Lunch begins at 12:17 in the afternoon.

The cafeteria is the second largest room in the school, next to the Prisoner Dungeons/Treasure Hold. Finn dropped down next to Fionna at one of the many round tables, a groan accompanying his arrival.

"Still no luck?" Fionna asked, though she was in the midst of biting into a bagel sandwich and it sounded more like, "Swill mo luct?"

"Every time I try to find her, I get interrupted by the bell," he lamented, dropping his head onto the tabletop. "We don't have any classes together!"

Fionna took a drink from her milk carton before speaking. "Don't give up. You usually see her at school eventually, right?"

"Yeah, but I'm not usually looking, so it's harder now." Finn propped his chin up on his arms.

"Have you checked the gym?"

"Yeah."

"Art rooms?"

"Yep."

"Library?"

"She was banned."

"Oh yeah."

Fionna's apple suddenly decided gravity was so yesterday and began floating up off the table. Without blinking, Fionna slapped the air, her fruit dropping into her other hand as Marshall Lee appeared.

"Aw, come on, Fionna," he pouted, rubbing his cheek. "Have a heart."

"Go get your own, Marshall," she said, taking a bite of the apple herself to make a point.

"Mean. It's like you don't love me anymore." Fionna rolled her eyes as Marshall Lee sat down beside her. His dark skinny jeans and red and black plaid shirt worn open over a grey band t-shirt somehow made Marshall look taller than he already was. He gestured to Finn, a couple of black cuffs strapped around his wrists. "What's his problem?"

"He wants to ask Flame Princess to the dance," Fionna informed him, tugging Finn back up into his seat when he threatened to sink into the floor. "But he hasn't been able to find her yet."

Marshall Lee scoffed. "You're going to that lame dance the taffy twins are putting on?"

"I think they're made of gum actually," Finn replied, halfheartedly looking around the cafeteria for a source of glowing light.

"Yeah, because that makes their dance much cooler." He leaned over, making as if to steal Fionna's red apple right out of her mouth. Her blue eyes steeled into a death glare and Marshall changed his mind at the last second. Hooking his legs around the metal bar under the table, he threw his arms behind his head and casually leaned back. "I wouldn't be caught dead at a school dance."

"Then I hope you can still play guitar as a zombie." Marshall Lee was shoved forward as Marceline walked behind him, taking one of the remaining chairs.

"Uh, come again?"

"Our band is playing at Housegoing." Marceline looked like the type of girl who'd stolen her wardrobe off a rock obsessed demon, which she very well might have. Shredded black tights and dark shorts, combat boots laced with red, and a tank top that barely met public regulations beneath a charred leather jacket with the sleeves torn off. To top it over, everything was adorn with chains and glittering silver studs.

"What?" Marshall Lee looked completely appalled. "No it's not! Why in the name of the Nightosphere would we ever do that?"

"Oh, I don't know." Marceline put her elbow on the table, resting her cheek on her fist as she glared at him. "Maybe I want to give back to our community. Maybe I want to educate the student body as to what good music is. Or maybe." She slammed the palm of her hand down, making all three of them jump. "Maybe some idiot sucks at being a look out, getting us caught during our last big prank, and instead of detention, Principal Treetrunks is making us provide music for the stupid school dance!"

"Hey, they had Ghost Princess patrolling the girl's locker room," Marshall objected, the whole cafeteria quaking under the Vampire Queen's rage. "Ghost beats vampire. You know that Marcy."

"DO NOT CALL ME MARCY!"

Fionna suddenly found herself in a different chair, right next to Marceline with Marshall Lee somehow sitting where she had been before.

"So, you guys pulled a big prank?" she prompted, eager to lighten the mood, or maybe just not reading the tense situation.

"Yeah." Marceline took a deep, calming breath, sleek black hair falling down past her shoulders again. "Filled all the sink faucets and showerheads with blue dye. Did you see the cheerleading team this morning?" Her sharp fangs showed in the proud grin. "That was all us."

"Really?" Finn climbed up onto his chair, playing desperate look out. "I heard LSP taking credit for that earlier."

Both Marceline and Marshall Lee shot to their feet.

"He better not be!" Marceline growled.

"I just saw that purple gas cloud chatting away on his phone outside," Marshall Lee reported as the two raced off to rightfully claim their street cred.

"Outside!" Finn exclaimed, jumping off the chair. "I haven't checked the archery fields yet!" Finn followed Marceline and Marshall Lee out the west doors.

Left alone at her table, Fionna finished her meal in peaceful silence. Getting up to throw away her garbage, she met Flame Prince on his way in, carrying a box of what looked like extremely illegal fireworks.

"Hey, Flame Prince," she greeted with a smile.

He froze at the sight of her. Not literally, of course. Fire still moved across his skin, curling around his orange jacket and red belts, providing a low heat that lifted his bright hair up into the air. Stiffly, he waved back before turning on his heel and retreating back out of the cafeteria.

This would be the second awkward encounter they'd had that day. After science, Fionna had greeted her friend as he went along carrying a bunch of musical instruments. At the sight of her, he'd gotten a panicked look on his face, though that could have been because one of the trumpets had suddenly burst into flames.

Watching him run away from her again, Fionna lifted her arm, sniffing under the pit just to check.

Nope. All clear there.

Chalking it up to boys being genetically weird, Fionna tossed her empty milk carton and headed out.

Flame Princess came in from the outside through the east doors just then, craving a chicken salad sandwich.