Survival Of The Fittest

((Felicia Carmichael at prom))

She had seen this in a movie once. Well, not prom itself, she saw that loads of times, but prom in the movies generally turned out to have a fight break out, or somebody's dress gets ripped, or somebody gets pig blood spilled all over them... something stupid like that. No, once, Felicia actually saw a happy ending in prom, the culmination of all a high school girl's dreams come true. It was a movie-exclusive thing, though, and Felicia hated it when she couldn't relate an experience to something more geeky.

Still, even if something this fancy wasn't Felicia's environment, she could feel it wasn't Quincy's, either. The man seemed like he was wearing somebody else's skin when he wore that tux and, while Felicia thought he looked kinda sexy in it (sort of like a stockier, not-as-smoking James Bond, she'd say), she could tell that it was still unnatural. That's why, all prom long, Felicia made sure to try and make things easier on him. Dance to fast songs, try not to be too romantic (all to easy for her), and place the focus on 'having fun' more than anything else. Quincy could certainly understand partying, right?

Once the boxer had decided to take a quick break, Felicia went back over to their table, moving her dress so she could sit down. She shifted her long-ditched shoes further under the table with her feet, sighing wistfully. The night really was turning out to be a wonderful one, even if there was no pumpkin carriage and becoming a princess at the end. She'd take her tuxedo'd boxer over that crap anyday.

Huh. Boxer in a tuxedo... kinda reminds me of a boxing penguin... hee hee... hey, that would be pretty kickass, a boxing penguin! I mean, I think there was one in Link's Awakening, but it wasn't as jacked...

We're heading into round three, ladies and gentlemen! It's been a thrilling match so far, with Quince 'Wince' Tuxedo, a native of Vostok Point, taking both rounds one and two against Bruno 'The Bear' Polar, who joins us from Barrow, Alaska. We're waiting for.. there's the bell! They're closing in, and... OH! Quince lets loose with a flurry of flippers flinging about right at Bruno... he's cut, gentlemen, he's cut! They're going to have to put a halibut on that one...


Felicia snapped out of her daydream when she saw Acacia Salinger. Her face lit up, and she took the last sip of punch left in a glass that she forgot before heading for her, only to get a little sidetracked... by spotting Sammy. As sidetracked as a little boy with a BB gun that just saw a squirrel, she was going to head over there until... yikes... Mr. Kwong... trying to avoid a visit anywhere near her least favorite teacher, Felicia turned in a circle... then saw Aislyn. It would be a while before Quincy was back, so she decided to pay the other girl a visit.

"'Ey! Aislyn!"

".....mind if I ask who your friend here is?"

Up until this point, Reiko hadn't been paying attention to the conversation taking place, contentedly savouring the sweet strawberry tart. Whoever had made it had used real strawberries, a rarity in today's society of synthesizing everything and anything. So when she came up in the conversation, she turned her head towards the newcomer.

"Hi, I'm Reiko," she said. "I'm uhh... Sarah's date." the last part came out rather awkwardly.

After that, Reiko turned away from the conversation again, grabbing a brownie off their plate of food, busying herself with that. She just hoped that she hadn't embarrassed Sarah in any way. Not that Sarah seemed like the type to keep secrets. Then again, Vera could very well take it as a joke, in which case everything would be good.

"Hi, I'm Reiko," said the short Japanese girl.

"I'm Vera. Delighted to make your acquaintance"

"I'm uhh... Sarah's date."

Vera couldn't help but raise an eyebrow to this slight revelation. "Really?". Admittedly, this wasn't as surprising as she thought it'd be. After all, Sarah did always dress in such masculine clothing (Not that Vera could claim she didn't do the same. But she always did make sure to keep a certain sense of femininity about her appearance). Still, not that there was any problem with that. Vera herself was very much Pro-LGBT Rights, and the very though of being homophobic barely crossed her mind. Of course, that didn't mean she was a lesbian herself (Although she was admittedly a tad curious. Not curious enough to actually try it out, but curious nonetheless).

She looked over to Sarah to see what her reaction was. She made sure to give her a smile to show that she didn't find the idea abhorrent like some people would.

((Simon Telamon continued from The First Step is the Hardest))

Simon walked into the Crowne with Clio. He was still slightly nervous as he looked over the place after signing in and giving his ticket. Was there anybody there that he knew? Didn't seem like it at first glance. The DJ did seem to at least have a decent taste in music, noting that the music had actually come out in the past decade.

"Want to get our picture?" Simon asked Clio, motioning to the photographer. He wanted to get that part over with so that he could tell his mom he had it taken.

---

((Jason Clarke continued from Real Men Don't Need to Open Doors ...))

As Jason walked in with Alex at his side, he noticed that the attendance was pretty high. He was about to go get a drink after they signed in, but Alex pulled him over to the photographer. Oh, well. Best to get the picture over with. He smiled as the photographer snapped a picture of him and Alex. This is one for the ages. As they left the photographer, Jason noticed somebody.

"Hey, Alex. Is that Roman?"

Sarah tried and failed to suppress a grin when Reiko said she was her date. She hadn't been expecting it but she was more than glad to hear it out in the open. There was also the factor that Reiko looked really cute when she was all awkward like that.

Still smiling ear to ear Sarah leant over the table a bit so she wasn't just sitting there grinning like an idiot. Despite not seeing any reason to be, she still felt a little self-conscious, and keeping the momentum going seemed like a good idea. "So, you here with anyone?"

"So, you here with anyone?"

"As a matter of fact I am. My date, Maxwell, is currently fetching us a pair of drinks" replied Vera. She turned her head around to see where he was and noticed that Maxwell happened to be approaching with the beverages she specified for.

"Speak of the devil, here he comes now..."


As he advanced, Maxwell noticed that Vera happened to be chatting to a pair of girls he assumed were her friends. Fair enough I suppose. After all, If any of my colleagues from Norwich was here I'd of happily conversed with them myself. He eventually caught up with Vera and the others with a drink in each hand, one full of cola for Vera and one full of punch for himself.

"There you are dear, hope I haven't kept you waiting" he said, still making sure that he sounded naïve and innocent in front of her.

"Not at all! By the way this is Sarah, a friend of mine" said Vera, who then turned to Sarah and said "Sarah, this here is my date Maxwell. He's fairly new to the school, seeing as he's only just recently moved here from England."

"Hey, Alex. Is that Roman?"

Alex rolled her eyes. Congratulations, you too can spot my brother from 10 feet away, she thought sarcastically. Instead she said simply, "Yep, that's him." She flashed a brilliant smile at her brother and gave him a little wave. Then, she turned back to Jason, looping her arm through his. "So what do you want to do first? Should we grab a table, hit the dance floor, or see what they have to eat?"

************************************************************
"Umm...T-Thea?"

James' voice was barely audible, when he didn't continue Thea squeezed his shoulder reassuringly. She wondered what he had to say. She didn't find out instead, she tilted her head up and looked into his eyes as his lips descended on hers. James kissed her again, longer this time. Thea's hands slid into James hair. When he finally broke the kiss Thea smiled as he kept his eyes closed for a moment longer. He moved his head back, so that now they were about an inch apart. Thea held his gaze for a moment longer. "I'm having a wonderful time tonight," she murmured resting her head against his chest. "Is that what you were going to say earlier?"

"Ella-ella-ella, eh eh eh"

Samya frowned. What to request? She had been enjoying the music so far, but if she heard one more song from the 80's she would have to . . . request another song. At least they hadn't gotten to the smoopy slow dance part of the evening. She was not looking forward to doing the old "slow dance with yourself" thing. She tapped her pen against the table.

Annnnd I'm holding up the line. Just pick something already.

Baby Got Back - Sir Mix-A-Lot
A Whole New World - Aladdin (Please wait until you play the slow stuff. Thanks!)

She smiled and waved nervously at the now five-person line. "Sorry! Umm, have fun?" Walking to the beat of the music, she quickly made her way back to the stagette group on the dance floor. She noticed Felicia had joined them. Sammy was happy to see her too, Felicia was always good company.

"Aislyn, don't give me that "WTF" face, you know he's my favorite teacher . . . for some reason. Hey Felicia, I see you wore your date out there!"

"Heeeey! Yeah, something like that! I think he's just about near a TKO!" Felicia giggled at her own horrible joke and made a slow punching note, her grin ever-present on her face. "What about ya, Sammy? I was gonna join the staggette group you girls had going before I kinda got whisked away, so how's it going? You ladies being loud and proud?"

The idea was certainly a killer one, and Felicia really was interested. Hell, had Quincy not finally gotten around to asking her when he did, she probably would've taken a trip straight to Aislyn to ask to be in the group. Girls just chilling out at the prom, before the prom, and after the prom with no boy worries? Hell yeah! That was something Felicia could dig regardless of the time, mood or season. Even if she didn't have some of her 'eggs of sexual interest in the basket labeled female' (she almost wondered aloud how she had drawn up that metaphor), it would be refreshing to have the absolute opposite of a sausage-fest every once in a while. It made things simpler; dare she say, more fun.

"And... where's everybody else? I probably won't have much time to talk before Quincy finally catches his second wind..." Felicia pouted at that. Oh well, maybe next year they could all... ... wait. Well, damn.

Aislyn tried to gracefully work her way off the dance floor to go and greet Felicia. It's always so much easier getting into the center than it is getting out. Someone's wandering hand brushed across her rear, making her jump. And people are way less handsy, she fumed as she tried to figure out who that hand belonged to.

Exiting the dance floor, she caught the end of Sammy and Felicia's conversation. "Hey Felicia." Leaning forward, Aislyn gave her a brief, enthusiastic hug. "You look great! We missed you on the ride over, but I'm glad you got asked. And speaking of which, where's Quincy?"

Taking a deep breath, she began ticking off girls with her fingers. "Carol is out on the dance floor. I'm surprised you haven't spotted her yourself. She's got on this great suit and is wearing these totally Men In Black sunglasses. Vivien went off to do her meet-and-greet lap. I lost track of her in the crowd, if you can imagine that."

As Aislyn scanned the room, she realized she was missing something important. Namely, two of the members of the Staggettes. Which, given what Claire had mentioned when she agreed to go with the group, was definitely not a good thing. "Hey, do you guys see Claire or Sapphire? I don't see either one of them."

------------------------------------------------


"There she is. Umm, what is her dress made out of?"

Roman slowly exhaled in relief as he looked in the direction Samaya was pointing. There was his sister and the trog she was going to prom with. And in spite of their tardiness, his sister looked like she was unmussed and in one piece. Which was good, because Roman would have hated to have had to go over and attempt to defend his sister's honor. Not that that particular situation would play out well in any way, shape, or form. Jason Clarke, degenerate, greasy subcreature, would most likely wipe the floor with him, or at least attempt to until Alex stepped in to save him. Then Mr. Shikata or Mrs. Bishop would haul them all outside, which would be followed by the requisite suspension and being placed on the ‘Out of Activities' list. There would be no Senior Trip for the Jacksons, and possibly no stage walking.

However, this terrible scenario was now entirely avoidable. Alex's duct tape dress looked perfect, which is exactly what he told Samaya. "Duct tape. She made her dress out of duct tape. Well, she made most of the dress but I helped with the striped part," he explained. "But enough about my sister. You asked about man code. You have an older brother. He's never pulled man code on you?"

"Speak of the devil, here he comes now..."

Devil indeed, well-dressed in a white tux, fit, classically handsome with soul-eating blue eyes and that air of superiority that came with a 'well-bred' individual. Really, the perfect prom-date for any discerning heterosexual female. Sarah hated him already. Okay, so hate was a bit strong to describe how she was really feeling... if she put it in words it would have been 'mild dislike sourced from pretensions that were mostly suppressed by her willingness to give the guy the benefit of the doubt.'

He seemed nice enough anyhow when he opened his mouth, getting drinks for Vera and generally being pleasant. And he was with Vera.

It was all very formal and civilised. Vera introduced her and told Sarah how he was her date and how he was British, which went some way to explaining the general formality. With that introduction out of the way Sarah figured it'd be a good idea to introduce Reiko in a similar fashion. She figured if Vera liked the guy then he was probably safe, and she'd just left the syntax begging for it with that last summary of hers.

"Hey Maxwell" (She always found it easier to remember names if she used them once or twice) "Reiko here's my date" She extended her hand for him to shake. Luckily, the residual chocolate brownie was on her other hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

(Daniel Vaughan continued from other prom thread)

Daniel took a bite of the brownie he had grabbed as he kept searching the room. They had to be here somewhere. He grinned as he finally spotted the two, they were arguing about something. Probaly something Marty started, he was like that. Daniel moved past the crowds as he came up behind the two of them and tapped them on the shoulders. "Oi, dudes, why'd you leave me there?"

"Hey Maxwell"

Maxwell took this moment as an opportunity to appraise Vera's friend based on her appearance. The first thing he noticed was that she happened to be Chinese, which whilst not inherently a problem did have the distinct possibility of being one nevertheless. Well, as long as she isn't a bloody communist like the rest of them she shouldn't be a particular bother. She was well dressed, more or less, in that exquisite qipao. Although, she didn't have to have such a masculine haircut. Didn't really go with the dress.

"Reiko here's my date" she said, offering Maxwell her hand in friendship. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Maxwell hesitated for a very brief second before reaching his own hand out and shaking her's. Whilst he didn't mind homosexual women as much as he did homosexual men, they still struck him as being somewhat disturbing. He never quite got how so many men found the idea of two women being together to be arousing. Quite frankly, he didn't see the point when there's only half of the necessary ingredients for procreation available. Still, he doubted refusing to do so on those grounds would earn him positive marks with Vera, so he shook her hand anyway.

"The pleasure's all mine" He said with a grin.


Elsewhere, Marty and Joshua were busy shaking their heads to the beat when Daniel walked up to them and said "Oi, dudes, why'd you leave me there?"

Joshua turned to his red-haired friend. "Sorry 'bout that man. I thought it'd be imposing of me to be standing around when you were chatting to that chick earlier and stuff" He said, checking to see whether or not Daniel was still with said "chick". "Still, I could of sworn I did tell you I'd only be over here chatting to Marty if you needed me"

((Clio Gabriella continued fromThe First Step is The Hardest))

It wasn't as if Clio had never gone to prom before, but she had never actually gone to prom with someone like Simon. Or with music this...well, odd. So when Clio Gabriella stepped into Prom Hall, she was smiling a lot as though she was a newborn finding a new sight.
Simon had asked her if they should get photographs. Clio smiled at him, and replied.
"Of course," Clio replied, as they wandered over to the photographer.

"AISLYN!" Felicia embraced the hug and returned it just as tightly, letting out a bit of a 'squee' as she did so. "Aw, thanks, you look beautiful! Um, Quincy's... around. He'll be back soon, I wouildn't worry about him!" Felicia turned between the two of them, psyched to finally be in with the crowd she was closest to.

"Claire, no... Saph, no... sorry, haven't seen anybody!" Felicia rubbed her head, giving a nervous laugh along with a slightly worried grin to show for it. "But I hope their both fine... I know Claire's still bothered by doucheface, right?" Of course, Felicia was referencing JJ.