Sixteen tons and what do I get?

[Dracos]

It was a cloudy day in Sixton.  A bit dour, a bit gray.  The winds were kind of chilly for this time of year.  Didn't stop the factories though.  They kept pumping out the steam as they worked along.  Pretty interesting stuff really, for a young lad of Phil's age, as he looked out the window of his school.

The teacher droned on in front, covering algebra of all things.  Kinda boring really.

Thankfully there wasn't much time left on the clock, as the school bell rang, signaling the end of school for the day.  He was free~!

Dracos

[Halbarad]

Phil eagerly joined in with the rush of students leaving the classroom. With the rather dark day outside it looked like he wouldn't be working outside too much, but he would still have plenty to do indoors. He started on his way back towards home, distracted by thoughts of what he could put together next...

[Dracos]

So many nifty ideas...

But hey...wait, wasn't tonight when that big meteor shower was supposed to happen?  It'd be pretty cool to watch.  Those don't happen all the time.

Dracos

[Halbarad]

Phil grinned at the recollection - meteor showers were fairly rare, but fun to go and watch. And there was always the slim hope that a meteor might land nearby. Who knows what he could actually do with something from outer space? A wide grin settled on his face at the thought.

[Dracos]

And his folks wouldn't be home 'til late anyhow.

Plenty of time to get his telescope setup if he hurried back to his home.

A few blocks away, he could spot his house now.

Dracos

[Halbarad]

Phil hurried the last few yards to home, quickly going to rummage in his room for his telescope - his ENHANCED telescope, of course. Checking it to make sure that all the attachments and fittings were still working properly, he bundled the telescope up, deciding to take it out to Lookout Hill to get the best view. His decision made, he took care of his afternoon business, grabbing some early dinner before heading out to the hill to get set up.

[Dracos]

"Hey, Kid." A few of the larger punks from school crossed his path as he headed out.  "Where ya goin'?"

Dracos

[Halbarad]

"Huh?" Phil looked up, startled. "Um... nowhere in particular, really." He shifted the pack on his back, doing his best to push on past the group of toughs.

[Dracos]

Uh oh, one of the local toughs from his high school is with 'em.

"Hey, it's shrimpy.  What you doin' heading out this late?"

Dracos

[Halbarad]

Phil looked a little nervous, but tried to put a smile on. "There's a meteor shower tonight, I'm just going out so I can see it better," he replied.

[Dracos]

"Aww, isn't that cute.  Shrimpy's a regular...what's it called...Astrologist?  You tell fortunes too, huh Shrimpy?"  The tough grinned.

Dracos

[Halbarad]

Phil sighed. "That would be an astronomer," he said, shaking his head. "And no, I don't tell fortunes." He tried to move around the roadblock. "I need to get going, or I'm going to miss it."

[Dracos]

"Huh...well, that's well and good...but it doesn't get us much of anything.  You know how things go shrimpy.  You help me...I help you...  Got to pay the tolls and all.  It helps us keep these roads safe from riff raff and all!  So whadyasay?"

Dracos

[Halbarad]

"I don't have any money on me," Phil replies.

[Dracos]

"Huh...  No cash huh.  That's a right pity."

One of the other kids grabbed his telescope.  "This looks like it'd be worth something.  Ya?  You can go shrimpy."

The toughs laughed.

Dracos