In terms of their manicure bet, this chapter is entertaining.

Year One: The Barton-Rogers Renormalization Part Two

Atlantic Residence - 9:56 AM

After spending the night elsewhere, Angela returns to her dorm. She walks in quietly since it's dark so Merida might still be asleep. To her surprise her friend is awake, sitting in the middle of her bed, and on her laptop. Merida smiles at Angela who turns on the light. Staring at a screen in the dark is bad for the eyes. But Merida already knows what's up with her.

"How are your nails?" Merida asks, closing her laptop.

"I've lost and/or broken six," Angela reports. She heads over to her closet to search for her training uniform.

Merida tilts her head as she waits for an explanation. It never comes. Angela just takes out a uniform, removes it from the hangar, and throws the outfit over her desk chair.

Merida clears her throat. "Last I checked, you only had three fallen soldiers. How did that double overnight? What were you doing?"

"James."

Although Merida saw that response coming, it was still disgusting to hear. She'll never get used to it and she doesn't want to.

Angela sighs. "Life is hard."

"So was he," Merida says as she leaps out of her bunk.

Angela stares at her in complete shock. "I can't believe you, of all people, are saying that."

Merida nods, feeling a bitter taste in her mouth. "I'm disgusted with myself and will leave to rinse my mouth with soap."

Angela laughs. "Don't break a nail in there!"

-o-

Operations Lecture Room - 10:51 AM

Merida was excited when she walked into class today. Not only is she winning the bet against Angela but her class today is on lock-picking. Merida already knows the mechanics behind picking a lock. Back in Girl Scouts, she and some other girls taught themselves while selling cookies. Now she can properly learn how to do it and even get some cool tools to help.

"Everything you do has to be approached with caution," their prof instructs.

Merida scoffs to herself as she looks at the example lock she and her classmates got to follow along. They're picking locks, not defusing bombs. At least, not yet. She would be enjoying herself more if she didn't have these stupid nails limiting her precision.

This ridiculous manicure made it difficult for her to hold the tools, especially since she has to hold a few at once. When her fingers pinch together, the nails would stab each other. There would be this clicking sound that drives her insane. Or the nail would dig into her skin and distract her from the lock.

Fuck Britney. These nails aren't worth it. She could've unlocked this padlock minutes ago.

But these cursed nails give her an idea.

Merida drops the tools and scans over her shoulder to see where the prof is. They're helping someone near the front. Perfect. Merida picks up one of the tools and starts prodding at her non-dominant pointer nail. Once the tip breaks off, she makes a reminder to file that down. Bless these cheap nails. Merida takes the broken tip and jams it into the keyhole. When she feels one of the gears shifts, she starts working with the tools.

A smile breaks out when the lock clicks and opens. Merida sighs relieved as she sits back and swings the lock around on her finger.

-o-

Why did she take so many lecture-based courses? Because year one of Operations demands it. Why did she take a year-long course about SHIELD's history? Because her diploma demands it.

Out of all her courses, she hates this one the most. This could've been a half-credit course but no. SHIELD has been around for so long that its history could be its own degree. Maybe it is in Communications … She will never use this information and, based on her past midterms and online quizzes, she won't even need it on the exam. Merida's more pissed off that SHIELD is oh so secretive that half of the information isn't available online. She pities future students who will have more history to learn about.

And her professor is so boring. Why did she even go to class today? All she's doing is twirling a curl in her fingers and she's alert again when her hand is stuck. Merida sits up and tugs at her hand but it's caught on something. One of her curls snagged onto her nail.

"ебать…" Merida grumbles to herself as she continues to try and pull it out without making a scene. She really should've skipped.

Screw it. Her scissors are in her other bag. Merida holds the root of her curl with her free hand and bites down on her tongue as she yanks her other hand free. Nobody notices but she's holding back every wince of pain. Once she gets back to her dorm, she will scream into a pillow.

It wasn't ripping out her curl that hurt. That was nothing. It was the ripped nail that joined it. Both victims sit on the table in front of her. How did she rip out two nails? Her hair is too much to handle.

Before she could dispose of the evidence, she hears muffled laughing from behind her. Merida turns around and sees Brody dying in silent laughter. He saw everything, including Merida's narrowed eyes. Merida glances at her hand and notices that she's missing four green nails from that hand. The only one remaining is a perfectly manicured middle finger.

Merida turns around in her seat and gives it to him. Total Britney move but still, fuck her.

-o-

The lame class finally ends and Merida can't be happier. She stands up after what felt like the longest time. After stretching her limbs and putting her stuff in her bag, including her rogue curl for some reason. Can't leave that lying around. (The nails can just end up on the floor. Fuck them). Merida puts on her leather jacket, reaching back to free her curls.

She looks down to zip up her jacket. It's second nature to her but then she hears something snap. Another nail. It better not be her beloved middle fingernail. Merida looks at her hand and it's not. It was just another stupid nail from her other hand.

Merida sighs. She's never felt so relieved before.

"That's sad."

Merida turns around to glare at Brody. The last thing she needs now is judgment, especially from him of all people. Instead of responding with a remark, she gives him her beloved middle finger. This time, she doesn't even have to stick it up since it already stands out.

-o-

Cafeteria - 16:26 PM

"Do you need help?" Daniel asks.

Merida looks at him, the soda can in her hand, and back at him. He looks invested in helping her but Merida can handle this. She's been opening cans for as long as she can remember. Then again, she said the same about zipping up her jacket but then she zipped up her hand.

"I got this," Merida says proudly.

She ended up breaking a nail.

Merida looks up defeated. Her body shakes but she wears a plastered smile that raises concern in Daniel.

"I'll be back."

Merida passes him the can and she scurries off. Daniel turns around and watches Merida disappear. He opens the can as he hears her cuss out and scream. People turn over, wondering about the sudden noise, and see Merida return looking as if nothing happened. She's brand new and she's calm.

"Thank you," Merida says as she takes back the can and walks away.

Daniel keeps quiet as she leaves. What did happen?