oh sh-souffle. [tamara]

[Isabella Jillian Avadore]

Ten o'clock at night. Isa would typically be in her dorm room, five floors up, but right now she wanted some isolation. Even from Talia, her best friend. Right now, the girl was curled up in a corner of one of the sofas in the lobby, with the moonlight shining in on her. Her eyes were closed, her fingers clasped tightly around a translucent blue beaded rosary, but she clearly wasn't praying it right now. Her bobbed hair was just long enough to fall forwards, somewhat hiding her face.

For anyone who knew Isabella Avadore reasonably well, chancing past her going to church, praying on reading some sort of prayer book, or general religious text, was not at all new. For those in RSOR, it only made sense that the patron saint of France (among other things) would be pious. She loved to pray. It made her feel refreshed, optimistic, it sorted her out, it made her happy, it put her at ease. As most of her problems - night terrors, being the most prominent originated from her past life, prayer was also the only sort of therapy she had, besides the occasional chat with Bonnie Parker. Right now wasn't even therapeutic, it wasn't making her that happy. It was all ado over a certain boy, a certain vow a lifetime ago, a certain mishapping of being reborn hundreds of years later.

You see, in her first life, Jehanne D'Arc had, at the age of 13, taken a vow of chastity. It had only made sense at the time. Not only had the Voices instructed her that, but frankly, doing what she did was the marks of a witch - unless you were a virgin. So, naturally, she had had to stay "the maid" and had she lived past her teens, she would have continued on with such a vow. But she'd been captured, put on trial, repeatedly raped and killed. Cheerful. Then she ended up in life two, and didn't know what to do. Did she have to abstain from everything? Was this life retribution for the last, even though she didn't feel even the slightest need to be repaid? Either way, the Voices were mum on her personal life this time. And it was driving her insane.

(Yeah, that's right - the lack of Voices in her head was the thing making her crazy, not the fact she was hearing Voices to begin with.)

Did that mean it was okay? Did that mean that the rules were already set from her past life? Very rarely did they repeat instructions. Maybe thoughts. But not instructions. Maybe she had gone against God's will, in the simple act of holding hands with a boy, albeit Charles Darwin.

Valentines Day. The dog woods, where she was skipping out on the Valentines event. She'd ended up asking Xelios if he'd like to take a walk with her, and he'd agreed. After a little bit, he had tripped, so she offered him a hand up. He took it. And then he didn't let go, even when she said me may. The "may" had been intentional. One little word that insinuated that he may also continue to hold her hand. He'd picked up on it, and there they had walked. Odd at best - Isabella was one of the best known kids in the school, and she didn't have more than a small handful of enemies. Xelios Savas was the reclusive, awkward junior that not so many liked, and most were indifferent to. Not that they were a couple! Oh he...hello, no, they were not. Isabella was too confused just now, and she knew Xelios would keep his distance if she asked. He knew why she'd ask that too. Not that she didn't trust him, far from it, but part of her freaked out around most males, friend or foe, that got too close too suddenly.

All in all, this was a theological, mental, mess, and it was about to get ten times worse for the saint in question. Joan was so caught up on her reflections and prayers she didn't hear someone walking down the stairs, but she did turn and look up when someone tapped her on the shoulder. "Can I help you?" She calmly asked the girl that had made dorm life last year, dare the saint say it, hellish.

-------------
words| 770
tagged| Tamara / Mandee
notes| souffle. oh shit? naw. oh souffle.

[Tamara Jade Ramachander]

Tamara needed some time away from her dorm. She needed some time away from her sister. A year ago, she would have laughed at anyone insisting that she'd need time away from her adopted sister, who she'd come to love just as much as she would a true sister. Lenita and Tamara were still related by blood, albeit as distant cousins, rather than sisters. However, blood wasn't necessarily the be all end all. To Tamara, Lenita was her sister, and that was that.

Did Lenita feel the same way, however? Lately, Tamara wasn't so sure. Weren't sisters supposed to be able to tell everything to each other? It used to be that way, as recent as a few months before. RSOR, however, apparently had made her sister take a vow of secrecy when she joined, because Lenita wasn't saying a damn word about RSOR to Tamara, other than the fact that it was a school club and that plenty of people, friends and enemies alike, were members. And her sister, of course.

Tamara wanted answers, and she had a feeling that she might have stumbled on a way to get them. A year prior, Tamara had schmoozed a teacher into giving her an A on a test she'd only earned a C on, and she was fairly certain that one Isabella Avadore had born witness to this. She had no way of knowing this for sure, of course, but she wanted to be on the safe side. It wasn't just this aspect of it, though. She was also interested in the RSOR aspect of things.

Coming home from her blind date on Valentine's Day, she'd opted to take a short cut through the Dog Woods. There, she'd witnessed an incredibly juicy sight. Well, if it occurred between anyone else, it probably wouldn't be that juicy. But it was between Isabella Avadore, well known around the school for being a prude, and Xelios Savas, arguably one of the most awkward boys at the school. The two of them were holding hands and walking together.

She approached Isabella, who appeared to be lost in thought at first. As Tamara came closer, she realized that the other girl was praying. Tamara had to stifle a giggle at this. It wasn't that she wasn't religious, but that was taking it to the extreme! Her attempts were successful, and she tapped Isabella lightly on the shoulder. When Isabella turned around, Tamara shrugged. "Well, I did come across an interesting sight in the Dog Woods a while back...I was wondering if you might have a few details about that, considered it concerns you and Xelios Savas."[/color] Tamara decided not to play around. At least, not yet. She wanted to see how Isabella would react first.

Word count: 469
To: Dante/Isa
Notes: Straight to business. XD

[Isabella Jillian Avadore]

Things had gotten weird fast for Isabella, and right now she didn't know what to do. It didn't help that not too long after, she'd kinda taken Xelios' hand and forgotten to let go of it, while in the presence of Natalia and Oliver. Once she had realized, she jumped away like he may as well have been made of fire, but it had been hard to downplay that, moreso with Talia than Oliver. She knew how to get Oliver to shut up. Talia, on the other hand, knew plenty about Isa and her habits, and didn't shut up. Not to be wrathful, as one might assume of Bonnie Parker. It wasn't surprising to Isa (who believed almost everyone had good in them) but to some, the idea Bonnie Parker did care would be astounding.

Whoever she may have been, she certainly beat last year by a mile, and one of those two girls just came back and knocked her out of her intense theological troubles. Or...for all of two seconds when she asked what Tamara could possibly want with her, before getting an answer.

It took all her power, from all her time campaigning, not to have the color drain from her face, and to still look composed. Her brown eyes only looked mildly confused. How could Tamara have seen that? Yet evidently she had, or she wouldn't be approaching Isabella about it. It was too concise, too clear to be a bluff. She was good at knowing that sort of thing. Tamara wouldn't bluff like that - Isabella didn't want to sound pompous, but when it came to the school scape, Isa was higher on the social ladder. She exacted more control and influence. Thinking like the military mind she was, bluffing a bluff by could have disastrous consequences. She could lose her credibility, just on the well known fact that Isabella was a "prude" or as Isa put it, "taking her time". Or being confused. Whatever. But there was no saying that Isa couldn't play along. Words were her strong point. Except swearing, she hated to curse and thus ended up with some pretty silly comments - calling someone bas..."basset hound", for example. "Yes, I went on a walk with him." Typical Joan - calm and collected, matter of fact, collected. She uncurled herself, then stood up. She always felt better doing battle standing, even if it was just verbal. In class she was even known to stand up when debating. It didn't matter that Tamara was bigger at all.

"What do you want to know?" She knew if Tamara was going on the tangent she was, she'd probably seen them hold hands. But Isa was not going to launch onto defence right away.

-----------
words| 497
tagged| Tamara / Mandee
notes| PEACH NERDS ARE GOOD.

[Tamara Jade Ramachander]

Part of it was that Tamara liked to poke her nose in other people's business. The other part? She had at least a couple of allies who were willing to give her what she needed to have her fun. She and Errol kept supplying each other with information about the RSOR and the strange encounters they had with RSOR members. Lately, it seemed as though there weren't many encounters with the 'attic kids' that didn't fall under this category. The whole Oliver/Orville thing had Tamara's attention. It was one thing if the kid was just doing it as a play on words based on his clear obsession with flying things, but it seemed as though it were more than that. Even if it were just Oliver who seemed concerned about that, it would be no big deal, but Sylent had jumped to Oliver's defense almost immediately when Errol was poking at him, from what Tamara heard. As Tamara was on friendly terms with Sylent, she knew that Sylent too was a member of RSOR. Therefore, that stood out to her as a major hint that this had something to do with RSOR.

When Isabella explained that she'd gone on a mere walk with Xelios, Tamara simply nodded. Well, Tamara knew that part anyway. She'd witnessed them walking through the woods. She'd just also witnessed something else on top of it. "Was he your date for the Valentine's thing?"[/color] It seemed a logical conclusion, after all. If they were walking together perhaps they'd been partnered together. It would explain how they met up.

When Isa stood, Tamara rose to her full height as well. There was no way Tamara was going to sit while Isa was standing. She didn't want Isa to get too comfortable. That would completely defeat the purpose of what she was doing, and she couldn't have that. Not yet, at least.

Isa went straight to the point. Good. That made things easier on Tamara. She recalled this trait of Isa's from the year before. However, she also recalled Isa unleashing a bit of her fury on her when she and Errol ambushed Isa and Oliver at the part, and it wasn't a very pleasant memory to relive. Nevertheless, the only outward sign that Tamara showed of these thoughts was a slight widening of the eyes. Instead, she decided to jump straight to the point as well. If Isa wanted to play that way, Tamara had no problem with it. "Well, it seemed like you two got pretty close out there..."[/color] With most teens, holding hands wouldn't be considered 'pretty close'. With Isa and Xelios, however, things were a bit different...

Word count: 454
To: Dante/Isa
Notes: Doobee doo

[Isabella Jillian Avadore]

If one excuses the terrible pun, playing with fire was something Joan of Arc did very well. She knew what to do with dangerous situation, be them physical battlefields or social ones. It didn't matter that she only had the appearance of a little girl. If Tamara was going to harp on her, Isabella was going to push back. And she had plenty of reason to, she had to discourage this looking into RSOR before it got worse. They already knew Oliver called himself Orville Wright, though as far as she knew they had not a clue why. At least, in that way, an idea so far fetched as reincarnation helped. It would not be on their "well, obviously, that's just got to be it" list. The thing was, what could rsor do to put the "it's not worth it" option forefront? That was her job. And maybe hearing Tamara out would help. Besides, it wouldn't get her out of the hot water she was already in to run.

"No, whoever was mine didn't show up." She remarked evenly. In truth, it was she that hadn't shown up, but the lie didn't bother her. No one had stepped forwards claiming to be the person she stood up, (and no one would, since Isabella had indeed been paired with Xelios) "I went for a walk in the woods, and passed him. He joined me because he was heading home. He had been waiting but no one showed up for him, either." Her words were nonchalant, for now. No edge. Isabella did not want an edge, even though she stood, primed for a fight. Tamara also stood, standing a good three inches over her, Isabella looked up, crossing her arms over her chest.

Now, it went straight to the heart of the matter. They had gotten "pretty close" out there. Yeah. Sure. Because holding hands was pretty close. It wasn't. Well, not on a typical scale of things, but as far as Tamara was going to treat this (and most of the school) Isa may as well have been kissing him. Not that she would. Oh no. She was not going to kiss anybody.

Not right now. Not that she could fathom.

"Well, it's not like I'm not allowed." The first hints of a defence crept into Isabella's voice. "I just don't most of the time." Or all of the time, which she supposed that Tamara was likely to point out. She was also likely to blackmail her or something. Isabella knew that Tamara would do her best to make her squirm. So the question was, really, which way did she want to squirm? Did she want to bring herself to the fire or have the fire brought to her? Joan decided on what she decided before. She would walk to the flames. She'd bite, and see where it got her. The trick was to bite so that the hood didn't end up in your mouth, so that you were still in control. "And I assume you think you can get something from this, Tamara?"

----------------
words| 573
tagged| Tamara / Mandee
notes| Fire. Heh.

[Tamara Jade Ramachander]

Oddly, it wasn't so much Oliver's behavior that had Tamara prodding around, it was the behavior of those around him as well. If it was just Oliver and Lenita being a bit silly, she might pass it off. But everyone was being so defensive! If they just offered up an explanation, it might make things a lot easier. However, Lenita would give her nothing. Oliver would give her nothing. The only person that was giving her something was Errol, and thus she'd found that she'd gotten a lot closer to the boy lately. Go figure.

"Almost wish mine hadn't showed up. I swear it would have been more fun going on a blind date with the Statue of Liberty. At least she might have been able to carry on a conversation."[/color] Tamara could tell that Isa was on edge, so she wanted to play around a little. She wanted to encourage a bit of regular girl conversation along with her prying. Maybe it would loosen Isa up a bit, make her think that everything was alright, and then bam, Tamara could attack when the other girl least expected it.

Not that Tamara was foolish enough to think that it would work that easily, but still, it was worth a shot.

Tamara noted the defense in Isa's voice. It made Tamara grin slightly. Then again, any sign that she was getting to someone would. It meant that Tamara was closer to achieving her goal, and why wouldn't she be pleased about that? "Why do you make it sound like you don't want me to know then? Why not just come out and admit that you were holding Xelios Savas' hand?"[/color] There. She'd gotten to the crux of the matter. She knew that with almost any two other people in the school, holding hands would be nothing. She also knew that it wasn't so with Isabella Avadore and Xelios Savas. She knew that this was big. Granted, she didn't know about Isa's theological battle over the whole thing, but that oddly gave her an advantage that she didn't know she had.

Isa wasn't stupid, though, and she proved it with her next statement. Tamara wasn't entirely surprised, if she had to be honest. She didn't think that Isa would be completely clueless. If Isa played that way, in fact, Tamara might have gotten more suspicious. "I might be able to. You recall that incident with Bareen last year?"[/color] She figured that Isa would know what she was talking about. If not, then she was actually putting herself into more trouble.

Word count: 443
To: Dante/Isa
Notes: Another random teacher drop... XD

[Isabella Jillian Avadore]

The whole rsor situation was a delicate balancing act, and Isabella had to play carefully with it. She supposed that if everything went badly here, it would take Tamara's mind somewhat off rsor....or Isabella would be blackmailed, but the fact of the matter, rsor came above any honor that Tamara could blacken. If that was what it cost, then Isabella would just have to go through with it. If she could fix everything, all the better. "Who were you paired with?" Isabella asked, just as conversational. Her mind was on hyperdrive. And besides, whatever Tamara could do, despite pride being a sin, Isabella was sure she could do better. Despite being a saint, she was hell bent on getting the upper hand in time. "I can't imagine anyone being that terrible at any conversation." That and maybe Isabella knew the person, and furthermore, maybe she could get info on Tamara. If the person was rsor, and if Tamara did any prying, the conversation was one Joan would like to know about, that was certain. And it gave her the impression of relaxing.

Or, it could. But Tamara's small grin made it evident that she had picked up on some grain of defence in the voice of the other girl, and Isabella couldn't help but curse in her own, censored way, inwardly. Dam...damages! Not that she didn't know it was coming but still, this sort of thing troubled her. "Well, if you saw, why are you bothering me about saying I have?" Her voice was not so much defensive as questioning, and perhaps even a little patronizing: Come on, dumb-bell, do I have to reiterate what you saw for you? "Did I intend for you to know, no, but obviously you know what you see." Isabella was going to play it down for now. It was an unspoken truth the both of them knew that it was bigger news than Isa was making it out to be - but then again, if Isa was untroubled by it, maybe Tamara would have to rethink. Maybe Isabella didn't care because it was Xelios and in a way, that was true, but she wasn't ready for that.

Another thing she wasn't ready for, or more accurately, didn't expect, was what Tamara next said. Some incident involving the jackas...jackashpalt that washer math teacher, Bareen. He was...ugh. He wasn't a creeper like DuPoint but he was corrupt to the core...wait a second...

Was Tamara suggesting she'd bribed a teacher? Isabella had no idea of it prior, but it made her wonder if she'd say she did. Quickly, she weighed her options. Saying no would mean that Tamara wouldn't have a reason not to share the info, but then saying no would also mean she had nothing to hold her back. But if Isa said yes, it would make it appear that she had a card she really did now have. No harm could come to Tamara, if Isa knew nothing, but Tamara could be convinced she did. "Yes." Isabella smiled slightly. If her gamble worked, it could even the field. If it didn't, well, she'd have to see. "I suppose you want me to forget it happened, hmm?"

----------
words| 608
tagged| Tamara / Mandee
notes| Nupe.

[Tamara Jade Ramachander]

The fact that Isa was being conversational as well made Tamara's job easier (or so she thought, at least). More words spoken meant more chances that Isa might let something spill to Tamara that Tamara could use. It was highly doubtful, but the possibility was there, and Tamara was hanging on to that possibility.

"Angelo Reese."[/color] Tamara stated, scrunching up her nose. The school gossip, and one of the biggest pains in the ass to nearly everyone in RSOR, was paired up with Michelangelo, and she didn't even know it.

Tamara snorted at Isa's next question. "Because it's so much more fun making you say it."[/color] Unfortunately Tamara had not gotten her wish here, although Isa at the very least was admitting to what happened, and admitting it meant that Isa was very much aware that it happened, and that therefore it was a conscious act. She hadn't pulled away right away either, which was something else that stood out to Tamara. She wasn't going to jump there quite yet, though.

Of course, the subject she wanted to know most about was furthest from the topic of conversation at the moment. This frustrated Tamara. Obviously, she had an interest in making certain that Isa did not tell the school about her dealings with Bareen, but what she was truly interested in was more information about RSOR. She knew that she couldn't physically beat the information out of Isa (not that she would try anyway). Even bullying Oliver didn't work, from what Errol had relayed to her. Of course, she didn't quite see what she and Errol were doing as bullying. They were simply trying to get to the bottom of a mystery that they felt entitled to know about! Why were they even left out in the first place?

The silence that followed seemed much longer than Tamara liked. She wondered what was going through Isa's mind. Was Tamara's threat enough to keep Isa from spilling the beans? Nevermind that it was Tamara's fault that Isa would even have beans to spill in the first place. She'd never know, because she fell for Isa's attempt at playing it off as though she'd known all along. What's more, the smile on Isa's face suggested to Tamara that Isa might actually considering going along with it. This was a great development!

"Of course, just as I'm sure you want me to forget about what I saw."[/color] She was tempted to add 'and things I've overheard', but refrained from doing so at this point. She wanted to see how Isa would react to this until she pulled out an ace from up her sleeve. If this didn't get Isa, overhearing potential threads to RSOR security likely would.

Word count: 469
To: Dante/Isa
Notes: None

[Isabella Jillian Avadore]

Isabella had to feel for Angelo. He probably hadn't known what he was getting into. None of them did, but dear goodness. Getting partnered with Tamara? It was likely only Errol could stand that. Urgh. Errol. He made her uncomfortable and there really was no way for her to fix that other than stay the hell away from him. With Tamara, well, she didn't have that sort of thing to fear, and furthermore, was able to engage in a conversation with her without heaving to wonder why she was just told that her words tasted like soup. "He's not that talkative. But he probably didn't like it either. Did you hear about Errol and Chelsea?" Half the school had, thanks to the male of the two. Now that was a bad pairing, and so was Oliver and Leila, though why would be lost on a normal like Tamara. Isabella was just glad she hadn't ended up anywhere near Bathory. While she didn't fear the other girl, she didn't exactly enjoy the fact she was on the hit-list of a prolific serial killer.

Isa just rolled her eyes at Tamara's next words. "Well, I'm sorry, but your satisfaction is not my priority, and very rarely has been." Her words were scathing, and true. Isa had given up on making Tamara happy midway through last year. No, her focus now was on making sure all blew over well, and Tamara would give up on RSOR. And, she wished, what was going on between her and Xelios. There was nothing! NOTHING. There was nothing going on, and she doubted there would be. It was just so confusing, and all this confusion wouldn't be at all fair to Xelios. He didn't deserve a mess of a person, anyways. He might like her but he didn't know all the mess he was getting into. Yes, he knew what happened to her. But that didn't make it fair to him, or even right that all her confusions be put to him. He didn't need that. He had his own worries in the world without her being a baby. And without the drama this could cause for him. It was unfair, and so Isa supposed no matter which way she looked at it, she was taking the blame. She'd find a way. She hoped.

And one way had possibly been presented to her, in the form of a bas...basset hound teacher. And Tamara, it seemed, was buying the idea Isabella knew. Good. "But the question is, Tamara, is that enough to make me forget? Bribing a teacher is much more extreme than anything I have done." Isa said smoothly. She would just have to see how that went...see if she could put herself in charge.

------------
words| 510
tagged| Tamara / Mandee
notes| LATE NIGHT POST

[Tamara Jade Ramachander]

All things considered, Tamara still supposed she could have gotten partnered with worse than Angelo. Sure, he was a rude jerk, but at least he wasn't capable of seriously injuring Tamara (or worse) with strange prowess at the subject. Isa and Jennah were odd. How did sixteen and seventeen year old girls possess such clear abilities when they showed no outward signs of having learned them anywhere? In Isa's defense, she was involved in sports, but Jennah? Jennah wasn't involved in anything like that from what Tamara knew, yet she seemed quite talented in the field of martial arts. It was damn odd.

Tamara had seen Isa's own talents first hand. She could still remember when the girl utilized them toward her when she and Errol ambushed them in the park. Yes, an ambush seemed a little extreme, but it wasn't as though they could just ask questions and expect to get them answered. The RSOR was pushing them to this extreme, as far as Tamara was concerned. If they were more forward about who they were and what they did, and all of the odd things about them, it would be a lot different. Hell, even if Lenita were more forward about where she was going off to whenever she headed to the attic, Tamara would be more understanding. Tamara had two major motivations at this point in time - Jealousy toward her sister, and impressing Errol.

Tamara's lips curved up into a grin when Isa mentioned Errol and Chelsea. "Sure did. Would have paid to have been a fly on the wall during that conversation."[/color] She also would have paid to see Errol kiss Chelsea. Tamara put on a fake frown at Isa's next words. Ouch. Not that she really cared, though, as Isa's satisfaction was far from her mind as well. "That's too bad. That really hurts."[/color] The words were very clearly sarcastic in nature, and of course Tamara noted Isa's tone. The girls did not get along, and it showed.

Her fake frown turned into a real frown at Isa's next words. What on Earth did she mean? Tamara found herself thrilled that she still had an ace up her sleeve as well, elsewise she might have been a lot more worried about this statement. Nevertheless, Tamara wasn't going to be stupid. She wasn't going to play her card unless she determined that she actually needed it. She need to figure out what Isa was saying first. "Where are you going with this?"[/color] Despite the circumstances, Tamara had a bit more respect for Isa at this. It seemed that the girl could bite back.

Word count: 455
To: Dante/Isa
Notes: None

[Isabella Jillian Avadore]

Isabella had been quite happy she ditched the meeting that she was supposed to have gone to on Valentines day. She was glad she walked in the park, and generally happy with all aspects of it. That, of course, meant, something had to go wrong with it. Maybe now she wondered if she should have shown up and potentially had someone gloat. If she'd landed with Errol she was pretty sure that while she wouldn't have had it as bad as Chelsea, he'd have gloated over having gone on a date with her or something stupid. "I feel bad for Chelsea, personally. Errol was just being unnecessary with all of that." Tamara would side with Errol, she knew. The two were partners in crime. Isa would side with Chelsea, a pal of hers, and one of her first recruitments in the year, before her hair had been forcibly shortened. Now she just wore it bobbed, but she did remember being able to put it in a bun at the time.

Tamara's sarcastic words were largely ignored by Joan, who found no reason to say anything to them and give Tamara opportunities. It was clear they didn't like each other, trading sarcastic remarks would only further prove what no longer needed to be proven. It was time for the meat and potatoes of this conversation, where it as quickly coming down to who would blackmail the other more. Isabella knew Tamara could. She didn't particularly condone blackmail. But to keep herself and rsor afloat, she was going to at least have to pretend she had all the important cards in this game; and these sorts of games she had played before, to some extent - her stilted trials were some experience.

For the moment, it seemed that Tamara was on the run, asking what Isabella was going to do with her "knowledge". "Where am I going with this? Currently, nowhere, and you should be thankful for that. Imagine the trouble it could cause you, if such a thing was on your transcript." Bribing teachers was no small offence. Isabella was not a rat, but she had to admit, if she knew more she could really cause Tamara problems down the road. "What I'm saying, Tamara, is that you may not have enough collateral." Truth was, she had all the collateral...but no one needed to know. It would be worse if Tamara overheard what she and Xelios had been talking about, but from how the conversation was evolving, it seemed she hadn't. Isabella would well imagine Tamara would go straight for the throat if she'd heard Isa ask what it was like to be old, and Xelios giving an informed response, talking about what it had been like for him to be old. Anything out of place to the anti-rsor smelled right like it came from rsor, and in that case, she'd have been right.

--------------
words| 531
tagged| Tamara / Mandee
notes| Totally forgot about this one. >>'

[Tamara Jade Ramachander]

Tamara was well aware that Errol could go a little overboard at times, but Tamara did not consider kissing Chelsea to be one of those times. Continuously asking Isa if she'd been molested was, because, seriously, what if Isa had been molested? Tamara loved messing with people, but some things were off limits for even her, and things like that were included. Had Tamara known that Isa was hesitant to go forth with any of her feelings toward Xelios because of an experience like that, she would have backed off. Unfortunately though, it all happened in her past life, and Isa would never share something like that with Tamara anyway. So here they were.

"Eh, he was just trying to make an interesting night of it."[/color] Tamara indicated with a shrug. He'd known that he would get a rise out of Chelsea by doing that, and so he'd gone through it with. Far be it from Tamara to stop him from doing that when she was guilty of doing the same thing on more than one occasion. Though usually she took the verbal route rather than the physical route.

Tamara frowned at the younger girl's next words. Isabella wasn't going anywhere with this? That struck her as odd, and Tamara had a feeling that something else was coming after that. The seventeen year old was right, of course, as Isa pointed out that she might not have enough collateral. "What do you mean? I saw the two of you holding hands in the woods, after everyone saw the two of you dancing at the Christmas dance."[/color] Tamara hoped that bringing up the Christmas dance might grease the wheels a little. No, seeing Xelios and Isa holding hands probably wasn't enough on its own. The two of them had slow danced at the Christmas dance. Not the fast dancing that Errol went around and did with everyone, but slow dancing. And Isa had outright refused to dance with anyone else, as she'd learned from Errol and Fox later on. Highly suspicious.

"Plus, I've been pretty quiet about a few things I've been privy to recently."[/color] She was referring to RSOR with this, of course, and she considered some of the things she'd learned about RSOR to be a gold mine. She, Errol, and Kodi had compiled a list of 'oddities', which gave Tamara a number of items to choose from. While they didn't have much on Isa (with the exception of her ability to fight despite no apparent training), they did know that she was a leader...which meant that protecting RSOR had to be one of her top priorities. Tamara planned to use that.

Word count: 459
To: Dante/Isa
Notes: None

[Isabella Jillian Avadore]

To Isa, what Errol had done to Chelsea was totally off-limits. No one ought to be kissed when they didn't want to, or continually asked if they had been molested or such garbage as this. What if she had said yes? Then what?! But Isa would never say yes. That was not up for debate. Three people knew and three people it would remain, save some sort of disaster. It was a sentiment Tamara didn't seem to share, but the, why would she? She lived for this stuff, the juicy snippets in the halls and the drama posted on the bulletin boards, around the useful notes for things. "That's not an excuse for something like that. That's an awful thing for him to have done." Isabella's words were cold. Yes, she had advised Chelsea not to pursue it (that would give Errol what he wanted; attention) but that didn't mean she condoned it in the slightest, and the displeased demeanour she held was proof of that.

Isabella watched Tamara frown, hoping that she still had the upper hand. It wasn't just Errol that displeased her, it was Tamara, too, and this whole conversation. This was not a situation she wanted to get thrown into. It could quickly turn on her, and cause her even more grief. She just had to keep Tamara pinned down, as much as she possibly could. "Yes, big deal. I danced with him because I owed him big time. I'm hardly hiding that fact, now am I?" However, why she owed him was a bit different. He'd asked her out to the Christmas ball, she'd said yes for all of two minutes, then said no. In exchange, he got one dance to fix his wounded pride. Everyone could be free to know she'd owed him one, but why was different.The exact why she'd prefer kept secret, as did she with the hand-holding. No one needed to know that. She'd be hounded by people, and, well...she would be the first to admit she was a mess, she didn't need anyone's help making messes in this sector of her life, and would prefer if they didn't. Only...saying that would never work.

"Oh really now?" Isa's interest was better maintained with Tamara's stab at what, presumably, was RSOR. How things would get interesting. Now Isa had more than just her personal issues on the line, it seemed. "Now I miiiiiiiiiight have a reason to withhold my info." Isa yawned, still managing that nonchalant look. "I mean, if you're using Hayden's theory we're a legion of superheros, I'd have overestimated your deduction abilities." Bring on the battle.



----------------------
words| 486
tagged| Oliver / Mandee
notes| CATFIGHT!

[Tamara Jade Ramachander]

Tamara was a drama monger, there was no doubt about that. Once again, though, she would hate if the same thing were done to her. She would hate it if some boy kissed her simply to embarrass her. Of course, she wouldn't mind if that boy was Errol because hey, she liked Errol. And not just as a friend either, although he seemed to have eyes for another girl...too bad so sad.

The seventeen year old chose not to respond to Isa's comment, probably because there was a small part of her that could concede Isa's point, and she didn't want to acknowledge that in any way. So it was better to just put off the thing entirely. Besides, she wasn't here to discuss Chelsea. She was here to discuss Isa and Xelios. Isa was the one who brought up Chelsea and Errol, likely to throw Tamara off the subject in the first place. She doubted Isa had said it only to make small talk, after all. With these two girls, it would never be just small talk.

Tamara let out a wave of laughter. "Big deal? Yes, Isabella, it's a huge deal. The rest of the school isn't going to care if you danced with Xelios because you owed him a huge favor or not. The fact remains that you danced with Xelios when you refused to dance with any other boy."[/color] One thing Tamara knew was that she could spin this however she liked it. Hardly anyone in the school understood what happened between Xelios and Isa that night, after all. Pretty much any explanation would be welcome to the students who were paying attention to what was happening.

Then came the juiciest part of all. RSOR. Yes, this was what Tamara was going for in the first place. She raised an eyebrow at Isa's yawn, though did nothing else, as she assumed (most likely correctly) that the yawn was only to get a rise out of her. She let out a snort at what Isabella said about a legion of superheroes, however.

"Legion of superheroes? Does he really think that?"[/color] She hoped that Hayden didn't truly fall for that line. Not that Tamara had much respect for the other guy anyway (although any guy who could dance around in a Barrack Obama mask at the Halloween dance did deserve a little respect in his direction), but seriously? Legion of superheroes? Little did Tamara know that this theory was brushing up against the truth somewhat. Not a legion of superheroes, but a legion of something else incredible and strange. "Well, let's see. There is that whole issue with your friend Oliver. I can't say that I'd forget anything I might have overheard or been told, but the fact remains that the rest of the school hasn't heard much. I could always let slip, though..."[/color]

Word count: 494
To: Dante/Isa
Notes: None

[Isabella Jillian Avadore]

Isabella took Tamara's silence for a victory. There was something in Tamara that began to agree with Isa, wasn't there? At least on the subject of Errol kissing Chelsea. God knew, if someone kissed her just because they could, Isa would panic, probably break their nose and curl up in a little ball in a corner somewhere. She doubted Tamara would react that badly, but she didn't think the junior would enjoy it either. Deciding to take the victory as it stood and not risk it by speaking more, Isabella let the subject go; only to hear Tamara laughing.

It was expected, but Isabella could not help the wave of dislike she felt as the other girl laughed. She'd heard that laugh on too many a time last year. Tamara and her other roommate last year had not been the nicest of souls. Isabella had quickly grown sick of them and they had probably grown sick of her odd relationship with sleep, earplugs offered or not. "Yes, I danced with Xelios when I refused to dance with everyone else. And you saw what happened in the woods. So what? Going to try to smear my reputation with a few small tidbit? Fun fact, I've been slandered before, and I'm still here." Well, she had been badly slandered as Joan by the English, but the "still here" bit was just to imply it was all in this lifetime. She didn't want all this stuff coming out - she didn't and the defensive, but aggressive ((It makes sense in my head.)), edge in her tone made that clear enough. But she didn't want to be slandered. She really didn't. Her reputation as, well, a saint would help among rsor kids, but otherwise? Isa was happy with how she was, she didn't need Tamara f...flying it up for her. "But bribing a teacher could land you in more trouble than social trouble. You could be as much as expelled, and you know it." And a teacher would lose his job. "Though if you're here to cover that up, you probably have something more to try and convince me with." Like RSOR. Which wasn't a league of superheroes, but a league of super...history-people? Which was exactly what Isabella had to hide.

"Yes, he genuinely thinks that." Isa said with a shake of the head. This comment was not meant to distract or anything else, it was just a straight, bemused comment. Differences or not, they both likely found that one funny. It was likely the most lighthearted statement that had been made that night, and likely would remain so, if what came next was any indication. Tamara brought up what was, perhaps, the touchiest subject to attack rsor yet - the Orville Wright problem. "I'm sure you could let that slip." Isabella said smoothly, "But how do you not look like you're grasping at straws doing it?" Isabella was going to push a little, see exactly what Tamara knew if she could, before (probably) conceding to stay silent on something she knew nothing about.

That was a little funny, Isa mused. She was going to be silent over something she knew nothing of, to prevent Tamara of talking about things she, in turn, knew nothing of.

-----------------
words| 610
tagged| Tamara / Mandee
notes| None