Day 3: (Ab)normal Days

Laura gave David a slow, wise nod. "Yes, yes, absolutely right. You'll want to make quick friends with all of your classmates. After all, that first kid had no real friends and look how that turned out for him!"

Then she directed her attention to Oscar. "Oh, I didn't even notice your bandage until now!" she said, hobbling right up to him. There was a manic smile on her face, but it was forced. In all honesty, she wanted to have fun getting a reaction out of Oscar. "We're like injury buddies! Isn't that cute!"

Well, everyone interesting was out of her view.
She headed out of the cafeteria, still needing the school ID to guide her around, and decided to head to the gym to her own disappointment. She'd have to look at it eventually.

Asher began to swing back and forth a bit.
"Genius, Ash, pure genius. You're not gonna get any better socially if you keep running away from people." He slid down the ropes, reaching the floor. Even once grounded, he kept a loose grip. When people were just watching him, he had no problems with being friendly. But as soon as he had to participate in an active conversation, he becomes just as scared as the person who volunteers to be sawed in half by the magician.

Eloise nodded, "Sounds like a plan," she grabbed her cereal bowl and took a last look around the cafeteria before heading back into the kitchen. She didn't want to disturb Herbert too much.

At last she strolled into the kitchen, "Hey David!" She turned to Oscar, "Oh, Oscar, right?" By the looks of him, she sincerely hoped she wasn't overwhelming the kid. She took a seat, sweeping away the bottles of water to make room for her breakfast, digging into her cereal now.

Herbert cast a quick glance behind him to see if anyone was approaching. Nope. They were all just gathered around somewhere, he supposed. Perfect. He rubbed his wrapped hand, pouting. At least he had a memento now. he closed the lid on the fishtank, keeping the plastic container on it. Might as well use it for fish food now.

He dropped off of the chair, pushing it back with his foot. He tapped his chin, thinking. Oh! Now he remembered! He started to make his way to the courtyard.

His smile faltered a bit at Laura's comment - he honestly just wanted to get to know people - but he grinned again at Eloise, waving. "Hey!" He grabbed an apple and took a big bite of it.

Oscar was not ready to have friendly banter with the girl who professed to attempting to murder him.

For every step Laura took towards him he took one and a half back. It wasn't long until he couldn't back up any further.
"In...jury buddies?"
He wasn't about to break it to anyone that it was just a self-inflicted rash, so he held it gingerly, as though it was a battle wound, "I-I guess!" From the corner of his eye he saw Eloise walk in, and move his water bottles again. It was almost too much.

Laura frowned and moved back from Oscar a bit, giving him room to do as he pleased. "You're a little jumpy, Os. What's up?" It dawned on Laura that a simple "what's up" was probably the least aggressive thing she'd said all day. It was just as well; this Oscar kid would probably freak out either way, she figured.

Asher let out a breath he hadn't known he had even been holding in. He smiled, took a step back, and then began to run. He needed to get his mind off of everything, and before he knew it he was running through a routine he had been working on before coming to this school. It felt exhilirating- almost like things were normal.

Herbert quickly slipped into the courtyard, instantly spotting the two plants he hear about two nights ago. But they were huge, and he was sure he couldn't lift them. Perhaps Alex could have done it, but Herbert certainly couldn't. There went his plans to at least put one in his dead friend's room.

Though another though crossed his mind. He began to walk back to the kitchen. He needed help. Fishtanks couldn't lift themselves.

She headed into the girls locker room, astounded by how pink the walls were, and quickly found her locker, she waved her ID and it opened with a small click. She quickly got dressed - it was just a white T-shirt and grey sweats, and headed out into the gym.
She found the carny kid - Asher, right? - running around with a smile on his face. She watched for a second, before examining all the things around. Nothing seemed particularly inviting, which was a bit upsetting, but it was also exactly what she expected. She sighed.

Out of the corner of his eye, Asher noticed the poet walk in. A bit shocked, he turned his head to look, leading to him missing the landing of a flip and falling on his back, letting out a gasp before laughing.
"Hello, ma'am! Anything this little old carny can do for ya?" He winked. Doing the things he loved help him regain a bit of the facade he put up for others, and though it made no difference at this point, he had fun with it.

"Jumpy...?"
Oscar pondered the word as it rolled off his tongue. He still found himself against the cabinet, despite having been given more space.
"I-I'm okay-" He stuttered, "L...Laura?" He wouldn't have remembered her name if she wasn't the most controversial student during the trial. And with his mind back on the trial, he became uncomfortable again. He was hoping to make the kitchen his peaceful little alchemy lab, but it had obviously transformed into party town instead.

Adda began to regret leaving the group of students. It'd be a bit awkward to return now, if anyone was even there anymore. Still, she stood up, brushed off her skirt, and began to return to the kitchen.

Herbert managed to find everyone in the kitchen. Perfect. Through there were three missing people. Phooey.

"Ey!" he called out. "Aanyone thunk 'ey can holp me wit summat?"

She stifled a laugh and watched him tumble around harmlessly. "I just came to look around, really. This is entirely out of my element." She looked at him curiously for a second. "What do you do for fun around here? I have a feeling it's not reading."

Eloise made certain to finish her cereal before it got soggy, and when she finished she turned to David. " You sleep any?" She watched Laura carefully to make sure she didn't torment the other kid, but was relieved to see her give him some space. Eloise had decided she'd keep a close eye on that Dirt Biker from now on.

She turned to Herbert as he walked in, "Help with what?!" She shouted from across the kitchen.

Asher looked at her curiously. "Reading's fun? Never knew. Can't read very well myself." He looked around, hands on his sides. "I guess... you just run around? There's a bunch of equipment and stuff-you can work out, jog, anything active, I guess?" the question baffled him- how could someone not understand what to do in a gym?

He finished off his apple and shrugged. "I slept enough, I guess. A few hours."

He looked over to Herbert. "What'cha need help with?" he asked. Even if he was having fun here, he just felt the need to offer help. It was in his genetic code or something. "I can try and help."

Adda came bouncing into the kitchen, trying to act as normal as possible. When she saw Laura with Oscar, she tensed, and tried to work her way in.
"Hey Oscar, what's happening? Need help carrying any of that stuff- you dropped it all before, right?"

"Oi need ta carry a fishtank up to my room." Herbert admitted, crossing his arms. "And maybe find a table for it. S'not that big, to be honest. But two...or three people could carry it."

He wasn't really sure how he'd get the fish in there, but he could try.

Laura was perplexed by Oscar's few words. You'd think he would be a little more comfortable around her. Honestly, what makes you get to know a person more than the fact that they planned to murder you?

When Herbert called, Laura's head perked up. but he was closer to David and Eloise, so she decided to let them handle it instead. She had a feeling she'd be talking to Herbert later anyway.

"So Oscar," she began, kind of slowly. "I feel like we're avoiding the elephant in the room here. And I want to make it up to you! So we should hang out someplace." The way she said it made it sound like she wouldn't take back her offer easily.

He shrugged. It didn't seem that hard. "Hell, I'll help you out. What are friends-forced-to-be-friends-by-being-locked-in-a-school-against-their-will for?" he grinned a little. If he could joke about it, it seemed less horrible.

She blinked and frowned at him. "Reading is really fun. Especially fiction, in my own grandiose opinion," She shrugged. She looked over at the ropes and walked over, tilting her head up to see the top. "Is that even possible? That has to be impossible."

Adda noticed Oscar's hand; frankly, due to her own injury she had completely forgotten. "Hey Oscar, how's your hand? I can wrap it up again, if you want."