"You fell off your bike."

"Yeah."

"The one you haven't ridden in a million years."

"Dave, not a million, use realistic time fragments." Rose corrected. Dave scowled at her.

"Who cares woman?" He snarls. "Anyway, John. We all know you're as truthful as an alcoholic is about her alcohol consumption, so spare yourself the humiliation and tell us the truth."

"Fine. Some neighborhood kids were throwing rocks and one hit me." You lie again.

"What about the bump on your head?" Jade asks

"I hit my head on the pavement when I fell. You know, from the rocks." Your face looked even worse the next day. Purple and green aren't inconspicuous colors. The bottom of your eye is swollen. Where your head collided with the floor, a golf ball sized lump sits. Your friends kept pestering you about it, but you didn't want to tell them about Vriska. You feel that it would sabotage her chances at this school. "It's just a bruise."

"And a concussion." Jade mutters. You ignore her and focus on your lunch. Rose hadn't looked up from her book since she pointed out your bruise and corrected Dave. Dave is sitting back in his chair. You can tell he's squinting to see behind his sunglasses, it's quite dim in the cafeteria.

"New girl, four o' clock." He says without turning his head. You turn around to see Vriska slink into the cafeteria. She looks around then heads to one of the empty tables near the back.

"I'll be back." You say, then bounce to greet her.

"Egbert." She mutters when you sit down.

"Hey Vriska! Why are you sitting alone?" You ask

"Why do you think? Not everyone is as social as you." She says quietly. You translate this to mean she hasn't made any friends.

"Come sit with us." You blurt out. She's silent, but you can tell she doesn't want to. "Please?" You beg. Vriska glances at you, and winces when she sees your face.

"Fine, but only for today." You grab her hand, but she jerks away quickly. She mumbles something that sounds like "Don't touch me" then stands and follows you to your table.

"Everyone, this is Vriska. Vriska, this is…everyone." You introduce her. After greeting her, your friends return to what they were doing. "So, did you do the math homework?" You ask Vriska. She shook her head. "Oh right, you didn't take any notes. I can lend them to you, and the ones from earlier this year."

"I don't need your help." She says. She returns to staring at the table and you let her be. Jade and Dave were locked in a conversation. Well, Jade was, Dave didn't seem to be paying attention. Rose was still buried in her book. You decide against interrupting her, as she seems interested.

"What class do you have next?" You ask Vriska.

"Do I really have to talk to you?" She whines.

"Yes." You say firmly. "I have gym. It's my elective hour, it changes every day. Well, one of my hours. And I have four electives, two every day."

"Everyone here does." Dave interjects.

"I have gym too." Vriska says, ignoring him. You grin happily.

"Excellent! Maybe we'll be on the same team!"

"I don't play sports." She scowls. The bell rang then, signaling the end of your short lunch.

"Come on, or we'll be late." She looks like she's about to protest, but you grab her backpack, thinking it would be a bad idea to grab her.

"Hey! Give that back!" She snarls.

"Nope! Come on!" You swing it out of her reach and march off towards the gym.

"Careful with that!" Was all she said. You turn around, walking backwards to face her.

"Why, is it going to explode?"

"Yes." She cackles at the look of terror on your face. "Give it back." This time you concede.

You arrive at the gym and wave goodbye to Vriska as you enter the locker room. You change quickly, ignoring the other boys. Eager to have Vriska on your team, you rush out to the main gym. You see Vriska arguing with Mr. DeVito, her back turned to you. He's shaking his head and she's nodding hers. Finally, she whips off her glassed. Even from across the gym, you can see his surprise. Vriska says some other things, then replaces her glasses and stomps over to the stairs near the entrance. You trot over to her.

"What was that about?" You inquire.

"I told you, I don't play sports. I didn't have a note or whatever so Mr. DeVito needed proof or something." She scowls and plops down on the steps.

"Do you not have gym clothes?"

"No, I don't have…" She cuts herself off. "Never mind." You don't press her, but you notice that she tugs her left sleeve down a bit. The two of you sit in silence until Mr. DeVito blows his whistle to attract the kids to the center of the gym.

"Today we are playing doge ball." He announces. A couple kids groan, obviously dismayed. Mr. DeVito divides you into the two teams then sets you against each other.

You instantly duck as a ball flies towards your head. You doge two more as one of your teammates gets out. Your main strategy in doge ball was to avoid getting hit; only throwing a few balls. You are quite agile, and usually one of the last ones to get out. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a ball flies to your face. The hard rubber smacks into your bruise and tears well in your eyes. You go down. Your face feels like it is on fire, but you manage to get up and stumble over to the bleachers. You prod it and wince. Your eye is already completely swelled up.

Cursing under your breath, you sit and bear it. Vaguely, you recall Mr. DeVito asking if you needed to sit out, which you heartily agreed to. He shoos you over to the stairs where Vriska is sitting. She looks angry.

"That was a cheap shot." She mutters just loud enough for you to hear. When you try to sit on her left side, the side with the darkened lens, she moves so you are on her right. Neither of you speak, you just sit in silence for the rest of gym.

The rest of the day was a blur. You only had three more classes, but your head is splitting and you can't pay any attention. By the time math comes around, you are pretty much a zombie. You sit blankly through the lesson.

It feels like an eternity before the bell finally rings. You gratefully rush out, not even bothering to say goodbye to Vriska. The walk home seemed longer than usual. When you finally arrive at your house, your head feels like it's about to explode. Apparently getting hit in the head two days in the row is not a good thing. You collapse into bed and thank god it's the weekend.

This was going to be a side project, but I just can't write Elementalist right now. Don't worry, I'm not abandoning it, just slowing it down. So here you go, the next chapter!