Commencing. [Xena]

[Jasmine]

Thankfully, nobody else witnessed in the grungy event that transpired in her past. But right now, she has to focus on the present. Discolored eyes peppered some gazes on each and every obstacle that this girl could possibly see in this so-called Alice Academy. The beauty of it didn't mutate her current mood to a good one either. Still, she has to familiarize herself to its unknown dimensions -- since this Academy is awfully big than she expected it to be.

So, what next? Well, her room number is 90. She clenched the key that was provided for her to manipulate the room's door to open. The other hand of hers, clenched a bag that contains her belongings. Maybe her room wouldn't be a long way to go either. Not that she cares, really -- as long as she arrives there, that's what is important. She abruptly arrived in a hallway and saw numbers imprinted above each room. This must be the Dorms Hallway.

The grating ring of footsteps that belonged to her alone, assaulted her ears and the uncomfortable silence. She found herself already in front of a stairway. Must be the second floor, she muttered. She climbed up the stairs -- until she finally found her room. There was no mistaking it, it was her room. As she was sticking the key inside the door's keyhole, she heard footsteps. It's not hers this time. It was by someone else. Who could it be? Undoubtedly, it was someone whom she barely knew.

[Xena]

"You're asking me to leave?"

I sighed and replied, "Quite frankly, yes." The haughty, 12-year-old girl glared back at me defiantly, before turning on her heels and heading to the dormitory building. It was a simple case of misunderstanding, you see, so don't put me in the place of the villain in this situation.

I'm the one mistaken here. I thought she was bullying this little girl, see, and I told her off. It was after I ordered her to leave when this little girl informed me, 'My sister isn't always that nice.' And I pieced together what the puzzle gave me to solve.

I just told off her sister. From a sibling quarrel.

I growled in frustration before running after her, heading to the girls' dormitory building. I made sure I won't make a mistake in entering the opposite gender's building again. I pushed open the doors, my brown hair bouncing along with me, my red-plaid skirt dancing with the winds. I was wearing the academy uniform, who would've thought.

Not seeing anyone else in the hallway of the floor I was currently exploring in, I decided on heading to the second floor. There I saw a short-haired being who had a key in a keyhole. And I jogged up to the figure, bending my knees and leaning on them when I reached her, obviously out of breath.

I looked around with tired eyes, looking for the girl I'm looking for, but saw no sign of her. I gave up on looking for her, too lazy to actually run around the whole school just to apologize. Besides, I thought, I'd see her someday after. I turned my gaze to the girl, my blood-red eyes screaming deviously in the hallway.

I straightened myself up and looked at her. "... New?" I inquired hesitantly.

[Jasmine]

The old-fashioned, raucous sounds that were obscenely loud in the silent hallway, nearly made her shake violently. Yet it became ridiculously quiet after seeing a girl there. She couldn't utter a word and she can't brave a try either. Besides, she doesn't have a social prowess personality, so what's the point? She didn't smile nor did she paste any kind of emotion upon her face. There was a blaring warning that the girl might say something. Jasmine feared that she wouldn't have the guts to respond, since she was just a new face in this alien world.

'... New?'

"..."

She only nodded simply, her face seems just as barren. Her eyes were only half-open, but widened a little marginally when she found out that the girl seems exhausted -- it can be seen on her face. To Jasmine, it seems invasive of not having to say anything out of this world. She gazed at the key, which was staying forgotten in her hand -- which reminded her of something. She made a steely resolution that she won't leave her belongings indiscriminately in an inappropriate place, so her minor situation wouldn't be getting horrendous.

With detached interest, she stared back up to the girl.

"... Are you alright?"

[Xena]

"Ah..?"

I raised an eyebrow at the other female, questioning her silence, even though my position gave me the impression of 'trying-too-hard'. I tried to maintain steady breathing, inhaling and exhaling through my mouth rather than my nose, almost laughing at how I might look right now. To be specific, I looked stupid, out-of-breath, and ready to collapse any second, but here I am, trying to talk to a girl I hardly knew.

I watched the girl shift her attention to the key, its jaws already in their proper place, before turning her gaze back to me, having to lift her eyes to see my face for I was too tall. "... Are you alright?" She said, asking for my current status. I smiled slightly, my gasps breaking out to chuckles.

"... Maybe."

I emphasized on the word before I laughed out loud, as if there was something insanely humorous I couldn't stop to save my life. Am I being sarcastic? Sarcasm wasn't really my first resort, but who cares once I said it? Maybe I was just making a point, saying the situation word-for-word for everyone else to hear. Or maybe it was stupidity getting hold of my neurons again.

Laughing was not helping me breathe.

After a few moments of probably scaring the heck out of this newbie, I calmed down. "I guess," I finally replied, holding back laughter once more at how I could merely retort with a probable, positive answer instead of laughing like a deranged person before saying it. Talk about a way to ruin a reputation, much? But I already gave her an answer that could've substituted for 'fine', so no one can really blame me.

[Jasmine]

'Ah..?'

Silence shouldn't have glared out a sea of sweating foreheads. What an uncomfortable feeling. Even she has a poor grasp in English. A lot of Chinese people are. She took a quick look on the girl's face. Somehow, her answer from the inquiry was just a slight smile and a number of chuckles.

She only stared, pondering why this person was acting generally strange. The girl's eyes flashed, souring the darkness in a slicing array of movement everytime she moves.

'... Maybe.'

That's when she heard a roar of laughter coming from the girl. Jasmine was only shooting a dagger of a stare, still not saying anything. It was either the girl is sloshed, hyper, sleepy or just mainly laughing at the word. After a few moments, the student calmed down.

'I guess.'

"... Alright. Anyway, my name is Jasmine Setsuna. Sorry, my English is no good."

OOC: Blocked.

[Xena]

"... Alright. Anyway, my name is Jasmine Setsuna. Sorry, my English is no good."

Yup. I made a fool out of myself in front of a new student. I appeared as a 'disturbed individual' for my first impression. I recalled the words, 'First impressions last'. God, screw the one who made that up, being so frightfully correct. I kept a glare to Jasmine Setsuna's face, wondering what she meant by 'English is no good', while I could hear her words perfectly. Did she have a problem in grammar? Or does she not know how to translate it from her native tongue? But it's not like it'll matter, anyway. I have enough common sense to piece together what I've been given.

"It won't be that bad."

I assured her and at the same time replied politely, calming down and acting as if nothing out of the ordinary really happened back then- or rather, earlier. I raised a hand to my cheek, making a motion of pressing a finger to it lightly, slightly clueless on what I should say next other than introducing myself. Ah, there isn't anything else to do but that, is there? I removed my finger before nodding my head at Jasmine's bag. "Need a hand?" I offered casually, not really minding if she didn't want to take the offer. After all, who could trust someone so quickly? But it's not like I'll make a break for it with her things at hand, seeing that I have no use for it at all.

And besides, it was only one bag.

[Jasmine]

'It won't be that bad.'

Despite her bedraggled English, she tries her best to interact properly -- especially strangers like this girl just right in front. Jasmine merely hoped that her poor English skills will be honed perfectly -- soon. Even right now, she doesn't want to demonstrate her overall timid and shy personality and she has a restless urge to befriend the person talking to her. And thus, this urge is emphasized in her eyes; which caused an idea to have a materialistic approach -- to invite the girl to have her tongue have a bonding for ice cream. Sounds crazy, but it was worth a shot.

'Need a hand?'

"... Sure. Thanks."

She told the girl while alertly working on with the keyhole and successfully activated the door to open. And it was still left unclosed as she entered and observed the room. Some dust, which were the midget sized annoyances, tickled her nose. A small patter of despondent feet echoed in the room, she turned her head to stare raptly at a swirling, grainy surface of a table and saw some kind of Bible on top of it, the object that frustrates higher humanitarian qualities. Is a Bible located in every room? Anyway, she knew she didn't sort out things in her room yet. But guess her invitation has to come first.

"... Do you... want to have some ice cream... with me?"

OOC: Useless post. Me is blocked, gomen. Dx

[Xena]

'... Sure. Thanks.'

Jasmine's reply was brief and straight to the point. I immediately proceeded to her bag on the floor, carrying it over my shoulder since I wasn't one to stay normal for long. I glanced at the doorway, where the girl's frame was easily seen looking around the new territory that would be hers during her stay in the academy. I pocketed my free hand inside my academy skirt, a shallow pocket that would most likely throw up anything put inside it when you run. My, the designers for our uniforms were a couple of geniuses, weren't they?

I faked a slight cough when I entered and while she continued to look, unable to scrunch my nose in disgust at the presence of collector's dust. I've been in a room like this before, when I wasn't a One Star or a Two Star. I couldn't believe how high my standards were presently. "Somebody needs to do a bit of cleaning," I muttered, mostly to myself, dropping the Setsuna's bag on the bed present in the current room.

'... Do you... want to have some ice cream... with me?'

The invitation came out point-blank, surprising me somewhat. I looked to Jasmine, doubting myself in guessing it was her who spoke, but who else could've voiced those words other than her? The offer, it seemed to me, was also reluctant, as if the owner of the voice herself didn't know herself whether this was a good choice or not. I was reminded subtly about my sweet tooth. I gave out a small smile.

"Sure. My treat?"

I added, unsure whether Jasmine has money to begin with. She was, after all, just 'new', while I've been here for a year, a year and a half tops.

[Jasmine]

'Somebody needs to do a bit of cleaning.'

To indicate that she has an unequaled agreement towards the statement, she nodded. The more the dusts sustained in her sight, the more she thinks that her room wasn't overflowing with much color and life. With much pace and power, she should just clean the room herself later. The ingenuous girl was thinking that she should just forget all about her melodramatic past and will just accept on what will happen -- so adroitly, there won't be much erupted lava of unnecessary emotions.

'Sure. My treat?'

"... Yeah. I'll just pay everything I have."

She told Xena Zatkin -- the girl who was only a cant away from her, as she approximately gulped. Since she is only recent here, she assumed that she doesn't have enough rabbits -- guess that's what they call them; to pay for the ice cream. But she was still thinking that this is a tactile brilliance thing to do and that it would bring immense satisfaction. She had a deferral in staring at the floating dusts. Showing much confidence she could muster, she nodded.

[Xena]

'... Yeah. I'll just pay everything I have.'

It was, at this, I had to force a stretched smile that managed to shut my eyes closed with the effort. "O-okay," I stuttered reluctantly, not quite understanding what the latter girl meant. I uneasily raised a hand to the back of my head, clenching my brown hair in my fist, trying hard not to ask what the hell the girl meant, realizing at that moment the issue Jasmine claims to have.

Bad English, eh?

I sighed softly, letting my hair go, ruffling the back of my head to prevent the area I just clamped with my palm from standing out from behind. The ghost of a smile tainted my lips as the new girl nodded, seemingly eager to have ice cream. She reminds me of Alyss, somehow. Well, not entirely 'somehow', more like an awful resemblance of the silent girl's hidden personality.

I ambled closer to the open doorway leading to the outside hall, looking as if I was concentrated on not falling off a tight rope, my eyes glaring daggers at the hardwood floor. Upon reaching the side of the door's frame, I turned my head to the girl and forced a smile, not feeling like being the cheery, goody-goody vice-president.

"Shall we go, then?"