ghost | Glowfic Constellation

shesepankh

"Thank you. For the notes, for not interrogating me like everybody else and their cousin," she murmurs.

castmyown

"You're welcome. I do know what it's like to be on the other side of 'new student, bring into the gossip collective' syndrome and it's quite annoying. Would you like me to try to help? My sister and I tag-teamed to distract them when one of us didn't want to talk. I could do something similar?"

shesepankh

"Maybe. If it wouldn't be any trouble or make me look more antisocial than I do anyway."

castmyown

"I don't mind, I can be graceful about it. You don't seem antisocial, just - not talkative. Understandable, considering you just got here."

He doesn't say, 'You look like you're hurting' because that would not help, but he thinks it.

shesepankh

"If you're going to - run interference - it's not that it's a secret, I just don't want to say it fifty times -" She's briefly interrupted by the teacher saying something moderately important, she writes it down. "I'm here," she says when it's back to droning filler, "because my mom died."

castmyown

Darren winces. "I am so sorry. I'll answer questions about it, I get why you'd want to - not... Say it fifty times. I'll try and make sure you don't have to."

It's not like he likes bringing up his mother. Not quite the same situation, but it's still not much fun to explain that she's in an insane asylum. Followed by the awkward looks and the urge to say, 'No I am completely mentally fine, thank you' when it's so obvious that's what they're thinking.

So he understands it quite well.

shesepankh

Bella nods.

"Thanks."

castmyown

"You're welcome."

He has no idea what else to say to her, because how in the world can anything compare to that? So he goes back to notes and will leave her to her thoughts.

shesepankh

Earth Science ends.

Lunchtime.

castmyown

Lunch-ward they go!

"You're welcome to sit with me at lunch if you'd like," he offers in a very 'You don't have to if you want to be alone' kind of way.

shesepankh

"...Thank you."

castmyown

"Don't thank me yet," he deadpans. "You haven't met my sister."

Is that brunette with similar facial features the sister in question? It probably is!

morethanimaginary

Especially since she waves at them both.

"Hey. I'm Savannah," she says. "I am twin sister to the nerd."

shesepankh

"Bella," says Bella.

morethanimaginary

"Nice to meet you," says Savannah.

She shares a look with Darren.

"... 'Kay, Darren, what is it you'd like me to do? You're making a face."

castmyown

"Interference, please, Bella just got here and needs time to settle."

Another look is shared.

morethanimaginary

His sister reads him loud and clear. Trauma, got it.

"Okay, done. But you give me your English notes, that book is incomprehensible."

castmyown

"Sure."

Table-ward they go!

shesepankh

Table-ward.

Bella brought her lunch. Charlie took her out to a diner the night before but she only ate half her sandwich, so here it is, plus a banana and a cup of rice pudding.

She sort of picks at it, although she makes enough progress that she may expect to have eaten it all by the end of the lunch period.

morethanimaginary

They sit, notes are exchanged, and then Savannah says, "Hey, Darren, preferences on how she finds out about the why we're here thing?"

castmyown

"Rock paper scissors for it," he replies, retrieving lunch.

They play rock paper scissors. Darren wins with scissors. "Ha. You get it."

morethanimaginary

"Damn. Right, then. Before the gossip mongers show up and you get the wrong story - our mom is cray-cray, her baby-daddy is long gone, and we're happily adopted. There, that was easy. I'm getting better at this."

shesepankh

"...Okay."

Darren completely already volunteered to explain to people why Bella is here. Does "people" include Savannah?

castmyown

It does, but he's waiting for a better time to tell his sister. Savannah knows not to ask, she is not a problem. It can wait for when Bella is not present and doesn't have to hear someone say her mother is deceased.

"We got very annoyed with being interrogated," explains Darren. "So - rock paper scissors for explanation. Took people ages to shut up about it. Sometimes they still don't."

shesepankh