5/26 Instance: Laying Down the Law

[Starfish]

Timeline: Current.


Sophie: After her dinner, Sophie sat down at her desk to get her homework and studying for the evening accomplished. She cracked open her book and flipped to the correct section. With a final check of her phone, Sophie began her reading.

Melati: A rumble and a muttered curse outside in the hallway heralded Melati's arrival, who stumbled through the door only moments later. Blocking her view was a massive amplifier, who she desperately tried to keep from falling apart, even though parts were already dangling off by the wires.

Sophie: The noise caused Sophie to start. She looked over at the door, examining her roommate behind that amplifier.

Melati: "Come on, you old piece of trash! Hold it together just a little longer! We almost made it!" Melati aimed for her side of the room, where the heavy piece of electronics came crashing down on top of her bed.

Melati: "Aw hell, don't do that to me." Wiping her brow, she looked down at the wreck. Something appeared to be smoldering inside. "After all those years..."

Sophie: Sophie set her highlighter down on the desk and turned her chair to face the distraction. "If it is trash, why are you hauling it around?"

Melati: "Because it knows that I'm not really meaning it when I say such things," Melati replied, carefully lifting the cover to take a peek at the device's insides. "It just needs some tough love. It's been a faithful companion for several years now."

Melati: "Well, except for today, where it suddenly caught fire during band practice," she added, turning towards her roommate.

Sophie: "I don't understand how a piece of electronic equipment can be a companion. It isn't alive." Sophie inspected the amp from her seat, looking for any sign of flames reappearing.

Melati: "Hey, have you never had a favourite pair of shoes where you just couldn't get yourself to throw them away, no matter how worn out their soles may have been?" Melati asked, flopping down on the edge of her bed. "Come on, I'm sure you've grown attached to some lifeless things, too."

Sophie: Sophie scratched her head just a bit. "I like my horse. His name is Stardust. We won the Olympic Silver Medal this summer."

Melati: A frown furrowed Melati's brow, while she looked at Sophie in silence for several seconds. "You know, I was talking about lifeless things,"she commented. "Unless you're riding a dead horse. I guess that would be better than beating it, eh?" She chuckled.

Sophie: "Why would you beat a horse, dead or alive? That is cruel." Sophie gave Melati a confused look.

Melati: "Uhm, I don't know either," Melati replied and blinked, concluding that trying to explain the expression might only aggravate her already beginning headache. "It's not important, anyway." Shifting closer to Sophie, she leaned over to try and get a peek at the table. "So, what are you up to?"

Sophie: "Homework. After dinner it's time to do homework." Sophie twirled her chair back around to face the desk, glancing over at Melati. "When do you do your homework?"

Melati: "Oh, that depends," Melati answered and shrugged her shoulders. "Mostly on such things as how late to class I am, how bad my hangover is, and how many cups of coffee it takes to make the need to claw someone go away."

Sophie: Sophie stared blankly at Melati for a few moments before speaking again. "I do homework after dinner."

Melati: Now it was Melati's turn to give the other girl a confused look. "When do you hang out with friends then?" A grin lit up her expression as she raised her hand to point at Sophie. "Oh, you're the night-owl type who doesn't leave the house after dark, right?"

Sophie: "Friends? Julian is my friend. I have dinner with Julian." Sophie reached for her highlighter, then stopped. She could remember her aide telling her that she needed to look at people. She looked at Melati again.

Melati: "Right." Melati put her hands together and sat back up. "And provided you wanted to spend some time with other friends? I mean, you'll have to make them sometime, right?"

Sophie: "My sister is my friend. But she's not here. She might be in jail today. She goes there a lot. I haven't heard from her, so I don't know if she's in jail or not."

Melati: That caused a raised eyebrow on Melati's end. "When you say she goes there, do you mean to work? Is she warden or something?"

Sophie: "She shoplifts," Sophie clarified. "I have to bail her out. I don't know who will bail her out now." Sophie glanced at her phone quickly.

Melati: "Oh, I see." She made an awkward expression. "Sounds like she does that often." For some reason, Melati wished that the sister was here with her instead of Sophie. She sounded more exciting, and at this point, she estimated the chance to get shived by either of them to be about equal.

Sophie: "She says it is fun. I don't find it fun. I don't like the police station."

Melati: "Hey, who does?" Melati laughed and held out her hands. "Their coffee is awful, and every time I end up there, I get patted down by at least three different officers. And there's only so many times you can hear the question if you want to hold their nightstick before it really stops being funny."

Sophie: "Why would they ask you to hold their nightstick? That is not for civilian use." Sophie glanced at her phone again.

Melati: "Yeah..." Melati tapped the tips of her fingers together. Had she still some leftover tequila in her nightstand? She really should see about that. "I guess they're just very proud of it, you know?"

Melati: Taking a breath, she tried to find something inside their room to focus her eyes on, while running a hand over her head. "So, aside from homework, riding your horse, and bailing out your sister, you got any other hobbies?"

Sophie: "I play the guitar. What do you do besides get arrested and drink?"

Melati: Melati perked up when she heard that. Finally a sign of life from her roommate. "Hey, so do I!" she replied, thumbing over her shoulder at the poor, dying amp. "I'm actually playing in a student band we've going on. That's where I just come from, in fact."

Melati: "Aside from that, I love tinkering with all kinds of machines and vehicles. Used to work on a scrap yard for a while." She nodded casually. "Oh! And I also lead the local team of wanna-be superheroes."

Sophie: "They let a criminal lead a team of superheroes? Shouldn't they be stopping you from breaking the law?"

Melati: "Hey, technically, being a superhero already is against the law," Melati replied. "The cops generally frown on civilians taking crime-fighting into their own hands. Usually they leave us be, though. Guess our success proves us right. Most of the time, anyway."

Melati: She reclined on her bed, supporting herself on her hands. "Besides, it's not like I'm a real criminal. Unlike the people we try to stop most of the time. I've only been arrested for meaningless stuff, anyway. You know, assault, driving under the influence, resisting arrest, indecent exposure, and that ridiculous claim of prostitution."

Sophie: Sophie just stared at the wall, thinking about what her roommate had said. She checked her phone, then rubbed her thumbnail ith her other thumb. "I like my clothes on."

Melati: "That always depends on the situation and company," Melati replied and gave a laugh. "You can wear whatever you like while rooming with me. I really don't mind what your style is, as long as you see things equally relaxed." Something told her that Sophie probably wouldn't.

Sophie: "I like clothes on. With no tags. I dont't like tags on my clothes."

Melati: "Right, so no scale parade on weekends then," Melati muttered, lifting a hand to scratch the back of her head. Good thing it was summer, and she could just head outside to bask naked in the sun somewhere. "Anything else we should settle while we're having this friendly chat between roomies?"

Sophie: "I don't know... I've never shared a room before. Are there rules?"

Melati: "Only those we agree upon, sister," Melati replied, holding up both hands as she gave Sophie a wry smile. "Personally, I've always been a great fan of the live and let live philosophy when it comes to living with people. So as far as I'm concerned, anything goes as long as it's not deliberately pissing off the other partner."

Sophie: "Do you have to pay Professor Guthrie a lot?"

Melati: "What?" Melati frowned, eying the other girl with a slightly confused look. "Oh, I guess you're talking about my eloquent way with words, aren't you?"

Sophie: "Yes. Do you have to pay her often?" Sophie checked her phone once more before going back to rubbing her thumbnail.

Melati: "Actually, after the first week, we both decided that was becoming a bit impractical in my case, so we came to some kind of agreement," Melati explained, actually wearing a sheepish smile as she said that. "Basically I pitch in with whatever help she may need for any of her classes or projects, and we call it even."

Sophie: "Oh. So you are an indentured servant for her."

Melati: Melati blinked, opening her mouth to give a reply, swallowing her initial response before trying again. "No, I really wouldn't call it like that," she said, giving a laugh. "Hey, she's a nice girl, and I only do her some favours."

Sophie: "Oh." Sophie shifted a bit in her seat. She glanced down at her homework again. "It's homework time"

Melati: "Yeah, I forgot..." Melati looked at the other girl with an expression of utter bewilderment on her face. She could already tell that this semester would last forever. Would there even be enough booze to get her through this. "Thanks for the chat, I guess..."

Sophie: "You're welcome." Yay! She remembered to be polite! She gladly went back to reading her text book, glad for the solitude again.

Melati: Melati started several attempt to say something else to her roommate, but stopped herself every time. Instead, she got up and went for her nightstand, digging for anything that might contain some alcohol.

[steyn]

Lol, wow, that's like weird awkward right there. Lemme just get this straight, so Sophie is basically a teenage nice version of Emma Frost?

[Starfish]

Right now, Mel isn't too sure about the "nice" part. The vibe she got off Sophie is that she might wake up one night to find her roomie stand above her, ready to smother her with a pillow.