Survival Of The Fittest

Simon seemed pleased with her rating of his food, as he smiled a little and his ears went a bit red. "I'm glad you enjoyed it. It me-"

Before he could go any further, the door slammed open, making Gloria jump in her seat and nearly choke on the Nian Gao. She leaned back in her chair as the boy nearly fell on her, staring at him with wide eyes and puffed-out cheeks. One hand started to pound on her chest a little bit, her throat muscles working to try and swallow that stubborn bite.

"Uh.. Hi. Is the book fair still open? Please tell me I wasn't too late."

As Gloria shook her head, trying to say that no, the new boy wasn't too late, Simon piped up with his own answer. "Um, it's fine." He gestured to the books. "They're kinda mostly in the boxes, but you're free to look around us much as you like. Thanks for stopped by; this book fair has seemed to be more active then the last." He then noticed Gloria's minor peril, and asked if she was alright, using her nickname again.

Gloria was certain her face was a bit redder, and she pounded even harder against her chest, still trying to swallow. Frantically, she held up one finger, signaling for Simon to wait a minute, and dug through her bag until she pulled out her water bottle, which she immediately began to drink out of. Well, guzzle was the more appropriate word. The cake immediately gave way beneath the water, and Gloria took a gasping breath. "I'm okay," she coughed. "I'm okay...Sorry," she repeated, looking up at the new boy. He'd just chosen a book, one that Gloria had heard of, but never got around to reading, though it was on her "To Read" list. Somewhere near the top. "L-Looks like a good choice..." she coughed, rubbing her throat.

"Thank you, umm... What was your name again?" Dirk asked.

Simon stuck out his hand for the other student to shake. "Simon Fletcher. And that is Gloria Benson." He looked at the celiling for a moment, then turned back. "I don't think we have any classes. Pleased to meet you." Bayview was a fairly large school, but you got used to the faces of everyone after a while. This one was new.

"Anyway, that'll be $5.99" He flipped the book over to confirm the price. "Yep. There you go. Hope you like your book; Patterson's prett good at keeping people reading."

Simon turned back to Gloria, who seemed much more red then usual. Oh shit. He made a motion to stand up, wondering if she was choking (she hadn't made a sound. He was certain he read somewhere that choking prevents one from making noise.) before he saw Gloria put a finger up. Huh? She reached down into her bag, and pulled out a bottle of water, quickly downing it. She gasped, but appeared to be fine.

"I'm okay," Gloria coughed. "I'm okay...Sorry," she repeated.

Simon sat back down (at some point he had fully stood up). "Ah...I'm glad you're alright...That was quick thinking." In his head, he went over the steps to prevent choking, just incase something like that happened again. He was pretty sure he'd mess up at some point. Good thing Gloria knew what she was doing.

"Great. Here." Dirk handed Simon the money, a five and a one, "Keep the change. I don't really need it."
Dirk noticed that Gloria was choking. She pulled out a water bottle and drank it, seemingly OK.

"My parents keep telling me to make some friends here, so, Do you guys want to go to a movie this weekend? It's OK if you don't." He lifted his cell phone, "Call me if you want to. My number's on my Myspace page."

"It...wasn't really..." Gloria mumbled, feeling embarrassed. First she'd practically choked in front of one of her closest friends and the new boy, and now...Well, it wasn't quick thinking at all. "It was just a reflex, really." She wiped a stray bit of water off the corner of her mouth, capping the water bottle and placing it back inside her bag. Anybody would've done the same really...It made Gloria a tad embarrassed to have someone think she was smart for it. "I'm sorry about that, guys..."

The new boy was looking at them for some reason. Before Gloria could wonder too long, she saw him produce his cell phone. "My parents keep telling me to make some friends here, so, Do you guys want to go to a movie this weekend? It's OK if you don't. Call me if you want to. My number's on my Myspace page."

"Huh?" Gloria blinked. The boy had just run in, and he was asking them to a movie? Well...Well, yes, it was good to overcome shyness, ask people to events to become friends, but wasn't seeing a movie something a little more...personal? But then again, maybe it was the only thing he could think of. Gloria couldn't fault him for that. "Well...I guess I'd like to go, as long as it wouldn't be a scary movie..." She looked over to Simon. "What do you think?"

Dirk handed Simon the money, a five and a one, "Keep the change. I don't really need it."

Simon nodded and put the money into his box. Really, the book fair had been quite a success. Maybe next year he cou- and then the thought stopped. No next year. More more driving Jessica home, or hiking in the woods around St. Paul, or helping out Bayview's library. He was headed to Pittsburgh, and then...Who knew? No matter how much he looked forward to college or the life he would live after it, there was still an undercurrect of tension. It was better not to think about it too hard right now.

The new student, Dirk, pulled out his cellphone. "My parents keep telling me to make some friends here, so, Do you guys want to go to a movie this weekend? It's OK if you don't. Call me if you want to. My number's on my Myspace page."

Simon glanced at Gloria reflexively. She had a rather off-put look on her face. "Well...I guess I'd like to go, as long as it wouldn't be a scary movie..." She looked over to Simon. "What do you think?"

He shrugged. Simon hadn't gone out to movies very often. Most of his friends were quiet people themselves, and he wasn't really Mr. Social. But then again, this was probably how other people made friends, wasn't it? He had had most of his for so long he couldn't even remember how most of them met. They were just...always there. It might be a good thing for him to talk to new people.

"Um, that's fine with me." He gave the other two students a quick grin. "So...do either of you have a movie you want to see? I'm drawing a blank right now..."

"I....Actually, I don't," Gloria mumbled, feeling her shyness return at full force. She dropped her gaze to her lap, staring at her hands clasped on the table. Why had she accepted? Well, of course it was to help Dirk make a friend, but why had she just blurted an agreement out like that? She didn't know what movies were playing at all, and now she felt like a fool.

"You see...I don't normally go to movies, th-though it would be fun!" she hastily added, hoping that she didn't come across as rude. "It's just...outdoors are more my thing, and reading books...I don't know if there's any movies based on books out, are there?" She glanced between the two boys, her face acquiring a bright red tint again. Except this was out of embarrassment and shyness, not lack of air.

"Ok. What movies are out? I haven't been to the theater yet." Dirk looked at the two, wondering if either had any clue what movies were out.

"I'm sure there are some non-scary movies out around now."

"I....Actually, I don't," Gloria stamered out. "You see...I don't normally go to movies, th-though it would be fun! It's just...outdoors are more my thing, and reading books...I don't know if there's any movies based on books out, are there?" He finished.

"Ok. What movies are out? I haven't been to the theater yet." Dirk threw in. "I'm sure there are some non-scary movies out around now."

Simon couldn't help but grin a little bit. Here they were, three high-school seniors who couldn't even name any movie out they wanted to see."Hey, don't worry about it, Glory. I'm pretty sure I can find some good movies out." He searched his brain once more. There had to be something. "Alright, how about this. We can head out to the Promenade later tonight or whenever's good with you too. I'm pretty sure there's a Movie Theater around there. Oh, right. Sunset Cinema is only a few blocks down. If there's no movies, we can just go keep something to eat or something."

He took a breath. SImon didn't like coming up with ideas, as he never seemed to be very good at it. Somehow, he would always end up with terrible or unworkable ideas. But Gloria wasn't too fond of taking the lead either, and he didn't know anything about Dirk. He seemed to be pretty go-with-the-flow, if proposing the idea of going to the movies with two random kids he barely knew the names of was any indication.

"So...do you guys want to go out later tonight?" Simon finished.

"Alright, how about this. We can head out to the Promenade later tonight or whenever's good with you too. I'm pretty sure there's a Movie Theater around there. Oh, right. Sunset Cinema is only a few blocks down. If there's no movies, we can just go keep something to eat or something," Simon offered, much to Gloria's relief.

She exhaled a deep breath that she didn't even know she'd been holding, flashing him a grateful smile. She knew how much talking so much bothered Simon, so saying this much at once was a brave feat for him. And it was very much appreciated, at least on Gloria's part. She reached over and laid a hand on his shoulder, to let him know that he did a good job.

"So...do you guys want to go out later tonight?" Simon finished.

Gloria's hand squeezed his shoulder before she pulled away, looking back at the table. "I think it's a great idea," she said shyly, then looked up at Dirk. "If it's okay by you, we can all meet at....six-thirty?" she ventured.

"Six-thirty. Sounds good to me. I'll meet you there." Dirk waved to his newfound friends as he headed out the door, carefully avoiding shelves with his backpack. He left the library grinning ear to ear. He had new friends. That would make his parents really happy.


(OOC: Does in game time count out here, or do we just go straight to the theater at 6:30?)

"I think it's a great idea," Gloria said shyly, then looked up at Dirk. "If it's okay by you, we can all meet at....six-thirty?" she ventured.

"Six-thirty. Sounds good to me. I'll meet you there." Dirk waved to them.

Simon felt like there was a period of time in which he missed the conservation thread. His shoulder, covered by only his fairly thin dress shirt felt a little warm from Gloria's hand. Or maybe he was just warm from a conbination of that and saying more then three sentences (and it was a proposal, at that) at one time to someone he never talked to before. It seemed, however, that it had paid off in the end. The boy seemed pleased, and Gloria seemed rather less nervous.

"Then it's settled. We can meet at the mall; I'll check the movie listings. If there's nothing we want to see, we can just stay there for a while." It took him a little time to realize Dirk had left almost as soon as Simon finshed the final words of his sentence. Well, everything had turned out alright, he repeated to himself.

Simon turned to Gloria. "Well, I have a Chess Club meeting I'm probably late for." The time didn't matter to him; he barely talked at the meetings. It was just a way to pass time, one that he enjoyed. Besides, staying a little later had proved to be worth it. He took the metal box under one of his arms.

"See you later, Glory!" He waved to her, trying to make his grin look natural- less nervous- before heading out the door. Still, he waited outside after putting the box on Mrs. Collin's desk. He didn't want to just leave Gloria in the room by herself.

((Simon Fletcher continues to The Intellectuals))
((After we're done with anything we want to do by ourselves, someone can make a topic for us to meet. It's not run on any sort of time.))