(no subject)

[untarnish]

Who: Ari Flint, Mara Rowle, Mackenzie Prince, Jade Otterwell & open
When: Backdated to breakfast on Sunday before the game
Where: Cafeteria
What: Cattiness
Warnings: N/A.

Ariadne’s been dreading the Hogwarts game for weeks. Of the people she knew at Hogwarts, most of them are friends who don’t speak to her anymore or people who were probably happy to see her go. She doesn’t have anyone she’d like to catch up with; most of the visitors, she’d be better off ignoring. And that should’ve been easy, since she hadn’t expected any of her old roommates to be interested in the exchange program. But, of course, the one person she would’ve thought the least likely to visit is here. She spots Mara from across the cafeteria when she arrives for breakfast. There’s no way she could’ve missed her; she’s wearing a Slytherin-green ribbon in her high ponytail that draws Ari’s eye immediately. Her hands tighten into fists as she scans the room, looking for her friends. She’ll go, she’ll sit down. It’ll be fine. Their table is always full, and Mackenzie will be able to scare off any wanted visitors. Ari’s sure of it. Luck’s not on her side, though, because Mara looks up and sees her while she’s still rooted to the spot in shock. Mara smiles at her, and she can’t think of anything to do besides offer a small, pathetic wave in response. She finally forces her feet to move and begins towards her friends’ table, but before she’s even halfway there, Mara’s caught up to her. “Ariadne,” she says, pulling her into a hug that was always doomed to be awkward but isn’t helped by the fact that Ari’s holding her breakfast tray between them. “I’ve been looking all over for you!” “Oh?” Ari asks, unable to help the skepticism that edges its way into her voice. Mara hasn’t written her in months. She doubts she was at the top of her list. “You’ve got to introduce me to everybody,” she continues, hardly even acknowledging Ari’s remark. “I’m only here for a day, so we don’t have long.” Mara winds her arm through Ari’s so they’re hooked at the elbow and Ari doesn’t quite have it in her to push her away. She considers her options briefly; she could try to sit down at Calvin’s table, where Mara will certainly not receive a friendly welcome. She could say she doesn’t have friends, which would be bitterly embarrassing but would at least prevent any awkward introductions. Or… She glances over at Kenzie’s table. She trusts Kenzie, and she’s much better-equipped to deal with Mara’s particular brand of false sweetness than Calvin’s friends would be. So she leads Mara over to her usual table and makes her introductions. Mara corrects her when she introduces her as an old friend, insisting that she’s a best friend, but Ari bites her tongue as she sits down. She eats in silence as Mara talks about herself at length, although she occasionally glances up at her friends to see if she can divine any sort of opinion from their expressions as they listen. But she’s not sure what they think of Mara. Mara and her posh accent. Mara and her flawless English rose complexion. Mara and her beautiful blonde hair that looks like spun gold instead of corn silk. Ari’s hand subconsciously goes to her own hair, and she pushes it over her shoulder and out of sight instead of trying to smooth it down. It’ll be obvious to anyone at the table, Ari thinks, that everything about her meticulously put-together appearance is just a pale imitation of Mara’s natural state of being. She wishes she weren’t sitting directly next to her. “Is that mine, Ariadne?” Mara asks a handful of minutes into the conversation. She’s gesturing with her fork towards Ari’s neck. Ari grabs the jade pendant of her necklace reflexively; she doesn’t even need to check to remember which one she’s wearing today. “No,” she says, but her heart is still hammering in her chest. She almost never has things that Mara wants, but whenever she does Mara tries to take them from her. But she can’t take the necklace. It’s not hers, and everyone at the table knows it. “Are you sure?” Mara asks. “It looks familiar, I think.” “Jade gave it to me,” Ari says. “Ah.” Mara looks at Jade for a calculating moment, and then retrains her sights on Ari. “She gave it to you, or you borrowed it?” “It was a gift.” “Of course it was,” she says, unfazed. “You’d never borrow anything without putting back at the end of the day, I’m sure.” She doesn’t leave much time for anybody to respond, and Ari can’t think of anything to say to change the topic before she continues. “But, you know, after you left we started to notice things missing. Juliette’s sweater, Devina’s bracelet… just little things you’d borrowed. It didn’t take us long to figure out where they’d gone. Which is why I’m not surprised to find you’ve attached yourself to the society girls here, as well.” Ari’s been staring down at her food, but her hand tightens around her fork at that. She might’ve attached herself to Kenzie and her friends because of their status when she arrived, but that’s not why she’s here now, and she doesn’t need them thinking otherwise. “Mara, stop.” “They deserve to know,” Mara says, turning to address the rest of the table. “She might act like she comes from money, but your friend is a muddy little thief.” Mara delivers this statement with a pointed, polite smile. But Ari doesn’t see it. She’s already pushed her chair back from the table and turned to leave. Whatever the reaction is, she doesn’t want to hear it.

Comments

[princeprincess]

Kenzie leans back in her chair languidly and crosses her legs towards the interloper, who finally has her full attention for the first time all day. Her face remains cold and impassive as she listens to this new little girl go on her accusatory tirade. However, the only time she visibly reacts is when the word muddy slides out of that perfect little mouth like a slug. Kenzie's expression seems to lower the temperature in the room.

"How rude," she says as soon as Ari stands, but it's directed at Mara. "You're a guest here, and you come into our home and accuse one of us of stealing?"

Kenzie's gaze shifts to Ari. "Please, sit down, Ari. I just can't stand the idea of you leaving without an apology. It isn't your fault that your old friends can't keep track of a few tacky trinkets mommy and daddy gave them."

[odder]

The anger behind Jade's eyes has been slowly growing ever since this girl sat down. She knows girls like Mara Rowle. She's seen them on every continent. They're all the same, and none of them are allowed to talk about Ari the way Mara's doing now.

She nods in time with Kenzie's assessment of this situation. She follows in the icy example of her older friend, and does not let herself jump across the table to set that infernal ponytail on fire. Not yet. Instead, her voice stays level. "Last time I was in England, I remember Society being better behaved. And I did give her that necklace. For her birthday. It better not come up missing."

[untarnish]

Ari doesn't want to sit down and she doesn't want to talk to Mara anymore, but she does anyway. Kenzie is right; running off now would only prove Mara right, and she doesn't want to do that.

Mara rolls her eyes at Jade, making a soft hmph sound at her instead of replying directly. "I don't want her silly necklace, and she's the one who owes me an apology," she says in Kenzie's direction. "If she'll give me that and our things I'll let her be. I'd ask for everything back, but I wouldn't want to leave you without anything to wear. Don't think I didn't recognize the blouse."

"You gave it to me," Ariadne snaps back at her, the first time she's sounded like her usual, snide self this morning.

[riledup]

Riley is not a brave person, or a loyal one, or strong, or smart, or all that useful; but she is a follower, and she is spiteful, and she remembers this girl. She remembers feeling lonely and homesick every time she passed her giggling, sneering clique in the Slytherin common room, and she doesn't need to know if there's any truth behind Mara's words to know she doesn't care.

"Take the hint, Mara," she says from her place conveniently shielded by Kenzie. "Nobody's buying your bullshit."

[princeprincess]

"Some people are used to being listened to simply because of pedigree. I'm sure this show dog's popular across the pond, but who cares about the Rowles nowadays," Mackenzie titters as an aside to Riley, not bothering to be quiet.

That said, Kenzie leans forward and folds her arms on the table, staring down Mara once more. "You're not really in a position to be making demands. But fine, apologize or don't. I was just giving you a chance to save some face." She gestures up and down, indicating Mara's entire person. "Tomorrow you'll be irrelevant, but today you're kind of stuck with us, aren't you?"