fandomhigh | Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part II

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!event: welcome picnic

Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part II

There were tables and chairs set up all around the lawn. Some were in the sun, where folks could soak up that precious vitamin D, and some were in the shade where folks could stay cool.

All of the tables had at least a little glitter on them though. It was a welcoming gesture to get glitter someplace you didn't know glitter could go!

[OCD is up! This is the picnic post for general mingling. Roommates, fake siblings and teachers are all here. Since it's outside, the picnic is open to all students, teachers, and townies!]

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"Where is home?" Hanna asked, nibbling on a slice of cake. "And different how? I never went to school before here," she added. "So nearly everything was new and different for me a few months ago."

"Tokyo, in Japan. Which isn't that different, to be honest. Except that here, no one seems to know anything about AirTrek." Which was both a blessing and a tragedy.

"That would include me," Hanna admitted. "What is it?" Tokyo was one of the places they'd visited during her Cities class, but it had been in the Danger Shop, so she wasn't sure that counted much.

"I can show you!" Despite some of the sad things about it, Ringo really didn't have anything she loved more than AirTrek.

Her hand came up to swing the backpack off her shoulders and she unzipped it and pulled out a pair of, well, they looked mostly like inline skates, but with only two wheels each.

"Tada!"

"Ooooo." Show her a new sport and you had her, Ringo. "Racing? Or something else? These look like fun."

"Racing, but more than just racing!" Thanks for showing even the tiniest amount of interest, Hanna. Ringo held one of them up and pointed at the rear wheel. "They have really powerful miniaturized motors inside the wheels. Once you get used to them, you can do all sorts of amazing stuff."

Ringo looked down at Hanna's feet, trying to judge the size, wondering if she could let her try.

Hanna gave her a pleading look, and stuck out one foot. Not large, not small, just slim, and possible to stuff into something since she didn't mind squished toes. "Do they go very fast? Do you need anything else?"

"Very, very fast," Ringo answered, chewing on her lip. "We could go find some space and see if this pair will fit you?" she offered, not sure. "And if not, I can probably get a pair that will!" Just... might take some time to get delivered.

"If you're sure!" YES. ANDRENALINE INSPIRED YES. Hanna took a moment to try to think where, then offered, "The road that leads to the gates should work?"

"Let's find out!" Ringo declared with a grin, carefully putting the ATs back in her backpack, and swinging it onto her shoulder.

"This way!"

Really, the road wasn't too far away from the picnic space, so Hanna sat down and toed off her shoes when they reached it. "Is there anything I should know before I try to put them on?"

"Well, first, let's see if they'll fit, but if they do, I'll show you the basics. The most important part is to be careful where you settle your weight. You accelerate by putting your weight on your heels."

She set her bag down again and took out the ATs, kneeling down next to Hanna to see about getting them on.

Fortunately, they were just about exactly the length of Hanna's foot when flat against her soles, so they slid on pretty easily, and with a little wiggling, settled on without any discomfort. Hana wriggled her toes, and grinned, pushing herself upward, but staying on the grass for now.

"Heels to accelerate. Toes to stop?" she checked.

"Actually, toes to coast," Ringo said. "And that's why you should be careful, starting off. Actually stopping is a technique on its own. So if you do feel like you're going too fast, just lean to the side of the road and get into the grass, that'll slow you down."

Ringo checked the laces, making sure they were secure, then stood up.

"We'll start with the very basics, just getting comfortable with them on your feet." She turned her own toes inward, adopting a pretty awkward-looking pose. "Try standing like this, and take a few steps, just getting a feel for things. And try to keep your weight off of your heels."

It was very awkward, but Hanna was nothing if not willing to try. She took a couple steps, getting the feel for balancing on two wheels, then gave Ringo a pleading look. Speed, Ringo. Speed?

Ringo knew that look. "Okay, okay," she grinned. "Hold on and I'll turn them on." She knelt down next to Hanna's feet again slid a finger in just behind the rear wheel of each AT, flipping a small switch.

"Now, slowly settle your weight back until you feel the wheels start to push you. Don't go any further back than that, yet, just get a feel for moving."

They could pick things up a bit after that, but since this pair wasn't actually tuned to Hanna's height, weight, or center of balance, she probably couldn't get up to more than 40 miles an hour even if she did go out of control.

Gingerly, Hanna shifted herself, and a wild grin crossed her face as the wheels started to roll. "Yes," she whispered, holding herself very still as the skates putted along. "I like this!"

Zooming could come any minute, but this was fine too!

She shifted again, and the skates started to cruise, and she gave a startled gasp.

"Careful," Ringo called, jogging along beside Hanna, but knowing that she probably wouldn't be able to keep up if the other girl sped up any more. "Lean a little bit to steer, and don't try to go top speed. Take your time."

It left you less injured!

Injury, shminjury-- said someone other than Hanna, because she didn't know that phrase. But she'd agree with the sentiment.

Leaning side to side, she wove down the path, giggling. Then finally dared to lean back.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee---"

Right, that was fast. AND WONDERFUL.

Ringo stopped trying to keep up, and just jogged along, falling further and further behind as Hanna got her speed up. She grinned, knowing exactly how that felt. She could feel that itch in her feet, wishing she had a second pair so that they could be out there riding together right that moment.

"Ahhhhhhh!" Okay, now she was trying to stop, and for a second just cruised, because she'd leaned forward again. "Ahhh!"

And that would be Hanna dive-rolling to the grass on the side, still laughing herself nearly breathless. "That was amazing! Oh, I need to get a pair of these! Do they cost very much? SO FUN!"

It took a bit, but Ringo caught up eventually, laughing herself. "They're a bit expensive," she admitted, "but I might have an old pair somewhere that you could have? You seem to be my size, anyway."

And by "might", Ringo meant "definitely". She had dozens of old pairs of ATs back home, and she was beginning to think that the best thing she could do was get them all sent over. It was beginning to look like, while no one here knew what they were, it wouldn't take long to find some people who were interested.

So much interest, Ringo. So much!

"I don't have much money, but I might be getting a job for the summer," Hanna offered, starting to unlace the skates, a huge smile still on her face. "I could pay you in installments, I would think? Are they electrical and need to be charged?" She held up one skate to try and see the gears and the motor. "Or do they run on a battery?"

"We'll figure something out." Ringo would just give them away, but she didn't know how Hanna would react to that offer. "They use rechargeable batteries. It depends on the specific pair, but most of them keep the batteries in the sole under the heel."

"They're wonderful! Thank you so much for letting me try that." Hanna caught her breath and added, "Next time I'll wear knee-pads, though."

Helmets were for people who didn't think they were indestructible!

Fandom High Welcome Picnic, Front Lawn of the School, All Day: Part II

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