:: constant. wandering :: [[ o p e n ]]

[Soren Capers]

Soren let out a breath of relief once she arrived at the Art building. One might ask why she was there, but she knew why. Well, she knew what she wanted to do anyways.

Soren took off the small, black backpack on her back and ignored the tempting clang that her spray cans made when they bumped against each other in her small bag. That was not what she was here for. Of course, she really wanted to draw some graffiti and what more fitting place than the Art building, eh? Soren smiled at the irony and decided right there and then that before she graduated, she would make her mark on the walls of CHU.

But instead, Soren sat in the cold outside of the Art building, right by the steps to the entrance and retrieved one of her most used sketchbooks from her black backpack. She dug her hand into the depths of the bag and looked for a 2B black pencil to work with, seeing as she seemed to do best with those. She made sure to use her trusty white eraser as well.

Staring out at the landscape and campus in front of her, Soren observed her surroundings for a few moments before bowing her head and staring at her now open sketchbook, open to a blank page. She began planning the perspective she'd sketch from and what she would draw and where. There was nothing she enjoyed more than these few moments spent planning the masterpiece. The only thing more rewarding was finally coming up with the end product.

[Rick Hazel]

He'd been at Crescent Hill U for less than twenty-four hours, and already Rick hated it. He was having a hell of a good time back at Pleasantview State, so he didn't understand what his parents were so worked up about. Besides, Rick seriously doubted that sending him to a new school would do anything to improve his "failing" grades. Rolling his eyes and sucking his teeth, Rick made a beeline for his dorm, haphazardly tossing his luggage in before sprinting out again.

If he was going to have to live here for the next...three years...then he should at least get to see what the campus is like. He should at least get to see every last bit of what he's hating. Maybe that would make him actually like it a little bit.

Rick snorted out loud at the thought. Him? Like this college? Fat chance. He'd been partying it up over at PS and the girls had been all over him like white on rice - sorority girls too! He doubted they even had sororities over here! Rick rolled his eyes again in frustration, extremely angry at his parents. Leave it to them to totally intrude on his good time and ruin anything he had going for him, all because they were "concerned." Rick told his dad to stop pretending like he cared, but that was the end of that. Rick was headed off to CHU only a week later.

And now that he was finally here? He didn't like it a bit more.

Dressed in a casual, black and red argyle v-neck sweater, with a white collared shirt underneath and black slacks and black dress shoes, Rick definitely looked a little more done-up than usual. Then again, this would be his first impression on the people here and first impressions were always the worst and most important. He'd have to go far out to impress and it started with how he was dressed. He even bought some cologne from the Armani Express. Rick figured even if he was trying to look good for everybody, he could try extra hard for the ladies.

Rick walked slowly through the not yet too thick snow (one of the things to love New York for), with his hands stuck in the pockets of his slacks and he just went along to wherever his feet took him. Despite the size of the campus, he doubted that he could get lost, especially since everything seemed to be marked down pretty blatantly. In fact, as he looked up, he found himself in front of a building called the Skulpture Building of Art. Rick rolled his eyes for what seemed like the hundredth time that day. How desperate were these people to try to sound slightly original?

Rick was about to walk right past the building when he saw a girl sitting against the side of it. His eyes brightened immediately and a surreptitious smirk passed over his lips. "Welcome to CHU, Ricky," Rick murmured under his breath before licking his lips and sauntering over to where the girl was sitting, with an open sketchbook in her lap. An artist? He liked those.

"Hello little lady," Rick started in his most charming, yet not openly flirtatious voice that he could manage. "What are you doing out here on your lonesome?"

[Soren Capers]

Soren had just started to sketch the outline of a nearby dying tree, its branches all lightly covered in pure, clean white snow, when she heard a voice. Immediately, she snapped out of her peaceful reverie and went into a panic. Her jaw tensed considerably and her grip tightened around the pencil in her hand. Oh god, oh god, oh go,d oh god, oh god, was all she could think. Why do people keep talking to me?

It had never really been this bad at her old schools. People immediately assumed she was the weird girl because she never properly spoke up, but now...? This was college! They were independents! So why was having a social life such a priority now?

Soren knew she was being a little hypocritical because she'd pretty much made it her goal to make friends this year. Then again, it hadn't worked out very well thus far (although, she did have to admit that she took a small liking to Chad), so she could say what she wanted about people and their pathetic excuses for dependency. She hadn't been able to depend on anybody her entire life and she certainly didn't need anybody now!

That thought in mind, Soren looked up defiantly into the face of her pursuer, but like with Tashiro, her heart practically stopped at the sight of him. Soren groaned inwardly - was she cursed?! Constantly getting into conversations with attractive men wasn't going to do her any good in the end, she just knew it! But there was something different in the eyes of this one - his dark brown eyes were glimmering with something Soren couldn't quite put her finger on, but she wasn't sure if she should be afraid or relieved.

"D-Do I know y-you?" Soren stuttered, saying the only words she could find at a time like this. She hated opening her mouth; she always sounded like a total dumbass.

[Nattalie Hayes]

OOC: Hope you don't mind me joining in. IF you do, I'll delete it XD

IC:
<sup>Already, Nattalie was feeling even more homesick than before. Books were held close to her body. It wasn't that cold, so she only wore a black jacket with the same design as her tattoo, a short sleeve halter top below that colored red and black, skinny jeans, and a pair of black boots. Her hood was up, protecting her hair from the light snow that had been predicted. Already, she hated New York. The college wasn't that bad, but being on the other side of the world from her father was.

She had been past her dorm, and had dropped off everything except her pencil, eraser, and tablet. Of all things, she'd prefer to draw with a tablet, but she didn't have one now, so she was stuck with the old fashion way of drawing. Already, the drawing of a person was appearing on her paper. Who it was, even she wasn't sure. Maybe whoever inspired her the best.

She heard voices, so she stopped. Ahead of her stood one of the Popular guys here at CHU, Rick. She'd seen him around a couple times, but could never get up the nerve to talk to him. Why would he talk to her? She was associated with the "Goths" anyway, so wouldn't he look down upon her? She sighed, her breath coming out in a wisp of white fog. She shivered, then walked to the two.

Who was the girl on the ground? Was she his girlfriend? She looked down, dejected, until she heard the girls words. So she didn't know him. Great! She smiled, a soft one to herself. Her hair flowed down her face, cascading down below her eyes, given her a hidden personality. But honestly, she was a fun girl, or tried to be.

"Hello. Am I interrupting anything?" she asked as she grew withing earshot of the two. She stood there, her own art supplies held against her chest, her black nail polish glimmering an ivory color; the red turning to a blood color. What would they think of her, a Gothic girl? Would she be shunned as well?</sup>

[Rick Hazel]

OOC: Nope, don't mind at all.

IC:
Rick smirked again, although he did try his best to hide it. But it was just too hard - this girl was too cute! He had to learn her name; she'd probably be around for a short time anyway. Rick wasn't exactly known for his long term committments, so that would be fine with him.

"No, but we can change that soon enough," Rick half-purred, refraining from winking. For one, that would be a little risque - this girl didn't seem that open with him yet. If anything, she was kind of like a scared, timid bunny rabit. Rick had to admit he found that very adorable.

Rick opened his mouth to say more, but was interrupted by another voice. Rick immediately turned his head to look for the source, his dark eyes wide with curiousity and caution, but the beating of his heart slowed considerably when he saw it was another girl. He narrowed his eyes slightly at her, taking in her appearance. She looked somewhat familiar, but she couldn't be, because he hadn't been at the college for very long. Still...

Her nail polish caught his eye and he half-sneered and half-smiled at her. "Uh, no," Rick answered at last, beckoning the girl to come closer to them. "You didn't interrupt anything at all. In fact, I don't think you could've come at a better time." Rick gave her one of his effortlessly cute grins and moved closer towards the first girl, choosing to lean against the brick wall. "So...you lovely ladies have any names? I'm Rick, just so you know...if you didn't know," Rick chuckled a little at his small joke that he used to go around saying at his old school. Because everyone knew him there.

[Soren Capers]

Soren's head snapped up so rapidly she almost got whiplash. Her eyes landed on the figure of another girl and Soren couldn't help but inwardly groan. Great! More people! She thought miserably, staring back down at her barely started sketch. At this rate, she'd never get it done and today was the perfect day. There'd just been a snowfall the night before, but now if everyone was going to go traipsing through the snow...

Soren sighed and decided to suck it up. There would (doubtfully, but hopefully) be more snow to come and she could draw it then. Or maybe she could draw the snow after everyone had stepped in it ten thousand times, to represent the aftermath of human commute. Yes, that'd go down well - she could always portray such things in her art.

Soren heard the guy - Rick, he said his name was - ask them what their names were. Soren wasn't too sure of his tone of voice, but she wasn't looking at his face, so she couldn't properly tell what his intentions were. Though a part of her was sure that his dark eyes were still glimmering.

Soren glanced once more at the girl before looking back down at her sketchpad and answering Rick's question. "I'm Soren," she answered, her voice not much louder than a whisper, but hopefully loud enough for the two to hear her. Soren couldn't stress how much she hated repeating herself.

[Nattalie Hayes]

<sub>Now, was that a scowl her gave her? Inwardly she sighed, and she looked down. She already knew his name, and she listened for the girls. She soon gave it up; Soren. "Nattalie," she said, almost dejectedly. But years of living with her mother had taught her how to hide the emotions from her voice, which she did. She felt like she had butterflies, standing so close to Rick.

She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Often, this was a sign of nervousness, which she was. She'd never stood this close to Rick before, always admiring him from afar. She sighed alooud this time, then grew silent. "how long have you been here?" she asked, directing it to the two before her.</sub>

OOC: Eh, this one sucked. Sorry XP

[Rick Hazel]

Rick shrugged, knowing that he'd hardly been there a day. Sure, he'd moved his stuff in hours ago and he'd been around campus, but it still didn't feel like he'd been at CHA for very long. Probably because he actually hadn't.

"I haven't been here for over a day yet," Rick laughed, his dimples showing. "Just got here about last night actually. Go transfer students!" Rick exclaimed sarcastically, and then paused for a moment afterwards. "I shouldn't even be here really. I was having a great time in my college in New Jersey. I never thought my parents would drag me back to NY," Rick scoffed, rolling his eyes. "That's your folks for ya. What about you two gals? Think you've been here long enough to know everything there is to know? Maybe you could show the new guy the ropes, eh?" Rick laughed again, looking at Nattalie and Soren.

Both beautiful names, he thought, for beautiful women. Oh, I'll have my fun getting to know them...

[Soren Capers]

"Two years," Soren said, answering Nattalie's question. She couldn't help but feel grateful somehow - Nattalie was the first girl Soren had met at Crescent Hill U, and that was a little more than comforting. Maybe she'd finally meet someone she had something in common with...or someone she could at least talk to with a little more confidence. Boys tended to intimidate her a little more than girls, although if the girl didn't look nice, Soren would be just as scared.

To her, there was something a little odd about Nattalie. It wasn't her style, Soren was sure. She quite liked Nattalie's style and she decided it looked really nice, if not okay on Nattalie. It was more her behavior. She seemed oddly nervous about something and the vibe it was giving Soren wasn't good.

Partially because she was so quiet (and practically had no friends, so had a lot of time to observe people - especially when she was sketching or something), Soren had learned to pick up on certain social behaviorisms and emotions. She'd learned how to read someone's face to prove if they were lying or not, but one of the things she wasn't so swell with was reading someone's motives. That was always a bad thing when people were trying to use her for something. Soren usually picked up on it sometime into the relationship, but nobody's perfect - definitely not Soren Capers.

"Two years," Soren repeated under her breath. "It's...it's my second year," she murmured, with difficulty, looking between Rick and Nattalie. Soren then shrugged at Rick's question. "I know what I know," she admitted softly, shrugging again and wanting nothing more than to be able to peacefully return to her drawing, complete the tree and start working on the defiled lumps of snow around her, now covered in fresh footprints.

[Rick Hazel]

Rick was surprised at how low and soft-spoken Soren's voice was. She certainly hadn't come off to him as the type to be shy or anything. She hardly looked the part in his mind! But Rick of all people should've known that someone isn't always like what they look like on the outside. He should've known that only too well.

Quiet or not, he still liked Soren. In fact, the timidness made him like her a little more. She seemed like one of those girls who don't play hard to get - they just are. And though Rick couldn't help the amount of girls falling all over him, he did like a chase every once in a while. Soren would be the perfect girl for the job.

"Oh, I'm sure you could show me around. I mean, two years? That's a lot longer than two hours, don't you think?" Rick laughed, putting on his most charming smile and flashing it at Soren. He already had a plan in mind, but he'd have to execute it slowly if Soren was the type of girl he now thought she was.

Rick then turned back to Nattalie, whom he also saw as attractive. Like, the cute kind. There was something about her that he couldn't quite put his finger on, but he liked it. It was like she was mysterious but so obvious at the same time. He'd enjoy going after her too.

Rick knew his parents wouldn't approve of him once again neglecting his studies for girls, but he honestly couldn't help it and besides - what did he care if his parents approved or not? They should've realized by now that whether or not they pull him out of one school, he'll just go about doing the same thing at the next. He was made this way and well, he wasn't about to change himself anytime soon. Besides, what his parents knew about his life so far wasn't anywhere near the worst things he'd ever done. To Rick, his parents had barely scratched the surface of his wrongdoings.

"So how long have you been here, Nattalie?" Rick smiled as he asked her the question, his voice smooth and confident. "You a newcomer like me?"

[Nattalie Hayes]

<sub>She smiled at Soren, her lip gloss she had put on only an hour ago, still evident on her lips. "Actually, I have only been here for about a day actually give or take a few hours anyway," she said, after calculating how long she had been here.

"Where are you all from?" she asked, her Californian accent coming through. She'd been in New York for a year, that's where she had her last birthday. And that's how her mother had gotten her into CHU. She frowned, if only for a moment.

She looked around, watching as the light breeze blew snow that had fallen earlier around, small clouds billowing up and around the wind, together dancing to a song only they heard. So, she smiled again. She was taking a mental picture of this, because she didn't have her camera, and she didn't want to take out her art pad, not yet anyway.

"What room are you staying in Rick? Soren?" Maybe they were staying in the same rooms. If not, the same dorm. THat'd be cool, at least, she thought it would.</sub>

[Soren Capers]

Questions, questions, questions, questions! Soren's eye twitched slightly; these two talked like they'd had their mouths duck taped shut for the last millennium! Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but that's what it felt like to Soren. She wanted to be forgiving and excuse them, as they were new to the school and like most everybody at CHU, they didn't know Soren and they didn't know about Soren. They didn't know about her appreciation of silence, they didn't know about her social paranoias, they didn't know that she was a weak person. The most that anybody could learn from talking to Soren for about five minutes was that she was incredibly quiet when she talked.

Ooh, real deep, Soren thought sarcastically, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. There wasn't nothing she hated more than people who assumed they knew her after attempting to speak with her for ten minutes, because sometimes it wasn't Soren who was the problem. Sometimes, if others made a little more effort, she'd open up to them easier, or maybe if they didn't stop talking to her after that one sample conversation, maybe they could be friends.

But there were too many maybes in the world and only one reality.

Soren drew the hood of her bright tangerine orange hoodie over her head and tilted her head a little so she could see Nattalie, who she'd now deemed as genuinely friendly (although talkative) and as someone she'd like to hang out with, if not be friends with. Soren didn't have to think hard to answer her questions so far either, which was a bit of a plus.

"I'm...from the Bronx," Soren whispered. People were always surprised to hear this as they assumed most girls from the Bronx were a lot louder and less reserved than Soren. Needless to say, Soren was very different from most other girls. "And I'm in...I'm in...Room 100, I think, of...of the N-Northeast Dormitories," Soren said, slightly louder. She paused for breath afterwards - it was a bit of a mouthful for her.

[Rick Hazel]

Rick didn't bother taking any time answering Nattalie's questions either. "From Manhattan, of course. The coolest bourough in New York, and everyone knows it," Rick smirked, shrugging as it if it was hopeless to argue against his claim. "And if they haven't realized it by now, well...they haven't seen Manhattan with me, if you know what I mean." Rick could be very persuasive at times; he once convinced a Manhattan hating girl that Manhattan was the very best and called New York, New York for a reason. He doubts that the girl ever forgot how she learned it.

"Now...my dorm..." Rick started, tapping his chin lightly with his index finger. He pouted slightly, a favorite thing of his to do, because it seemed to drive girls wild. And there weren't many things in the world that Rick loved doing more than driving girls wild. There really weren't. "Um, my dorm...I think the room is something like 102. Yeah! I'm in Room 102!" Rick exclaimed, beaming. "I couldn't really remember cause I haven't properly been in there, you know? I pretty much just threw my bags inside and came out here. One of my dormmates will most likely trip over my bags on their way in or something, with the way I placed them."

Rick then gave Soren a small smile as he looked down on her. "That's pretty cool Soren. You're just down the hall from me. We should visit each other sometime, eh?" Rick laughed and then turned back to Nattalie, the laughter still evident in his eyes. "What about you, Nattalie? Are you in the Northeast Dorms as well?"

[Nattalie Hayes]

<sub>She smiled, Soren was right down the hall from her. She was about to say something to Rick, about how Manhattan was not her favorite place to be, when she stopped. He was in room 102? SO was she! "I'm right down the hall as well. Room 102," she said, as if she never heard that Rick was in 102 as well.Already though, she had a feeling that maybe, just maybe, he'd spend all his time with Soren, and none with her. At least,t that's what she thought.

She looked down at the already melting snow. It was vacation time, and it was almost Christmas. That was her favorite holiday, besides her birthday of course. "What are you planning on doing over the holiday vacation? Plan for Christmas? It is, after all, right around the corner," she said, a little on the quiet side, like Soren.

Finally, she couldn't stand it. The way the sun was shining off the snow, and onto the two in front of her, she took out her notebook and pencil. She had to get started on this, and at least get some finished. The way they looked in the receding light was almost too good of a chance for Nattalie to pass up.</sub>

[Rick Hazel]

Rick raised his eyebrow at Nattalie. So she was in Room 102 as well? Well, this year was certainly more interesting already. How did he not know this before? Rick wanted to laugh out loud at the thought, but at the same time, he was thinking of all the fun, amusing and purely enjoyable things he and Nattalie could do as roomies. And maybe something else.

Rick's eyes flashed, new thoughts springing into his head. Oh yes, this year would be so very interesting.

"So you're in Room 102 too," Rick observed coolly, nodding his head towards Nattalie. "That's awesome. We're roomies. Seriously Nattalie, that's pretty freakin' awesome," Rick laughed. "If you're not going home for the holidays or anything, then maybe we could hang out or something, Nattalie," Rick suggested, raising both his eyebrows now. "I mean, I have no intentions of going home to the folks this year. They deserve to be deprived of their wonderful son for a year, holidays or not." Rick said that last part a little more bitterly than he wanted it to sound, but he let it slip. He couldn't control how bitter he sounded - he was furious. No matter how many good things came out of him being at CHU, Rick would never forgive his parents from tearing him away from his old friends and things he'd become familiar with. Now he had to familiarize himself with everything all over again.

If that means familiarizing myself with the curves of certain people's bodies, then I guess I'm not complaining, Rick thought, not being able to hold back his naughty smirk. Someone was not making it on Santa's Nice List this year.

"So what's it's gonna be? Are you staying here, or going home? Or going somewhere else, perhaps? And what about you Soren?"

[Soren Capers]

Soren looked up to reply to the question but her eyes widened a little bit when she saw Nattalie whip out an art notebook. A small smile itched its way onto Soren's lips and she almost felt like saying something, but she didn't know whether that would distract Nattalie or whether it would sound too stupid or too wannabe-ish. Soren knew she wouldn't appreciate someone screaming "oh my god! You're an artist? You draw? I DRAW TOO!" in her ear while she was sketching. In fact, she'd probably just shrug it off and ignore them, no matter if she'd finally found someone who shared an interest with her.

Soren hadn't met many artists in her day and it was a bit saddening to her, because she always imagined the world of art to be wide and widely recognized. But then again, if people didn't stumble onto her amidst a new piece she was working on, they would never know that she was an artist herself. A lot of people thought she didn't have any talents at all, and was just the weird, quiet girl.

Soren snapped out of her reverie when Rick repeated the question and she blinked several times before answering. Somehow, talking didn't seem so hard anymore, now that she had this connection with Nattalie. "Um, I'm probably going home to my mother's," Soren admitted, a small blush creeping up her cheeks. It wasn't always easy telling people that she had to be with her mother a lot of the time. It wasn't always pleasant either. Soren had tossed up a lot of opportunities just to stay with and take care of her mother. But in the end, Soren knew it would be worth it and that her mom really needed her. As unconventional as her family was, it was her family and it was her duty to take care of them.

Soren spent a few more moments thinking about spending the holidays with her mom, but then she just shook her head and went back to her barely started sketch, now finally feeling like she could finish that dead tree. She drew the branches perfectly and the snow covering them actually looked like snow.

[Nattalie Hayes]

<sub>She scoffed when Rick asked if she was going home. "Not unless I get enough money to fly to California this year, I'm not going back," she said. The bitterness was really evident in her voice, and she didn't even try to hide it. Why try, if it was true? She was NOT going to spend some time, a holiday no less, with her mother and sister.

But she did miss her Father. He may just end up coming here for the holidays, to visit her. Wouldn't that be great? Last time she had talked to him, he said he'd try to spend some father/daughter time with just him and Nattalie.

"Well, I was thinking about going down to Central Park, and just spend some time there, then head back here. But I could always pass up the Central Park and stay, if you like," she said. How much fun would that be, spending Christmas with Rick? Maybe Soren would like to come over and spend some time with them.

"Oh! I have an idea!" she exclaimed, pretty suddenly. "How about we throw a Christmas Party? We could invite over some of the people we've met, and have some Christmas fun?" she asked. Without noticing it, she had finished her drawing of Soren and Rick. She had caught Soren's smile, and caught Rick's naughty smirk. Now, all she needed was her paints, and she could finish up this drawing with some color. She'd noticed that Soren had out a notebook as well, and she had started to draw. She would have loved to see her style, but she didn't ask. If Soren would show it to them, she would. If not, oh well.</sub>

[Rick Hazel]

"A Christmas party?" Rick repeated, pouting his lips slightly as he thought about the idea. It wasn't half bad. In fact, there were a lot of things that would be fantastic about a Christmas party! You invite a few people who invite a few people who invite the rest of the school, and BAM! You've got hottie haven and a ton of people to meet. It'd help boost his popularity at any rate, which although it wasn't a priority, Rick knew it would help him in the long run. He smiled widely at Nattalie.

"Fantastic idea, Nat! I'm definitely willing to help with it if you want to go through with it. I know a few people I could invite, so why not?" Rick was getting excited about the thought of throwing a party. The parties he went always got wild and there was nothing Rick liked better than a crazy atmosphere.

"So you're going to Central Park for a while? And you're going to your mom's?" Rick asked for clarification, looking between Nattalie and Soren. "Well, Soren, if you've ever got any free time, I say you should visit us back here, you know? I'm sure we'd appreciate the company." Rick raised his eyebrows questioningly, though he didn't really expect Soren to agree right away. "And Nattalie, would you mind if I went to Central Park with you? I can't remember the last time I was there, it's been so long. What are you doing there anyway?"

[Nattalie Hayes]

<sub>Soren seemed awfully quiet, but hell, so was Nattalie when she was intent on her drawings as well. And Rick was up to the idea! "Soren, you must come to the Christmas Party, if only for a little while," she said, and hoped Soren would say yes.

"Oh, I don't mind at all. Central Park is one of my Father's favorite place, and I like spending time in Central. But, since we may end up having a Christmas party, I may end up going shopping as well. So, I hope you like shopping Rick," she said, grinning. "And Soren, maybe you could help me out with the shopping as well?" she asked. "Then, we could get it done faster, and we could have some time to hang out before you head off t see your mom," she said, almost quietly.

She hugged her jacket closer, for it was starting to get a little chilly. Her hood had fallen off, and her shoulder length hair was gently flowing in the cool breeze. She shivered, only slightly, so it was unnoticeable unless you were paying attention. "I don't know about you two, but I'm in the mood for hot cocoa," she said, a smile playing at her lips.</sub>

[Soren Capers]

"Mmm," Soren mumbled, unenthusiastically, "shopping." She had never been one for shopping, preferring to stay inside or be outside with just nature. She was either a homebody or an environmentalist for one or the other; it just wasn't fair. Besides, she just wanted to be somewhere where she wouldn't be judged and away from prying eyes. Whenever Soren went out shopping, she pretty much only bought t-shirts, jeans and lots and lots of hoodies, and a few sneakers. Nothing out of the ordinary for her, but when people saw her shopping, she always got looks or heard whispers about her strange taste in clothing. Just because she didn't like to bare it all, or wear skintight, "fashionable" clothing, Soren was marked as a freak.

No, she'd prefer to just stay out of this altogether. And parties? About ten times as worse as the mall. But this was her chance! Soren was actually being invited to outings, to social events! This had to mean something. Maybe she was moving up, maybe Nattalie actually considered her a friend or a potential one. Maybe that was enough to get Soren to come.

And then again, maybe it wasn't.

"I'm not s-sure," Soren said quietly, the wind practically louder than her voice. "That's not really my...scene."