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Aggie took Fallon's meaning of the word "rewarding" a bit more literally than she had intended. Fallon said nothing, nodding politely, eyes focused on the puzzle. After she snapped in a few more pieces, she glanced back up to the redheaded girl sitting across from her. "We are certainly the best floor. The one above us is much smaller, and the one below is all boys." She didn't say whether or not Aggie had been the one to make the difference. "I have been as pleased as expected living in these dorms." Fallon knew it would not be a hotel experience, but she was happy enough to see that she had no roommate, even if she had to share a bathroom.

Despite its comparable size, the floor below the second could not hold a candle. Boys were clearly inferior to women, in Fallon's mind. It bothered her to no end that many men were at the top of the charts in the culinary world. Across the globe, more women cooked regularly than men, but in the field itself, the majority of the top chefs were male. When it is an element of housework, women are expected to do it; when it is an element of success, men are expected to succeed in it. It was a cruel dichotomy that pissed off the controlled girl to no end. She planned to change all that, to create a culinary academy that only allowed females in. Reverse sexism sounded like a great idea to her -- so long as it benefited women exclusively.

Clearing her throat, she made short work of the corner of the puzzle she was working on. When her fast fingers and Aggie's help, the puzzle was already 1/4 of the way done. "I enjoy cooking for the floor, and the building. I suppose that is the part that I contribute." It was a hell of a contribution in her mind, but she was happy to do it -- and happy to remind Aggie of all the ways that she too had made the floor better. Was it a competition? It would seem that Fallon felt it was... a bit.

Fallon seemed somehow appeased by the words that Aggie said. She liked a little ego padding, even if she had a healthy sized one already. Nodding, she continued her puzzle-assembling pace, rounding out another fourth of the puzzle. "I manage girls much more easily," she said. It meant a number of things, but Fallon did not explain it any further.

A lull picked up, and Fallon sensed pressure to continue the conversation so she did. "How do your parents feel about you being away from home here at Barren Pines? Or do they live locally?" Her own parents were still in France, probably still threatening to divorce each other every day. They responded less and less to her letters and calls, but Fallon neither increased nor decreased her own efforts. She would do as she always did regardless of them. They had been happy once, she thought, though the memory was distant and fuzzy around the edges.

Dragging a painted nail over the side of one puzzle piece, Fallon pushed thoughts of her parents from her head to focus properly on the task at hand.

Fallon also stared at the red piece that Aggie should not have touched, not moving an inch until it was set back down on the table. Then she relaxed. "My father and mother live in France near my maternal grandmother. She's getting quite old and will die soon. They spend a deal of time caring for her." Death was a part of the order of life and therefore not something that Fallon lost sleep over. Her grandmother wasn't quite the stereotypical sweet old lady, but Fallon would be sad to see her pass, sure. The only bright side would be that her parents might fight less. Caring for Grandma Novette was like having another child.

Fallon did not share these additional details.

Instead, she snapped in several more pieces, drumming her nails on the finished portion. Her eyes scanned the remaining pieces and she began to encroach on the territory she had laid out for Aggie when they'd first started. "My parents wanted me to go to a good school, but I could choose where I wanted. I chose Barren Pines. Nothing to regret about it so far." Nothing much, at least.

Fallon nodded along with Aggie, unphased by what would have been a distasteful comment to the ears of a more sensitive person. Fallon was not that person. She agreed that things would be considerably easier once Grandma Novette passed. The woman was old. That was what old people did. Besides, Fallon never saw fit to get upset over the misfortune of others. She was far too preoccupied with her own potential misfortune to harp on anything for too long. Her grandmother was a bit of a b***h too, which really didn't bring any sympathy out of her.

When Aggie commented on the choice of school, Fallon did not glance up to her, but continued to talk down to the puzzle, her hands moving across it in even strokes. Each piece clicked into place as part of her overall rhythm, a melody of order and organization. Beautiful, absolutely lovely. "Barren Pines is an excellent school, which is why I came. There were others that were more prestigious or had some other benefits, but when I looked at the larger picture, Barren Pines seemed like the best fit," she explained, snapping it several more pieces. The puzzle was nearly done, and Fallon showed no signs of slowing down.

Honestly, the reason Barren Pines won out over others was the promise of her own bedroom. Most other schools had roommates, and that was a variable that Fallon could not allow in her life.