CHAPTER ONE: Travis' Journey: Arrival

[Laraqua]

The newspaper itself seems to talk mostly about the local news. There's some details about the wonderful theatrical production being put on and how the director, Albert Keene is quite a capable director and playwright of some cheerfully macarbe tales that entwine deeper meaning and great subtext within works set in your normal, contemporary life. It mentions the horror writer who's coming to Silent Hill (the newspaper is almost a week old) and will be at Andy's Bookstore, there's the usual array of advertisements, a review of the local pubs that states Annie's Bar is a cozy place has a tradition of serving highly alcoholic drinks, that Neely's Bar is too small to comfortably be called thus and should really be called a Booze Cafe, that the Shepherd's Glen Inn is always full of cantankerous old men, and that the Brahm's Hotel is the best place to drink if you want a nice atmosphere but don't want to pay the high prices of the Lakeside Hotel's restaurant. There's also information on the Brahms Highschool Football Team's successes, something about an investigation into "PTV" dealers that continues but there've been no further suspicious deaths since 2004's spates of mysterious deaths (such as the anti-drug mayor and the narcotics officer, Gucci, who died of a sudden heart failure of unknown origin).

The paper inside seems to be a brochure:

Welcome to Silent Hill!
Silent Hill, a quite little
lakeside resort town.
We're happy to have you.
Take some time out of your busy
schedules and enjoy a nice restful
vacation here.

Row after row of quaint old houses,
a gorgeous mountain landscape, and
a lake which shows different sides
of its beauty with the passing of the
day, from sunrise to late afternoons
to sunset.

Silent Hill will move you and fill
you with a feeling of deep peace.
I hope your time here will be
pleasant and your memories will
last forever.

Editor: Roger Widmark

Scrawled over it in black biro are the words: Too many tourists. Not enough residents. Advertise family friendly? Nice housing prices?

[Laine]

Well this isn't the first town I've been in that's had drug problems..I wonder what kind of outreach and treatment options there are here? For such a seemingly picturesque town it does seem like Silent Hill isn't free of the issues many larger cities face..

When he is down reading the paper he will get up and check the time on the clock that's in the staff lobby. He will also look out any windows to see if there are any people outside or evidence of anyone else being present in the building.

Schools are usually places of high intensity and lots of people, this one seems oddly quiet and inactive.

[Laraqua]

There's no windows in this room. In fact, from the outside it really didn't look like there were all that many windows on the bottom floor. At least, not ouside of the classrooms judging by his own observations and the map he'd been given. He did arrive after all of the children should have filtered inside but there still is normally a lot more energy and excitement. When he heads out into the main area to check the clock (he must've left that cellphone at home), he sees Ms. Latham bent over a ledger, pencilling in details, with a book catalogue beside her. It looks like she's purchasing books for the children. "Yes?" she asked as he comes out.

I'ts 9.25AM.

[Laine]

"Oh, I am sorry, I didn't mean to bother you. I was just checking on the time.."

He seems a little insecure and hopes he didn't disturb her.

"What kind of books are you ordering if you don't mind me asking?

[Laraqua]

"At the moment I'm picking some fantasy fiction and poetry books and probably a few more how-to-write books. We like to build on the children's creativity and imagination and we don't currently have any books of that nature in the library, which is a shame. Y'know what it's like when you get different sorts of principals one after another..." She goes quiet and you can tellthat she has more to say but has decided against it.

[Laine]

"I understand, I've been in schools where they couldn't keep a principal for more than a school year. That kind of discontinuity can make it pretty stressful on the rest of the staff. That must be difficult for you especially since you most likely do all the appointment making and the day to day operations that make a school like this run..

He doesn't try to overtly ask for my information, but hopes by being sympathetic that she may open up more.

[Laraqua]

Travis' sympathetic words and obvious misunderstanding of the situation (which is an easy mistake to make, really) prompts her perfectly.

"Ahh, no, that's not..." She looks pained for a moment, then glances left and right before craning forward to say in a low voice: "Well, no, Principal Roseworthy had been here for a good twenty five years. It's just that she always preferred safety over freedom so she curtailed a lot of childish activity. We didn't have a playground. We just have that walled in courtyard. She... A lot of the principals have been like her through the years. Midwich is an old school and it was actually built around principles of the old fortifications. Small windows, generally. High stone walls that surround a central courtyard. Even the clocktower, really. I mean, we have a sportsfield out the back of the school and a playground of sports equipment but it wasn't easy to access it. You actually have to go out the front doors and then around the sides."

"Well, she was always a bit like that but after several horrible incidents with our students about ten or so years ago she became resolute that children's hyperactive imaginations were to blame. She firmly believed that a lot of the pain they were being caused came from their thoughts and beliefs bleeding through into their actions and staining the world. Those were the words she used. Bleeding through and staining the world. She said they'd just get themselves hurt. She was the one that instilled the checking in and out process and why we don't have any computers. She couldn't stand to leave anything up to electronic decision-making. Of course, in the end she locked up the school and refused to let their parents take them home. No one got hurt but there were a lot of frightened people. She was committed to Brookhaven about a year ago."

"I've worked under her for about 10 years as her receptionist and general assistant. I'm actually in charge of the library though I have a volunteers from the students to help me. Principal Ross is quite different from her. He's more steady and more open to new ideas."

She stops talking and turns her attention back to the book. She obviously has more to say on the subject but doesn't really want todivulge this information.

[Laine]

Hmm..I mean I've heard of lock down from violent individuals on school ground, but against the children's own parents? Imagination doesn't hurt us, it is a freeing experience to make believe. That is unless at times there is trauma in real life and then it comes through in the play and story telling of children.

He has a look of concern on his face.

"You must have a lot of resilience to work here after that, it's reassuring to have passionate people here. Anyway, I better get back to the staff lobby, I don't want to inconvience the principal"

He gives her one last smile and heads back to the lounge.

[Laraqua]

Ms. Latham smiles gratefully as you turn to go. "Yes, you'd better do that. Principal Ross isn't normally late. He's just dealing with one of the parents who can be a little ... difficult. He'll be out soon. I'm sure of it."

[Laine]

"Thank you, Ms. Latham."

On his way Travis again will look for any displays of classroom projects or look for any signs of activity in the school. He doesn't want to appear snoopy, but will glance through any classroom door that may be open or if there's a class door with a window that as well.

[Laraqua]

Travis spots a map of the school done by a child's hand as he heads back into the small waiting area that is apparently between the Reception Office and the Principal's Office (but isn't depicted on this map, at least - a new partition, perhaps?). If he wants to peek into the rest of the school, he'd have to leave the Reception Area to take a look around. Alternatively, if he wants to snoop, he could always listen in to whatever conversation is actually occuring in the principal's office through the door.

[Laine]

I haven't been to a school where the children took it onto themselves to create a map of the school. Perhaps a project to shed light on the children's perspective of their learning environment.

He leans towards the wall seperating himself from the principals office.

How many times have a put my ear against the wall in my life?

Listen Roll,http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3310186/ 37

He can hear the voice of the Principal through the wall and in an odd way it reminds him of listening in on his parent's agruements.

[Laraqua]

"What do you think I've been doing all of these years?" snarls a gravelly male voice. "I have been trying to do my best to enforce the traditions-"

"We hold nothing but respect for traditions here at Midwich Elementary School but I do believe it is time we move this school forward into the New Millenium," says a calm man's voice. "Computers are the key to an active education. Once they leave this school, they will need to know how to use computers. It's only natural that we bring Information Technology onto the school grounds."

"And you're going to increase class sizes to squeeze those computers in?" snapped the man's voice.

"At present, we've aimed for 15 students per classroom and while that's an admirable aim, it's more important for us to be able to hold computer classes for the children."

"And this Kindergarten crap, where's that gonna go? Going to mash up two other classrooms for that?"

"Class sizes of 30 will be no problem at all to our students. In fact, we hope to be able to keep children in Silent Hill attending Midwich until Grade 6 rather than sending them over to Brahms. Wouldn't it be better if they didn't need to commute to go there?"

"This isn't the last you'll hear of this. The parenting committee will not stand for it!"

"Well, I hope in time you'll come to see this school's vision as I do," says the principal sweetly.

The man huffs and starts marching towards the door. Luckily, Travis is well-practised in moving fast away from doors to hop back onto the seat like nothing ever happened.

OOC,It was a Hide check I rolled. Seemed the most fitting.

[Laine]

Travis stands up and acknowledges both men with a nod of his head. Though he wishes to say something he also does not want to interrupt either person.

I actually kind of agree with the man from the parenting committee. Children should learn by interacting with their enviornments and experiencing life first hand rather than being behind a computer screen all day. Though we do live in a world where you have to be computer literate.

[Laraqua]

One man just stomps off out of the room and through the reception desk, not even bothering to acknowledge Ms. Latham's good-natured farewell. You can practically feel the anger coming off of him in waves. Oh well, at least he hadn't turned that glare onto you.



The principal steps into the doorway and gives you a friendly little wave. "Well, c'mon in Mr. Yates. I'm hoping you're not cross with me for the lateness but, err, Mr. Campbell's none too keen about some of our proposed changes." He gestures for you to come into his office which is a mess of paperwork, multiple filing cabinets, and the latest gadgetry. He's obviously outfitted his office to be technologically superior with a sleek black desktop computer, printer/fax machine/photocopier, an iPad AND a Blackberry. "Please, sit, sit." He gestures to one of the swivel chairs. Thankfully, both the chairs are the same height, though the office is too cramped for him to do anything but sit behind his desk to talk to you. "So ... how's things?"

[Laine]

"Thank you Principal Ross I don't mind waiting at all. Sounds like you have passionate advocates in the community."

He smiles and sits down in the seat infront of of the desk.

"Things have been very nice since I got here. I managed to take a walk along the creekside and have been able to meet a few of my neighbors. I just live down the street from here, infact. I am very excited to begin here and am eager to get your input on the direction you'd like us to go with the Pre-K program."

The excess of technology is bothersome..Isn't he aware of all the studies linking cell phones with cancer?

[Laraqua]

"Well, first I'd like to hear your vision. You do have a vision, don't you? I mean, it's a pain when everyone's visions collide but you can't just be at it higgeldy piggeldy. So first, you advise me. Where do you see this project going? What is the ideal scenario here?" He also gestures a lot to enunciate the point.

[Laine]

"I believe children learn though exploring their environment and learning how things work through play. Children especially at the ages of 3-5 learn through their play, interactions with eachother and the role modeling they see from their caregivers.
When you give a child an object to explore and do not directly instruct them on what it does their cognitive development is both age appropriate and prepares them for the adult and modern world.

Travis attempts to appear opptumistic and cheerful. He then proceeds to take out his binder displaying children's projects that range from extensive art work that is then documented and displayed, a project called "Our Brige", which focuses on a bridge that children have added musical features to(wind chimes), sticks to hit various parts of the bridge with and other ways to explore the various features of what before was just a plain foot path, but was now pronunced feature of a local park.

[Laraqua]

Principal Ross seems reasonably impressed by the conversation but it obviously hits a sour note somewhere along the line because his nose crinkles up a little. "That bridge sounds like it'd take up a lot of room. And it'd be expensive! How would we finance that? And how many children were you thinking we could bring on board? I have about 20 preschool children on a list somewhere." He starts rummaging around in his drawers. "We could fit 20 kids, couldn't we?"

[Laine]

"That is exactly why community outreach is important. We were able to contact the local Parks and Recreation department of the city and they allowed us access to the bridge for the project. You won't believe what an involved community is capable of."

He doesn't let the misunderstanding of the Principal bother him.

"20 children is the typical number of children enrolled into Head Starts or school district Pre-K programs within our state."