"Albuquerque, huh?" Lili Zanatto, daughter of the grand head of the Psychonauts, and girlfriend of the youngest inaugurated Psychonaut on record, sighed as she hung up on her cell phone. She sighed again. Yes, Raz was a dork. But she loved him anyway. Why? She couldn't really answer that. Nobody really could. But who cared? She continued to dismally unpack her stuff on her new top bunk at Hagatha Home School for Girls.
"Heh-HEY! Fresh meat!" A loud, obnoxious voice erupted from behind Lili with a very heavy lisp. Almost like a female Bobby Zilch. She rolled her eyes. Great. That was just about the last thing she needed here. Well, that is, besides being trampled by rhinos.
"H-hey boss," This one sounded like Benny, "She didn't say anything. You think she's deaf?"
"Nah, Betsy, she's prolly just dumb!" At the remark of the female Zilch, a chorus of laughter emerged from several of the other girls in the room. Lili turned around, fuming.
"Now, you listen up!" She shouted, noticing that the girls that had made fun of her not only sounded like Bobby and Benny, but LOOKED like them as well. "You morons make one more sound, and I can guarantee that you'll find yourselves in a pit of live vipers in the middle of Libya by the time you wake up!"
"Oooooh, I'm SOOOOOO SCARED!" After the Zilch girl said this, more laughter ensued.
"Knock it off, Robbi. I bet she's nervous enough as it is." A shy, albeit strong voice emerged from the lower bunk.
"Feh. Fine. You're a party pooper, Joelle. C'mon, let's go bug someone else." As the Zilch girl, apparently named Robbi, walked to the other side of the room, Lili climbed down from her bunk, intrigued. Who was this 'Joelle'?
"Uh…hi…" Lili said to the girl reading a magazine in the lower bunk.
"Oh, hi! Sorry I didn't introduce myself earlier. My name is Joelle. Joelle Serelean." The girl held out her hand, and Lili took note of her short strawberry-blond hair and glasses. Lili took Joelle's hand and firmly shook it.
"Well, then, my name is Lili. Lili Zanatto. Pleased to meet you!'
"I'm pleased to meet you as well! Oh, if you want," Joelle said as they both pulled away from the handshake, "I can help you unpack your things, if you want."
Lili smiled. "Of course! Could always do with an extra hand." So, naturally, Joelle climbed up to Lili's bunk and began to help her unpack.
"You know," Joelle said, holding a blue-and-green hoodie, "You're just in time!"
"For what?" Lili looked back at her new friend, utterly confused.
"The boys are coming! Every second semester the boys from the nearby male's school for performing arts come here, because it's bigger, to put on a collaborated show at the end of the year!" Joelle began to swoon. "It's been said that some people have found their soul mates here because of that!"
Lili just looked back from Joelle to the clothes she was unpacking, now a green turtleneck sweater. "Yeah, well…" She had a distant look in her eyes. "That's just stupid." Lili said, burying her mouth and nose in the sweater. Joelle's eyes widened.
"Oh…I guess you already have a…"
"Yeah, a boyfriend." Lili finished for her. "So what of it?"
"Nothing, nothing at all!" Joelle giggled. "In fact, that's kinda sweet. Where does he live?"
"He…" Lili strained to hold back a stray tear as she held the sweater tighter over her mouth. "…he moves around a lot…"
"Oh my GOD your boyfriend is an escaped FELON?"
"No." Lili rolled her eyes. "He lives in the circus."
"Oh. Okay…" they sat silently for a moment. "So…what's his name?"
"Razputin. Everyone just calls him Raz, though."
"Wow. That's a really cool name. Are you gonna put away that sweater?"
"No." Lili got all distant again. "Not just yet…"
"That sweater…" Joelle pointed at it, "…that's HIS sweater, isn't it?" Lili just nodded. She sighed, tore the turtleneck from her face, and unwillingly put it away.
