Realistic or Modern Radcliffe High

[Chimney Swift]

mikaluvkitties

"Oh, honey nooooo." Ivy mourned, her face pressed into the table which muffled her voice. Somehow, just hearing the words 'I've been doing it for almost 4 years' made her wish to hell and back that she could groundhog-day-loop back to the weekend and actually drink herself to death like everyone thought she was going to. In 4 years, she would be old, and surely far too indoctrinated in the public school cult to have any hope of another vaguely enjoyable day. To her, this guy's attempt at reassurance sounded more like attempted brainwashing. "...'tis a fate worse than death. Nay, a fate worse than hell... no. Worse than group therapy. " She hoisted herself off the table, black waves falling into her face and making her look all the more like a discarded antique doll. She pointed accusingly at the boy in front of her, kneeling up on her chair to decrease the height disparity between the two. "Who taught your freshman English!?" She demanded, as if that question made total sense. "It was Mr. Snow, wasn't it? That horsefucker was a lobotomist in the 50s. Turning people into empty husks is the only thing that brings that man joy."




mikaluvkitties elytra

Oh, dear. If cringing could kill, Max would have expired the moment he saw the other kid's eyes flit to the side. Was he reading too much into the gesture? Perhaps, but in that instant it felt overwhelmingly clear that he should have mustered whatever chutzpah he had left and stuck it out in the cafeteria. Oddly, being in a crowd where you aren't wanted often feels less crushing than being in an intimate setting where you aren't wanted.

Max, nevertheless, heeded Casper beckoning him over. Casper's friend said something, and it was clear it was at least partiallly directed at Max, who only sheepishly folded his arms over his chest as if to try and shrivel up and disappear. Great. Time to break it to new kid that he couldn't hear. That was sure to be endearing and not awkward at all.

Okay, he really didn't know how to broach that subject at all. Maybe Casper would explain? It seemed wrong to put that responsibility on his friend, especially when he was the one who was butting in on whatever they had going on in here. He could just say it, but his fractured ego couldn't take the hit of having to apologize for his voice. Defeatedly, he gritted his teeth and lifted his notebook out of his bag, flipping past page after page of his and Casper's little dialogues, finding a blank page, jotting down his message and hastily tearing it out.

Holding up his "Sorry, I'm Deaf" sign, his head tilted to the side almost guiltily. He raised an eyebrow at Casper, as if to beg for a reason why they called him over.

All this for some quiet solitary homework... Next time, he'd hide out in the janitor's closet for sure.​

 

[elytra]

Avery Childs
Location: Library
Mood: Rocking Out to Mozart's Sonata No. 17 in C
Interacting: Sam (Eventually) ( BasilOwO ) Mentions: Vanessa​

It wasn't often that Avery ate lunch in the actual cafeteria, and there was good reason for that. For one, it was way loud and way crowded and she had no where she'd be comfortable sitting. For another, she couldn't say with full confidence that she could hold herself back from jumping a table and smacking Vanessa over the head with a lunch tray. Okay, maybe not that extreme, but she would end up probably throwing food at her or something. It was instinct. She'd never been good with self control.

Which is why, like many other days in past years, she was currently holed up in the library. She didn't bother hiding, per say, but it was empty enough that she doubted anyone would actually ever come in. Her feet were propped up on the table, something which would likely get her reprimanded if the librarian ended up noticing, and she had a notebook in her lap, sketching out doodles on the loose leaf. She had a single earbud in her ear and the other hanging loosely, audibly (but softly) playing what sounded like classical music. She hummed and bobbed her head to the beat absentmindedly; there was no one around to hear or see it after all. She could stand to chill out a little.

The drawing was actually starting to look decent. She wasn't an artist by any means- though her uncle had many times tried to get her to be passionate about it -but the sketch looked like a lizard. Or a lizard-shaped blob. That was good enough. She was just trying to zone out, not get into the MoMA.

Tessa Torres
Location: Theater
Mood: Sick & Tired of These Damn Nails
Interacting: Ava (Eventually) ( Winona ) Mentions: N/A​

Tessa wasn't angry. All things considered, she was having a good day. At the very least, a decent day. Nothing had gone wrong. No one had been weird. Classes were easy- syllabus days always were -and she had time to get started on things for the theater group early. Getting things done inherently early was good. She would've been pretty pleased with the turn of events...

If it weren't for the fact that apparently, every nail she was trying to drive into the goddamn piece of wood wanted to go in the exactly wrong direction.

Technically, technically the way they were going in would do the job. They'd hold the structure together, which was the point of them. Theoretically, she should be fine with it. But every time she drove a nail in, it looked shoddy, and despite thinking momentarily 'alright, that should do it', she consistently went back, took the nail out, and tried again. The frustration was getting to her, which meant that her hammering sounded less controlled and more like she was trying to bludgeon something to death. But to be clear, she wasn't angry. It just sounded like it.

She drove the next nail in, and then took a moment to look at it with disdain. It looked cockeyed again. She ground her teeth together a moment, gripping the hammer a bit tighter, before releasing the breath she'd been holding. It was fine. It was fine. She was going to leave it, because it was functional. It only needed to be functional. The only person who would know it looked weird was her. She turned around, heading to another area of the stage.

Then she turned heel once more, marched back, and took the nail right out once more. Try, try again.

Casey Dunn
Location: Art Room
Mood: About to Have a Heart Attack and Keel Over
Interacting: Casper ( mikaluvkitties ), Max ( Chimney Swift ) Mentions: N/A​

Oh jesus, he was deaf?

Okay, that internal dialogue sounded bad. That really shouldn't have been how they thought it, but to be fair, it wasn't the other being deaf that was the problem. It was the whole 'oh no I probably look like I'm trying to ignore a deaf kid because he's deaf' that was the problem. The reason they wanted to crawl under the table and hit their head against the floor wasn't because of someone else's impairment. No, it was because they just had no idea how to interact with new people.

Now even less so. There was no bouncing back from this. They weren't sure what the next step was, though it was probably 'write something to assure the new person that you are not, in fact, a complete jackass'. What to write that would convey that, they weren't sure, but they didn't exactly have the luxury of thinking it over. They considered, a moment, trying sign language- they had known it at some point, because they had had a cousin who was mute -but they were rusty and not exactly confident that they wouldn't fuck it up in a way that would make things worse. So, instead, they rummaged through their things, bringing out a notebook and writing something out as neatly as they could. Their handwriting was usually neat, of course, but if even a single word was indecipherable, they were going to die.

Once they were finished, which thankfully only took a moment or so, they tore out the page and held it up, looking absolutely mortified and apologetic. 'Don't need to be sorry about it. I'm Casey.' was written in what they hoped was large enough letters, with a slightly smaller smiley face drawn beneath it. They'd debated erasing it, but had decided to hold up the message before they had time to re-think it.

 

[BasilOwO]

Samantha Jones​

Sam yawned, rubbing her eyes. She had been reading for the past hour, trying to understand what the fuck it was that her teacher was attempting to teach her. Why couldn’t they understand that she was a dumbass and that nothing good was going to come from telling her she had to spend her free time reading a large ass book. Slamming her head on the table, she’d groan, how had she gotten to this point?

Her parents knew how badly she was failing, and while it sucked, they didn’t have her do anything to get her grade up. It seemed they wanted her to fail, or to not succeed, either one. Sighing, she’d notice the only other person in the library, a girl she didn’t know the name of. Closing her books, she’d strut over to the table the other girl was at with the confidence of a toddler, almost tripping a few times. Laughing sheepishly, she’d watch her, before murmuring a soft, “hello?”

Interactions: Avery ( elytra )

 

[elytra]

Avery Childs
Location: Library
Mood: A Person? In MY Library?
Interacting: Sam ( BasilOwO ) Mentions: N/A​

The lizard had gone off the rails a little.

Her music had, at that point, switched over from Mozart to La Segonda Retroencha, which was essentially medieval party music. While humming along, she'd added a mustache to the drawing, along with a small top hat, and was feeling particular pleased with herself. He was a gentleman now. A stand-up citizen. He was probably a patron of the arts. She was trying to figure out a name for him- something proper, sophisticated -when someone came up to her, interrupting her pondering.

Honestly, she hadn't known anyone else was in the library at the time. She had just assumed people had congregated other places; it wasn't like this was an ideal spot or anything. Yet, here she was, another girl now standing next to her and greeting her. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing, just unexpected. She popped her earbud out so she could actually hear, and removed her legs from the top of the table to sit properly.

"Yo." she said back, silently trying to figure out if she'd seen this girl anywhere before. She was drawing a blank though. "What can I do for you?"

 

[BasilOwO]

Samantha Jones​

The only thing that the quite, introverted girl could murmur had been a hello. Now she stood there, drawing a blank as to what to say. She really wasn’t used to stuff like this, well interactions of course, and now that she was there, she realized she had made a huge mistake. “I- um..” She trailed off, looking away, embarrassed. “Let me try that again. Would you allow me to sit with you?” She paused, adding, “The library is kind of lonely when its just yourself and I’m sure you’d like some sort of company.”

Sam smiled awkwardly, making it known that she wasn’t used to this. ”I mean- you don’t have to allow me to sit with you, but I would enjoy it. I don’t have too many friends so I’m often times alone and I was wondering-“ She stopped herself, realizing she had said the same thing twice, or was it three times? “I’m sorry for repeating myself, really. I don’t really talk to people and when I do, it often comes out stupidly. Anyways, um before you allow me to sit with you if you want, my name’s Samantha, but you can Sam or Sammy!”

Interactions: Avery ( elytra )

 

[mikaluvkitties]

CASPER OLLILA​

Casper blinked. The idea that Casey might just not have known Max hadn’t even occurred to them. Max was Max and he was great, and Casey was great, so clearly the two had to know each other.

But they didn’t, and they looked to Casey, and they seemed awkward, and Max sat down, and he seemed awkward, too, lifting his sign to Casey and giving Casper a look with a raised eyebrow that might just kill them. Their face warmed, and they hurriedly dug into their backpack for a notebook, because their sketchbook was for doodles, not writing, and they planned to keep it that way.

Casey and Max might not have known each other before now, but Casper was going to fix that, because they were both awesome and they should be friends because then they could all go ghost hunting together and that would be so much fun! And they all deserved fun! And maybe Casper felt a little bad for making things awkward for everyone, you know? They just wanted to say hi to their friends- They didn’t mean to make things awkward!!

They flipped the notebook open, glancing to what Casey had written, and started to write their own message… Only to immediately pause. What did they want to say? They frowned at the paper like it had done something wrong, then lip up, writing with fervor, as neatly as they could manage, hi max!!!! is school good so far?? casey was talking about the party!

With that said, they turned to Casey, eyes wide and expectant.

Chimney Swift elytra

ELI FISCHER​

Okay, yeah, Eli really liked this kid. She was funny! He laughed some more, leaning against the table.

“Mr. Snow’s not that bad- Not really. Just wait until you have Miss- Misses?- Miss??? Shelby???” He got a far away look, a frown firm on his face as he looked out the window. “I think it’s Misses. She got married at some point… I think. She has a kid, and I assume that her fiance married her…” He paused again, looking up almost dumbfounded. “But she might still go by Miss. Married women can go by Miss. And she’s just such a Miss.” He glanced to her, dumbfounded look morphing into a wide smile. “You haven’t met her yet, but she’s much worse than Mr. Snow. Mr. Snow likes animals. Miss- Misses-” He stopped, squinted, then said almost hesitantly, “Miss Shelby only delights in giving you way too much homework.”

He took a sip of his apple juice, still watching her out of the corner of his eye. “What’s so bad about group therapy?”

Chimney Swift​

 

[cadence]

CÉLIAN DEBROSSE

"Impolite to foreigners and abuses women? I'm not impressed," he frowned, shaking his head in disapproval when Monroe pinched Lucky. He'd been speaking with mock-seriousness up until that point. To anyone else, it would probably seem like his judgement was genuine, nothing gave it away aside from the glint in his eyes and the fact that he'd been harassing Monroe since they'd been paired together in their first period class. But now that Monroe's annoyance was crystal clear to him, he allowed himself to grin - to laugh even. He was proud of himself, truly. He wasn't sure why Monroe exactly, but sometime after being forced to partner with him, Cian had made it his sole purpose to annoy the shit out of him. And he was succeeding!

"You are!" He nodded enthusiastically, completely ignoring Monroe's sarcastic tone and acting as if he was, in fact, agreeing. "Very rude," he stated, giving another mock 'tsk' of disapproval. "I have been nothing but nice to you and yet you treat me like this.." He grinned, emphasis on 'nothing' because he was well-aware of what he'd been doing. In the span of just a few hours, he'd pretended to be a grandma, learned all about Harry Styles, and contacted two out of however many of his siblings just to get on his nerves! He was far from angelic and he knew it, but it was fun to pretend like he was anyway. Anything to annoy Monroe.

His nose shriveled in disgust for the umpteenth time that afternoon when Monroe mentioned why the food was so bad. At his school in France, everything was made fresh. They hired actual chefs and got all of their food fresh from local farms. Admittedly, he wasn't sure if it was because he went to a relatively prestigious school or if France just had standards. The latter, he assumed, because he'd been in America an entire month and he'd yet to be impressed. "Gross," was all he said in reply, happily munching on the chips he'd been given. It was normally too junky for his tastes, but anything was better than his other option.

He glanced at Melvin when they spoke, having hardly noticed their presence at the table before then. He gave their words a second of thought before eventually shrugging, deciding that it was a possibility. "Can't blame them, personally. I'd try to kill all of you if I had the chance, too."

Interactions: Monroe, Lucky, & Melvin ( elytra )

 

[elytra]

Avery Childs
Location: Library
Mood: Auditory Processing Issues: Activate
Interacting: Sam ( BasilOwO ) Mentions: N/A
​

Okay. Wow. That was a lot of words at once.

Avery blinked owlishly at the onslaught of words, having to take a moment to actually get them through her head and understand them. Okay. So the girl was asking to sit with her and introducing herself. Also something about not having many friends and, well, Avery could relate, thought they seemed to be handling that very differently from one another. Again, not a bad thing. Just something she noticed. She shrugged her shoulders, before gesturing to the table before her, along with all the empty chairs by extension.

"Have a seat, I guess. Can't say I'll be all that exciting, though." She replied honestly, because while she was weird, she wasn't how good a source of entertainment she'd be. "Not really doing much at the moment other than fucking around in my notebook. I'm Avery." She clicked her pen open once more, though didn't bother propping her feet up, figuring that'd be rude or something. She wasn't a total animal.

 

[BasilOwO]

Samantha Jones​

She sat down next to her, blinking. “Nice to meet you, Avery!” She’d say, smiling. To her it really was nice, and the fact that she wasn’t told to fuck off five minutes later was even better. “So whatcha doing I’m that notebook other than fucking around?” The punkish girl asked, leaning over to look inside the notebook.

Then she realized how rude that was and sat back, looking away. “Sorry- I should’ve asked.” She apologized, frowning. “I’ll ask next time.” This is why you don’t have friends. She scolded herself, sighing. “I’m sorry, really I am. I should’ve stayed put and now I’ve fucked up.”

Interactions: Avery ( elytra )

 

[Chimney Swift]

mikaluvkitties elytra
Max passed his eyes over Casper's note, a weak smile fading across his face. He gently took the paper and wrote back, slowly and uncertainly: "I'm hanging in there." Seeing Casey glance at his bruised eye, Max furtively brushed a lock of his brown hair over to cover it up a little. He sort of realized it probably looked like he'd gotten into a fight or something.

He really didn't want to know what Casper had said to Casey about the party, if anything. As far as Max was concerned, witnessing someone else's house get trashed by brawling teens and then running away to cry in his room about showing up in the first place was not a memory he wanted to dwell on.

Granted, the trainwreck of a party wasn't the only reason he'd been down in the dumps these last three days. Coming back to school was never easy on him, and this year especially he was dreading the inevitable social ostracization, and badgering the accessibility office just to get through class. He didn't tend to complain about it too much, but the barriers his disability put up were really hard to cope with in high school.

He waved timidly at Casey, hoping he wasn't coming off as rude. He knew he'd already made things awkward, and was doing his level best to remedy that.



mikaluvkitties
"Have you ever BEEN to group therapy!?" Ivy's voice sounded as if she were about to go into apoplectic shock. Not at all good for her dwindling hangover headache.

"It's like... Freud or someone had the bright idea to get a bunch of whackjobs together in a room and have as all hold hands and sing Kumbaya and listen to each other talk about how smack ruined their college career. It's like if prison and preschool had an illegitimate child and raised it on cocaine and wolverine milk. And you know what? High school is the same. High school is group therapy's fucking inbred cousin." She shoved her barely-touched tray of salad into the nearby trash can,

"I don't know how you made it four years. I'm in four hours and I'm ready to throw myself into a wood chipper."​

 

[cadence]

Frankie Sibanda

Frankie was looking at Charlie expectantly the moment the question had left his mouth, ready to pull out the puppy-dog-eyes if needed. Okay, so it was probably a little easier for him to get on board when he didn't have much at stake. Would ditching school for Olive Garden hurt him in any way? Probably not. His teachers would come to expect it from him eventually and what a better day to let them know what to expect than the first day of school? He had no sports or after-school activities counting on him. And, sure, his mom might find out and ground him, but even grounding wasn't that bad because he literally shared a roof with the one person he cared most about talking to. Charlie, on the other hand, had a few more things to consider.

"Not to be dramatic, but I could cry right now," he said, dramatically, of course, the moment the words Olive Garden came from Charlie's mouth. He was half-expecting Charlie to pass, to decide that skipping school and practice was just not worth it. But he agreed! He said yes! To continue on with his dramatics, he placed both of his hands on both sides of Charlie's face and stared intensely into his eyes. "My love for you is as limitless as the breadsticks we will soon devour..." he said, because simply saying thank you for getting Olive Garden with me or I'm glad you're coming with me was boring in comparison. He let go of his face and grabbed their now stacked trays before speaking again, more seriously that time. "Exactly. Nobody will even know. And, if you want, I'm pretty sure we can be done in time for practice."

The next moment, he was ditching their trays and leading the way through the parking lot to his parking space that wasn't technically his but he still claimed and bitched anytime someone else tried to park in it. It didn't take long for him to find what he was looking for in the sea of vehicles... Her... Rhonda; the only love of his life besides Charlie. She was an ugly thing - a horrible shade of green, rusty and falling apart, and completely covered in hideous bumper stickers, but Frankie loved her. He quickly hopped into the driver's side, excitedly chanting 'breadsticks' again and again until Charlie was situated.

Interactions: Charlie ( elytra )

 

[elytra]

Oh, Basically All of the Quills Now
Location: Cafeteria
Mood: Chip Theft Hours
Interacting: Cian ( cadence ) Mentions: N/A​

Melvin, at the announcement that Cian would try to kill them if given the chance, tried to hide the fact they were laughing, though it didn't work. Monroe noticed. He fished a chip out of his lunch and tossed it lightly, nailing his sibling in the middle of their forehead. Of course, Melvin ended up just catching it as it fell and eating it, but he considered the action worthwhile anyway. It was a form of justice, even if he was the only one that thought so. Of course, Lucky took this distraction as an opportunity to try and steal a chip from him since she'd given her own away. He slapped her hand away.

"I'm a little offended you'd wanna kill me. I thought I've been very welcoming." She said, seeming unperturbed by being shooed away from her brothers food. "Like, come on! I understand killing Monroe. That's common sense. But me? I'm innocent. I'm a pleasure to have around." She paused in her speech briefly, before her hand shot out towards Monroe's chips again, managing to snag one before he could stop her. She popped it in her mouth, looking rather smug. "See? I think I should be left out of the whole killing plan."

"No, I think you deserve to be taken out along with the rest of us." Monroe moved his chip bag away from her, eyeing her warily, to which she only grinned in reply. "You're a menace. If he's going to kill us, he's going to kill all of us."

"I don't really think you're the one making that choice, so your opinion means nothing."

Avery Childs
Location: Library
Mood: No Thoughts Only Lizard
Interacting: Sam ( BasilOwO ) Mentions: N/A​

Was looking in a notebook a punishable offense now? Did she have the right to carry out a death sentence? It sure seemed like that was the assumption. She quirked one eyebrow questioningly at Sam. She really didn't give a shit about people looking at her books; her phone as off-limits, sure, but it wasn't as if she was rocking out to music in public while writing a super personal journal entry or something. That sort of stuff was best done in private, and she wasn't the journal sort as it was. She much preferred taking her feelings and locking that shit up tight.

"You're fine, dude. I really don't care." She said, flipping her notebook around to show it for emphasis. She tapped the drawing with her pen. "Its a lizard with a top hat and mustache. Ain't exactly top secret information, you know? Not about to learn juicy government secrets from this little fella. Just a dude trying to look proper." She flipped it back around towards herself once more, looking at it and starting to sketch out a monocle. It seemed like the right step to take. "As I said. All good. No need to freak out over it."

Casey Dunn
Location: Art Room
Mood: THIS IS AWKWARD AND I WOULD LIKE TO BE REMOVED IMMEDIATELY
Interacting: Casper ( mikaluvkitties ), Max ( Chimney Swift ) Mentions: N/A​

And they were put on the spot to talk about the party. Very cool.

Not that they had really wanted to talk the party, it was really just curiosity getting the best of them. It wasn't like they had information or anything interesting. They'd literally sat on the couch for most of it and then left after seeing two guys brawl it out in another guys kitchen. They didn't really have juicy gossip or whatever people were using the party as. What was there to say? 'I lost my scarf and I kind of want it back'? 'I have a lot of little umbrellas and I don't know what to do with them but I'm hoarding them anyway, so I guess thats a thing'? Those weren't exactly prime conversation starters. They weren't even interesting.

Not that it was Casper's fault. Casper was probably trying to make things less uncomfortable, which was admirable. Casey just really wanted to sink into their sweater and not come out was all. Now, if the topic was like, ghost hunting or music or writing, that they could maybe do, at least a little better than the current conversation. They were interested in those things. They knew stuff about those things. But, alas, that wasn't the case, so they fumbled with their pen as they semi-frantically tried to figure out what the hell to write.

'I don't actually have much to say about the party. I wasn't there that long.' ended up being the message, and oh, they probably looked so frazzled at the moment. It wasn't a great response, but they didn't know what else to say. They weren't sure what the limits of the conversation were, and they weren't exactly willing to test boundaries at the moment.

Charlie
Location: Parking Lot
Mood: Feeling LOTS of Love
Interacting: Frankie ( cadence ) Mentions: N/A​

It really was super stupid how this of all situations made Charlie go yea, this is why I started dating him.

Sue him, he thought it was kinda cute. Most things that Frankie did he could class under 'cute', because he was predictable and loved his boyfriend, but over-dramatics about Olive Garden and bread sticks were especially cute. Sure, he was also being over-dramatic, but that didn't matter. And, if he were to really dig down, the real reason the prospect of going to Olive Garden was exciting was more that he wanted to spend time with Frankie and less about the bread sticks. Not that the bread sticks weren't good. He'd still really, really like bread sticks. But he probably would've gone to anywhere suggested.

He grinned, getting into the passenger side of the car. It was the ugliest car he'd ever, ever seen, but Frankie liked it so by extensive he liked it (and also because it allowed them to go places not withing walking distance). He was a little scared it was 5 seconds from falling apart, but it was fine. It was fine. It would hold out....probably.

"So, Olive Garden time." He said, stretching out, feeling no regret about the choice whatsoever so far. "It'll be nice to have real food. I'm kinda worried that I'll never be able to stomach school food again though, since I'll know there are better options. This might ruin me a little bit."

 

[BasilOwO]

Samantha Jones​

She’d sigh in relief, nodding. She hadn’t meant to make it seem like it was a bad thing, it was just that her parents, her strict, proper parents, wanted her to be just like them. Strict and proper. ”It looks cool though.” She murmured, continuing to watch her draw. “Really, it’s a nice design. What, with the gentleman lizard, I’m sure he’d catch a date like it was nothing.” She joked, forcing a smile.

It was a forced joke, kind of. She enjoyed joking, honestly. She just didn’t have the time to do so or it just wasn’t her place. Sighing, she’d fiddle with her fingers, digging her nails into the palms of her hands. “Do you draw often?” She asked, head tilting. ”Because your drawings look nice.” She added quickly, chuckling sheepishly.

Interactions: Avery ( elytra )

 

[cadence]

VANESSA OLSON

It wasn't like Vanessa to be nervous. She did things with confidence - impulsivity, even, but there was hardly a difference to her. You can't control things by being nervous, her dad used to tell her, something that had confused her before she realized the truth behind his words and that she had the power to change her life at will. She didn't bat an eye when she betrayed Avery, using the secrets she trusted her with to out her to the entire school. She didn't feel nervous when ghosting Flynn or when she told her friends that he was awful and disloyal and the worst boyfriend that she could ever have. It was easy - and she hated that it was, she did, but she was glad she never once felt nervous about any of it. So why the hell did she feel so nervous now?

"It's just Flynn," she said aloud, forcing a smile in the bathroom mirror. Should she even smile? How are you supposed to greet the ex-boyfriend you never officially broke up with more than a whole year after you ghosted him? Smiling seemed inappropriate but everything else seemed too... Tense. And awkward. Two things Nessa vowed to never experience again when she sacrificed everything for popularity. She exhaled, raking a hand through her hair. "It's just Flynn," she assured again. Why was she so nervous about meeting Just Flynn for lunch? She wasn't nervous to see him. She knew Flynn; knew that he was too desperate for validation to be too mad at her, unlike Avery, who'd probably make a show out of it. She wasn't nervous to be seen with him, despite what she'd texted him. If they were to be caught, she had no doubt that they'd assume she was being generous and giving him a second chance at friendship. So why?

"It's just Flynn," she said for the third time, like it was her own personal mantra. Ignoring the pit in her stomach, she touched up her lipstick and walked out the door, hoping they could skip the uncomfortable bits and jump straight into forgiven and friends again. It didn't take her long to find him sitting on the concrete steps leading to the front entrance, looking more or less than the same as he had a year ago. Not that she wouldn't recognize him if he changed; she followed him and Avery and even Theo on all their social medias on a secret account, desperate to stay in the know.

"Hi," she smiled when she was close enough, standing on the step in front of him until given permission to sit. Now, to bring up the obvious I-ignored-you-for-a-year-and-made-a-large-portion-of-the-school-hate-you elephant in the room or to act as if nothing had happened between them at all? She was quiet for a moment, weighing her options before deciding she'd let him pick. "May I sit?"

Interactions: Flynn ( elytra )

 

[cadence]

CÉLIAN DEBROSSE

"You have been very welcoming, Lucky," he said in an as-a-matter-of-fact tone, nodding along to everything she said. Was it mainly because he figured agreeing with her would annoy Monroe? Absolutely. But he knew he'd probably spare her if he was genuinely considering a school-wide massacre whether it annoyed Monroe or not. An enemy of your enemy is your friend or something like that, not that he actually considered Monroe his enemy.

He couldn't help but laugh at the chip theft taking place before him. He was tempted to join in - to try and steal Monroe's chips or to see how many chips he could throw at his forehead before he yanked his bag away, but he decided against it, figuring throwing chips that had been gifted to him would be disrespectful. He was annoying, sure, but even he had limits.

"No, Lucky is right, Monnie, your opinion means nothing" he said, tone still serious despite the amused look on his face. Would nicknames annoy him? He didn't know, but he was going to find out. "I'm the one making the choice... And I think I'll spare my newest bff Lucky. And you," he said, glancing at Melvin, who didn't quite know the name of. "When I said 'all of you' I really meant just you, to be honest," he shrugged, facing Monroe again. And Kat, maybe, but he didn't say that part out loud. She threatened to snap him over her knee if he came anywhere near her in real life and, frankly, he was kind of worried that she was telling the truth.

"In fact, Lucky's allowed to help me if she wants. She can hold you down while I force feed you..." He glanced towards the tray he'd been given, unable to identify most of the food on the plate. "Mush.." he eventually decided on, grinning. "Here comes the plane!!" He sang, scooping a spoonful of mashed potatoes because that's what Lucky said was the worst and inching towards Monroe's mouth.

Interactions: Quill Triplets ( elytra )

Frankie Sibanda

"I don't know how anyone manages to eat school food after eating, like, literally anything else. I don't even know how they classify as food," he said, his tone as dramatic as usual despite there being nothing but truth behind his words. "I'm telling you, babe, they should totally put an Olive Garden in the cafeteria. Think of all the people that would actually show up for school every day if they did." Him included! Out of all the times he'd skipped school, it was usually to surf or to eat.

"But I won't let it ruin you. If anything, we'll just have to go to Olive Garden every day," he said, finally inserting the keys and turning them not once but twice until the engine sputtered to life, making unnatural clanking noises as it did. So what she wasn't a new, quiet truck? Frankie figured as long as the brakes worked and smoke wasn't coming from the engine, Rhonda would probably be fine. And even if she decided to completely fall apart, Frankie knew he'd probably keep her around even if it was just for sentimental value. He had many memories with that truck. Some with his dad, who owned it before he did. Some with Charlie from even before they started dating, be it from the times his dad drove them to get ice cream cones or stargazing in the bed. Rhonda was special, even if not everyone could see it, and completely worth the risk of driving.

"Okay, so which Olive Garden did we decide to go to?" Frankie hadn't even known there was two until some girl he didn't remember the name of mentioned it over Twitter. "Do you know which one those other people decided on? Because I think I want to avoid them." Theo might've been kidding about fighting him but he didn't exactly want to test this Mason guy. Sure, he talked big sometimes, but he was small! And fragile! And Mason could probably snap him over his knee or break every bone in his body or whatever Mason preferred with ease.

"Do you think Mason was serious about fighting me?" He was asking the next second, eyes a little wide because, yeah, he was actually a little scared! He'd been at the party! He'd seen with his very own eyes what he was capable of! All he wanted was some bottomless breadsticks and quality time with his boyfriend, not a broken nose.

Interactions: Charlie ( elytra )

 

[mikaluvkitties]

CASPER OLLILA​

Casper nibbled at their lip nervously as they read Casey’s note slowly, then turned to read what Max had written, and they leaned towards him sympathetically as they wrote another note.

school sucks

They held it up, a hand going to play with their hair as they thought. This was awkward. They had made things awkward. They hadn’t meant to, but they had, so now it was their job to fix it. It would have been a lot easier if they were used to fixing awkward situations they caused.

They wrote again, and on an entirely different topic, because no one had anything to say about the part and school wasn’t something Casper wanted to think about right now, and showed it to the other two.

i really want sparkly pens i bet theyd look really good i could make my notes glittery

Again, they stopped and thought, and then, again, wrote a note, one last desperate attempt to change the topic, slow and deliberate.

did you guys see bna

Chimney Swift elytra

ELI FISCHER​

Eli really could not overstate just how much he was enjoying the company of this freshman. He laughed, taking a bite of his lunch, then shrugged. “Yeah, okay. I haven’t been to group therapy, so I guess I wouldn’t know, huh?”

He chewed on another bite, then swallowed. “You just have to find the people worth being around, is all. People are great, most of the time. They can make any experience worth living through, you know? The right ones, at least.” He looked at her again, and her lack of any food now that she’d dumped her salad.

“Do you want a granola bar? It’s not a whole lunch or anything, but they might be more to your taste and I have tons.” He ate another bite of his food. "There's lots of good people here, though- Promise. I don't know anyone in your grade, but this town is just full of good people, so there's bound to be at least in your grade."

Chimney Swift​

 

[elytra]

Avery Childs
Location: Library
Mood: Desperate for Rich People Names
Interacting: Sam ( BasilOwO ) Mentions: N/A​

"He's a hot commodity." Avery confirmed, because he was. Obviously. Not that she had come up with a name for him yet; it continued to evade her. Preston was an option, but she wasn't really feeling it. The problem was she was absolutely blanking out on rich people names. It would come to her eventually, she was sure. This was about the most important thing she had to do that day. It wasn't as if school was really taking up much of her time.

She finished up the monocle, before deciding 'go big or go home', starting on a bowtie as well. Respectable lizards wore bowties. "My uncles an artist, but I don't really draw that much." She answered, pausing a moment to erase a stray line, before continuing "I work with more 3D stuff. Taxidermy and stuff like that. I'm just bored out of my mind right now."

Flynn
Location: Outside
Mood: Insert Clown Music Here
Interacting: Vanessa ( cadence ) Mentions: Avery, Theo, Xander​

So. Vanessa had messaged him.

Flynn wasn't sure how he was feeling about that. He was pretty sure that was fair, because it had happened less than an hour ago, and now they were having lunch together or something. The little Avery voice in his head was throwing a fit, demanding that he be angry, but he ended up being more concerned about the fact he'd spend enough time around Avery to have her opinions slam dunked into his head. See, the thing was, he hadn't really been mad when Vanessa had broken up with, ended things with, ghosted him. He'd been more upset and had maybe had cried about it a little, not that anyone other than Theo had to know about that. And he'd gotten over it, unlike both his cousin and Avery, who both seemed to treat being pissed off at Nessa like a sport. To be fair to her, Avery had a better reason than he would've to be angry. It was still a bit much.

Point was, he was over it. Barely even thought about it anymore, except for when he was having a particularly bad day. It wasn't as if it was a crime to break up with someone (the tiny Avery that had taken up space in his mind shouted something about how normal people didn't spread bullshit about him being a jackass when breaking up, but he ended that train of thought as soon as possible). Sure, some people kind of hated him. A lot. And he didn't have many friends, other than Avery, Theo, and apparently now Xander who he may or may not have spilled his guts to at the slightest hint of positive attitude (it wasn't the proudest moment of his life). And okay, maybe he was waiting for the other shoe to drop on that last one, because he didn't have a great track record of staying on good terms with people possibly due to Vanessa-related issues. But it was fine. Totally fine. Absolutely fine. He was so fine, it wasn't even funny.

Which was why, of course, he was absolutely at a loss for how to act around Vanessa.

He wanted to pull off cool and casual, but he wasn't sure how likely that option was. He didn't want to act pathetic, at the very least (again, he wasn't sure if he would be able to do that, but it was a goal at least). He was considering bringing up the whole....incident, but he didn't want to make it awkward, and that probably would. He wasn't as confident as he liked to act, anyway. Bold and brash was more of Avery's thing, not his.

He didn't have much time to think it over before Vanessa showed up. She didn't look much different, though that was probably because he'd seen her around for the past year even if they hadn't been speaking. He tried to smile back, but he was sure it looked less genuine and more like he'd been held at gunpoint and told to. "Uh....yea. Sure."

Great, he didn't sound like an idiot at all. He waited for her to sit, absentmindedly fiddling with the wheels of his skateboard, which was perched on the other side of him. He'd been planning to spend lunch just fucking around, but obviously, that had been interrupted. He didn't say anything for a moment, avoiding looking at her, before forcing himself to.

"So...I'm still confused." He admitted, because he was, and despite being the way he was he still wanted answers. "You know. With everything. But specifically, I guess, with what exactly I did?" Because he had to do something for the sort of reaction he got. He wasn't exactly sure what, which is why he asked, but he was sure there had to be something wrong.

The Quill Triplets
Location: Cafeteria
Mood: Cafeteria Food is Cruel and Unusual Punishment
Interacting: Cian ( cadence ) Mentions: N/A​

Okay, cool. He was going to die at this table. When nicknamed 'Monnie', he gave the most unimpressed look he could, because it was the sort of thing his siblings called him as they revealed their next plot to try and annoy him, and when the mashed potatoes were lifted up, he watched the spoon with disdain and disgust. Lucky was practically cackling next to him. It was a reminder that he needed to find a way to get back at her at some point in the near future. Melvin hadn't been as active in his current demise, so they were spared for the moment.

He leaned back in his seat, away from the spoon. "Get that away from me." He said, though knew that wouldn't help in the slightest "Are you going to sit with us everyday?"

"I hope so!" Lucky eagerly said, and Melvin tacked on "It's pretty funny.", amusement evident in their voice.

"I'm going to leave. I'm going to never sit with any of you, ever." While the statement sounded serious, it was untrue. He knew it. His siblings knew it. He wasn't sure if Cian knew it, but honestly, he wouldn't be surprised. He didn't exactly have anywhere else to sit, and despite acting like this was the worst thing to happen to him, it wasn't that bad. He would need to be threatened to admit it, but Lucky and Melvin seemed happy having someone else around, so he couldn't be that mad.

He was still displeased, though. Maybe he'd leave for a day or something.

Charlie
Location: In the Car
Mood: Uh Oh What if My Boyfriend Gets Beaten Up :'(
Interacting: Frankie ( cadence ) Mentions: Mason​

"Oh. No, I wasn't actually paying too much attention to them." Charlie admitted sheepishly. He didn't really frequent the twitter. There was a lot going on all the time, and keeping up was a hassle. It also usually ended in fighting, so that wasn't exactly something he was eager to participate in. "I mean, I'm not even sure if they're going to Olive Garden, they might've just been joking." Not that he was able to tell.

When asked about Mason, he opened his mouth to assure his boyfriend that obviously Mason wouldn't actually fight him....then closed it, because he couldn't actually say that without lying. Mason probably would punch him or something. Charlie wouldn't be surprised. He also wouldn't be surprised if Frankie lost that fight, which would be bad, because he wasn't exactly keen on watching him getting beaten up. He tried to not think that over too hard.

"I mean....he probably won't be there?" It wasn't 'yes, he was absolutely not serious about fighting you', but it wasn't a lie. He doubted Mason would be there. He doubted anyone would be there, actually. He couldn't see that many people skipping at once.

 

[Winona]

Ava

JJ was insufferable. She was storming her way down the hallway, her hands still balled into angry fists, as she made her way past the cafeteria and continued straight down the hall. Sure, Ava may have looked like she was ready to fight someone to try and dispel a bit of the anger -- but Ava would never. She was a little too... well, she liked fighting when it was behind the safety of a computer screen.

Her steps and angry marching took her right to her destination. The theater, where she was sure Tessa was busy doing something that involved nails and hammers. Angrily, Ava tried to slam her shoulder into one of the doors and burst her way in, but the door was locked and instead, she just ended up bruising her shoulder. Gosh darn it.

Ava then continued her storming to the next set of doors and repeated her steps. Her shoulder slammed into the door and this time, it gave and flew open and she was able to triumphantly storm her way and continue her quest. She just followed the sound of hammers until she found Tessa.

"JJ is a bitch." She snapped.

elytra Mentions: Soap​

 

[BasilOwO]

Samantha Jones​

She nodded, “yeah I understand that. Some just draw for fun, and it looks like that’s you.” She‘d nod, “so he needs a name right? Why not Jacques? That’s fancy, and he could own a mansion and have daughters and a wife. Now maybe he doesn’t treat is wife right so his daughters leave, go on their own, and then come back to help their mother.” She offered, remembering her own life. Not quite like that, but similar.

”Though that’s just a thought, you don’t have to go with it of course.” She smiled, “it just seemed like him. At first the wife thought he was a kind soul, and then as they grew together he showed his true colors, which led up to them growing apart. They also had a son who was more like the father than his sister, which made him proud.”

Interactions: Avery ( elytra )

 

[Chimney Swift]

mikaluvkitties elytra

"Did you guys see bna"

Max squirmed in his seat reading the unfamiliar acronym. British North America? That couldn't be it. It had to be some kind of show.

Max had trouble keeping up with television. At least the shows Casper liked all had subtitles (as they tended to be in Japanese), so occasionally he would take his friend up on TV suggestions.

He nervously glanced over at Casey, as if hoping he would explain first, but eventually shook his head.

"No, sorry", he signed, knowing it was one of the phrases Casper definitely knew. He then took the pen again, quietly jotting down "i haven't really seen anything over the summer. Too busy with homework, and..." his hand faltered, his lip quivering as he suddenly remembered it wasn't just him and Casper this time. He was already feeling sick and awkward; he didn't want to share his personal garbage with someone he was really hoping didn't already hate him.
"...other stuff."




mikaluvkitties

Ivy threw her head back and laughed like a cartoon villainess. "Right! Good people in high school. Just like good cops, good billionaires, good filoviruses..." Suddenly, she stopped laughing, her face freezing into a stoic frown so fast it was almost frightening. "And no, thank you. I don’t want a granola bar."

She laced her fingers in her lap, pursing her lips into a thin line. She hadn't so much as touched food since the party, and though her insides hurt, she was determined not to. At this point, she didn't even know why. It was just some ridiculous competition she was playing with herself, determined to win against her own biological needs. It had little to do with thinness, and less still to do with confidence. It was practically a phobia, and one she hated to be challenged on.

Smoothly changing the subject, she cockpit twirled a strand of her hair and propped her feet on the table. "So, how'd you make it through your freshman year, big boy? Gimme your survival skills."​

 

[elytra]

Tessa Torres
Location: The Theater
Mood: Ah. Okay. This Is Expected.
Interacting: Ava ( Winona ) Mentions: JJ​

Maybe Tessa should've been surprised when Ava burst into the room and stormed over, but quite honestly, she wasn't. She wasn't even surprised when she announced that JJ was a bitch. She only looked up after she'd driven the nail in once more, raising an eyebrow, hands on her hips. This would be interesting, if the entrance was anything else to go by.

"This is news?" She asked, and maybe that was mean, but she wasn't particularly fond of most of the cheerleaders. Some of them were self-absorbed and extremely obvious about it. She paused, before holding out the hammer to Ava. "Want to hit shit and yell about what happened?" That, generally, was what she did, and it hadn't failed her so far.

Avery Childs
Location: Library
Mood: Lisa Dinner Face
Interacting: Sam ( BasilOwO ) Mentions: N/A​

Wow. That was a lot dropped at once.

Avery was tempted to ask 'hey, are you okay? Like, are you alright? Hello?' because....what? She'd been just drawing a lizard, you know? A silly little lizard, with a bow tie and hat, and she was considering calling Francis Sudsworth or something, and there wasn't really going to be a backstory, because he was a lizard. And the suggested story was very specific and it had her bamboozled.

But, she didn't. She decided that, probably, wasn't a wise choice, because it wasn't her business, and she really didn't want to get involved. Was that unsympathetic? Maybe. But she had a lot going on at the moment without other people's issues, so she was going to just breeze right by that. "Uh....well, gonna be honest, I'm not sure what his backstory is. I just think he's a funky dude with no opposable thumbs but a passion for bow ties." She flashed a smile and hoped that would be considered casual enough.

Casey Dunn
Location: The Art Room
Mood: Casey
Interacting: Casper ( mikaluvkitties ), Max ( Chimney Swift ) Mentions: N/A​

Sparkly pens? Shit, wait, they could do sparkly pens.

They had a ton, admittedly. They liked cute things and hoarded them basically; sparkly pens fell into the category, along with cute post-it notes, notebooks, and other stationary items. Maybe it was stupid- they could admit to that -but it made them feel a little better. Besides, it helped with note taking. They wrote different sections in different colors and while it was tedious, it worked. Plus, gel pens glided easily. They appreciated that.

But, point was, they had sparkle pens to spare. They probably would've given up one anyway, but they especially felt like they owed Casper for the awkward situation. So, they dug through their bag, digging out a pink sparkle gel pen and setting it in front of the other without a word. They thought maybe it'd be rude to talk out loud in present company; maybe it wasn't, but they didn't want to test it.

They then took to scribbling down their next note. They held it up to Casper, because that was who they were speaking to, but kept it visible to Max all the same. 'Not yet. But I was thinking about it. Was it good?'. They didn't really watch TV, anime or otherwise, all that often, but if Casper mentioned it was good, they'd probably give it a try. They didn't really have much to do, so what was the harm? Besides, Casper would probably enjoy talking about it.

 

[LibbyM098]

Katina-Rose Rayleigh... The small town's golden girl. Horse jumping champion and rich girl.
But that was all anyone ever saw of her.
She had been gone for over 3 months in Europe for her horse jumping and yet here she was, standing out the front of the school at what would be lunch time, feeling very jet lagged, but it was better then being at home.
She let out a sigh and then walked into the main doors of the school, in her short blue dress she got in Paris, white Gucci school bag and white matching sandals.
Her thick, brown hair was done up in a half updo and flowing behind her with every step she took.
She walked like a modle and looked like one straight out of a magazine.
She walked into the lunch hall and glanced around at everyone.
Only 3 months she had been gone for and it already felt like she was new girl... she grew up in this damn town! She hated feeling like the outsider in her own school.
She walked up and sat down at an empty table. It actually felt good to be by herself for a change.
She slipped her bag off her shoulder, opened it up and pulled out a bento box. It seemed like Mary the house keeper was going through a Japanese stage again.
She picked up her phone which was the latest iPhone and smiled down at it as she replied to some messages.
Apart of her wished that she never had to come home from Europe, but all good things come to and end.

****************



Chance Rivers had been avoiding people all day and lunch time was no different.
He didn't bother going to the mess hall with the other kids.
He had been dieing for a smoke all day and now was his chance to finally get one.

He walked over to the car park and pulled out a cigarette from his pocket along with a lighter.
As soon as it was lit he took a deep breath in of the rich tobacco.

Finally... he could just sit and relax.
His first day had not been the best. The amount of looks he had gotten off people was infuriating. It was like they had never seen a guy in a leather jacket before.
"Pfft... small town kids."

He finished his cigarette and then walked back into the school and made his way to the canteen.
He payed for a Turkey and swish cheese sandwich and then glanced around the tables for somewhere to sit....

It was an excellent question... he hadn't really been friendly with anyone this whole day.
Nore did he really care if he sat down beside someone. It wasn't like he was desperate for friends or anything.

 

[mikaluvkitties]

ELI FISCHER​

For a second, Eli felt his brow crinkle, lips curving down as he tilted his head, painfully aware his face was falling into territory several friends said was his 'confused puppy' look. Then it clicked that these were all things that were all bad, and that was the point of them, and he smiled, because now at least he knew what she was going on about again. Her face froze, and he sat up straighter, eyes zeroing in on her as she said no thank you. That was fine, though, and he noted for later that Ivy was uninterested in his store of food, just in case he got the urge to ask again.

Hopefully, he wouldn't.

Her feet were on the table in a moment, and things relaxed back to normal, so he relaxed, too, letting out a huff of laughter. He grinned as she asked her question, and he couldn't help full on laughing now as he rested his chin in his hand, eyes twinkling.

"Well, I've always been popular, even back in middle school, and I'd always played football, so I got on the football team and made more friends there, and those friends introduced me to even more friends because they thought I was super cool, and I try to be pretty friendly on my own, so I met even more people, and then I had a whole support network to help me when things get tough- Which is often, 'cause I'm not that smart- and I talk to my teachers a lot, too, and..." He looked up, trying to think if he had any more advice. He must have, right? And then it hit him and he perked up, looking to her again, "And I make sure I go to sleep at a good time when I can and always eat my vegetables."

Chimney Swift

CASPER OLLILA​

Oh no. Casper had made it even worse- Max looked super uncomfortable. And then he was saying he didn't know it, which was probably better than if he'd known it and been super uncomfortable, but still wasn't good. They'd thought it was popular enough everyone would know about it, but maybe not. They bit their lip again, glancing to Casey-

All worries flew out the window at the sight of the gel pen. Their hands went to cover their mouth as they tensed up, fighting the urge to make a high-pitched noise inappropriate to the quiet of the art room, then wiggled, signing to Casey, "Thank you."

They picked up the gel pen greedily, looking at it with a grin that was probably much too big for such a small gesture, then turned back to Max. He hadn't seen it, but he hadn't seen anything, and the end of his note made Casper sag in sympathy. They gave him a smile, then glanced to Casey, who also had a note. They wiggled, because Casey wanted to see it.

Their next note was nowhere near as neat, messy with excitement and written in glittery pink. "its really good theres people that look like animals and a mystery and the arts pretty and theres a wolf guy and i really like it!!!!!" They looked between the two then back to their paper, writing more neatly, "i really like anthros though so maybe id like it even if it was bad"

Chimney Swift elytra​

 

[BasilOwO]

Samantha Jones​

She blinked, cheeks growing warm in embarrassment. “Oh right.. I’m uh, I’m sorry. That must’ve been strange to hear. Considering he is only a lizard.” She looked away, “Yeah, it was just a thought. Something similar to a thing I’ve been through. Perhaps I shouldn’t ask you to base your character off an angsty kid, but it was just a thought.”

She would tap her fingers uncertainly on the table, her anxiety rising. “I probably should’ve asked anyways. I mean, why would I just say some stupidly random thing and not have a reason?” She chucked quietly. “No that’s just- yeah it‘s just dumb.“

Interactions: Avery ( elytra )

 

[Chimney Swift]

mikaluvkitties elytra

Max couldn't help but cheer up a little seeing how excited Casper was about Casey's glitter pen. Seeing Casper happy was simply contagious.

While Casper went on in their note about the show they were watching, the pink ink gel twinkling on each word, Max shyly shifted his attention to the aloe plant on the art room's windowsill. Its thick green leaves had developed a brown tinge and had begun to droop downwards. Too much water. Nothing he could do about that. He wasn't half brave enough to chide the art teacher for mishandling a succulent. In a weird way, seeing the plant sort of solidified in his head that he had nothing to bond with other people over. Who else would grieve a dying aloe vera? He couldn't talk about TV, or sports, or other friends...

Max's face suddenly fell back into its despondent expression, as he forced himself to look away from the abused plant, resting his head in his arms as he wearily kept reading over Casper and Casey's notes. He realized, with a pang in his chest, that he had nothing to say. The same thought kept running through his head, I never should have come here.

When it was his turn with the pen, the glittery pink letters were a bleak contradiction to his note: "My stomach hurts... headed to the nurse. Nice seeing you, Casper."




mikaluvkitties

Ivy smiled and pulled out her leather-bound notebook, dutifully bulleting down Eli's anecdotes. "Play football... make friends... talk to teachers... sleep... okay, I think I got it!" She triumphantly punched her tiny fist in the air, nearly toppling out of her seat from the bombastic movement. "I go back in time, acquire a sports-related traumatic brain injury, forget who I am and completely reinvent myself, go into a coma, and by the time I wake up i'll have tons of friends and be ready to go! Thanks, pal!", she kneeled up in her seat again, hand outstretched for a high-five. Behind her sarcasm, there was a glint of genuine cheer. She actually was glad to have someone to banter with, even if it was a conformist senior jock.

"You're the best! My name's Ivy and I officially owe you one."​