Roza was never one to get offended easily, though Darien was going too far in how she was talking today - obviously in a fowl mood for being in the same class as herself. Not that the coloured girl would actually attend class much at all. The blonde narrowed her eyes for a moment, brushing a stray lock of hair behind her right ear, and continued walking passed the front row of desks. Passing Mackien she smiled, a flirtatious tint to the turning up of her supply moist deep red lips. "Hey Ackerson." There was a unique flare to her voice, openly looking at the attractive young man while Darien huffed and spoke insults. Unfortunately others were actually listening to the little girl. Roza was almost the same height as Darien, though she never cared much since she generally wore heels of boots, so it hadn't been noticeable; in uniform flats it was clear.

At her desk she picked up the muffin, a bite already taken out of it. Darien didn't bake as far as she knew, it took too gentle of a hand than she possessed. When they had been in bed it was all fun and games until someone got hurt; then it was a fight for dominance between the two girls. Outside of it, Roza seemed the ore relaxed and forgiving of the two. Of course, their fling had ended in a rather large argument. Turning the muffin in her hands, Roza looked over at Gigi, smirking as if she knew the entire time. "Too bad she doesn't appreciate your art Gwen." Taking a bite out of the pastry she licks the icing from her lips, running her tongue across her bottom lip as she set it back down on her desk and watched Melanie stood up to the young troublemaker. The confrontation ended in the last thing she expected as she leaned back so her rear was against the tabletop of her desk.

Darien kissed her.

Melanie raised her hand to strike her.

Out of character and strangely protective of her, Roza leaned over toward the smaller girl to grab her wrist. Moving forward, in a single stride she reached close enough to Melanie to wrap an arm around her waist and pull her back against her front. "Now now Melanie. DarDar is just envious. She gets none of the attention, has no positive skill set, nor a chest." As she spoke into the girls ear she looked straight at Darien, staring her in the eyes with the violent violet that others feared. Her grip on Melanie may have seemed soft and gentle, her muscles showing no sign of strain or abuse, though Darien would know how strong she had been once before. "You needn't sink to her level young one." Being the eldest in their grade, with missing a year due to suspected murder and assault charges, Roza had become to oldest student in her year.

The Russian girl hated bullies, those who picked on others for no reason at all, and when others weren't looking she often protected those unable to protect themselves, but there was no one else to stand against Darien with any degree of force. The girl was a small wild cat, spitting and hissing at everyone, scratching those who got too close. She watched her, as intent and lethal, focused and precise, as the day they had first met on opposite ends of a fight. She wasn't going to let Darien reign as Queen of this classroom. Not while she was in it.

Beryl
---

Genevieve pulled Beryl to his feet from his seat, the white-haired boy still looking at her in shock. His mind started running a thousand miles per second, wondering what in the world was the social butterfly trying to do, as well as trying to recover from the fact that she just asked him about Homecoming, which people usually went to with a date. Then she revealed that she just wanted to go to the bathroom, and Beryl nearly sighed in relief. So, she just wanted a companion to accompany her to the bathroom. That's okay. Nothing crazy or dangerous about that. Not even waiting for his response, the brunette took hold of his sleeve cuff and led him out of the room, unknowingly leaving behind the beginnings of a dramatic situation. At some point as they headed for the bathrooms, Genevieve let go of his cuff as they walked, and the hallway became quiet. Thank goodness, something familiar. He was very well versed with silence, along with it's partner, peace. He always searched for it within the school, keeping interactions to a minimum and conflicts to a near absence.

As they walked through the hallway, his brunette companion interacted with their homeroom teacher, Mrs. Castro, and that's when he understood that they weren't actually going to the bathroom. He listened to her lie with a straight face to the teacher, claiming a feeling of faintness and wishing to go to the water fountain. That wasn't what she told him at all! A sinking feeling settled in his gut as Genevieve gave a goodbye nod to their teacher, but it alleviated as they reached the water fountains... right next to the bathrooms. Silly Beryl, you thought this was all for a ulterior motive. Then she started to speak. At first, he felt a little embarrassed about his early suspicions, feeling quite silly when all the girl wanted to do was help him feel less awkward. He was sort of happy that the homecoming thing was a lie, but wondered why she would say such a powerful gossip topic instead of telling him the truth. Then she kept talking, and he didn't feel so silly anymore.

"I-I was... wondering... um...", she started, trailing off and fidgeting slightly as she tried to explain her point. Oh no. He's seen this before. Maybe not aimed at him, but certainly aimed at his more masculine classmates.

"C-can you... and me.." Oh no no no no no! This wasn't happening! How many times was this girl going to give him cardiac arrest? It was only the first day of school, for goodness' sake! She was even crying, this was really bad! Then she pulled out a binder, and his heart literally stopped for a single beat. Sure, it wasn't a piece of paper like it usually was, but still scary as hell none the less. He was going to get murdered by the other classmates. Him, some random albino who isn't particularly liked by anyone, is going to-

The binder opened, showing off a large red "F" on what appeared to be a math test. "I really, really, REALLY need help. I barely survived last year! Mr. Snyder told me you were one of his star students." the brunette confessed to the boy, as he stood there with an astonished look on his face, the albino's heart being torn a hundred ways by the entire thing. Genevieve took a low bow, letting off one last plea for help, and the boy just stood there in silence. Neither of them had any idea how long the other stood there in silence, one still in a low bow, the other just sorting through his battered emotions, staring at the brunette in front of him. This girl... is even more dangerous than he thought. Accepting her plea would probably lead to hundreds of misunderstandings, mess ups, and the most unavoidable conflicts he will ever have to experience in his life.

But... he couldn't say no. He just wasn't that kind of person. Being so selfish, so absorbed with one's self as to knowingly reject the cries of help from others just to help himself... it was impossible for him. Letting out a muffled sigh, the albino responds to the girl, his voice lowered in volume and tone as it usually was, but in the silence of the hall it sounded as loud as a normal voice. "O-okay. I'll help you." He pulls the girl upright, keeping his eyes steady to look her straight in her own orbs, this moment being the first time he's forced himself to look someone straight in the eyes in years. At the same time, he meagerly tries to keep a confident posture and tone. His voice was sort of warped by his forcibly lowered pitch, but he didn't want slip up and use his normal voice like he did in the classroom "B-but, you have to do e-exactly as I say. A-alright?" finishing his little speech, he let go of the girl and starts fidgeting, himself. His eyes start their normal routine of darting around the area, making the form of the girl clearer to him. Yeah... he's never doing something like this ever again.

Alex really didn't want to be in the classroom right now. To much commotion and only the first day of school. He laid his head down to try and get a quick nap in before the teacher arrived. He heard someone rush out the class but didn't look up to see who had left. Next thing he could hear was Melanie getting on to Darian for the snow. He kept his head down even when there was a louder noise as if a foot slamming into something and Darian shooting back a remark. He knew Darian wasn't stupid enough to outright attack someone when the teacher could show any minute so he tried to continue his nap. However when he heard something that he couldn't recognize and then silence after that he looked up fearing Darian actually did something to Melanie, yet all he saw was Melanie go for a slap and Roza stopping her.

Alex was standing at this point and when Roza finished her little spiel he grabbed her arm and pulled it off of Melanie. He did not like bullies. He despised them even. Something he disliked more was the ones who bullied the bullies. They never think of how it makes it worse for the next person down the line. He wasn't going to let Roza have her way this time. He remembered what she did in middle school. The ones who were verbally abusing him and other kids weren't harmful at all. Until Roza beat them up. The thing she may not have known was that after she did that they would secretly go after their targets on weekends or during breaks and try to inflict the kind of pain on them that Roza had done.

Alex remembers what she caused. They came after him over spring break when he was with Sadie and Micky at an arcade. They were very angry. Trying to find the brat that got Roza to beat them up. They didn't know she did it of her own free will, but it didn't stop them. The kids threatened to hurt Sadie and Micky if Alex didn't confess and that's when he drew the line. He beat the snot out of them and told them to never mess with his family again. Alex still blames Roza for that day even though it wasn't her fault. He just knows he won't let her cause any harm by making rash and stupid actions even if he gets hurt in the process.

He simply tells Roza, "Let. Her. Go." While keeping his usual scowl pointed straight at her.

Heels resounded in the hall. Tap. Tap. Tap. Whistling a pleasant song as she swayed her head, side to side. Today was a beautiful day wouldn't you think? Precious white snow, a new year, students ready to learn, possible friendships, first loves, and all the teen drama! Oh, how the professor missed being young. With blue frames, cornflower orbs, wavy maroon hair, and curves for days, Elizabeth Castro strutted her way down the hall to her homeroom. Her eyes were bright and filled with inconceivable eager. She wondered if she knew all the faces of the students that were in her class and how different they were from each other. Her smile never faltered, even when she thought about poor Genevieve. To get sick on the first day was absolutely horrendous, but the delightful student stood positive and wasn't going to let her sickness get her down, a true fighter!

Opening the door, and still very much whistling, Mrs. Castro did not make any eye contact with her students.

"Let. Her. Go."

The whistling filled the classroom where there was obvious tension. Her walk was graceful and her steps were slow. The fact that she didn't even bother looking at her students could be seen as unnerving.

Yes, she did notice frozen Melanie, tempestuous Darien, reserved Alex, and scantily clad Roza, through the corner of her eyes. Darien hovered over Melanie like a wolf scrutinizing the people that interfered with her devouring a morning snack, Roza stared at the predator with striking violet eyes (filled with burning fire), who also had her arm wrapped around Melanie, and... Alex seemed to be holding Roza's wrist. Did she care to know what had unfolded in her room?

As she arrived at the podium with papers in hand, Mrs. Castro meticulously placed the stack in the center of it. Her outfit was a nice long-sleeved white blouse, a dark red skirt, stockings, and black heels.

Her whistling drew to a close. She read the first paper on the stack to herself and reached into a shelf within the podium. Seconds later, the bodacious teacher pulled out an air horn and set it off.

"Good morning, my darling daffodils! Look how interactive we're all being~ What a great start of the new year." She gave a wicked smile, which could be interpreted in many ways. Was she being sarcastic? Was she going to let this pass? Being able to tell what was truly going on in this teacher's mind was an unbelievable task at hand.

"Oh, oh, oh! One moment, class." Leaving the podium, she went to the school phone by the door and dialed three numbers. Waiting patiently, the woman began twirling her hair. When someone picked up on the other line, her stance perked (as if she wasn't already perky enough), "Morning Jerry!... Mm, I'm doing phenomenal~... oh that's great to hear!... I just wanted to tell you that Class B has offered to clean the bathrooms after school. Yep, you can tell the Headmaster. He should already have a list of all their names... Mmhm, you'll have so much help!... Oh, clubs? I guess they'll have to miss them, right?... What if they don't go? Well, that's just silly. We'll just expel them!...Okay. Yepp me too! I'll see you later, Jerry. Ciao!" After hanging up the phone, Mrs. Castro pranced to the podium once more.

"Where were we? Oh yes, attendance. Hello, hello! I'm Mrs. Castro, for those who haven't met me." The femme fatale paused and clicked her tongue, "What a mess. Maybe I should have everyone polish desks too. Poor Jerry..." After taking a moment to sigh, she continued her spiel with her honey-sweet voice, "Before I ask for two volunteers to clean this up..." She gestured to the hazardous wet floor and unusable desk.

Turning to the chalkboard and grabbing a hold of a brand new chalk, she began to write on the green canvas while saying, "I'd like to go over some rules."

Placing the chalk down and rubbing her hands against one another, the woman spun around and gave her class a genuine smile, "I'm a firm believer of the idiom 'get one's just deserts'. For the next year, this is your home, so you can sail or sink together. In the end, it's your decision and that decision can either make your time here enjoyable or absolutely terrible." She was just about to go over attendance, when something else popped in her head, "Oh! One more thing. Ms. Timere and Mr. Hill will be our class representatives for the first semester. As for Ms. Krasnoff and Ms. Green, you two will be the Class Rep assistants and errand girls. You will stay after school when they have to, make copies, distribute papers, write on the board if they don't want to, silence the class if students get out of hand, and just do what they say when they say it. If you do not listen to your peers, I will happily arrange something far more taxing." her face turned to Darien and pouted, a bit disappointed one of her star students was caught in this mess.

Most students that did have her before, know very well she can be an enjoyable teacher. These times where she was forced to punish her students was rare and it didn't make her happy.

'This weather is frickin' nuts...' Kiyoshi thought to himself as he trudged his way through the snow, having handed off his baggage to the attendants at the front gate. 'It's September, its supposed to be nice out.' Despite his inner complaints, the snow felt strangely nostalgic to Kiyoshi, he hadn't experienced snowfall on the first day of the new school year since he left Japan. It was still unexpectedly cold out and he wasn't entirely prepared for it, his blazer whipping in the frosty air. Fortunately the main building wasn't too far off, and in a last ditch effort he sprinted for the front door, finally finding sanctuary from the cold.

Giving a breathless sigh he walked through the main lobby, pulling out his schedule and checking where he needed to go for homeroom. Satisfied that he knew where to go, he pocketed the schedule and took out his phone, his face crinkling slightly, 'Damn...I'm late...'. Hopefully the teacher would let it slide for today considering the...weather outside...but this wasn't his first classroom tardy, so just to be safe, he uploaded a pre-recorded apology on his phone, ready to go through all the motions, like he'd done dozens of times before. He just needed to make a few edits here and there, but the apology was generally the same all around.

Suddenly an air horn ripped through the hallway and Kiyoshi stopped in his tracks...he really hoped that wasn't coming from his homeroom.

---

Class B...taking a deep breath, Kiyoshi entered the room, took two steps in and pressed the play button.

"Forgive my intrusion and tardiness," the electronic voice read out, "Due to the inconvenient weather, traffic had slowed down considerably and my arrival was unfortunately untimely," As the voice came out he'd take the time and give a bow of apology here and there to demonstrate the physical apology as well as the vocal. "I will take greater strides in the future to not be late again, thank you."

And with that Kiyoshi pocketed the phone and went over to his assigned seat, third row, right next to the window. Placing his backpack down, he took his place and pulled the pair of headphones wrapped around his neck off and into the backpack, ready to begin the day.

Okay, not only had Melanie been stopped from striking the evil wench -the name courtesy of her fantasy novels- but now she was pressing against... a girl's... um, melons? Melanie hadn't been in such close proximity with any girl in a while. There were a few times in cooking class and Gigi and stuff that happened all the time with... never mind.

She didn't even realize her face could get redder after her first kiss had been taken from her, but everything today seemed to be proving her wrong. From her being pressed against Roza's breasts, to the somewhat inappropriate comment about the evil wench's own pair of breasts, her face was flaming.

Then Alex, the boy that reminded her of a knight in shining armor, came up and grabbed Roza's hand. He didn't exactly seem like he was saving anyone with a selfless sense of justice however, the scowl he made towards the Russian girl held far too much emotion. She stared at Alex confused as of why he was acting like that, almost completely forgetting the situation, trying to fit the puzzle pieces together. But no, she was missing way too much to see the whole picture.

Melanie didn't notice when her former biology teacher and current homeroom teacher Mrs. Castro came in. The loud air horn started her so much that she jumped in against Roza, her face returning to its former blush. The pink soon disappeared however when she learned that the entire class would be cleaning all the bathrooms, there were quite a few of them today, along with the fact that she had been planning to start on all of her assignments early.

Wait wait wait... WHAT. T-T-The class representative? That was far outside her comfort zone. She had to ask about homework, and take care of the classroom... when would she have time to study??? The girl froze. She didn't even notice the evil wench's comment about the kiss. She had fallen into despair.

Silence. Awkward silence. The ash blonde girl waited... waited for Beryl's response. Did they think she was an incompetent student? This is why she should have just kept it to herself... a failure. She would never please her fathers or the headmaster or anyone for that matter. Why couldn't she do stupid equations?! Why did numbers make her head spin... wait, no, her head was actually a little lightheaded. Shaking her head to brush the dizziness away, her sea green stare desperately looked at the student before her. Waiting. Most people would think something was wrong with themselves if they felt faint, Gigi, on the other hand, didn't think anything of it.

"O-okay. I'll help you." Beryl whispered. After he pulled her upright and gazed straight into her ocean eyes, "B-but, you have to do e-exactly as I say. A-alright?" Her sinking heart went a flutter. YES, the answer was YES! Glorious light! There was hope!

As he fidgeted with his hands, Genevieve gave him the most precious, heartwarming smile she's ever given anyway in awhile, "Thank you so much, Beryl!" Only because it felt right in this moment, she went in to embrace him tightly. If he hadn't known her scent now, he would surely smell the sweet and delicate sweet pea perfume she wore today, and everyday. She rested her head on the flat-chest of the student she had asked for help (thinking nothing of it) and whispered back, "I'll do whatever you ask... this means so much to me." After a long moment, she pulled away and wiped the little tears in her eyes, "Oh man, I was freaking out." After she said that, Gigi went for her binder once more and scribbled her cellphone number on a piece of paper. Placing her binder back into her bag, the girl stood up and handed Beryl her digits, "Text me so I can save your number! Then we can discuss meet up times~" Adorably sticking out her tongue at him/her, she then looked at the time on her green, butterfly wrist watch her papa Virgil gave to her last Christmas.

"We better get going! We don't want to make Mrs. Castro anymore worried." And with that, she picked up her backpack and the two of them strolled back to class, though Gigi probably should have gotten a drink of water. Her skin was paler than usual. The walk, for the most part, stood silent. Having gone through a roller coaster of emotions, the baker girl thought it was nice to walk with someone in peaceful silence. A friend. She made a new friend. Not wanting to only see Beryl just for help, the girl thought of possible ways to repay him/her and possible hangouts places they could go to. Maybe she could bring her Melon Drop along too.

Stopping in her tracks, Gigi watched Darian storm out of the classroom, taking a left to the side door exit (they were on the right side of the door). The expression on Darian's face struck the sweetheart's soul and she thought back to a moment she shared with the Headmaster:
Most people didn't realize the pressures Gigi had, especially since her father, James, and the Headmaster were on close friend basis. The Headmaster calls her to his office every so often and usually asks for the 'inside scoop' in a round about way. Clenching her hand, the young girl brought it to her chest as she watched the dark-skinned girl with long bleach hair walk away.



Taking a deep breath, Gigi came to a decision, "Beryl... can you give an excuse for me? I don't care if you lie or tell the truth I just need to do this..." There was no point in second guessing herself or regretting her decision, her heart had decided and even though she had no idea that her sleep deprivation and lack of substance was catching up with her, this was her choice.

Sprinting away from Beryl and toward the dangerous woman that scared everyone, Gigi watched as Darian left out the side door. Charging out of the door, with no winter coat, no snowboots, and very much out of breath, the petite student went sliding on the ice. Quickly, she grabbed a hold of the railing before she busted her ass.

"D-Dar...Darian" She tried to catch her breath. It was freezing outside! Her cheeks immediately flushed, "Can...Can I..." Standing straight but still very much holding onto the railing, she turned to the much taller student and gave her a reassuring gaze that showed she didn't want to leave her alone. Gaining her composure, Genevieve asked, "Spend time with you?"

_{@Fabricant451@RiverMaiden}

Great. Just freaking great. Not only did the teacher walk in at a bad moment, but she decided to make him a class rep too. This was not going to be a good year for him. He let go of Roza's wrist and watched as Darian stormed out of the room. Alex looked around the room awkwardly until staring towards the front of the room. "Mr. Hill would you please sit down."

"Uhh... I would but-umm-which desk is actually mine?"

*sighs* "Did you even bother to look at the seating chart? I suppose not if you're actually asking me that question. Your seat is the in fact the one that is a complete mess." Alex looks down at the desk and exhales loudly, Perfect. He looks around the room again before bending over and lifting the desk above his head and walking to the back of the classroom, "What are you doing?"

"Switching the desks. I'll clean it up later Mrs. Castro." Alex walks over to an empty desk and moves it over to his spot. He sits in the relocated desk and looks up thinking, *This year is gonna suck... Probably.*

Kiyoshi blinked, staring in mild confusion as the events unfolded before him. 'Siri? Really?' He'd been called worse, the name itself was pretty immature, and he was way more intelligent than an iphone feature though. 'Real cute' He sighed and pulled out a book from his backpack flipping through the pages idly just to kill time. Despite only being a little bit late to homeroom, it seemed as though he had missed quite a bit of activity, looks like everyone was already getting along for the new year. Soon enough though the book was already boring and he put it down, opting to look at the class around him and gauge who he'd be with this year.

All the usual familiar faces surrounded him, acquaintances at best, people he never really got close to, with the exception of Matthew of course. Off in the front corner of the room was the girl who made his heart flutter, already sleeping the day away too. He looked away and out the window, lest he be caught staring, it was embarrassing enough that he didn't have the courage to ask her out on a date, no need to let the other students tease him or complicate the situation further. His eyes wandered the snowy wonderland that had engulfed the school grounds when his eye caught something interesting. Both Gigi and Darian, walking off towards...somewhere? Now where could those two be headed off to? And for what purpose exactly?

He found the situation a little unusual and curiosity was getting the better of him, but he felt he should sit on this one, he had no intention of being around 'bitch master supreme', but the fact that Gigi was walking alongside her? 'Nope...I don't want to touch that.'

_{Collab with @Fabricant451 and @lovely complex}

Having no clue of the major misunderstanding that was blossoming between the two girls, Gigi couldn’t help but smile in ignorant bliss and follow the rebel to their dorms. However, the naive girl was curious about what Darian meant by ‘I’d take you behind the building’. Was that a place she liked to have girl talks? The young woman would definitely take note of the odd meeting place that her potential new friend liked, for future hangouts!

In a way, this was a bit nerve-racking for her. Never did Gigi think the first time she truly took the chance to talk to Darian, would be the first day she’d go in another person’s dorm room other than her own. The person in itself made this experience strange, but the baker girl wasn’t going to let this chance pass her by!

For the most part, the walk was silent, with Gigi glancing at the taller woman every so often. Not so much her face, but the burning cigarette that entered her soft looking lips. She couldn’t help but comment on the poison stick, “My father smokes a lot... They’re trying to quit but it’s a hard addiction to go cold turkey on. Sorry, this is a bit out of the blue...” With a faint blush on her cheeks, she scratched her head. Here she was ranting about her fathers and cigarettes, but she couldn’t help herself, “I just don’t see the fascination of burning your throat and getting a nicotine high. When I was 12, I tried my dad’s Marlboro’s in the backyard. It was a god awful experience. I got so lightheaded I nearly passed out!” Speaking about passing out... was she doing okay with not falling asleep? Luckily the brisk weather made her more wired than she should be, the ash blondie didn’t realize where she stood in terms of her health, but this walk was… kind of nice.

Darian remained mostly silent as the two girls continued their little trek through the early winter wonderland and the wolf that was the darker girl found no room to truly interject as Gigi took the initiative with regards to conversation. Darian did, however, find her eyes rolling when the realization that the topic was about cigarettes. Was it too much to ask that one of these girls Darian hooked up with, just one, not bring up the cigarettes? They either lied and said they were fine with it - up until they were coughing and asking Darian to put it out - or else they assumed she would quit altogether because they confused a no strings attached hookup for an engagement and wished to ‘fix’ the young girl entirely.

”There’s your problem, Gumdrop,” Darian’s not-meant-to-be-affectionate nickname for Gigi was hard to make sound snide but Darian had found a way, ”You tried a Marlboro.” Darian snickered as she took another drag and exhaled a puff of smoke into the cool air. ”I don’t see the fascination of givin’ people muffins but you don’t hear me tellin’ you to quit. Those little cinnamon shits, by the way? Needed a ton more icing.” Of course Darian hadn’t exactly tasted them, having merely chucked them into the snow after crushing them, but what Gigi didn’t know wasn’t going to hurt her.

(Needs more frosting? I’ll make sure next time I do that… Gumdrop is a cute nickname...) The petite girl thought to herself.

It wasn’t that Gigi was trying to change Darian and her habits, she just merely wanted to comment on it. She was use to people smoking. The fact that she was worried for smokers’ health's, especially her fathers, would never change. Yet, if it made them less stressed, cigarettes was something she would have to deal with. Did she offend her? Deciding to stay silent for the rest of the walk, no longer wanting to talk about this topic, the young woman began fiddling with her fingers. Perhaps she wasn’t the best conversationalist when it came to Darian? Someone she knew nothing about… cigarettes just seemed like an obvious topic she could talk about…

Darian didn’t so much as flinch at the mention of Gigi having fathers; as far as the loner was concerned the details of Gigi’s private, personal life weren’t important. Nor did it really matter to her. It just was what it was, and her mind was too busy focusing on finishing her cigarette and the little trip to somewhere behind closed doors.

”Gotta say, Gumdrop,” Darian flicked the finished cigarette to the ground, stepping on it to put it out, as they arrived at the dorms, ”Didn’t think you’d be into this. Good thing I ain’t like the assholes back in class, with their judgmental asses. Come on, then.” Darian inclined her head and entered the dorm, not so much as holding the door open to let Gigi in first.

Grabbing the door before it shut on her face, ‘Gumdrop’ innocently blinked and thought nothing of Darian’s actions, which would be considered rude in most people’s eyes. The ‘proper’ etiquette of the situation would be for the first person to hold the door for those who follow. It wasn’t Darian’s place to hold the door for her and the baker girl was fully capable of letting herself in! The fact that she didn’t like relying on others also clouded her judgement on the situation.

---

Darian led the way to her room. The whiteboard hanging on the door to Darian’s room had a crudely drawn picture of a hand giving the middle finger placed just below her name. She never claimed to be an artist, after all. There was also a green sign hung just below the whiteboard that read ‘CLOTHING OPTIONAL BEYOND THIS POINT’ made to look like a sign straight from the road. It was meant as a joke, surely.

Tilting her head at the drawing and the sign, Gigi couldn’t help but feel amused. A smirk fell on her face, as her sea green orbs scanned and contemplated what she was seeing. Freedom of expression, right? But the ‘clothing optional’ sign was a bit confusing. Was it toasty in her room? The baker girl did sleep in a relatively thin nightgown herself, but that was for her own eyes only.

The door opened and Darian stepped inside first. By virtue of the fact that it was the first day, Darian’s room was cleaner than the past rumors had suggested. The floor was clean and carpeted, though there was a lingering stain off to the far right corner. Her bed lay against the west wall and was topped with red sheets. Above her bed was a poster of a female musician known for her risque performances; next to that poster was another poster, this one of two characters from a popular video game series fighting; one wore blue and the other green. On the immediate right after entering the room was Darian’s desk but there weren’t any books on it, but rather a rather impressive ant farm inside of which ants scurried about doing whatever it was ants did. Above the desk and ant farm were two posters each showing images of insects.

To the left of the door, across from the ant farm and visible from the bed, was a nightstand on which sat both a clock with mp3 player functionality, and a laptop. The right side of the room is where her bags were, and where her clothes would be hung up once she fully finished unpacking.

As Darian stepped inside, she started by removing her boots and tossing them against the far wall. ”Get comfortable or whatever. Come on, over here,” Darian had taken a seat on the edge of her bed and was patting the mattress for Gigi to join her.

In Gigi’s opinion, red sheets were an odd color to have. Something that hinted at steamy romances and honeymoons! Of course, red could simply be a color that soothes the taller girl. Unfortunately, the baker girl had no idea who the figures were on Darian’s posters, not being well-versed in video games or that scandalous female musician. Her expression brightened with intrigue as her gaze fell upon the ant farm and images of insects. That was something she didn’t expect! Rather than go to the bed like Darian was gesturing her to, she went to the ant farm, allowing her body to adjust to the different temperatures, ultimately gaining color back on her skin. Her stare observed the little critters as they tunneled through the formicarium, “I didn’t know you liked insects this much. I don’t know many people who have one of these… I wonder where the Queen is.” She drew closer to the the transparent glass box, unintentionally ignoring Darian’s request, as she looked through the mass amount of ants.

“Oh! There she is!” It was obvious Gigi was a girl, who got easily distracted, and forgot about the ‘girl talk’ that was bound to ensue.

Darian clicked the roof of her mouth; this was one reason why she preferred not taking girls back to her room. Either they wanted to gush about music or else they had a strong reaction to the ants. The strongest, of course, being a shriek and an admission of being grossed out - and nothing killed the mood quite like someone screaming in fright and disgust. As different as Gigi’s response was, Darian still couldn’t help but feel as though it was simply putting off the main event. Still on the bed, Darian had removed her jacket, tossing it lazily onto the floor by her luggage. Beneath the jacket she had simple back tee that was a size too small, thus showing a sliver of her midriff; hardly snow appropriate weather but the snow had been an unexpected factor.

”You didn’t come to talk about ants, Gumdrop,” Darian stated, quite matter-of-factly, now wrestling with slipping her snow-stained socks off her feet. ”Though why do you know what a queen looks like? Tch, probably just saw the size difference.”

For a moment, Darian sounded interested in continuing the conversation, but just as quickly as it started she brushed it off.

”Well, I know I didn’t bring you here to talk about ants, anyway…” Darian was still in a particular set of mind.

“I’m sorry!” Gigi straightened her posture and looked at the other woman apologetically, “This is just kind of cool… and the queen’s, um, thorax has a different structure… I just remember reading something about it...” Her stare trailed to the jacket on the floor, to the boots by the far wall, and then the snow/wet spots on the carpet. Gigi’s inner OCD kicked in, “I need to do something before we start! It would just annoy me to no end.” And with that, she took off her shoes, grabbed Darian’s shoes, and put them by the heater. Going to her bag, she pulled out a tiny squirt bottle with multipurpose disinfectant and a roll of paper towels. She always came prepared!

Swiftly, so she didn’t annoy the dark skinned girl anymore, Gigi scrubbed the more apparent wet spots on the rug. After tossing the used paper sheets in the recycle bin, the petite girl returned her cleaning supplies back in her bag. Her actions came across as methodical like she was raised to have things a certain way, at least in terms of cleanliness. Approaching the jacket, the baker girl bowed, “Sorry again! I’m kind of… weird. I-I’m just going to hang your coat on your desk chair...” While she talked, the adorable girl did exactly as she said. Finally, she was somewhat satisfied.

Cautiously, she approached the bed. Unintentionally biting her lip, Genevieve asked, “It’s alright to go on your bed?” She looked a bit nervous. Going on a stranger’s bed wasn’t something she did before. Darian would be too kind to let someone she barely knew ruin her bed with their scent and who knows what else!? Gigi was pretty clean, having scrubbed herself thoroughly in the morning. She also liked nighttime baths, but to add anymore wrinkles to her sheets would be a sin!

The warmth of the room was definitely setting in, relaxing Gigi’s body and unknowingly, making her sleepy.

Darian’s face was stuck in a confused state, her mouth slightly open, head tilted at a slight angle to the left, and her eyes seemed unwilling to blink for fear of the activity turning out to be some sort of illusion. Was this girl serious right now? Being interested in ants was one thing, and Darian was willing to let one thing go without comment, but now Gigi was organizing and tidying her room as if the girl was a maid or something. Darian was leaning towards this all being some kind of elaborate prank, and time being wasted like that was hardly her idea of fun. And wasn’t that the point of coming round to the room anyway? For a bit of fun?

”You’re a weird fuckin’ girl, Gumdrop,” Darian said flatly while the baker finished her impromptu cleaning session. ”Ch’yeh,” She clicked her mouth, ”Know what you oughta be for Halloween. But don’t think I owe you none, I didn’t ask you to do that shit.” If Darian was complaining, she was doing so internally.

Once Gigi had finished her unusual task, Darian finally assumed that this very strange bit of foreplay was over and done with. This was why she always just took the lead and why it often happened outside, against the school walls. No time for foreplay or awkward conversation when caught between brick walls and Darian Green’s lips. ”Well where the fuck else are we gonna do this? Standin’ up?” Darian asked, half in jest.

When Gigi approached the bed, but didn’t sit down next to the increasingly impatient Darian, the trouble maker took it upon herself to get the baker over that next hurdle. Darian reached out to grab Gigi and pull the cleanly girl right onto Darian’s lap. If that’s what it would take, then so be it.

As the bleach haired woman pulled her in, the smaller girl didn’t pay any sort of attention on the direction she was heading towards. After Gigi made her way to Darian’s lap, she softly explained, “I don’t expect anything from you…” Situating herself on her maybe new friend’s lap, naive Genevieve, stared into her hazel eyes which were oddly close but not something that made her feel uncomfortable.

“... or anyone.” She muttered. Darian’s piercing stare was kind of mesmerizing. Was it weird to be on her lap? Is this how Darian treated all her guests?

Drawing closer to her lips, Gigi felt an urge to press her own up against her’s… But instead, she brushed a strand of hair out of Darian’s face and daringly inquired, “Is everything okay? You looked really sad earlier.” A bit worried of how she would react, Genevieve distanced herself a little yet stood on her lap and the warmth of Darian’s arms. Her expression revealed someone who was truly concerned.

The talking continued, and that was yet another mark on the puzzling column when it came to Gigi. Short of simply going for it, Darian didn’t know how she could make her intent any more obvious...so the obvious route it would have to be. While Gigi spoke and brushed a strand of the bleached hair to the side, Darian grinned - perhaps Gigi was understanding after all. She moved to close the distance, but succeeded only in having her lips brush against Gigi’s cheek.

The other girl had moved just enough in her talking to cause Darian to miss the intended target, that being the lips of course. And that little misfire was just enough for Darian to hear the question that was asked of her. Her answer first came with the narrowing of her eyebrows, a sudden change from the almost smoldering, piercing look that she had been trying to give at the onset of this little adventure.

”What the hell do you mean is everything okay? Why wouldn’t it be? I ain’t here to answer questions and I damn sure hope you ain’t here to ask them.” While not exactly yelling, Darian was clearly growing annoyed by the simple inquiry.

Why? Why was she always so angry? Why did she attack the world? Everything Darian touched burnt and disintegrated. Genevieve’s emotions matched in annoyance, perhaps a little bit more than Darian since Gigi being annoyed or angry wasn’t something that was seen often. She couldn’t even react to the kiss on the cheek. Her soft stare turned into a dark glare, “Why the fuck do you push people away when they offer you kindness?”

(This was a terrible idea. I can’t believe I thought I could be your friend.)

Pushing away and standing up, Gigi fiercely turned toward the troublemaker, “Like it or not Darian, some people don’t expect shit when they want to be there for you. Sorry I fucking bothered.”

(Why… why am I getting angry?)

As she walked toward her shoes, the boiling anger had caused her head to go light. Slightly losing balanced, she used the wall for stability and went to put on her shoes. Her vision grew hazy. No, no, no… not now…

”Kindness? KINDNESS?” Darian remained seated on her bed, but her hands were clutching at the sheets ; it was safer than having her fingers continually ball themselves into a tight fist, anyway. Why did it have to be so damn difficult? This was her fault for taking a chance on a good girl, too much effort for what was probably not going to be that great a payoff, “Don’t act like you’re doin’ me some kinda favor here. You’re the one that wanted to do this, not me. What is it with girls like you? Think you can get in my head or somethin’? I brought you here to make out, see what happened, you’re tryin’ to get all deep like you’re an expert.”

Darian scoffed and turned her head away, muttering under her breath at how the situation was ‘fuckin’ typical’.

“I ain’t gonna be your little extracurricular project. Shoulda figured you weren’t interested in this. Don’t think givin’ me some shitty muffin means we’re cool.” Darian saw no reason to hold that particular slight back; in her mind she had already been betrayed by the false pretense. A waste of time was almost as bad as someone simply asking Darian about her supposed ‘issues’. At least the direct ones are honest about it. ”Oh, what now, can’t put on your shoes? Too shaken up by the truth? You never wanted to be here anyway, might as well get your ass walkin’. Don’t worry, I won’t tell those clowns in class, I know how precious your purity is to them. Your little dip into profanity dies with me.” Darian sighed out, more angry than annoyed, angry because for a single moment she had found the idea of hooking up with the class good girl to be hilariously appealing. But now, as with so many others, Darian was questioning if the mountain was even worth the climb.

Gigi managed to put on her shoes, she was panting heavily as voices entered her head...her dad...the headmaster...teachers… Darian… too many voices, “Shut up… all of you… just shut up. Girls like me?” Concentrating hard to stay awake, Genevieve turned to the dark skinned woman, who just kept going...and going… and going.

“What...do you know…” she teethed.

Rather than grab her backpack, the feisty ‘role model’ slowly made her way to Darian, who seemed to be distracted by her own words. There was something different about Gigi’s aura… something more daring?

(What do any of you know?) Her mind growled.

Grabbing a hold of her head, Gigi forcibly brought Darian close to her. Without any hesitation, she pressed her strawberry coated lips against her sensually curved one’s. Her face flushed pink as she kept her sea green orbs open, staring straight into the hazel storm.

(You will never understand me)

The kiss was intense and only grew… the seemingly sweet girl traced her tongue along her lips and then pierced it into the she-wolf’s cave. No more words. No more sound.

Time to let her actions do the talking.

Her tongue danced with it’s partner, as Gigi swallowed Darian into this unreal fantasy. Her stare was filled with certainty, letting her hands tangle in the wild bleach hair. Her petite frame rubbed against the tempting figure that sat on the bed before her. For a moment, it was as if Genevieve allowed Darian to completely envelop her, own her, in this embrace. Letting a fire ignite on the inside, her heart raced. This was not a kiss of love, nor a kiss of lust. This was a kiss of recognition. A kiss to end the cruel opinions around her and to show some of her true colors...

Of course, good things never do last. Pulling away and licking the saliva around her lips, Gigi muttered, “My first kiss is all your’s. Tell the world. I don’t care anymore.” Too impatient to wait for a response, Gigi staggered toward the door, not even caring about her bag with her planner and other important necessities. After she swung the door open, letting it hit the wall rather loudly, Gumdrop left with no aim or goal. Her expression was completely dead.

The moment she stepped out the door… her eyes rolled up and she collapsed to the ground, passing out from pure exhaustion.

On the rather short list of ways to get Darian to shut up, Gigi had found perhaps the quickest. What better way to silence the disparaging and rude girl’s comments than by muffling her with a sudden kiss. The shock of it was clear in Darian’s hazel eyes, widened when Gigi acted far bolder than Darian had ever considered possible, but by the time their tongues found themselves circling around the dancefloor, Darian had gotten into it, the predator falling victim to the most unexpected of prey.

Darian closed her eyes as the kiss lingered, a simple gesture that nevertheless marked a sudden shift in power between the two. How long that shift would last was unknown, but Darian was willing to go along with it for as long as it lasted. And just as suddenly as it arrived, Gigi’s lips were pulled away and Darian slowly opened her eyes, lips parted and wordless sighs serving as her initial reaction. The foreplay was definitely finished now, though it seemed that the main course had just ended.

”They’d never believe me anyway,” Darian responded back to Gigi’s retreating back. ”You’ve got your image. I’ve got mine. People aren’t gonna want to see anything other than what they know. You’ll always be Goody Gigi Gumdrop, and I’ll always be Darian the Terrible.”

What Darian didn’t know, not right away, anyway, was that her words were falling on collapsed ears. It was only after a sigh and a shaking of the head that Darian remembered where she was..and spotted a backpack that was absolutely not hers. ”Don’t leave your shit in my room like we’re an item or some shit,” Darian was slowly returning to her earlier, more easily annoyed self as she slid off her bed to toss Gigi’s bag out into the hall.

But of course, the more immediate issue was seen just outside her door: the passed out body of Gigi, which surely wouldn’t look good for Darian. Insults, vandalism, and truancy were one thing, but a collapsed girl outside her room was a totally different story. ”Fuckin’ perfect.” And now Darian was responsible, at least until the girl either woke up or was missed enough to have someone come looking.

But until that time came, Darian was willing to drag the supposed good girl back inside, if only so she could be passed out on something more comfortable than the floor. After scanning her head to the left and right, for visual proof that no one was around, she dragged Gigi back into the room to place the girl onto the bed. It wasn’t quite how Darian imagined getting her into the bed in the first place...but these things often go so awry.

The bell ending the first half of the day rang. It was time to leave the frustrating mole-mole equations and take out your lunches, probably the best part of the school day. Class B's science teacher tidied up his things and left the room, leaving Mrs. Castro to come back and observe lunch. Normally, desks would have been shifted to form groups and there would be a buzz of chatter throughout the room, but in Class B, you could feel the frustrated tension in the room. Alex and Melanie, two people that evidently found themselves unfit to be class reps, had been given the jobs.

Melanie was apparently not ready for the responsibility as she read the student handbook. Right now she was supposed to be helping bring in all of the hot lunches that the students had ordered this morning, but since it such a snowy first day, now one had ordered anything. Melanie thought for sure next time she would get all the adults she needed to on speed dial. Getting up from her desk Melanie hurried over to Mrs. Castro who had just walked in with a big smile on her face. The teenage girl couldn't exactly equal the teacher's enthusiasm though.

"Can I help you, Miss Melanie?" She said joyfully, taking a seat at the desk and crossing her legs under the rolling chair.

"I need to know what to do about the hot lunches."

Well yes let's see," She picked up the school phone and connected with good ol' Jerry again, "What should we do about the students' lunches? ...Hmm? Yes... that will be fine~" She hung up the phone and looked over at the bespectacled girl, "Seems that all the students who normally take hot lunches will have to have the same lunch. Think you can handle that?"

No, no, no, and just one more tiny... NO. Melanie did not find any of this okay. Planning and organization had become her strong suit ever since she had become so reclusive, but all of these unexpected circumstances were starting to give her a headache... "A-Alex?" She hesitantly called out, only to find that he was missing.

Alex

_{Lunch Time}

Calculus? Piece of cake. PE? Even easier. What Alex couldn't deal with was Chemistry. He couldn't stand any sciences really. Only Math which he considered the only one true science. Even though it was the first day he despised the class. He couldn't wait for that bell to ring because as soon as it did he would be gone. He looked up at the clock and was ready to escape the confines of his never ending boredom. *3 ... 2 ... 1* The bell rang and Alex was out of there before anyone could say anything.

He didn't want to deal with the rest of the class at the moment. Sure, he knew he eventually would have to, and he would, just not right now. He first made his way to his locker where he had hidden his lunch for the day. Then he started for his home away from home when not at his dorm or the Children's Hospital. Let's just call it his favorite location when it comes to the academic building. He arrived at the stairs making sure no one saw him and sneaked up to the top floor. He stepped over the yellow tape and past the newly reinforced walls to the door leading directly onto the roof.

He reached for the handle and pushed, but of course it was locked. It always was. Only problem was it wasn't a very sturdy door. The hinges were not very secure so Alex could easily, and does, burst through the door causing the lock to bust. He always replaced the door and fixed the hinges appearance so that it looked as if the lock was what was being destroyed.

Alex took a deep breathe and eyed his rooftop paradise. No one at all knew he was the one who came up here. No one probably suspected it was him. The faculty thought it was some delinquent although one could say Alex was being just that, but he didn't want to destroy the door. It was just in his way. He walked over to a make-shift bench of empty paint buckets and 2x4's he had set there during his first year. He sat down right at the fence and looked out over the top of the scene. Beautiful white snow everywhere. Sure it was a little chilly, but the view made up for it tenfold.

He pulled a PB and J from his lunch bag an started eating and was thinking, *This might be a good year after all.*

Beryl
_{Lunch Time}
---

The tick-tock of the clock filled Beryl's ears, the male teen dealing with the current problem as he awaited the lunch bell. Most subjects were not truly taxing for the albino, breezing by with an A or a B for most classes, and the occasional C dependent on his social life... Or lack thereof. The only class he 'stuggled' with was PE, since he would be wearing female gym clothes because of his albinism. For some reason, the teachers never really explained to the students why he wore it, but he guessed that they were confident in the students' deduction skills. They were wrong. The gym uniform only cemented the female image they had of him. Beryl shook his head to clear his thoughts, returning to the problem in order to be finished before the class ended.

As lunch started for Class B, Beryl saw Alex quickly bolt from the classroom before anyone could do anything about it. Huh, that's strange, where could he have gone off to? He didn't really care whether or not the boy was in the classroom with everyone else, but wasn't he supposed to be a class representative? Mentally shrugging, Beryl left his own desk to walk over to the back of the classroom as discreetly as he could, trying not to grab anyone's attention, but he probably did, and sat in the back left corner to eat alone. Well, he wont look to much into it. Less people in class meant more chances of solitude. He liked the quiet, with only his thoughts as his company. It helped him think, and sort out the clutter of happenings within the day.

Beryl sat on the floor, back against the corner with knees pulled up to his chest, and looked at the bag that Genevieve had given him earlier. He wondered what happened to her. The albino was quite worried, having seen her run off before they would have entered the classroom. Despite the girl's propensity for misunderstanding and trouble, or rather because of it, the white-haired teen hoped that she would be okay, where ever she was. As he opened the bag, he was surprised to see a muffin inside, taking it out and bitting into it to find a symphony of flavors burst into his mouth... Maybe teaching Genevieve wouldn't be so bad after all, if he was able to eat stuff like this all the time.

White.... that's all she could see around her for miles it seemed, sheets of fluffy white snow stretching in every direction

Nestled underneath the tall, shadowy oak of the school campus, Liz spent her lunch as usual...away from everyone else.

Even with a thick black and red flannel jacket shielding her pale, ghostly complexion, the girl couldn't help but feel the chilling wind dicing through the dense fabric and piercing her frail skin....skin marred with several cuts, several red and black scars and bruises, the grisly results of her melancholy scraping across the fragile flesh in the form of either a fist or a lit cigarette, the searing...hellish agony she had endured those many years, going from one fucked up foster family to the next, until she found...or rather until Darren found her and treated her like a human being. She had covered the scars with various tattoos, just as she hid her tired, bloodshot eyes behind tousled strands of raven black hair, ugly streaks of red bristling around an orb of emerald green like crimson lightning. Thick, black chasms weighed deep under her eyelids as a result from countless nights left awake lamenting and trapped in lachrymose, and clenched between her lips was yet another cigarette already lit, bent and crumpled.

"Another year....." She muttered to herself in a sigh, an exhale of thin white smoke to follow. She really had no cares at all if smoking wasn't allowed is school. All Elizabeth ever cared for...was herself.

Her focus remained attentive on the sketchbook in her lap, barely even noticing how much time had passed at all as she was zoned out, entranced in two of her loves...art and music. Her pencil kept moving between her two fingers as Crosses by Jose Gonzales played softly in her ears, each stroke either broad or slender creating her masterpiece before her very eyes, a vision pulled from the confines of her imagination and spilled out unto the cream white page. Once she was done, she looked down at her creation, a detailed sketch of a girl sitting beside the ocean, rather pleased with it. Just a few more finishing touches on the shading and whatnot and she closed her book setting it aside and switching off her Mp3, stuffing it in the pocket of her flannel before resting against the thick trunk and yawning.

With the persistence of time to press onward and the ringing of the bell, her first few classes had gone by without a second glance, and really, it just felt like the usual day for Liz, more homework, more teachers pissed off at her for not turning in her homework, more detention hours for knocking out someone for calling her a name or two in scoffing, yep....pretty much the average day at school. But the bright side of it all was after the same old grind, lunch had soon arrived, just in time because she was already starving.

She treaded into the cafeteria, cutting in line per her usual style, snatching up a tomato and avocado sandwich with gouda on wheat with light mayo and an iced coffee. After she paid for her lunch, she decided to leave the cafeteria for the outside, where she sat here. Of course it was freezing outside, but Liz didn't seem to mind it. Not when she was off in her own little world.

Math and science were easy enough to get by, the latter being the more interesting of the two, and PE was just child's play, almost quite literally. All in all, he was glad to have the break and figure out where the food was coming from. Over the din of the crowd he could hear the raven haired, supposed 'ice queen' speaking with the teacher about acquiring lunch. His attention turned to her and to the look on her face, she seemed lost, and a little flustered. He had learned later on that she and Alex were to be their class reps, perhaps she was looking around for him? His attention turned back to the class and he was nowhere in sight, so she was alone then, tasked with the duty of gathering their lunch.

...

...

Well...no need for her to get everyone's food all by herself.

He took off his headphones, letting them fall around his neck, the music still playing. He approached her, all the while typing a message into his phone, when he got close enough tapped her shoulder to get her attention, then presented the phone with the message to her, there wasn't a need to have the voice play, the text would be enough.

"You look like you could use some help. Do you require assistance?"

Melanie took a quick look around the room. Everyone seemed to be doing their own thing, but she really didn't want to say anything too loudly anyway. "Thank you but I've got everything under control. Are you in need of a hot lunch?" She said as she readjusted her glances. Her voice almost seemed monotone, the flustered look she had displayed earlier disappeared as Melanie realized she had an audience. Show no weakness, take nobodies kindness and you won't be hurt. It was a simple fact she had seemed to live by for many years now. Sure Melanie would have a bit of problems of loneliness, but instead she spent her time reading books to escape from all that.

In truth, Melanie was still freaking a little bit inside. The girl was rather clumsy after all and it wouldn't do any good to drop any of the lunches she would have to bring in. Where even was she supposed to go? Unnoticeable goosebumps traveled under her blouse and blazer.

Kiyo raised an eyebrow, her mood completely changed the moment he approached her, he wouldn't say that she was cold, so much as shutting off. If she was trying to fool him with this get up, it wasn't really working, he saw the panicked face she had not mere moments before his arrival. He retyped into his phone, "Yes, I am, but I'll decide on what once I'm down there, I assume you'll be going as well? We can travel together."

She took a second, turning away from him before saying, "....Suit yourself." Giving Mrs. Castro a nod, she left the classroom, not waiting for him. Melanie walked slower than she would have normally however and hoped they would arrive at the mess hall soon.

Of course she hadn't interacted with a boy her age like this for quite a long time. Sure, Mackien every so often would ruffle her feathers with some kind of compliment or flirt, but those were easy to ignore. Ah... Melanie just remembered that she had to start looking for a place to volunteer at.

Kiyo locked eyes with the teacher briefly before assuming his headphones back onto their most natural position, with one ear off, and following Melanie out the door. He kept an even pace with her, keeping just a few steps behind, her back to him, he could practically feel the chill. Perhaps her responses and attitude were what deemed her to be the ice queen and he had first hand experience himself now. That being said, he could particularly care less that she was giving him attitude and he was expecting even less so any gratitude from it, so why follow at all? Perhaps idle curiosity or just plain boredom, though his stomach growling was giving a new line of questions.

He quickly typed into his phone, the voice app now on as he asked, "So what is for lunch anyway?"

She stopped walking for a sec. The lunches...? Had Mrs. Castro told her what they were, it took a second for Melanie to search over the conversation in her brain. Nope, the teacher had neglected to mention it. A hint of a blush slipped over her cheeks and she bit her lip. "You'll see..."

Another thing she didn't know.

Kiyo clicked his tongue at the dodgy answer, retyping a new message into his phone. "You know, the only kind of people who answer questions the way you just did are either jerks or have no idea what the answer is. Color me crazy, but I don't think you're the former, so do you even know what we're getting?"

He stared at her, a neutral expression on his face as he waited for a response.

The fact that she had been so put on the spot like this was alarming, so alarming in fact, that she froze again. This guy... He was waaaay to perceptive. Okay, you know what? Melanie wouldn't care, she wouldn't reply to him, she wouldn't make a fool out of herself. Not turning around, she continued onward and there was an awkward silence.

Had he done it? Had he hit the nail so hard on the head that it stunned her silent? He could choose to pursue it, call her out on it, maybe even give some kind of life changing advice, but he didn't have the time to waste on someone who wouldn't listen. Might as well bury his head in the sand along with her.

"I suppose we'll both find out when we're there. Do you like music? "

Melanie thought back to her dorm room that she hadn't gotten to unpack yet. Her phone was in there charging since she hadn't gotten to charge its battery last night. On there was a large amount of anime openings and Japanese music. Melanie was a serious closet otaku, she nodded.

Yea, he figured that's all he was going to get out of her, at least a nod was better than complete silence. Throwing his arms behind his head, he continued the same pace behind her in the comfort of his music. Maybe he was just wasting his time, but he had already committed to this, so he might as well see it to the end. They passed by a rather large window and Kiyoshi threw his head towards it, watching the sky for the brief moment they passed by it. A thought suddenly occurred to him, he hadn't seen Gigi come back to class, not since he saw her leave with...

He typed into his phone, "I'm worried about Gigi, she didn't come back to class."

Melanie stopped walking, biting her lip again. Of course she had noticed that the happy-go-lucky baker hadn't come back to class. Being the weird anti-social person she was, she couldn't go ask Beryll, the poor girl, about it. She stopped walking and her worry slipped onto her face, "She... Doesn't usually miss class, it is worrisome."

An actual response, Kiyo typed into his phone, "Any other day it'd be whatever, but I saw her walking off with Darian...and that's what worries me..."

TThat was extremely troubling! The girl had actually stolen the first kiss from Melanie after all. Her face showed the same expression she had made when Darian had kissed her, worried about Gigi. Anger, embarrassment, worry, fear... Okay, Melanie needed to go look for Gigi! But, she also needed to go get the lunches...

"U-Um Kiyoshi... Would I be able to... owe you a favor? Could you bring the lunches back to the classroom for me?"

An eyebrow raised and a foot tapping he replied, "And where exactly are we off to that involves me taking over your job?"

"I-It is my responsibility as class representative to ensure the safety and attendance of all students," Was her rather formal excuse, anyone could tell what she was really going to do.

"In other words, you're going to find Gigi. Look I wouldn't normally touch that Greene chick with a 20 ft pole, but if you think I'm gonna let you go alone and ditch me in the process, you've got another thing coming, the other kids can starve for all I care."

He wasn't having any of it today, she'd just have to deal with him coming along whether she got food or went to find the gumdrop baker.

Melanie looked over at the wall clock, her face full of frustration. It wasn't that bad that Kiyoshi wanted to go... more like she would be shirking her responsibilities. But this was Gigi they were talking about, alone with the evil wench...

With a quick shake of her head, she turned towards Kiyoshi, "Alright... Let's go."

With a nod Kiyoshi followed Melanie through the halls and out the door, neither of them having grabbed their jackets, but ready to brace the cold. Based on the direction he saw the two girls walking off to earlier, he figured they probably went to the girl's dorms. After arriving at the dormitories, Melanie entered the building, with Kiyoshi right behind her, unafraid to enter this restrictive territory; who would even be looking for him anyway? The first place they looked was Gigi's room, but after several knocks and no answer, there was only one other room to check.

Staring in front of them was the giant middle finger proudly displayed on Darian's door. Kiyo couldn't help but find that this door matched her personality too well and this of course made him absolutely not want to touch it. Stepping back he nudged the class rep forward, jerking his head towards the door as if he were saying "Ladies first."

They had arrived at Darian's door and Melanie couldn't help but frown, the door matched the evil wench's attitude after all. Was Gigi really in there? She bit her lip and squeezed the bottom of her blazer before reaching to knock on the door.

At that moment, she hesitated. Melanie most assuredly did not want the same outcome as last time but she had to save her f-friend! With that resolve, she knocked on the door.

Alex

Yes, this view was so amazing. If Alex could he would sit up here all day, but he knew he eventually needed to get back before they started looking for him. *Looking for. Why do I all of a sudden feel like someone else was missing?* He shrugged it off and started to grab his trash when he saw something he didn't expect. Melanie and Kiyoshi leaving the building in a rush headed towards the girls dorm. *Huh. That's odd. Why are those two going to the girls dorm. They aren't being very discreet. Wait no. Melanie ain't like that. What's going on?* Alex couldn't come up with any reasons why they'd be going to the dorms and the curiosity was killing him. *I guess it's time to investigate.*

He sneaked back down to the ground floor and slipped back outside. He quickly jogged over to the girl's dorms making sure to not be seen. *Alright. They're in here somewhere. Just gotta find 'em.* But where to look. Alex didn't know which room was Melanie's and that's were he assumed they had gone. He noticed on the ground some snow and a trail. First clue! He followed it to the door of Gigi's room. *Gigi's room. What the heck were they doing here? Wait a minute. Wasn't she in class before the bell this morning. I know she wasn't in during the rest of the day. If she was sick that would definitely not cause Kiyoshi to come here.*

He then noticed the trail kept going after Gigi's door. He followed it the rest of the way. He walked around a corner and looked up seeing Melanie and Kiyoshi, *CRAP!* He quickly tried to get back around the corner but slipped on the snow and face planted the floor. Sarcastically *Oh, yeah. This year is gonna be great.*

discard

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Raphael had prioritized designing and printing fliers out for his Slam Poetry Night on Friday. The first day of school hardly mattered, so he didn't see the harm in skipping class today. After all, the most he was missing was the syllabus review every teacher insisted on going over. So, here he was, taping his paper ads to every wall space he could find. They weren't exactly works of art, but they got the basic message across. Besides, nobody wanted to sit there and read a flier for 5 minutes.



Currently, he was en route to the ladies' dorms since this was his last stop for the day. Thinking about it, there were two particular stops he definitely needed to make: one at Darian's room and he would have to hunt down Liz's as well. Maybe if he showered them with fliers, they might finally gain some interest and wind up at one of his events to see the essence of the man he was. His emotions and perspective all came from his dark soul, bathed in the shadowy recesses of the abyss, and perhaps when one of them saw that... Well, maybe their eyes would turn to him. It was a long shot, for sure, since very few people ever ended up going to his Slam Poetry Nights. In fact, the only real consistent person to turn up was Jenny, or Gigi as most people called her. Real sweet girl, she was. Silently, L decided to try and get Jenny into poetry. There was just something about that girl... something that told him that there was a cesspool of raw emotion that begged to be released within her.

Strangely, as the bleakly dressed 17 year old marched through the corridors, taping fliers as he went, his dark brown orbs spotted a familiar boy trip, as if he were trying to escape from someone or something. Curiously, L quirked an eyebrow at the situation before deciding to use it to his advantage. "Hey, c'mon, man. It's not your time yet. Let's get you up." A helpful hand got the blonde Alex back onto his feet, although Raphael tactfully stuck a flier onto his back. Nothing beats a mobile billboard, right? That's when he spotted two more friends of his down the hall: Kiyo and Melanie.

Huh.

What exactly were the two of them doing standing outside Darian's room? L didn't recall any of them being on the best of terms with his sweet, black rose, especially not Kiyo. Well, he supposed the situation didn't exactly concern him, so he made his way forward to do his business and get out the way. "Uh... Excuse me for a moment, I just gotta..." The gaunt man squeezed his way through his two silent classmates and quickly began to tape fliers to Darian's door. After a minute, her entire door was covered, top to bottom, with his neutral toned ads. His work complete, he stepped back but quickly gave Kiyo a light hug, happy to see his best friend. "It's good to see you, Kiyo. You're not dead yet, and that's awesome. Also... Tonight we should practice a song I've written. It's in D tuning, in the key of D, and it's symbolic for..." L's dark eyes floated to Darian's door, as if non-verbally telling his best friend what he meant. There was also a song he'd written that was in E tuning and in the key of E for Elizabeth, though he would get around to that. After all, D comes before E, and Raphael had to do this in a natural, sequential order.

Not one to ignore others in the room, L put a soft hand onto Melanie's shoulder. "Hey Mel. I'm glad you haven't expired on us either." He didn't really know what else to say to her, so he just kept awkwardly patting her on the shoulder.

_{@alexfangtalon@BeastofDestiny@Fabricant451@lovely complex@AimeChambers@Rusalka}