[The arrival of May is a mixed bag for Ema, emotionally. On the one hand, the nice weather that comes with the springtime is very welcomed; it reminds her of southern California and home. On the other, it means that her tenure in Mayfield has reached another annual milestone. Two whole years in this place, and overall she doesn't feel like she's come out any better for it. After all, they're no closer to getting home than they were when she first arrived. It's not enough for her to want to give up, but it's pretty disheartening.]


A [Phone]

This question's directed at people who have been here longer, but anyone's welcome to answer.

How do you deal with being stuck here without losing sight of what's important? Getting out, getting home--or at least somewhere safer than here--making sense of what's going on... It's easy to get complacent after awhile, scientifically speaking, and I think it's something best avoided. So, I'm looking for advice.

B [John Doe Park]

[If Ema's going to deal with the fact that it's been nearly two years since she first arrived in Mayfield, she's at least going to take advantage of the nice weather while she does it. She's sitting on a blanket in the middle of the park, surrounded by books and notes written by her hand and others'. The major difference two years has made is the accumulation of data, however little sense it makes.

She's generally ignoring passers-by in favor of reading everything over and making new notes where appropriate (and on munching out of the bag of snacks next to her). People are welcome to help her, but they're going to have to make a concerted effort to get her attention.]

C [Puzzle Party Death House]

[After spending much of the day reflecting on life, data, and the universe, Ema wants to do something to forget about things for awhile. As such, she's knocking on the door of a very familiar home.]

Edward? I want to go to Olney's, and you're coming with me.

D [Olney's Tavern]

[Time to get her drink on. She'll be getting progressively drunker as the night progresses.]

[ phone ]

Hi again, Mayfield! Uh, still Jade, how are you doing?

I just wanted to ask, is prom the same thing as homecoming? All the fliers make it seem like it's another fancy dance, so I figure it's more or less the same thing. People sure like to dance in school! I guess it's a good thing I'm such a good dancer, I guess! I will probably just use the same dress I wore to homecoming! But maybe with a new bowtie, just to change things up...

Oh, one more question, uh, say someone wanted to experimentally turn you reeeeally small, without a way to make you bigger again, would you want to do that? Probably not, huh...

[ park ]

[ Jade is playing in the park on this sunny spring day, surrounded by a field of strange looking flowers.

Wait a second... are those flowers? If you approach for a closer inspection, you'll find those definitely aren't flowers-- they're trees! Tiny, tiny trees. Jade's laying flat on her stomach, squinting at them through her glasses and writing notes in a book beside her. ]

[ in front of 1338 benny ]

[ Jade's playing in her front yard with what appears to be the world's best dollhouse. And those dolls sure are... lifelike. And moving on their own. Which is probably because they're all little drones.

One of them has wandered away from the safety of her play area, towards the sidewalk. ]

Hey, come back!

[A: Phone]

...May?

How could I have forgotten an entire half of April? Did-- did something happen...? I'm not even wearing the same thing I remember I had on last. But the mirror shows me as exactly the same, so it can't have been--

[She didn't take on a different body like Zidane had, did she? But he didn't lose two weeks in the process, did he?]

Time couldn't have skipped around suddenly, could it? Was this a result of that census everyone was speaking about?

[B: Action, on any given sidewalk of your choosing]

[As soon as she comes back to her senses again, Dagger discovers there is a pair of peculiar wheeled shoes sitting innocuously near the door that had apparently been intended for her as of a few days ago. A job as a carhop; it was basically like being a waitress, which didn't seem especially hard on its own... if it weren't for the addition of roller skates to make things all the more complicated, that is.

Naturally, Dagger has never skated in her life, much less had to maintain balance on anything more shaky than an especially thick, solid tree branch. She may be able to swing on ropes to get from point A to point B well enough, but this is a whole different kettle of fish.

She figures it would be in her best interests to practice. Parking lots are big, open, paved areas, but the cars coming through at any given time makes avoiding them more problematic than it's worth. Avoiding people is slightly less challenging than avoiding cars, but it's still not that simple. Although balance is difficult, direction is even more of a hassle, and stopping is the hardest feat of them all.

Issue 1: Falling over in embarrassing displays of imbalance is a lot easier than staying upright for more than five seconds at a time.

Issue 2: There... isn't a whole lot in Dagger's wardrobe in Mayfield that isn't a skirt of some sort. She never bothered to change out of what her drone had put her in this morning, and she's stubbornly putting priority on conquering the skates first.

After coming this far, she'll stay here until sundown if she has to. And by the looks of things, that may very well turn out to be the case.]

✱ library - afternoon

[ Mana is reading a few of her own books that she brought along with her. Seeing as it's nice and peaceful in the afternoons it wouldn't hurt to spend a few hours before heading back home for dinner reading a book or two. ]

✱ Phone – evening

Mother's day is coming up with in a few weeks and I'm wondering if anyone would be willing to lend a hand. I don't really know what I should get mother, ice cream might work but I want to do something that will last longer.

[ACTION, MAYFIELD ELEMENTARY]
[Dexter's practically falling asleep in his chair. The simplicity of these subjects were so boring that they are putting him to sleep! That, and late nights in the garage working on stuff isn't too helpful, either. Feel free to do what you wish.]


[ACTION, MAYFIELD HIGH]

[Why is Dexter in the highschool, you ask? Well, he's pretty good at sneaking out of his elementary school classes. They're much too dumb for him. He'd rather be trying his brain with sciences of a higher level. Besides, there was plenty of stuff in the science labs and other areas to work with. You'll probably notice the kid trying to dart between the hallways, running out of breath often. ]

[ACTION, MAYFIELD HIGH GYM]

[Sadly, his height and nerdly attire made him the perfect target for the drones. Unfortunately for him, he's now stuck in a high school gymnasium, and of course, they are playing the worst possible thing to be playing. Dodgeball. Dexter's having horrible flashbacks, and trying to hide, for he fears what the teachers will do if they see him.]

[ACTION, ANDERSON LANE]

[Well, Dexter's funds are running short, and that Beard-O-Tron is just gathering dust in the garage. You'll see him outside his house, with a strange machine that kind of looks like a mix between a death ray and an electric razor. On it is a large sign that says : BEARD-O-TRON FOR SALE. Inquire! Ask for a demonstration!]