School Hard

[prodigious_birth]

Here is Juliette sitting all by her lonesome in the Sunnydale Highschool cafeteria. Every other table is full, and there are some kids standing, but no one seems too keen on asking her for a seat.

Lunch today is mac and cheese with a side of lettuce.

Comments

[abodyinmotion]

"I am pretty sturdy and lack self preservation instincts. My name is Arya, by the way."

[prodigious_birth]

"Lack a lot of social instincts too, if you're sitting with me. I'm Juliette, the social leper. You're new?"

[abodyinmotion]

Arya gives the girl a vaguely challenging look.

"Yes, I am new. Arya, the social clueless, at least until I understand the school's cliques better, then I will the social clueless that punches any bitches that crosses her."

[prodigious_birth]

Juliette sits up in her seat and smiles at her.

"Punching people, yes please. Is this usual behaviour for you?"

[abodyinmotion]

Arya smirks "What counts as usual? Like I only inflicted glorious knuckle-based justice like... four times, and once I caught a girl gossiping about my brother and she made this face..." Arya giggles "And run away so fast that I couldn't look at her face again without having a giggling fit."

After a pause, Arya sporfles and can't control herself for a minute.

[prodigious_birth]

"I only really have to glare at most people nowadays. Everyone seems to give me enough of a distance that there's really no need for knuckle-based justice, which is kind of sad."

"Where are you from?"

[abodyinmotion]

"San Francisco. It was a nice place, at least the nasty girls learned things fast there."

[prodigious_birth]

"What brings you to the deadliest town in Southern California? Needed some new teenage girls to terrorize?"

[abodyinmotion]

"Deadliest?"

[prodigious_birth]

"Have you not noticed the twelve cemeteries that we have in town? The death toll is so absurdly high, we have at least one funeral a week."

"How long have you been in town?"

[abodyinmotion]

Arya has all the cemeteries locations memorized and is going to work hard to reduce the numbers of funeral.

Of course she can't say any of that.

"Less than a month?" Arya says uncertain "this place... looks so peaceful."

During the day at least.

[prodigious_birth]

"Then you missed the hubbub that happened a couple months ago. A gang of people high on PCP crashed the parent teacher night and killed a bunch of people. Stuff like that happens all the time."

[abodyinmotion]

"That sounds horrible..."

Of course, Arya was filled in by John and she knows what actually happened on that night. So gross.

"Maybe things will get better?" With a Slayer around they ought to.

[prodigious_birth]

"The cops don't really seem all that interested, and who else can really do anything about it? But anyway, you're new, so you probably don't know, being inside before nightfall is the way to go. The baddies of this town seem to take sunset as an invitation for badness."

[abodyinmotion]

Arya nods.

"We could set up to escort each other if we need to... and if there is trouble we call each other, at least so we are on the same page," and the Slayer can deal with the issue.

[prodigious_birth]

Juliette hmmms. "I'm cellphone-less, and judging from your nice clothes and fancy footwear, you probably live in the east side of town, right?"

[abodyinmotion]

"With the annoyingly white fences and everything. You... don't?"

[prodigious_birth]

"I live in what is delicately called 'the shit part of town' by the locals. It's about a half a block from the good part of town. We don't have a whole lot of town 'round here."

[abodyinmotion]

"Too many cemeteries around and too little town left... I actually have a martial arts tutor that lives in the west side, so I have reason to visit or escort you to your home. If you folks are okay with that."

[prodigious_birth]

Juliette makes a face. "Parents, right, people that would give a shit about who I hang out with. Yeah, it won't be a problem."

"Martial arts? I didn't know there was a dojo in town."

[abodyinmotion]

Oh, shit. Wait, what was the cover story again?

"There isn't," Arya says "He is a friend of a former tutor and is going to teach me as a favor."

Then Arya's mind remembers the first thing Juliette said.

"Er... Your parents don't...?"

[prodigious_birth]

"I'm in the foster system. Meaning, no parents," she says shortly.

"As long as I'm home in time by ten thirty, my foster mother really doesn't care all that much."

[abodyinmotion]

Arya makes a pained noise "I had a friend that was on the foster care... I know it is horrible."

[prodigious_birth]

Juliette clears her throat and changes the subject, "You said you had a brother?"

[abodyinmotion]

"Twin brother, actually," Arya says taking the hint "not sure where the nerd is now."