< Can't Mistake My Biology | HighSchoolOfShadows | Lacrossing Over >
<Mese> The food hall.
<Mese> It's lunch, after the morning's first three classes. Cole, Ophelia and Helena are in the cafeteria queue.
<Mese> In front of them is Julia, plus Ashley.
Cole has Helena's backpack over her shoulder, and her own backpack over the other shoulder.
<ophel1a> "Cole," Ophelia hisses as she approaches. "people keep ASKING about you. What the fuck am I supposed to say?"
<ophel1a> "Also why do you have two backpacks?"
<Cole> "Tell them to ask me?" she mutters back.
<ophel1a> "I did, they don't like that answer."
<Cole> "Helena left her backpack in class, she wasn't feeling well," she says in a normal tone of voice.
<Cole> "Oh, hey," she notices Helena in the line a few kids behind her.
<Cole> "You left this behind." She holds the backpack out, showing her teeth a little again.
<Helena> "Thanks. I was wondering where it went."
<Mese> Up front, Julia is actually ordering FOR Ashley. She finishes with, "oh, and I'll have the last chocolate pudding please!"
Helena shows her teeth back, but in a more of a grin. Almost.
<Mese> There's a lot of whispering in the cafeteria in general. Some people are pointing at Helena, and showing something to each other on their mobile phones. Others are looking over at Cole and Ophelia, and giggling to themselves.
Cole glances over at Julia, but says nothing.
<Mese> Julia flashes a brittle smile at Cole, but can't actually meet her eyes, so it doesn't really come off.
<ophel1a> Ophelia puts two and two together. "She left it when she ran out of Soc Stud?"
<Mese> She is makign a pointed effort to glad-hand people as she walks to her table, a seat already reserved for her by some of her other minions.
<Mese> Cole overhears, "Remember, vote Julia!"
Helena moves over to Ashley, to whisper close to her ear.
<Cole> "Yeah."
<Mese> Ashley's trailing along behind Julia, but stops when Helena approaches; she freezes up completely.
<Helena> "Ashley, I'm pretty sure that Cole wanted that last chocolate pudding. I mean, you guys don't really want it anyway, do you?"
Helena rests her hand on shley's back and lets her nails trail down her spine.
<Cole> "Who's asking you about me?"
Cole is moving past Helena and Ashley towards her accustomed table, but slows when she hears Helena's comment, and glances over.
<Mese> Ashley leans right in to the arm, her eyes closed. "H..Helena?"
<Helena> "Yes, Ashley?"
<ophel1a> "Carmela was. Said she missed you." Ophelia watches the display.
<Mese> "You're... touching me." She's trembling.
<Helena> "Oh, I guess I am. So... is it all right if I just grab this?"
Cole frowns. "I'll figure that out."
Cole is still watching Helena and Ashley.
Helena takes the pudding off the shared tray Julia made her carry and gives it to Cole.
<Cole> "Why, thank you, Helena." Cole smiles.
<Cole> "Do you want to sit with us? We usually take this table."
<Helena> "You're welcome, Cole."
<Helena> "Um.. sure. Thanks."
<ophel1a> "Hey," Ophelia gives Helena a little wave
<Mese> Ashley clearly could not give less of a shit what is happening to her tray, or anything on it.
Cole tilts her head for a second. "Do you think Ashley wants to sit with us too, Helena?"
<Helena> "I think she sits with Julia."
<Mese> "NO!"
<Mese> "No. I mean, no... I can sit where I like."
<Helena> "Oh, okay. Then yeah, you can sit with us. Right, Cole?"
<Cole> "I would love to have her." She smiles again.
<Mese> Ashley sits right by Helena, her and Julia's food plonked on the table and completely ignored.
Cole glances at Julia's tray, and takes her chocolate pudding off of it as well, then starts eating her meatloaf.
<Cole> "So how was bio, Ophelia?"
<ophel1a> "It was okay. We have to dissect frogs next week."
<Cole> "Oh, fun!"
<ophel1a> "Yeah it should be kinda cool. I'm just glad it's not RIGHT before lunch."
<Mese> Ashley reaches out to try and squeeze Helena's hand.
Helena pats Ashley's hand absently.
<ophel1a> "Man, how come we're the ones people are calling dykes?" Ophelia mutters
<Mese> Ashley REALLY wants a proper, finger-interlocking squeeze. He damp, clammy hands are wresstling to arrange it, under the table.
<Cole> "Hey!" Cole taps the table with her hand. "Do you guys want to help me make some posters later? I could really use the extra hands."
<Cole> "There's gonna be pizza..." she singsongs invitingly.
Helena slams both her hands onto the top of the table.
<Helena> "I've got extra hands."
<Cole> "Then you are just what I'm looking for."
<Mese> Ashley gives up on subtlety, and frustrated, just straight up starts nuzzling Helena right in the neck. Right in front of everyone.
<Cole> "Are you gonna eat the rest of that, Ophelia?"
Helena flushes, looking around awkwardly.
<Helena> "So... what kind of pizza?"
<Mese> "Let's get out of here." Ashley purrs right into Helena's ear.
<Cole> "What would you like on it?"
<Mese> Suddenly, Julia is right there. "WHAT. THE. FUCK."
<Mese> If people weren't staring at Ashley and Helena before, they are now.
<Helena> "Um... Hi there, Julia. Enjoying your lunch?"
<Cole> "Oh, hey, Julia. Did you want to sit with us? I thought your friends were over at that table."
<ophel1a> "Uhhhh... you know what? I'm kind of not hungry." She pushes her half eaten food towards Cole
<Mese> It is dead quiet in the cafeteria.
<Helena> "I was just talking to Ashley about pizza, and these posters."
<Mese> Julia is standing there, clearly unable to process.
<Helena> "You want to help? Cole's getting pizza."
<Helena> "Whatever you want on it, even.""
<ophel1a> "Cole's great at ordering pizza that doesn't suck," Ophelia adds loyally
<Mese> That breaks her. "No I don't want to help a bunch of fucking dykes. Ashley, come the fuck with me, this dyke thing is catching" She straight up grabs Ashley by the arm.
<Helena> "Just cheese, maybe?"
<Cole> "We talked about this." Cole's face freezes for a second -- it doesn't go cold, it just kind of stops responding to events for just a moment.
Cole reaches out and closes her hand on Julia's arm again, but this time, it squeezes much, much harder, without any apparent extra effort.
<Mese> There is a horrible snapping noise.
<Mese> Julia screams.
<Mese> Everyone is watching.
<Mese> Cole can feel somethign sharp prodding in to his palm.
<Mese> *her
<Cole> "Oh, geez, are you all right? What happened?"
Cole looks extremely surprised, except her eyes, which are smiling at Julia.
<Mese> Blood oozes from around Cole's fist. She can feel the warmth of it sliding down her arm.
<Cole> "God, we have to get you to the nurse right away."
<Cole> "Come on."
<Helena> "Ashley, help us get her there."
<Cole> "Kate, River, help us." Cole picks two smaller minions.
<Mese> Kate and River look uncertain, but their queen is clearly in no state to give orders.
<Mese> The rest of the school is mostly just staring. Some people might have rushed off at the back, for a teacher, but mostly it's just this sea of eerily quiet faces.
<Mese> Kate and River each take a leg.
Cole puts her other hand on the other bit of the arm, holding it steady.
<ophel1a> Ophelia stays where she is, watching Cole and remembering the days when she wasn't so... strong and cold.
Laetitia is now known as willows
Cole brings her mouth close to Julia's ear as they start walking out of the cafeteria, and murmurs to her..."You should stay out of my way from now on, Julia. I'm not the same person you knew from last year."
<Cole> "I've been feeling different recently. I'm been feeling...hungrier."
Cole transfers the load to her other hand, freeing up the hand still on the break. Gently, she pulls a nub of flesh from under the bone, and, wiping her face, slips it into her mouth, then smiles at Julia. The motion of her hand leaves a slight smear of blood across her upper lip.
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