A slightly frazzled-looking woman asks the boy with the dog a question, too quietly to hear from there, then starts speed-walking toward a student near the person feeding the squirrels.

Huh. Wonder what's up with her.

Who knows? After a brief conversation, the student points to a guy doing skateboard tricks nearby. Frazzled-lady waves and walks over to the skateboarder, and holds out a hand for and recieves a high five as he goes past. She looks at her phone again, and wanders off toward the benches, seeming much more cheerful.

Mal will continue people watching. Frazzled lady is at least more interesting than the textbook.

She sits and reads her phone and bounces her leg, occasionally glancing up at the people nearby. The skateboarder starts to perform quicker and more elaborate jumps, taking him closer to the squirrel-feeding person. Some of the spinning leaps are really quite impressive.

That's interesting!

She nudges Tess in case the other girl wants to watch.

Zoom! He jumps into the air, flipping the board end-to-end and top-to-bottom-to-top, landing on it perfectly, then takes it into a tight circle and picks up more speed to repeat the trick. A few people take out cell-phones to catch a video of it.

The dog barks at a nearby person and the squirrel flinches, grabs another fry, and bolts away, onto the sidewalk. The critter bumps into the front of the skateboard as it flips, and only one of the skateboarder's feet lands on it, and at an odd angle. There's an unpleasant and loud cracking sound as his head hits the corner of a bench.

What the fuck.

She starts dialing 911. She is not trained in medicine. (She kicks Tess, who has at least taken 'emergency first aid' classes, awake). 

The call to 911 is placed as Tess runs up to the injured dude. Mal goes to help corral bystanders.

At least one other person here might also be calling 911, but it's hard to tell. Bystanders are very freaked out! Dog boy and attending dog, a shaky squirrel person, and various people with phones are among them.

Medical training and 911 operator concur that nobody should try to move the skateboarder or remove the bench from its place in his skull. An ambulance is on its way.

She and Tess will remain on the scene, Tess trying to help calm down people. 

Luckily they're kinda right next to the hospital. Unluckily Corner traffic is terrible.

The student who pointed out the skateboarder earlier, who had been among those filming offers to take the other bystanders out to coffee after this is over, on the grounds that this all is super upsetting.

The sirens help, at least some, and an ambulance eventually gets there. The EMTs aren't optimistic, but load the skateboarder up and thank Tess for her response.

Mal and Tess will accept that coffee offer, Mal more shakily.

Coffee-offer person, who turns out to be named Ava, walks the group of coffee-acceptors to Grit Coffee on the Corner. Ava wants to talk about anything and everything but what just happened, at great speed and pitch, but low volume and enunciation.

Tess gets something light, with lots of sugar, plus a pastry, while Mal gets her coffee black and bold.

Tess is perfectly fine talking about anything else! What's a good neutral subject... Oh, that new movie theatre, the Alamo Drafthouse. She hasn't been yet, but she's heard good things.

Ava also hasn't been yet but she really wants to once she's a little more used to the school year, she's heard it's good too, but her friend's cousin went one time and said the person in the row behind them spilled - something mumbled - and it got all over but it's not really fair to blame the theater for that right? She's not sure if she wants to see Storks, there have been trailers and they don't look that great but it's a really neat concept other than that and also is the theater even going to show it, they might have a chance to go of - are classes going to be cancelled about - oh probably not never mind aaa- what majors are they all she's General but it's her first year she thinks she wants to do Business maybe?

She's still undeclared, but looking at Environmental Sciences. Maybe with a minor in Biology. Her friend Mal (who is mostly being quiet) is on track for a double major, Physics and Math.

Ava thinks that's cool but also involves way too much math and possibly dissecting stuff for her,  and wishes them luck. She seems to have run out of things to say, and starts quickly drinking her previously-neglected coffee (mocha with whipped cream and ludicrously many extra shots of espresso).

Tess will try to keep up the conversation, chatting about this or that, but it will probably lapse into Awkwardness after a bit.

Ava finishes her coffee, then asks to exchange contact information with everyone who came for coffee, to save time if any of them become friends later. A few people refuse on the grounds that it's weird.

Tess is fine with exchanging contact info! (Mal gives her school email, but not her phone or personal email). 

Ava sends confirmation messages to both addresses, then disperses homeward with the rest of the group.

"Well, that was... Something." Tess says shakily, draining her coffee. "...I don't think I'm in the mood to hang out much, now. Maybe head back to Brown?"

"Yeah. Hey, you mentioned earlier you've never seen Xena, maybe we could watch it together. My computer screen's big enough."

Tess agrees, and they finish up and head back to their dorm.

The night passes otherwise uneventfully.

The next day they split up for classes. All anyone seems inclined to talk about is the skateboarder. Tess is consequentially much more withdrawn than usual.

(She'll hit the gym after classes. She needs to blow off some steam.)