Chapter 9
TARGET v. CATEGORY
AKKO
She lost again. Why was Constanze so much better than she was?
With a disgruntled groan, she threw the controller down on the ground beside her and slumped against the couch. Lotte, curled up at the edge of the sofa above her, patted her head gently and said, "Aw, it's okay, Akko, you almost got her that time!"
Constanze, with a victorious grin, dropped the controller down on Jasminka's lap and fell onto her back from where she sat cross-legged on the floor in front of the television. On their massive television, flashes of Princess Peach speeding by Akko's Yoshi rotated across the screen. They'd been playing for the better part of three hours and Constanze had won every single race.
Jasminka had invited Akko and her two roommates over to the flat she shared with Amanda and Constanze following their Games practice, which went well but it had been colder outside than usual and therefore entirely uncomfortable and not very fun. But, now, they were warm in the small, dark den where Amanda had been diligently stoking a fire for most of the evening. Dinner had consisted of crisps and marshmallows, which was acceptable in Akko's book.
"Don't feel bad, Akko," Jasminka said, smiling. She was sitting on the other end of the couch, contentedly snacking from a massive bag of crisps. "She plays this all the time."
"My turn, Conz. Stop showing off," Amanda grumbled, setting down the poker and snatching the controller away from Constanze. "Who wants in?"
"I'm out," Akko said. "I think that's enough for me tonight." She held the controller out to Lotte, who shook her head—she was busy texting Frank—and then Sucy, who took it with a limp hand and shrugged.
"Sure, why not," the lavender-haired girl mumbled, shrugging.
Akko leaned back against the couch, stretching her legs out across the floor. Lotte was mindlessly running her fingers through her dirty brunette hair between texting her boyfriend, which was very welcome and also a little distracting, but she wasn't going to blame losing on Lotte's affection. Constanze would have won, anyway.
She glanced down at her own phone that had been lying on the rug next to her, ignored, and picked it up to flick the screen on. The background, a picture of Chariot sticking her nose into the camera, stared back at her. No notifications. Not that she expected any. Why would Diana message her?
Though, they had agreed that they were technically friends…
She turned her phone so that prying eyes couldn't see, feeling Lotte's fingers working through a knot in her hair, and flipped open to her contacts.
071132687692
BARN HOTTIE
Well, since they were friends, and Akko knew for a fact that Diana wasn't going to the show in Birmingham, there wouldn't be any harm in inviting her out with them the following night… right?
Akko took a deep breath and flipped open the message screen, hammering something out before she second guessed herself.
Akko 10:08
Heeeeeeeeyyyy what are you doing :3
She lowered her phone, gnawing at her lip as her eyes switched between her phone and the television. Amanda was getting thoroughly smashed by Sucy, who was smirking with glee. Jasminka was still on the first lap and kept going off course to shovel crisps into her mouth.
Akko glanced back down, watching the dots flicker across the bottom of the screen. Then stop. Then flicker again. Great, maybe Diana hadn't even saved her number and didn't know who she was. Play it off.
Akko 10:09
Wrong person sorry
No wait shit that was the wrong thing to do because then Diana would get confused or upset if she actually knew it was Akko plus how could it be the wrong person if they'd never texted before—
Akko 10:09
just kidding
Hey Diana
Please know who she was.
Her phone vibrated.
BARN HOTTIE 10:10
You sure about that?
Akko chuckled, leaning her head back into Lotte's nails and letting her thumbs hover over the keyboard for a moment.
Akko 10:10
Yep
She still wasn't sure Diana even knew exactly who she was, so she figured she would clear everything up with a quick:
Akko 10:11
how's B?
BARN HOTTIE 10:12
She's great, thanks again.
Confirmed! Diana knew who she was and things didn't even have to get awkward! Akko smiled and crouched over her phone.
Akko 10:12
(* ^ ω ^)
still not going this wknd?
She figured that Diana wasn't, because she had made it quite clear she didn't want to ride a schooling horse and would prefer to stay back with her mare. But it wasn't as though she had talked to the other girl since then, and Diana seemed to be like somebody who would do her own thing without letting somebody else know.
BARN HOTTIE 10:12
Unfortunately not.
Okay, well, good. That meant she was likely free to go to Last Wednesday Society with them. Akko had thought about inviting her all week. The only other time she saw the Diana interact socially was at the Red Stallion, and, well, she wasn't exactly being social. But she'd seemed to have a good time after she had someone to talk to. She glanced up at her friends, none of which were paying attention to her. She felt like she was doing something secretive—Amanda would probably tease her mercilessly if she knew she was texting Diana Cavendish—and so she really didn't want anybody to ask her what she was doing.
Akko 10:13
we are going to LWS tmrw night if u wanna come!
Akko waited, staring at the screen. A minute went by. Two. No dots. She guessed she had her answer. She had switched her screen off and was watching her friends, who were waiting to start another round, when her phone vibrated against her palm.
BARN HOTTIE 10:17
Maybe.
Maybe? What kind of answer was that? Akko frowned, scratching at her bicep in thought.
"Yo Akko, are you sure you don't want a go? Conz is itching for another victory."
Akko looked up to see Amanda dangling the controller in her hand and shook her head, glancing back down at the screen and Diana's one word response. "I'm good," she said. She could see the American turn her eyes to the phone in her lap but she said nothing and instead shrugged, pulling the controller back and returning her attention to the game.
Akko took a deep breath. She was going to get Diana to come out. Besides, maybe having Diana hang out with them would end all the weird air between the Hunt and Games Teams. If Diana was friends with them, Hannah and Barbara would have to be nice by default, right?
Akko 10:21
Pleeeeease? :3
I owe u drinks
2 to be exact
Akko narrowed her eyes and threw all self-reservation out the window, thumbs hammering away.
Akko 10:21
maybe 1 more as interest
Akko 10:22
so 3 drinks
I guess 4 if u want 4
thats a lot tho
how about just 3
(/ω/)
She finally stopped to let Diana have a chance to respond. Lotte was staring at her with an eyebrow raised, but turned her blue eyes back to her own phone.
BARN HOTTIE 10:23
How terribly convincing.
Akko couldn't tell if that was sarcasm or not. She raised one dark eyebrow and responded.
Akko 10:24
sounds like a yes
A pause.
BARN HOTTIE 10:25
We'll see.
Akko 10:25
If Akko didn't know better, she would have thought Diana was playing hard to get. But Diana was independent and a little shifty socially, plus had no reason to be playful as far as platonically hanging out with a girl like Akko, so she figured the other girl just didn't want to commit to plans. She frowned and lowered her phone with no intention of trying anymore until her phone buzzed again.
BARN HOTTIE 10:25
What are you still doing up?
Okay, well if Diana was going to continue the conversation—
Akko 10:26
texting you duh :3
its not late
wait
It wasn't, it was only half ten, but—shoot, Diana was probably one of those people who went to bed early! Of course she was. Akko had likely woken the other girl up because she didn't bother to check what time it was. She could feel a hot flush burning into her cheeks as she typed out some quick responses.
Akko 10:26
is it too late
ughh
Akko 10:27
i'm so sorry
(/ω/)
Akko would have smacked herself in the forehead if there weren't five other people in the room who would've wondered why she was having such strange reactions to her phone.
BARN HOTTIE 10:28
lol. It's fine, Akko.
Akko let a long, heavy sigh slip through her nostrils. Diana was laughing. That was good.
Akko 10:28
ok
good
:3
"You guys ready to head back?" she heard Sucy ask. Akko glanced up to see her friend looking between her and Lotte, who had both been heavily engaged in their phone conversations and ignoring everybody else. "Or did you want to stay here all night on your phones?"
Akko pushed herself to her feet, brushing off the breeches she was still wearing and plucking up her jacket. "Yeah, sure." She looked back down at her screen. Diana still hadn't given her a concrete response.
Akko 10:30
tmrw?
She slid into her jacket, dropping her phone on the coffee table for a moment only to see it light up and spin across the glass a moment later.
BARN HOTTIE 10:31
Fine.
Akko couldn't stop the broad grin that spread smoothly across her face. She ignored Sucy's inquiry of, "What are you grinning at?" and sent her last text before shoving her phone into her pocket and saying, "Nothing!"
Akko 10:31
ok see you there! :3 night!
She had convinced Diana to go out with them! Though, she hadn't asked the rest of the team if it would be okay to invite Diana, but she didn't think they would care. Well, she hoped they wouldn't. They all had to get along, eventually, if they were going to spend the next few years at the same school and riding at the same barn together. It only made sense.
She didn't even realize that Diana had sent her a final text until she got home and was changing into her sleep clothes. The blue light on her phone blinked with a notification.
BARN HOTTIE 10:32
Goodnight.
Akko grinned.
"The correspondent inference theory suggests that perception of an individual or a situation is based on the perceiver's inference, or understanding, of action and causation. Essentially, the perceiver will judge the perceived based on observation and categorize as such based on social acceptability and desirability."
Professor Badcock was droning on in her usual, "This is super interesting, listen to how excited I am!" voice that was her attempt at making the material interesting. It wasn't working—the general consensus, ha, Akko had been listening a little—was that the information being put out was incredibly boring. She dragged her pen across her notebook, smoothing out the neck muscles of the rearing horse she was drawing on one half of her page. Her notes consisted of:
05 October 2018
jones and davis 1965
attribution = distinctiveness | consensus | consistency
this sucks
If most of the students do poorly on an exam (high consistency!) and everyone thinks the material is super boring (high consistency!) then the likeliest explanation for poor marks is the material (stimulus!)
Akko groaned and let her forehead smack into her palm as she continued to shade her horse while Babcock rolled on.
"One of the main components of this theory is the idea of expectancy, of which Jones and Davis state there are two types." Professor Babcock flicked to the next slide of the lesson. "Page 267 of your text." Akko was on 262. She made no move to change it.
CATEGORY-BASED EXPECTANCIES:
- Derived from knowledge about particular groups or sub-cultures
- Heavily influenced by stereotypes and assumptions
TARGET-BASED EXPECTANCIES:
- Derived from knowledge about a particular person
- Familiarity with the person's belief and character
Akko glanced up only briefly, her eyes flitting through her fingers as she analyzed the slide with disinterest before scanning the classroom. For the first time, she realized Hannah wasn't there in her regular seat. She had likely already left for the show. Red eyes fell on the digital clock on the far wall.
Ten more minutes. Ten more minutes and she was free for the weekend. She could do ten more minutes.
"This theory began as an analyzation of first impressions," Professor Badcock continued, leaning against the podium and gazing over the lecture hall, at the students in the front row who were paying close attention and the students in the back who, like Akko, were clearly somewhere else. "And sought to determine a perceiver's determination of socially acceptable behaviors versus those that were unusual. For example, we expect a certain person to behave in a specific way because we have perceived them to fall into a certain category, and when they do something outside the expectations of that category, their behavior has become unusual. However, if we take that same person and have an understanding of their identity and mannerisms, that same behavior could be completely acceptable."
Akko's phone buzzed across her notebook, where it had been lying face down for the majority of the lecture. She set her pen down and flipped it over.
BARN HOTTIE 3:45
Time?
Maybe it was the fact that she had completely turned her brain off because it was the end of the week, she was already in weekend mode, and the lecture was particularly boring, but Akko could not for the life of her understand what Diana was asking.
Akko 3:45
3:45
She covered her mouth in an attempt to suppress a yawn before running her hands through her hair. Five more minutes. She wished that Professor Badcock was the type to let them out of class early, but the excitable instructor liked to go to the very last minute. Even on Fridays.
BARN HOTTIE 3:46
…
I meant tonight?
Oh.
Akko snickered and picked her phone up, straightening her back and hiding her hands under her desk as she responded. Of course Diana had meant her invitation to Last Wednesday.
Akko 3:46
Oh oops
after practice
BARN HOTTIE 3:47
Helpful. Thank you.
Akko yawned again and kicked her legs out under the table in a deep stretch, raising glazed eyes to fall on the PowerPoint once again. Somebody had decided to tell a story about how they thought somebody was weird, blahblah, turned out they were just raised in a different culture, it was acceptable there, imagine that, how strange—why did people feel the need to talk? Especially when class was about to end?
BARN HOTTIE 3:49
Are you here?
Akko looked back down at the phone in her hand.
Akko 3:49
yes
no
maybe
where's here
She smirked to herself, amused by her own messages—who would entertain her if she didn't do it herself?—and set her phone down to start packing up her belongings. The class would be over in a moment and she wanted to be the first one out the door. Her Chariot awaited!
BARN HOTTIE 3:49
Nevermind, I see you're not.
Akko blinked.
BARN HOTTIE 3:50
See you tonight.
Maybe.
"Please review the theory's studies of communicative context and subtext for the lesson on Monday," Professor Badcock was saying up front, though Akko was sure hardly anybody heard her because everybody was already throwing their things into their bags and pushing their chairs up.
BARN HOTTIE 3:50
We'll see.
Minute possibility.
BARN HOTTIE 3:51
Very small, in fact.
Aleph-zero.
Okay, bye!
Akko stayed in her seat even after the others around her started to get up and leave, staring at the series of text messages that Diana had sent. The other night, she had been so monosyllabic, and now she was… was she playing with her?
Rolling her shoulders in a shrug, Akko tucked her phone into her pocket, slipped her bag over her shoulder, and headed off to the barn without a second thought.
The last thing Akko had wanted to do was go out on a Friday night in dirty breeches, an old long sleeve shirt that was still damp with sweat, and the same jacket that she was always wearing and likely covered with Chariot slobber. But, circumstances—those being the rest of the team demanding to just go straight to Last Wednesday, because why bother wasting time to go home and change?—had determined that her weekend was already going to start in a way she didn't plan. Akko didn't bother to argue. Her only justification would have been trying to look nice for a girl that would never have any sort of interest, and so it was probably a blessing in disguise.
The Team didn't get to the pub until almost eight and the place was still slow—the proprietor only had a couple people at the bar and the whole of the Jumping team, so a whopping five people, at one of the tables in the back. No Diana. They sidled into their usual booth with a pitcher of lager and a cider for Lotte.
"Ugh, feels good to be done with that week," Amanda muttered as she finished pouring beer into everyone's pints—she gave Akko way too much head and Akko frowned and blew on it—before saying, "Who wants a shot?"
Akko took a breath, staring down at the phone in her lap that had been still for hours before shooting a glance to the front door. "Me," she said quickly, lifting red eyes to meet green and tracing her fingers down the sides of her iced glass.
Amanda quirked an eyebrow at Akko but shrugged it off. "Alright. Me, Akko, Conz, Jas—Sucy, no? Lotte, I know you don't want one. Wuss."
"I prefer to call it 'knowing my limits'," Lotte said with a shrug, bringing her Strongbow to her lips and taking a small sip as she spun her phone on the table.
"Vodka," Jasminka grunted, waving her hand and already chugging her beer.
Amanda snorted. "I believe I'm paying, so I will choose, and I can already tell you that I am not getting shots of rubbing alcohol," she said before striding away with an air of importance.
Akko's phone vibrated against her leg. She glanced down and brushed a few copper hairs and flakes of cedar off her thigh before checking her phone.
BARN HOTTIE 8:17
Are you there already?
"What are you smirking at?" Sucy grumbled from across the table.
Akko 8:17
maybe
"Nothing," Akko said back, burying her phone in her lap and trying to force the corners of her lips down with the reply that flashed on her screen.
BARN HOTTIE 8:18
Alright. I'm not on the way.
Why was she shaking? She flicked her screen off and dropped her phone back into her lap, raising her eyes back to the table—Sucy was staring at her, but nobody else seemed to notice—before picking up her beer and taking a long sip. She swiped the foam from her upper lip with the back of her hand and tried to still her quivering skin.
There was no reason to be nervous. It was just Diana. They were just friends. Well, sort of. No. Yes. They were friends. Yes, she was one of the hottest girls Akko had ever seen. Yes, Akko may have been struggling to keep a crush under wraps and was failing miserably. But, at the end of the day, it was just the really hot blonde girl who rode the really nice horse and had really nice—
"Cheers, bitches," Amanda said as she dropped a handful of shots on the table and slid into the booth beside Akko. "Enjoy the finest whiskey that this place had on well!"
Diana was going to be there any minute. Liquid courage, make her blood stop boiling and her bones stop shaking and please for the love of everything holy do not let her run off at the mouth with something stupid.
The whiskey burned like fire down the back of her throat and she coughed loudly, slamming the empty shot glass down on the table and throwing a closed fist against her lips. Her eyes started watering and she ducked her head to hack into her sleeve.
"What a champ." Amanda laughed and slapped Akko on the shoulder, making her cough even more.
"I see you're already killing the poor girl."
Kuso.
Sleeve still covering her mouth, Akko lifted her leaking eyes and red face to see Diana standing at the edge of the booth. And good lord if Akko hadn't been focused on the overwhelming embarrassment of hacking up her lungs, she probably would have just dropped dead right there, because Diana was wearing these tight black pants and black flats and a white tank top that hugged her thin stomach and a black leather jacket that reached halfway down her waist and her long blonde hair fell over her shoulders in perfect waves—
Akko would have taken the death. Sweet, sweet death.
She swiped at her eyes and lowered her arm.
"Fancy seeing you here," Amanda said, turning curious eyes up to their newest addition. "I thought Hannah and Barbara were at a show?"
"They are." Diana's confident smirk had faltered and she folded her arms across her chest, glancing at between Akko and the rest of the Games Team.
"I invited her," Akko wheezed, grabbing her beer and taking a swig to finally calm her throbbing throat and nodding at the empty seat across the table from Lotte.
Jasminka, who was already pouring her second beer, shrugged and said, "The more the merrier," and offered Diana a welcome grin. Akko could have kissed her right there. Platonically. On the cheek.
Diana's smile returned—tentatively—and she sat delicately at the edge of the booth next to Lotte. The Finnish girl slid over a little bit and said, "Sorry you couldn't go this weekend, Diana."
"It happens," Diana replied. She was fidgeting with her hands in her lap and looking completely out of place, like a flighty filly that was ready to bolt at the movement of a shadow. "I'm just glad Akko was around to notice Beatrix before it turned into a more serious situation."
Amanda swiveled to look at Akko, who was staring down into her beer as though it was going to save her from her own humiliation. "Yeah, good thing. You never told us why you were at the barn in the middle of the night," she said, an accusing smirk twitching at the corner of her mouth.
Akko did not want to admit in front of Diana that she had nearly failed a Hippotherapy test, so she decided to change the subject before Amanda could pry further. And what she meant to have come out was, "Can I buy you a drink?" but what actually came out was:
"Drink?"
In the most pathetic squeak Akko's voice could have possibly made.
"I'll go get one," Diana said. She was smiling—no, laughing?—at Akko.
Akko stood up so fast that she rocked the booth with her thighs. She pressed her hands down against the edge to try to steady it and blushed. "No, I've got it! I told you I'd buy you a drink," she said quickly and was climbing over Amanda to get to the bar before the other girl could protest.
She felt some satisfaction with herself at being so sly, even if she'd had the grace of a three-legged mule, that she couldn't stop the confident smile that flitted across her lips when she set Diana's drink down in front of her to a, "Thank you, Akko," and a smile before sliding back in next to Amanda.
Until Diana took a sip and tried to hide a strange face by bringing her hand to her mouth and Akko squinted at her and asked, "Is it bad?"
"It's fine," Diana murmured, grabbing the lime to squeeze it into the drink, her nose twitching up a little at the corner as she added, "Just strong."
Amanda regarded Diana with a cool stare before turning to Akko. "Well is for peasants like us. Cavendish only drinks top shelf."
Akko was sure the glare Diana sent Amanda would have turned a normal person to stone, but Amanda was Amanda and she just grinned back as though she was the wittiest person on the planet. Akko decided then and there that she never wanted to be on the receiving end of a look like that.
"Sorry," Akko mumbled, looking away and bringing her beer to her lips to take a sip and glancing over at Jasminka and Constanze, who were watching a YouTube video of last year's international competition.
"It's fine. Really," Diana asserted from across the table. She took another drink for emphasis and this time didn't make a face, so Akko felt better. Well, a little.
The other girl seemed to relax after some time, letting herself fall into the conversation (Lotte made sure to include her any chance she could) that consisted mostly of classes and horses. Akko didn't really know what to say to her now that she was there, but she supposed the point of getting Diana out was to get her on good terms with the Games Team and make sure she wasn't lonely or sad while her teammates were away at a show that she should have been at. The point wasn't for her to talk to Diana exclusively.
Though, she wished she could.
Diana got up to get her second drink. Akko offered to get the next one, too, but Diana was resolute when she said, "No, don't worry about it, Akko. You don't need to be buying me drinks," and dismissed herself. As soon as she stepped away from the table, Amanda took a long gulp of her beer and turned to Akko.
"Why didn't you tell us you invited Cavendish?" she asked.
Akko shrugged, eyebrows stitching together as she stared back at the American. "I didn't think about it. I guess I forgot." She didn't. "I mean… it's alright, right?"
"Well, yeah, I guess," Amanda said. None of the other girls said anything otherwise so Amanda added, "You just have to give a girl a heads up, you know? You can't just surprise us with," she waved a hand at Diana, who was at the bar waiting for her drink, "that."
Akko felt herself frowning and she polished off the rest of her beer with a large swallow. "What do you mean by 'that'?"
"Nevermind," Amanda mumbled, grabbing the pitcher, empty after Akko poured herself another half of a pint. "I'm gonna get another."
Akko turned to watch her go, scratching at the side of her knee as she turned to regard the rest of the team. "What is she talking about?"
"They don't get along. You know that," Lotte said back, on her second bottle of Strongbow, phone in one hand where she was texting Frank.
Jasminka looked up from the new video that she and Constanze had switched to. The screen was paused on a rider vaulting onto the back of a white pony. "Amanda really doesn't like her very much. But it's okay, Akko, we don't mind."
Constanze nodded an affirmation before unpausing the video and continuing to watch.
"I don't care," Sucy said next to her, sipping her beer and staring off into the distance. "You know that."
Diana slid back into the booth next to Lotte. Akko had almost kind of hoped she'd just take where Amanda had been sitting—which would have been stupid because she probably would have imploded—and sipped her new drink. Diana's eyes fell on Akko, flicking over the girl's face for a moment. "How was practice?" she finally asked.
Akko perked up. Finally, Diana was speaking solely to her. She ran her finger around the edge of her glass. "Oh, it was really good, we—"
"The well doth not run dry!" Amanda yelled, slamming the pitcher back down into the middle of the table and sloshing a little bit of beer over the side in the process. Diana made a face and pushed a few bar napkins at it to prevent any beer from dripping over on her, but Akko felt a few splashes against the thighs and swiped her hands against the thin material of her breeches in surprise.
"Was that necessary?" Diana growled, icy blue eyes darting up to the American.
Amanda shrugged and plopped down next to Akko, sliding one arm around the Japanese girl's shoulders in the process. Akko felt her brows furrowing in confusion and she turned a gaze up in questioning, but the American's green eyes were leveling the blue that bore into her from across the table.
Eh, whatever. Amanda was just acting rowdy, like she usually did when she'd had a few drinks. Akko picked up her beer and sipped it, shifting against the weight of the arm around her.
"You should've seen Akko tonight," Amanda was saying, thumbing at the girl sitting awkwardly next to her with her other hand. "She and Chariot were killing it. Can't wait to see them kick ass in Glasgow."
"Well, it is a team effort—" Akko started.
"I'm sure she'll do great," Diana said, raising her glass to her lips once more.
Amanda shrugged, her fingers twitching against Akko's arm. "Nah, they'll do better than great. Akko's done an awesome job with her pony and the team. Best captain we could have asked for."
Akko flushed at the compliment and filled her mouth with another swig of beer. "I mean I think I could use some work—"
"Well, she is very level-headed and confident," Diana was saying. "Which are important qualities for a position of leadership."
A smirk tugged at Amanda's lips. "Helps that she's a total babe, too."
What?
Akko's eyes widened and she looked at Amanda again. What was going on? "Huh?"
Diana said nothing. She glared at Amanda through narrowed eyes, color dusting her cheeks as she cleared her throat and dropped her gaze to her drink.
"Let's get you some more beer," Amanda said. She reached for the pitcher and filled Akko's pint up, tightening her grip on the other girl's shoulder as she slid in closer and let her fingers dance along the bicep of Akko's jacket.
Akko, thoroughly confused and extremely uncomfortable with the sudden actions of her friend, just stared at the beer with slightly parted lips and a pair of huge red eyes. She brought one hand up to awkwardly push her bangs aside as she looked between Amanda and Diana—the latter looking just as perturbed.
"You know, I should, um—probably go," Diana said after a moment, pushing her glass—still half full—across the table and rising. She shoved her hands into the pockets of her leather jacket, folding her elbows into her sides. "I have a lot of studying to do."
"Wait, what?" Akko's eyes shot up. "Seriously? You haven't even been here that long."
"Yeah. I, um—Pharmacology exam. Quite a bit of material," the other girl muttered. "See you," she added before turning on her heel and striding off before Akko could even squirm her way out from beneath Amanda's arm and make any kind of protest.
"Aw, she was nice to talk to," Lotte said, frowning before going back to her phone.
Amanda withdrew her arm and shrugged, edging away to take a long swallow of her beer and turn her gaze away. "Anyway," she mumbled.
Akko stared after Diana long after she'd disappeared through the front door of the pub.
Amanda. Target. Unusual.
Diana. Category. ...?
She should have listened in class.
CHARACTER & HORSE PROFILE
Jasminka Antonenko | 19 | 5'5" | Russian | Major: Culinary Studies
Mounted Games Team
Cookie | 15 | 14.1hh | Crossbred Pony | Gelding
Black and white overo paint
