`Knight in shining armor? (Morgan)

[Alejandro Cortez]

"Come on.. memorize it Alex!"

He had probably been staring at the damned thing for two hours.. Yeah, it was a saturday, but this was the only place he could focus, considering his roommate was a huge player and was constantly holding make out marathons on the couch.. What was he supposed to do? Yell and throw a fit? Kick them out? Nah, he wasn't really that kind of person, but he did have a temper sometimes. To save everyone of the hassle it would be, he'd just walked out, playbook in hand.

Of course, he'd not gotten very far.. Possibly 4 pages memorized, which was saying nothing for the two hours he'd been out here. For some reason he was unfocused. The normal lenght of time it took him to memorize lines on four pages was 20 minutes... that's how good he usually was... but something had his mind elsewhere today. What would make it easier is if he knew what the hell that one thing was. It was like someone was watching you... but you couldn't see them... And it was aggravating as all get out when that happened.

He sighed, sitting indian style on the table, and dropped his book, the spine bent so much that it stayed open.. Rubbing his eyes, he stared over the hedges at the fountain, which tinkled lazily in the sunlight. At least it was a fairly nice day. He sighed and looked down at the lines, shaking his head. Why was this so hard for him right now? It was usually nothing. Maybe it was his father. The man decided to sent a letter to the old address... and their land lord had taken the liberty to forward it to their other address.

Of course, it didn't help when Alex read it first...

He had cried, yes, he could admit that. It'd pained him to read it of course, because he'd never actually met his father up close and personal... well not since he had memory. He could tell that his father smoked... cigars.. Possibly cuban.. He could also tell he wore polo, and he wrote the letter right after shaving because the musk of his shaving cream was still strong on the paper. No, he wasn't weird because he could tell those things either. It just meant he payed attention. He sat back on his arms, his brain a flurry as he relayed this memory a few seconds longer. Okay.. time to do this old school...

He took a quick look around the courtyard, and made sure it was clear. Standing up off the stable, he jumped down, and scooped up his book, flipping back to his first line he'd attempted to memorize. The play was a comedic version of King Arthur and his knights. It was dubbed "King Artie and the Knights of the "rad" table"... It was catchy. Of course, for his talent, he'd been given the lead role... Artie. He was some skater punk who didn't know anything about the story, yet it was destined to be his story when a rather confused and outdated Merlin wakes up to take Artie and his crush/best friend Gwen back in time. He loved it... so he decided he'd try his hardest to memorize his lines.

"So... whatcha reading?" he asked, sliding on his heels around the slippery part of the sidewalk, pretending to be on a board. He could imagine Gwen muttering something about going away.. Pretending to snatch the book away, he shook his head.. "King Arthur and the knights of the round table? Oh yeah.. I've heard of this.. heavy metal guys running around on horses to save babes.." Once again.. with the yelling.

He gave a rather inconsiderate look to the imaginary gwen and pouted...

Tag: Morgan
Status: ehh.. well it was longer...
Word Count: 711
Outfit: Dark washed jeans and a black t-shirt
Words/Lyrics: Just his thoughts...

[morgan parker]

Another day, another class, another project, another groan, another late night ahead of her. Actually, it was probably going to be a long series of late nights. Her photography teacher decided it would be best to begin working on the yearbook early this year. Well, duh. How dumb was it to start the yearbook in the spring semester when all the pictures would be of...spring? That wasn't the only season in Chicago, the cloudy sky, frigid air, and melting dust of snow on the ground was a huge clue. They already missed the colors of fall, which would have been excellent for shooting. Lucky for the yearbook, some of the photography class' photo projects were scenic shots. They didn't necessarily have people in them, but that was what Photoshop was for.

With the school's Canon draped around her neck, Morgan left her photography room and headed for the cafeteria. She had the first lunch of the day and was starving, even having eaten a hearty breakfast of scrambled eggs, sausage links, and toast. Let's not forget her usual pulp-free orange juice. Lucky for her, the photography rooms were only around the corner from the cafeteria and she was among the first in line, except for some of her classmates. There was always the same handful of guys that made it a race. It was amazing the power food had on the human brain, especially the male one. it was almost like there were Playboy girls waiting to serve them their lunches. It was the same eye-popping, tongue rolling demeanor.

She waited in line behind Craig while he ordered five helpings of rice and nothing else. The lunch lady simply shook her head as she filled his tray. Typical guy. Her eyes rolled as Craig grabbed his tray and moved down the line to snatch up barbecue sauce. After ordering a turkey wrap, with only one helping of rice, Morgan pushed her tray along the counter. She grabbed an apple and a cup of carrot sticks. She went through the register and filtered out into the dining hall where it was just beginning to fill with hungry students. The snack line was the longest of all, the salad the shortest. Morgan was usually a salad person, but today she was in the mood for something a little more filling. Weaving around students, she reached the condiment bar and got a packet of mayo for her wrap and a squirt of ranch dressing for her carrots, then she moved on to the beverage dispensers and got herself a glass of iced tea. The best part about going to a private school was the variety of food and beverage choices. Normal schools only had milk or juice and less appetizing meal choices.

With her full tray, Morgan looked for a place to sit, but decided she could kill two birds with one stone by sitting outside. That way she could eat lunch, and work out her photography assignment at the same time. Weaving between tables and backpacks, she headed for the doors that let into the courtyard. In the warmer months, the doors were usually propped open to let in a breeze, but this time of year they were kept closed to keep the chill out. However, they were not locked and Morgan soon found herself outside in the quiet. Some students were bold like her and weathered the cold air, but she didn't see any of them yet. She did see one guy, poised in front of a table on the far side of the court yard. Morgan watched him curiously as she walked over to the stone wall she preferred over a table. Setting her tray down, she lifted one leg to rest on the wall while the other propped her up on the ground.

The camera was heavy around her neck to she removed it and set it opposite her tray, picking up a carrot on the way back. Biting down, her head again turned to watched the guy as he slid around the courtyard, or pretended to. He seemed to be talking to himself as well. This cause Morgan's forehead to crease into a frown. Was he mad? His hand grabbed something that Morgan couldn't see right out of thin air and she couldn't stop herself. "What on earth are you doing?" She called, biting down on her carrot.

[Alejandro Cortez]

"What? OH SHI -... "

It was quiet.. so he continued.. He was fixing to say his next line, book pressed to his chest, when her voice reached his ears. Of course, it was unexpected, so his face nearly tore off as fast as he whipped around to look at her. Of course, this once again, was a bad choice Alex had made for the day, not to mention his stupid idea of practicing in the court yard... God.. Before he knew it, his feet were slipping on the pavement, which was so slick it was like someone buffered it a thousand times more than it needed. He let a yell leave him as his feet came from under him, and his butt plummeted towards the ground..

That and his book went airborne...

He frantically grabbed at it in mid fall, his fingers only tapping at it which sent the book flying a few more feet away then it would have before. He slammed to the ground with a grunt, and then stared up at the tree's above him, groaning in pain. "Oh my god..." He winced in pain and then sat up, the sudden numbness of his butt reaching his mind, which made him squint slightly. He tossed her a "how dare you!" look, and then struggled to lift himself from the ground. "What the hell!?" he asked, his eyes wide as he yelled his comment outloud.. "I was.. I was practicing.." he mumbled, his eyes flying towards his book on the ground, and he took the few steps carefully to stoop and grab it.

He snatched it really, embarassed and slightly pissed.

Running a hand up the back of his neck, he pulled at his hair slightly, and then dropped his arms, his fingers tightly holding his book between their tips. "It's the spring play.. I uh.. I was having trouble memorizing.. so I went to plan two.." He looked at her and blinked.. Was it already lunch time? Shit.. how long had he been out here for real? God.. his teachers were probably going to kill him. He gave her a wary look, not really sure if he was allowed to attempt sitting by her.

He was like a kid contemplating whether to get the last cookie from the cookie jar or not. He moved forward, but stopped, went to step back, and in his reluctance to make up his mind, took another step forward instead. He rolled his eyes at himself, and made the final decision to sit across from her on the bench he'd just been sitting on. "So uh.. exactly how long had you been there?" he asked, his voice reaching a whisper. He leaned across the table, an inquiring look on his features as he waited for her answer..

He really couldn't let it get out that he was "crazy"...

Well he wasn't... but it may have appeared that way when he was seen dancing around the courtyard like a fool. He sighed softly and sat back up, folding the playbook and slipping it back into his pocket, ignoring the vibration of his phone that followed. He looked back up at her and laughed.. "God.. I must have looked insane.. I'm sorry.. I didn't mean to ruin your lunch.. uh.. what's your name?" he added, trying to think of it. He knew her, but he didn't... you know? You know who they are, but you can't think of their name.

It was like that. He stared at her for a minute, waiting on her name, and then laughed.. "Well I'm Alex.. and I guess you can go tell people that I'm the crazy guy who falls on his ass in front of a girl in the courtyard while he's practicing his lines for the play, when he should be eating lunch.." Well there you go.. He pretty much wrote the title of the article for her.. Wait.. she didn't do articles did she? Ahh.. it was hard to tell anymore, when the photography club did the yearbook too. Of course, he could tell he was talking to a photography major... Judging by the huge camera on the table..

"Did you get any pictures?" he asked, offering a charming grin...

Tag: Morgan
Status: omg.. I laughed so hard
Word Count: 789
Outfit: Dark washed jeans and a black t-shirt
Words/Lyrics: Just his thoughts...

[morgan parker]

Morgan had stopped chewing in mid-crunch, the butt end of her carrot just on her way to her mouth. Her jaw went slack and her eyes widened as the guy slid on the ice and went butt first onto the ground. Her mouth closed as she cringed from the sound of the impact. "Oops." She said out loud, but mostly to herself as she watched him scramble to his feet. She watched him glare at her but gave an innocent shrug and finished eating the carrot. It wasn't her fault he decided to role-play in a public area. Never assume no one is watching, someone always is, whether they let it be known or not. When he said he had been practicing she laughed to herself. "Right..." Again she said it under her breath. Practicing what? She didn't bother to ask, not really wanting to know.

He babbled on about something do to with the spring play. Wasn't it November? She just nodded and raised her eyebrows in an "Oh." expression before beginning to unwrap her wrap. He sat across from her as she unrolled the tortilla and grabbed the mayo packet. "Long enough to see too much." She said with the mayo packet between her teeth, pulling it away from her mouth so the corner ripped off. She spit out the plastic piece like a cherry pit onto the tray, squeezing the white condiment on top of the shredded lettuce that was concealing the turkey. She laughed inaudibly and tipped her head to the side as he again tried to cover for his antics. As his sentence trailed, she looked back at her tray to squeeze the last of the mayo onto the wrap. "Morgan." She finished, filling in her name like a Mad Libs. "And trust me, you made eating in the cold that much more ridiculous." She paused, wondering if he took that as an insult or a joke, as it was meant to be. "That was a joke, by the way." She added just to be on the safe side.

Alex, as she had just learned it name was, continued to blab and Morgan continued to listen, wondering if his tongue would fall off. Or maybe the muscle would get so tired that is just stopped working and lay paralyzed. Then what? Would he resort to sign language. What happened when his fingers got tired? Would they fall off? By the time he stopped, Morgan has rolled the tortilla back up and had taken a bite of it. "Well, I could." She said with a mouthful of turkey, cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayo, and tortilla. "And I probably will." It was the truth, it would be quite a tale to tell her friends later. Morgan wasn't one to hold secrets. They usually last about a block before she sees someone that she just has to tell or she'd explode. Well, it really depended on what the secret was and who she was keeping it for. This was not one that would make it through lunch.

When he asked if she got any pictures, her eyes drifted over her tray to the camera. Damn, if she would have thought about it quick enough she could have gotten an awesome photo of him falling on his ass. And if she hadn't been so distracted by his antics she could have gotten one of him "practicing" so he says. Swallowing her mouthful, she reached over and picked up the camera with one hand while pulling out another carrot with the other. Without even looking in Alex's direction, focusing more on dipping the carrot into the small cup of ranch dressing she pressed the shutter release. "I did now." She replaced the camera back on the wall and continued eating.

After finishing off the cup of carrots she realized he was still sitting there. "Please, don't let me keep you from...practicing." She said the word with a snort, trying to hold back the laugh. She held her hand out to her side in front of him, using the other to cover her mouth. "Sorry. I just keep picturing you falling on your ass. You should have seen your face." She held her hand against her lips to keep her mouth closed so she didn't spray carrot bits all over the place and chewed carefully so she could swallow. Then the curiosity took over when she saw the booklet he had been holding before sticking out of his pants. "What are you practicing for anyway?" Leaning over, she reached around him to snatch the playbook, unfolding it to look at the cover. "King Artie and the Knights at the...Rad Table?" She read, raising her eyebrows at the title, then shifted her gaze over to Alex.

[Alejandro Cortez]

He stared at her, trying to ignore the pulling feeling at his lips.. he didn't want to grin when she was being so hateful... but it was funny, rethinking how he must have looked when he fell ass first to the pavement.. He hated when it was slick.. He looked at her, adjusting the sleeves on his sweater just as she yanked his playbook from his pocket.. "HEY!" he yelled, but she was cutting him off, yet again, with a seemingly compiled form of judgemental words.. "Yes... it's funny. You should come watch it, if it's not too below your entertainment standards.. you know I get to act all goofy.. you seem to enjoy me and my stupidity.." Maybe it was better that he didn't talk anymore.. everything he seemed to do only made him look more like an idiot..

He shook those thoughts from his head and watched her, holding his hand open expectantly for her to give him his book back.. It was wrinkled to his current abuse on it, but he knew that it would probably fall apart before the play... he'd have to get another one.. or make a split decision and rapidly make copies of this one before it died... Literally... The thick green cover was frayed at the end, the pages torn in some places, and curled on the edges due to him shoving it into his pocket over and over again.. He offered her a rather aggitated sigh, though most of it was an act, and shook his head, running his fingers through his messy hair.. Due to the cold, he didn't like styling it the way he usually did... it kind of ruined his health... something an athlete like him shouldn't do... Well he wasn't as big of an athlete as he was during the warmer seasons this time of year, but he was an athlete in general.

Adjusting his sleeves again, since she'd postponed him in doing so earlier, he let his chocolate eyes drift up to her, staring.. Okay.. so why was she such a grouch today? He really didn't know her.. was it the fact that he was... well him? Surely it wasn't what he did or say.. Hey.. she was the jerk first.. He blinked again, his eyes turning away, and looked down at the rough texture of concrete on their table underneath him... oh.. his bad.. it was her table.. Maybe he'd given a bad impression... but he didn't think it was one he could fix... not even a chance with her outlook on him already... She made him feel rather stupid..

Sighing, he remained quit.. "Would you like me to leave? I can.." He pouted quietly..

[morgan parker]

Morgan's eyes shot up to Alex when he made the snide comment about the play. What was up his butt? She was merely curious as to why he decided to turn into a one-man circus act in the middle of lunch. She refrained from retorting though and just leafed through the playbook. Apparently he already found her rude and intrusive when she was merely outspoken. She did know when to keep things to herself, but was the type of person to say what she felt or tell it like it is. Which was something she wanted to do at the moment, but fought the urge. All drama nerds were the same. She had always thought it was a cliche, but apparently it wasn't. Snooty, self-conscious and self-centered. Well, Morgan wasn't going to let this schmuck's attitude get to her. She would make a friend out of him yet.

Leafing through the book, Morgan took note of the highlighted lines and the character they belonged too. She grinned. "You're King Artie?" The way she said it was like she was mocking him and in a way she was, but all for show. Her eyes traveled down to the outstretched hand Alex held out. Holding the book closed in her lap, with her finger keeping the place, she reached out her other to slap him a high-five, or medium five. How junior high that made her look, but it was still comical from her angle. Taking her hand back she opened the book again and read over the lines, reciting some of them herself. This might actually turn out to be an interesting play. Maybe she would take him up on the offer and go see it in the spring. She didn't remember ever going to one in her years at the school.

Again, Morgan's gaze rose to watch Alex as he asked if she wanted him to leave. Oh please. "What, are you afraid I might clobber you with my camera?" She rolled her eyes, mentally counting the times she had heard that stupid line before, in movies and in real life. It was so hackneyed it annoyed the hell out of her. At least come up with a better way of saying you didn't feel comfortable and wanted to leave. Half the time the person said "no, that's all right" and they lost their chance anyway. So much for that plan, it never worked. "You said you were having trouble memorizing your lines before." She stated, flipping back to the beginning of the booklet. "I'll act as Gwen, that way you won't look like a loser who talks to himself." Sliding off the stone wall, she folded the front cover back and turned the book around so the words weren't upside down to Alex and handed over his playbook. "What do y'a say?"

[Alejandro Cortez]

He suddenly felt a flash of stupidity... well it was an old, and rather dumb version of "you've hurt my feelings, and I really want to run away right now.."... He frowned, his eyebrow creasing as his brows almost met, his dark eyes squinting more then they usually did... At her comment, he stiffled a laugh, and shook his head.. "Actually, from you, I wouldn't really think it was beyond you..." He blinked and gave her a charming smile, still shocked at her response... When she gave him a high five, it was rather odd for him. He found it hard to figure out why she'd done so...

She then shocked him further...

Now she wanted to run lines with him? He blinked, his heart feeling as if she was tugging on the lines.. he found it hard to be harsh back when she was hitting him with another side he was previously pretty sure didn't exsist.. He stared at her for a second, and then laughed.. "okay.. I guess that's fine..." He stood up, giving up on his faux hostility, and waited for her to join him.. "uh.. your lines are... "Ig-nore me the first time... read this passage... then you ignore me again.. till I snatch the book away.... then you gripe at me... try to get it back..." He blinked softly, and turned away from her, handing her the copy back... "I think I have the first few pages down good... but my concentration is blurry.. so go easy on me please..."

So he hadn't ever had a lead role like this before.. Usually they were all serious... he liked to step back and be comical for a second... or.. well for a season, made more sense.. he gave her a grin, and slid over the ice gracefully, as if he was on a skateboard, and adjusted his beanie he'd pulled from his pocket... "hey!" he added, and slid past her the other way, trying to be as nonchalant as he could possibly be... He was supposed to be a rather "unbrilliant" skater dude.. he could pull that off. He grinned at her, and spun on the ice for a moment, skidding towards her with a little more danger this time, almost falling on his ass again... He pretended to snatch the book from her, and smirked..

"Watcha reading?" he added, remembering his lines... "Oh.. King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table... I remember these guys.. Yeah.. Heavy Metal Dudes going around rescuing distressed babes..." He stopped, however, waiting for her line, where she took the book back, glaring at him.. If she pulled it off well enough, he may just suggest she join him in the play... but that would never happen. He'd probably be in some of her pictures, he was sure, since she'd want some credit for helping him... which he'd not doubt she deserved. He smiled at her, paused in his motions until she finished, trying to focus on his lines instead of how she would do on the play...

[morgan parker]

While waiting for Alex to either accept or decline her offer to help him, Morgan went back to her lunch and took another bite of it. She was still hungry, but if the lunch period ended before she could finish she could just wrap whatever she wanted back up and bring it to her next class. Most likely she would eat it along the way, risking the shame of getting yelled at by a teacher or custodian for eating in the halls. She looked back up when Alex, to her surprise, accepted to run lines with her. She hadn't believed he would really agree to it since he was making it pretty clear she wasn't exactly his bread and butter. Well, it wasn't like she was going to marry the guy! She probably wouldn't have ever talked to him hadn't he been acting like he had broken out of an institution.

Before jumping off the wall to meet Alex, Morgan took a sip of her tea to rinse her mouth out. How bad would that be to have food in her teeth. She listened to him coach her briefly, nodded, then sat at the table with the book. She stared down at the lines between the highlighted ones, reading them out loud to herself as the direction states."And Merlin lay down under the hawthorne tree with his head in the Lady's lap; and she let down her straight dark hair so that it hung like a curtain about them both..." Oh, how romantic! I could just die!" She tried to hold her giggle inside, but it was nearly impossible. She had added character to the part but probably a little over dramatically. Her head tipped up when Alex slid by on the ice (or skateboard as the play suggests), "showing her disdain with a withering look". "How juvenile." She recited, looking back at the book and reading the lines.

The next thing she knew, the lines were being ripped from her hand. Her jaw parted and she shifted around on the bench to glare at Alex angrily. "Give me my book!" She shouted on instinct, even though it was also in fact the line. Alex continued with her part and Morgan interjected somewhere. "My book please." She said in an agitated whine, holding her hand out for it as Alex had done to her before. When he didn't return it but continued with his line, her scowl deepened until he finished. Morgan snagged the book back and quickly glanced down at the line. She hadn't read that far down yet. "They're not "heavy metal guys"" She said with sarcasm as the quotes suggested. "and they did not rescue any "babes"!" Her scowl was still etched into her features, but she was finding this kind of fun. Maybe she should have gone into drama instead of photography, but then she thought about memorizing the lines instead of reading them off a piece of paper and thought again.

[Alejandro Cortez]

Alex went to reply to her with another set of actions and words, but was stopped by the shrill chime of the bell, warning students to head to class. Blinking slowly, he looked around the icy courtyard, and then back to Morgan, grinning from ear to ear.. "Well, Miss Parker, I guess this means that our little rendevous is over... sadly..." He held his hand out for the book from her, and stuffed it back into his pocket when he finally got it back... He shrugged after a moment, stuffing his chilled fingers into the shelter of his pockets, and then looked up at Morgan..

"I don't suppose I'm allowed to walk you to class..." he added, pouting...

No, a girl like her was probably swept up the instant she picked on the first guy... (no sarcasm intended...) No... there was something oddly charming about her witty raparte, and he couldn't resist but soak it in, shocking her back with humor of his own. He was quiet for another moment, simply chattering away when a rush of cold suddenly swept around them.. Okay, so the early months of spring were still pretty much freezing here. He shuddered in effor to warm himself up, and then anxiously nodded towards the building, begging her to want to go in so it gave him an excuse to run in behind her...

Or... walk her to class if she'd like...

*god.. that sucked. I'm so sorry*