Alice "Valerie" Callinder's Story

"Now, make sure that you continue your studies. No slacking off, and if you get into any trouble, I'm having you shipped back here immediately."

A soft frown flitted across the young girl's face, and for a moment, she stared down at the box in her hands. When she turned her face upwards to look at her grandmother, she nodded slightly.

"I understand, grandmother," she said quietly, her fingers tightening slightly around the box, which held bubble-wrapped mementos from her childhood. The old woman held her chin high, attempting to look down her nose at the taller, younger girl and failing, yet succeeding in sending small chills down her spine.

"I sincerely hope you do, child. You know the consequences of not meeting my standards. Ensure that you keep up, or it's off to military school," she said stiffly, her knobby hands folded over one another.

Valerie looked at her, the woman that had taken care of her since she was eight, and on a sudden urge, placed the box on top of the limousine, her arms throwing around the frail woman.

"I'll miss you, grandmother. I'm ..." There were no amount of words that could express the emotions that she was feeling in that moment. Sorrow, joy, anxiety, nervousness, anticipation; they were all a jumbled mess together in the pit of her stomach, causing a butterfly-feeling of sorts deeply within. When she finally released her and turned away from the mansion that had become her home-away-from-home, she felt an odd sense of freedom, as if she were escaping some sort of a prison.

She had never felt more free then she did in that moment.

---

---

The drive across Europe was long and exhausting, and the ferry that she was to board and take across the Pacific Ocean was large and impressive; nothing less then what she expected her grandmother to do. The valet that had driven her assisted her in handing over her bags, most of which had already been sent to the Academy, the ones that she carried merely a couple of boxes that she had packed last minute, and her travel-on bag.

By the time she arrived in America, a day after she had left her grandmother's, she was more then ready to get settled in at the school and have a full-night's rest.

It was another two hours before Valerie reached the Academy's gates, and when she did, the window slid down and she leaned out, eager to breathe in the fresh air of the forest that surrounded it. By the time that they reached the front of the school, it was the middle of the school day, so around eleven o'clock in the morning, and a total of a day and a half after she had left.

The Head Dean of the school was there to greet her, having had received word of her arrival, and hastened to greet the young woman whose grandmother had donated a hefty amount of money, especially to get her in after the school year had begun. The forty-something-year-old woman gave her a brief tour of the campus using the map that had been emailed to Valerie. She explained how certain things worked around the campus, and then basically left the girl to find her merry way on her own. The driver who had brought her from the ferry and to the school bid her good-luck and then left, almost in a hurry it seemed, but with a slight shrug, she turned back to the school. Two teachers that had been standing with the Dean had already taken her things with them to her room, and she had been told that she was free to do whatever she wanted for the rest of the day - so long as it didn't break any rules, involve her leaving the campus, and that she didn't travel into the forest surrounding the campus.

With a slight shrug, she set off in search of food, figuring that perhaps there was some sort of lunch period going on at eleven-thirty in the afternoon.

After around twenty minutes of searching - and five times where she found herself lost - she managed to arrive at the cafeteria, a bit frazzled but none-the-worse-for-wear. Sadly, it was empty, and after further investigation - basically her asking when lunch was - she discovered that Lunch A had just concluded, and Lunch B would begin in ten minutes - at precisely noon. So there she settled in to wait, the Academy's cooks taking pity on her and allowing her to buy her lunch early. After eyeing the surprisingly-delicious looking Fettuccine Alfredo pasta, she nibbled on bits of chicken that had been tossed into the mixture, her intense blue eyes traversing the room, yet her head never moving.

Sam's eyes were riveted on the clock as it slowly ticked down the minutes until lunch. At various times, he could have sworn the second hand stopped, or jumped back one or two spots just to tease him as his lunch was so close, yet so very far away. Suppressing a yawn, his hand made it's way up to his mouth to cover it involuntarily and caused his stomach to grumble quite noisily. Audrey was straight as an arrow in her chair close to him, while he sat slouched over, resting his head on his arms as his eyes strayed past his sister to Chess a bit away. He would have to think of something witty to say to her later, but for now... 'Sooooo close...' His eyes returned to the clock once more.

A grumbled approval was the only response he felt capable of as his sister teased him with her comment. The two cinnamon rolls he had eaten this morning were coupled with his bowl of oatmeal, a banana, and another granola bar as he made his way to his first class earlier. And they had faded long ago...each second torturing him as the bell refused to just go off already. Audrey was currently excited about the sneak peek they had just been given into their next assignment and Sam couldn't suppress the grin that sprang to his face. His sister was always so animated about everything and anything, from an amazing announcement to her schoolwork. She was definitely one of a kind.

The bell was like a gunshot at the beginning of a race, signaling everyone to spur into movement and flood out of the classroom. Sam let himself be easily led by his sister as she slipped her arm around him and he returned the gesture, rather than picking her up and sprinting to the cafeteria. "What if they're already just speaking 'Lionese' and are the aliens?" He inquired at his sister's new theory, smiling down at her as they entered the cafeteria. The room was relatively empty and Sam had a clear view of the food itself, sitting so delicately in all of their respective places as he began to step into their direction, only to be pulled the opposite direction by the human guide pet with an iron grip around him. 'Nooo!' He thought, 'We're going the wrong way...the food...it's over th--!'

Sam's screaming thoughts were cut off abruptly as Audrey dropped from her spot tugging him into a chair next to a girl he had never seen before. At least, he thought he had never seen...he was never really sure, but he couldn't imagine ever forgetting a face as pretty as this girl's was. He pinched himself slightly, hoping to God he hadn't dozed off suddenly only to have the girl before him twist into some gruesome beast and wake him for another sleepless night. 'Nope, not asleep...'

Audrey had jumped right into welcoming the girl and Sam once again marveled at how easily his wonderful sister could approach someone, especially someone at this school, without hesitation and make something so awkward seem so natural. Hesitating on the balls of his feet, Sam was torn between his two favorite subjects; the new girl and the food that was ever so close...

"Audrey," Sam said to the girl his sister sat next to, "my sister. I'm Sam. Welcome to Wonderland Academy." He paused log enough to smile, but his stomach decided to choose that exact moment to remind him why they were really in the cafeteria, no matter how many pretty girls were in front of him. Scratching his head, Sam glanced at the food lines, starting to generate a few people. "Excuse me a minute, I'll be right back. I'll grab yours too Audrey." Giving his sister a slight squeeze on the shoulder, he paced quickly away and to the growing food lines.

Grabbing both of their trays, Sam began piling one with his favorites, and the other with Audrey's. 'Please for the love of god don't leave before I get back...'

Malia had been enjoying a delightful dream about a place where everything on the ground was colored like the sky and that was how the inhabitants knew the time, and the sky was colored like the ground and served almost no purpose but growing crops. Sadly, the bell interrupted her, and she waved a lazy goodbye to the teacher as she darted to the cafeteria. If the got there quick she would have to pretend she understood what a person was so happy (or anything else, people tried to talk to her with all sorts of emotions) about when they started to talk to her. Of course, Tarrant and Harold sort of understood her after a year, but even that was not much understanding at all. Her 'We're all mad here' necklace tapped against her neck as she made a beeline for the nearest empty table, but she stopped short. Audrey, who Malia didn't really care for enough to call a true 'friend' but liked well enough to call her a 'good acquaintance' (witch was almost the best anyone could get with Malia- she really didn't divert all that much of her time to trying for things like 'caring emotions' and 'empathy' when she knew she couldn't feel them), was talking to a student Malia had never seen before. Even though Malia figured she must have slipped through her radar- it was easy to do after all- the girl looked very new and very unfamiliar. Though, the best she could manage to do was a simple wave before she sat down at her table- it would be far too much work to go over there and properly introduce herself, and she was sure one of the two people she called 'almost friends' would drag her over to be introduced anyway.

Malia threw her book bag into one of the chairs before walking over to the food lines. Even though it wasn't a good day for her, she was wearing a dress- it was black in color and very plain, like an over-sized shirt. Which it pretty much was. She also had on a jacket even though the weather wasn't right for it. It wasn't really to shield her from cold though, it was where she kept the army knife she had to fight to keep at the school, but was allowed all the same for her because she went berserk without some kind of weapon on her body. Side affect of watching murder- you became paranoid that you would be murdered. That, and the shut down of emotional centers. Well, that was how it worked for Malia at least. As she made her way through the line, which had grown considerably. Once her plate had a veggieburger on it and and apple slices, she figured she had enough and went back to her table, but not before stopping to nod to Sam, who seemed to be coming back from getting food for himself and his sister. She couldn't feel much, but she was anything but rude. Once settled, she let herself fall back into dreamland, imagining creatures to go with her Topsy-turvy land. She imagined people with jet packs as feet so they could harvest the crops and dogs with two heads that followed the sun around all day, keeping it running for it's life. The other head was in charge of the moon so the first could sleep during the night and the second could sleep during the day. She imagined a few more creatures before she got bored of that land and began to peck at her food sleepily, her mind tuning out everything.

Helena sat next to Audrey in most lessons. Today was no exception.
Usually Helena answered all of the questions but today she was more worries about the lines of cooking utensils in front of her.
It went
Bowl, recipe, spoon, whisk and measuring spoon
when it should be
Recipe, whisk, bowl, measuring Spoon and then Spoon .

She had changed the combination so many times through the duration of the lesson, this being her fifth attempt. However, she felt satisfied with this and pulled her concentration to a pocket watch she carried.
The watch itself had not worked for over a year, Helena had gotten lazy and never taken it to get it's battery changed. Yet she still used it to tell the time and of course she always thought when looking at it that she was going to be late... or even worse... unorganized.

She began to mutter something about being late before the lesson finished. Audrey and Sam went off like a shot. Both clearly hungry, must be a Bryant thing, Helena though as she neatly gathered her things.

As she left the class her phone buzzed in a jacket pocket.
Audrey explaining her motives which made Helena giggle and she weaved silently between a small crowed of people. She hated the corridors when they were busy, it made her feel really small which is why so she was so quick to try and get into the dining area.

She entered and spotted her beautiful friend instantly. She was talking to someone new. Someone that Helena had never ever seen.
Helena remembered every face of every student, part of her OCD forced her to remember each one. So this girl was definitely new.

Instead of going straight to Audrey, Helena followed Sam to the Que ' Hey Sam. You hungry there?' she joked in a small voice before beginning to pile her own tray.
' Here, let me get Audrey's. You go and talk to the new girl '.
Helena knew that Sam was a bit of a sucker for pretty girls.

“This time, please try to obey the laws of physics, Mr. Frasier,” the teacher growled as Dean gently pried the assignment from her wrinkly hands.

“ ‘Rules are meant to be broken’, madam! And laws as well, occasionally.”

“Frasier! Just you wait—“

But, Dean was already gone, slipping into the wave of juniors and seniors students making their way towards the cafeteria. Without looking at the paper in his hands, Dean shoved it into his bag. The sound of the paper crumbling was satisfying to Dean’s ears. If it had not been for the subject itself, Dean would have dropped this class immediately. Teachers, especially ones as dictatorial as the one who had handed him the paper, tended to rub him off the wrong way, and in return, Dean felt obliged to make their lives miserable.

Walking through the dense masses of students to the lunch room, Dean looked up quickly, gazing around above the heads of students. Satisfied that there were no teachers around, he lit a thin cigarette. Dean was grateful for the warm day as he walked down the window side of the hall, breathing out into the open air let in by open windows by teachers would be either too lazy or too hot to care about what he was doing. Reaching the end of the hallway, he snuffed it out before entering the large cafeteria, leaving a long trail of ash on the wall that he couldn’t care less about.

He wasn’t particularly hungry, and so stopped by the fruit bar, pushing through a few disgruntled students in line and grabbing an apple. He left hearing the exasperated sighs of students, who knew better than to push back when he pushed them around unless they wanted to embarrass themselves in front of their peers. As he walked to his usual seat, Dean noticed several students standing without food, talking animatedly. It looked like the leading siblings of the chess club, Sam and Audrey Bryant. Peering curiously past the two as he walked, Dean saw that they were speaking to an unfamiliar face. He frowned, moving slightly to the left to get a better luck. Must be a transfer, he reasoned to himself. Dean chose an empty table that was a bit closer to the girl, instead of the one he normally chose. He and Chess would normally meet up in the caf and sneak out to the trees just outside the forest. The sheer quantities of stupid in the room made them both twitchy and annoyed. This time, however, Dean hoped to find out more about this girl. Perhaps Chess would know something. He couldn’t imagine a reason as to how she could, but Chess had ways of surprising him. She’d done it before...

Dean hopped onto the table, planting his feet firmly on the seat of the chair in front of him. Taking a bite of the apple, he tapped his fingers softly on his knee, thinking about this mysterious new arrival.

“SMACK!”

Meg slammed her textbook shut, and shoved it aside. It was a bright hot day in October, and only five minutes left till lunch. She's been growing impatient with every new minute, since about half an hour ago, and the crawling hands of the clock were beginning to tick her off. Three minutes until lunch.

Just as the bell was going off, Meg threw her bag to her brother, and marched towards the door. People stepped aside to let her pass, she floated right past the faceless mob, and out towards freedom. Her faithful club followed close behind. Out in the halls, everybody parted before her. Meg grinned smugly, this is what she was made for. Ultimately, this whole school, this whole world would be at her mercy. But for the moment, she only needed food!

The cafeteria was already buzzing with students. Meg dropped her bags into a chair, and let herself fall lightly into the one next to it. She leaned her head onto her palm, her eyes drifting lazily over the boring faces of her “comrades”. A small group of particularly obnoxious individuals gathered around one of the tables caught her attention. They were clearly agitated, speaking louder than seemed necessary. Meg frowned, but resisted the urge to move from her seat. She'll send Petra to investigate as soon as she's back with the food. She was about to turn away when little Audrey shifted her chair over, revealing a new, unfamiliar face. "A transfer?" This caused Meg to instantly forget her food, and with that her good disposition. She was supposed to be informed of any novelties happening in the school, and even the slightest deviation from that rule was enough to anger her. Clearly, she needed to have a nice long chat with her pets. But not now. Meg jumped from her seat and advanced towards this unknown creature, her followers instantly at her sides.

It was only five minutes after Valerie had settled in to eat when the bell rang. Needless to say, it scared the shit out of her. She nearly flung a carrot across the room in fright. She managed to calm her fast-racing heart, but it jumped into her throat as the swarm of students came. Her normal bravery disappeared, and she found herself ducking her head, attempting to use her blonde hair as some sort of a shield. It seemed to work - at first. And then she came.

Out of nowhere, she felt arms wrap around her body, nearly strangling her in their tight grip. A soft gasp escaped Val's lips, and her head was yanked to the girl's shoulder, where her chin came to rest.

"Jesus Christ," she wheezed, more stunned at the girl's strength then by the sudden hug that came out of nowhere.


"Hello! You look very new to me. Are you a transfer?" It seemed only then that the girl realized that she was invading her personal space, and finally released her. Valerie leaned back and drew in a breath, before letting it out slowly. "Oh my, I'm sorry if you didn't want to be hugged! I do it without thinking!"

"No, it's quite alright," Valerie said quietly, leaning back to catch her breath. She brushed a stray strand of hair from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Her eyes moved to the boy that had accompanied the girl, and making a fleeting note that he was extremely handsome, she turned her attention back to the girl. But it was only to return her gaze to the boy, who had begun introductions.

"Audrey ... My sister. I'm Sam. Welcome to Wonderland Academy." His smile was calming, and she felt herself relax. "Excuse me a minute, I'll be right back. I'll grab yours too Audrey." His hand touched his sister's shoulder before he took of at a surprisingly fast walk towards the foot lines, and she leaned forward a bit to stare after him.

Nice ass though ...

A soft blush rose to her cheeks as she only then realized that the girl, Audrey, was still sitting there. And she was his sister of all things. To have had such thoughts about the girl's brother right in front of her was terrible. She dropped back onto her seat again and looked at the other girl.

"My name is Valerie. Valerie Callinder. It's a pleasure to be of your acquaintance, Audrey. And of your brother's, but I will tell him that when he returns," she said with a smile, not bothering to conceal her accent, for when she attempted to, it only ended up growing thicker.

It was at that moment that a slightly-disturbing boy with extremely curly dark hair dropped down onto a table nearby - quite loudly, might she add - and propped his feet on a chair. That's a bit disrespectful ... It wasn't her business, however, and with a slight shrug, she turned back to the conversation at hand, which was with Audrey, and attempted to ignore the stare that she was receiving from the boy.

Once again, however, her attention was taken from Audrey and redirected to the next person to approach the table. Her neck was beginning to ache from turning her head so often, and she was growing annoyed with it. When she saw who had slammed their tray onto the table across from her, though, her annoyed state was dashed from her, and instead replaced with a joyous one that could not be swiped away by anything.

"Tarrant!?" she blinked, her eyes fluttering quickly in surprise. After the surprise had faded, a slow grin began to stretch across her face, and before she realized what she was doing, she had propped one foot on top of the seat she was currently using, and threw herself across the table. She had successfully ended up tackling Tarrant from his seat, but oddly enough, she didn't care. She was far too busy squealing with excitement.

"Tarrant, Tarrant, Tarrant!" she cried, her arms latched around his neck. "I've missed you, Mister Hatter!" she laughed, burying her face in his shoulder. She clung to him like that for several moments, before she leaned back and dropped onto the heels of her feet, finally releasing him. Her smile trembled a bit, however, as she helped him up and he introduced her to Audrey, whom she had already met and would undoubtedly be confused by the different names. Therefore, she spun on her heel to face the girl, a sheepish grin on her face.

"My sincerest apologies for the confusion, Audrey," she said, her accent causing a slight lilt to be heard when she spoke the name for the first time. "My name is Alice Valerie Callinder, but I prefer to go by Valerie. It's quite a long story, but I would great appreciate your kindness in calling me by my preferred name," she said quietly, her eyes glancing down.

She hadn't told Tarrant about Amanda yet, and hadn't planned to until ... Well ... Never, actually. But now that she was faced with seeing him day-in and day-out?

She had no choice but to tell him.

Her grin faded as a deep sorrow rose up in her and threatened to burst in what would be a tsunami of tears if she allowed it to release and free itself. But with what she considered a great deal of strength, she shoved it back and instead lifted her hand to reach for her ever-present necklaces. She drew them out from under her dress, holding both lockets in the palm of her hand.

"Amanda ... She's ..." A pause, for she was almost certain that she wouldn't be able to continue. After a trembling, deep breath, she wrapped her fingers around the lockets and rings, closed her eyes, and spit out the words in a quick breath.

"She's dead, Tarrant. Skilled killed herself two months ago. That's why ... That's why I'm here."

She turned away, her eyes tightly closed and her face oddly pale. Her lips were dry. She couldn't help it.

"I'm ... I'm sorry. If you'll excuse me," she said, her voice a raspy whisper. She turned and ducked around Tarrant, her boots making soft taps on the floor as she fled the room, her hand tight around the lockets. She rushed past Sam and a girl that was speaking to him, ducking her head so as to hide the faint tears that clung on her lashes, and practically threw herself through the doors. She didn't stop running until she felt a small twinge in her side, which was the side-affect of running so soon after she had ate. She leaned against a set of lockers, her hands on her knees as she bent over at the waist, and her eyes closed.

A sly, female voice tore her out of her attempt to catch her breath.

"And who might you be?"

Valerie jumped and stumbled back a few steps, her head darted from side to side. She turned in a complete circle, before finally looking up and spotting a girl who was currently lounging on top of the lockers.

"You should get down from there, doll, else you hurt yourself," she said, her brows drawn together.

"Oh, please ... And refer to me as Chess or Cheshire."

"I seem to fancy calling you Cheshire Puss more then Chess or Cheshire, for how could you have managed to climb those lockers unless you were as lithe as a cat? Also, would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?"

"That depends a good deal on where you want to get to," the girl replied.

"I don't much care where--' Valerie began.

"Then it doesn't matter which way you go," the girl cut in.

"--so long as I get SOMEWHERE," Valerie concluded, so as to explain further.

"Oh, you're sure to do that, if you only walk long enough," the girl instructed lazily.

This was getting her nowhere, and Val could feel her frustrations rising. In an effort to calm herself, she held her breath, counted to ten, and let it out slowly before trying again. "What sort of people live about here?"

"In that direction," she motioned towards the cafeteria, "lives a Hatter." She couldn't possibly be talking about Tarrant ... Could she? "And in that direction, she motioned the way that Valerie had been heading, "Lives a March Hare. Visit either you like: they're both mad."

They're both mad? Either she meant they were angry, or insane, bu there wasn't any way they could be either, and there was no way that she could know if both were angry in that moment. "But I don't want to go among mad people," she frowned, her brows drawing together.

"Oh, you can't help that," she chuckled, moving slightly to stretch. "We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad."

This was ridiculous. "How do you know I'm mad?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"You must be, or you wouldn't have come here." But it was a school, for crymony's sakes! Of course she would come here. It was a prestigious school for teenagers with her intellect. What did insanity have to do with any of it? What the girl had said did not prove the theory of madness in the least.

"And how do you know that you're mad?"

"To begin with, a dog's not mad. You grant that?"

"I ... I suppose so," Valerie answered cautiously.

"Well, then ... You see, a dog growls when it's angry, and wags its tail when it's pleased. Now I growl when I'm pleased, and wag my tail when I'm angry. Therefore I'm mad."

"I call it purring, not growling," she pointed out, priding herself on being quite the smart ass, for it was true; the girl resembled a cat so entirely that it was almost frightening.

"Call it what you like."

The girl practically slinked away, a mysterious grin on her face.

"What the fuck ... Was that?" Her sorrow momentarily gone, she stared after the girl with an expression that was one of disbelief mixed with confusion and awe.

"What ... The fuck?"

With a shake of her head, she puffed out a breath and headed back in the direction of the cafeteria. When she returned, she was obviously embarrassed, but her tears had dried and she was calm once more. She did, however, approach the table that she had been sitting at before with a weariness that was obvious enough to cut with a knife.

"I'm ... I'm sorry about before," she said sheepishly, shifting her weight a bit. "I just can't help but grow upset when I think of my sister. It won't happen again," she said, sliding back into her seat. She plucked up her apple and held it out towards Tarrant with a grin. "Yours fell on the floor, you big oaf. You should be more careful with your food. After all these years, and I'm still picking up after and feeding you," she laughed, leaning across the table and press the apple between his teeth so that it stayed. She then leaned back and looked up at Sam and the girl from before as they approached the table, for she hadn't been gone long, but long enough for them to finish getting food for themselves and Audrey.

"Hello, my name is Valerie. It's a pleasure," she said, holding her hand out to the girl. She cast a wink at Sam after shaking the girl's hand, and then lowered herself back into her seat. "I am from Germany, but I lived her when I was younger. Is there any advice that you lot can give me about the school?"

'And then there was pie....'

Sam reached for a piece as he set one on his and Audrey's trays, the crisp and flaky crust and gooey golden center looking more and more delicious the closer it came until finally setting it on the plastic trays. The two trays were a direct contrast from each other as well; Sam's piled with a random assortment of any and all things he considered eating at the moment, and Audrey's delicately put together with her usual. 'So different in appearance, yet how well the two went together...'

His eyes left the two trays as he caught sight of Malia for a moment as she glided easily past him. Her plain dress and not-at-all extravagant clothing seemed to focus more attention on her beautiful features and Sam had a hard time not following her with his eyes as she nodded to him before passing by on her way. 'I definitely joined the wrong club.'

"Here, let me get Audrey's. You go and talk to the new girl."

A familiar voice behind him piped up and Sam wiped the stupid grin off his face, only to have it replaced at the sight of his fellow club member, and Audrey's best friend, Helena. Being a tad distracted, he hadn't noticed her walk up and begin loading her own tray. 'Wait, new girl?' He had no idea who she was talking about, Malia was by no means a new girl. Trying to puzzle it out for a moment, Sam turned back to look at her sister, now sitting with Tarrant, a rather comical man, and a blonde-haired girl... 'Oh crap, the new girl!' Mentally slapping himself, he couldn't believe he had nearly forgotten all about the new arrival.

"Helena, you are the best, you know that?" Sam began to turn so fast back toward the table, he nearly slung his tray with all of his precious food atop it. But he paused for a moment, realizing how much of an idiot he was seeming at the moment. He picked up Audrey's tray with his off hand, and gestured back toward the table for Helena to follow. There was no reason for the smaller girl to carry two trays while he selfishly only carried his own. "It's fine," he laughed, "I'll wait for you, it's not like she's going anywhere..." And when he turned back, his face blanched as the girl made a quick exit from the cafeteria. 'Damn...'

He was a second too late, but he still would have done the same. Helena was too good of a friend to just abandon for a pretty face he didn't even know...yet. So he waited patiently as Helena finished with her tray and walked with her back to the table. And to his delighted surprise, the girl arrived back just before they did. Placing Audrey's tray before her, he walked around the other side of the table so Helena could sit next to his sister, nodding to Dean in the process. Taking up the seat next to Tarrant, he greeted the colorful giant before returning his attention to the blue-eyed goddess before him.

"Hello, my name is Valerie. It's a pleasure," Sam let out a small smile as her beautiful blue eyes turned to him and one closed in a wink. "I am from Germany, but I lived her when I was younger. Is there any advice that you lot can give me about the school?"

"I need to move to Germany," Sam said under his breath, only loud enough for Tarrant to hear. But before he could prepare his most flirtatious and flattering comment, he caught sight of the small entourage making their way toward the table. And that group made no detours as they bee-lined their way to the new girl.

Bouncing slightly, the perfect, shoulder-length curls of spun gold framed a very delicate and more than pretty face that housed rose-petaled lips and deep, gorgeous brown eyes. The tall girl always had urgency in her stride, adding to the appeal and allure of her womanly charms. Meg Tharamel was incredibly attractive, as most women were in Sam's eyes, but at the same time, she was one of the most hideous creatures he had ever laid eyes on. Dwarfed only by a few of her lackeys that clung to her. Her amazing eyes always seemed to hold a vicious light to them and her smile only seemed to rear its beautiful head at the worst of times. 'Such a shame...'

Sam cleared his throat and drew attention to those approaching. "I believe you are about to get a crash course on exactly what you should avoid at this school Valerie..."

Meg was growing impatient, and that was making him impatient. Cyrus couldn't help it. His knee was bouncing with pent energy even though the rest of his body language spoke of a bored, slightly tired boy. He wasn't interested in this class at all, he was just here because Meg said so. And if Meg said so then he best do it. A semi-loud snick of a textbook slamming shut made him jump, his eyes going not to Meg but to the clock. Five minutes. He pulled his hands through his hair, straightening from his previous, lazy posture. Chewing on the side of his thumb philosophically, he stared at Meg, who in turn was watching the clock. What would they do today? Something interesting, no doubt. Meg's plans were always interesting, even when they were boring. That was the way these things worked. Maybe he's have a chance to talk to Ace. The smile that had grown on his face at the thought of his fellow club-mate, the poor boy, was stopped almost instantaneously by something large and heavy hitting his square in the nose.

"Uff." He grunted, catching Meg's bag before it hit the ground. He should have been paying attention. Cyrus nursed his nose, biting his lip slightly. no blood. Well, that was okay. Not paying attention wasn't that great of an offense. Just enough to warrant a bit of bruising to his nose. Oh well. He held Meg's bag in one arm and slung his own over a shoulder before stumbling off in pursuit of his sister. He caught up to her just outside the door as the rest of their little group assembled. He kept close to the center. On his own he wasn't particularly scary, and didn't receive the kind of reverence his peers demanded. But that was fine with him. Since he wasn't worth anything, it made sense that he deserved no respect. Although, he could be pretty scary in his own right. If he was provoked, at least. He'd never harmed anyone critically, but those he'd attacked usually got the message that they shouldn't say bad things about his Queen in his hearing range, or they'd face royal retribution.

Ace and Petra were better on physical side of making sure things ran smoothly, and Meg was the brains of the operation, which left Cyrus to do pretty much whatever they told him to. Which was only what he deserved.Though, it was a pretty good life, all things considering. Meg had his best interest at heart, Ace was a nice friend, (though that situation was a bit torturous in it's own right), and Petra seemed to like him well enough. They were all good, and he loved them like family, though he really didn't deserve as good as he got, it would be rude to reject friendly gestures within his group as he would if he was alone. Though friendly gestures weren't very forthcoming from those outside of their group, since for some reason nobody seemed to like Meg as much as they should. It was kind of discomfiting, actually, the lack of respect his peers gave the Queen. Meg seemed to handle it alright though. It was only a problem if and when Meg said it was, naturally, and that was when they should act on whatever it was she felt needed fixing.

They quickly made it into the cafeteria, as nobody wanted to stay in the Queen and her entourage's way for a second more than they had to. Meg took her bag and laid it on a chair, sliding gracefully into another at the same time. Cyrus set his own bag down on the ground and stood behind his older sister, waiting patiently for her to tell him what to do. Sometimes it took her a long time, but that was alright. Lessons in patience were always needed. Meg appeared to be scanning the crowd, perhaps to find something interesting, and a sudden shift in her posture told Cyrus that she'd found it. He straightened as well as she stood swiftly from her seat and began a swift, purposeful walk towards a large group of students, who seemed to be crowded around one individual. Curious. He followed at Meg's heels, his hands clasped behind his back and his usual quiet, not quite disinterested expression on his face. He was just waiting for her to tell him to do something, and until then he'd just follow her silently. Simple enough. Familiar enough too. It was the way things had always worked. It was the way things were supposed to work.

There was a new student in the group, a girl, and as they drew closer, eyes turned towards them. As it should be. As it always was. Cyrus stared curiously at the group over Meg's shoulder, his head tipped ever so slightly to one side. What interesting things would come from this confrontation? Surely Meg knew. She knew everything.

Dean looked around impatiently. Where was that riddling companion of his? Could it be that she had gone already left to the woods without him? Turning back to where the students were surrounding the newcomer, Dean sighed in annoyance. The girl, though upon first impression was rather intriguing, now seemed very dully insane, and therefore not worth his time. As he turned, his now cored apple fell to the ground and rolled right at the feet of the demonic Queen herself. Dean had been so preoccupied with the girl, he hadn't noticed Meg and her posse entering the scene. She was approaching the guest at the table. Must be mad that she wasn't informed... Sneering, Dean stood up onto the chair. He was sure Chess could wait for him a little while longer. This was an opportunity he simply couldn't miss.

"Oh dear, oh dear!" Dean exclaimed loudly, parodying the shouts commonly made by Helena. He jumped off his chair gracefully, and swiftly moved in the opposite direction of the Gardening Club. He stopped only to stand behind the new girl and Tarrant.

"My lady, take heed," he said close to Alice's ear, "A burbling Jabberwock appears!"

The only thing standing between Dean and Meg was the table, and for that he was thoroughly grateful.

"You must beware. Her jaws bite, her claws snatch. You can see it in her flaming, frumious little eyes!"

Smirking once more at the megalomaniac, he turned to address the rest of the table. "Alas, I must be gone. A grinning cat and a tum tum tree await me."

A mirthless grin made it's way to Dean's face, and with that, he was gone. Part of him was worried that Meg might follow him, but he knew that she wouldn't, especially with something shiny and new in front of her. Pushing through the back doors of the school, he strolled to the tree. Noticing Chess in the branches, he quietly climbed up to her level. A silent hello was given with the nod of a head, and, after taking his bag off and hanging it, Dean slung downwards into his upside down position, hair falling forward. Reaching into his bag, he took out a lighter and a joint from a baggy. Lighting it up, he sighed contentedly and closed his eyes, relishing the shade of the tree and the soft humming of his companion.

_________________________________________


Malia had finished her lunch long ago, but sleep was evading her. She knew why, too. The loud rampage of emotion from the table behind her. She had known the exact moment Tarrant had arrived, being the loudest of all, and Malia had smiled at the fact Tarrant already knew the girl. She figured if he liked her, she had to be okay as a person. It was tempting to go introduce herself as well, that way the the girl- Alice? Tarrant had called her Alice, but she seemed to be more adamant about being called something else- something with a V. No matter. If she introduced herself, The Girl (in caps, for now, as she didn't know what to call her) would know two-thirds of the tea club and Malia assumed she would like to know the people Tarrant talked with, considering their very loud introduction to each other.


After much debate with herself, over if it would be worth it at all to go over there, she figured it wouldn't hurt to introduce herself, so she turned around in her chair. Of course, she didn't get much farther than that. The Wicked Witch seemed to be wishing for another monkey. Didn't she have enough already? Malia hated most of them with as much hate as she could muster (it wasn't much), but especially the females. She couldn't bring herself to really 'hate' the males, because one of them was detached and if she could get close enough to talk and not be stabbed, she might be his friend, and one was just a boy who loved pain. She could understand that. One look at her wrists would atone for that. Still, she had to make a choice. Walk over still and deal with that or simply do her best to ignore it.

Malia really already knew the answer, and as much as she would rather ignore it, as it wasn't like she had any problem with letting them ignore her and sleeping, Tarrant was over there and she could talk to them, take their hate and not feel it. It was like a superpower really. Sad it had to come with so many downfalls. Malia sighed to herself and stood, walking over to the table. She didn't waste energy with pleasantries, but she did manage a small smile to Tarrant and a curt wave to the others. Wouldn't be in her better interests to talk. It wasn't like she would get anything out of it. In many ways, she was the exact opposite of Audrey. Audrey took emotions from everything and would become overwhelmed by them, Malia didn't bother with them at all, opting to think as rationally as she could in a school for the insane.

It really was difficult for Malia to understand all of the complex things that went on in this school- they were all emotion driven after all. She couldn't understand why people seemed to truly hate the Gardening Club. True, they were innturuptive and mean, but she could understand that. She only hated them for being loud and interrupting her sleep with mean words every once in a while. Didn't matter though. They seemed to feed off of that hate, and Malia still wanted to put a stop to it. If they had no more energy to fight for whatever it was they liked fighting for, they wouldn't be nearly as annoying.

Meg turned crimson with fury. Dean got the message, and hastily made his way out of the cafeteria. She couldn't stand the bastard and his obtuse riddles. She knew he was mocking her, and behind her she felt the boys tense up. They were waiting for her order, a small gesture of the hand that would tell them to attack. She imagined Ace's powerful muscles flexing, and his fist clenching as it collides with Dean's nose, squashing it into jelly. The though of it soothed her, and with some effort she resumed a relaxed pose. Cyrus frowned in confusion, but she just brushed him off. For the moment, her mind was fixed on the new girl.

The later was rather beautiful, but nothing out-of-the-way extraordinary. This was hardly something to waste her precious time over, except that Meg couldn't shake the impression that something was very wrong with this girl. Most students at wonderland academy had some distinct feature which gave away their illness. Some were twitchy, jumping at the slightest sound. Some would sulk back into the shadows, never meeting anyone's gaze. People walked, talked, and even stood accordingly to their weaknesses. This made them easy prey for Meg, who would scan through the crowds, instantly peaking out the most vulnerable ones. She knew how to target each and every one of her schoolmates, and that assured her power over them. But this girl, this strange new creature, didn't show any of this. She sat perfectly composed, and even though her face expressed slight fear, she held her ground with serene certainty. Meg searched her face frantically for any signs of madness, but found non. Even her eyes wouldn't reveal the secret of their master. Slightly taken aback, Meg decided to try a more direct approach.

“Who is this?” She said to Petra, who only shook her head and smiled in reply. Idiot! Meg thought to herself, tossing her head impatiently, and turning to Alice, she went on “what is your name child?”

No answer followed.

“Did you not hear me?”

Only now she notice Sam Bryant was sitting beside the new girl. He was beautiful as always, but he didn't look as happy as he usually did. In fact, he didn't look happy at all. She flashed him a quick but charming smile before returning her attention to the girl. The later finally obliged to answer.

“Good.” Meg smirked at the less-than-comfortable look on the girl's face. “Where do you come from?” she asked. “And when did you get here? Speak up, will you?!” And always say 'Your Majesty' she almost added, but stopped herself at the last moment. Better to understand this one first, before disciplining her.

Thank you Helena.

Sam thought to himself silently as he saw the small gesture his friend did for his sister. The all too familiar empathetic side of Audrey seemed to start creeping out at various times, and Sam knew the worth of even the simplest of things that his beloved sister could latch onto. Unfortunately, the kind gesture didn't last nearly long enough as the bubble of merriment and solace around them was shattered by the Gardening Club.

To Sam's surprise though, Dean unlatched himself from his seat a table over and led the taunts against the school's number one tyrants. As expected of mostly anyone in the school, Dean was as random as anyone could ask for and made a quick exit shortly after, causing Sam to nearly choke as he tried not to spit his food in laughter. He knew Dean half as much as he should, but everything he had ever seen of the guy was a complete riot. One Sam thoroughly enjoyed witnessing...

But the joyous moment was short-lived as Meg began berating Valerie with the uncommonly hostile tone she always seemed to use when addressing anyone outside her pack of goons. Trying to ignore it all and counting the seconds until they all decided to just give up and leave the group in peace already, Sam found himself bothered with the whole situation. So much so, he stopped eating....

His hands stopped picking at the food still on his plate and folded atop each other in front of him, a very evident sign of annoyance to anyone who really knew Sam. Only then did he notice Helena, shaking at the presence of Meg and her entourage. His heart went out to his friend, but the reaction was a common one when dealing with most bullies. Even common as it was, Sam never understood it. But even as these thoughts slid through his mind, he caught the eye of his sister, just before Meg flashed him a coy smile. To him, it was completely misunderstood. It seemed more like a mocking smile than anything else. As if Meg was saying: "Look what I can do. Who is going to do something about it?" And she was right, in a sense. The tables around them were talking, but in quiet whispers now, enjoying watching the engagement. It was sickening...

"Speak up, will you?!"

"Why don't you just shut that gigantic mouth of yours and leave her alone?!"

Silence... At Sam's quick snap at Meg, a switch seemed to have been hit suddenly and completely muted the area around their table. the hushed whispers immediately cutting off and all eyes snapped toward the scene. NO ONE spoke to Meg, or any of her members for that matter, in the way Sam just had. Even teachers were wary around her. But Sam couldn't help it, the slight tear streaks staining his sister's rosy cheeks after her small breakdown, Helena's terrified expression at the situation, and now they were going to try and bully a girl who had just arrived? 'For Christ's sake, as if school isn't a pain in the ass already.'

Rising from his seat, his steps seemed to echo as he walked around the table to place himself between Helena and the small group before him, allowing the trembling girl a bit of cover to hide behind. His hand fell lightly on his sister's shoulder to let her know he was fine, and noticed Malia at their table, overshadowed by Tarrant's form. 'Great,' he thought, 'now I get to look like a great ass in front of her too...' Oh well....

"Why not say something to me while you're at it, huh? Any takers?" Pausing for only a brief moment, Sam pressed on before any of them could muster an answer. "No? Nothing? Do us all a favor and slink back into whatever hellhole you morons crawled out of. Because honestly, no one cares what you have to say."

"I believe you are about to get a crash course on exactly what you should avoid at this school Valerie..."

That was Sam's voice, and with a slight frown, she looked over at him. What could he possibly mean by that comment? Noticing his gaze, she followed it over her shoulder, before turning completely in her seat to look at what he seemed to disturbed by.

An entourage of four people, two males and two females, were making their way towards the table. By their outward appearances, they looked to be perfectly normal, and if seen on the street, would be thought of only as a group of teenage friends. On closer inspection, however, and with her trained eye, she could pinpoint nearly everything that was wrong with this picture.

A few of her new companions were radiating wariness of the approaching group, and the people that they passed seemed to shrink into themselves and cringe away from the group as it wound it's way through the tables. There was also the fact that one of the girls, a tall one with sandy-blonde hair, seemed to be some sort of leader. The three teenagers behind her were obviously her lackeys, and two of them sent off a menacing aura that she could feel. It became more and more prominent with each step that brought them nearer to the table that Valerie was at, and her eyes narrowed slightly.

"One of these things is not like the other," she murmured under her breath. Perhaps ... With a slight grin on her lips, Valerie turned back to the table, obviously ignoring the group of people as they approached.

When she saw her companions around the table, she took in their outward appearances. Audrey appeared close to fainting for God-knew-why; a small blonde girl that she dimly remember someone greeting as Helena was trembling and nearly quaking in her shoes; Sam was annoyed, and Tarrant didn't seem to care much.

"Why, hello there, Your Majesty," Tarrant quipped out. Your Majesty? She highly doubted that the girl actually came from any type of royalty, let alone enough to warrant being called formal words such as 'Majesty'.

It was at that exact moment that the boy who had been glaring at her before approached the table with a slinky smile on his face.

"Oh dear, oh dear! He leaned down between Valerie and Tarrant's head, loudly whispering his next words into her ear, his intention obviously to make sure that the wicked bitch before them heard. "My lady, take heed; a burbling Jabberwock appears!"

A burbling Jabberwock? What the Hell was a Jabberwock? Not that it really mattered, for he was already continuing.

"You must beware. Her jaws bite, her claws snatch. You can see it in her flaming, frumious little eyes!" He was obviously succeeding in infuriating the young woman, who's eyes flashed with anger. The small group behind her tensed, as if readying themselves to pounce like a pack of wolves on a hunt, who waited only for a signal from their leader, and for a fleeting moment, she felt worried for the boy who was such and intense instigator.

"Alas, I must be gone. A grinning cat and a tum tum tree await me."

Whatever a tum tum tree was, she didn't really care. Instead, she was entirely focused on the girl that towered before her, who seemed to instill fear into each student by a mere look.

“Who is this" This gained the young woman no response that actually answered her question, so she rounded on Valerie with a dark look on her face. “What is your name child?”

Valerie stared at the girl, lifting her chocolate milk and taking a calm sip of it. She seemed to pay absolutely no attention to the maniacal bitch that stood there.

“Did you not hear me?”

She lowered her milk carton back to her tray and cleared her throat, finally fixing her blue gaze on the girl's.

"Actually, it's quite the contrary, my dear. I've heard every word that has left your beautiful lips and was voiced by quite an annoying sound. It was a bit nasally and unpleasant to the ear, to be honest. Perhaps you should look into having a voice-box transplant in order to fix that problem?" she asked. She tilted her head to the side and clucked her tongue, her chin resting easily on her fingers, with hand joined together as a slight perch for her head. "But if you must insist on being quite the bothersome wicked witch, I suppose that I have no choice but to answer, if only to get you to shut up. My name is Valerie, and that is all that you need to know."

“Good. The girl smiled cockily, as though she actually thought that Valerie was afraid of her and her holier-then-though attitude. "Where do you come from? And when did you get here? Speak up, will you?!”

She didn't have time to answer in any way, whether it were to be in answer to the woman's question, or another quip about how much of a bitch the girl was. Instead, Sam burst in, causing her to jump slightly in surprise. In all honesty, she hadn't expected him to explode in that manner. She'd known the guy less then ten minutes and could already tell that he wasn't the type to do so. But the animated look on his face told wonders about how little you could really tell about a person just by speaking to them a couple of times.

"Why don't you just shut that gigantic mouth of yours and leave her alone?!"

It had quite obviously stunned the girl, who was slowly turning red with fury. Her 'henchmen' were already tensing up, as if more then ready to beat the living daylights out of Sam, for daring to speak to the girl in that manner. "Oh, you've done it now, Sammy..."

Dear God, what had he done, exactly? She couldn't deny the small shimmy of fear that she felt for the boy, and Tarrant's words only caused her blood to run cold.

"Why not say something to me while you're at it, huh? Any takers?" He didn't even give them enough time to answer, but instead continued on, almost as if he couldn't contain his anger. "No? Nothing? Do us all a favor and slink back into whatever hellhole you morons crawled out of. Because honestly, no one cares what you have to say."

Her eyes were wide, and many of the other people at the table were revealing their surprise. The entire cafeteria was eerily silent, as if everyone were listening to them and only them. She was painstakingly aware of the fact that this girl was undoubtedly the 'Queen' of this school, and no one had really dared to outwardly attack her before, for fear of the retribution that would be dealt out at them. And here was Sam, who didn't seem like the type to explode out of nowhere, and yet was doing so. And to the exact person that you didn't want to piss off.

It was then that Tarrant rose and moved over to Sam, standing a few inches before in, and nearly centimeters from the psychopath herself. "You'll drive the girl crazy on just her first day here! We really don't need to fight here, do we? Sammy-boy here is just getting protective, that's all. Now, I'm sure if you and your...friends just run along back to your table, we could all avoid conflict just this once for her sake."

Valerie was completely and utterly lost at this point. So all of this was her fault? She was the one who had caused all of this trouble? And what was with all this talk about people being crazy? She sure as hell wasn't as nuts as everyone seemed to claim each other were.

She was, however, furious.

A light pink tinged her cheeks, and she had that familiar fluttering feeling in her stomach and chest. It was tickling her throat, and she felt her breath coming quicker and more shallowly then before.

How dare this girl take out her abnormal need for knowledge on her, on the few people who were nice enough to sit with and approach her.

This was not going to end well, and she already knew it.

It was a slow rise, for it was almost difficult for her to contain her fury. When she finally was standing, however, she was quite calm on the outward appearance - until one were to look into her eyes. They were a bright, fiery blue, narrowed and obviously angry. She wasn't about to let these two boys stand up for her when she was perfectly capable of doing it herself. Besides, she didn't want them to be hurt because of her. Instead, she made her way slowly around the table, before stopping beside Tarrant and directly in front of Sam.

"You know, back in Germany, you are what I would call a meckern Sie mit einem kläglichen und traurigen Aufmerksamkeitdirnenproblem. Here, however, I will merely say this: You are a bitch that really needs an attitude change. Perhaps I shall be the one to begin shedding some light on this situation."

With that, she lifted up her half-filled chocolate milk, thrust her tray forward, and splattered the remainder of her lunch across the front of the girl's top. A slight movement and twitch of her hand, the contents of her milk carton spilled down and over her head, where it proceeded to drip down her hair and into her face. She smiled slightly, her eyes a bit narrowed as she leaned forward towards the girl. "Whoops," she whispered.

Valerie set her tray and empty carton on the table behind her before turning back to face the girl, patting her hands together.

"And that, my dear ladies and gentlemen, is how you take out the trash," she said, amusement in her gaze and one corner of her lips quirking slightly upwards.