Saint Joseph School

*wandering the halls slowly* "what can I do to impress her and make her see that I really like her" He mutters to himself "I will ask her out again that is it!" *picking up his pace a little he start raoming the halls looking for Joni before he hears the bell ring* "Slag!" *he cries then stops hearing his own echo through the halls* "Oops"

A few hours later:

"Okay Ive looked every where. Where could she be?"

*thinking for a moment he gets an idea* "I know" *walking over to the note board he write on some paper and tacks it up* "I know its a bit public but its all I can think of at this time

It reads: Joni please meet me under the trees by the hot tubs after school I will be waiting for you there I would like to talk -Mana

*Sits by the trees in OverBrook waiting calmly for Joni to show up small thermose of the same cider he got her at the dance in his hands staying warm by his palm heaters*

Joni stared at the message. How long had that been up there? She hadn't checked the noteboard in days. Had he posted it back on Monday, sat in Overbrook all that evening, then given up? Had he done that and not given up? She could almost picture him sitting out there all through the night and into the next morning, for days. He would probably hate her for taking so long, either way. Even if it was posted today, she'd kept him waiting for... check watch... two hours. Crap.

Or maybe it was a prank of some sort. She didn't know what Mana's handwriting looked like. Tolliver had seemed furious that the two of them had won at the ball; maybe this was his way of getting back by making her go out there and wait. Or someone else who was annoyed that she had taken the crown in what was probably a class stunt anyway. It would almost serve her right, but still... And Mana was a robot, about as far from "luddite" as you could get; surely if he wanted to get ahold of her, he would know how to use email.

She realized other students were looking at her oddly. Either they had noticed her reaction to the note (they'd probably read it themselves, come to think of it) or she'd been muttering that entire internal debate audibly. Laughing at her behind her back, no doubt... She hurried off someplace private to think straight.

Or continue her anxiety attack. Either would work.

*lays back on the grass and watches the clouds pass by* "Sigh" He thinks "Its been 2 days and she hasnt shown. I hope she doesnt think this is a joke or anything." *looks at the newest thermos of cider* "I wish I knew how to use email. Geez Im lame.. I could just ask someone but I know Joni likes her privacy..." *Goes back to staring at the clouds* I dont need sleep and Ive always been good at catching up on late assignments so I can wait as long as it takes I know she will show. I have faith in her."

*optics lose focus and drift from one cloud to the next* *thinks* Hey that one cloud looks like her.....

Joni was really glad of two of her abilities at the moment. The first was the sliding-on-ice trick that had gotten her to Overbrook in record time. All that practice at Pocket D had paid off.

The second was the fog generation. Overbrook had mist all the time, and no one, even Mana (hopefully), was noticing that one pocket of it was unusually dense.

She watched Mana cautiously. Okay, he was here. That eliminated the prank option. Unless Tolliver had delivered Mana another note in her name. She looked around the area. A couple Lost were standing around in the distance trying to look ominous, but no signs of students waiting to laugh at her... then again, invisibility was a common talent. And even if it hadn't started as a prank, how many people must have seen the note?

Forget them. Look at Mana. Does he seem mad or impatient? Well, how was she supposed to tell that from someone with no facial expressions? Why couldn't she have gotten the attention of a normal person with normal reactions, instead of a robot with the ultimate poker face? Well, besides all the obvious reasons?

Any signs how long he had been there? Again, no help. No signs of food, consumed or otherwise; no exhaustion to set in...

This was ridiculous. With almost everyone else, she could tell what they thought of her by virtue of the fact that they were (more or less) human. With Mana... she had absolutely no idea what to think. He could actually be the exception. Someone who doesn't care one bit about her oddities...

...someone who doesn't care period, in other words. Someone who treats her like the belle of the ball because he's incapable of doing otherwise. Someone running on programming. What's that worth?

She continued watching silently. This was so much easier when she could know for certain they all disliked her...

*seeing the Over Brook fog set in he sits up* "Oh no" He says aloud "Will Joni be able to see me with all this fog?" *reaching over he heats up the cider again* "I hope so" *Getting up he moves to a tree with a dense patch of fog suroundig it and stops just short of it and proceeds to sit and lean against a it facing the Hot Tubs* "I'll bet she thinks that Im stupid. Just because Im a "robot" *he spits the word* "no one seems to understand Im an Android and I do have emotions and not just programing I can make my own choices and I have feelings." *he gazes up at the now darkening sky* "I wish she would see that...."

Joni stiffled an "eep" as Mana leaned against a tree less than two yards from her. Then she heard him start to talk.

...No way. I'm positive I wasn't talking out loud this time. Can he read minds somehow? Sandy and Sam never mentioned anything about that... but there's no way he'd just start spontaneously talking about these things less than a minute after I enter earshot... he has to at least know I'm here. The next sigh was slightly disgruntled as she let the fog fade away. "Okay, very funny, Mana. You can stop toying with me."

*jumps up so fast his armor scratchs the trees bark* "JONI!" *he stummbles to pick up the thermos* "How long have you been here? I was worried you might not have seen my note"
*he offers her the thermos* "Here this is for you since I knew you liked the cider from the dance...Its nice and hot too just the way you like it"
*she stares at it then accepts it with a small thank you*
"Okay not stop playing with me. What do you want?" She states more then asks

"I just want to show you that Im not trying to be mean or play a joke on you. I-I really like you and I would like to get to know you better..." *He shifts his weight in a very human display of ackwardness*
"W-would you like to go out again some time? Maybe to the tropical rain forest diplay? And then after maybe something for you to eat?"

*she thinks for a moment but before she can answer she can see somethings wrong with Mana* "Are you okay?" She asks

"Yes I am fine. I have just been here for 2 days waiting." *the way he says it isnt angery but relieved and pleasent* "Im glad you ca..." *he falls to the ground and makes a noise and Joni hears "WARNING: SYSTEM POWER LOW! SHUT DOWN PROCEEDING!*

*looking up* "Thank you for coming......"

"What... Mana? Mana, that's not funny. Mana!" Mana didn't move. Joni did her best not to panic. "Mana, I don't even know how to recharge you... God, help me!" She searched over what parts of Mana were still face up -- rolling him over didn't seem like an option -- and then she found his Medicom badge. Good enough. She hit the emergency activate switch and watched him vanish.

Then she had to sit down for a while.

*waking up 2 hours later in a hospital bed* "uugh what?" *He looks around grogly* "Oh no I ran out of power! Joni must hate me!"

*the nurse comes in* "How are you feeling?" She askes

"Like I ran out of power and got hit with a bus" He replies

"You should because you did" Is her response

"But how did I get here? It should just have been like passing out from hunger...."
"What about Joni? Oh no! I must have shut down and left her there...."

*nurse turns to leave* "Stay and rest I will be back to check in on you in a while" She exits the room

*Mana stares at out the window thinking about what could be happening to Joni*

((Taken from RP in-game.))

Joni didn't show up for another two hours, and she had to drag Sam along just to have the courage. She kept reciting to herself. Mana, that wasn't normal, what you did. People don't leave messages, not knowing whether they were even received, and then do nothing but wait for a response until they pass out. This isn't healthy... I'm worried I'm having some sort of adverse effect on you... so maybe... it would be best...

Even in her imagination she couldn't get through the next sentence. Everything she'd seen about Mana to date suggested he already couldn't think of them as anything other than "long term relationship." So to break it off so quickly, after only one date... And to think two weeks ago she was expecting to remain utterly single for the rest of her life; now that she'd finally gotten the attention of a boy, he had turned out to be a rather obsessive and possibly unstable robot.

Whom she'd just crashed into while lost in thought.

Mana glanced down at the two of them. He had no facial expression, of course, but the tone coming out of his voice synthesizer sounded nervous. "Oh, um, hello, Joni. Sam."

"Um, hey... You okay?" Joni glanced back at Sam, who pointedly looked away in a "you handle this yourself" manner.

"Yeah... kind of embarassing... guess I exhausted my power supply. You know, your hair looks great today!"

"...Mana, stop it, please. Why... why in the world would you stand out there for two days without 'eating'?"

"I don't eat--"

"You know what I mean!" She took a second to calm down. "Mana... it's not normal to sit out until you're starving just to wait for someone!"

Mana shifted around in what looked like a nervous motion. "I guess I thought you'd be there any moment, and I could recharge then. I didn't want to miss you. And you did show."

"And if I had been another hour, who knows who might have found you first? Can you imagine the Clockwork stumbling across you while you were out?"

"...oh. Didn't think of that."

Joni gave Sam another look; Sam merely motioned as if she was ripping off a bandaid. That was from their conversation earlier. Just end it fast, she meant. "Mana, I'm not sure what's wrong with you... maybe it's a short, maybe it's a weird game, maybe you really do like me but in a twisted way... but I can't be encouraging it, whatever it is."

"I would have been okay..."

"...I... I'm not worth it, Mana! I'm not worth risking your life just to meet with me! And I can't take you doing stupid things like that as if I was!"

"It wasn't stupid; you came, right?"

What is this, an infinite loop?

Joni gave Sam yet another helpless glance; Sam finally gave in and spoke up. "Look, Mana, You're a really great guy, it's just... camping out for two days is a little... extreme. If Jason asks me to lunch, and I don't show? He'd call. He wouldn't sit in the cafeteria for two days. So maybe you're focusing too much on Joni. Maybe you need to back off and focus on Mana for a bit." Mana was starting to droop, so Sam quickly added, "It's not that you're not a nice guy, you're great... Feel free to jump in any time, Jo."

"Umm... yeah, Sam pretty much summed it up... I'm sorry, but I just can't take the level of pressure you're putting on me..."

Mana's tone suggested a slight panic, but it may have been Joni's imagination. "What pressure? I just wanted to ask you out again..."

He still wasn't getting it. How was she supposed to say "you're getting obsessive; I think you're malfunctioning or have faulty programming and it's freaking me out"? She tried to stammer out another attempt. "It's not that. I... you're... you're making me out to be something worth more than your own safety. You're making asking me on a date to be worth more than your safety."

"But... that's my decision, isn't it?"

The frustration finally came to a head. End it! Any way possible! "Fine! Then here's my decision, so I can save you the trouble! NO!" Mana cringed, but she kept yelling. "Not now, not ever, not...!" She finally stopped herself.

Mana had started staring at his feet. "I'm sorry... I-I just thought..." His synthesizer wavered. "I'm sorry I'm not 'alive', I'm sorry I can't make you feel special, and I'm sorry I-I tried..." He suddenly turned and fled the lobby.

Sam stared after him. "Well.... that went... well. You okay?"

"...no." Joni was already feeling like she'd kicked a puppy.

"Need some ice cream?"

"Me and ice cream... don't mix."

"Oh, right. Hot chocolate, maybe...?" There was a loud crashing sound outside that interrupted both their trains of thought. Sam glanced at the door. "Lemme just... check on Mana, make sure he's okay. I'll meet you at the donut shop in Overbrook." At a dull nod from Joni, she exited after the android.

Joni slumped in the nearest chair. I wonder if the nuns are hiring...

*running out of the lobby hes runs right into a car and dents it fairly bad but hes too upset to care* "why? why why why?" he thinks "I just wanted to make her feel special..."

Sam chases after him and finaly gets him to stop "Hey Mana C..You okay?"

"No" He firmly replies "Im not. I feel like my mother board was ripped out and stomped on"

"It will be okay. I was just one date after all..." *she pats him on the back hoping it will help sooth him*

"I know but I after I saw all she did for me at the dance I-I just really wanted to get to know her better...Like maybe I had found someone who thought I was really special too..."

"Hey there are plenty of other girls out there youll find one" She gives him a last pat and then pulls back as his arm comm reads out "Warning: System Error Warning: System Error!!"

"I..should go finish recharging...I'll see you aound school Sam.." He take flight and hovers alway slowly drooping slightly

"Yeah you go rest Mana and try to feel better" she waves him a good bye and takes flight herself preparing to meet with Joni