Room 407; Saturday [ 01/10 ].

[not_a_mused]

With yet another pointless, unearned detention out of the way (he knew it; he knew he'd get one, he'd been feeling it all week), Cal returned to the room with an inkling of hope that a cockroadblock would already be removed and his roommate wouldn't be in at all tonight

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[swipedthatfoot]

Claire stopped by a little later, after the hour they had set to meet and, hopefully, late enough that Merlin was long gone.

She was oddly jittery as she knocked on the door, and wished she'd had the foresight to save some pot for tonight. High was way easier on things like this.

Not that she was positive this was going to turn out Like This. But she could guess.

[not_a_mused]

Well, that knock solved Cal's current conundrum, of trying to decide if lighting up a cigarette would help calm him down a little as he fiddled with a pack in his hands as he sat on his bed. Sure, it might not be Claire, but even if it wasn't, then it would be a distraction that wouldn't make his clothes smell bad. So he threw the pack across the room, trying to get it to his desk, but missing the mark, and got up.

He paused a moment to consider if there was a way to open a door particularly casually. He wasn't sure, but he tried.

And it actually was Claire. "Hey," he said, wondering if the relieved fall of his shoulders was obvious.

[swipedthatfoot]

"Hey," Claire returned, noting the relief. "So did Merlin go off hunting snipes?"

[not_a_mused]

Cal smiled a little before stepping back, sweeping an arm to introduce her into his humble abode. "Not quite," he admitted. "He didn't believe me about snipes, but he realized that it was kind of silly, him staying in a room and everything, when he had a whole new world out there to get used to. So he's catching up on TV and stuff."

[swipedthatfoot]

"Definitely a way better use of his time than sitting on his bed studying," Claire babbled as she looked over room. "Wow, it's so completely different from every other dorm room."

That was sarcasm.

[not_a_mused]

"Oh, man, I know," Cal said, nodding before lifting his chin in obvious pride. He waited for Claire to drift in before trying to be casual in closing the door behind her. "I've taken great strides to make it distinguishable."

He had cleaned up, a little, though, although some of his more impressive books were stratigically left out in a few out-of-the-way places. Other than those and a Detroit Tigers pennant pinned up on his side of the room, the probably only distinguishing features of the place were his old vintage (even in '76) typewriter and the probably notable lack of a television.

And maybe some weird Ren Faire crap of Merlin's.

[swipedthatfoot]

"I know, I like it," Claire informed him, as she let her fingers graze the cover of one book, taking in the others. "You must read a lot."

She took a seat on his bed, all casual-like.

[not_a_mused]

Wondering what sort of judgments those grazing fingers made, if any at all, Cal dropped down nervously on the bed with her, tucking one leg in while the other draped down over the side. "Yeah," he said. "I've always liked reading; it's quiet, and people don't tend to bug you when you're reading."

And then he shifted, slightly, as if he'd deemed his positioning no good, but didn't know what to switch it to. It was an odd moment, a really weird time to think about whether how he was sitting was general masculine or feminine in nature. He had read a lot, especially on things like that, but, right now, his mind was drawing a blank, more focused on other things.

[swipedthatfoot]

"It's a god way to block out the world," Claire agreed. "It makes you look busy and smart."

She wasn't sure why he was shifting, but she shifted closer to him. It seemed the thing to do.

[not_a_mused]

"Exactly," Cal nodded. "Except that I am smart," sometimes, "I don't just look it."

[swipedthatfoot]

Claire scrunched up her face. "Why do you think you don't look smart?"

[not_a_mused]

"No, I don't just look smart, I..." Cal shook his head. "Never mind. It was a really corny thing to day. Um, how was your day?"

Lame, Cal. So lame.

[swipedthatfoot]

It took Claire a second. "Oh! I read heard you completely backwards. My day was fiiiiine. I basically did nothing. How was yours?"

[not_a_mused]

"I had detention," Cal's eyes narrowed at Fate for a moment. "We fixed chairs. So it could have been a lot worse."

[swipedthatfoot]

"That's kind of ironic," Claire said. "I mean, we were talking about stupid reasons for detention Monday and you went and got it, even if it wasn't for kissing me in the library."

She had to ask. "...chairs? That's just weird."

[not_a_mused]

"I know," Cal said. "If I'd have really known I'd still get it for nothing, I'd have went ahead and passed notes in class. Then you could have at least gotten it, too, and I could have fixed chairs with you instead of some weird new kid with sleeves bigger than my head."