Survival Of The Fittest

((Hermione Sarah Miller introduction))

Hermione sat amongst friends on the foldable chair that she had one of the boys help her carry over to the tables. Smiling, she pulled out the overly designed but fancy and expensive Korean lunch box that her parents had purchased for her. She'd read about the stylish lunch box in the latest edition of Seventeen magazine and just had to have it.

In a matter of seconds, the lunchbox was unfolded, legs locking into place to form a sort of mini-platform table upon which the main course of tuna pasta bake was displayed. Accompanying Hermione's main meal was a glass of organic apple juice, some sort of mini-sushi rolls. The meal also included a rare treat - dessert in the form of four thick slices of fat-free chocolate cake. The extra three slipped into the luncheon case in case Hermione needed to share, of course.

Hermione flashed one of her dazzling smiles as she looked at the veritable feast laid out before her. It seemed that her mother had really pulled out all the stops in preparing a celebratory meal to congratulate her on her success at the latest beauty pageant. She didn't get first prize, of course, but she'd at least placed runner up.

Hermione gave the delicious treats before her a once over before tucking into her lunch starting with one of the chocolate cake slices, of course. A celebration was a celebration, after all. As she lifted a piece of delicious cake to her perfect, pink-red lips, she suddenly remembered herself.

"Oh, selfish of me!" she laughed, "I've got three extra pieces - anyone want one?"

(Alexander campbell continues from "Hey, what kind of meat do you think they put in these burgers"

Alex was on the way out of the cafetorium, passing Hermione's table as he heard her speak.

"Oh, selfish of me!" she laughed, "I've got three extra pieces - anyone want one?"

He smirked and leaned over her without breaking step, grabbing a piece of the cake.

He had shared a class or two with Hermione, and they'd sat next to each other a few times. He would tease her throughout class, making teasing flirty comments, always with a wry grin that seemed to imply he didn't mean it. In truth he had a soft spot for the girl. She was sweet, if perhaps a little slow on the uptake. Alex had a crush on most of his female friends. He seemed to have that knack of finding the friend zone unintentionally, never working up the courage to ask one out. Grinning, he didn't stay long at the table, turning to walk backwards as he took a bite.

"Why thank you my darling lover. I will of course see you tonight at my house for the party." he said, pointing to her, grinning that wide friendly grin, though the chocolate cake on his teeth spoiled the effect somewhat. He turned and made off towards his english class, munching on the cake as he went.

(Alexander Campbell continues in "A wretched hive of scum and villainy?" "Worse, high school students")

((Kimberly Nguyen continued from M.I.A.))

Kimberly had been sitting around the cafetorium, not paying attention to anything, when the words drifted across the room and wormed their way into her ears. Cake. Someone was offering chocolate cake. She took a moment to scope out the person doing the offering. Hermione. Kimberly had seen her around. She was one of the few at Bayview who actually seemed to put some effort into what she wore, even if it was popular stuff Kimberly would never be caught dead in. Putting forth some effort, putting oneself into one's appearance—those were things Kimberly could respect.

She got up and started that way, her heavy black boots clicking against the linoleum floor. She adjusted her fedora, pausing for a second as Alex wandered over to the table. She was afraid he would go through all the cake before she got there, but no, he only wanted one piece. Thank goodness for that; Kimberly had gotten the idea of cake into her head, and she would be fucking pissed if her wishes weren't fulfilled now.

Dodging a couple of freshmen, Kimberly reached the bench and took a seat right next to Hermione. She didn't pause at all to wonder whether her appearance would put the other girl off; black with cutesy skull motifs wasn't that unusual, was it? Anyways, there was something more important to deal with.

"Did you say you had extra cake?" Kimberly asked. It was mere formality; she was already reaching for a piece. "Thanks!"

Hermione squeaked in surprise as Alex's hand snaked its way over her shoulder and one of her cakes quickly disappeared. She started, then looked around before her eyes met Alex's.

Hermione flashed Alexander one of her dazzling smiles, the kind that she usually reserved for local advertisements. Truth be told, she found Alex to be a bit of a puzzle. While she rather liked his "bad boy" demeanour and his adorable devil-may-care attitude, she never really got to understand him all that well. Still, they did share a class and she could stand to get to know him a little better.

"Alex! Don't tease me like that!" She giggled coquettishly, "Sure I'll come to your party! I didn't forget, y'know. I gotta photo shoot just before, though, so I'll be late."

Hermione waved as Alex walked off, eating another small bite of cake and worrying a little.

Her first lingerie shoot.

Hermione's manager had arranged it just after her eighteenth birthday. The photos were going to go into the catalogue of a fairly famous underclothes brand and were going to be done by one of the best photographers. An opportunity like this could really pave the way to a successful modelling career, but Hermione was still nervous about the whole situation.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Kimberly taking her seat.

"Oh... sure! Go ahead!" Hermione replied quickly as Kimberly snagged a piece of fat-free chocolate cake, "Help yourself!"

Hermione didn't really recognise Kimberly, but she'd always kept a rule of having an open table. It made her more accessible to others and she liked being surrounded by friends and peers.

"Thanks," Kimberly replied, then took a bite of the cake. She started with a small sample; Kimberly always started small with food, so if she didn't like something she wouldn't be stuck spitting a mouthful out. That would be so embarrassing. It was a good thing, too, since the cake tasted like shit. It was as if she'd eaten a big bite of sugar mixed with sand or something. She took another, larger bite, just to be sure. Nope. Still nasty. She forced it down, then said, trying to cover up her disgust (couldn't go losing control of the situation), "So, how're you doing today?"

It was an awkward, generic conversation starter, but what the hell. Kimberly figured anyone who cared about fashion and was in the habit of giving away free cake (even shitty cake) was someone worth being acquainted with. And, hey, maybe she could even introduce Hermione to the virtues of attractive clothes. Stuff that was tight, black, leather, lacy, and/or covered in chains. Kimberly inconspicuously sized Hermione up. The girl could certainly pull off the look, if she dyed most of her hair black. Then again, she could probably pull off whatever look she damn well wanted.

Oh, and Kimberly would teach her about real food, too. Real food that didn't taste like it had been baked by the Devil himself as a special torment.

She yawned, stuck a bit more cake in her mouth (She had to power through this, now. She didn't know why, but it was important to her. She would finish this fucking piece of cake. Maybe it was simply something in Hermione's demeanor that was setting her off, but there was no way in hell Kimberly was going to lose her composure or control of this situation. Any awkwardness would be injected by her own choice, not external circumstances), and then said, talking with her mouth full (like that. How's that for awkwardness? Ball's in your court now), "Anything interesting going on?"

It was just petty small talk, but whatever. There was still another spare piece of cake, leering at them. Kimberly hoped somebody else would come over and eat it. Then they could choke or something and balance would be restored to the universe.

Hermione concentrated on her own food, lifting pieces of pasta into her mouth and chewing with a happy smile. She was glad to be able to share food with her friends and, in her own confused yet good-natured way, was rather happy that her offer of cake had attracted a newcomer to her table. With a regal wave of her hand, she gestured to the gaggle of freshmen students clustered around her table, indicating that they should make space for the newcomer.

After having chewed and swallowed her pasta, Hermione beamed at Kimberly. She was definitely proud of her latest achievement and was more than happy to share.

"I'm really good, thanks for asking! I just placed in the Miss Teen pageant." she said. "Actually, this year's the last year I can be in that pageant. Just turned 18, you know? So the cake's for celebrating with. Can you believe it's non-fat? Mom got the recipe the other day and it's really good, don't you think?"

If Hermione noticed anything strange about Kimberly's behavior, she was far too polite to bring attention to it. In a sense, she had no idea that Kimberly loathed the taste of her cake. She looked at Kimberly, trying to gauge the other girl's reaction to the news.

As Kimberly forced the cake down, Hermione thought about a few things that were going on at Bayview. She wasn't sure if Alex had invited Kimberly to the party, but it would be nice to have another "girlfriend" at the party in case things went awry.

"Alex Campbell is having a party at his place tonight. You going?" she asked.

"Congrats," Kimberly said when Hermione mentioned placing in... some sort of pageant? What was it, a beauty contest? That was certainly possible, but Ms. Teen sounded like Ms. America, something Kimberly wasn't all that excited about. Hadn't one of those contestants been unable to spell her own home state's name or something? Whatever. Hermione didn't seem dumb. The throng of sycophantic freshmen, on the other hand...

Kimberly ignored them. She simply acted as though they did not exist. She didn't look at them. She didn't acknowledge them. She didn't take notice of them. It was rude as hell, but they were annoying, and, moreover, freshmen. It wasn't like there was anything they could do about it.

"Ah," Kimberly said when Hermione explained that the cake was her mother's recipe. Then she added, "It's quite unique. Very... Lovecraftian." There. The perfect adjective. Something that sounded good unless you knew what it meant, and Kimberly was damn sure Hermione wouldn't have a clue. The freshmen wouldn't either, not if they were still in the sheep-like following phase. No, it was her own private joke. She just had to avoid laughing, something which, for once, she pulled off, if only because it made the whole thing funnier.

Then Hermione mentioned a party. Alex was throwing a party. Was Kimberly going? She was now, that was for sure. She hadn't been to a party in awhile, not since Justin's, and there was no way she was going to make the mistakes she had there again. No, no alcohol stronger than beer for her, this time. Fuck Vodka. Fuck Whiskey. Of course, she didn't really know Alex so well. It could turn out to be a boring party, but... Nah. If it was, she would leave.

"Sure am," she replied, fairly smoothly. "Just... shoot, I forgot his address. I'm hopeless with directions. Always have to mapquest things."

Again, she was keeping control of the situation. Get the address. Don't reveal that you weren't invited. Stay cool, and no one will question you. She shoved the remaining cake into her mouth, tried to swallow it down, choked, and hacked for a second. Then she managed to clear her throat and said, quietly, "Sorry, took too big a bite. You know how it goes."

Kimberly's reference to Lovecraft flew straight over Hermione's head and nestled in the rafters of the cafetorium, probably to raise a growing brood of one-liners. Despite her ignorance, Hermione was almost sure that Kimberly was being sarcastic when she said the unrecognizable word. Perhaps she didn't really like chocolate.

"Thanks. It was definitely crafted with love." Hermione said with a genial smile.

She slid her hand into her pocket and drew out a piece of thick tissue. She was about to pass the tissue to Kimberly for the purposes of surreptitious cake disposal when the other girl had shoved the entire cake into her mouth and forced it down.

Hermione was impressed. It wasn't often that she'd encountered other girls so polite that they'd eat something they hated just to make her feel better. She added Kimberly to her mental list of people to know.

Hermione may not have been the sharpest tack in the barrel, but her finely tuned social instincts could recognize disinterest when she heard it. Kimberly's offhand congratulations were a definite signal that she wasn't interested in the world of pageantry. It was time to move on to other topics.

"Oh. Don't worry about that. Here, I'll get his address for you." She said.

Hermione looked around for a pen and paper, but soon found them conveniently passed to her by one of the freshman throng. She was definitely feeling insecure about the photo shoot in the afternoon and having someone else come along to keep her company would be a real morale booster, especially someone as nice as Kimberly. Hermione scribbled Alex's address on the paper and the paper over to Kimberly. The pen was absent-mindedly handed back to one of the other freshmen in the happy hope that it would make its way back to its owner.

"I'll be happy to take you to the party if you don't mind detouring for a bit. I have a photoshoot this afternoon and I'd really like it if someone else could come. You might even get a few pictures in, yourself." She said. "We could meet at the gates after school?"

"If you don't have any other things to do, of course." She added quickly with a laugh, "I mean, I don't want to take you away from your friends or any plans you have."

Excellent. Not only had Kimberly scored the address, she had also picked up an invitation to attend... something. A photo shoot? Well, hell, could be interesting. Worth checking out, at the very least. If it got boring, she could just leave. Though she probably wouldn't, since getting a ride would be really, really nice. Kimberly always made sure to be safe at parties, and that meant no driving even if she could have begged her grandparents' car (she probably could have; no way they would care if she was driving drunk unless she wrapped it around a tree). Normally, she slogged home in the early hours of the morning, after a grueling ride on a smelly bus with drunks and hobos.

"Nah, sounds good," Kimberly replied, thankfully getting rid of the cake in the proffered napkin. It didn't bother her that Hermione knew about her distaste for the dessert, as it seemed they had both silently agreed to ignore it. "I've never been to a photoshoot before. Sounds interesting. Is it, like, professional?" That was something she actually was curious about. She'd heard some horror stories about the sort of stuff models went through, and if Hermione had any experience in that area, and wasn't one of those horror stories herself (she sure didn't seem to be), then Kimberly could bug her about it later.

She glanced around, for the first time taking notice of the freshmen. It was interesting, how people tended to want somebody to follow. Most of the school was like that, following trends, acting as cliques, lacking in individuality. Kimberly hated it. She was not a follower. She wasn't that much of a leader, though she usually got pressed into that role, but she preferred to just do her own thing. She got along best with other people that were the same, or who lead (well, okay, she didn't always get along with them so well, but she respected them more). Hermione seemed to be the leader sort. She just had shitty taste in minions. Kimberly made a mental note to bring that up later, in a casual and polite fashion. The phrase "Don't those fools get on your nerves?" came to mind.

((PS Love Ya Lingerie is an imaginary company created for the purposes for this roleplay. This post can be edited in accordance to any moderator requirements. Please PM me if this is so.))

Hermione gave Kimberly a knowing nod as the girl disposed of the cake. She had, by now, finished her main course of pasta had started on the sushi rolls, spearing each piece with her fork and dabbing them liberally with soy sauce from another container.

"Oh! Yeah. Definitely professional. Lights, backdrops, hair, makeup – the works, really." She said. "My manager set it up. It's for PS Love Ya's Fall Collection."

There was just the slightest hint of a quiver in her voice.

PS Love Ya was a small specialty lingerie chain, a start-up really and Hermione was one of ten models picked for their fall catalogue. Hermione had already been working hard on toning her body to match the standards required for a lingerie shoot, but she was still more than a little nervous about baring her body for the camera. She'd done catwalks in bikini before, but lingerie was something different. The sort of poses she'd be expected to do were too intimate… too bedroom. Deep inside, she wondered if she could really pull it off.

"I could totally use having someone else there for moral support." She said, "You in?"

Kimberly was not the best reader of people, not by a long shot, but she thought she detected a hint of nervousness in Hermione's voice. That was odd. Kimberly had never heard of the company before, but if they didn't specialize in actually fun clothing, that was no surprise at all. Now her curiosity was piqued. Hermione's request for moral support solidified that. Kimberly would definitely go, partially to see what the fuss was about, and partially because she found herself liking Hermione.

"Cool," she said. "I'll definitely go along. Sounds like a real production. Bet you'll have a blast!"

Kimberly wondered whether the freshmen swarm would be coming with too. Probably not. They didn't seem the sort for any real support. In fact, they seemed totally ignorable (not that that was different from freshmen as a whole). She was glad that they were at least courteous enough to avoid interrupting her discussion with Hermione. Kimberly absolutely hated being interrupted, even though she cut into people's sentences all the time.

Hermione dabbed her lips with a handkerchief after swallowing the last of her mini-sushis. With a practiced hand, she packed all the containers back into the box, folding everything up and cleaning the table a little so that not a single crumb or food speck could be found on the spot where she ate. The remaining cakes were distributed to two girls in the freshman swarm, who eagerly ate the food in a manner reminiscent of baby birds being fed by their mother.

"Great! Then it's a date." Hermione said with a wink, "I'll drive you there if you meet me on the front steps after school. I've got a Mini, so you won't miss it."

Like all of Hermione's nice things, the (very) expensive Mini Cooper was purchased through a combination of parental indulgence, pageant prize money and modeling fees. With its stylish red, white and blue paint job, the fashionable little car was quite distinct from other cars in the parking lot in that it always looked like it came out fresh from the showroom floor. Hermione was the sort of person who took care of her things once she got them.

Having packed all of her food away, Hermione stood up just in time for the bell to chime the end of recess.

"I've got a class up next so… I'll see you later!" she said.

((Hermione carried on to I'm too sexy for my shirt..., which is 18+))

Hermione gave directions to Kimberly, explaining where they would meet, and Kimberly nodded. Everything sounded good to her. She said, "I'll see you there, then. Thanks!"

She wasn't exactly sure what a Mini was (Kimberly was never the sort to pay much attention to cars), but it sounded fancy, which would probably be enough to go by. Hermione seemed the sort to have fancy things. Kimberly had never been one for them herself, but that was due more to image than lack of means. Actually, some of her clothes were a bit on the expensive side...

And then class was over. Kimberly had less to pack than Hermione, but stayed seated until the other girl was done. Then she said, "See you later!" and headed off to her own class.

((Kimberly Nguyen continued in I'm too sexy for my shirt...))