Eat up, kiddies -- L.C. and Jenni

[November Adams]

The steady sound of smooth metal running through the crunchy flesh of cucumbers, the light humming of an unfamiliar tune, and the constant rustle of more food coming and leaving the chopping board. November stood at the counter, her hair tied back with a tie-dyed bandanna, and black apron tied tightly around her thin waist. The sharp knife shinned as she sliced the vegetables, chopping the food for that evening's salad. The lunch ladies weren't there, currently. Most of them had taken breaks, as it was the mid-afternoon, and dinner preparations didn't start for another two hours. But Ember loved to spend time in the kitchen. She loved to chop up vegetables, and make the desserts that so many people enjoyed. The cooks had gotten used to her presence after she wandered into the tiled kitchen in her first year of school here.

A small smile played on her lips, subconsciously formed when she cooked by the joy it gave her. Usually friends came with her to these sort of things and tested the food she made. Sammy would scarf down everything, then give her a satisfied thumbs-up and grin as he still tried to choke down the huge bites he took. He wasn't a very elegant eater. The humming continued as she pushed the cucumber bits into the large bowl and went to wash the dirtied knives.

The tune she hummed switched as she switched the water off and dried the knives, staring off to the top corner of the large, industrial sized kitchen. The brown eyes darted about as she thought, shifting through the different subjects in her head - the paper due in a few days, her sister's birthday, changing the oil in her van. She startled, nearly dropping one of the knives as she heard the door to the kitchens creak open. "H-hello?" Her voice shook, as it always did, a tentative greeting called out. The brunette couldn't shake the horror-movie feel of this. That's what she got for movie marathons with the guys.

[Jennifer Younge]

Jenni was hungry. Dinner wasn't for another two hours, and she didn't feel much like walking downtown to get something to eat. She was hungry now. Maybe she would be still be hungry by the time she reached a decent cafe, but she didn't want to test that theory. Besides, she was too new to be wondering around Pilot Ridge, especially since she didn't know the way yet. She wondered idly if there was any food available in the Cafeteria, and decided to head down there to go see.

She jumped of her bed, and pocketed her Diary. Jenni never left the thing out of her sight, for fear of someone reading it. Not that she had any major secrets, but the words written in the little books were sacred to her, and she didn't want some stranger reading them. In fact she didn't want anyone reading them. Her diary was her life in words, and she hoped to leave it behind to someone she trusted when she died. That way she would live on. In words and numerous books at least.

Jenni left her dorm, and walked slowly to the dinning hall. She wasn't in any rush despite being hungry, and she didn't particularly want to get lost. She panicked when she got lost. She also wanted to be aware of crowds. Crowds were the bane of Jenni's life. She always felt so squashed and bug like. The very thought of being stuck in a crowd had her shivering in fear.

Turning, Jenni felt and incredible wave of relief and pride. She had made it! Without any crowds, and more importantly, without getting lost. This was a mini victory for her, and she clapped herself before pushing open the door. She was greeted with a nervous sounding hello. Surprised, Jenni paused, and considered going back to her dorm. Dammit, if the girl was ever going to make friends in school she needed to stop running away! With this thought in mind, Jenni pushed forward, and came in clear view.

"Hello" she said tentatively "I was just wondering if there was any food available." She moved further in the room, and tried to pinpoint the source of the hello. She couldn't spot the person and so moved toward the counter. There. There was a girl with knives in her hands. Knives! "Um... I could come back later..." Jenni offered, her eyes fixed nervously on the blades.

{Hope its ok I posted...}

[L.C. Milliner]

“Screw this.” Lying on her bed trying to catch a couple hours of sleep before dinner was not working for L.C., mainly because she was battling a growling stomach. It wouldn’t shut up, no many times she rolled over and even hit her abdomen. She just couldn’t sleep when she was hungry. She reached under her bed into a box of ho-hos she kept for situations like these. It, however, was empty. She had decimated her stock of snack food and the only other option was to go to the kitchen and rummage around for something to tide her over until dinner. She wasn’t supposed to do that, of course, but when had L.C. ever been held back by the words ‘supposed to’?

Rolling out of bed, the teen ran a brush through her hair before putting it in a ponytail, leaving her dorm. She didn’t bother to change out of her makeshift pajamas she had donned for her nap, a gray tank top and her black gym shorts from her freshman year. She did, however, grab a black sweatshirt on her way out, tying it around her waist as she stepped into the hall. Turning in the direction she knew, she padded barefoot through the hall, ignoring the cold tiles on her feet. The wild child that grew up in a carnival showed through; she still hated putting on shoes.

Pushing into the doors of the cafeteria, L.C. headed straight to the kitchen, and I do mean straight. She climbed over tables and chairs, stepping up and down. No one was around to tell her not to, after all. The place looked empty to her, but then again it always looked empty except around mealtimes. The meta had a tendency to think places were empty up until she got yelled at and realized they weren’t as empty as she thought. As of yet, she hadn’t been yelled at.

Standing in front of the kitchen door, she noticed it was swinging, meaning that someone had just entered. Timing carefully, she slid between the space of the door and the door itself as it swung inward, pressing her back against the wall. She had not even disrupted the flow. What she saw, however, was unexpected. She didn’t think students were allowed in the kitchens, yet there were two already here. Breathing without a sound, L.C. noted the smaller one in front of her and the other one, who was holding a knife. She figured if she was as quiet as possible the smaller one wouldn’t notice her unless the other one with the knife did, and she was already tensing if she had to combat. Blame her lack of sleep for making her think she had to fight. Her toes curled into the tiles of the kitchen floor, feeling food crumbs sticking to the soles of her feet. Normally she would be disgusted and would attempt to wipe them off on a wall, but she was in the process of standing stock still, eyes wide, so she wasn’t thinking on it.

[November Adams]

November quirked an eyebrow at the girl, who stood awkwardly, nearly fearfully close to the door. She glanced down, staring at the knives dripping with soapy water she held in each hand. "Oops, my bad." She said, a fleeting laugh as she turned around and set the knives down on the counter, whipping the soap away from her hands on the black apron she wore. "Hey, sorry about that. I'm not a murderer, I promise." She grinned at the younger girl, tucking a loose hair away from her face, and back into the tie-dyed bandanna she was sporting. As the younger student suggested coming back at another time, November hurriedly said, "Oh no, no, no! It's cool, it's cool. I could... uhh, make you something. There's a ton of food in here, and dinner really is served far too late in the afternoon." She grinned sheepishly, turning back to the cutting board.

The slight wooshing sound of the door swinging was present, but the light padding of barefeet on the tile floor made the brunette twist suddenly. There was another one! Blinking, she stared at both the students, going back and forth between them. The blonde tensed, Ember gave her an odd look. "I don't bite," She said quizzically, smiling oddly at the other girl. "C'mon, you're hungry too, right?" She motioned for them both to step forward and stop cowering in fear of the petite teenager.

Really, she wasn't that intimidating.

Humming, she swept near the industrial sized refrigerator and glanced back at the two. "Well, what're you two in the mood for? Spaghetti? Grilled Cheese? Lobster bisque?" She grinned at her own weird little joke. "I'm November, by the way." She gave a short wave, then continued to shift through the obscure items in the fridge.

[Jennifer Younge]

Jenni watched as the girl put down the knives, and let out a small sigh of relief. It wasn't that she believed that everyone in this school was capable of violence or something, but still, you could never be careful when it came to strangers, especially ones with knives. And Jenni wasn't often accused of stupidity. Gullibility, naivety, sure... Stupidity? Never. She took a step closer into the room, to see that the girl had been preparing a salad. Well, that explained the knives. She took another step when the girl said she could have something to eat, but froze when the girl looked behind Jenni.

Jenni spun around when the girl spoke to some else, and seriously nearly died on the spot. Another girl was behind Jenni. How she had crept in the room without Jenni noticing wasn't that much of a fete, Jenni could be painfully unobservant sometimes. But still, to see the girl stood there, and not even knowing she had entered, caused Jenni's heart to squeeze in pure fright. What was with the people here? Knives, sneaking up on people, not to mention the hundreds of powers around the school? What sort of place was this?

Jenni looked from one girl to the other and back again. She took a step to the side, and turned so she could see both at the same time. She backed up until she felt a wall behind her, and then sighed. There were a few heavy objects around if she needed to find a weapon to defend herself, and with them both in her vision, she felt secure enough. Now, Jenni wasn't particularly fond of violence, but she felt she needed to consider it in her current situation. She didn't want to end up dead and all.

She didn't realize how very ridiculous she was being. For crying out loud, she was contemplating violence against two girl who probably didn't even consider it. But then, her nerves were frayed. She was at her wits end, and was beyond the careful voice of reason. First, the whole moving here, then the headaches and unhappy thoughts. Add knives and a sneaky girl into the mix, and you had a very messed up Jenni on your hands. Lovely.

Jenni's head snapped to the first girl when she offered food again, and her stomach gave an audible grumble. Blushing, Jenni lowered her eyes to the floor, and let out a small laugh. Oh sure. She can contemplate violence on second, and laugh the next. Something was seriously up with her. And it could never be simply being overwhelmed. Oh no, that was less exciting. Jenni lifted her head, and smiled at the first girl.

"Grilled Cheese Sandwich?" Jenni was hopeful, she loved Grilled Cheese, and she really was hungry. She stepped away from the wall, and pretty much ignored the girl who had scared her half to death. She wasn't being intentionally rude, but she was wary around the other girl. People who could sneak up on other people so silently were unnatural.

[L.C. Milliner]

Looking from the older girl, the look of horror on the younger girl’s face made her heart sink a little, in a figurative way, of course. In reality, it was firmly attached to the rest of her chest. She didn’t want to be feared, even though with a start she had poked two spikes from her knuckles. She retracted them quickly so she didn’t freak anyone out. She tried to avoid that whenever possible for understandable reasons, such as fainting, setting off powers, screaming, violence, running, and other things that came after ‘etcetera’.

If Jenni thought she was being ridiculous, she had obviously never met L.C. before. As the uneasy silence fell over them, she was already planning escape routes, what spikes to set out, what spikes to set in, how long each spike should be, and other things that needed calculated. She could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up as she stared at the smaller girl, eyes wide and getting wider every second. It wasn’t the best way to calm the girl, in fact, it probably wasn’t calming at all.

Her head snapping up much like the younger girl’s, the mention of food set L.C.’s stomach off again. Yes, she had to get back to her original mission. The older girl offered to make food and L.C.’s mouth upturned a little as she watched the younger girl move toward the other with not so much as a word toward her. Well fine. She could play that game too. She looked like a middle school aged kid. She remembered middle school. Girl’s were catty in middle school. ‘Stuck up bitchy brat. I could tear her apart in seconds.’ L.C. thought with a sigh escaping from her lips. Moving from her spot against the wall, L.C. padded across the floor and pulled her sweatshirt on over her head as she went, pausing to insert her head inside. She shoved her hands in her pockets as she leaned against the island, distancing herself from the two girls.

“Grilled cheese is good.” L.C. muttered, rubbing her feet on the cabinets to get rid of the crumbs now that she was free to move. She scratched her scalp and put her hands back into her pocket when she was done. “Though if you can direct me to the fruit, I’ll be happier.”

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[November Adams]

This situation was beginning to become unsettling. The tenseness that was forming in the air around the three girls was evident in every movement the younger two took. First, it was Jenni's obvious startling because of the blonde's presence. It was understandable - she did approach her very silently. Ember probably wouldn't have noticed her unless she was looking directly at her, as she had been. "Uhm... Alright... Grilled cheese it is for this one." She turned and shifted through the contents of the huge refrigerator, and pulled out cheese a moment later. Sliding down the way in the worn down Converses, she snatched bread from the pantry and made her way over toward the large, flat stove. The kind you saw in old movies that took place in dinners. Clicking the heat on, she walked back over to the sink where she had washed the knives, but startled before she ever reached one. Out of the corner of her brown eyes, she caught sight of the blonde girl's knuckles - a sheen, reflective of the Fluorescent lights overhead... Spikes. Long, shiny metal, protruding from her thin hands. Her shoulders were tensed, and she was staring intently at the smaller girl, who had backed up against the wall, as if she as trying to blend into the tiles.

The spikes were retracted back into the bony knuckles of the pale girl, but her intense stare remained until she finally broke it and wandered across the way, distancing herself from the two other girls with a look of peaked annoyance on her face. Raising an eyebrow, Ember gave the girl another strange look, "I take it you two have met..?" She only said this because it looked as if they didn't quite get along. Her brown eyes shot back from one to the other before she walked back to the stove and sliced the orange cheese thinly, setting the sandwich on the heated plate to toast.

Swishing back around, she pursed her lips. "I suppose that's your ability, then? Spike protrusion? Sounds painful," She smiled a little, trying to make the eerie, unsettling mood of the room disperse. "And what's yours, then?" She nodded toward the girl still standing near the wall with a tenseness about her. Making her way toward the fridge again, she pulled it open and squatted to shift through the lower levels. Pulling out a bowl, she turned back toward the blonde. "Fruit salad, the ladies made it this morning. Strawberries... cantaloupe... grapes.. watermelon, honeydew." Ember listed what the contents were as she handed the bowl toward the girl and turned to start a search for a utensil. "I suppose you both just got here a bit ago, then? Considering I don't quite know your faces yet. Or names for that matter." She laughed triumphantly as she pulled a fork out of the drawer of miscellaneous items and handed it to the girl sitting on the counter.

Scooping the grilled cheese off the stove, she turned toward the shorter of the two and beckoned her over silently.

[Jennifer Younge]

Jenni watched the other girl's eyes widen, and her own fear rose to match it. She wasn't doing very well today. She didn't want to the older girl to attack her or anything, and she couldn't say that the girl wouldn't. After all, this was a school with kids who had powers. Obviously emotions would be running on a high, especially when it came to meeting other people. Jenni didn't realize her reactions wasn't helping the situation at all, she was too naive to think anyone would react to her with fear or other closely allied emotions.

Jenni's gaze turned to the girl who was here first as she spoke. She sent a soft, wearied smile towards her in thanks, but er eyes turned back to the other girl. The next words, spoken by the one making the food, caused Jenni to shake her head jerkily. "No." she said, her voice coming out a little fast. She didn't want to know the other girl. Not at the moment anyway. The girl scared her. Anyone who had the ability to appear out of nowhere was scaring to Jenni. Very Scary.

Jenni relaxed a little as the second girl moved. She watch her, (out of the corner of her eye) as she rubbed her feet on the cabinets. She repressed a shudder. Jenni didn't like feet, she felt they should be kept hidden in public. Socks, at the very least, should be worn. And she was positive is was very unhygienic to rub your feet on the cabinets. She kept her mouth shut though, she really didn't want to provoke the bare-footed girl, she already thought Jenni was a stuck-up brat. Jenni had heard her thought, and it only increased her fears. She didn't doubt the older girl's assessment. She probably could tear her apart.

"Spike protrusion?!" the word forced themselves from the young girls mouth, and they came a little squeaky. She clapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes wide as they bounced from one girl to the other. Her mind was shrieking at her. Not only did this girl sneak up on people, but she had Spike protrusion power, what ever that was, it sounded mean. She locked her wide eyes on the first girl as she asked her what her powers were. Taking her hand slowly from her mouth, Jenni flashed a look at the second girl before speaking.
"Telepathy."

Jenni walked closer to the cooking girl to get her food, and mutter "Thanks," before moving around the counter so she could place a large object between her and the spike-protruding, bare-footed girl.

[L.C. Milliner]

L.C. shook her head in response to the question about the smaller girl as she answered verbally at the same time. She didn’t associate herself with a lot of people, really, especially the younger students. Most of her friends (which made it sound like she had a lot when in reality she had very few) were her age or older. She shrugged her shoulders and stifled a yawn, relaxing a little. They weren’t there to rip her apart, no more than she was.

“Eh?” Blinking, she realized the older had seen the spikes. “Oh. No, not really. My arms would itch a lot, kind of like mosquito bites, but now, not so much.” Looking to the little one, who seemed alarmed, she drew out a fist and held it up, smirking. “A living Iron Maiden.” L.C. boasted, shooting two spikes out of her knuckles in a way comparable to Wolverine from the X-men movies she disliked so much. She retracted the spikes and slid her hand back into her pocket, and looked away from the little one, who piped up about telepathy, and cursed internally about thinking what she had earlier and repressed the urge to say something aloud. Instead, she wandered about, looking at her reflection in pots and pans while thinking, hoping the girl would tune in. If not, it didn’t matter.

‘Stay out of my head. Only Dr. Neville is allowed in, and even that isn’t normally allowed.’ God forbid the kid learned any of her secrets or other things. She didn’t need her sifting through her thoughts.

Looking to the older, she shook her head. “I’ve been here a while, just not very social. I see you around with Vincent sometimes, though. And he talks about you.” She said, taking the fruit bowl from her. She waved a hand at the idea of a utensil and, with a flick of the wrist, produced a four inch spike from her right index finger to skewer the fruit with. That was L.C.; always the practical one, never one for manners. The strawberries were the first to be stabbed, happily consumed by the teenager who hummed happily. This was the part where she would normally leave, but she leaned on the other side of the counter, back to the younger one, who seemed to be scared of her. This didn’t bother L.C. in the least. She was good with kids, but not teenagers. Had she been a few years younger, she would be nicer.

“I’m L.C., by the way.” She said between fruit, stabbing at a few grapes.

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[November Adams]

November just gave the blonde a quizzical look. Living Iron Maiden... "Lovely," The sarcasm dripped in her voice, a hint of exasperation lingering in the shaky tone. Scratching the back of her head awkwardly, she watched both the girls with mildly peaked interest - Jenni was skittish and evidently wary of L.C... Unusual name. The brunette couldn't blame her, the girl seemed a bit... off in the head. Her bizarre conceited sort of tone as she spoke about her power was a bit unsettling, and the willingness to show it off prompted thoughts of aggressiveness, perhaps. Shaking her head, she glanced back at the small of the two, who seemed content munching on the simple grilled cheese sandwich. Another telepathic person inhabiting Hammel - there seemed to be an abundance of them. Humming, she swept herself across the kitchen, back to the sink where she finished drying the knives she had been slicing cucumber with.

When the light tone of L.C. floated over with a questioning edge, she glanced back up. "Y'know Vincent already, eh? Hard to miss the bloody wanker." She muttered, a light chuckle in her voice, the grin relaxed. "Yeah, he's my mate. Along with Sammy and Horus, we make," She spun around with hopefully epic motion, "The Idiot Brigade!" It sounded triumphant. Grinning at the two, towel in hand, she rubbed her hands dry. "I resent that actually, I feel I'm quite capable enough with my academic studies." Ember said with a drawing tone, half lidded eyes and a sniffy attitude. She was making fun of some of her stuffy relatives, but of course the two new girls wouldn't catch onto that, so she just returned back to regular composure.

Shifting around some of the vegetables back at the table, she busied herself, strongly ignoring the heavy silence that had fallen on the room from both the girls' obvious discontent with each other. "Well." She said suddenly. "What grade are you both in, I can't honestly tell by looking. And I'm rubbish with guessing age," That was a lie, but whatever. "I'm a senior now, actually. About to graduate," Come to think of it, she probably could graduate already with all the extra credits she had taken through the years. "And I'm a time lord," Ember grinned at the two, hoping at least one of them got the Doctor Who reference.

[Jennifer Younge]

Jenni's fear of the girl with spikes was hardly lessening with her declarations of being a real-life Iron Maiden. In fact it considerably increased. The poor girl was almost a breaking point with everything that had gone on. The new school, the new powers, the other kids, and now? Now she had learned of a girl who could easily hurt her. Jenni didn't doubt that the other girl would hurt her. After all, she was a bit... defensive?

As their talk turned to a boy name Vincent, Jenni was utterly confused, and she looked from one girl to the next as they spoke of people and things she knew nothing about. She was a bit put out by this, and she figured that it was kinda rude, after all, speaking about things in the presence of someone who was completely ignorant was hardly fair. She stuck out her lower lip and dropped her gaze to the grilled cheese in front of her. She didn't realize she was being moody, nor did she know the others would easily see it. All she knew was that she was being pretty much ignored, and that didn't improve her mood very much.

Jenni Startled slightly when the girl with dark hair addressed them both. "Um, I'm in 8th Grade." She muttered, still feeling a little bit the third wheel.The feeling was further strengthened, when the girl said something about a time lord. Jenni was completely clueless to where the girl thoughts were. Doctor Who was never something Jenni ever watched, and if anyone asked her, she wouldn't know the first thing about it.

[L.C. Milliner]

The sarcastic tone in November’s voice was not appreciated by L.C. but she ignored it in favor of spearing an elusive grape instead. In all honesty, for a girl with such a biting tongue and an eagerness for fighting, L.C. really did want to make friends. “It’s not all that great, really.” She conceded, clearing her throat. “It, ah, honestly is a bit annoying sometimes. Keep having to buy new clothes. I wish I had a cooler power sometimes. Telepathy’s cool.” She glanced over at the kid and nodded tersely, hoping she would take the compliment given despite earlier threats toward her. It was time to try and be a nice person. Unfortunately, she was out of practice in that department.

L.C. let out a snort at the ‘Idiot Brigade’ comment, along with the comment that followed, and tried not to choke on a strawberry. “With Vincent and Sammy, yeah, I can see how it’d become an idiot brigade pretty fast.” Spearing some more fruit, she took a huge bite of watermelon, swallowed, then continued. “You guys should tape them and YouTube the two of them. You all would be famous.” Realizing the little girl wasn’t saying anything she looked over and saw her pouting. Her first reaction was a weak smile at her. She remembered whenever she would make that face at the gypsy Magda she would always tell her that a bird was going to land on her lip and poop on her shirt. She had a feeling the kid was a bit too old for that nonsense, though, so she didn’t say it.

“I’ll be a senior next year. I just finished up junior year.” She said, head snapping back to November. She didn’t realize how redundant the statement was until she uttered in and she flicked her own forehead for it. “Duh, captain obvious.” She muttered, half to herself. She looked to the kid and nodded. “Eighth grade is tough. Not quite a middle schooler, but not quite a freshman. I do not envy you.” Chewing a lump of cantaloupe slowly, she savored it before swallowing. The bowl was half empty by that point. “I’d never go back to middle school.”

The Doctor Who reference almost went over L.C.’s head, and it would’ve, too, had she not watched the show a few nights ago while staying up late, insomnia forcing her awake and alert. She grinned and nodded at November, not realizing that she was probably excluding the other girl more by not explaining anything to her. “Time lord, nice reference. Good power, too. Wanna trade?” She joked, perking up a little. She was beginning to get out of her shell, now that her hunger was leaving her.

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