oh dear. {openn}

[Frankie Clearwater]

It wasn't very unusual to see Frankie sitting alone places. She wasn't exactly social [at all] and she didn't have many friends, so when she went somewhere, it was usually sans company. What was strange was that she was sitting in a place so full of people. Normally, her haunts included fairly empty places--her dorm, the library at odd times of the day, secluded corners of the outside area. Most certainly not a courtyard, and in broad daylight.

So why was she here? Simple. Frankie loved watching movies, whether they terrified her or not. Unfortunately, most horror movies did terrify her, though she never hesitated to watch them anyway. And when she did, she always found it helpful to put herself in a non-terrifying situation to clear her head. And, after watching something as insane as The Grudge, she really needed a nice, bright, sunshiney day to clear her head.

Despite her need to be out here, she still did not want to have to talk to anyone,so, though she would have preferred to walk about, she had found a spot to sit on the edge of a fountain. Sitting reduced her chance of meeting people by bumping into them, at least. The only thing it really didn't do was prevent kind hearted people from thinking she was lonely and, thus, walking over to have a pity conversation.

Frankie Clearwater was not in need of pity conversations.

Or any sort of conversation, really, considering she had plenty more movies she could watch and thus see people have conversations. Which was just as good, right? Of course right. Frankie had never needed more than her movie conversations.

With a little sigh [because sitting out in the sun in the courtyard, while nice and soothing, was not exactly entertaining], she shifted so that she could lie down, trailing her hand in the water of the fountain as she did. Since now, it was more difficult to see, she didn't notice someone else sit down and, as she stretched her legs out, she accidentally kicked them. Not too hard, but still.

She yelped and shot up. "Sorry!" she whispered, mortified.

[[Sorry for any powerplaying, I needed a way for people to enter >>]]

[Serinthel Haberin]

She wanted to cry, and she wanted to cheer, and quite frankly she wanted to dance up and down the halls with Cain. But she held it in, if only for the golden rule - "Respect thine elders." And respect her parents she would.

"Yes father," she answered mechanically. "I'll talk to you next week. Send my greetings to grandfather." She hung up the payphone and gave out a cheer, startling a few of the younger students wandering by her. She didn't care though, she rarely did. She picked up the ratty looking stuffed animal on the chair and pulled him close to her chest.

"Dodged the bullet!" she said to him. What's their excuse this time?, she heard back. "They're going back to the motherland for something," she answered, waving her hand in the air. It didn't really matter, so long as she didn't have to see her family. It wasn't even that she hated being around her parents - she respected them. It was her sister who she didn't want to see. And thanks to the 'family-minus-one-' trip to Germany, she wouldn't have to be in the same room as the walking ball of cosmetics.

It was a good day. It was a great day, for that matter. Serin wandered through the halls, trying to remember the quickest way to the courtyard. She hadn't been there much, but it seemed to be the proper place for celebration. She held Cain tightly to her chest as she walked. She still couldn't believe her amazing luck!

Pushing the door open, Serin stepped out into the fresh air and let out a sigh of relief. The courtyard was packed. Normally she would have turned on her heel and bee-lined it out of there but not today. Today was her day. And so, deciding she deserved a little rest after handling herself maturely for her father, she took a seat at the edge of the fountain.

...Only to be kicked off of it.

Giving out a small yell, Serin landed on the ground next to the fountain, a little confused about how she went from her nice, well deserved seat to...well, to the ground. She looked up to see a terrified looking girl staring at her with wide eyes. She shot up and whispered, "Sorry!"

And Serin did the only thing that seemed to fit the situation. She laughed. If the day had been any different, she might've gotten angry. She might've thrown herself on the girl and tried to drown her in the fountain. But not today. Not on her day.

"You... you," Serin managed between giggles ,"You look like I just grew two heads!" Still chuckling, Serin failed to notice all the eyes in the courtyard falling on the two girls. She picked herself up and brushed off her pants before picking Cain up off the ground. "You okay?" she asked the doll. Hmph. "Oh, don't be a brat," she mumbled while kissing the top of his stuffed head.

Glancing back at the other girl, Serin only hoped she wasn't honestly as terrified as she looked. She looked familiar, now that Serin thought about it. Maybe they had classes together? Not knowing how to properly break the ice, Serin reached into her back pocket and pulled out a Jolly Rancher and held it out to the other girl with a wary smile.

"It's not poisoned, I promise. Although... that would be a good way to get rid of someone I didn't like... I mean-" Serin caught herself. She could ramble all she wanted in front of Cain. But this was a potential not-enemy.

(( OOC - Dear God - this is longer than I thought it would be. Hope it's what you were looking for =] ))

[Leyah Luna LaNoche]

---

Leyah was coming in from the nurses, where she had helped the nurse himself. (What a paradox!) she loved the courtyards for there beauty, but hated them for there crowded manner. She watched a girl kick another girl. It was on accident, she could tell that easily. Sh sat near the spot where that had happened and crossed her legs on the fountain, hoping she wouldn't be the next to be kicked off of the fountain.

She pulled out some blank sheet and her mandolin, the courtyard was a great place for imagination to soar. Her pencil slowly scrambled across the page. She hummed a tune while lyrics scrolled thought out her head. She smiled at the girl on the ground. She was offering something to the girl who had knocked her down. candy? She smiled and directed her attention back to the page. "Knock me down... I'll pick you up. Your heart is broken and I'll glue it up??" She frowned and shook her head as she dumped the paper in her book bag.

She pulled out a journal of lyrics to already made songs by already famous people and began pluck the strings, and hum.

[Frankie Clearwater]

[[xDDD whatever, length. As long as I can reply.]]

Frankie slowly started to sit up, only to wish that she had remained firmly lying down, despite the great embarrassment she had just suffered. If she had, she wouldn't have noticed the attention now focused on her. Maybe it would have been better if the girl had gotten angry and tried to drown her. At least then she would have her face underwater where she could not see that almost all the eyes in the courtyard were pointed firmly in her direction.

For the second time that minute, Frankie was fairly certain that she would have chosen death, if given the option.

She was even more mortified, since she really hadn't thought that her accidental kick had been that forceful. After all, she had only been stretching her foot out. Did the girl really have balance that was that horrible? Oh my god, what if she had just kicked someone in bad health? That would really just be her luck.

"I really am so sorry," she said quietly, trying not to let any of the onlookers hear her. Because that would obviously make it infinitely worse, if they realized that she wasn't mute. Obviously. "Are you okay?" It was a little late, since the girl was already standing and laughing at whatnot, but no one was ever really very swift when their face was as flushed with color and burning as hers was.

At the offer the Jolly Rancher, she sat up a little straighter. She didn't eat candy very often, since health-nut parents tended to shy away from all things made with corn syrup, but when she did, she did enjoy it.

"Oh," she said, her voice getting just barely a tad louder. "...Thank you." She accepted it gingerly, the thought that it could be poisoned not exactly running through her head until...well, until the girl mentioned it. And then was a little hesitant to try the jolly rancher.

"...Ha," she said, giving a nervous little laugh. "..Thanks."

[Serinthel Haberin]

You realize you probably just scared the poor girl even more, right...? Cain's voice echoed in her head. Serin frowned. Talking to people was definately a weak point. Trying to talk to distressed people was even harder. She felt nervous. That was never a good thing. She turned around to face the crowd and barked out,"Hey! Mind your own damn business...!" Most of them turned away.

She felt a little more accomplished. She turned back towards the frightened girl and tried to smile again. "What's your name?" Serin asked, genuinely curious. She half expected to not get an answer, but she still wanted one. Serin didn't like people. That was common knowledge, but she didn't like being on bad terms with someone as timid as the girl right in front of her.

[Frankie Clearwater]

It wasn't that Frankie dislikes talking to people, it was just that the fact that someone was taking time out of their day to talk to her was...a bit difficult to comprehend. And being offered candy was just a little strange, no matter what. But nonetheless, she carefully unwrapped the jolly rancher and popped it into her mouth. Ooohh, candy was so good.

At her shout to the crowd, Frankie jumped, looking quite a bit more alarmed than before, though pleased that they had [mostly] stopped looking. There was something that had to be said for outgoing people. Though Frankie, in her not-outgoing groove, would not be saying any of those things.

"..Thanks," she said again, since that seemed to be the easiest word to fit into conversation when conversation was apparently necessary. Frankie would have had no idea that Serin disliked people, but with just her current knowledge, she would have bet that she was semi-popular. Not the sort that didn't talk to anyone but their clique, obviously, but the sort that stopped when kicked by losers and actually started a conversation.

Or maybe, like she'd thought before, the girl was just retarded.

"Uhm," she said, thankfully knowing the answer to this question [duh]. "Frankie. I mean, that's not my real name," she felt it necessary to say, despite the fact that she was no more inclined to giving out her real name than talking to strangers. "...But that's what I go by." She glanced away nervously.

[Serinthel Haberin]

Serin smiled nervously and said,"It's nice to meet you. I'm Serin. Serinthel's my real name, and I have no idea what my mother was on when she named me but Serin sounds a lot less.... fancy," she finished lamely. She'd never really taken the time to explain to anyone why she went by what she did, and it sounded extremely....stupid when it was said aloud.

Oi, aren't you going to introduce me? Serin's eyes widened a little and she held up her stuffed animal. He was a black cat, with bright golden eyes.

It was a little intimidating.

"Um, this is Cain. He's... a stuffed animal." Serin said, not entirely sure how to go about explaining her rather interesting best friend who lacked most organs required to be, well, alive. Her chances at regular human interaction with Frankie was pretty much bombed - but she didn't want to be rude and not introduce him.

He liked being the center of attention.

"Er.... yeah." Serin finished, pulling her stuffed animal back to her chest. She looped both her arms around his midsection and shifted from foot to foot. Well.This isn't awkward at all[/b], Serin thought sarcastically. She wanted to run away, crawl into her dorm and...watch a movie or something. [/size]

[Frankie Clearwater]

Frankie liked being given things to focus on, whether they were normal or creepy, and so the presence of a stuffed cat was a very welcome thing. Turning her concentration to it instead of the girl [and having no idea that the thing spoke], she found it much easier to hold a conversation.

"Hi, Serin," she said, her voice a bit more normal now. "And a nickname's a nickname, whatever. My name sounds nothing like Frankie." Thank god. Because if she'd been named Frances, she might have shot herself.

At the mention of the cat, though, she smiled. She was, after all, a girl and did have a soft spot for stuffed animals, despite the fact that she had stopped introducing her own awhile ago.

"It's nice to meet you, Cain," she said, reaching forward and shaking the cat's paw. She figured that hey, if this girl was nuts enough to introduce a stuffed animal, she could obviously shake its hand. That did not fall under the category of unsuitable and awkward, did it? Or any category that would cause her status as social pariah to be enforced?

...Not that she wanted to socialize much, but one person at a time wasn't too bad.

[Serinthel Haberin]

Serin beamed.

She's....oddly accepting of you Liebchen, she heard echo in the back of her head. People only considered Cain weird and juvenile, which he very well may have been, but it was still nice that someone didn't sneer and call her a freak for a change.

Very nice, actually.

Serin noticed a few sets of eyes were still on the two. Did people honestly have nothing better to do...?

"I'm hungry!" she announced cheerfully. Her stomach had been grumbling and well, she was sick of the stares. When she got sick of things she'd usually fix them in a violent way, which probably wasn't going to be in her favor if she got caught for fighting in school again. She smiled softly at Frankie.

"Up for a bite to eat?" The dining hall was probably filled with people at this time of day, but at least they'd be focusing on their food like people should do, instead of gawking at the two girls like they'd just grown an extra head. Plus, she wanted to talk to Frankie a little more. She rarely found herself in a mood where she actually craved human contact but today she was in one of those moods. Someone to talk to never hurt anyone anyways.

[Frankie Clearwater]

Frankie's eyes widened at Serin's exclamation and she very nearly found herself accidentally diving into the fountain. Fortunately, she managed to control her jump and just sort of flinched.

"Oh," she said, reordering her thoughts into something manageable again. "Okay. Uhm. Food sounds good." She nodded. Food always sounded good, obviously.

Before she could change her mind, she stood up and gathered her things, stuffing them into her backpack before slinging it over her back. It was a little unnecessary for her to have an entire backpack when she wasn't in class, but whatever. Frankie wasn't the type to notice arbitrary details like that.

"Uhm," she said again. It was a great filler word, 'uhm.' "So, where do you want to go? The dining hall?"

Assuming, that is, that this girl still wanted to talk to her after the walk to wherever they were going, she didn't mind at all having a lunch conversation. Conversations, even to someone as nuts as Frankie, were always nice.

[Serinthel Haberin]

Serin blinked.

How could someone be startled by an announcement of hunger? She might not have been the most sociable person, but damn it, she'd heard plenty of people say "I'm hungry!" and not have it treated like they'd just confessed to a murder. She sighed.

Serin simply didn't understand people.

She walked over to the door and held it open for Frankie with a small smile. Even if this girl was really jumpy, she liked her. Serin wasn't picky by any means, she could grow to like anyone if given the right circumstances. Those circumstances never really rolled around though.

"Yup! Dining Hall it is. I heard they're serving pie today. I'd be the son of a fool to pass that up," Serin replied, voice laced with delight. Pie was one of her favorite things in the world, after Cain of course. Nothing would ever top him. A comfortable silence settled in between the two while they walked. Serin enjoyed it, it gave her time to think.

"What do normal people talk about..." she mumbled, tapping her finger against her chin. Just ask her things Liebchen. Anything will do, really - so long as you're sincere. Serin nodded. Cain was her voice of reason, he was a much more sociable person than Serin was. She'd know, she'd seen him in the Dream World. She didn't know one person could hold a conversation with seven others at the same time.

Serin turned to Frankie and tilted her head to the side in a curious way. "What's your favorite fruit?"

[Frankie Clearwater]

Frankie always felt most comfortable when she didn't have to start conversations and even MORE comfortable when she didn't have to look at someone as they conversed, so walking and talking was always a great option. She couldn't say much about the creepy stuffed cat, but whatever. It wasn't like stuffed animals actually watched people.

"I like pie," she offered timidly as they walked. It sort of seemed like a stupid thing to say, but whatever, it was true. And at least she was talking. Talking was always a good start. She didn't even mind this whole talking about fruit thing, either. In fact, it was kind of nice.

"Uhmmm," she said, chewing her lip in thought. "I really like peaches. And mangos. Did you know that mangos are one of the healthiest fruits?" She pressed her lips together before she could go on--daughter of hippies and whatnot. "What's your favorite?"