❄ Ƭнє Ƥolая Ɛxpяєss

The OOC Thread

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Story
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For many, many centuries, parents have woven the tale of a magical and wonderful man, a man in a red suit and a very white beard. On one very special night, this man circles the entire globe, giving out presents to the good children of the world who deserved it, and then leaving coal in the stockings of the children who were bad. ​ This man, many have debated, is not real. Perhaps he was once real, a verylong time ago; the man St. Nicholas, and from there, the story evolved. Many say, these days, that the very special night that gifts were given has become a commercial event, a chance to earn profit,and many have seen chance in that and have taken advantage of it. Others have treasured the time as one for family and friends, for gathering, joy, and happiness. ​

However, there is the night before this momentous occasion, the Eve.

For years, perhaps centuries, no one knows, something very magical has happened on the Eve. A mysterious train that only a few handfuls ofpeople alive today have seen appears in the neighborhoods of children to take them on a journey, a journey to a place where only children believe in. To the day they grow up, they always believe and continue to urge their own children to believe, believe always. ​

The powerful locomotive is dubbed The Polar Express, and every year on the Eve, it makes its journey to the North Pole to see Santa Claus. [/TABLE]

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[TABLE="width: 700, align: center"] • This is a PG-rated role-play, and you are among children, this is not a teenager kind of thing, all foul language will be kept at an absolute minimum, if existent at all. • There is absolutely no intense romance of any kind. Innocent hugs, kisses, small crushes at the very most. • No less than four sentences per post • If you have read all of the rules, please add on to your post, in #78a7a7, “Believeâ€. • No godmoddery is allowed • I will godmod to the RP's content to move things along, times will be continuously changing and only I will completely change and create major events • This roleplay requires dedication, because since it simply takes place over one night, I will not see it go unfinished. I will be contacting participants of said roleplay so we can get this done. [/TABLE]

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[TABLE="width: 700, align: center"] Train Conductor [played by Saxima]

This is the man behind the Polar Express, he is the one who keeps the locomotive running smoothly and on time, he takes care of all of the children and tends to their needs as they come. He is a very sternman on the surface, but spend enough time with him and you'll find he's quite whimsical and kind. He firmly believes in the magic andwill stand by it. ​

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Santa Claus [played by TwilightBlader]​

The jolly old man himself, he won't actually make an appearance until towards the end of the role-play, and trust me – this RP will get to the end. Each year, one very special child will receive the first gift of Christmas, and this is for Santa to choose who he deems most worthy.​

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Opening

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On this night, one very special night to many children, a little girl lies in her bed, half-asleep. Many children are as she is, breathing slowly and silently, some actually sleeping deeply, others waiting for a sound they nearly thought they would never hear. The sounding of a man who travels the whole world in one night, handing out gifts to the good little boy sand girls, the sound of Santa's sleigh. Tick tock tick tock tick tock . . .

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The moving second hand sounded throughout a room of many colors, mostly blues and browns, with some oranges and pinks dashed here and there. Glitterin gstars hung from the ceiling above of different sizes and some of different shapes, and on the surrounding walls where shelves littered with various trinkets and snow globes and small toys and small stuffed animals. All of these differing objects were slightly illuminated by the only light source in the room, albeit a very small one. In the corner, just a few inches from the door, was a small andrather charming Christmas tree, decorated with ornaments of snowmen, ballerinas, snowflakes and so on. Atop the tree was a glowing star,radiating dimly as to not torment the eyes of anyone who looked at it, especially not one sleeping little girl on the other side of theroom. In the bed, under a layer of orange and pink covers, was a mess of brown hair, trying to keep its breathing steady and silent, as to not deter its hearing. The covers were shifted slightly and the forehead of a young girl wasrevealed. She was only half-asleep, listening to the ticking of her clock and something that she was afraid she would never hear. The only words of “truth†that she had to go on was that of her mother and father, who had always, since she was little told her that he was real. He was a jolly old man who flew around the entire world in one night, and he gave gifts to all of the good children. But how could he do all of that? She had never seen him before, putting gifts under her Christmas tree. Mother always told her that he wouldn't come unless she was asleep – but how would he know if she were asleep or not? Tick tock tick tock tick tock . . . Maybe it was possible. As slowly and carefully as possible, the little girl turned on her side to look out the window, continuing to sit on her own thoughts. Just a few moments later, she could hear the coming of her parents voices towards her room. Quickly, just as she had done many times, the little girl fell into the facade of a deep and peaceful sleep, just in time for her door to meekly creak open. “Aw, look at her, already tuckeredout,†came the voice of her mother, “She's really excited for the morning.†Herfather sighed, “Yes . . . However, her excitement just doesn't like her up like it used to. She used to bounce all over the house before we could get her to go to sleep.†When came her mother's voice again, she could hear the frown, “Do you think it's nearly time?†“Every child stops believing eventually.†her father surmised with another sigh, “We can only hope that she'll dream for just a little while longer.†What were they talking about? The child tried impossibly hard to keep herself from making any sort of facial expression, and almost failed.She was caught off guard when she felt the soft and warmness of her mother's lips pressed gently across her cheek, and then her father'swarm and strong hand graced over her forehead, mussing some hair out of her small face. Just a few moments later, her door clicked close and she was left with onlythe ticking of her clock. Sometimes, it was a sound she would focus on to lull herself to sleep on the nights she was unable; other nights, it was a pest that wouldn't keep quiet when she wanted it to so she could sleep. Tick tock tick tock tick tock . . . Right now, it was helping her stay up. She wanted to see the man with her own eyes . .. Was he really real? A breath escaped her tiny pink lips and she relaxed once more. Only . . . . . . The ticking of her clock, it stopped. Her brown eyes opened and she sat up slightly, her elbow propping up her person, and then looked at the blue clock. The second hand was stopped on the twelve – it was 11:55. Just as she had noted the time, things began shaking. It was a subtle thing at first, hardly noticeable, then it grew and grew. The stars dangling from her ceiling began to shake nearly uncontrollably, she thought they were going to fall. Objects on the shelves began dancing around crazily, some making their way off of the edge. In a scare,she sat up completely and watched as things became chaotic in her room – she though there was an earthquake! Swiftly hopping out of her bed, she looked out her window to try and find the source of the near-violent shaking. Right as her eyes peered out the window, a blinding light shown from the snowy outside, causing her to take a few abrupt steps back, nearly falling onto her bed. The light flashed and flashed, and over and over again. An impossibly loud whistle sounded – and it sounded like that of a locomotive. She dashed out of her bed once again to get a better view out the window, and then she was it – a train, and a huge one at that. Gasping, the little girl turned on her toes and yanked her long white coat from the door knob and put on her slippers before dashing out the room and jetting down the stairs. As forcefully and quietly as she could, she threw open her front door to see the long, very long train pulling up down her snowy street. Her face grew into wonder and surprise, she had never really seen a train before in real life, and wondered why there was one off the rail tracks. Slowly, she ventured towards it. [/TABLE]

This is now the point of introduction for only the in-train characters​

 

Sammy was still remarking at how gorgeous the interior of the train was and also how fast it was too. She could still hardly believe the events that transpired just a few minutes before. Or, the few minutes before, after time stopped. She had suddenly awoken in the dead of night and couldn't seem to find out why. All she knew was that, she was suddenly wide awake and it would be impossible to go back to sleep. Curious, Sammy drew the curtain back a bit and looked out of the bedroom window and to her amazement, saw a great fantastic train parked right in the middle of her suburban neighborhood on the east coast of the United States. It was resting on train tracks that seemed to have suddenly materialized because Sammy was absolutely positive that the street did not have train tracks on it yesterday.

Shrinking back from the window, Sammy immediately knew she had to come to a decision. Go and investigate the mysterious train and possibly have an adventure, or stay at home where it was safe. She was worried about getting into trouble with her parents. And worried about this journey. What if it was unsafe? What if it was dangerous? It was now or never. She had to decide. Go or stay?

Taking a breath, Sammy quietly and slowly got out from under her warm, comfortable blankets on her cushy bed and padded along the floor to grab her jacket resting on her drawers. She then put on some socks and quietly walked over to the door of her bedroom. This was it. She was actually going to do it. I'll just go outside and see what it is. That's all. Then I'll come back inside. Taking another breath, she slowly opened the door, trying not to let it squeal and possibly awake her parents. When it was open wide enough for her to pass through, Sammy tiptoed across the floor trying to avoid the floorboards that squealed the most. Having reached the shoe cupboard, Sammy grabbed her trusty sneakers and slipped them on. It was only going to be a short walk in the snow, so there was no need for her cute snowboots. Well....maybe it would be better... Slipping her sneakers off again, Sammy put on her snow boots. Better to be safe than sorry.

She was about to open her door when she suddenly remembered something she had forgotten. Taking off the boots again, Sammy quietly, but quicker than before, fast walked around the living room trying to look for that object. Smiling in glee, Sammy took it and pocketed it in her jacket. A flashlight. She also of course had her trusty whistle around her neck just like a certain character in a certain recently released animated movie based on a popular children's tv show about digital monsters. Putting on her boots again, Sammy steeled herself for the cold and the consequences of her decision.

Opening the door, she made sure it wasn't locked and quickly closed it, leaving her warm abode. She approached the train and just as she was getting close enough to touch the cold steel, someone shouted at her. Surprised by the sudden outburst, she looked to her left wide eyed and suddenly frightened by a man with a bushy moustache and glasses. She hated getting into trouble. The feeling of being scolded was unbearable to her and she couldn't help but frown almost wanting to cry.

It was then the man approached closer and assured her that she wasn't in trouble and that she was invited on board the train. "But...don't I need...something for that?" Indeed she did, replied the man. A ticket. She needed a ticket. Looking down disappointed because she knew she didn't have any such ticket, Sammy stuck her hands into the pockets of her zipped up jacket. To her surprise, in her left pocket, the one that was supposed to have nothing in it(her right one had the flashlight), she felt a piece of paper. Taking it out slowly, she realized it looked just like a ticket. Nearly snatching it from her hand, the man punched it and led her back to the great train. And now here she was. She was offered hot chocolate and she had said a small shy hello to the other children on board, but for the most part she was quiet as she looked outside the great window by her passenger seat. Wondering who else was going to come aboard the Polar Express.

 

This was all too impossible to happen, but he couldn’t deny it was impossible because he was sitting in the object that he believed was impossible. A train appearing out of nowhere in front of his house and on his street, if someone was to tell him this he would have merely thought of this as a joke or a prank. Never in his life would he have imagined he would be sitting on such a train like this.

It all began while the boy was trying to sleep. Such a task was difficult for most children. It was Christmas Eve and the mere though of Santa Clause leaving gift filled all children with excitement. Though it was true that the boy Seth could not go to sleep, it was not due to excitement. His parents had told him to go to bed early, that Santa Clause would come and deliver presents for a good boy such as himself, but that there was the problem that kept him awake. Was this jolly old man truly real or merely a lie

It all started due to a conversation he had heard from his classmates. The topic was Santa Clause, whether he was real or fake. To Seth’s disappointment most of the kids all felt that Santa Clause didn’t exist, that he was merely a lie fabricated by parents and the media. Seth had always been a strong believer of St. Nick but this year he started to question this belief. As he rested in his bed for what seemed like an hour, Seth just stared up at the ceiling during this time, pondering about this though. At times he would begin to recall the time when he was younger, when he was so excitable and could hardly wait for Santa to arrive. Now these days he found it hard to grow excited, even when Christmas had come and gone. This was the result of growing up

He was almost positive that an hour passed and no signs of fatigue were show at all. It wasn’t until his whole room started shaking that thing taken off for Seth. Seth hopped off his bed and immediately ran towards the window; it was there that he saw the glorious train park right in front of his house. Without hesitation at all Seth immediately ran towards his dresser and took out a pair of clothes. Immediately he put on a hooded sweater, a pair of jeans and a pair of socks all as fast as he could. Rushing out of his room Seth immediately headed down the stairs, trying his best to reach outside before the train left. He questioned why his parents weren’t down but that thought soon vanished as he placed his sneakers on and ran outside.

Eyes widening upon reaching outside, Seth just stared straight at the huge train before him, stunned that a train could even park on his street like this. Staring at the train for a good while, Seth nearly jumped in shock upon hearing the voice of what seemed to be a man calling out to him. Shifting his eyes to the side, his gaze was soon shifted over to the strict looking man standing next to the locomotive. The man explained that this train’s destination was the North Pole, that he was invited to attend. Of course this was all ridiculous to Seth, but he could not deny that a train was parked in front of his house. With this Seth boarded the train and that is how it began.

The train’s interior was quite magnificent, well decorated and quite comfy looking. Seth sat on one of the seats and sat next to the window glancing out as the train moved on. The train would usually stop, picking up others that boarded on the train as well. With a shy smile Seth would give the new passengers a small wave in greetings and then turn his attention back to the window. At the moment the train had stopped to pick up another person, the 5th member to join the train.

 

Ashley pressed her face against the glass, squishing up her nose as she tried to catch a glimpse of the newest passenger on this magical train. It had come to stop outside a house in the middle of the night, just like it had with her own house despite there being no train tracks anywhere near where she lived. She strained her eyes to see how this new child would react to such an amazing thing happening.

When it had come to her, she’d hardly been able believe her own eyes, it was such an incredible sight and of all the children in the world, she’d been one of the one’s who it had come to pick up. She’d been struggling to sleep from all the excitement, wondering what the morning would bring but she never expected the night to hold so many surprises. The moment the room had shook and she’d looked out of her bedroom window, she wouldn’t forget in a hurry with the sheer thrill that ran through her body. She’d flew out of the house and got outside like a shot, just managing to grab her coat on her way out to put over her glittery pyjamas. She’d been waiting her whole life for an adventure like this and she didn’t want to waste a second. It was almost overwhelming and she couldn’t wait to see where this adventure took her. She still couldn’t sit still from the excitement and her legs were constantly moving.

The bouncy eleven year old pulled back from the window to wipe away the condensation caused by her breath and to look at the others in her carriage. These were her new friends from all over the world and with so many different stories. “No sign of them yet, but I bet we’ll see them soon. I wonder what they’ll be like.” A big grin, that had been there from the moment she saw the train, filled her face and she spoke with a distinctively British accent, though not that posh. If you called her posh, she would probably slap you. She’d been one of the first on the train and had been quick to grab a window seat, keenly introducing herself as everyone else got on. The train was as impressive on the inside as the outside and she'd loved to find the seat was bouncy, yet still so comfy.

As she turned back to the window and covered put her hand round her face to stop the reflections to be able to see out into the night, her grin widened, if that was even possible, “I see her! I see her! It’s a girl with brown hair, she’s really pretty. I hope she comes to this carriage. If I wave do you think she’ll see me?” She stood up for a moment, then sat back down, not really sure what she was doing but having an excess of energy. Her pigtails swung from side to side as she swayed about restlessly.​

 

Taylor hadn't believed it when he first saw it, and still couldn't believe what was going on this whole night. He was one of the first that the mystery train had magically appeared in front of his house. He had awaken to the sound of the train rolling down his street and the shaking of his house. It was a really cold and dark night lit only by the full moon tonight, but he could see the train perfectly outside of his window. It was atleast 20 cars long, not including the engine and caboose cars. He grabbed his hoodie that was draped over the chair in his room and slowly crept out of his house to not wake his parents. He walked up to the train and glanced up and down it looking in awe at it. Then this man had exited the car that was in front of him, and greeted him and told him that this was the train to the north pole. I looked at him confusedly and he asked me if I would be coming along for the ride. I slowly nodded to him and jumped into the car of the train. It wasn't crowded, in fact, it hardly had anybody on it. He found a open seat towards the back of the car. The train had kept making several stops through out the night. He had taken notice of everybody that had gotten on, but said nothing to them. The train had just made it's most recent stop. He could hear from up towards the front of the car from the girl that had gotten on earlier, that it was another girl that they had stopped to pick up.

 

She had been careful and cautious, walking towards the long train. She didn't even understand how one could be out here, there weren't even any tracks where it was currently sitting, and didn't trains go crazy and become uncontrollable without tracks?

It didn't look like anyone was in the train, from what she could tell, but nearly all of the windows had light in them, so she assumed that someone had to be in there, it was really hard to say if she believed in ghosts or not . . . From the corner of her eye, she caught someone coming down the steps of one of the train entrances and stepping out into the snow. She quickly looked to see who it was - an older man wearing a conductor's uniform with a lantern. He stared at her, seemingly waiting, and so the young girl made her slow way towards him. She saw that he had glasses and brown hair and very clear blue eyes, his face only marred by the fact that he probably smiled too much, though the little girl didn't think that was the case - he actually looked a little intimidating . . .

"Well?" the man suddenly said snappishly, "Are ya comin'?"

She was quiet, not understanding and just a little stirred by the sudden words that came from his mouth. Shakily, she observed the windows of the train again; this time, she could see the shadows of other people, and she wondered if they were other children, "G-go where . . . ?" she asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

"Why, to the North Pole, of course!" the man answered animatedly, his voice going strong, "This is the Polar Express!"

She was quiet then - the North Pole? Why would people go to the North Pole, what did they expect to find up there? She then put two and two together - it was the night before Christmas, and the North Pole . . . They were going to visit Santa Claus? But he didn't . . . No, she visibly shook her head, she wouldn't think that. She looked at the man with the lantern and hesitantly nodded, "Y-yes . . . I'll go."

He smiled and she saw a twinkle in his eye. What a curious man. "Good for you, Sophia Carmine, I have a feeling this may be your year," he explained, and she wasn't entirely sure of what he was talking about but nodded anyway. He made way for her to board the train and walked on just behind her.

There were other kids scattered in the seats - she hadn't expected so many to be on here and looked at a few faces; a boy with short brown hair, wearing a sort of cast on his knee, another boy, a little bit older, with black hair and grayish eyes, there was a girl with pigtails who seemed to be a happy one, and then she noticed one more girl who had long black hair and was of Oriental descent. As soon as she was done observing the passengers, she quickly took a seat next to the window, trying to keep out of everyone's view - she was a little shy.

"As soon as the last passengers board," began the conductor, "We will start punching tickets, please make sure you have yours with you!" And then he disappeared into another train car.​

The next passenger we will be picking up is Thomas Westen (itachi), so please post as soon as possible!​

 

Thomas was laying on his bed trying to sleep. His mom was on the phone arguing with his dad about where he should spend Christmas. He hated this holiday his parents always fought. He didn't care about the gifts when all he remembered was the yelling. He didn't know if Santa was real and unless he could make his parents stop fighting he didn't really care. He tried to close his eyes and that's when he heard it a train whistle. It sounded like it came from a block away, but that would be impossible. Then he heard it again louder and it came from right outside his window. Thomas got up and ran to the window.He couldn't believe what he saw a train outside his window. He saw a man wearing a blue uniform waving a lantern towards his window. He grabbed his jacket and walked down the stairs. He stopped when he got to the front door, should he really go out there he thought. Then he heard his mom yelling into the telephone and without a thought ran out the door. He almost ran in the man who laughed and asked if he was coming. He looked into one of the train cars and saw a bunch of kids. "o-ok" Thomas managed to choke out and followed the man onto the train. He sat in one of the empty booths and looks towards the others.

 

Within the confines of Jayden's room he was doing what he always did on Christmas eve, trying to fall asleep. Even though he was aware what tomorrow was, he could never get to asleep. Though it usually worked out for him since he was always found himself awake the next morning. Tonight would be different though, tonight he would find the sounds of a train outside. Confused as to were there would be outside his house, he grabbed himself a sweater. Once he was outside not only did he find a train on his front lawn, but their were actually people aboard it. So i'm not going crazy then. He thought as a mans voice brought him back to the situation at hand. The man hand asked if he was coming aboard the train. He took a quick glance back to his home before answering. "Sure." Following behind the man, Jayden found himself a seat that was about a seat or two from the other passengers. As he sat down, he wonder where this train could be going in the first place.

 

As the train continued on its course, spawning tracks and then having them disappear behind them, a few more kids boarded. Sammy wondered what the criteria was for selection. And why the great noise didn't wake up every neighborhood they passed through. It was a huge racket for the train to stop what with the squealing of the breaks and the great puffs of smoke from using steam and coal. Maybe it's just magic. she thought as she slowly turned her head away from the window to try and sneak a glance at the other passengers. It seems like most of them took their individual windows. Is it going to be full? This is a pretty big train. There didn't seem to be a lot of Asians like herself on board. And there also seemed to be a bit more girls than guys. She noticed that there was one girl that seemed to be the quiet type like her. Let's make friends! Taking a breath, Sammy climbed out of her seat and went to go and sit next to the brunette girl with the blue headband. "Hello! This is pretty cool, huh? I'm Sammy, what's your name?" She hoped that she wouldn't think she was stupid or dumb approaching her like this. Besides, this girl seemed like she'd be a good friend. And it was good to have friends.

 

Sophia, after boarding the train, quickly found a seat at the back of the compartment. There were kids everywhere, all different kinds of them, too. It hadn't even occurred to her to start talking to any of them, even though, and it escaped her notice, very many of them looked like they wanted to talk to her.

After she had boarded, two more boys had joined them - but neither of them looked as if they wanted to talk either. All of this was really interesting, and she had no idea where a mysterious train like this came from or where it was going. Maybe it was a dream, it could have been for all she knew. But . . . she felt like she didn't want it to be a dream - if they were really going to the North Pole, that is. She wanted to see, for her own eyes, what a lot of people didn't think was real. It was almost a little scary, the thought that it wasn't real.

She felt someone climb into the seat next to her and looked with a bit of surprise, "Hello! This is pretty cool, huh? I'm Sammy, what's your name?"

At first, she wasn't really inclined to say anything, only stare in wonder as to why someone wanted to talk to her. This being so, she was a little hesitant in her reply, "Uhm . . . y-yeah, it - it is pretty cool, I guess . . ." she began, "My name is Sophia, a-and it's nice to meet you, Sammy."

She tried to smile, but honestly, she wasn't good with other kids.

Over the PA system for the train, the conductor announced that they would be making one last stop before stop before getting on with their journey.​

The last passenger we will be picking up is Rain Wu (Dinny), so please post as soon as possible!​

 

ooc: will create post template when there is time

Inhale, exhale. Inhale, exhale.
The tiniest sounds of her breathing was all she could hear. It almost echoed around the room and broke the dead silence of the night. The petitie little girl snuggled into her thick wool blankets and held her precious teddy bear close to her body. She could feel the cold air tickling her though the blankets while her eye lashes grazed her skin slightly while her soft lips carefully caressed the smooth, soft cotton that made the skin of her teddy bear. She kissed it ever so lightly, and began to whisper to it.

"Do you think it's time yet? I'm scared to look, Teddy. The monsters might have gone out of the bed and are partying in my room. I'm scared, but where is he? Where's Santa? I want my presents Teddy. Don't you? I should keep quiet - I don't want the monsters to attack."

Little Rain Wu clutched her teddy bear closer. She believed in many things - like monsters under her bed, fairies that change the seasons , toys that talk and play when no one's looking, and the tooth fairy. However, this time of year was for one special man that she strongly believed in. It was the last month of the year and it was always chilly. This time of year was for Santa Clause and Rain was so excited for this.

Suddenly, through her window, light seemed to creep into her room. Her eyebrows narrowed together and she cautiously fluttered her eyes open. The monsters were not out partying in her room tonight - or maybe they were, and the light scared them away. 'Thank you for scaring the monsters away, light.' Rain thought as she began to sit up and stared sleepily at her window. What was that outside that seemed to creep closer to her home. Whatever it was, it was loud - or at least beginning to be. Rain grazed her feet over the edge of her bed and jumped down to the floor. Her cream night gown flowed down to her mid-thigh as she crouched over and pulled her white, cotton socks higher to her knees. She grabbed her teddy bear and moved closer to the window. The noise sounded familiar, she could not figure much of what it was. She was too sleepy. It sounded big and kind of angry in a way, yet Rain was filled with a very calm and peaceful feeling. Finally, the monster of a thing came much closer to her home and it actually stopped right outside. It was a train! An actual train! There were never trains around here.

Confused, Rain got to the most logical reason she could think: Santa was taking a train around the world instead of a sled this year!! Maybe the Rain Deer got sick. Maybe Rudolf's nose got even more red by catching a cold - it was very chilly after all. Yes, that was it! She looked down at her teddy bear, "That's Santa! That's Santa for sure! That must mean I have a ton of presents because that's just SUCH a huge train! There must be a ton of presents! Oh, Teddy! Let's just go! Let's go!"

Rain dashed out of her room and quickly went down the stairs as quickly as her little feet could take her. She tip toed to grab the golden knob of her front door and pulled it open with all her might. Before running out into the prickling cold air, Rain grabs her warmest brown coat by the coat hanger and put her little slip on shoes on ignorantly. She quickly ran outside and closed the distance between her and the train. A gasp escaped her soft little lips as she awed at the train. She crossed her arms over her chest between her teddy bear.

This train was much bigger than Rain had first thought.

 

"Hi Sophie! Let's stick together. I don't think it'll be too dangerous, but we are on a train with a stranger and a bunch of other people. My school told me not to talk to strangers." It was true. The school's safety officer took time out of learning(it was getting really boring) to talk about stranger danger. Sammy liked these special presentations almost as much as watching videos of the Magic School Bus. Mainly because these were more interesting and exciting than math and history.

"Your dress is very pretty. I don't like wearing dresses much though. I like pants better. It makes it easier to run around and do stuff. My mom makes me wear dresses sometimes though. But you look very nice. And your hairband is very fitting. I kind of like hairbands too, but they hurt my head after a while so I don't wear them much anymore. Which makes it kind of annoying to play when my hair keeps getting in my face. One time I had a really weird dream where I had so much hair covering my face, I couldn't see at all. It was like seeing through a curtain. You can kind of see, but not really see, you know?(real dream.Totes happened as a kid)"

The thing about Sammy Feng, was that once she started, she didn't finish until she was done talking. How long did it take her to finally stop talking? The length varies on the topics covered and how many stories she felt like sharing.

"Anyway, so do you know how I keep my hair away without getting a terribly dorky haircut that makes me look so stupid even though my friend told me it wasn't, but I think he's lying? My mom taught me how to tie a ponytail! It's the best hairstyle ever besides just having it down. I don't have to learn how to tie my hair in any other different hairstyle!(Also true. Well half true. But mainly true. I don't even know how to tie a bun. Which is really pathetic because it's like a high ponytail wrapped around.) I like to have it low though. I think it makes me look sort of cool, and it also sort of looks like all the cool hairstyles all the cool guys in my mom's Chinese shows have. Except those guys have really long braids that whip around. It's so cool(Also true. Those guys have freakishly long braids. And crappy "magic" special effects)."