Room 306, Friday afternoon

[tigerundercover]

Raven didn't have much by way of clothes, but after two years living in one room, she did have plenty of other stuff that needed packing up. Unlike some other folks who were packing and cleaning out their dorm rooms this week, though, Raven was only going two floors up.

She and Kathy were very soon to be actual for real roommates! She was going to have a roommate who was unlikely to just up and leave quietly in the night in the middle of the semester!

So this packing session was anything but gloomy. She was bopping around the room, playing a new song she'd heard on the radio full blast, and occasionally pausing to rock out or punch her fist in the air.

"I love me! Gonna love myself,
no I don't need anybody else!
Hey! Gonna love myself,
no I don't need anybody else!
Any time day or night!"

She'd apologize if someone came by complaining about the noise. Then probably try to make them dance with her, too.

[Door and post are open!]

Comments

[tigerundercover]

"Is that because they didn't offer AP versions of those two?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"There's an AP course for Italian!" Kathy protested with a blush that told Raven that she was right. "...I mean, not for Italian I, but...you're such a brat!"

For, y'know, being right.

[tigerundercover]

Raven grinned. "It's a little sister thing," she said. "I can't possibly help it."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Fortunately, I have a ton of experience handling those. Though, oh my god, you and Sarah? You're gonna get along like a house on fire." Kathy rolled her eyes, though she was grinning at the idea. "I feel so bad for me and Charles. We'll have to stand back and be the mature ones."

[tigerundercover]

"I suspect you're overestimating my brother's maturity," Raven said. "He'd probably spend the whole time flirting with you."

[spin_kick_snap]

"There are worse things that could happen," Kathy pointed out, trying to hide a bashful smile. "It's been awhile since any guy's really flirted with me. So, who knows? Maybe I'll flirt back."

You never knew! It could happen!

[tigerundercover]

"What, doesn't Ezra flirt with you anymore? I thought that was how he interacted with the entire world."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy laughed; Raven was entirely correct on that. "No, no, he still does," she assured her. "Just, like you said. It's how he flirts with the world. He'd flirt with my mom."

You know, if Kathy had any intention of introducing them. And if her mom wouldn't parrot some of Kathy's dad's really embarrassing racism about the Japanese.

[tigerundercover]

"Just to warn you, that's kind of how Charles does it, too."

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy sighed and made a face. "Guys. Is he at least sincere in his flirting, or is it one line after another?"

Ezra's surprising sincerity was why his flirting worked on Kathy. He didn't say anything he didn't mean to get someone into bed. He just genuinely appreciated people. And their bodies. And the various configurations those bodies got up to.

[tigerundercover]

"It's . . . mostly sincere. Charles really likes girls, but he's also charming and kind of manipulative and he knows it."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Manipulative?" Kathy asked, eyebrows knitting together as she frowned. "How? What do you mean?"

[tigerundercover]

"Well, he can literally read people's minds."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Well, yeah, but..." Hmm. Good point. "...I totally should have kept going to Ms. Frost's class."

Except for how Ms. Frost had intimidated the heck out of her.

"If I ask him nicely not to, will he not read my mind? Because that's just--" She didn't want to call Raven's brother creepy, even indirectly. "He can just learn to flirt without reading minds like the rest of us poor suckers."

[tigerundercover]

"I'll make him promise not to," Raven assured her. "And then remind him about it repeatedly. It's worked for me so far."

[spin_kick_snap]

"And I'll back it up by thinking VERY boring thoughts," Kathy said. "Like...balancing chemical equations and whatever linear algebra problem I worked on last."

[tigerundercover]

"Might not work," Raven said. "He's a nerd, too."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Okay, so I still don't want him poking around in there?" Kathy said. "But I have to admit that if he peeks and decides to flirt more because I'm thinking about chemistry and linear algebra...well, that's kinda cool."

Kathy's idea of cool sharply deviated from most other people's, yes.

[tigerundercover]

"Well, I can't say he'd do any better anywhere else."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Yeah, well, only if he comes into the future," Kathy said with a snort. "I like having rights. It's a whole thing."

Not that she had to preach to Raven, obviously.

[tigerundercover]

"You'll get absolutely no argument from me."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Though we'll have to give him a second- and third-wave feminism update before we let him into the 21st century to stay," Kathy decided. "Otherwise he'll end up running around in leisure suits patting strange women on the butt and getting brought up on charges."

[tigerundercover]

". . . Can we let him do that just once?"

[spin_kick_snap]

"Only here on the island," Kathy said. "I'd say let him try it on Parker, but I don't think he'd survive to having charges pressed."

Kathy tried to think of people on the island he could safely harass without getting injured. Heck, even she would be dangerous to pull that on. She'd have Charles on the ground before she had a chance to consciously think about it.

[tigerundercover]

"Mr. Hardison would never forgive me for setting that up. Or possibly for setting it up without giving him warning first so he could film it."