faux pas: social blunder
The explosive clang of a silver spoon clattering to the marble tile made Artemis cringe, half-expecting Bruce Wayne himself to show up right then and catch her embarrassing lack of coordination. The thought really ticked her off, because she was an archer, one of the best archers, actually, and she had plenty of coordination. Artemis only got clumsy when she was nervous.
…Which made sense, since she was sitting in the middle of a fancy dinner at the Wayne Charity Ball.
Artemis didn't really want to be here, but hey—she was the charity case of the school, so it had been hard trying to justify not going to herself. She had rooted through her mom's closet and uncovered an old dress with pale yellow silk that flowed to her knees. There was an ugly purple stain—grape juice?—on one of the straps, but Artemis had snagged a shawl to cover that up. She had pinned up her hair with a few glittery barrettes. An old pair of heels, some dangly earrings, extra lip gloss, and voilà! Artemis hadn't even recognized herself.
The Wayne Charity Ball, as she had discovered when she arrived, was not really about charity. It was more about spreading gossip among Gotham's elite, and charity cases were nothing impressive. Artemis was relieved; it was much better then being poked and prodded like a zoo animal. She fit in nicely in the background, a true wallflower.
Two more hours and she could go home.
Artemis sighed and pushed back her bowl of pudding, which looked more like jewel-encrusted whipped cream than an actual dessert. She missed the kind of pudding you could grab from the grocery store in a huge jar for three bucks and vowed to reward herself with some after the dinner. She stood up, ready to mingle aimlessly near the balcony for who knows how long.
Artemis heard the riiiiip and instantly knew she was doomed.
Sure enough, the silk had split up her right thigh, in a rather hard to conceal position. Artemis quickly sat back down, eyes wide. She could take off her shawl and wrap it around her waist, but that looked really tacky and would reveal the nasty stain on the strap of her dress. On the other hand, she would look like a floozy with the new cut of her dress, which showed off way more than Artemis was comfortable with.
Thanking her not-so-lucky stars that she had seated herself near an escape route, Artemis stood up again and strolled to the nearby wall, keeping the rip out-of-sight. There was a hallway up ahead…
Artemis slipped through the door and into the cool darkness of the hallway. Sure enough, it was secluded from the rest of the world. Artemis smiled. Now, how to get out of here? she thought. She pulled off the shawl and wrapped it around her waist.
"Lost?"
Artemis clapped a hand over her mouth, a scream caught in her throat. Turning around, she saw a skinny kid, younger than her, with messy black hair and effervescent blue eyes. A charmer, for sure, but Artemis was not presently amused with his antics. Besides, she knew who this particular "charmer" was: that one kid at her school who kept taking pictures with her. Artemis didn't know why she couldn't fend him off; he always seemed to catch her off-guard. She'd trip on the steps; he would help her up, and then blind her with the flash of his camera. Before she could shove him away, he would be gone, lost in the crowd. Artemis could always hear his laughter, though.
"You," she hissed. "What are you doing here?"
The kid shrugged. "You seemed panicky. I came to offer my assistance."
"Why?"
"I am a man of chivalry," he declared, puffing his chest out ridiculously. He smiled at her brightly, holding out a hand.
Artemis didn't shake it. She raised an unimpressed brow.
The kid shrugged again, and held out a sweatshirt. "I think this will be long enough to do the trick."
Artemis took the sweatshirt carefully. "I don't think this will be any better looking…"
"Well, you don't have to stay any longer if you don't want to. Bruce always drags these things out anyway." The kid's face scrunched up, as if he were casually familiar with "Bruce's" behavior.
Artemis sighed. "I kind of have to be here. I'm the school charity case, remember?"
"Well, I'll cover for you. You do realize these things aren't really for charity, don't you?" The kid smirked up at her, shoving his hands in his suit pockets.
Artemis scowled. "Yeah, well." Not able to come up with anything better, she shimmied into the sweatshirt. It was long and loose and covered the rip perfectly. She threw the shawl around her shoulders awkwardly, knowing that the sweatshirt would be the ultimate fashion failure. Artemis didn't mind it, but she knew the socialites right outside the door would turn up their noses at her mess of an outfit.
"I'll open the door. You walk to the entrance. Don't walk too fast, it'll draw attention." The kid, without waiting for any real response, opened the door.
Artemis nearly sprinted through the ballroom, avoiding all eyes and how some widened in contempt at her choice of apparel. When she got to the entrance, mostly unnoticed, she turned around to see the kid. He waved at her.
Who is this kid?
She gave a little wave in return. Ducking through the entrance, Artemis faced the chill of the winter air with a smile. The sun was setting on Gotham and she had pudding to buy.
I don't know. Traught!friendship is pretty much my drug, which is why this happened. At least I finally updated. Sorry about the wait! Welcome to September, my lovelies!