"That's fine, I just want to be able to say I tried. I'm not going to try very hard to talk to people, especially at this event. Charitably, whoever it was could have been confused? But yeah that seems like a really crummy thing to do to someone."

"Yup. I might try talking to her a bit once Tess wanders off? See if she needs anything."

It's really sad when Mal might be the best at social out of her close friends. Really, really sad.

He smiles. "That's nice of you. Good luck! I tried, but she didn't want to talk to me much, understandably."

"Yeah. Thanks." She'll try a sort of awkward smile.

He returns it, with similar awkwardness. "Well, I should probably go back to mingling and halfheartedly proselytizing. Good luck, and I hope you have a nice weekend. It was nice to meet you, Miss–"

"Uh, Mal. Have a nice weekend too, good meeting you, sorry about the whole thingy."

"Thanks! I guess it beats everyone being annoyed with me at an actual funeral? Bye!"

He gives a little wave, and wanders off toward the group by the punch bowl, where someone is attracting a crowd by showing off the ability to hold three marshmallows in a horizontal line in his mouth.

Wave.

And, yup. College students.

She'll meander over to Ava to awkwardly attempt comfort. It's not one of her skills.

(Of course, Ava's leaving when she does, which at least cuts the guaranteed awkward conversation short.)

Ava seems much more upbeat. She keeps walking, but waves and says "Hey Mal!"

"Hey! Just wanted to check you were doing alright?"

"I'm doing kinda okay now? I'm putting Zebra in the fridge for now; your friend Tess is going to take me to bury him in the forest on Sunday, because I couldn't get him on fire enough to cremate."

"That's good. I can figure out transportation, Tess doesn't have her own car, but she knows the woods well."

"Oh, cool! Thanks, I hadn't actually thought about transportation."

"People don't seem to! I'm the sensible one in our dorm, apparently."

"Ha. Yeah, so much stuff is close enough to just walk?"

"Yup. Or the buses go there. Assuming there's no construction." UVA is sort of a perpetual construction zone, lately. "Though hopping between lines isn't hard if you plan ahead."

"But I bet they don't go into the middle of the woods, even though there's not much construction there, so we'll need another way to get there."

"Yeah. Greyhound exists, but doesn't head into the wilderness. Pity. It'd make Tess happier if she could take off to go hike whenever."

"Most people wouldn't take it though. Do you want to come with, while I look for a Tupperware or another Ziploc?" They are indeed almost to the dorm.

That sounds like the type of thing that requires an uncomfortable amount of human interaction.

She makes a hopefully convincing face, and says, "I actually have an essay I need to stop procrastinating on, sorry."

Ava looks vaguely relieved, and then tries to look disappointed. "Oh okay, good luck with your essay."

Apparently that was the right path?

"Thanks! Good luck with. Stuff."

Annnnddd she's going to depart now before she opens her mouth again.

She could go through the tunnels to get to her dorm, which is tempting, but outside's faster and she's not that asocial, so back outside it is.

Tess is gone. The gathering is smaller but livelier. Many of the remaining people are yelling or talking, around two girls fencing with skewers, the game of catch with hot coals, and a freshman stuffing another marshmallow into his mouth.

She'll kind of awkwardly sidle around the edges and back to the entrance to her dorm.

Nobody stops her, or even seems to notice her.

The duelist in glasses slips on a piece of trash, and falls into a harder lunge than she intended, pushing the skewer through the outside of her partner's shoulder. She screams and shoves her back with her non-injured arm, into the mildly drunk crowd around the marshmallow eating contest, toppling a few of them over.