Room 324, Monday After Classes

[vanillajello]

Apparently, going to high school classes was hard work.

Or Kate and her kids shared a gene for being lazy.

Either way, after Japanese Etiquette and Tradition, they'd headed back to Kate's room. Now, Dani was sprawled on the floor with a stack of his mother's kid-friendliest manga, and Vivienne had claimed the laptop for important research. Or so she said.

And Kate was keeping up a conversation, being all sneaky about finding out more about the way things worked were the kids were from. Not really asking questions, but kind of nudging the kids towards the subjects she was curious about.

She was pretty sure that Vivienne was on to her, and that Dani was barely listening. But, whatever. They had a big bag of candy. All was good.

[ooc: Open door, open post! Can't we keep the kids forever?]

Comments

[therewaslife]

"Well, they're both still alive," he noted, glancing at them both, "so perhaps her patience is long and tested. You seem like you're doing just fine."

[vanillajello]

"I'm not worried about me."

Yes she was. But not about the one who was here.

[therewaslife]

"I was more just giving you a compliment there, Kate," Bod said, smiling a bit. "It wasn't a comment on the current state of things. It was just a compliment."

[vanillajello]

"Oh." It was an easy mistake to make when your mind was drifting towards the past and other worlds and what should never happen.

She smiled a bit back at him. "Thanks."

[therewaslife]

"You're welcome," he said, nodding and feeling a bit uncomfortable with things again. He felt out of place, which wasn't new, and out of his depth. "I should have clarified. I probably shouldn't have bothered you in the first place all things considered but I should have clarified."

[vanillajello]

"Bod," she said, reaching out to squeeze his shoulder lightly. That was a nice, we're-just-friends kind of gesture, right? "Stop worrying."

And then she smirked at him, because he'd said the same to her often enough.

[therewaslife]

"I don't know if I can," he admitted, shaking his head at his ridiculousness. "It seems to be ingrained for me in unfamiliar situations. I don't know what to do."

[vanillajello]

"Find a constant. Concentrate. Adjust," she said lightly and quietly, pulling her hand back before it got a mind of its own and found his neck. Time and place for everything, and this so wasn't it.

[therewaslife]

"You sound familiar," Bod said, unable to stop one side of his mouth from curling up in a smile. "You should stop listening to whoever it was that told you that. I think he might be a little touched in the head."

[vanillajello]

Kate snickered. "Mm, I think he is," she nodded. "But I kinda like him that way."

[therewaslife]

"I don't know if that makes you brave or foolish," said Bod, getting a sudden idea and pulling a pen out of his pocket. He gestured for her hand. "You might regret that in the long run."

[vanillajello]

"Eh, I'll burn that bridge when I get to it," she shrugged, holding out her hand for him without hesitation. "Maybe I'm not all there, either."

[therewaslife]

"Maybe," he said, drawing a small happy face on her hand before writing Hi. Well, he could've said that out loud. The smiley face had been intended for her hand though. Paper?

Which, yes, would probably be better for writing anything to her since it could be trashed but now he was drawing another smiley face after asking that question.

[vanillajello]

She bit on her lip to stop herself from laughing too hard, then reached for a notebook from her bedside table with her free hand.

And then, realizing Vivienne was giving them a curious look, she asked him, "So have you started studying for your finals yet?"

It was the best she could come up with at this precise moment.

[therewaslife]

"No," he said, adding some hair to that smiley face before smiling down at his handiwork. "I should though. Ethics might be difficult. There's been a lot of things discussed in there."

He paused and nodded at the notebook. Her turn, so to speak.

"Have you?"

[vanillajello]

"No, and I'm not sure I'll even need to, too much," she replied, reclaiming her hand before opening the notebook to the first empty page there was and reaching for a pen.

"I already knew most of Algren's stuff before the class, and Drake's final shouldn't be hard."

Hello, she wrote. You're weird.

As she drew a smiley face next to the last word, she added, "And I can always bribe Mitchell with baked goods."

[therewaslife]

"It sounds like an easy week of final exams for you," he said, reaching over to write something in return.

Am I? Why for now? he scrawled. Now you can tell me whatever you'd like.

[vanillajello]

"Should be," she shrugged. "But this is Fandom, so that might change unexpectedly."

Okay maybe this was clever. You're still weird.

[therewaslife]

"If you expect it, you're going to jinx us all," Bod said, shaking his head and writing something else.

Yes, and you're still evil. Well, if they were reiterating facts. Tell me something I don't know.

[vanillajello]

"I'm not expecting anything to happen," Kate replied, twirling the pen between her fingers.

Mom's maiden name is Craine, she wrote.

"I'm just saying."

Bet you didn't know that.

[therewaslife]

"So, if something does happen, does that mean I can blame you?" he asked idly, glancing over at her.

I didn't know that, he scrawled and paused before writing something she didn't know. I was once arrested. I know you didn't know that.

[vanillajello]

"No it does... not." The random pause wasn't caused by what he'd said. "It won't be my fault."

And all she wrote was ???

[therewaslife]

Bod laughed a little at the pause and the writing, taking his time before he responded either way. "I think it would. After all, you were the one that brought attention to the possibility of strangeness."

I was trespassing, he wrote, keeping it vague since the rest of that night hadn't been very fun. It was a stupid thing to do but, at the time, I didn't care.

[vanillajello]

Kate snorted. "People do that all the time here. Why would I be the one who gets the blame?"

Dummy.

Not like Kate could relate to doing stupid things because you didn't care that they were stupid at the time. Of course not.

Vivienne was still watching them. What? It was interesting!

[therewaslife]

"Because I ca--" Bod stopped that thought and reworded his statement. "Because I was here to witness you tempting fate so I would blame you."

You're so nice to me. He drew another small smiley face next to that statement. I almost said I cared about you out loud, if you couldn't tell. I think that would have invited questions."