Room 308, Wednesday Evening - Chilling Out

[the_merriest]

So that Umbridge lady seemed kinda mean, and Hermione certainly hadn't liked her very much. That was bad.

But how much trouble could a principal be? Really. Seriously. Besides, she and her Jude-dude had made up and therefore, all was right with the world. Plus Deadpool hadn't come looking for her yet about the car. That was a bonus.

So Rikku was sprawled out on her bed, humming to herself and bopping a little. And maybe looking over a ... letter. 'Cause tomorrow was Thursday and, well, no reason. Just, you know. Couldn't hurt.

Her door was wide open.

Comments

[smartestone]

"This," she said, holding up one of the coconuts, "you haven't seen. She'll know it's me, no sense in anyone else getting into trouble for it. I've gotten some ideas, and I know quite a few people who are willing to help, and would you happen to know how to disable security equipment without damaging it?"

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"Maybe he shouldn't, if this...cow is going to act like that," Aravis replied scornfully.

[the_merriest]

Rikku grinned eagerly. "Totally. I mean, at least, I'd need to see it first, to be sure? But I bet I could. And I've got lockpicks and smokebombs and other goodies for ... ooooh, do you want a few of those? Just to have in case you need to make a quick getaway?"

She scratched her head, thinking. "And, uh, what's gonna be annoying, like, day-to-day? Should I go to her office and play dumb?"

[the_merriest]

Rikku made a face. "Maybe you're right. And ... and the heck with it. I'm gonna worry about us and ... and she can just kiss off."

She looked over uncertainly. "You, uh, you don't think she's, uh, right, do you? A-about ... beige stuff? Because I ... I'm kinda m-more beige, and ... and I like it," she admitted, almost defiantly.

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis snorted. "If you're some sort of tainted woman, I wonder what that makes me," she remarked. "No, she's not right. If you enjoy it, and...it feels right, why should you wait for the approval of someone who matters so little?"

She raised her eyebrows. "So...how much more beige?"

[the_merriest]

"Yeah," she said softly. "It's ... it did feel right. It wasn't ... things just kinda happened, and ..."

Rikku looked at her hands. "You ... you know how they get, uh, oh, gotta get cold water? I said ... I didn't mind if we ... didn't, get ... cold water? A-and then he, uh, he was gonna go, to t-take care of, of things? And he ... uh ... I said that, you know, it'd be ... okay if ... and ... and he, uh ..." She facepalmed. "Hang on."

She flipped through the letter and handed the appropriate page to Aravis. "Second heading."

[smartestone]

"They couldn't hurt," Hermione said. "A lot of things I can do by magic, but I'd also like to make it look as if it's not just me doing it. Fake a united front and all. She's not a fan of centaurs, Harry's name got a reaction out of her... Anything that goes against the rules will bother her. You might get punished, though."

Hermione was past caring about punishment on this front, but she felt it only fair to warn others.

[the_merriest]

"Yevon tried to execute me," Rikku said cheerfully. "I don't intimidate easily. And detention here's pretty fun, anyway."

"I don't think you're gonna have to fake a united front. I mean ... it's not just you. You know that, right?" She smiled encouragingly. "One for all, and all for getting detention and creeping out the scary pink lady."

[smartestone]

Hermione smiled a little."I know. I just have to add the disclaimer. If other people don't have to get into trouble, I'd love to avoid it, but I also won't turn down the help."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis, who was getting better at translating Rikku to English, had a good idea before looking at the letter. "Oh my. ...how was it?"

[the_merriest]

"If she, uh." Rikku shivered. "If she's all crazy like you said, then ... then you're gonna need it, yeah? You really think she's gonna try to take over?"

[the_merriest]

"It was ... incredible," she said softly. "I've never ... seen him like that. I felt beautiful and powerful and he ..."

She closed her eyes, blushing more as she smiled. "And then we snuggled in and he was just breathing and ... it was like it wasn't real, that we were just ... that he trusted me like that, and that I ... you know?"

[smartestone]

"Oh, I don't think she's crazy. I think she's entirely sane. She's just twisted," Hermione said firmly. "And yes, I do. Listen to her announcements, and the way she talks. A substitute wouldn't be dictating that girls and boys have separate rooms or deciding what goes on over the airwaves if she's planning on leaving."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

"I know," Aravis said softly, coloring slightly and smiling. "That's wonderful."

[the_merriest]

"Why does she care so much?" Rikku folded her arms. "She's ... she's like the Yevonites, with the ... appearances, and things have to look proper and be proper and even if it's all lies, at least the lies are pretty and make sense, and if the truth is ugly and raw, then the lies are better."

[the_merriest]

"S-sorry," Rikku said, blushing. "I, uh, I'm just still kinda ... you know? Trying to ... get my mind around it. And ... and tomorrow Mikey's gone all day and I want to do it again and I'm gonna be in his room wearing this skimpy little pink thing and if that makes me a h-hussy then maybe hussies are fun people to be, yeah?"

She noticed Aravis's own blush and grinned. "Ooooooh. You have news? You have news. You so have news. Yeah?"

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis blushed darker. "I might have news. You're surprising him in a skimpy...pink thing?"

[the_merriest]

"You do. You have awesome news and you don't get to hear about the pink thing unless you tell me." Rikku was bouncing excitedly.

[smartestone]

"Maybe that's exactly it," she mused. "And if she's the one telling us which lies to believe, she gets power from that."

[Crashing soonish.]

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis bit her lip. "We...I...." She laughed. "It's so odd to not have words for something. I almost don't want to say, because right now it's...just ours, but...my sand is...." She shrugged. "Very dark."

[the_merriest]

"Maybe ... she thinks if she says it enough, it'll be real. Or better than real. Something like that." She shrugged. "Either way, we need her out of her, fast."

[Night!]

[the_merriest]

"If it's ... if it's yours you don't have to," Rikku said softly. "I, uh, you're the first person I ... I mean, I kinda said we'd had a nice morning or whatever, but ... yeah. It seems weird to say out loud, like, it's different, you can't find the words right. Even the page in the letter, it's ... Here Is Something People Do, not ... he breathed and I breathed and it was magic."

She smiled again, eyes dancing. "Are, uh, are we talking really, really dark, like a brownish, or ....... ?"

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis just smiled. "As dark as can be."

[the_merriest]

"No way," Rikku breathed, and then clapped her hands excitedly. "No way! Are you okay?! What was it like?!? Was it good? Are you okay? Did it, uh, you know? That's so ..."

There was a high-pitched squee sort of noise and a glompy sort of hug.

A quick one, 'cause Aravis wasn't usually the touchy-feely type, but whoa, news this big required one. "Dude."

[notqueenyet.livejournal.com]

Aravis was only slightly taken aback by the hug, and carefully patted Rikku on the back. "It was...wonderful," she said, smiling in a way that was not entirely un-dorklike. "Perfect. It just felt like it was time."