[REG] Desk Doldrums (Christa/Sydney)

[Lucifer Force]

It was a particularly boring Tuesday, one particular gray-haired teen spending some of her lunch period buried deep within her latest H.P. Lovecraft anthology. Lunch served was of the plain variety - simple sandwich with lunch meat, chips and a soda. Christa didn't feel much like eating, and was taking small bites her lunch while being engrossed in her page-turner. She didn't mind sitting at the end of one of Meadowview's long lunch tables. With her face in a book, most students left her well enough alone, and she wasn't the only one. Several other students spent their lunch periods in the library as a quiet place to read or interact. She didn't consider herself one of the popular kids, and for good reason - who else but old people have you seen with gray hair? Teasing had mostly gone away as she went up the ranks in grade school, but it was a source of insecurity at times, making Christa even less likely to plop her lunch tray down with a random group of people.

Still, Meadowview could be a great deal worse, and Christa wasn't one to complain too much. She had other things on her mind, like saving the world. That information was still being processed in her brain, and in the meantime, she sought to be as normal as possible, catching up on her reading. Who wouldn't? Lunch was loud, but Christa was good at drowning it out for the most part, taking a bite of her sandwich before turning another page. Ah, At the Mountains of Madness. An appropriate favorite.  

[Syusaki]

Saving the world, eh? Sydney had grown accustomed to the idea a long time ago. Being a senshi was like breathing air—usually it was fine, but occasionally she would suddenly realize that the air had grown too thin and she would suffocate. But that didn’t happen often, so it was alright! Her task as the soldier of lies was merely another facet to the tomboy that most people never realized, not even her family. To most of her classmates and acquaintances, Sydney Martin was a sixteen-year-old who loved to tote around her skateboard, who doodled on her belongings with markers and pens, who could never sit still.

Sydney Martin was a redhead that liked to drift from one place to another, from one hobby to another. It was unsurprising to see the girl wander from one lunch table to the next. She spent a few minutes idly chatting with whoever dwelled at the table. When it did not bear a fruitful conversation she happily excused herself and moved onto the next group of people. An eternal grin on her freckled face, Sydney slid next to Christa. It did not matter if she still did not know the girl’s name. Sydney did not have a concept of personal space.

“Oh, so you like to read?” she mused, looking over Christa’s shoulder to curiously stare at the text. “I’m not much of an avid reader myself, but is the book good? Maybe I’ll decide to pick it up.” Most likely never happening. Sydney was more inclined to work on her designing skills or to polish her board tricks than to pick up a book.  

[Lucifer Force]

Everything was fine until she felt someone slide up next to her and look over her shoulder.

Warning - personal space violated.

With a blink, Christa turned to the befreckled redhead with a stern look on her face. She'd seen the girl around but did not know the girl's name. Not like it matter much at this juncture - Christa was Not Happy. "I love to read." she said flatly, and turned back to her book. She thought it was rather apparent that she loved to read, especially when she was spending her lunch period engrossed in a book. This girl wasn't the kind to get subtle hints, she thought, and was rather put out by that fact. Most people left her alone. This girl either had a plan, or had no clue. The look on the redhead's face gave the impression of the former.

She looked over the book's cover and down at the girl's hands. Covered in doodles. What a messy habit. "It's a very good book about things driving people insane. Maybe you'd be interested in it?" Christa had no doubt Sydney would play on that somehow, if she caught it. The redhead wasn't dumb, just a chatterbox. They'd shared a class or two this year and Christa chose to sit in the front row to avoid distractions and get her schoolwork done. With senshidom hanging over her head, the last thing she wanted was to flunk out of school. Then things would really get ugly.  

[Syusaki]

Christa was Not Happy, but Sydney was Happy, and Sydney did not mind Not Happy people. “Love to read, huh? I see. I see.” She nodded her head thoughtfully, her hands stroking the invisible beard on her chin. It was obvious this girl liked reading. People didn’t often read during lunch, but small talk was what Sydney used to fill the silence. The freckled redhead did not like silence. Silence was empty. Silence was lonely. Silence made her secretly cue cue.

Still, Sydney continued to smile as she leaned forward, her hands clasped. She briefly glanced at the hearts, swirls, and tribal-esque animals scrawled all over her skin. Her mother used to lament about how Sydney would one day get skin cancer, but Sydney wasn’t afraid. The ink calmed her down and it felt right. Heck, maybe getting a tattoo wouldn’t be so bad, either.

“Driving people insane?” she repeated. Her eyes flickered with recognition as she laughed. “Oh, I see, I see.” She sprawled her arms across the table. Sighing, Sydney pressed her cheeks against the cool plastic. She stared at the book. “Why do you think books are fun to read?” It was not the first time she had asked the question. Classmates had given her repetitive answers: traveling to fantasy worlds, relishing the feel of turning the page, spending time alone in a quiet place. They didn’t impress Sydney, not particularly.  

[Lucifer Force]

Did she love to read? No, she just read during lunch because she liked to stare at words. Or at ink. Or at nothing in particular and pretend that she liked to read. Wasn't it obvious.

The look Christa had on her face was one of exasperation, but somehow she didn't think Sydney would catch on to that. And murdering someone in the middle of lunch was generally frowned upon in the public school system and the world at large. There were such things as victimless crimes, but if anything Christa was the victim here. Harassment. That's what this was. Harassment. Glancing over the cover of the book, she saw Sydney's arms were tattooed in pen ink of all different colors. Maybe she has ADHD and the medication isn't working or something. Christa thought with a frown.

"I like to read because sometimes it's scarier when you can't see something in front of you, like in a movie. Horror books are scarier than movies because your brain imagines what the monster looks like based on a description. What I think the clown from It looks like and what you think the clown looks like could be two totally different clowns. If you ignore the movie." The movie was old anyway. Kids these days were into High School Musical and stuff, right? Or was that just younger kids? Christa had no idea - she didn't pay much attention to most movies.  

[Syusaki]

Sydney was childish and silly, but she wasn’t stupid—not that it stopped her from doing stupid things and appearing oblivious. She saw the frustration in Christa’s face and the redhead kept smiling, as if she didn’t realize that she was grating the other girl’s nerves. Sydney vaguely followed Christa’s gaze to the markings on her arm. She grinned, proudly raising her graffiti’d arm. “I like to doodle. My teacher says I can go into the graphics design business and be good at it.” Her eyes glittered with pride. It wasn’t everyday someone complimented her about something other than sports and her sprawling height.

She plopped her cheek against the table again as she curiously examined the book again. “Yeah, I guess, but I’ve never really been the type that liked to do all that imagining business while I read. I like to imagine stuff on a…on a blank canvas, yeah? I don’t need story substance. I just like to think up the pictures. So, yeah, I guess picture books might suit me better or something.” Sydney cracked an amused smile.

Then she frowned and threw Christa a blank stare. “I don’t know what that movie-slash-book is. I'm going to assume it's about a killer clown.”