, in terms of the play. Which the name Maggie is he reason she realized his name was Ryu and he was new apparently.

"And you are the kid who faked like he didn't know English to get out of doing the play. I can't believe that worked on the teacher. I mean clearly the day before yo knew english well enough." She chuckled. "You are gutsy." She commented. or maybe their teacher was stupid not to realize Ryu had been speaking English the day before and now he could no longer speak it.

"The names Jamie...and you are Ryu right? Did I prononce it right." If not then she would need to learn. Just as then she noticed another girl from school and smiled. "Hey sandy over here." she waved hoping Sandy would walk over, until then she could still chat with Ryu.

"So I do not remember you from last year. Are you an exchange student this year?" She had no idea he had moved there.

[Ryu Kobayashi]

“Yeah, I’m Ryu... and we not long since moved here from Japan. Me and my family.” He glanced at the other girl as she walked over. He didn’t know her but then why would he? He only recognised Jamie because of their shared class.

She’d noticed his ‘I don’t speak English’ trick? Not so much that but the fact that he really did speak the language... and had done only the previous day. The teacher was a total moron to have fallen for that old game.

“Isn’t Jamie a boy’s name?” he asked out of curiosity. Then again, what did he honestly know about western names? Even the one Jamie had called out to the other girl sounded strange to him!

[Jamie Winchester]

"Isn't Ryu a japanese name for girls." jamie shot back as she laughed. "Jamie just so happens to be a universal name here in America. Which means it is given to both boys and girls. Just like the name Tracy, Leslie, and Alex. All universal names for both genders." She said smiling as she explained. "Welcome to America." Jamie said. "There is another exchange student from last year named...something with a T..."

Jamie had to think a moment cause Takiumi had not been in her grade level, but she had known him. His reputation proceeded him cause he knew everyone from freshmen to seniors. "Hold it..." She said thinking as she stepped on the back of the skateboard to bring it up so she could put it against the wall she was leaning against.

"Taki I believe is his name. You know him? Or is Japan bigger then i am thinking. On a map it seems rather small. Then again I guess everything seems smaller on a map." She said smiling. She sounded like an idiot with that commente,d but you know what she didn't care. Jamie was just being Jamie and that was that. "You liking it so far? Living here versus living there?" she asked.

[Ryu Kobayashi]

His eyes narrowed at the girl’s comment back about his name. “Baka... Ryu means dragon. Not a name for a girl!” Had she been teasing? She’d laughed when she’d said that so maybe.... “But no... I don’t know anyone from Japan at all who is called Taki.” It wasn’t even a proper name. A nickname perhaps? That was quite likely. “Japan is large,” he went on. “ It is a country made from over 6800 islands and with almost 130 millions inhabitants it would be pretty amazing for me to know this Taki person.”

The girl didn’t seem concerned particularly that she’d misjudged the size of Japan as her smile remained very much in place. “So far I don’t like it here,” he admitted. “Life in the USA is nothing like what I am used to. In Tokyo I knew what was going on around me... and what people were saying. Here... ?” He shook his head. “I might as well have moved to Pluto.”

He glanced down at the skateboard she’d been riding. “Can you teach me how to do that?” he asked. Maybe if he at least looked like he belonged here he might not stand out as much as he felt he did!

[Jamie Winchester]

"You got any bite to go along with that bark." Jamie commented as she stood up and put her hands into her jean pockets. She smirked. "Touche. Thats the first time I have ever heard someone admit they do not like America. The land of the free." She smiled. "I am not from here either. I moved her last year." She said to him. "So do not ask meto make sense of this country. I have been here a year and I am still trying to get use to the idea of Christmas and snow in the same season." She commented.

She looked at the skateboard and then Ryu. She shrugged. "Sure." She said. "Oh this is Sandy." She said motioning to the red head she had called out too. "She must be shy." Jamie commented. "Anyway. So you want to learn to skatebaord. Can you hold your balance?" She asked. She could teach him why not. She actually kind of liked him. She liked his honesty.

"So tell memore about your self? I moved here cause my parents wanted me too. Your turn?" She said eyed him. "You want to learn now or wait. I am free all weekend if you want to learn to ride the skateboard tomorrow too." She commented as she still waited for him to answer her question about why he had moved to a place he obviously did not like.

[Ryu Kobayashi]

Ryu nodded to Sandy who had walked over. She was quiet for sure. Maybe she was as shy as Jamie had mentioned? “I can ice skate so I guess my balance is ok,” he replied. “You really want to know why we moved here?”

“Of course! And any time would be fine. Its not like I have any friends yet...” Ever?

Ryu narrowed his eyes as he replied to her previous question. “I was arrested for stealing a car for an illegal street race. The cops threw me in jail but my father paid for my release. After that he said we couldn’t stay in Tokyo... Japan even.” He scowled darkly. “Japan is a society of honour and humiliation. Face,” he tried to explain. “You either save it or you lose it. By being arrested I caused my father to lose face. Lose his honour.”His scowl impossibly darkened even more. “A fact he likes to remind me of every single day.

He lifted his chin in what was meant as defiance. “And so he brought us here. To hell. No, even hell would be an improvement. For me this is neither one nor the other. Purgatory.”

Ryu glanced at the skateboard. Would she still be willing to teach him now she’d heard his story? Maybe he should have made up something? No... he was a car thief... not a liar.

[Jamie Winchester]

"Right,but technically isn't it your fault why you were moved here. You said your dad lost face, and then moved you here because of that. So doesn't that mean technically you had something to do with the move." jamie said. She was not trying to be mean or anything. She was just trying to get it straight. "Interesting. Well to each his own." She shrugged.

Not being from America she didn't think she should defend him calling it hell. Although she disagreed with him. Jamie loved America, she also knew each person had their own opinons and views and she was not about to correct anyone. Ryu could think what he wanted. "I am sure its not all bad. Look you get to learn skateboarding. Thats positive." She said with a smirk.

Jamie slide the board to the ground. "You ready?" She asked pushing it over to his feet. "first lesson is standing. Don't fall." She smiled. She would not let him get hurt, but it might be a bit funny to mess with him. Nothing bad of course. She was actually enjoying Ryu and his hardcoreness. He was a pretty cool guy with somestrong opinions.

[Sandy Meyers]

Of all the playwrites to be studying, they were stuck with Tennessee Williams. In Sandy's mind all his plays were the same, set in the South, the wining girl, the brooding hero, the alcoholic doctor talking about how hot it was.

She needed space to think like him, some place familiar which took her to Venice Beach, plus there was usually some eye candy around to provide a welcomed distraction, or as he dad would say "Only look, but do not touch!"

She went to a small coffee shop which made a mean pumpkin spice frapacchino style drink, which was always welcomed or at least until they had the peppermint mocha drinks ready.

She wandered a bit before she saw someone waving to her, it was Jamie Winchester and some guy she wasn't sure of. She lightly jogged over to them, trying not to laugh at the skateboarding.

"And here I thought this was a more intense study group tonight." She commented, tucking a strand of red hair behind her ear.