Welcome to Gaia! ::

After meeting up in the hallway during Laney's game night fundraiser nonsense, Fallon had made a most wonderful discovery. One of the new transfer students to Barren Pines was a French girl. The prospect of actually speaking the language to another person again made Fallon's heart flutter, and it only got more fluttery when she thought of Pierrette. A French girlfriend for three weeks (no more, no less) sounded like a wonderful idea. Besides, she was nearly over her crush on Serenade -- and nothing quite killed the mood like a mutilated corpse falling out of your closet.

With a shudder, Fallon stalked the cleaned carpet of her bedroom, smoothing the silk shawls she had spread over her three collapsable chairs. Fallon had a stockpile of furniture that could be folded and stashed at will, allowing for an easy and organized restructuring of her room depending on the social context. This context was particularly uplifting -- it was FRENCH CLUB. Okay, okay, so it was unofficial French Club that Pierrette and Sébastien had theorized with her, but as far as Fallon was concerned, it was the single greatest extracurricular activity in all of Barren Pines.

Plus, it was a nice way to stop thinking about Abeline and Ignacio's death. Oh -- and the blood in the sink, the body in her closet, the weird cannibal dream, and the painful spasms that prevented her from discussing any of the weirdness with Melinda. Yep.

Fallon didn't know Nacio that well, but Abeline had (not) eaten a number of her meals over the time they'd known each other. It was not painful for her to think of Abeline's death, but it was still unsettling, like a neighbor down the street had died. It was made even odder by the realization that TWO students had succumbed to terrible, sudden deaths in a single night. An army of Lysol and various disinfectants were stacked neatly on Fallon's death, and she subjected most people to a spray down. She didn't want to be taken out by a disease.

But Fallon didn't want to think about these things.

Tonight would be fun. Pierrette was bringing over a French film, and Fallon had cooked a handful of amuse-bouche for their taste buds to enjoy. Sébastien promised to bring his own French addition to the festivities, and all in all, it was going to be a culture-filled night. It was only Fallon's seventh time every cooking escargot, and looking down at the butter soaked blobs, the girl felt very accomplished. Slipping over to her iPod, she turned on a selection of French music, adjusting the pale blue and red scarves that draped over her lamps. The room was bathed in a French-y glow. The low coffee table was set up for the enjoyment of snacks. The chairs were prepped for movie time. Everything was in its place. She glanced down at her watch. Her guests should be arriving in a minute and a half, and until then, she planned on fidgeting with every draped fabric, every freshly cleaned plate, every speck of dust until everything felt more perfect.

French Club was just what Fallon needed.

Ah, the first guest had arrived.

Crossing to the door, Fallon illuminated her face with a bright smile. She was a bit more interested in getting to know Pierrette, but Sébastien was a welcome addition too. Opening the door, Fallon widened her grin and said, "Bonjour, mon ami!" She stepped to the side and swept one hand into the room, adding, "Please remove your shoes and place them in the bottom left slot before entering my room." A stocking-covered toe tapped at the plastic shoe cubby that sat just inside her door. "May I take your things?" It felt so nice to speak in French again, her mouth moving around the syllables in a way it hadn't in months. She very rarely spoke to her parents on the phone, and until now, she hadn't known anyone who spoke French fluently at Barren Pines.

This was the best discovery she had made here since she found out the cleaning supply closet on the first floor was often left unlocked.

Stepping out of the way, Fallon waited patiently for Sébastien to remove his shoes, hands still outstretched for his belongings, eyes trying to ascertain just what he had chosen to bring. If it had been up to her, Fallon might have provided everything, but it was important to her that this was a communal experience for three French-lovers. Speaking of... what was taking Pierrette? She was already thirty-four seconds late. A mental frown bent in Fallon's mind, but her face did not reflect it. At that moment, happiness was outweighing annoyance.




(( Please assume that any sentences written in italics are being said in French. ))

Thank God Sébastien was blocking Pierrette from running clear into the room (in her shoes). Fallon would have lost her s**t. She peeked around Sébastien with a smile and said, "Welcome, Pierrette. Before you come in, please remove your shoes and place them in the slot right next to Sébastien's." She repeated the exact same motion she had done for Sébastien, nudging the plastic shoe cubby with a toe.

Her hands were still outstretched to Sébastien, but she decided to offer Pierrette the exact same hospitality. "Would you like me to take your things?" Fallon smiled, tilting her head to one side. She was excited, which translated into excessive politeness.

Stepping further into the room, she let her door hang open a bit wider, providing enough space for both French Club members to follow her inside. "I've prepared a few snacks -- escargot, for one." She smiled a bit wider, feeling proud. Escargot could easily be made to taste like rubber, but Fallon had already sampled a few and knew them to be quite tasty and buttery. Delicious. Plus, she hadn't made it in a while and that only made her feel a bit more proud. As soon as everyone was settled, she would most certainly be stuffing them with her enthusiastic French cooking.

"Oh! I hope the--" Pierrette put a hand over her mouth before looking around. Right! French Club! Better start talking in French.

"I hope the escargot has garlic in it," she said. "I love garlic, and it really adds to the flavor."

She took off her shoes and knelt down to put them in the right spot. She smiled up at Sébastien and shook her head.

"I'm quite fine, really! And I can handle it, I didn't bring much, just the movie." Pierrette held up the Beauty and the Beast DVD with a confident smile. "I brought Disney's classic! It's dubbed in French, too. That's okay, right? To be honest, I don't have that many films that are from France..."

Pierrette stood up.

"Well, except for some romance ones, but I didn't want to submit poor Sébastien to that!"

In barged Andeon, here to ruin their gay little meeting.

For Fallon, these interruptions were commonplace. He was unable to count the number of times he had barged in to tip over a perfectly organized box of pencils, or to drop a bag full of buttons over the floor and then watch with joy as Fallon not only picked them up, but proceeded to organize them for him by size, shape, color, and even reflectiveness. Granted, it had taken hours to go through the laundry rooms and lost and found bins to cut off all of those buttons, but anytime he looked at the precisely organized box of buttons on his shelf, it managed to cheer him up.

He was on a similar mission now, barging in with a small ziploc bag full of glitter and confetti. He stood for a moment in confusion, blinking at the three of them. He'd only caught the last few snippets of conversation, but it was enough for him to know they were speaking the language that Fallon often spoke as she cursed at him. Which was fine when there were girls doing it, but he stared down Sebastien and shook his head in stern disapproval.

“Dude, I hate to be the downer in all of this,” Andeon said as he opened the little bag, pulling out a fistful of glitter and paper in a rather nonchalant manner, “But that language is kind of gay. And you, sir,” he looked at Sebastien, brows furrowed in false pity, “You are a traitor to your testicles. Please turn them in at the front office and we'll be glad to send you your v****a Club membership card. It comes with a free pack of Lisa Frank stickers. You know, to decorate your tampons and stuff.”

Another fistful of confetti was sprinkled over the carpet.



((I asked Akina before doing this. <.< I promise.))