I am returning to MVD today.

The first portion of this next chapter was originally written back in November. The second portion will be me gaming, in real-time.
Last we saw, Vicious had been staying in Megaton for a few days, after deciding to avoid the Capitol Wasteland for awhile. The Wasteland can be a dangerous place, after all!

She was offered a place to stay (um... at Lucy West's house) but declined. With her funds getting low, without a way to earn extra caps, yet fighting an addiction to Psycho, Vicious got desperate. Stole some chems from Megaton's Clinic. Got arrested, and was thrown into Megaton's brand-new jail.
Upon her release she was force-greeted by Q Tip
*PIC* who has informed Vicious that Dogmaster, the Potomac-area top raider boss, wants her back with the Raiders. Will Vicious decide to rejoin them?
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Chapter 14: Springvale Elementary
Before the bombs dropped, Springvale Elementary was located in Virginia's tenth congressional district, right on the edge of Fairfax County. Quaintly-set homes, mostly ranches and split-levels, surrounded the school. A strip mall with a small drive-in movie theatre was located to the south. Crosswalks and stoplights kept local pedestrians and traffic orderly. Conveniently, a twelve-aisle supermarket was just down the hill. The Potomac river was also blocks away, for those who wanted a scenic jog, or a walk along its slow-moving tides.
What a wonderful place to raise one's kids!
Springvale educated children ages five through eleven; basically Kindergarten through 5th Grade. It catered mostly to the town of Springvale of course (population 48,051 in the year 2077), although some students might also get bused in from Fairfax or McLean.
Like a lot of schools just outside the D.C. perimeter, Springvale housed a rather broad cross-section of young society. A Springvale student could be the child of anybody, from the most mundane members of the surrounding populace to the most prominent. The son of a ten dollar-an-hour janitor could start his education at Springvale just as possibly as the daughter of a high-powered senator, who preferred her daughter be educated in public schools, for whatever reason. This was something the school's leaders were discreetly proud of.
As Mrs. Carter, Springvale's principal, often said over the loudspeaker each morning
"You're all Special at Springvale!" Back then, most students and staff believed her.
Springvale Elementary also survived the blasts, somehow. When the bombs fell and the world seemed as though it would come to an end, some of the school's ceilings and walls crumbled into rubble of course, especially on its north side. But most of them still stood. The pupils and educators who attended and instructed at Springvale in the year 2077 would be
completely shocked to discover what the fate of their beloved institution would be in the year 2277.
In 2077, Springvale's roll call totaled 442, its number of honor students a remarkable record of 34. Tardiness was down to 1.9%, the school's dropout rate an outstanding zero.
In 2277, its occupants usually totaled less than forty, mostly comprised of bands of roamers who never stayed in one place for too long. In 2277, every last one of the former school's occupants was a thief, a murderer, an addict, a whore, or some combination of all these. Its cellar area was rumored to contain gigantic, fire-breathing ants, its former classrooms always a disastrous mess of dust and dirt and overturned desks. Though the school still contained its desks, its chalkboards, and even its computer monitors, most of these were broken, bashed-in, and useless hulks which got placed and kicked around at random.
And the man delegated to oversee what remained of this once proud and prosperous school? This man was a tall degenerate whose given name was Richard Dupont, also known as 'Slick Rick'.
[-[-[-[-[-[-[-[-
08.27.77, 12:00 NoonTaneesha Jones, otherwise known as Miss Vicious, approached what remained of Springvale Elementary, whose long-ago principal used to declare
"You're all special at Springvale!" each morning over the school's public announcement system. Nowhere to be seen were the throngs of populace which once flourished the town; no children, no teachers, nobody at all, in fact. As she approached the former educational facility, Taneesha walked calmly, but with a false sense of confidence.
A half-hour ago, she had found an abandoned bus she could hide in, and then injected one of the Psychos given to her by Q Tip, that white-haired raider recruiter. With this chem in her system, her blood was boiling by now; her senses super-aware. She forced herself to walk more slowly. Tried to calm her nerves. Patted her pockets, and was dismayed to find she was out of cigarettes. Looked this way and that, for any sort of ambush. Heard nothing but a couple cicadas. buzzing somewhere off in the distance. She knew that raiders often lurked on the north side of the building, goofing around and such. Fortunately, she was approaching from its south side.
The sun was hot, directly above. Taneesha realized she was sweating. Q Tip had promised she'd be able to rejoin the raiders, but he'd also warned her that she must speak to Slick Rick first. Until she spoke to him, she was not yet one of them. It would be Rick who would decide whether she'd be inducted back into raider society, or not.
A half-hour ago, Taneesha Jones was unsure about all this.
What if this is an ambush? she had thought.
But with a few dozen milliliters of liquid courage in her veins? The idea of returning to them didn't seem so bad.
Taneesha Jones neared the front doors of Springvale Elementary. Pondered a moment. Weighed her options just a moment more.
I've been here before, thought she.
Ain't no big thing. Just walk in, girl.Taneesha Jones went back to school.
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SEC display boardGoing back to school
This post has been edited by Renee: Feb 21 2021, 06:31 PM