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Lavender nodded lightly.
"Yes, I understand" she said quietly.
"If you don't mind, I must get going to my dorm, I have an art project I plan on trying to finish or work on today" Lavender said, standing up and smoothing her skirt with her hands.
"I'll take a raincheck on that tea though" she said, looking at Miss Lansing with a bright smile.
Miss Lansing nodded. "Of course, dear. Don't let me stop you." She smiled softly, her eyes sparkling with natural merriment. "I will be seeing you in class tomorrow then, and I wish you a pleasant afternoon."
"thank you Miss Lansing, have a good afternoon yourself" she said, clasping her hands together and letting them swing in front of her skirt as she walked, as she was taught as a girl.
She made her way to her dorm room, where she walked in and sat down at her desk, slumping her head back a little bit and sighing warily. She slowly opened her drawers and pulled out her sketchbook.
Alene raised her head from her pillow. “How was your talk with- Miss Lansing?”
"it was fine" Lavender said, straightening up at the sound of Alene's voice.
"yes it was fine" she repeated, stiffly.
She sat her sketchbook down on the surface of the desk, flipping to the page of the picture window.
She pulled a black pen from her mug full and began to pen the darker pencil lines.
Alene rose, interest piqued by the drawing.
"What did you talk about?" She made sure to keep her voice light as she stepped closer to see what Lavender was working on.
"Just stuff I guess" Lavender said, blushing lightly at being questioned on her conversation with Miss Lansing after everyone else had left.
"I told her I think i'm going to like the way she teaches and that the whole ripping out the introduction thing peaked my interest, but also surprised me" she explained, while keeping her focus on the sketch of the picture window, making sure to keep her lines as straight as possible.
Miss Lansing hummed softly to herself, pouring the tea she’d made into a cup to sip from it as she planned out the next few lessons. Her students would surely be in shock, but she was hoping they would get used to the abnormalities of her class sooner rather than later. For all she was worth, she would teach these girls to break out of the conformity they’d been taught their entire lives at this school.
"I told her I think i'm going to like the way she teaches and that the whole ripping out the introduction thing peaked my interest, but also surprised me" she explained, while keeping her focus on the sketch of the picture window, making sure to keep her lines as straight as possible.
"I think it surprised everyone," Alene said. "It was a mad sort of thing to do. I see why she did it…" She shivered. "I'm glad I didn't." She nearly said she was glad that Lansing was proud of her but quickly clamped her lips shut on that thought. There was no need for Lavender to know that. Besides, she'd just go blather it to Lansing and wouldn't that be mortifying, discovered acting like a child outside of a toystore, begging for a gift it didn't deserve. Of course, she could let it slip out later, but not yet at any rate. She didn't need that.
Lavender smiled at Alene without ever turning to face her, so more or less she ended up smiling to herself, for the sake of Alene.
"I'm glad I did, those books are horrid we hardly ever use the books they force us to bring with us anyways." She stated with a small laugh to herself.
"Yeah, but that's a problem with the system," Alene said, annoyed, "it doesn't logically follow that we shouldn't use the books. If anything, an argument could be made that we should use the books. That we deserve to even." She took a breath to keep her thoughts steady and refrained from rolling her eyes.
"I don't know about you, but I think thoughtless destruction of expensive learning equipment is the zenith of our commercialized society." Alene sat back, wondering how Lavender would react.
Lavender shrugged as she kept penning the drawing.
"Well, you have a right to think the way you do." She said calmly, trying to ignore the other response that wanted to jump out of her.
"I'm not going to tell you you're wrong" she added quietly.
(Lmao I love Alene's response what a funny little person)
"Why not?" Alene questioned, eyebrows raised not quite defiantly.
"because I hate confrontation" Lavender admitted, continuing to pen the drawing.
"I don't like to voice my thoughts most of the time because they're also, as most people would say, all over the place" she added with a small smile.
Alene shrugged. "I'm don't mind confrontation really," she lied, "but this is a new place right? Room to stretch our wings or whatever." She shrugged again. "Lansing seemed happy I yelled at her. Maybe there's something to it."
"maybe" Lavender agreed with a solemn shrug.
She bent her head down and continued to slowly and carefully ink her drawing of the picture window.
"I must finish, so excuse my silence and small quick responses." she said politely.
Alene nodded and left. She closed the door behind her softly so as not to disturb Lavender. There had to be a library around here. Or at least a deserted stairwell. She could’ve asked someone. But that would mean having to talk to someone. She would find it herself.
Miss Lansing sighed once she finished her tea. After Lavender and Alene's class, she had a half hour lunch followed by a free hour, and she had no idea what to do with the time. Finally, she decided to go for a stroll around the campus grounds. She made her way down the cobblestone paths, letting the warm sun wash over her skin.
Alene walked silently through the corridors unthinkingly. Few students were about, so she flirted along like a shadow. The dark paneled walls held a kind of beauty that she admired. The place had an austerity reminded her of her home. A girl in a painting caught her eye. The blue of her dress was faint, but pleasantly matched the background. She was painted too stiffly though. She reminded Alene of her sister.
Alene turned away quickly, before emotion could take hold of her, and made her way along past the dormitories, wending where her wandering mind led her, until she wondered if she was lost. It didn’t matter. A dead end led her to three doors. A quick survey revealed an empty office looking building, a broom closet, and stairs leading down into darkness. A waft of fear troubled her. She shook each her head. It wasn’t as if she would be discovered. She walked down the steps, and for good measure, closed it behind her.
(Lansing is just walking around vibing, so if you would like her to discover Alene and maybe have a convo with her, I can make that happen.)
(I was thinking Lansing could wander in Alene’s general direction and then they could meet and chat and have a Character Moment)
(Sounds good!)
Miss Lansing absorbed the sunlight, tilting her chin up and closing her eyes for a few steps. She lowered her head and looked forward again, waving at a group of girls who were looking at her strangely. If people are staring at you, Adalise, it's very rarely for a good reason, her mother's voice chided her in her head.
"Oh, hush," she whispered aloud. "No one wants your opinion anyway." The teacher pulled open the doors just in time to hear another set of doors shutting further down the hall. She frowned in confusion and approached the three doors Alene had, but she saw nothing and turned to leave.
Alene moved in darkness down the stairs until a slithery string hit her face. She yelped and grasped at it before realization hit her and she lit the room.
It was a bare place. A dull carpet, an old couch, and a low table with scratched in initials. Alene walked around the table slowly, The walls were dull as well. It looked like a place of long conversation and loud noise a decade ago, that had been forgotten and left alone when no longer of use. She sank into the couch and propped her feet on the table, something she was sure to be scolded for at home. She couldn't fall asleep. In this place, alone, hours could pass and she wouldn't know.
A song came to her head and she couldn't help but open her mouth and let her high, clear voice drift out.
"I found myself dreaming in silver and gold," she began softly.
"Like a scene from a movie, that every broken heart knows…" She allowed all the heartbreak of the move into her voice, all the loneliness inside her, to flow out into the empty air around her.
The initials carved into the table were weathered, but if one looked close enough, they would be able to tell that inside a heart, there was a pair of initials reading "AL + KT" embedded in the wood. It stood out right beside Alene's heel.
–
Adalise jumped as she heard someone cry out from behind her. She turned and frowned at the three doors again. This time, she approached them and took a peek at what was inside them. Two proved to be unsuccessful – an office and a closet – which mean that the girl she had heard must've been behind the third door. She smiled subtly as the memories rushed back to her. Why hadn't she recognized the space earlier?
She pressed her ear to the door and heard a girl's muffled voice. Was she singing? It sounded like it. Adalise smiled knowingly.
(Also, idk if I shared this on here or not, but here's Adalise's sheet: https://www.notebook.ai/plan/characters/1102214#)