The Cafeteria

Oliver Vandrose

He'd been hiding out behind the English department for fifteen minutes. fifteen long, mind-numbing minutes. Of course, mind-numbing was the affect he'd been going for. But Blair's scent was hard to get rid of, especially coupled with the memory of her large brown eyes pouting at him. As if they were giving him permission. . .

But that was all a delusion. Obviously, Blair Vanderbilt valued her life much too highly to sacrifice it for Oliver's thirst.

He now slipped into the cafeteria very quietly, his eyes scanning the room quickly. No Ross. Where was he? Had he gone hunting, without telling Oliver? But of course, Ross's thirst was always harder to satisfy than Oliver's, which meant he hunted more often. Ross was, after all, much larger than he. . .

Making up his mind that perhaps it was better if he sat alone, he headed towards the end of a long table -- seated at the opposite end was a smaller girl, her bushy brwn hair perhaps making up for her slight frame. Her clothes were odd -- as if plucked from a vintage store, and half of it looked vaguely Victorian -- but she looked somewhat familiar. As if he knew her name and hadn't spoken it for a long time, or he'd heard it in passing. He tested his memory, figuring he had nothign to lose if it wasn't her name at all.

"Good afternoon, Ruby," he said quietly, sitting closer to her than he'd intended. He was on the opposite side of the table, but only a handful of seats away. He waited for her reaction, realizing he'd feel very stupid if her name wasn't Ruby, and it ended up being Dawn, or Summer, or something else. Just not Ruby, like he thought.

Ruby Gehringer

Lunch. It was always a stressful, yet interesting, time of day. There, one could quietly observe their surroundings, socialize, or try their best to blend into the background. For some, lunch was the best part of the day, for others, the worst...and for the exact same reasons.

Ruby usually sat alone. She had friends she could talk to and occasionally hang out with, but they weren't close or anything. They preferred to sit elsewhere, which was just fine with Ruby.

She sat at the corner of her usual table, looking around for a while to see if anything of interest was going on. The same old sights greeted her--Blair Vanderbilt's posse surrounding her, holding onto her every word, the rest of them just sitting, talking, laughing. The familiar monotony of Bela Nombre. Ruby turned her attention to her grilled chicken sandwich.

"Good afternoon, Ruby," a soft voice said. Ruby looked up to see a boy seated at the other end of the table. She immediately noticed his eyes, staring intently into hers--deep blue and black, and...was that...silver? No, it couldn't be. She looked at the guy more closely. Pale skin, auburn hair...she knew him, of that she was sure of. But his name...

I know it's something more old-fashioned, like my name...but what in the world is it? Oliver? Oliver. That sounds right...

"Greetings, Oliver," she said with a smile as she stood up and commenced into a little curtsy. Her habit of curtsying never ceased to irritate her parents, but she found that most people found it amusing. "What brings you here?"

Oliver Vandrose

The girl looked around at the sound of his voice, as if surprised to find someone speaking to her. How odd. She seems to be the most interesting soul in this room, why would people avoid her?

Because people were more interested in normal and mundane than they were in exciting and refreshing. Oliver had always been annoyed by this. People were too invested in thier safe circles of friends to reach out and experience new things, adn that meant people liek Ruby -- who seemed truly entertaining in more than the fact that she wore irregular clothes and seemed a little odd -- were left out. A freak. It was a vicious cycle that only added to Oliver's growing contempt for the disgusting social system that Bela Nombre High so rigorously upheld.

Then she smiled, and stood up. "Greetings, Oliver," she chimed, with a curtsy that came straight from Victorian-era England. he grinned as she asked, "What brings you here?"

He shrugged, and looked around the cafeteria. "Would you believe me if I told you I came here for peace of mind?" He laughed at himself, but it was true. The cafeteria was actually sort of comforting -- too public for his inner nightmares to really bother him. The only flaw in the plan was that he never ate. No one usually questioned him, though; they chalked it up to his antisocial behavior. Maybe they thought he was anorexic, too. Funny, but no. Just vegetarian. And he laughed again.

"And why are you here, Ruby? And by yourself?" His borw furrowed with curiosity. He couldn't understand it. Ruby seemed very nice, and he was intrigued by her. Surely someone would be firends with her?

OOC: The prophecy quote is taken from an actual thing that my friends and I overheard during lunch the other day. We all thought it was pretty hilarious, and obviously, Ruby did too.

BIC:

Ruby Gehringer

Oliver's smile grew broader after she curtsied, and she mentally cheered. Most students at BNHS would have fled at this point, muttering and staring at her, like she was some kind of freak or something. She asked him why he had approached her, and he shrugged. "Would you believe me if I told you I came here for peace of mind?" He chuckled a bit, and Ruby raised an eyebrow. "Peace of mind? In here? Good luck." She was about to say more when a loud outburst from another table caught her attention.

"Wait, WHAT about a prophecy?!" a confused voice asked. Ruby looked at Oliver and burst out laughing. "That...is...priceless!" she said in between giggles. She reached into her bag, removing things from it in order to find what she was looking for--knitting needles and her current work-in-progress (a pair of purple fingerless gloves), an extra ball of yarn, her history textbook, a battered, well-worn copy of The Return of the King, and a mini sewing kit. "Aha!" she said triumphantly. She opened her Quote Book to the current page and quickly scribbled in the prophecy quote. "That was just too good," she said, closing the journal with a smile.

Oliver looked curious. "And why are you here, Ruby? And by yourself?" Ruby shrugged. "This may come as a shock to you, but I'm not really what you'd call 'popular'. For reasons unknown, people don't seem to want to hang out with the girl who spends her summer pretending it's the 14th century, or makes costumes, or any of the other things that I do." She shrugged. "Their loss, I guess. Besides, I have friends." She sighed, resting her head on her palm. "They're just not here."

Oliver Vandrose

"Peace of mind? In here? Good luck." Ruby had slid back into her seat. Oliver shrugged. It was something unique to him, he supposed. Whiel others shied away from the cafeteria, he flocked to it. It was too loud, too crowded, and too public to allow his inner nightmares to pursue him or cause him trouble. There were only outside distractions, which Oliver welcomed. Well, most of the time. With Blair, on the other hand. . .

Just then a voice broke through his musings. "Wait, WHAT about a prophecy?" It was too lough to discern precisely where the voice had come from, but after a moment he didn't care. Ruby had begun to laugh, her words interrupted by her hard-to-tame giggles.

"That...is...priceless!" she said, her voice bubbly and energetic. Fun. Oliver furrowed his eyebrows, Ruby's infectious hilarity causing a smile to spread slowly across his lips. She began to pull an array of things out of her bag and laying them on the table in front of them, searching for something. . . he noted a book, a ball fo yarn, and a pair of hand-knitted gloves before she pulled out a little notebook (with a triumphant "Aha!") and began to write in it. "That was just too good," she said, still smiling, and Oliver didn't mind that he hadn't really seen the comedy -- watching Ruby was priceless. And not in a bad way. He just found himself highly intrigued by her and all her quirks. She seemed like a good friend.

When he asked why she was alone, she shrugged. "This may come as a shock to you, but I'm not really what you'd call 'popular'. For reasons unknown, people don't seem to want to hang out with the girl who spends her summer pretending it's the 14th century, or makes costumes, or any of the other things that I do." Oliver thought about this, and she shrugged again. "Their loss, I guess. Besides, I have friends." Her chin landed int eh palm of her hand with a small sigh. "They're just not here."

Oliver frowned. "See, that's why I never understood high school," he said, his voice energetic. "All the interesting people are cast aside so that all the monotonous, boring, popular people can feel better about themselves." He threw Ruby a rueful glance. "So it is their loss. 14th century rendez-vous' and costume-creating sound like more fun than mindless parties and endless booze-fests."

Ruby Gehringer

Oliver didn't seem to find the quote as funny as she did, but after a while he began to smile as well. She quickly began searching for her Quote Book, pulling out random things from her bag as she did so. She copied the quote, still laughing. Ruby held up her Book for Oliver to see. "This," she said dramatically, "is my Quote Book. Be wary of what you say around me, for it just might be recorded in here to be read for all eternity." She winked playfully. "My friend back in Holly thought it up years ago. I've had one ever since. They're quite amusing."

Oliver asked Ruby why she was sitting all alone, to which she replied that she was rather low on the social ladder of BNHS. Her interests--Renaissance Fairs, costuming, knitting--usually worked well to scare people away. Finally, she mentioned that she did have friends--back in Holly. Oliver frowned. "See, that's why I never understood high school," he said empathetically. "All the interesting people are cast aside so that all the monotonous, boring, popular people can feel better about themselves." Ruby nodded. "Aye, exactly. I don't understand it either. Fie upon their monotonous lives!" She laughed.

"So it is their loss. 14th century rendez-vous' and costume-creating sound like more fun than mindless parties and endless booze-fests." Ruby grinned. "I'm glad someone thinks so!" she said.

Oliver Vandrose

She held up her little notebook, showing Oliver the cover of it. "This," she said, her voice low and dramatic, "is my Quote Book. Be wary of what you say around me, for it just might be recorded in here to be read for all eternity." She winked, and Oliver grinned. "My friend back in Holly thought it up years ago. I've had one ever since. They're quite amusing."

Oliver raised an eyebrow. "I'm glad you warned me," he said teasingly.

After explaining his distaste for the rigours of high school -- BNHS, to be exact -- and the currpot social system that allowed the "priviliedged" students to rule, Ruby nodded vehemently. "Aye, exactly. I don't understand it either. Fie upon their monotonous lives!" She laughed, and Oliver nodded as well, continuing to explain his lack of interest in partying, and assuring Ruby that her pasttimes were much more intriguing. She grinned, adding, "I'm glad someone thinks so!"

Oliver nodded. "Well, I do." He offered her a smile before looking up at the generic clock hanging on the wall. He actually did need some peace and quiet, to finish "The Yellow Wallpaper" -- since his encounter with Blair hadn't allowed him to earlier. He bowed his head slightly at Ruby as he stood up and took a step away fromt eh table. "Nice speaking with you, Ruby. Tell your father I said hello." It'd been a while since Oliver had seen Dr. Gehringer -- not that it was a bad thing, but the doctor was a good man.

With that, he breezed out of the cafeteria, the sound and confusion of the room covering his disappearance.

Oliver has left the Cafeteria.

Ruby Gehringer

"I'm glad you warned me," Oliver said jokingly after Ruby had explained her Quote Book to him. She smiled and began putting her things away, hesitating before taking up her knitting needles and continuing on her second glove, setting the finished one next to her lunch tray. As she knitted, she and Oliver discussed how awful high school could be--if you weren't normal, if you didn't have the same interests and act the same as everyone else, you were an outcast. Oliver told Ruby that her interests were definitely more exciting than the interests of the others at BNHS--an endless realm of parties and drinking, it seemed. Things never got too wild--Bela Nombre was too small for anything major like that--but Ruby knew the drill. "I'm glad someone thinks so!" she told Oliver excitedly. She didn't know if anyone in Bela Nombre had ever had a reaction like this to her. It was something to think about, definitely...

"Well, I do," Oliver said with a nod and a smile before looking at the clock. He stood up, and Ruby looked up at him, her needles paused in the middle of a stitch. "Nice speaking with you, Ruby. Tell your father I said hello," he said. Ruby smiled. "I will. Farewell, Oliver! I daresay we shall see each other anon." With that, he left, and Ruby returned to her knitting, although her eyes were focused on the doorway of the cafeteria. She remained this way until the bell rang, throwing the cafeteria into chaos as people rushed to their respective classes.

Well, well. Have I scared away another one? she thought, amused.

For some reason, she didn't think so.

Ruby has left the cafeteria

OOC: Sorry for the double post, everyone! Planned Nate/Ruby interaction.

BIC: Ruby Gehringer

Neo-Victorian goggles perched atop her head and ankle-length gray skirt swishing, Ruby made her way out of the lunch line and to the nearest table, setting down her things at the very end. She pulled out her book for English and took a bite of her pasta, laughing silently at the looks and comments her appearance was getting today. In addition to the dark-grey skirt and goggles, Ruby was also sporting a white blouse with poufy sleeves and a high collar, with a navy blue vest over it. On the vest one could see the brass chain of her pocket-watch, her new favorite accessory. Purchased for $4 at a garage sale, the watch was an antique, Swiss-made if labels can be believed, with the gold on part of it's surface slightly malformed and, as Ruby's mom had put it, 'bubbly'. This to Ruby was the most important aspect of the watch, for it meant that it had once had a coat of arms on it's surface which had been removed. All in all, the look she had been going for when she dressed that morning had been something along the lines of 'mad scientist's assistant', and Ruby believed she had achieved that remarkably well.

After writing down the most noteable comments in the Quote Book ("Dude, she's got, like...GOGGLES. ON HER HEAD." and "She looks like one of those weirdos in movies that, like, keeps dead things in jars." "...Where else would you keep dead things?!"), Ruby went back to her reading, content to lose herself in the world of her book until the lunch period was over.

Nathaniel "Nate" Grant

A pretty, silly grin had been plastered on Nate's face the whole day - partly because of the great way his life was going right now and partly because he had just purchased a big bag of pot from Seattle. Mmmm. He hadn't had any since breakfast, though, so he was still sort of craving some, and the aftertaste of it had been washed away when he had brushed his teeth.

But still, Nate had plenty to smile about. He was rich, he was popular, he had a super hot girlfriend, he was hot, and he had pot (even if he couldn't have any at that moment). His life was pretty darn good, especially by small-little-rainy-town-in-the-middle-of-nowhere standards.

When Nate looked at a girl, you could tell that he was thinking something along the lines of, That girl can't stop looking at me because I'm so hot. But he wasn't overly arrogant about it. Most of the time, Nate was sort of nice. He smiled at people (unless they were Oliver, in which case he glared). He wasn't overly condescending (again, unless he was talking to Oliver). He was nice (again, except to Oliver). There was this one girl, though, who wasn't looking at him, for a change. Which was sort of weird. But not unpleasant, especially since she was a total freakshow, with these goggles on top of her head.

"Hey," he said to the girl, not unkindly - amiably, even. He wasn't being mean or anything, anyway. Even sort of friendly, in his cute, detached, stoner boy way.. "I don't know if you noticed, but I think you accidentally walked out of science with your goggles on..."

Ruby Gehringer

"Hey..." Ruby heard a voice say, disrupting her from her reading. She looked up to see a guy standing there, a semi-polite look on his face, his blue eyes meeting hers. Ruby recognized him as Nate Grant, the new most popular guy in school, and, if rumors could be believed, Blair's new boyfriend. "I don't know if you noticed," he said, in the voice people use when they're trying to kindly point out to someone that they're a raging lunatic, "but I think you accidentally walked out of science with your goggles on..."

Ruby couldn't help it; she laughed. Shaking her head, she pulled the goggles off of her head. "I can see why you'd think that, I guess...but these aren't science goggles. They're, you know, Victorian. They're part of my outfit today. I know that seems weird, but...yeah. That's just me."

"I'm Ruby, Ruby Gehringer," she said, putting the goggles back on her head. "And from what I've heard, I would guess you are Nathaniel Grant. Right?"

Nathaniel Grant

"Hey..." he said in a semi-friendly way. "I don't know if you noticed, but I think you accidentally walked out of science with your goggles on..."

The girl in front of him laughed, which was . . . weird. Nate thought she seemed a lot like the judgey 'rebel' type, the kind that, like, put people into categories and who made fun of normal people. It wasn't like people like Blair and Nate didn't do that too, but at least they didn't try to pretend they were better than everyone else just because of, like, their beliefs or lifestyles or whatever. Maybe because of their grades, because, well, that could be measured, as could wealth and looks and popularity. And they weren't nearly as annoying about it either. And Nate also found it annoying how 'alternative' people liked to, like, parade around how 'alternative' they were. Whatever. That wasn't why he found it weird that she laughed. It was mostly because she wasn't looking at him like she thought he was so hot, which was baffling, because everyone looked at him like that. Except for, you know, straight guys. And her. And lesbians (hey, maybe she was a lesbian! You know, since she was all 'alternative' and stuff. It would make sense). It wasn't like he wanted everyone to look at him like that; it was just weird when they didn't. It was actually sort of a pain sometimes.

Poor little rich boy. It must be hard having everyone want you.

The girl took off her goggles. She looks way less like a freakshow without those, Nate mused in the nonworried, detached way he tended the think about things. Almost pretty. "I can see why you'd think that, I guess...but these aren't science goggles. They're, you know, Victorian. They're part of my outfit today. I know that seems weird, but...yeah. That's just me." That's weird. I wonder if she thinks she'll ever find a boyfriend that way. Unless she plans on being an old maid or whatever, he thought. Especially not when Blair's around. You'd think she'd, like, make more of an effort since Blair is the equivalent of about a billion normal girls as far as competition goes. Everything about this girl baffled him, and that sort of intrigued him.

"I'm Ruby, Ruby Gehringer," she said, putting those goddamn goggles back on her head. "And from what I've heard, I would guess you are Nathaniel Grant. Right?"

At least some things were normal about this girl. Nate would have been even more weirded out if she didn't know his name. "Yeah. You can just call me Nate," he replied.

Ruby Gehringer

"Yeah. You can just call me Nate," he said in his polite, almost friendly tone of voice. Ruby smiled. "Okay, Nate, then. Nice to meet you." She held out her hand for him to shake and studied him for a bit. So, all the rumors are true, then, she thought.

Although it almost pained her to admit it, for she knew that although he was acting friendly to her Nate would never want to be seen with her again, Ruby had to admit that he was just as good-looking as everyone had been saying. Especially now, when his light brown hair was kind of falling into his eyes and...

Hey there, let's not get carried away...

Ruby had had a total of five crushes in her lifetime, and she remembered them all. First there was Jeremy Vernon, in kindergarten back in Holly, who she had gotten married to on the playground. Then, in second grade, there had been Todd Kline, with whom she had engaged with lively debates ranging over such topics as who would in in battle: Gondor or Rohan, and how exactly Harry Potter's father had saved Snape's life when they were in Hogwarts. This crush lasted until the middle of fourth grade when Todd abruptly changed schools. She had harbored a brief attraction for her sister Christina's boyfriend when she was ten and Christina fourteen, but that had lasted a total of a week and a half. Her last crush in Holly had been on Alex Wollowitz when she was twelve years old, and for her first month in Bela Nombre she had secretly liked Graham Monahan, a boy she had met at the Seattle Renaissance Faire and later realized was a senior at Bela Nombre High. But all those boys had had something in common with Ruby, some little detail that had made her think there was just a shred of a chance of a real relationship with them.

This was not the case with Nate. Ruby silently reprimanded herself. You can't like him, so don't even try.

"Yes. Well...how're you liking Bela Nombre so far?"

Nathaniel "Nate" Grant

Ruby was looking at him in that way, which made Nate look at her in that way too. Not, like that way, of course - why would he, when he had Blair, who was about a million times hotter? The way that let people know when they were looking at him that he was thinking, That girl can't stop looking atme because I'm so hot. But he wasn't a jerk about it. It actually wasn't as awesome as it was cut out to be.

Like it's so hard having everyone want you all the time?!

"Okay, Nate, then, nice to meet you," Ruby said and then looked at him in that way some more before acting a little bit nervous. Nate was feeling a little less weirded out now that she was treating him like any normal girl would treat him. "Yes. Well...how're you liking Bela Nombre so far?"

Nate's face lit up in one of those famously cute, stoner boy way of his. "Oh, it's awesome," he said. "I thought it would really suck but I met some really cool people here, so it's all good."

Ruby Gehringer

Nate grinned. "Oh, it's awesome. I thought it would really suck but I met some really cool people here, so it's all good." Ruby raised an eyebrow. "I'm glad," she said. "I had basically the opposite attitude when I first came here, so it's refreshing to see someone new who likes it so much. But maybe I was just miserable because I missed all my old friends." She shrugged.

Ah, nice going. As if it wasn't already blaringly obvious what a loser you are, you had to advertise the fact that you're friendless? Terrific job there.

Hey, wait a minute! she thought indignantly. Since when do I care what anyone else thinks of me! Stop being stupid, Ruby. Just be yourself and realize he's never going to talk to you again after this. As soon as you get that through your head this conversation will be a lot less painful for everyone involved. Just relax and talk.

"So, where did you live before you came to Bela Nombre? The rumor mill's been churning nonstop about you, but it would be nice to hear the story from the person who actually lived it, and not everyone else who just thinks they know what they're talking about."

Nathaniel "Nate" Grant

"Oh, it's awesome," Nate replied to Ruby's question about whether or not he liked Bela Nombre. "I thought it would really suck but I met some really cool people here, so it's all good."

"I'm glad," Ruby replied, raising an eyebrow. "I had basically the opposite attitude when I first came here, so it's refreshing to see someone new who likes it so much. But maybe I was just miserable because I missed all my old friends." Basically, she has no friends, he thought. She's not too bad, really. I wonder why she doesn't even have, like, one as far as I know.

"So, where did you live before you came to Bela Nombre? The rumor mill's been churning nonstop about you, but it would be nice to hear the story from the person who actually lived it, and not everyone else who just thinks they know what they're talking about."

"I'm pretty used to it," Nate said, shrugging. "I was in boarding school before this, in New Hampshire. My parents just decided to move me here. I guess they just missed me too much," he added with another grin. "To be honest, it does kind of blow here in comparison," Nate said. "It's mostly just - " Just then, his cellphone began to ring. "Oh, hold on a sec."

He checked the caller ID. Blair. Another grin came over his face, lighting up his pretty blue eyes. "Hey, sweetheart," he said upon pressing the phone to his ear.

"Hey," she replied. "Miss me?"

"Always," he said. "Are we still on for tonight? I got you a present."

"Looking forward to it," she said. "I was just asking if we could spend the night in instead of out. If you know what I mean."

Suddenly, he felt his heart rate go way faster, the blood rushing to his cheeks. "I really, really hope I do."

He could practically hear her smirk over the phone. "Bye, Natie," she said and hung up.

Nate snapped his phone closed, a happy grin still plastered on his face. Yes! he thought. "Sorry, Blair and I were just finalizing our plans for tonight. We're dating," he told her, "which is cool. You've probably heard that already, though. Anyway, like I was saying, this place kind of blows in comparison to where I was from. It's mostly just her. It's hard to explain. I mean she's gorgeous and all but it's more than that, you know? Blair's just Blair."