Hopefully, the campus and the neighboring city would be quiet at this time of the day. Last thing she wanted was to forge a reputation for going out half-naked throughout school and town. She really didn't need her stay at this establishment to be as much embarrassing as it was a pain in the ass.
Shoving her half-way discharged phone and her wallet into the pockets of her jeans, Angel snatched her shades and left her room with the intention of leaving the campus for the town. Spending the night awake, however, left her quite hungry, and so she decided that first order of business was to stop by the cafeteria to grab a quick breakfast she could eat on the way.
Once more, she was greeted by the manager on the other side of his counter, requesting her ID card before letting her inside. Angel quickly cleared that out of the way by presenting her ID card that she has put on the transparent side of her wallet, for quick use. Once inside, she quickly made her way towards the breakfast section of the cafeteria. Already, there had been students sitting at a few tables and enjoying their breakfast while speaking to each other’s.
As she was grabbing a few croissants, pancakes and bagels, the black-haired Aberration could already hear a few students gossiping about 'that chick with the wings tattoo' or 'babe with a sexy body'. Adjusting the shades on her face, the young woman tried to hide her embarrassment as she stormed out of the cafeteria with a bag full of her breakfast 'on-the-go'.
Already, not even a hour passed and Angel could feel the dire need of getting new clothes as she began walking through the campus. Astonishingly, there were a lot of people waking up early in USARILN, and that really didn't help Angel in trying to slip by incognito. As expected, she could notice the stares stabbing right through her behind her shades, and whispers felt like hammering her eardrums.
Flushed and sweaty, Angélique was finally out of the campus, swearing in her native language to whatever gods of mischief and misfortune for this embarrassing morning. With the campus now behind her, it was time to actually cross town, find some clothing shops and some personal stuff for her room.
"Mommy, why does he have a white mark on his face?" "Sweetie, don't look at him. He's one of those scary subnaturals." "But didn't you say they all had giant teeth and were devil spawn that fell from the sky?" "Sweetie, just keep quiet. Let's...you like to play hide and seek, right? Hide behind me!" "Ok!"Brent looked at the parent-child combo, then turned back to the nervous wreck of a cashier. Geez, he didn't even have an X. And he was pretty sure he maintained his smile the whole time. He wasn't even a superhuman wrecking ball that punched holes through fleshy bodies. With a sigh, he pulled out his 'student' ID and slide it over to the pimply teen. The kid almost dropped it while trying to slide it, and he let out another sigh. Man, maybe he should buy some make up. Hide the white mark or something.
Well, no, he was doing this with a USARILN Card that clearly stated he was a filthy subnatural. That wouldn't work either.
"Thanks," Brent said, taking the card back into his pocket,
"You can keep the change. And I don't need the bag."Not even a smirk from the too-nervous cashier. Geez, what a pain. At least service wasn't completely refused, unlike that gun shop. Picking up the NERF gun, he exited the toy store with a few quick strides, definitely taking notice of the fact that everyone else was giving him a wide berth. They were probably not interested in getting along with a mage like himself, but...he didn't care.
"Morning," Brent greeted each of them, a lovely smile on his face,
"Nice weather today, eh?"With that, he was on the streets once more, roaming for clothing.
Fucking great...Wandering around town in trying to find a clothing store, Angélique happened upon a familiar face. She recalled him being that guy who came late with the guy who wiped out the battlefield yesterday night. Of course, of all the people she would happen upon, she HAD to cross path with one of her fellow teammates while she was wandering around town almost topless. She'd try to avoid him and ignore him, but she was pretty sure by now he had noticed her as well. Well, there was no escape from this, only one thing left to do.
"Hi..." She greeted Brent with an awkward smirk, offering a curtsy wave of her hand as they passed near each other.
A blood-soaked pair of tight jeans and a complete lack of actual topwear was eye-catching in a normal situation, but when it was combined with a subnatural that had a killer body and an X on their throat? Devastating. As he walked out onto the streets, it was painfully obvious that all eyes were on her, whether it be perverted or fearful. A small child's ice cream dropped onto the cement, and he didn't even notice. An elderly man working at a hot dog stand was flushed and sputtering, wondering what was wrong with kids these days. And, amidst all this, that model-esque girl waved at him, greeted him, and then proceeded to...
"Yo, name's Brent," he said, taking off his bullet-ridden jacket,
"Wear this before the police arrest you for public indecency, yeah?"He paused, recalling some knowledge he obtained from yesterday.
"The hospital has some bleach you can use, to get the blood out, by the way. For your pants and all.""Ah! Err, thanks!?" Angel stuttered, unceremoniously accepted Brent's jacket and quickly zipped it on.
Part of her embarrassment already vanished as she felt less exposed to the stares of others. The raven-haired young woman noticed what seemed like bullet holes throughout the front of the jacket. Now that she thought about it, wasn't he one of the few faces who were victim of the shoot-out at that time when they got off the truck that brought everyone to the campus for the first time?
It looked awkward for the seconds Angel stared blankly at no one in particular, lost in thought, until she snapped back into reality, almost forgetting who she was interacting with for a minute.
"Oh right... I'm Angélique. I know the pronunciation is a bit complicated in English, so you can call me Angelic, or Angel, whatever you prefer." "So, Brent, what brings you to town this early in the morning?".
"No problem," Brent replied, after it looked like she came back down to earth,
"September's still chilly after all, Angel....ic?"He shrugged. Close enough. And she seemed pleasant enough as well, for someone who must have died on the inside so many times while getting here. Really, why not just wear a garbage bag over it? The embarrassment's the same, but at least she wouldn't be giving kids boners. Shaking that really weird, super awkward thought out of his head, Brent motioned towards his own new purchase, before saying,
"Just shopping. Was thinking of buying a gun, but it turns out the owner wasn't receptive to such an idea. Probably because I don't have a license for that. Now I'm just clothes shopping. Got no luggage with me, after all."
"Which I suppose you were planning on doing as well?""No shit, what gave it away?""Well, if you got it, you might want to flaunt it, yeah?" Brent replied with a laugh.
"Yeah sure. I somewhat enjoy dressing to appeal the masses, that WAS part of my job after all, but I prefer clothing to actually not wearing anything." Angel tried to defend herself, even though she should've realized it was just a joke.
"But yeah, I'd figure getting firearms in this shithole wouldn't be so easy. Why don't you try getting one by using that request paperwork? Perhaps you could request a pistol, light weaponry or even a license, for self-defense.""Oh, you were a model or something?" Brent asked. Perhaps it was just because USARILN was filled with almost improbably good-looking girls, but it still came as a surprise to him that someone was actually, legitimately a model.
"But yeah, I actually did put in a request as well. Just impatient, you know? Can't waste any more time faffing about than I already have if I want to survive."
"Not like I'm Superman or Wolverine."As Brent questioned Angel about her previous line of work, her lightened mood suddenly dropped to a more somber appearance, a slight frown being drawn on her brows and her teeth squeezing her lower lip in bitterness.
"I... was actually a lead singer and guitarist for a band..." There was no point in hiding that fact, though truthfully, she was relieved to see that Brent did not know about her. Had it been someone who knew her by reputation, worse being a fan, she wouldn't know how to handle the situation. So much regrets were plaguing her for what had happened on that day. For as far as she believed, her career was now over, and she would probably leave behind a stained taint to her name for the reminder of her life because of that.
"So anyway! Got a lead where to head? I'm kinda lost here." She changed the subject, trying to hide her feelings towards her career and instead opted to fake a cheerful smile.
For all his ability to completely misread the mood, and for all his inability to care, Brent was still perceptive enough to see the changes in Angelic's facial expression as she started talking about her past. Should he prod? No, he needed to shop. He'll do the snooping on his own time. Shaking his head, the amethyst-eyed youth said,
"Dunno much either, but hey, there's adult-sized Halloween costumes in the toy store, if you want to be a princess or a nurse for the day.""Hey now hold on a second. Is that a remark on my wardrobe?"Ah, there it was.
"I mean," he said, grinning,
"I would have thought you were going for some femme fatale from a M-rated movie if you weren't so embarrassed a minute ago.""Oh you, shut it! Just because I look like a model doesn't mean I have to dress like one! I just want something simple, something I can actually wear comfortably around this fuckhole they call a "school" bullshit." Angel retorted vividly, her depressed state of mind slowly fading away by Brent's teasing, slowly replaced with... playful animosity?
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The night had been somewhat long after he had left the hospital and returned to his room. While having finished the tests before was a relief, the brown-haired boy had decided to check out some of the other forms as well. At least, before he would return to playing a game or two before finally hitting the hay for the night. There were requisition forms, among other things, and the large amount of paperwork seemed to appear dull to him to some extent. Yet on the matter of requesting things, he had come wearing just one set of clothes, and most of what he had packed in his bag before coming here were his games and consoles and such.
As it had turned out, that first set of clothes sort of got torn, shredded, and stained beyond repair due to the intensity of the fight. He couldn't say there was blood on his clothes, but between his impacts, being reeled in by a monster, and the unmistakable smell of marinara that had been imbued into the very fabric of his attire, it was safe to say that he needed to buy a couple more sets of clothes at least. It was also safe to say he needed to get some personal defense items as well, with what had happened to him out there. So after filling out a requisition form in order to request some kind of pistol, ammunition for said pistol, and a hunting knife, he had gone off for a couple more hours of playing Legend of Zelda: Wind Waker before finally heading off to bed for the night.
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In the morning, it had been a simple matter of getting up early, turning in his requisition form, and then grabbing some quick breakfast at the cafeteria before setting out on the town. Albeit, it was also his first time in this place, and as such it left him doing a bit of searching on his own in the meantime. Of all things, it seemed that this area of the town where the stores were had a game store among other things, and it had a few older games as well. Not to mention the few releases that had seemed to come out in the years since the world had effectively "gone to hell".
But his gaming habits aside, it was the clothing store he wanted to find in the first place. Whilst wearing headphones with stylized pictures on them fit for a hardcore metal album, he walked down the street listening to various pieces of music (legally acquired or otherwise) he had downloaded prior to coming here on what was the latest Apple iPhone product that he had bought prior to becoming, well, someone with powers. It was a piece of home as well, a small but comforting thing he had wanted to keep with him among other things. Truthfully, he was never going to get to go home again while being here, if his gut feeling was correct among other things.
Eventually, however, the boy noticed a pair of familiar faces standing on the side of the street. One of them a very familiar girl whom he had fought with the day prior, and one of them being a boy whose face was at least familiar from when everyone had been pulled together at the end of the battle. Mentally shrugging to himself, Aaron decided to walk over and see what was going on for the time being.
"Hey Angel, aaaaaaaaaaaand....eh, i don't think we've officially met yet," Aaron said aloud as he approached the two, giving a smile to Angel as well as a wave to her as well before pulling his headphones down around his neck, before then giving a curious but casual look at Brent as he spoke to the boy,
"Name's Aaron Erikson. Who're you?""Mhmm," Brent teased,
"I heard that little black dresses were fairly comfortable, Angelic. Maybe that's a good pick?""I hate dre-..."Before the two could enter a downward spiral of traded barbs any further though, another person popped up. A familiar face and a quiet one. If he recalled correctly, that headphones guy was one of the ones that was getting into an argument before everyone was loaded up into the trucks. Also Norwegian.
"Hello Aaron, good to see you." Angel returned the brown-haired teen's greeting a welcoming nod and a friendly handwave.
"I'm Brent," he raised up a hand to shake,
"I'd ask if you were clothes shopping, but it doesn't look like you're topless."Glancing at Angel for a moment and then looking back at Brent, Aaron gave a slight smirk for a moment and shook the other boy's hand. It seemed Angel was wearing this guy's bullet-riddled jacket, at least that was his guess according to what he could gather and guess from the situation. Still, to him it was nice to run into someone who as of the previous day had risen a bit higher in his "people i like" list. Honestly, he was interested to get to know the metal-looking girl in general.
"Good to see you to, Angel," Aaron said, giving a nod in return to the shades-wearing girl before continuing,
"Out to get some clothes as well i guess? I have to get some new ones too, since i don't think that marinara smell and the tears in everything are going to come out of the old ones anytime soon. Guess you could say my look yesterday was meat-'ballin' when it comes down to it."The boy gave a light chuckle at the attempted joke, trying to keep the mood light and test the waters of just what kind of humor Angel, and Brent since he was there, enjoyed.
"Oh, so you were the one that fought the spaghetti monsters," he remarked.
"So...how did they taste?"Angel tried to maintain a poker face while hearing Aaron out. Truth be told, that pun was so bad she would've cringed hearing this, but she didn't want to look so rude to her teammate, especially after trying to ease up the tension that may have been created yesterday.
She was however more assertive when Brent asked about how the spaghetti monsters were tasting. Considering the kind of hell they went through fighting those creatures, it was not a matter to laugh, at least not in Angélique's opinion. She made it known to him by shoving a disapproving light jab of her elbow to Brent's side. While the things did not actually injure her in any way, Aaron was badly maimed by those creatures, and one of her teammate actually died because of them. She hoped her slight poke conveyed that thought to the amethyst-eyed young man.
"Dude, you might want to seriously back off from talking about that," Aaron commented after Brent spoke and Angel jabbed him with her elbow, throwing on a serious look at the other boy, the sixteen year old's own right hand also coming unconsciously up to where he had broken three of his ribs,
"To be blunt, we really don't need to bring that stuff up at all, ok?"The phantom of his prior state of intense pain was still vivid in his memories. The struggle to merely breath without stabbing his broken ribs into his lungs, the nausea of the gas, the dead body, the carnage, Zoe jerking him up by the collar of his shirt after the fight....he was all for moving onwards and learning his mistakes, but that didn't mean the topic was not a sensitive one for him and likely the other members of the Green Team. Considering Angel had that black X on her neck, which he already had some idea was a burden for the girl from what he understood about black X's, he also did not want Brent possibly stirring up the bad memories in his teammate either.
"By the way," Aaron said to Angel, trying to move things along and away from the touchy subject Brent had brought up,
"If you're headed out to buy clothes, though, i think the store's not too far away. Two place down from the music store. At least according to the guy at the counter in the game store, who was actually willing to talk to me.""Ah," he recalled the two dead bodies that were present,
"My bad about that."Guess they weren't gonna be enthused about eating Italian for dinner either. As Aaron went into a thousand-yard stare, he scratched the back of his head. USARILN was definitely full of touchy people, wasn't it? He had personally only been shot once, and hadn't even seen a monster close up yet, but perhaps he needed to think a little more about all that shit. Or maybe he could just not. Maybe yes, maybe no.
"Which store though?" he asked as Aaron spoke up once more,
"I'm personally looking for sportswear.""The guy said it carries all kinds of clothes, so maybe they have what you're looking for," Aaron said to Brent in return, giving a light shrug after he had spoken.
Since the boy had begun speaking, though, the sound of music could be heard coming from his headphones still. From the sound of the guitar and theme of the music, it seemed to be metal, a kind of music Aaron had come to enjoy somewhat in the last several years in the form of both original songs as well as song covers done in that style. Specifically, at this point in time he was listening to this
song.
Angel listened as Brent apologized for the sudden brought-up. She nodded in approval of him being understanding of the situation, although she disapproved Aaron's cutting edge words. True, none of them would want to be reminded of that night, but she felt there would be a softer way of saying it, as to not create any more unneeded tension between them.
She was glad to know Aaron seemed to have taken the initiative and get some directions beforehand. Now that they knew where they would be going, it was just a matter of getting there without too much incident on the way.
Following Aaron towards the apparent location of this clothing store, Angel heard some kind of muffled noise, coming somewhere near her. As she began focusing on this sound, she recognized the pattern of electric guitar playing. Aaron's choice of music mildly interested the ex-guitarist, and now that she was taking a good look at the source of the noise, she found herself liking the headphones Aaron was wearing, right down her alley in terms of style.
"What are you listening to?"As they walked towards the store, Aaron looked back at Angel as the raven-haired girl asked him about his music. Blinking for a moment and then looking down at his headphones, the boy realized he hadn't shut off his music. Giving a light shrug, the boy took the headphones off of his head and offered them to Angel.
"You can take a listen if you want," the boy said, offering a small smile as well,
"I like listening to some metal myself, and this song is a metal cover i downloaded a time ago, before coming here at least."Accepting Aaron's offer with apparent glee, Angélique graciously took the brown-haired young man’s headphones and set them over her ears, listening to the beat of the music with interest. Clearly, she was enjoying herself to the rhythm of the song, her hands unconsciously motioning the same way someone would play a guitar.
As Angel listened, Brent turned towards Aaron.
"Undertale? You played the console remake or the original?""Eh, the console remake," the brown hair boy noted in a casual manner to Brent, looking over at him for a moment while talking,
"Used to have it on PC, but the computer at home broke so i decided to get the console remake to replace it.""RIP. Is there any actual differences though? Would think that some of the maneuvers you have to do are way harder with a joystick rather than a keypad."When the song was over, Angel handed the headphones back to its owner.
"Hmm... I'm not familiar with this cover. It had however a good rhythm to it. The person who played the guitar executed it with a good flow, and the drummer in the background provided a good amount of energy to bring the whole thing to life. Overall, it's quite good, for a cover. I enjoyed it."Taking back his stylized headphones from the raven-haired beauty, Aaron gave a light nod before putting the headphones back around his neck. He had been about to answer Brent's question when Angel had piped up upon the song finishing. At the moment, though, his mind went back to the music and what Angel had said.
"The original song is called "Asgore", and is from an older video game called Undertale that I’ve played," the sixteen year old said, attempting to explain the song to Angel as they continued to walk onwards towards the clothing store,
"I usually listen to some metal myself, both your average metal songs and those that are covers of other music. Good to hear that someone else also has a good taste in music though!"With that being said, Aaron held up his right hand towards Angel, as if offering a high-five to the jacket-wearing girl.
"What kind of music do you like as well?" the boy then asked afterwards.
Savannah had been up all night. It hadn't been a good night, either. She'd had a meltdown with her Stigma, leading to a bruised fist. As she stood against the shop, her black, fuzzy hoodie rubbing up against the building's brick wall. She was chewing some fruity gum, her mouth moving in a manner that indicated that she was, in fact, chewing something. The flavor had long been sucked out of it, but the blonde's teeth worked at it all the same, using it as a stress ball of sorts. If you looked closer at the girl, you'd notice a pair of red earbuds stuck in her ears, the wires connecting to her pocket. She was listening to classical music, which had helped her calm down some after her meltdown. It was blasting so loud that most people in her proximity could hear it well.
There were bags under her droopy eyes, and she was pretty much staring off into space. Several people had given her odd looks today, in a range from terrified to glares. But Savannah hadn't really minded. She was tired, angry, and most of all- scared. She had watched a person die in front of her, for the third time in her relatively short life. A person got eaten- only to come out of it alive and be a bitch. But the real thing that scared her was that it might be her next. She could die, and no one would care. No one would care that the blonde, Irish girl in the corner had died fighting for her life. No one would remember her, except for her mother, if she even cared enough about her only child to keep her in her memory. At this thought, a tear welled up in one of her yellow eyes. She wiped it away. She had cried enough tonight. to drown out her thoughts, she turned the music up to the max, now loud enough for anyone in her proximity to hear. She sat down on the ground, back against the wall. She blew a bubble with the gum.
Having the headphones at full blast, she didn't hear anything, though she did spot Aaron, Angel, and a boy she hadn't gotten the chance to know yet. She watched them with slight disinterest, still blowing bubbles with her gum and tapping her fingers to the beat of her music. They seemed to be having a conversation of sorts, something that Savannah had no interest in. But, just for funsies or whatever, she stood up and walked to the edge of the road, waiting for the cars to pass by. While she was waiting for a clear road, a van came rushing by. She thought nothing of it, before it rolled into a pile of mud and splashed her in the face. She dropped the headphones, and had a face on that was clearly pissed.
"Oh, COME ON!" yelled Savannah.
Can I not get a break in this damn town! Blast ya to hell, truck driver, blast ya to hell!" Her headphones were drooping down, blasting classical music all around. She inspected her jacket, seething with rage. The second pair of clothes ruined in 12 hours. Great. Just great. That was her last pair of clothes, now ruined and soggy and muddy.
"Fucking hell! My clothes!" she yelled yet again, clearly enraged. She kicked at a stray rock, making a noise halfway between a growl and an angry grunt.
At the angry shout of a small, blonde child, Brent's eyes flickered immediately towards the source of the noise. Drenched in mud, she looked more like a wet kitten than any sort of human being, and he almost smiled. Almost. Then, he really did smile once he realized that, of all things, her own headphones were blasting out classical music. Beethoven's 9th, eh? He wasn't someone that had any particularly keen taste in music, but even he could recognize that.
"Yo," he called out from the other side of the street,
"You alright?"Probably not, really, but he only had so many jackets to give.
Hearing a voice, Savannah turned her head to the right, to see one of the USARILN students standing there. She vaguely recognized the boy as one shot in the containment cell, but she didn't know him personally. She cocked her head as she realized that he was asking if she was alright. She was not used to people asking if she was okay, she usually had gotten indifference. It was nice to know that humanity had a few good people.
"Besides my hoodie? I'm fine, although this is my second pair of clothes ruined in 12 hours and I'm pretty sure that I'm actually going to have to go and shop." she yelled back, sighing loudly at the last part. She had never liked clothes shopping, perhaps because of the fact that so few shirts fit her. She was so short that most assumed she was a child. However, she was not a child, and actually had a chest. So she had to have chest room while still having the shirt not be too long.
Not too keen on shouting today, Angel saved herself the trouble and walked up to the other side of the road. Eyeing Savannah head to toe, she grieved at seeing the poor girl being drenched in mud like that. Indeed, to have your clothes dirtied this way this early in the morning, she could understand how pissed off she was.
Lowering herself to the small blonde girl's height, she offered a reassuring smile to the young teenager "Hey there, Savannah, early bird as well, are you? How about joining us? Aaron, Brent and I were just about to go to the clothing store ourselves. As you'd figure, we pretty much all need a change of clothes." She said, chuckling lightly at the similar situation that had brought the four of them together in this town.
As Angel lowered herself to her height, Savannah scowled. She
despised when adults did this. It had always made her feel small and inferior. She looked into Angel's eyes, chewing on her lip and playing with her curly blonde hair.
"One, don't get down to my height like that, it's patronizing, and only my parents and my older brother did that. When I was nine. Two, I didn't wake up early, I was up all night. And three, yes, I'd like to join you.""Easy there, I didn't mean to offend you. Sorry if I did. I guess not everyone is made the same, huh? Very well, let's get moving. I doubt you'd want to stay like that for long."Her head however still remained lowered, but not to aggravate the young girl. Instead, she raised her body a bit and brought a hand close to her mouth and whispered
"And quite frankly, neither do I. Wandering around town half-naked, only to be offered a bullet-riddled jacket by some guy I barely isn't very pleasant to me either." She warm-heartedly chuckled, trying to lighten up the mood between the two.
Savannah snorted at this sentiment, trying to contain her childish giggles. But she could no longer contain them, so she burst out into adorable laughter. She raised her mouth to Angel's ear, still giglging. "You did? Damn, that's some daring stuff. If
I walked around half-naked, my parents would've had my head!" she whispered softly, still giggling softly.
"A girl gotta get clothes when she has nothing left to wear. But hey, better go around town with a bra on than wait until my pants and my underwear get torn up as well. Now that would be embarrassing, wouldn't you say?" Angel added, now smiling warmly as she managed to ease off the tension and see the girl's smile for the first time ever since they had arrived at USARILN. There was something comforting in seeing Savannah smile, as opposed to Brent's. While the latter seemed somewhat natural, it seemed TOO natural of him to smile, getting the vibe of someone who would do so even in the face of horrors. As for the young teen, it was a nice change of expression, considering what she went through yesterday night.
"Considering my pants are shredded, I understand your sentiment quite well." Savannah said, gesturing at her bare leg. Too late, she realized that she had drawn attention to her bare leg. Deciding not to do anything about it, she basked in the carefree nature of their conversation.
"I actually had to just throw my hoodie over my sweater and go out like this. It's only by pure luck that it got confiscated.""Wish I had the same luck. All I have is my wallet and my phone. No spare clothing, nothing else. So yeah, I think it's about high time we move on and get this change of clothes, eh?" Angélique proposed, waving towards the guys waiting on the other side of the road."Yeah, we probably should get going." said Savannah, traipsing across the street towards Brent and Aaron.
Angélique nodded affirmatively to Savannah and followed the blonde teenager towards the mall, where everyone was heading before catching sight of the mud-sullied angsty child.
Having regrouped, the gang of shopping teens entered the mall, where they followed Aaron's directions to finally reach the store he was speaking about earlier. True to what he had been told, it seemed like a general store, selling pretty much anything from clothing to electronics. As soon as the group had entered the store, all eyes turned to the misfits that arrived. A dark-haired beauty with shades and a bullet--riddled vest, an amethyst-eyes young man, a brown-haired teen with music blasting through metal-stylized headphones and a much younger-looking and shorter blonde girl would not pass by unnoticed, especially when the two girls were sporting X marks on their necks and the two guys white smears around their eye.
The reaction to their arrival was varied. The cashiers and some customers tried their best to ignore them, avoid them even, while some more daring customers pulled out their phone and began taking pictures of the quartet of subnatural teens. Despite this more or less unwanted attention, the group nodded to each other, the group disbanded, each going to a clothing section befitting their taste, genders and sizes.
Allison wasn't sure how long she had been in the store. She was at a complete loss. She was less prepared for this than she thought. Allison stared down the racks of clothing, clearly intimidated by the endless variety of it all. Every outfit, every piece of clothing set Allison's mind ablaze, thinking of how they would look on every person who popped into Allison's head. She had even imagined the dragon in a dress.
Allison's plight was interrupted by a group of students walking into the store: Angel, Savannah, Aaron, and someone she didn't recognize. Allison haphazardly hid behind a rack of jeans, still clearly visible.
While Angel had been shopping for a decent pair of jeans that would go well with that shit she had picked up a few alleys back. She had spotted a brown-haired head poking from the racks, failing to camouflage itself inside the obviously mismatched colors of the pants hanging. With a curious eyebrow lifted, Angel walked by the racks to see what was so interesting about these jeans. No, that was a lie, she was curious as to what that person was doing with their head buried inside the racks.
Much to her surprise, she recognized the face of a very much familiar friend hiding behind the jeans.
"Allison! You're here too! Damn, I guess everyone was left with what they wore on the day they were taken away.""Oh.. hi." Allison spoke awkwardly as she stepped out from behind the jeans, her face bright red, and her movements clearly fidgety.
"H-how goes the shopping?""Well, there isn't as much choice as I would've liked. I mean, sure, it ain't a music store or anything, but I think I can live with it. What about you? Got what you came here for?""N-no. I'm not too great at the whole shopping thing.""Oh really? Want to tag along? I might not be clothed the same way as most people do, but I think I can figure out just the ri~ght clothes for you, dear.""Really? That would be great!" Allison immediately realized what she had just agreed to. Her mind raced, and she bit her lip.
"Awesome! C'mon, follow me! I think I spotted something that I believe would look just too great on you."Angel trailed off, seizing Allison's hand before dragging her throughout the clothing part for women. For a while, they went literally to every part of the women's alley, often taking breaks at the changing rooms to show how what they had brought looked on each other.
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After a while, mainly because some of the girls were taking too long in deciding on what they would like to buy and wear, the group came out of the store, the number of bags in each student's hands greatly differing from one and another.
Checking up on the mall's clock, it seemed like it was nearing midday. And that time made itself known by the rumbling noises emerging from the shades-wearing young woman, who had been cringing after letting out such a loud sound.
"So, uh... where do we go next? You guys done?""Well," Brent replied, readjusting the grip on his own bags of clothing,
"was thinking of getting something to eat. Cafeteria's nice and free and all, but, you know, sometimes actual junk food is nice.""Tell me about it. I think I'm craving for a few hamburgers, you know? Maybe with some fries with that. Yep, totally junk food." Angélique replied with a grin, the idea of biting into juicy burgers invading her mind.
"A few? Did God bless his angel with a superior metabolism as well?""You.. you guys go ahead without me. I'll just follow from a short distance." Allison said, as she threw her focus into the small black notebook in her hand, writing something at a furious pace. How the girl would manage to follow the group and write, no one knows.
Savannah thought on what Angel said for a moment. Burgers? She had never had one, save for the occasional one at school. But those were undeniably gross. If fast food burgers tasted
anything like school burgers, she did not want to take part in them.
"I've never had a burger, unless you count school lunch burgers, which are pretty gross. What does it taste like?" she inquired.
"Hmmm... how should I explain it?"" Angel pondered for a few seconds, trying to find a good analogy.
"Well, you ever had hamburger steak? With the right seasoning, and fresh vegetables and bread, it can be a delightful bliss. I mean, I don't know what burgers at school cafeterias taste like, but I recall food from school doesn't taste quite as good as the real deal. There were those burritos that I loved during high school though..."" she trailed off into her memories.
"Anyways, I guess it really depends on which fast food chain you're going. But most of the time, they taste good, addicting even at some times. But if you don't like that stuff, you don't have to order that. There's plenty of other stuff to be had, friend."" "Well, let's see...maybe we should go to a more family restaurant sort of deal then? Haven't been to White Spot for some time, and I know they do both fancy burgers and actual entrees," Brent suggested. Angelic was quite a connoisseur, wasn't she? He barely cared about what was in his mouth after he chewed it up a bunch.
The look on Savannah's face was just one of utter confusion.
"Yeah...no need to think about it too much. Just enjoy the ride, kiddo.""Yeah... You guys should probably pick a restaurant. I know absolutely nothing about fast food and restaurants." Savannah admitted with a chuckle.
"Oh, is that so? You're missing out on something. Well, too much fast-food ain't good, but once in a while is very acceptable." "White Spot huh? I'm not familiar with the name. You know if there's one nearby? Let's say I don't exactly know these parts."Brent laughed at this.
"I mean, I don't know either. If you'd like, I can carry your bags and we can just wander around until we see something better than a school cafeteria?"Savannah was quite aware on what she had missed out on. She had often heard classmates talking about going to fast food places, or restaurants. But Savannah had simply never gotten the opportunity to have such food. So she was looking forward to the experience that many people said was great.
"It's hard to get worse than my school cafeteria, unless you get food directly out of a trashcan.""Nah, it's cool. I can carry them by myself just fine. What an unexpected gentleman you are though." Angel chuckled as she began walking in a random direction, looking upwards to see if there weren't any signs in the mall indicating where the nearest restaurants were. An idea struck her however, as she didn't see any signs. Switching the bags from her right hand to her left hand, she dug up her phone from her jeans and opened up Google Maps. Tapping a few times on the screen with her thumb, her face lightened up.
"Well shit, I can't believe they build a McDonalds over here. It's about half a kilometer in town though." "Well, I'd like to think that I have nothing better to do than to be helpful, so hey, that's the offer."Tagging along behind the model/rockstar/whatever, Brent kept his eyes to the streets, looking for any sort of convenient sign that said 'high quality fast food for low prices! little blonde girls will love it!', but alas, his efforts lead to no leads. Indeed, it was only after Angelic summoned the magical forces of wi-fi that they found a direction to at least one place. McDonalds, huh?
"The corporate octopus’ got a tentacle in every place with a half-decent human population, you know? And eh, what's wrong with a half kilometer walk to whet the appetite? ...are you going to reconsider my offer?"Now there was a restaurant that Savannah had heard of. It was hard to not know about McDonald's, but she had never eaten there before.
"A half kilometer walk never hurt anyone! Who knows, we might find something even better to eat on the walk! Savannah said.
"Damn straight you two are. Let's work it up." Angel enthusiastically said as she began moving forward the direction of the infamous fast food chain restaurant. "Try to keep up." she added with a smirk towards Brent's direction.As the group of teen subnaturals walked through town, they didn't see much appealing restaurants on their way to the original plan. Italian cuisine was a no go, not after what had happened yesterday. Angélique would be damned if she eat a plate of spaghetti so soon. Neither was Indian nor Arabic-styled cuisine. There was a short pause to consider about eating to a Chinese buffet restaurant, but in the end, the craving for junk food got the best of the gang and kept moving forward. Eventually their steps brought them to McDonald's front entrance.
After leaving Callan with Kusari for whatever talk they needed to have, Siena had hit the town. Sort of. It was closer to wandering the town feeling lost and wishing that Gerwulf and Maya were there to drive her through unfamiliar territory, but it was better than holing up in her room another day. Unfortunately, her hasty exit meant looking a little less than pristine in clothing choice (well, for Maya's standards, at least). Icy blue halter top aside--
she would never have gotten away with leaving the house with it--the fact that her circle skirt didn't reach her knees would have been a no-go. The faded purple skirt had been a favorite, but rarely ever saw the light of day. The only thing that Maya might have agreed with were the simple, black leggings and fur trimmed ankle boots, really. Pulling the thin layer of her cropped jacket snug against her, Siena stared into the establishment before her. Golden arches, lots of people...nobody dressed with a strict set of rules like Siena had been raised with. The girl furrowed her brow and peered through the window, not entirely realizing that she was staring.
'Odd. Very, very odd...they make you serve your own drinks?' Curioser and curioser indeed.
"Heeey, you're the one from yesterday, no? Saw you on the battlefield near my team when the battle was over. Are you also visiting town, or shopping too maybe?"
Angel figured she was indeed one of the newest Subnaturals she had arrived at USARILN with on the lengthy truck drive. She could recall from her fancy-looking hair, and the white mark around her eye. It would seem that many of the new students were intrigued about visiting Crimen Culpae, or at least had a reason to come by the neighboring town.
A voice roused Siena from her thoughts, making the girl almost jump, but she held it down to little more than a widening of the eyes and a slightly-too-quick turn to face the source. "
Oh, um..." Nervously, Siena smiled and tried to repress the urge to start fiddling with the ends of her hair. "
The former, really. I've er...never really been allowed to go out on my own." Oof, had she just admitted that? Hiding the internal grimace, Siena did her best to move past the topic. "
Oh, I err...I'm Siena, by the way. I didn't stay to introduce myself after the fight..." Nor had she been able to get a clear view of most of the group she had broken off from her team to help. "
Err...if it's not too much trouble, w-would you mind if I joined you for lunch? I've never really enjoyed dining alone."
Angel raised an eyebrow quizzically as she heard Siena speak. She didn't seem to be the outgoing type, more like some sort of forced shut-in considering her revelation about not being allowed to get out of her own. That made Angélique curious, wondering the kind of life she had before coming to USARILN.
With his superior physical stats, both through actual training and because of good ol' testosterone, Brent was indeed faster than Angel. Didn't matter though, because she was the one who actually knew the way, and he begrudgingly kept pace with her instead, all the way until the quartet reached the Golden Arches. Surprisingly enough, yet another subnatural was already there, some weird chick that Angel apparently knew. Well, whoever she was, she at least seemed to have a wardrobe and a fun sense of style.
"More the merrier, I'd say," Brent replied cheerily,
"I'm Brent. Guess we'll have to get one of those larger tables, though, eh?""Indeed. I'd love to have you with us. This is turning into quite the party. I like it." "I'm Angélique, or Angel for short." "Since everybody is introducing themselves, I might as well too. I'm Savannah. the short girl said. She had seen Siena on the battlefield, and had been impressed.
"Ya fought well last night. Thanks for coming and helping us."After a few appropriate introductions, Siena couldn't help but feel...relieved. Most of the time, introductions didn't go so well, though perhaps that was because Gerwulf peering over her shoulder with a steely glare was far from welcoming. "
It's a pleasure to meet you all. And err...thanks." Giving a short nod to Savannah to acknowledge the compliment, Siena wondered what part of her combat the night before was particularly impressive. She'd done little more than pick off weakened enemies, though perhaps the flashiness of Gavin and her own magic had given the illusion of prowess. "
Is...is this restaurant particularly good? It seems busy." With a one-sided shrug towards the front door, Siena hoped that it wasn't
too odd a question.
Angel raised an eyebrow, an expression of disbelief drawn on her face as she heard Siena wondering about McDonald's. Just what kind of people had she gotten herself involved with? How does someone NOT know about the biggest fast-food brand around the world? Not only Siena had no clue about it, but even Savannah never went to eat there herself.
Alright then, guess it was initiation to junk food day, Angel and Brent would have to be the one leading the troops on this mission.
"Oh, it's good, hopefully if you are not vegetarian or have anything against salt and fat. I don't recommend eating here every day, but it can be a nice change of pace from the fancier food. Trust me, it's called 'fast-food' for a reason. Doesn't take long to cook or prepare, I know that much from my cooking experiences." Stepping forward, Angel took the lead and entered the golden arches to the restaurant, motioning the others to follow her. Once inside, it was crowded with people, as expected from McDonald's during lunchtime. The waiting line was long, the cashiers as busy as ants and the students could see the cooks behind the store frantically preparing meals as if their job depended on it.
While it was a pain in the ass to wait, for today it would actually benefit the group, allowing time for the raven black-haired musician to explain the concept of ordering their food.
"See those LCD monitors above the cashiers? The menu is one those, as well as special offers and such. It's not too complicated. Once it's your turn to order, you just ask for what you want to the cashier. They'll charge you the price for the food and bring it to you on the counter. You grab your tray, take your empty soda cup to the machine over there and fill your cup." Angel motioned first to the monitors above the cashiers' counter, then to the soda machine next to them.
"Yeah, it's pretty much like ordering at a proper restaurant, except you get to make your own drink however you want it and you have to pick up your own food," Brent added, before shifting himself into first place.
"I'll show you how it's done, and you can figure it out from there, yeah?"His stomach grumbled. Turns out that a half kilometer walk really did whet the appetite.
"Really, best thing about McDonalds is being able to mix your own drinks."The look of disbelief told Siena that she was right in assuming that her question was out of place. Crap. Thankfully, Angel had decided that an explanation was more fitting. Following the others through the entrance, the brunette was assaulted by a myriad of scents, potatoes being the most dominating of the group. With Angel's explanation, Siena followed the motions, her eyes settling on the soda fountain. Growing up, Siena hadn't had much chance for the popular carbonated beverages, only really indulging when Gerwulf snuck her a bottle after running errands. That she was given free reign over a drink was...exciting.
"
I don't think I've had a soda in years. I'll take your suggestions," Siena claimed with a smile that felt oddly genuine. Odd, given that most of them didn't feel so natural. Peering at the menus, Siena was almost overwhelmed by the number of choices. Thankfully there was a decent enough wait, though the line was dwindling faster than she had expected it to. When Angel said fast food, she certainly did mean "fast".
Savannah views the restaurant with a mix of wonder and confusion. She had never been inside a fast food place in her 14 years of life, no one had bothered to build one in her hometown of just over 300 people. And for the past 5 years, this type of thing would've been a luxury. Looking at the board, she wasn't sure what to order. There were so many options, something that the young girl was not used to. She was gaping a little, at the soda machine and the LCD monitors.
"Got any recommendations? I've never had fast food or soda. What's good?" she asked the three who had actually had stuff like this before.
"Well... that really depends on what you like. If you like beef, hamburgers are the way to go. Or, if you like chicken, they do make some good chicken or fried chicken burgers. Hell, even the fried chicken nuggets are a little delicacy." Angel sneakily assessed Siena and Savannah from behind her shades. They didn't seem to be the kind of girls who eat greasy and unhealthy stuff, so they might want to try the finest there is to offer here in terms of taste.
"Hmm... I'd recommend getting a BLT... I mean it's a Bacon Lettuce Tomato hamburger. It's quite tasty, feels also kind of fresh from the vegetables, not greasy at all if you were to compare it to their double cheeseburger or their third-pound Angus burger. Or, if chicken strikes your fancy, get a McChicken burger, or a wrap. Wraps are good if you don't eat much, plus it's stuffed with lettuce so it tastes fresher. Or, like I said, chicken nuggets are also a good choice, if you're more into junk food.""And for soda... you could go with orange crush, if you have a tooth for sweeter carbonated drinks, or Sprite if you prefer a zesty taste of lemon for your sizzling drink. If soft drinks aren't your forte, you can get some lemonade, or iced tea, not the crap they serve in Texas, I mean sweet iced tea, like Brisk."If you mix ice tea and sprite, by the way, that makes for a really nice combination," Brent added,
"But personally, I think milk would be best.""Hm, some iced tea sounds good. But... why would I get milk?" Savannah asked Brent, her eyebrow raised.
"Oh, you didn't know?" Brent smiled, pushing up his non-existent glasses.
"40% of total lifetime bone mass is accumulated during adolescence, and milk is the best way to get calcium! Not to mention the fact that it tastes great and works to protect that smile of yours as well!""A-are you saying that I'm short?" Savannah said with a look of lethal calm on her face.
"I'm saying that you definitely should take advantage of the time you have now to maximize your growth.""So you're saying I'm short? Savannah asked, repeating the question. She felt a surge of fury at the thought- and oh no. This wasn't going to end well.
Yeah, he could see a bomb when it was right in front of him. Tilting his head to the side, Brent said,
"Well, I think you're tall for your age, but you need to consider the future as well. Drink early, grow early, you know?""Brent, enough! Savannah, relax." Angel snapped, watching the two having a dispute like a bunch of kids. From her earlier conversation, she felt like Savannah was the kind of child who didn't want to be treated as such, trying to make people consider her just as worthy as an adult, even if she had ways to go about being one. One the other side, she knew firsthand just how much of a teasing jackass Brent was.
"Wait in line here and decide what you want to get based from the suggestions I gave you two. I'll have a word with Brent outside." Angel turned to the two inexperienced fast-food initiates, while she motioned Brent to go outside the restaurant with her.
Following the shades-wearing girl, Brent asked,
"So what's up?""The hell's wrong with you? I mean, I can take your sarcasm, I've dealt with your type in more ways than I can count, but Savannah's on a whole different level. She's just a kid, one who doesn't take kindly of being reminded as such, even though she should try and be a bit more self-conscious. Don't forget you're talking to X-marked, you never know what kind of situation you can get yourself into.""Plus, she'd been through a lot yesterday night. We all did. But a girl her age shouldn't have had to go through such things. Give her a break.""Uh...okay?" Brent's eyebrows furrowed, perplexed.
"I was serious about that suggestion, but..."How much did he really care about whether or not Savannah grew taller? His amethyst eyes turned inwards. No, he didn't really care. Yeah, maybe he'd even prefer if she was just a bite-sized pack of angry fun. As he moved to speak up once more, though, Brent blinked.
"Wait, what exactly does X-marked have to do with it?""Then you're a clueless idiot..." Angel answered to Brent's defense. "Being honest is a good thing, but there's a thing as being TOO honest." Perhaps she misjudged his character. If everything he says comes straight from his mind, then he was not the sarcastic dick she initially thought of him, but a happy honest fool. In reality, she didn't know which one was worse. Her scowl however changed to surprise when Brent asked about what X-marked had to do with the whole issue.
"Wait, you don't know? You surely must know about the two types of subnaturals, the white-marked and the X-marked, or Arbiters and Aberrations, from what I gathered around the campus. Those bearing the X mark are impulsively violent people, the cause of which is not so clear, apparently, the cause is different to each of us."Angel hesitated for a moment, unsure if it was wise to share this information about herself.
"I may seem fine right now, and so is Savannah. But I can assure you, we have our days, and I'm not talking about periods. I'm talking about moments where instincts of destruction guide our thoughts. I've only been a subnatural for a week or two, and I never felt this impulsive feeling of screaming things apart before then.""So yeah, that's what it has to do with it. I don't know what is Savannah's quirk, but I saw it in her eyes, the look of someone who's about to blow a fuse, the same killer eyes Zoe had when she grabbed Aaron by the collar and was about to kill him just because he pissed her off after yesterday's battle."Interesting. That was certainly something he hadn't known or even thought about before. So, the white-marked and the x-marked were different in that regard, were they? He had thought it was a matter just of what type of power they held, but to think that it actually had an effect on their temperament, that the arguments he heard in the background that night were fueled by this destructive impulse...
"That sounds...wow," Brent laughed awkwardly,
"Still a whole lot of things for me to learn, huh? Sorry about that and the spaghetti incident then. I've only really been...conscious as a subnatural for a couple of days, so yeah. Lots of things I'm still in the dark about, and my local library didn't really have any sort of books on 'us'."Lots of things to learn, and lots of things to keep in mind, huh? He wasn't sure whether he liked or disliked that.
Hearing Brent apologizing, Angel somewhat felt bad about snapping at him like that. He seemed... sincere about not knowing about the precarious situations he created. She couldn't blame him really, she was just a regular human just two weeks ago, before she awakened as an X-marked. She basically knew next to nothing about subnaturals, if not for popular knowledge and her big fan base that included a good number subnaturals as well.
"I... I'm sorry if I seemed harsh. Can't say I totally blame you there. Being a subnatural is way more than what the media let normal people know, until you become one.""Anyways, I think we're good with this, right? No hard feelings?" Angel raised her first for a bump to the amethyst-eyes Brent in front of her.
"Yeah, no prob. I'll keep all these things in mind," Brent replied. As Angel raised her fist, he raised an open palm. Then blinked again. Wut.
Wow... the awkward situation. Angel corrected the situation by taking Brent's hand and closing his fingers into a closed fist, then gave him a fist bump.
"When people present you their fist, you bump their fist back... genius." Angel chuckled as she turned her back to him and went inside the restaurant to join up with the two girls.
Brent died on the inside and followed, grumbling, "
"Yeah, I knew that. Just instinctively went for a high five."What started as a pleasant discussion about suggestions quickly broke down as tensions rose. Anxiety gripped Siena's heart, squeezing until it felt as if the muscle might stop entirely.
No, no. No, bad, no. Memories of Gerwulf's unbridled fury came to mind.
No, bad, bad, no. Instinctively, Siena began pulling at a stray lock of hair, twisting until several strands came apart with satisfying twinges even as Angel defused the potentially explosive situation. With a pause, Siena glanced at the shorter blonde beside her.
"
He doesn't know what he's talking about," Siena lied through her teeth. "
That aside, what're you thinking of getting? I'm awful at making decisions blind." With a laugh that came out a bit pitchier than usual, Siena glanced at the menu while running through the suggestions that Angel had made. "
Maybe one of us can get chicken and one of us can get beef and we can split it if you're feeling adventurous."
Savannah took a deep breath, and then blew it out again. The logical part of her mind told her to calm the fuck down, so that's what she did. When Siena spoke, she turned her head to the side, looking up at the older, impeccably dressed girl.
"I mean, we could split a burger and some chicken nuggets. I’m not really sure of what I want to get." Savannah said to Siena.
"
That sounds pretty good to me." Putting the best grin that she could muster, Siena reached for the confines of her purse, her fingers groping for the familiar feel of her "on-the-go" wallet. Well, really the only wallet that she had brought with her. "
I can pay for lunch. It seems like it'll be pretty cheap." A pause here as they drew closer to the front of the line. "
Huh...you think we'll need to order for them?" Not exactly the best idea, leaving ordering detail to two people that had never eaten at the restaurant before.
Seeing that the line drew closer to the front, Savannah started hoping that the two would come inside soon. She honestly had no idea how to order, and suspected that Siena didn't either.
"Well, I hope they do. We certainly will need their help to order, I don't know how to order, and I don't think you do either." Savannah said to Siena.
In a moment of terrifying clarity, Siena noted that they were up next in line. She tugged at the ends of her hair even as the clerk called for the next customer, a half-vacant smile on their face. Glancing towards the door, the brunette noticed that Brent and Angel were decidedly
not with them and winced at the prospect of trying to order. Well, it might be...interesting.
"How can I help you?""
Um...can we get the BLT...burger...?" The statement trailed into an uncertain question by the end. The clerk paused, as if just as uncertain as Siena before regaining himself.
"
Alright, will that be just the burger or the meal?"
What?"
Is...that not...the meal?" Feeling her hopes come crashing down around her, Siena threw a helpless look towards her companion.
What?!Savannah just stared in petrified silence as Siena attempted to order. When Siena glanced at her, Savannah's look simply said
I don't know. "S-sir, can we have the BLT burger, and some chicken nuggets?" Savannah asked the clerk, clearly confused.
"Do you want the meal?" the cashier promptly replied, and Savannah just stared, dumbfounded, at him.
"W-what?" Savannah managed to stammer out.
"Kid, do you want the Happy Meal?" said the cashier, clearly getting frustrated at the two.
"W-what's a Happy Meal?" Savannah asked.
"It's for kids.""I'm 14." Savannah replies.
"So...do you want the meal? The meal comes with fries and a drink. Regular size." The cashier's finger tapped impatiently against the counter, as he watched a line grow behind the two subnaturals.
"W-we, we want the BLT burger, and some chicken nuggets." Savannah said. She was so confused.
"...ok, just the burger then. How many nuggets? What sort of dipping sauce?"H-how about 20?" Savannah said with a wince.
W-what sauces do you have?"Bless. Finally, a straight answer.
"We have..sweetsourhoneymustardbarbequespicybuffalosweetchilihotmustardcreamyranch." "W-what?" Savannah said, not sure about what the cashier had said. He had said it so fast, she hadn't had time to catch most of the sauces.
This was quickly turning into a snowballing disaster. The brunette blinked, aware that the debacle was not improving even as she caught...basically none of the additional sauce options. Lamentations indeed. "
We'll uh...the first one." A pause. Brent and Angel weren't back yet. Her eyes drifted towards the pictures. The biggest one was...
"
And a Big Mac meal and a...uh...Mc....McChicken meal...?" Hopefully tacking on the word "meal" would clear up any confusion about wanting a meal. A moment of realization dawned on her. "
A-And five drinks!" After all, hadn't Brent claimed that the best part of McDonalds was mixing one's own drink?
"Alright, would you like to supersize that?"What?"
Um...yes...?"
"So a...BLT, 20 piece nuggets with sweet and sour sauce, and a Big Mac and a McChicken meal, both supersized, as well as 5 drinks on the side. That comes up to..." A few finger taps later.
"$29.88. Is this for here or to go?""
Um...f-for here." Wait, no. What if they hadn't wanted to eat in the establishment? Well, too late then. For the amount of food that they'd ordered, the price didn't seem quite right. Rather, that
couldn't be right. That was less than twenty for an entree...less than fifteen, even. Half expecting the cashier to change his mind about the number due to error, Siena paused for a moment, golden and black card hanging from her fingers. When no corrections came, she hesitantly handed the card over for payment. If anything they could fix it later.
"Debit? The machine's there.""
Oh! Um...alright." Awkwardly, Siena slid the card into the appropriate slot, confirming the price and punching in her pin with one hand halfway over the number pad to hide the sequence before the payment went through. Pocketing her card, Siena accepted the printed receipt, cramming it into a shallow pocket. Hopefully that was the end of that ordeal.
Indeed, it was.
"Next," the cashier called, as another young employee began to assemble the order, starting with five regular-sized cups and two extra large ones.
It would be a lie to say that Angel wasn't amused by the scenery unfolding in front of her. Even if Brent and she were a few meters away in the waiting line, her acute hearing picked up Siena's confused voice through the growing mutterings of frustration from the crowd. It was mean of her, to watch them fumble with their order like that, but she figured that it would be best left for these two to handle it by themselves and learn from their experience. In the end, she'd pay back these two for any over expenses.
"I'll take two double cheeseburgers, both with bacon. And... give me a third-pound Angus, without cheese. Meal for the Angus, no supersize. For here."Angel ordered matter-of-factly, speaking with fluidity that would make people around her believe this wasn't her first time. In fact, she seemed to know well the menu. After the cashier told her the total price for her order, which amounted no less than $15, she opened her wallet to pay directly with her money.
•
"Uh... lady? We don't take Canadian money here." "... Okay then..."Angel put back her colorful money inside her wallet and took her student ID card, shoving it to the cashier who took it and swiped it in his machine.
"Nice job," Brent thumbs upped the two girls as they waited for their own meal. He hadn't heard what exactly they ordered, but hey, it looked like everything was fine, right? Once Angel stepped off to the side, the amethyst-eyed youth was up now. He scanned the menu, nodded to himself, and said,
"20 piece nuggets with barbeque and honey mustard, as well as a bacon clubhouse burger with grilled chicken. A meal as well, but switch out the fries with a side salad.""That's all for you?""Yup. There a problem?"The cashier looked at the three girls who had ordered much more. He had thought they were part of a larger group, but...damn, the USARILN girls were thirsty, huh?
"No, the total will be $12.40.""Cool."Grouping up altogether, the gang of newly arrived students from USARILN sat down at a table, to the farthest corner of the restaurant. They may have been a bunch of teens, but they remained subnaturals nonetheless. Eyes followed them, some staring with fear - especially because of the group was half-composed of X-marked individuals - others were curious and some more daring customers were taking pictures or filming the group of students.
Trying their best to not mind the obnoxious populace reacting to their presence, the shopping group ate quietly at their table, each enjoying the not-so finest delicacies this restaurant had to offer. While it was true their group was quite sizeable, the amount of food on the table falsely indicated that it was meant for more people.
In the end, everyone was full or did not want to eat anymore, and there was quite a large quantity of leftovers. The drinks, they didn't really matter. The food, however, Angel minded and proposed to bring the leftover nuggets and burgers with them. If no one else would have them, she wouldn't say no to eating them later in the day, or probably for another day.
"Urgh, eating so much wasn't such a good idea. We still have a kilometer to walk over to the... school.""Welp," Brent said, hoisting up his bags,
"Always good to burn some calories after a fatty meal, right?""Ugh." Savannah groaned, her face on the table. She had eaten way too much. Actually, she couldn't remember the last time she had eaten that much.
"So... full. I think I’m going into a food coma, guys. But that was soooo good. So greasy too... Savannah's voice trailed off, her fullness making her sleepy. The food had been delicious, though. It was nice to be full for once.
"Could always postpone the inevitable... with more walking..." Allison, who had silently followed the group to the establishment, and sat with them without a word aside from introducing herself, spoke while nibbling at a hamburger of questionable quality.
"
I think my parents would have ended me for eating this much," Siena tried to laugh.
Tried. It was more like pain as her stomach forced her to acknowledge that she'd crammed it far too full. "
I think I'll have to work out for hours to burn this off..." The food had been good. A little saltier than her usual palette, but not so much so that it became unpleasant. Sipping at one of the multiple cups littered on the table, she gave a soft sigh. If she got back to the dorm, she might actually collapse into bed and refuse to move the rest of the day.
"Nothing a few hours of morning jogging can't handle."Suddenly, Savannah let a loud fart loose. As she did, she sat up, the look on her face one of mortification. Her face turned fire-truck red as the horrible stench began to circulate. Oh my god, she was so embarrassed. Her mouth tightened into a small line, and she plugged her nose.
"Oh shit," Brent said, scratching the back of his head with an awkward laugh,
"Sorry ‘bout that.""Christ, Brent. Fucking disgusting man.""
O-Oh my." Despite herself, Siena felt her face flush a little in embarrassment for Brent's sake.
Averting his eyes to the side, he said,
"So...yeah...lotsa walking then, eh? Always would have been down, but I got a solo date to the library. You're all fine with the luggage, yeah?""
Sounds like a good time," Siena claimed with a smile. It wasn't really a joke--the library would have been the first place she wanted to go, but after the events of the night before, she had pressing issues to handle. Most notably, a few additional reading methods in case of emergency, and maybe a decent knife to replace the one that she had lost. Or maybe she should have had Gerwulf pick one--he usually knew what he was doing. Usually.
"So, Siena. You said you came to buy some stuff, right? You found what you were looking for yet?""
Most of it. I haven't seen a place for tablets yet. The clothes I can order once I get a better idea on sizing from the stores here." After all, she'd spent most of her life having been measured for her purchases. "
I um...don't really know where to pick up decent ones though. I used to buy them online, but getting one for immediate use is..important. Just in case."
"Well, I don't mind keeping you company and snoop around town, if you'd like to. Who knows, I might just find something worth buying beside clothes and personal hygiene products." Angel chuckled softly.
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After an eventful day, the ever-growing group of shopping subnaturals finally managed to reach USARILN's campus. Some were tired, other exhausted, other a bit less fatigued, but none of them would deny that this day had been rather interesting. Every single one of them were carrying their shopping bags, some had more than others, but in the end, it was a fruitful shopping day for the gang.
In the end, Angélique was personally happy from this shopping trip. Not only had she gotten what she initially came for, but she also met her fellow classmates that had arrived at USARILN with her on this accursed truck. She got to know them better, have fun while shopping and eating, so that day couldn't be better, in her opinion. Shifting her bags from side to side as her arms were getting heavier from the haul she had bought today - and also because Siena so politely offered to pay for a few items she had noticed Angel was interested in - the raven-haired Aberration turned to face the others with a genuine smile, something that had seemed to become rarer these days.
"So, I guess that's it for the day huh? It was fun. I really appreciated going out on a shopping spree with you guys."Shifting to the large black casing on her back, Angélique flashed a grin to Siena.
"Oh, by the way, my room's 300, in the B apartment complex. If you need anything, I'll probably be there. Or if you want to hear a little something from your investment."Angélique chuckled, still delighted to have had Siena buy that guitar she had got her eyes on earlier this afternoon when they came across that music store after their lunch break at the restaurant. She was definitively going to make it worth her money, still feeling slightly embarrassed about having someone gift her such a pricy item. She had been opposed to the decision at first, but the girl's stubbordness caved in on Angel's modesty.
"Same to you guys. If you need anything, you know where to find me." Angel repeated to the others.
Holding her day's haul--one new tablet, one old phone, and one medium stuffed cat that had been conveniently located in the "other" section of a store--Siena couldn't help but feel the slightest bit of accomplishment. Honestly, despite the fiasco of ordering at McDonalds, Siena had done better than she thought, though that was thanks in no small part to the aid of her classmates. More than that, a few keen observations had left the brunette feeling like she actually might have had friends.
'Not people paid to be friends...I hope.' "
I'm glad we ran into each other. I don't think I'd have managed this on my own," Siena claimed while adjusting the strap of her own purchases. Hearing the invitation sent a flutter of warmth through the girl's chest. "
'll have to take you up on that invitation sometime. I'm in 430 in building A if you ever want to pay a visit or anything." Like the older girl, Siena turned her attention to the main group as well. "
Any of you, really. It...it'll be nice to have company."
Residual loneliness that Siena could identify, without an ounce of doubt, as her own bubbled up, fainter now than it had ever been. Just like always, she bat it down with willpower, keeping it far away from the outside.
While others walked, Brent rolled. Having ultimately decided to stick around anyways (because Siena's gold debit card was a beautiful thing), he picked up roller blades out of all things, spending much of his time just skating around. His wardrobe was ultimately going to remain the same, but rollerblades. Wonderful things. He couldn't wait to try overclocking that shit.
It would mean less time in the library, but hey, social relationships were always more useful than personal training, right? Especially when said relationship meant free shenanigans. Turning around, Brent smiled back at Angelic.
"Yeah, and to think this all started because you were walking through the streets alone and in your underwear! Fate's wonderful.""Y-yeah, I guess. Don't need to point it out like that though."Angélique turned into a flabbergasted mess at the mention of having walked around town with her bare bra exposed to the eyes of everyone. Did he really need to rub it in like that?
What?Rational thought sputtered to a stop. Angel was
what? Siena could have choked on the air she breathed on for the reaction the statement drew. Sending her gaze directly to the floor out of a mixture of respect and surprise, the brunette felt a sympathetic rush of embarrassment, the heat rising like ravenous flames trying to devour her whole.
Allison walked along with the rest of the group, happily carrying the bags of clothing that Angel had helped her pick out. If it wasn't for her, Allison would still be in that store, roaming around, clueless and flustered. Of course, Allison's mind was going any slower than usual, and brought her images of Angel in various outfits, and various states of undress. When Brent mentioned Angel walking around in her underwear, she nearly shed a tear at the beautiful mental image. She had half a mind to shout 'Okay you god damn metalhead, just fuck me already.' Only her last few shreds of human decency kept her from doing so.
"Yeah, if you ever wanna hang out, my room number is 203, in Building B. Just stop by whenever you want. But knock. Please knock. Savannah said to Siena with an exasperated tone at the end. One of her biggest pet peeves was when people didn't fucking knock, and it often turned her into a book-chucking mess. Savannah was carrying three heavy bags of stuff. A couple of the items had been paid for by Siena, like the new headphones, and the teddy bear in one of the bags that she had (admittedly) really wanted.
"Suite 225 if you want to talk some more about music, or chill out playing video-games." Aaron felt inclined to say after everyone began sharing their room's number.
And with that, everyone parted ways, each going to their own room to shuffle through today's purchases and decide what to do for the rest of their day.
