Room 508, Friday Afternoon

[spin_kick_snap]

After classes got out, Kathy returned to her dorm to make sure it--and she--were ready for her parents' arrival. She'd been obsessively cleaning it all week; Raven had caught her dusting the walls and the ceiling fixtures once, but every time Kathy turned around, she spotted something that wouldn't meet her parents' high standards. Her blanket wasn

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[the_family_li]

"Hey nerd," Sarah said from the doorway. "Guess who owes me, like, a million for covering for them with our parents? I'll give you a hint: she's nerdy and still dresses like an American Girl doll."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Sarah!" Kathy said, wheeling around and throwing her arms open for a hug. "Hey brat. How many people did you flirt with on your way to my room, huh?"

[the_family_li]

"At least three," Sarah said smugly. "And some of them even knew you! I, of course, was shocked to hear my sister had learned to talk to hot guys without blushing herself to death."

She still didn't think Kathy knew how to do anything more than talk, but hey! It was a start!

Looking around the room, she let out a long sigh. "So, Flick left? Shame. He was hot, too."

[spin_kick_snap]

"He says hi, by the way," Kathy said, laughing. "But yes. He graduated and moved off with his girlfriend. But I have a new roommate and she's awesome. One of my very best friends, in fact. Her name is Raven and maybe if you promise not to embarrass me too much, I'll think about introducing you to her."

[tigerundercover]

Raven and Charles had decided they could skip the picnic -- he'd gone the first year he'd come to visit, after all, and that was enough giant crowds of excited people for one telepath. Instead, Raven had met him at the causeway and taken him straight back to the dorms. She was excited to show her best friend out to her brother, and vice versa.

"Should I change?" she asked when she saw the outfit Kathy had picked out. Raven was wearing her usual '50s-esque circle skirt dress look, but the skirt had grown progressively shorter the longer she lived in the 21st century. "Are your parents here yet?"

[spin_kick_snap]

Kathy was excited to meet him, too!

Also anxious, but that was to be expected. She was anxious about everything this weekend. Though making a good impression on Charles was definitely high up on that list.

"Ummm...?" Kathy bit her lip. "I mean, it's your room and your clothes, so you can wear anything you want...And I'm not entirely sure when they'll be touching down, so..."

Kathy was caught between her progressive 'You do you, Raven!' stance and her 'Oh god my parents judge everything' fears.

[gothisgroove]

"Personally, I think you both look splendid," Charles said, offering Kathy a charming smile. "Though I get the feeling your parents would be more comfortable if Raven added an inch or two." He glanced over. "Ah, which she's already done."

Raven rolled her eyes good-naturedly. "Of course I have. And Charles, you're not allowed to read Kathy's mind, either."

Charles sighed. "I'll try, darling, but she's fairly radiating anxiety."

[spin_kick_snap]

"Sorry," Kathy said, giving Charles an apologetic smile. "My parents can just be a little--" Judgy. Racist. Douchey. "--strict. And they're not aware that there are mutants, never mind that their daughter and her roommate are ones. So..." She shrugged. "I'm a little nervous. I want to make sure everything is up to their standards, you know? That will keep them from poking around too much about the stuff that they shouldn't."

[that_oldsaying]

"Kathy, Kathy, Kathy!"

And there was Alluka, peeking in the doorway. She surveyed the clothing carefully.

"... Are you playing dress-up?"

It was just that while it was kinda cute, it was also not really what she was used to seeing Kathy wear.

[spin_kick_snap]

"Hi Alluka," Kathy said, giving her a smile that was a little strained around the edges. One more friend she'd be trying to keep away from her parents, so they didn't say anything rude. Because if her dad was mean to Alluka, she wasn't sure she'd be able to keep quiet about it. "Umm, a little? I guess you could say that."

It was a much better way to think of it, actually.

"Do you like it?"

[that_oldsaying]

The fact that the smile was strained when riiight over Alluka's head. (Sorry, Kathy.)

She did take the question seriously. Dress-up games were super serious things, after all.

"You look like a princess that hasn't been rescued," she said, after a moment. "It's cute, but rescued princesses have better clothes."

[spin_kick_snap]

That was fine by Kathy. She didn't want Alluka to think she was anything other than happy to see her.

"I do, huh?" she asked. That wasn't that far off from how she felt, actually. "What do I usually look like, then?"