Ryans Hallway Transcript

## HALLWAY

Connects the living room and the kitchen. Leads down to the bedrooms. At the end of it, a flight of stairs leads to the basement.

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### Scene One

Maya Rice

> Cecily wanders into the hallway, curiously examining a few pictures adorning the walls. Most appear to be of what she assumes is Ryan as a child -- she can recognize a few of his features, but he does look quite different.
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> Turning to glance over her shoulder, Cecily checks to make sure that Red is still nearby her. "You know," she comments as she continues down the hall. "It's almost /quiet/ back here." This isn't entirely true -- she can still clearly hear chatter from the nearby rooms, but it's more muffled, and it seems as though no one else has decided to head back into the hallway just yet.
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Andrew Gaidry

> Red trails behind, taking in all of it. It wasn't like he hadn't been in a poor house before, but it was still.... so different than what he was used to. And it felt so strange. He was actually here. In this guys house. Pictures of him on the wall.....
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> He snaps back to attenion when he hears Cecily talk, picking up the pace as to not fall behind. He nodded gently, glancing back. "I doubt it'll be this peaceful for very long." He chuckled softly.
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Maya Rice

> "Definitely not," Cecily agrees with a nod. "We'll probably hear glasses shattering in a few more minutes."
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> Cecily comes to a pause by one particular picture, leaning in a bit closer. She examines it closely and then grins. "Wait -- did Ryan actually have /braces?/"
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Andrew Gaidry

> "God." He glanced back down the hall with a nervous smile. Hopefully things didnt get TOO wild. Wait-
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> "Wait, what?" Red moved forward quickly to peer at the photo, grinning. "Awh. Thats kind of cute actually?" Red smiled slightly. He didnt know Ryan very well, but... dorky hadn't been a word he'd associated with him. But this was kinda dorky. In a cute way.
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Maya Rice

> Cecily laughs, snorting at Red calling Ryan cute. "He looks so much /shorter/, too." Her eyes seem to light up, and a mischievous smile forms on her face. "I wonder if he has to wear a retainer."
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Andrew Gaidry

> "Ahahwhh." Red gives a soft sympathetic laugh, half pitying, half 'aww'. He thinks for a moment. "You know, if he does... it would probably be in the bathroom, right...?"
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Maya Rice

> Cecily considers, eventually nodding. "Yeah, probably..." she glances around the hallway, now wondering which door leads to the bathroom. She glances behind her, checking to make sure that no one has followed her and Red, and then she reaches out and grabs a hold of Red's hand, tugging him along down the hallway to the nearest door.
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> "Come on," she says, lowering her voice a bit. "We're going to go find it."
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Andrew Gaidry

> Red glances behind him nervously, feeling a bit guilty, actually. They probably shouldn't be snooping around his house.... but Red was also kinda... really curious. He gives Cecily a couple of fast nods and grips her hand, crouching over a bit, as if that would make him any less visible, and followed her lead.
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Maya Rice

> Cecily and Red return to the hallway. Leading the way down a bit further to the next door, Cecily wastes less time being cautious and simply opens it up, leaning inside to look for a light switch...oh.
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> "Just a closet," she says dismissively, closing the door and moving on to the next door.
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Andrew Gaidry

> Red snorts softly. "You never know, could be something interesting in there." He followed her.
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Maya Rice

> Cecily opens yet another door, poking her head inside and flicking on the lights. She grins. "Found it!" Cecily steps inside, gaze already searching the bathroom counter.
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Andrew Gaidry

> Red slips in after her, looking around the room. Locks eyes wih his reflection before dropping his gaze from the mirror. He helps her look, pulling open a cabinet door and scanning the contents.
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### Scene Two

Andrew Gaidry

> Nicholas slips into the house and pokes through the hallway quickly, peering into rooms until he finds what hes looking for. After grabbing it, he hurries back outside.
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### Scene Three

Maya Rice

> Sydney makes her way into the hall, casting a glance back to check on Mitzi.
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> Mitzi's just barely keeping up, having to walk rather quickly in order to stay close to Sydney.
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> Turning back, Syd says, "I can't believe that stupid --" she pauses as she sees Courtney a bit further down the hallway, eyes widening a bit.
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> Mitzi notices Court around the same time as Sydney, her eyes brightening at the sight of her. She opens her mouth to say something, call out to her, but hesitates at Sydney's reaction. Would she be angry if she drew attention over to them?
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Jerith Walker

> Courtney is leaning against a wall, staring absently at the opposite wall with her eyes glazed over. Not the upset type of glazed, just unfocused.
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> When she hears a familiar voice, she looks over, and seems to liven up before noticing the state her friend is in.
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> Her eyes widen. "Syd?" She hurries over. The gut twisting feeling reminds her of the fact that she isn't on the best terms with her right now, and she's kinda the reason she had to stay home from school today. She looks down at the ground.
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Maya Rice

> Sydney frowns, drawing her shoulders up a bit as Courtney approaches, feeling uncomfortable. She hadn't wanted anyone to see her like this, much less people she actually /cared/ about. Praying that she doesn't look too awful, Syd reaches up to fix her bangs the best she can. "I didn't know you were here," she comments, trying to draw attention away from herself.
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> Mitzi seems to cheer up when Syd acknowledges Court. She stands just behind Sydney, still a bit afraid to speak.
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Jerith Walker

> Courtney nods, not lifting her head. "You all right?"
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Maya Rice

> Sydney's first response is to laugh. She rolls her eyes, shaking her head. "Does it /look/ like I'm alright?" Syd shakes her head again. "I'm a complete mess right now."
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Jerith Walker

> Courtney flinches the tiniest bit at the laugh, still on edge and not sure where they stand right now.
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> Is Sydney getting irritated at her again?
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> But at Sydney acknowledging that she's currently a complete mess...
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> She rubs the back of her head, still not lifting her gaze. "Hey, are we cool?"
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Maya Rice

> Sydney looks a bit surprised that Courtney has the courage to bring up their...argument from earlier. She'd been expecting it to fade from both of their memories without mention. Syd's about to respond, but when she sees a few more people head into the hallway, glancing over in her direction...
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> "Just...follow me," she huffs, waving Courtney over to join herself and Mitzi before quickly strolling down the hallway and checking doors until she finds the one to the bathroom.
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### Scene Four

Andrew Gaidry

> Nicholas makes his way through the hallway with Michael down to the living room. He figured thats where the main socializing would be. There and the backyard, probably.
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### Scene Five

Jerith Walker

> Zach keeps out of peoples' way. He stays fairly near the restroom where he saw Syd disappear into, anxious about missing a cue. What if something bad happens to her because he wasn't paying enough attention?
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> But...he can't get TOO close.
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> He shuffles a bit closer.
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Jerith Walker

> Shanelle giggles and snorts as she zips down the hall and towards the basement.
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Maya Rice

> Nova, speeding along, manages to at least catch up to Shanelle. "You are --" she says in between breaths " -- the worst..."
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Jerith Walker

> Shanelle slips through the door at the end.
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> Zach is startled. He stares after them for a moment or two.
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> ...Oookayyy,
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> Shanelle sees Courtney and Mitzi in passing. She lifts her hand and gives her fingers a little wave. "Heey~!"
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> Courtney gives a quick, forced smile, not stopping. "Hey, Shanelle!"
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Maya Rice

> Mitzi waves as well, smiling at Shanelle -- although her smile isn't forced, it probably looks unconvincing. She's still feeling vaguely worried about Sydney. She almost pauses for a moment to speak to Shanelle, but seeing as Courtney isn't stopping...Mitzi hurries along after her.
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Jerith Walker

> Shanelle rolls her eyes and continues along.
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> Courtney is reasonably distracted as she and Mitzi head down the hallway.
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Maya Rice

> Mitzi keeps quiet for a while, at least until she's able to keep herself from inevitably rambling. "So where d'you wanna go? I mean -- probably somewhere quiet, right?" Mitzi laughs a bit, shaking her head. "We weren't even there for five minutes..."
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Jerith Walker

> She looks at her and nods and smiles. "If you can find a place." she hasn't let go of her hand.
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Maya Rice

> "Maybe the yard?" Zee suggests. "I dunno..." she shrugs. "There are probably still people in the living room and kitchen."
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Jerith Walker

> Courtney shrugs.
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> She stops walking and begins to sway back and forth. She cups her hands together behind her back, but one of Mitzi's hands travels there as well due to her not having let go.
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> She glances over her shoulder along the hallway with its various doors, then meets Mitzi's eyes and gives a little smile.
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Maya Rice

> Mitzi notices the glance toward the other doors in the hallway and seems to catch the hint, smiling and nodding quickly. She ends up selecting a door at random, leading Courtney over.
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> "Hopefully no one's hiding inside..." she says as she opens the door.
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### Scene Six

Andrew Gaidry

> Michael practically shoots out of the basement and quickly ducks into the kitchen.
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### Scene Seven

Maya Rice

> Nova hears footsteps behind her as she exits the basement and makes her way into the hall. She keeps her gaze straight ahead, not wanting to know who's inevitably chasing after her. She prays that it's not Nic as she blinks more tears out of her eyes, wincing as she hears a creaking floorboard fairly close behind her, and then --
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> "Nova, wait for me."
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> Nova's so startled to hear Sydney's voice that she actually does pause, take a moment to turn and look back.
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> Sydney quickly uses the opportunity to catch up to her, reaching out to gently rest a hand on Nova's shoulder when she notices her eyes welling up with tears. "I figured you might want a friend to tag along with you," she explains, giving Nova a friendly smile.
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> Nova's lower lip starts to tremble.
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> Guiding her along, Syd says, "Come on, we can walk and talk."
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> Nova, too tired to protest, simply nods and allows Sydney to lead her the rest of the way down the hall.
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### Scene Eight

Andrew Gaidry

> Michael stepped into the hallway just a moment after Nicholas emeged from the basement. Michael looked over and visibly shrank back, dropping his gaze and drawing his shoulders up a bit, looking off to the side sheepishly.
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> Nicholas sighed softly and headed over. "What the /hell/ was that all about?"
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> "I'm sorry..." Michael said softly, fidgiting with his cup. "It just- it just slipped out, I didn't mean to-" He fell silent. ".... d-did you and her-"
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> "Michael, what we did is /none/ of your business, alright? You cant pull this sort of shit."
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> Michael bit his lip and stared down at the ground, nodding slightly.
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> Nicholas inhaled and exhaled slowly. ".... I want you to apologize to her. And I dont want you doing /anything/ like that again, got it?"
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> Michael nodded, his gaze still glued to the floor.
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> "..... alright. Go back downstairs now, okay?"
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> Michael nodded quickly and headed for the basement door.
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> "Wait."
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> Michael paused just as he was about to pass Nic, looking up at him, with a nervous look in his eyes.
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> Nicholas sighed softly and reached out, gently ruffling his hair. "... we'll talk more about this at home. But please, try to behave. For me?"
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> Michael dropped his gaze again sadly and nodded. "... I'm sorry." His demeanor was pretty pitiful.
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> "Thank you." Nicholas smiled gently at him and gave his hair one last ruffle. He glanced over at the kitchen. "... are they in there?"
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> Michael glanced over. "... yeah."
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> Nicholas nodded and then gently rested his hand on Michaels back. "... lets go back downstairs." He gives Michael a gentle smile, and Michael neevously returns it. They head back down to the basement.
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### Scene Nine

Andrew Gaidry

> Nicholas re-entered the hallway from the basement again. He sighed, glancing around. He headed for the kitchen.
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