Abel stared at the clock, watching the second hand tick away as the minute and hour hands took their sweet ass time. Ms. Prescott continued to droned on and on about something like anyone really gave a shit.
So slow.
Very slow.
Just taking a casual stroll.
Taking its time.
Are we there yet?
Ugh.
Just a little mo-
The final bell finally sang its sweet song of freedom. Abel snatched his stuff up, and once Ms. Prescott relented and dismissed for the day he parkoured over his desk and booked it for the hallway.
Abel himself wasn't really sure why he had so much pep in his step today, this cloudy and acceptably chilly November 13th. But it was maybe at least a little understandable; today was Monday, after all. A very special Monday, in fact.
Abel was the first one in the ghost town of Mr. Terrance's room. It wasn't unusual in the bare, clinically sterile room; Mr. Terrance was usually gone by now anyways, and if he weren't he never really gave a shit about who used him room for what. A private-ish place after-school was all that was needed, and Terrance apathetically obliged. He was cool like that. What was actually unusual was that Abel was the first one there. Usually it was the reverse, but not today. Today required some setup.
Enough dilly-dallying; it was time to get to work. Abel flipped several desks around and pushed them into the desks now facing them. He scooted these conglomerate desks together to form a super table of 3x2 desks with a single desk on the edge facing the others—the czar's throne.
Abel walked over to the counter by the wall and set his stuff down. He stuck his hand in his bag and pulled her out—his prized Cards Against Humanity box. He took her with him and set her down in the middle of the big ass table.
He pulled out a chair and sat at one of the corner desks, his legs crossed and perched on top as he leaned back and rocked himself in his chair. He whipped out his phone and pulled his arms into his school sweatshirt, trying his best to scroll through today's Facebook drama with his comically tiny hands while periodically looking up at the entry door.
Now all he could do was wait, wait for today's meeting of the unofficially official Eastern European Culture Club to start.
славянский души
Slav Squad, Assemble!
Artem was the sort of person who showed up to clubs early, or at the very least on time. Not that he could attribute that to any particular positive character trait; it was primarily caused by his lack of anything better to do in the space of time immediately following classes, and his eagerness to attend. And also if he was late someone might yell at him and then he'd never be able to show his face again if he didn't just die on the spot which seemed like a real possibility, actually.
Not that he thought anyone in this particular club would yell at him. Unfortunately Dolly had had some business to attend to, but even without her the Eastern European Culture Club—an honest title once upon a time, now euphemistic at best—was one of the things he really looked forward to. It was probably the only club he went to where he wasn't mildly-to-extremely terrified of any of the members, which was not something he could say about any of the other four or five clubs he made at least occasional appearances at. Admittedly he couldn't always follow the flow of conversation, but that was true no matter where he was. Talking to multiple people at once was not a skill he expected to ever really pick up. When things got too noisy, he just listened. Took notes, sometimes. Considered which of his friends would make logical cameo appearances in the story he was working on. Would Jordan fight a vampire? Jordan would definitely fight a vampire.
At any rate, it was not at all unusual for him to be the first one to the club room, especially when he didn't make a detour to pick up Dolly. Someone would make it there ahead of him sometimes, though, so he wasn't entirely surprised to find the lights on already when he arrived. He was surprised to find that its lone occupant was, of all people, Abel.
"Oh. Er, hello."
Yes, very good. Being social. Technically.
It would be incorrect to say that Artem and Abel didn't get along. They got on fine, at least in the context of club meetings, but Artem couldn't imagine spending time with him alone, specifically. They had pretty much nothing in common, after all. He gave an awkward courtesy wave as he stepped into the room, and was glad to immediately spot something to discuss, because the alternative was him sitting in the corner reading for the next five minutes until someone else showed up, and that would be uncomfortable for everyone involved. Abel had clearly rearranged the room—context clues indicated that was why he was so early—for... something. For the thing he'd left on the table, presumably.
"Cards Against Humanity?" He asked, puzzled, glancing at Abel. "A card game, I'm guessing?" The name sounded very vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't place why or how he'd heard of it.
Not that he thought anyone in this particular club would yell at him. Unfortunately Dolly had had some business to attend to, but even without her the Eastern European Culture Club—an honest title once upon a time, now euphemistic at best—was one of the things he really looked forward to. It was probably the only club he went to where he wasn't mildly-to-extremely terrified of any of the members, which was not something he could say about any of the other four or five clubs he made at least occasional appearances at. Admittedly he couldn't always follow the flow of conversation, but that was true no matter where he was. Talking to multiple people at once was not a skill he expected to ever really pick up. When things got too noisy, he just listened. Took notes, sometimes. Considered which of his friends would make logical cameo appearances in the story he was working on. Would Jordan fight a vampire? Jordan would definitely fight a vampire.
At any rate, it was not at all unusual for him to be the first one to the club room, especially when he didn't make a detour to pick up Dolly. Someone would make it there ahead of him sometimes, though, so he wasn't entirely surprised to find the lights on already when he arrived. He was surprised to find that its lone occupant was, of all people, Abel.
"Oh. Er, hello."
Yes, very good. Being social. Technically.
It would be incorrect to say that Artem and Abel didn't get along. They got on fine, at least in the context of club meetings, but Artem couldn't imagine spending time with him alone, specifically. They had pretty much nothing in common, after all. He gave an awkward courtesy wave as he stepped into the room, and was glad to immediately spot something to discuss, because the alternative was him sitting in the corner reading for the next five minutes until someone else showed up, and that would be uncomfortable for everyone involved. Abel had clearly rearranged the room—context clues indicated that was why he was so early—for... something. For the thing he'd left on the table, presumably.
"Cards Against Humanity?" He asked, puzzled, glancing at Abel. "A card game, I'm guessing?" The name sounded very vaguely familiar to him, but he couldn't place why or how he'd heard of it.
"Well, Fenris, the King of Gossip. We meet again."
Footsteps. Abel looked up from the discourse just in time to catch Artem wondering in. "What up, my man?" Abel nodded and returned to his phone screen. "Take any seat you want, just not that one," he nodded to the sole desk directly facing the end.
Not surprising that Artem was the first to show up; he seemed like that kinda guy who's always 15 minutes early for doctor's appointments and just kinda chilled until he was called on. Cool dude, if really quiet and sometimes awkward. But that was fine! Abel just sometimes forgot he was even in the room.
Abel looked up again as Artem pointed at the card box. "Yeah, you ever played? If not, it's all good; I'll break you in. It can get a little 'spicy', but it's a blast."
Hopefully not too spicy for a delicate flower like Artem, but even the quieter guys usually had hidden depths.
Not surprising that Artem was the first to show up; he seemed like that kinda guy who's always 15 minutes early for doctor's appointments and just kinda chilled until he was called on. Cool dude, if really quiet and sometimes awkward. But that was fine! Abel just sometimes forgot he was even in the room.
Abel looked up again as Artem pointed at the card box. "Yeah, you ever played? If not, it's all good; I'll break you in. It can get a little 'spicy', but it's a blast."
Hopefully not too spicy for a delicate flower like Artem, but even the quieter guys usually had hidden depths.
[Regina "Gina" Petrov Memories Start]
“Excuse me… I’m sorry… Coming through… Pardon me…”
The thin figure of the young Russian girl did her best to push her way through the swell of students filling the halls of George Hunter High School at the end of the day. Everyone was spilling out of classrooms now that the final bell had rung, signifying the end of another long school day. Each student on their way to various clubs or sport practices, or even just on their way home for the day, made Regina’s shuffle through the crowd rather difficult. She herself had somewhere to be after school, and she was trying her best to not be late to that engagement. As soon as she heard the bell ring she took off from her final class like a bolt of lightning, as she had a stop to make before she could reach her final destination. As she approached the cafeteria, the sea of students seemed to finally open up and she gave a final push past with another apology as she bumped into someone for the umpteenth time. She took a moment to straighten out her outfit and to pull the straps of her purse a bit more securely up on her shoulder before continuing through the doors of the cafeteria.
Regina looked around at the empty mess hall and swiftly slipped into the kitchen area. The lights were off and the kitchen was dark, so she used her cell phone’s flashlight to guide her way to the back refrigerator. She swung the hefty door open and searched the shelves for what she came here for. Her eyes lit up as she found the object of her search and she carefully pulled the tray out of the refrigerator doing her best to balance it with one arm and still keep her flashlight out for vision’s sake. She placed the tray on a counter near her and shut the refrigerator now that it had served its purpose. Regina picked the tray back up, with both hands this time, and struggled to retrace her steps out of the kitchen with a lack of light from her phone. Finally she pushed the door of the kitchen open with her back and was back in an area with light. She sighed contentedly as she gazed over what lie in the tray in her arms. Everyone would be so excited at club today! Regina hummed a happy tune in her head as she made her way out of the cafeteria and back into the sea of students to fight her way through to the club-room.
The night before, Regina had a spark of boredom and decided on a whim to make two dozen cupcakes with Eastern-European country colored frostings. She though it would be a nice surprise for her friends in club. She tried her best to hide it from everyone too. She’d come to school earlier than usual that morning and asked the cafeteria workers if they minded her keeping the cupcakes cold in their kitchen until school was over. They had no problem with it so Regina’s surprise was a success! If she’d carried them around all day like she normally did when she baked goodies, she would have ended up giving them all out before the day was over. She wouldn’t have been able to help herself. Either that or she would have eaten them. At that thought her stomach rumbled a bit. Soon stomach, don’t worry. Regina’s thoughts came to a halt as she realized that she’d arrived at her destination. Regina grinned widely and practically skipped over to the door. She balanced her tray with one arm and pushed the door open to find Abel and Artem the only ones who’d arrived so far.
“Hi boys!” She cheerily greeted. “I brought a surprise for everyone!” She placed the tray on one of the desks one of the boys had clumped together. “Behold!” She gleefully shouted as she ripped the aluminum foil cover off of the tray, exposing the colorful cupcakes that lie beneath. Once that was done, she set her purse down on a desk off to the side and swiftly bounded over to Artem to give him a hug.
“Artie you beautiful child, how are you?” she asked as she stroked his majestic hair. “Ugh, you know I’d still kill to have your hair, right?” She giggled a bit. She released Artem and took a look over the table as she made her way to Abel to hug him as well. She hugged the other boy from behind since he was still in his seat, and raised an eyebrow at the the cards on the table. “Cards Against Humanity? Isn’t that game dirty, Abel?”
“Excuse me… I’m sorry… Coming through… Pardon me…”
The thin figure of the young Russian girl did her best to push her way through the swell of students filling the halls of George Hunter High School at the end of the day. Everyone was spilling out of classrooms now that the final bell had rung, signifying the end of another long school day. Each student on their way to various clubs or sport practices, or even just on their way home for the day, made Regina’s shuffle through the crowd rather difficult. She herself had somewhere to be after school, and she was trying her best to not be late to that engagement. As soon as she heard the bell ring she took off from her final class like a bolt of lightning, as she had a stop to make before she could reach her final destination. As she approached the cafeteria, the sea of students seemed to finally open up and she gave a final push past with another apology as she bumped into someone for the umpteenth time. She took a moment to straighten out her outfit and to pull the straps of her purse a bit more securely up on her shoulder before continuing through the doors of the cafeteria.
Regina looked around at the empty mess hall and swiftly slipped into the kitchen area. The lights were off and the kitchen was dark, so she used her cell phone’s flashlight to guide her way to the back refrigerator. She swung the hefty door open and searched the shelves for what she came here for. Her eyes lit up as she found the object of her search and she carefully pulled the tray out of the refrigerator doing her best to balance it with one arm and still keep her flashlight out for vision’s sake. She placed the tray on a counter near her and shut the refrigerator now that it had served its purpose. Regina picked the tray back up, with both hands this time, and struggled to retrace her steps out of the kitchen with a lack of light from her phone. Finally she pushed the door of the kitchen open with her back and was back in an area with light. She sighed contentedly as she gazed over what lie in the tray in her arms. Everyone would be so excited at club today! Regina hummed a happy tune in her head as she made her way out of the cafeteria and back into the sea of students to fight her way through to the club-room.
The night before, Regina had a spark of boredom and decided on a whim to make two dozen cupcakes with Eastern-European country colored frostings. She though it would be a nice surprise for her friends in club. She tried her best to hide it from everyone too. She’d come to school earlier than usual that morning and asked the cafeteria workers if they minded her keeping the cupcakes cold in their kitchen until school was over. They had no problem with it so Regina’s surprise was a success! If she’d carried them around all day like she normally did when she baked goodies, she would have ended up giving them all out before the day was over. She wouldn’t have been able to help herself. Either that or she would have eaten them. At that thought her stomach rumbled a bit. Soon stomach, don’t worry. Regina’s thoughts came to a halt as she realized that she’d arrived at her destination. Regina grinned widely and practically skipped over to the door. She balanced her tray with one arm and pushed the door open to find Abel and Artem the only ones who’d arrived so far.
“Hi boys!” She cheerily greeted. “I brought a surprise for everyone!” She placed the tray on one of the desks one of the boys had clumped together. “Behold!” She gleefully shouted as she ripped the aluminum foil cover off of the tray, exposing the colorful cupcakes that lie beneath. Once that was done, she set her purse down on a desk off to the side and swiftly bounded over to Artem to give him a hug.
“Artie you beautiful child, how are you?” she asked as she stroked his majestic hair. “Ugh, you know I’d still kill to have your hair, right?” She giggled a bit. She released Artem and took a look over the table as she made her way to Abel to hug him as well. She hugged the other boy from behind since he was still in his seat, and raised an eyebrow at the the cards on the table. “Cards Against Humanity? Isn’t that game dirty, Abel?”
[Jordan Miroslava Brankovich: MEMORIES START]
Depending on the day, and the situation entirely, Jordan alternated between considering herself American and considering herself Serbian. There were reasons for this, of course - for the latter, it was her ancestry, her culture, the place her parents came from and the distaste she often felt for the country she lives in. The former, however, came about more often than not as a result of acknowledging that despite her family, she had never been to Serbia and probably never would, she was as Americanized a girl as it came, so it was incongruous to claim it as a part of her context.
Those "former" concerns, however, became properly "former" concerns when it came to attending the Eastern European Culture Club of George Hunter High School, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
It always struck Jordan as strange that there was such a depth of students her age with heritage in the same part of the world - perhaps they, Jordan included, were all part of a large Russian sleeper cell unit inplanted into America to disrupt the flow of democracy, although all things considered the country could use some disruption right about now - but it only really struck her as slightly more vaguely strange that they would all end up being friends, in no small part to the club. They'd all had such intersecting interests and hobbies for a while now, so why not change the criss-cross into a quilt? Indeed it was a strangely eclectic group, but they were all of such acceptable opinions and worldviews that Jordan paid the oddities no mind.
And today was a meeting, of course. It was a Monday, after all.
Jordan rounded the corner into the room and saw she was not the first one there, nor the last. Abel, Artem and Regina had already arrived, bringing with them a tray of cupcakes (Jordan internally let out a whine, only because she was already overextended on her calories that day, that week, even that month, and that meant these were very dangerous cupcakes) and a box containing the game Cards Against Humanity, which made Jordan internally bristle - the intentions of its creators may have been good, but there was always a hefty amount of aimless bigotry to sort through in any set, which Jordan didn't like to deal with. Maybe she could ask if the offending cards had been removed, but not before greeting everyone.
"It can be very dirty, yes. But I'm sure we're all mature and smart enough to not have to go there, right?"
Okay, maybe round in on the cards first.
"How was everyone's weekend?"
Depending on the day, and the situation entirely, Jordan alternated between considering herself American and considering herself Serbian. There were reasons for this, of course - for the latter, it was her ancestry, her culture, the place her parents came from and the distaste she often felt for the country she lives in. The former, however, came about more often than not as a result of acknowledging that despite her family, she had never been to Serbia and probably never would, she was as Americanized a girl as it came, so it was incongruous to claim it as a part of her context.
Those "former" concerns, however, became properly "former" concerns when it came to attending the Eastern European Culture Club of George Hunter High School, Chattanooga, Tennessee.
It always struck Jordan as strange that there was such a depth of students her age with heritage in the same part of the world - perhaps they, Jordan included, were all part of a large Russian sleeper cell unit inplanted into America to disrupt the flow of democracy, although all things considered the country could use some disruption right about now - but it only really struck her as slightly more vaguely strange that they would all end up being friends, in no small part to the club. They'd all had such intersecting interests and hobbies for a while now, so why not change the criss-cross into a quilt? Indeed it was a strangely eclectic group, but they were all of such acceptable opinions and worldviews that Jordan paid the oddities no mind.
And today was a meeting, of course. It was a Monday, after all.
Jordan rounded the corner into the room and saw she was not the first one there, nor the last. Abel, Artem and Regina had already arrived, bringing with them a tray of cupcakes (Jordan internally let out a whine, only because she was already overextended on her calories that day, that week, even that month, and that meant these were very dangerous cupcakes) and a box containing the game Cards Against Humanity, which made Jordan internally bristle - the intentions of its creators may have been good, but there was always a hefty amount of aimless bigotry to sort through in any set, which Jordan didn't like to deal with. Maybe she could ask if the offending cards had been removed, but not before greeting everyone.
"It can be very dirty, yes. But I'm sure we're all mature and smart enough to not have to go there, right?"
Okay, maybe round in on the cards first.
"How was everyone's weekend?"