The night for thieves

[Lex Lively]

Fortunately, or rather unfortunately, Lex had experience dodging thrown objects. She was ready this time, too, for Iris to act on her anger. She ducked the hurled hairbrush, which hit the wall behind her. Having objects thrown at her head didn't exactly improve Lex's mood. Neither did the accusations that Iris was shouting at her.

Since the event on the beach, Lex had thought that Iris had at least seen what her dad had done to Phrixos, but clearly she hadn't. She was still just in as much denial now as she had been then. "I'm not a liar!" She wasn't talking about stealing anymore. "Is your brother a liar too? Did he lie about what your dad did?" Lex shouted back. And just as Iris' words were meant for someone else, Lex's were now directed at all those people who had doubted her over the years and those who had defended other abusers. "Me? You're the one choosing your dad over your family. Your brothers protected you and you still take his side!" Lex had no idea if Pratt and Patrick really protected Iris, she assumed they had, but it wasn't really about them. It was about her and James and her terror that he would turn his back on her.

Did what Iris said mean that she was going to turn her in to Cook? It sounded like it. "Go ahead and do it!" She pointed to the door for emphasis. "Then all your problems can go away and you can go on pretending." It was a dare, but she was terrified Iris would take it. She felt sick. Both like she might throw up and like knees were about to buckle.

When Katrien emerged from the bathroom, Lex sidestepped the door and turned so that she could see both Iris and Kit. She didn't know what to make of bandages now or what Katrien had said. It wasn't at all in the realm of what she had expected. "That's the dumbest thing I ever heard. Go to the mall," she snapped. In her confusion over Katrien's confession, she blurted out the first thing that popped into her head.

[Iris Pratt]

Why couldn't it be both? Why couldn't she both believe her father and her brothers? Why did she have to choose? There had to be a way for everything to make sense, for her not to take anyone's side. For everything to go back to perfect. Somewhere, at the back of her head, a voice was asking when it had ever been perfect, but Iris tuned it out.

Missing her throw made Iris' mood worse, just like having her throw it in the first place had angered Lex. "I won't!" she screamed, refusing to answer to Lex's other accusations. She already knew she hadn't come up with a solution yet and she was terrified that no matter what she said, Lex would prove her wrong. She would rather have her own image of her dad safely locked inside than have Lex try to tear it apart or take it away from her. He was her dad and it was none of Lex business. "I won't turn you in even though you deserve it!" Her breath came out in audible sobs, but she kept looking accusingly at Lex

"Why do you care anyway?" Iris wasn't talking about Principal Cook or Lex stealing anymore. Neither was she screaming. She had pulled her legs up onto her chair and was hugging them tightly as if they were a teddy bear. Her eyes were smudged with wet mascara and her cheeks were red and pluffy. Most people avoided the subject of her father's imprisonment when they talked to her. Andrew did. Kit did. Even her brothers weren't talking about it. But not Lex. Lex was the only one who got involved, who voiced her opinion and Iris couldn't understand why she didn't just leave her alone like everyone else did.

The doorknob clicked then turned. Iris mouth formed a small o as she looked at her half naked friend. Her eyebrows knitted together as she tried to comprehend the situation. The bandages were for Kit's chest, that was clear, but why Iris couldn't understand. She didn't understand anything. All the confusion in the room had Iris bursting into tears again. "Why... Why not?" she asked between sobs, blurting out the only question that seemed appropriate.

[Katrien Vogel]

Lex's response had her scrambling for her top. Go to the mall? For what? Was there some special kind of bra for girls that didn't want to grow boobs? Perhaps she shouldn't have revealed herself to them at that time. How could she think they'd comprehend? Neither of them were like her. Lex was a tomboy, but she wasn't completely ashamed of her body. Iris was the girliest girl she knew. She hadn't done it to expose herself, though. She'd done it to rescue Iris. To take the focus off of her and her father. Had it worked? She wasn't certain. Lex looked annoyed and Iris was bawling. Kit popped her head through the collar, looking neither Lex nor Iris in the eye.

Pushing her arms through her sleeves, she looked at Iris, then down at the floor in shame. "Because," she murmured. "Bras are for girly girls. They're pink and lacy and pretty and I don't want one. I don't want breasts, either. They don't look right on me and I don't want them. I want to be flat-chested forever."

[Lex Lively]

Of course Katrien would take Iris’ side. That was how to seemed to Lex, anyway. It was just like it had been on the beach, Katrien wavering between the two of them, trying to keep the peace and calm everyone down. But didn’t she see? Didn’t she understand? She knew what Iris didn’t and yet she still seemed to think that Lex was out of line. She looked Katrien over, her words pushing a memory to the front of her mind of when they had talked down at the docks. It seemed like forever ago and Lex had almost forgotten about that conversation. She remembered now wondering if Katrien wanted to be a boy and now she wondered it again. At the time she hadn’t considered what it meant, since she, too, had been jealous of boys sometimes. She still didn’t understand, but there was certainly something going on.

But she couldn’t deal with that, not right now. Iris was crying again and Lex felt on the verge of a meltdown. She couldn’t calm down and turn her attention to Katrien. At the beach, she had managed to calm down and drop the subject because she thought that Iris punching her was an indication that Iris had accepted what she’d said. Clearly that hadn’t been the case. Far from it. Knowing that, Lex felt incapable of stopping.

“Why do I care?” Lex repeated, her voice cracked, but her tone strangely calm, almost in disbelief. She glanced briefly to Katrien, her eyes narrowed and reflecting the hurt that Katrien hadn’t done anything to back her up or show she understood. Lex had told Katrien more than she’d ever told anyone. There was so much she wanted to say. About her dad and her brother and how every word Iris said was like a defense of her own dad. She wanted to say that she hated Iris’ dad because he had hurt Iris. But she couldn’t, she couldn’t say any of those things.

Without looking at either Katrien or Iris, Lex fled from the room. The door burst open with accidental magic before she reached it, then she was out and sprinting blindly down the hallway.

[Iris Pratt]

Iris hated Lex. She hated everyone. Stupid Az for calling the police and sending her dad to prison. Stupid Lex for telling her he should rot there. And stupid dad. Stupid dad and stupid Az and stupid Lex. She hated all of them. Az had left her when she needed him. Her dad had left her. Probably forever. And now Lex was leaving too. The sound of the slamming door made her flinch as the sound echoed in her head. She looked over at the friend still in the room. Kit hadn't left. Kit was still there. Without thinking about it, Iris jumped up from her chair and ran over to the other girl. She needed someone to hold. To feel that there was someone still there.

"I still don't understand", she cried while wrapping her arms around her friend. She still didn't understand anything. But if she could just understand Katrien, maybe the rest would work it's way into something that made sense too. Iris didn't want big breasts either, not the heavy ones that she had seen on some older ladies. There was no way you could run or jump or climb with those and she imagined they would just be in the way when she was flying. Was that what Kit had meant when she said she wanted to be flatchested? That she wanted to be able to run? To be honest, the main reason Iris even wanted breasts herself was so she could start wearing those cute pink lacey bras that Kit seemed to hate.

[Xena]

Marian had heard the fight clear down the hall and upstairs in her private room.  She had been taking a bubble bath when it started, so now, end of bath, she toweled off and got dressed, then proceeded down the hallway, her hair dripping wet and glasses askew.

"Oof!"  a student, who seemed to be hurrying down the hallway without looking, collided with her.  "Excuse you!" 

Even more angry,  she found the noisy door and pounded on the doorway.  "Let me in, NOW!"  Impatient, she opened the door, looking from one teary hugging girl to the next.  "How dare you think this is a place for a shouting match.  This is a dorm.  You are supposed to respect the right of others to study and sleep and take baths. You three are the only ones with three to a room. It was an experiment.  Well, it failed.  All three of you, report to Cook's office before breakfast tomorrow.  You will likely all three be reassigned to different rooms, but at least one of you will move for sure."  

[Katrien Vogel]

It hadn't worked. If anything, her plan made everything worse. Iris was still upset, and Lex was still furious. So furious that she stormed out without even physically touching the door. The sound made her wince, and she stared at the door for a moment, wondering if she should go after Lex and hoping she'd just come right back in and apologize. By the time she turned back to Iris, the girl was only inches away, enveloping Kit in her arms.

On reflex, Katrien returned the embrace, cheek to wet cheek with Iris. What didn't she understand? Why Lex was so upset? What Kit was saying? Why her father was a sin? "I. . . I don't understand, either," she said quietly, heart thudding in her chest. "I mean, I understand Lex, and I understand you. I don't understand myself. So I don't think other people will understand, either."

She noticed how sweet Iris's hair smelled, and how warm and soft her skin was, even though her cheeks were streaked with tears. Katrien stroked the back of her head in what she hoped was a comforting way. "Everything's going to be okay, Iris," she whispered. "I'm here for you. I-"

Her words were cut short by the sudden entrance of the librarian. Kit didn't let go of Iris, as if she was protecting her from Dewsnip's words. When the woman was finally finished chiding them, she pulled away and frowned at the language arts teacher. "No! You can't split us up, you just can't," Kit half-pleaded, half-refused. "I need them."

[Lex Lively]

Lex continued down the hall after bumping into Dewsnip, not seeming to have noticed. She was about to run down the stairs when she realized that Dewsnip had gone to their dorm room. Lex stopped at the top of the stairs, peering around the corner to watch and listen. If it was possible, her heart sank even further at Dewsnip's words.  Split up? That wasn't what she had wanted at all. Who would they move, she wondered. If they moved one of them, it would be her, she was sure. Of the three of them, Lex had gotten in trouble the most, by far. Cook would probably blame it on her. She felt like sinking to the floor, but clutched the doorframe instead, her ears pricked to hear anything else Dewsnip said.

[Iris Pratt]

Kit would take care of her. Phrixos and Patrick too of course. And Andrew. But right now it was Kit who was there for her. Who stroked her hair and made her feel like everything would be okay. Who eased her sobbing and her breathing into quiet sniffles.

Iris head snapped back as she looked the librarian defiantly in the eyes. Her eyes were still red, but she was angry rather than sad. When Kit let go, Iris reached her hand out for her friend's, creating a united front against their enemy. Because that's what Marian Dewsnip had become. Just because she hated Lex didn't mean she wanted anyone to split them up. It just meant she was angry at her. "You can't!" she joined in on Kit's refusal, their voices mixing together. "We don't want to be split up and you can't force us." Her voice was demanding and superior, her eyes filled with indignation. Seeing her be so mean, Iris couldn't believe she had once liked Dewsnip. She was a horrible person. Cruel and stupid and mean.

But Iris was scared. She had full confidence in the fact that they could barricade the door if Cook or Dewsnip tried to make anyone of them move. What was worrying her was whether Lex would even want to stay with them anymore. Given the chance, would Lex jump to the oppurtunity of switching rooms? "You just can't", she concluded, stomping her foot for emphasize.

[Xena]

Marian was ready to smack the little princess.  How dare she speak to her that way! "You will do as you are told and show more respect for your elders.  If you were expecting that to persuade me to keep you with your little friends, you chose the exact wrong way to do so,"  she said to Iris, her eyes icy daggers.

"If this is the way you behave to a reprimand, you will be visited by Cook personally if you do not show up at her office.  Count on it."

[Katrien Vogel]

Kit clutched the hand of her friend, feeding off her resolve. "It was just an argument between friends. Can't you give us another chance? I suppose you get along with all of your friends all the time, huh?" she asked the librarian. "If a mean nerd like you has even got friends."

She instantly regretted her words, but felt empowered. Katrien hoped she hurt the librarian's feelings. Had she become one of those mean girls that hurt her feelings in elementary school? "Let her come! We're not separating," she heard herself say, as if she was outside of her body.

[Iris Pratt]

Iris started crying again. Somehow she couldn't seem to stop. Her bottom lip was quivering and her eyes were filling up with water. Deswnip's cold eyes were scaring her and for a moment, she reminded Iris of professor Glassman. She clutched Kit's hand back as hard as she could and took a step backwards, half-hiding behind her friend. Her other fingers she kept curled up into a fist by her side. Dewsnip wouldn't have dared talk to her like that, dared threaten to split them up, if her father hadn't been locked up. All it would have taken was one owl and Phrixos Azrael Pratt III would have showed them all what happens to people who mistreat any of the Pratts. A book she had read not that long ago floated through her mind of a girl at boarding school who had everything she wanted, but started to get treated like a servant once her father died. Was that what would happen to her now? Would they make her scrub the floors and run errands? No, Iris decided. She wouldn't let them. Just like she wouldn't let them force them to switch rooms.

A feeling of admiration filled Iris, even as she held her breath out of dread, when Kit called Dewsnip a nerd. Called a teacher names. It was just as daring as Lex stealing, but in a much cooler way. Besides, noone would expell you for calling the librarian a nerd, would they? She wasn't quite as daring herself when it came to talking back against grownups. "Why are you being so mean?" she asked Dewsnip sullenly, her lips pouting defiantly.

[Xena]

"I'm not usually mean, nor am I now.  I am a teacher and worthy of your respect.  Both of you have shown serious disrespect to me, and will be punished. Expect to hear from Cook soon.  Good evening girls."  She hoped they found a way to enjoy their last night together.  With that, she turned on her heel and left the room.

[Katrien Vogel]

Kit kept a firm grip on Iris's hand, even as she moved back. Her eyes watered and a lump formed in her throat as the librarian responded then left. A swirling pit of guilt formed in her stomach as a fleeting thought passed through her mind. I hope Lex gets moved out. She didn't mean it, not one bit. Katrien didn't want either of her friends to be moved out. The thought was merely a product of her affection for Iris. Knowing she might be spending less time with her was upsetting.

Her hand dropped away from Iris's before she turned around. "I don't want to split up," Kit said, voice throaty and thick with emotion. "I love you, Iris."

Big, shiny tears spilled over onto her cheeks as Katrien wrapped her arms around her roommate. She'd said what she'd been wanting to say for so long. But Iris probably wouldn't understand it the way she'd meant it. And that was okay. Kit had gotten it out, and that's all that mattered to her.

She pulled away, smiling sadly. "This might be our last night living together," Kit forced a swallow past the lump in her throat. "We should do something special."

As Kit said this, she cupped Iris's jaw on one side and brushed away her tears with a thumb. "We can still have sleepovers. It's not the same, but it's something."

[Iris Pratt]

Iris let herself be hugged, enjoying the feeling of someone else's arms around her. Her eyes dried up when Dewsnip left the roomas if it was only the sight of her that had been upsetting. What a meanie that one was. Perhaps she should write a letter to dad anyway, or atleast ask Phrixos for help. He was her brother atterall and practically an adult. He would know what to do. "I love you too", she murmured into Kit's sweater. "You're my best friend."

At Kit's comfort, Iris took a second to think about it. Was there any rule against how many nights you could sleep in someone else's dorm? There shouldn't be, she thought. It would be a stupid rule if  there was. "We can have sleepovers every night", she continued her trail of thought. Her mood started to lighten at the idea and she was getting excited. It wouldn't matter if they were split up. They could still go on as usual.

Still, she liked the thought of making it special. Their possibly last day as official roommates. As Kit erased the last trace of her crying fit from her cheek, Iris smiled and nodded. "We should make up with Lex first. I don't like fighting with her." Having Dewsnip come in and yell at them had calmed her regarding Lex and her aggression and hatred had moved onto the librarian.