1 - Torrance Drakesmith

Despite Torrance's best efforts, or perhaps because of it, they were about to be late for school.

How did this happen? What will you do, if anything, to try to make it in time?

The truth is somewhere between "when you dont have to try hard in class you don't feel the need to get to class on time" and that Torrence had better (or at least more interesting) research rabbitholes to dive down last night. Besides, missing a hoo-ra, team-spirit, do-your-best speech wouldn't be a tragedy.
Torrence is making a brisk walk to class from his car, enough to make an effort, but not truely rushed.

Torrence's summer was.
Empty.
With the last kid getting older Torrence's parents decided to go on a cruise and set him up in a little apartment, so his summer was moving and settling and then.... being settled and not knowing why that all just happened.
Weirdly he is looking forward to school, just being something he understands. Put in time, solve whatever problen the teachers give you to prove you paid attention and get good grades.
He hasnt thought ahead enough to dread anything because, mentally, this school is just a step to a master's degree or two.

---

Teenagers on the cusp of adulthood weren't typically given to superstition and other such easily-dismissed thoughts. But if there were a chance for hindsight years from now, the Awakened ones of the Class of '26 might be able look back to as early as their first day of school to realise that change was in the ether. Perhaps it was the greater weave of fate that pushed against their coming back, as if delaying them, keeping them away from the penumbral shores, from what was about to happen.

But they wouldn't have known that of course. To them, the situation was simply that they would be late. The car Torrance's parents arranged for him was one of those car dealership trades, enough to sputter along, but as Torrance found out up the long driveway to the campus, every other car whizzed past his, and it even struggled to keep pace with the school buses ahead of him. He got past the gate while it was yet to be closed, but it was hard to say if he was going to make it to assembly on time.

It wasn't that Torrance was trying to get to school on time, more that he felt like he should. As he was driving to school he just happened to know what lane to switch into to get out of any traffic, that he was just able to get through green lights, that he just happened to choose the roght backroads the couple times he did.
It was, of course, just very lucky coincidence.

It was always an irrational satisfaction of any driver to have the lights favour them, or for the chosen route to be thankfully clearer of heavy traffic, and it wasn't as if Torrance had thought to rely on any real-time navigational map to highlight which were the jammy roads with the slow crawl of cars. Did the car also feel like it was running faster? In any case, Torrance pulled up to one of the student parking lots with time to spare, although the arrival of his old beat-up jalopy turned a few heads from the other student drivers.

Torrance wasted no time in following Marston out of the multi-purpose hall, even as some of the other seniors began to disperse, with the freshmen already herded away. It wasn't too difficult to tag along, he was used to people ignoring him all the time when he made his way around campus, which was why it was always surprising that Sera always knew where to find him.

Marston took the stairs down one floor, which led him to the gymnasium hall. Torrance already knew from Minsoo in their group chat that a similar thing had happened there. He snuck himself amongst the students there as Marston repeated his announcement. The same thing was taking place: teachers were on hand to bring the freshies to their homerooms, and the rest of the students were told to leave the premises as well. He could look for Joe and Minsoo if he wanted to, but decided to continue to stick close to Marston.

The Vice-Principal, having made his announcements, looked to be headed back to the general office in the Admin block. If Torrance were to continue to tail him all the way back, he would stick out more and more once they were away from the chaotic hubbub of the orientation venues.

But Torrance had decided to stick to his plan as long as he could in the hope that he could catch some conversation or other. Thankfully, his persistence paid off. The last he saw of Strom was in the hall, but somehow the professor had caught up with Marston along the way. "... seismic anomaly my ass. That was a -"

... mass awakening event. We need to quarantine ..." Strom started to rebuke Marston before Marston paused him by stopping in his tracks and turning around to speak with Torrance!

"Drakesmith, was it?" The Vice-Principal put on a genial smile, "No more classes today?" Marston did not seem to realise that Torrance was one of the seniors that he had just dismissed from school. Just behind him, Strom scowled but kept his mouth immediately shut.

Torrance had been discovered, but Marston did not immediately call him out. How would he weasel out of this situation? And whatever were the two staff members talking about?

Torrance is going to do a useless babble about wondering what was going on, without asking, but in a way that would just get him mentally dismissed by the staff.

With an avuncular pat on the shoulder Marston directed the babbling Torrance away as he and Strom continued on towards the admin building. That was a close one! While Torrance didn't hear much more than just a sentence worth of conversation, two words stuck out: Whatever was a mass awakening? And why would it need quarantining?

Torrance will make note of the others who noticed Emily and send them a private message, starting a side chat. Torrance: Something's up. Talk in person?
He wasn't usually one to reach out, and he wasn't sure what was connected, if anything, but now he was curious.

There was so much more to learn, but Torrance's quick search turned up nothing. Still, he could not help but infer that whatever Marston and Strom spoke about was also related to how he experienced today's incident. For Torrance had also gained a certain awareness of the strangeness. Did that mean that he was one of those described as 'awakened'? He suddenly realised he was now inextricably involved, even though he didn't yet understand the implications of what it all meant. Does this mean the others felt the same way too?

"Have a seat." Despite the serious formality of the title of Doctor, Veritas was generally regarded as a motherly figure amongst the staff, more youthful in appearance than one might guess her true age to be, though her chopped bob and bangs, slightly streaked in grey, gave her some kindly gravitas to match.

The counselling room was furnished with soft armchairs and a table for the counsellor, carpeted but enclosed with no natural light. A small shelf sat to one side with a tray of glasses and a water flask.

Today though the shelf was partially blocked by a third person in the room."Ms Nixon will join us today as well, as part of the school's efforts to improve our care programme." The woman looked as proper as she did yesterday, again in nearly the same shade of grey suit. In her hand was a tablet and stylus.

"How are you doing at the moment Torrance? I am concerned about what you may have experienced at yesterday's blackout. Can you tell me a bit about what's going on with you right now? I'm ready to listen if you're willing to share." So that’s what the school was calling it, a blackout.

Her tone was gentle, but nonetheless probing..