Welcome to Gaia! ::

Gwendolyn Caspian had decided that today would not be the day she'd escape St. Mag's, though the reasoning behind it had nothing to do with her coming to terms with being forced to attend this establishment. Though, should the impulse come during lunch period, she'd be more then inclined to indulge on that whim. No, her decision to stay in class today had more to do with her still lingering symptoms and her slowly healing ankle than resignation, and besides, she had missed too much school already. Maddy wouldn't forgive her if she missed anymore of it, especially now that her fever -finally- seemed to be going away. That made dealing with overbearing nuns and the other crazies at St. Mag's only slightly more bearable than usual.

But not by much.

Besides, she needed something to do to get her mind off of things, and what better way to do that then bashing your head in trying to figure out a stupid math problem? Ever since becoming a Senshi, she had grown to appreciate some of the more normal aspects of life, though she couldn't lie. She liked being a Senshi. Someone who was strong, capable, though she still had no idea what her goal was or her main purpose, besides that she was in the White Moon Court, and her leader was missing.

But surprisingly enough, these thoughts hardly bothered her today, and she was surprised with how quick classes had let out for lunch, as she found herself walking down the hallways in uncharacteristic silence. No, she was never the chatterbox, and she didn't have a lot of friends to talk to (at least, not ones that weren't a fuzzy little domesticated rat hidden away in her booksack), but it was a strange occurrence for Gwendolyn to be walking around, as silent as a lamb and her mind elsewhere.

That's when it hit her, as she walked down the steps of St. Mag's and looked around her before the short trek home. Finally, for the first time in that day, she talked aloud, and to herself. "I don't have many friends here, do I? I've always spent more time trying to get out of here, but never really thought about the students here. Well... not that I'd want to be friends with some of these kids."

Her amber eyes shot to the lockers at the end of the hallway, looking at a small group in particular and thankful that she could easily avoid bumping into them today. She didn't know any of those girls personally, but she highly suspected that they had criminal backgrounds or just generally up to no good. 'Wouldn't surprise me... if they were part of the Negaverse. But then again, I don't think Negaversians would resort to such trivial things. Unless that's what they want us to think. Hmmm...'

Gwendolyn became lost in thought, her eyes still lingering on the small group of girls without thinking too much of the consequences. She faced Youma and a Dark Mirror senshi before... what could a bunch of possible hooligans do to make it worse?

(( and then I forgot my roll =V ))

"Ugh," Mayumi replied to Gwen's remark about the green-eyed girl, and made a point of rolling her eyes. "I'm sorry, hon. Not all of us upperclassmen here are criminals, I promise."

Gently, she nudged in beside Gwen and put the combination into the locker, then opened the door with minimal rusty protest from the hinges. The older girl spared a quick worried glance at her when she coughed, then crouched to look through the books stacked in no particular order at the bottom of the storage space.

The compliment came as a bit of a surprise, and Mayumi blushed lightly as she looked up at Gwen. "Oh, thank you!" She put a finger to her lips as she thought a moment, then replied with a cheerful smile, "Just a couple months, really, although before I started wearing it this long, I had it just in like a little bob." A gesture with one finger indicated where it had been cut before. "I think my hair grows faster in the summer, though, so I don't know how long it would take you to grow yours this long."

Her attention returned to the books for a moment, and this time she spotted the one she needed immediately. "Ah!" Taking it, she stood up and held it to her chest with one arm, and brushed her other hand over her skirt to smooth it out before shutting the locker again.

"Your hair is cool, too, though," she said then, appraising the underclassman. "Very different." Then, venturing back to their prior conversation topic, inquired, "Have you been here since you were a freshman?"

"Oh, wow." Mayumi offered a sympathetic look. "This must be a hard place to be moving in to the city. Really, people in Destiny City aren't so bad."

She brightened again at the offer to exchange names, and replied, "I'm Mayumi." Tucking the book under one arm, she offered her right hand to Gwen to shake. "Nice to meet you, Gwen." Befriending underclassmen was not beneath her, clearly; her smile looked genuine. "I was born and raised in Destiny City, but this is only my second year here at Saint Mags'. I guess..." she trailed off for a moment to consider. "I guess I've gotten used to it. I've got a dorm here, even though my family only lives like twenty minutes away. Don't tell them, but I like the freedom living without them here."

Another small smile. "It's one good thing to think about, being here."

Mayumi glanced upwards and nodded slowly, recalling her time at Meadowview. In a lot of ways, it felt like a long time ago. But on the other hand, she had flown below the radar back then, and more or less did the same now. It was easy to escape the nuns' ire by appearing minimally attentive in class and not giving anyone a bloody nose here. Here, at least, she was not required to go home after class every afternoon.

"Do you live on campus?" she asked the other girl, recalling that asking about parents directly was often unwelcome at Saint Mags.

And then, hoping to reassure the younger girl a little, Mayumi went on, "I've found that I had a little less trouble with people once I started sports. I mean, roller derby. That's what I do. Do you do any sports?" Her grin turned slightly impish. "Trucked a few people during matches because that's what I'm supposed-- well, allowed to do. Helps send a message to step off a little."

She held the book in front of her in both hands, rocking slightly on her uniform shoes and looking too much the innocent schoolgirl to not be trying on purpose. "If you ever wanna join me skating, let me know?" The grey-eyed girl shrugged her shoulders once. "It's a good excuse to get off campus a little, and the wind in your hair helps with the freedom thing, I think."