Welcome to Hickstead, home to both Seven Oak Stables, and Blue Acre - two rival stables. Both offer opportunities for their clients to reach the highest level of excellence. Each stable differs from the other, so choose wisely and never forget, loyalty is everything... Meanwhile as the stables battle it out, there's trouble brewing at the university. Be careful, if you don't pick a side you may get caught in the cross-fire...
This is an chilled out rpg with a super friendly and relaxed atmosphere! Remember to sign up with your characters full name in all caps and don't forget to do your claims! Thank you and Welcome, we've been established since 10th March 2009 but unfortunately have had to close guest view of our boards due to multiple sites ripping off our hard work, such a shame! Come chat to us in Discord before joining if you like!.
Everybody seemed to had groaned when Ms. Smithers assigned a new paper about role models and heroes for an English paper. Normally, something like that wouldn't be so tough, but when she said she wanted someone from today's times and even harder, someone local, that's when the chaos began and she quickly shushed them. Molly Mac'Intosh kept her mouth shut, both for not wanting to get on the bad side of the ancient English teacher and also because she had a secret weapon. Well, maybe not a weapon so much as a secret - and even then it was hardly a secret, the teenager already had a local hero. Well, hero was probably a bit of a stretch, but role model? Quite possibly. Her roommate, Paige, threw her a look, fully knowing what she was going to do and Molly just beamed a smile back at her.
With this being the last class of the day, and Hickstead Secondary School ending as well, the teenager knew that she could not waste any time. As soon as the bell rang, she was up and out. She wouldn't even bother with returning to her dorm. Between her backpack with her school supplies and her purse with her every day items, Molly knew that she was ready to tackle an interview of the one and only Olympia Blanchet - Hickstead's very own podcaster and ghost tour extraordinaire. While Molly's didn't do podcasting, she did do blogging but it didn't have much of an identity other than it followed her daily life and whathever she felt like tackling that day - whether it was horses, baking, regular school girl life, or lately, ghosts. Which is where Ms. Blanchet came in. All to say, Molly was certain that this assignment would be one of Willow Brook's easier affairs.
Grabbing an uber, they made their way to Hickstead Secondary School which was just a short drive away. So short, that maybe she should have walked the 15 minutes to get there. But honestly, she couldn't be showing up to an interview after just puffing her way around town. What sort of precedent would that set? Thankfully, by her arrival, it looked like most of the kids were gone which meant that she probably had thirty to fourtyfive minutes to do her interview before they ushered her out because all of the teachers wanted to go home. Molly prepared herself for a worse case scenario of needing a reschedule, since Olympia Blanchet might find it odd that a sixteen year old from Willow Brooke showed up on her classroom doorstep per to say. Walking by the front office like she owned the place, she looked at the classroom directory before making her way down the hall and stopping outside of the classroom. Preparing herself, she took a deep breath before exhaling and knocking on the door before poking her head in, "Miss Blanchet?"
[attr="class","o-text"]Holiday break was coming and Olympia was looking forward to making some garlands with her students. She had found some cute little projects of historical-based holiday décor and was planning what to get, and when to start it.
Her last class had filed out and Olympia was typing away, entering the grades of their pop quiz. A smile crossed her face as if they were all doing well so far. As she was entering the last few grades, Olympia heard her name being called out. She looked up, expecting one of her students but saw someone in a different uniform.
“Hello, that’s me!” she beamed. “How may I help you?”
Dark brown eyes zeroed in on the blonde woman typing away at a teacher's desk now. She was also wearing the most adorable of outfits with a brunt yellow dress splattered with red, yellow, and blue butterflies matched with some nude platform chunky heels. Ughs, not only was she literally the coolest podcaster in town, she was also a Hickstead Fashion Icon waiting to get noticed. Or so, that was what Molly believed anyways. Olympia also had the sort of space - from fashion to how her classroom looked - that reminded the teenager of that old American show 'The Magic School Bus', particularly Miss Frizzle. She had been so wrapped up in her thoughts and analyzes of the older woman that she almost startled when Olympia glanced up and actually acknowledged her, "Hello! That's me! How may I help you?"
Okay Molly, don't panic. Just be cool. She smiled, stepping inside of the classroom now, "I'm Molly, I attend Willow Brook Academy." She thought for a moment, trying to figure out how to best precede without sounding like a total dork, but at this rate, it didn't seem like there was much of an ability to not do that, "Um, obliviously you don't know me. But I was given an assignment today to interview and write a paper on a local hero. I was hoping to have that paper be about you, if you have time today that is. I can always come back another day." If run on sentences existed in the talking world, the teenager was certain that she just sputtered her way through one just then. Given her podcast though and how she dressed, Molly figured that she was on the safe side as far as getting kicked out of the classroom and Hickstead Secondary.
[attr="class","o-text"]Olympia smiled, warmly, like any good teacher would. When the young girl introduced herself as Molly, from a nearby private school – Olympia was curious. She knew of Willow Brook, but she didn’t expect a student to come over here. Not that there was anything wrong about it, just a surprise. There were a few times that the students mingled at local dances and so on, and the teachers chatted.
“Well, a pleasure to meet you, Molly. Please, have a seat.” Olympia wasn’t in a rush today, and she figured it would help calm the nerves of Molly to have them talk now. Nervous energy was always better to be dealt with now than later.
“Thank you, for thinking of me for your project!” It was times like this that Olympia kind of forgot that some of her students knew of her paranormal work. She never hid it, from when they asked after finding her podcast. Her students never minded; it was more of the parents that did. But their kids were getting a good education, and it wasn’t like Olympia was spewing hatred.
“So, what would you like to start with first? Is there a specific aspect of heroism?” she asked, her friendly, teacher voice coming through.
Thankfully, Olympia Blanchet hardly seemed alarmed or confused by her presence. Instead, she did nothing more than offer her a warm smile and beckon her in. Perhaps it was a teacher thing though. It was kinda funny to see the difference between a classroom set up in Hickstead Secondary compared to that at Willow Brook - between expense and decoration choices. While every teacher at Willow Brook had their own distinct style for decorating, they always seemed rather rigid compared to the fluidity of Ms. Blanchet's class room. Molly took her seat now across from the older woman, the nervous energy still bubbling up in her even though she knew she had to be professional about this. Nevermind that this was one of her idols.
Thankfully, Olympia's warm voice cut into her thoughts before the energy could take her away, “Thank you, for thinking of me for your project!” It even sounded like her podcaster voice - so natural and welcoming, like she was inviting her into something special. Molly could not help but to beam, "Of course! You're one of my idols here in Hickstead." Was that too corny? Didn't matter since it was the truth given that the teenager was always giddily excited when an alert hit her phone to inform her that a new podcast just dropped. She rummaged around in her purse now, pulling out a notebook and a pen, to set herself up like a serious journalist - inspiration: Lois Lane, "So, what would you like to start with first? Is there a specific aspect of heroism?”
Laughter escaped her, noting down Olympia's use of the word heroism, "I guess we can start at the beginning," Okay that sounded a little dramatic, "Like how did you get into historical ghost stories and how it lead the way both to your tours and investigations." After all, Molly got her kick from the Winchesters and Supernatural, somehow, something told her that Olympia was a little different.
[attr="class","o-text"]There was a joke that could’ve been said about Olympia’s age, but it could’ve made the poor girl shake more in her seat. So, her smile remained. “Honestly, as cliché as it sounds -I was born into it. My dad’s a paranormal author. He was always into it, and did some investigations of his own a while back. He was a journalist first and became an author after falling in love with Edgar Allen Poe. Since then, it kind of snowballed into learning about things like moth man and wondering if Aunt Matilda was truly haunting the kitchen.”
“We were never forced into it, of course. Dad and Mum were about us finding what we liked, and I was the kid that became latched onto his interests. I went more toward the true crime stuff. Maybe because it kept me on my toes more. There’s nothing scarier than a real-life event, don’t you think? Granted, I do love the paranormal stuff too. I attribute it to my historical side.”
For a moment, Molly could have sworn that the older woman was going to tell her a wry joke, it looked like it was on the tip of her tongue. Instead though, Olympia Blanchet settled for just her same old warm teacher smile. And then, she launched into talking about her history - her family, how her podcast came to be, and true crime. The teenager went away, scribbling in her notebook like a maniac while trying to hang on every word, "That's really cool about your Dad. That kinda happened with me and my mom, except it was baking." And Olympia probably doesn't care Molly, her inner voice snarked.
She gave Olympia's words a thought, "Would you say that there is truth to the paranormal stories we hear based off of history? Like I heard about a ship in world war II being haunted by ghosts after the crew went mad, but it turned out that it was due to a leak in some forbidden cargo." And then, another follow up, "When you were exploring your true crime stuff, did you ever find stuff that didn't make it into your podcasts when you were doing your own investigations? I sort of imagine you as a real life Nancy Drew." Eek, maybe she was gushing a bit much. Molly made a mental note to chill on the next questions when asking.
[attr="class","o-text"]“Baking is a very useful and fulfilling skill. I’m sure you will make a lot of people happy with it,” Olympia complimented. She personally wasn’t someone that had a lot of sweets in her arsenal. Most treats hurt her teeth with how sweet they could be. But Baked goods like croissants were always welcomed. Or a savory type of cake like olive oil and rosemary.
“It’s kind of how mermaids were thought about. What were technically manatees, looked like mermaids to those sailors.” Granted, if anyone believed in mermaids – Olympia would not say no. If anything, imagination was always welcomed. “You can also look at the situation of Lizzie Borden. She’s both true crime and paranormal. The events were real, but she also had a lot of paranormal follow her name.” “Hmmm, how do you mean? If I expanded into some more information, or details that I don’t want to include? Or stories I decided not to do? I know I tend to keep a lot of the more gruesome details a bit out since it’s a bit of an all-around age kind of thing. If someone wanted to know more of those details, they can find it to dive a bit deeper.”
Molly could not help but to smile at the older woman's words as she jotted down some notes, "If nothing else, my baking will make my friends smile." Although, the world smiling had a nice ring to it. But this interview wasn't about her, it was about Olympia Blanchet, and the teenager did her best to try and steer the conversation back towards the woman in question.
She mulled over the next words now - how people back then thought manatees were mermaids. It was a funny thing to think about, especially when one googled the sea cow, but it was hard to deny the ability of the mind to play tricks on you. Same went for Lizzie Boarden, if memory served her correct. Although, works of fiction probably moved the latter forward as well, "Ah, true. I forgot about Lizzie. I guess I keep on forgetting that there's stories across the pond as well, not just here in the United Kingdom." Which was silly of her, now that she thought about it given all of the shows based in America and Canada.
Chocolate brown eyes watched as confusion crossed Olympia's face, and it became quite clear to the teenager that perhaps her questions, or at least, explanations, had gotten too wild. Molly had gotten a little embarrassed, but the older woman seemed to recover from any confusion just fine, "Ah! That makes sense. I forget about the children," although Molly was willing to chalk that up to being a teenager, "I think it's good to ommit though, even if it is for keeping it PG. I feel like you're almost leaving a clue trail for the adults to follow, or at least, mental bread crumbs should they prove delicious."
She looked down to glance over her notes, thinking for a moment before finally asking, "Perhaps my final question, but how do you think your tours have evolved since the internet as well as starting your podcast? Do you find you get more people or less? Do they seem enthralled or distracted, or even, temperamental in trying to get the best of you?"
