3rd Floor Common Room, Sunday Night

[justbeingbay]

After a pizza run and whatever mother-daughter bonding was possible when the two were barely 18 months apart in age, Francesca and Bay were back in the dorms and watching The Amazing Race"So which would be worse?" Bay said/signed. "Stuck in Vietnam with no money like that couple, or having to go around the world in matching glittery sweatsuits like

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[tinyjedispider]

Feeling a bit bored since Jessica had been keeping her on a tight leash today, Rachel finally made a break for it and escaped to the third floor common room. And there were people here!

"Hi. What're we watching?" she asked, inviting herself to he viewing party.

[justbeingbay]

"Idiots getting lost," Bay answered. "Amazing Race. Whose kid are you?"

[tinyjedispider]

"Do you promise not to take me back to them right away if I tell you?" Rachel asked. "I'm not running away or anything, I promise."

[justbeingbay]

Bay looked the girl over. "You look old enough to handle the awesome responsibility of watching TV without mom and dad," she decided. "So I promise. But fair warning -- if you bug me, I'll take you back."

[tinyjedispider]

"You can't take me back if you don't know where to take me to," Rachel reasoned.

[justbeingbay]

"... your logic has foiled me, tiny person," Bay granted. "Okay. No taking you back, period."

[tinyjedispider]

"That's good enough for me," Rachel said. "I'm Rachel. Do you know Cade or Jessica?"

[justbeingbay]

Bay coughed on nothing. "Yeah. Yeah. They're both ... really nice people."

She wasn't allowed to break a little girl by saying she'd just made out with her dad, right?

To change the topic, she gestured to the girl on the couch next to her. "This is Francesca, who is mine, and I'm Bay."

[tinyjedispider]

This was Cade they were talking about. It was very possible she'd heard that before, probably by women with a lot more visible tattoos than Bay had.

"They're okay," Rachel said. "But I like you better. Will you be my mom? Or my dad, I'm not picky." Honestly, she just liked messing with people. Sorry, Bay.

[justbeingbay]

"Um ..." Bay was almost certain she was being messed with, but it still took her a moment to put an answer together. "You don't even know me. I could be a crackhead. Or spend all my time watching Fox News."

[tinyjedispider]

"So could my current parents," Rachel said. "I don't know what they got into at this age."

Actually, funny thing about Cade and being a crackhead....

[justbeingbay]

Yeah, yeah, yeah: Bad theoretical example.

"But you think it's less likely I'm secretly a Scientologist or something than that your parents are," Bay said. "I must've started giving out a responsible vibe when I wasn't looking."

[tinyjedispider]

"More responsible than Dad. Less neurotic than Mom," Rachel corrected. "I'm ten and I know the word 'neurotic,' Bay. That says something."

[justbeingbay]

"... that at least one of your parents had some smart genes to pass down," Bay said. "Okay, well, your mom and I co-parented a bag of flour for one of those class fake baby assignments and didn't accidentally turn it into brownies. So I guess I could call being your co-mom an extension of that assignment."

[tinyjedispider]

"She put the bag of flour in a drawer 'for safe keeping,'" Rachel said, making air quotes. "She told me that. I think she might do the same to me." No, she didn't.

[justbeingbay]

"She'd have to make it the closet," Bay said. "You're a little big to fit in a drawer."