Umbrase Academy, California

Rosa slid her feet into her heels and glanced in the mirror. Tonight would be her first night going out without Brendan. Well, going out was pushing it a bit. It was only the school dance, after all. But she still missed him. She missed him and all his faults. She could almost see him perching on the edge of her bed, commenting on her outfit and telling her to leave her hair down. If he came back, she was almost ready to forgive him. Everywhere she looked, everywhere she went, she saw reminders of him. Even Umbrase, somewhere he had only been once or twice, had its reminders. Even tonight. Her dress was something like the style of her dream wedding dress. She had bought her earrings on the same day as he had proposed to her. As she looked herself up and down in the mirror, she caught sight of a photo frame that she had left on her bedside table before the holidays. She turned away from the mirror and crossed over to it, looking at it. The photo inside was from their last holiday together in Hawaii. Rosa was dressed up as a hula dancer, even pulling the pose. Brendan was laughing at her, his arm around her waist. She looked at him and tried to summon up some hate for him. Instead she found only anger.

Anger at herself for allowing herself to fall for him. He had a reputation as a player, even when they had first started working together in MI6. She had known that. And she had still fallen head over heels for him. Anger at herself for not making him stay. She knew that if she would have called him, she could have used her power to get him back. But there would be nothing stopping him from leaving again. And she couldn’t go through that again.

She turned back to the mirror, casting one final glance over her outfit. Brendan would want her hair down. Her hand went to her hair, resting on a pin. She felt somebody behind her. A hand rested on hers and went to pull out the pin. This suits you much better, His voice whispered in her ear. Her hand froze and she spun around. She was alone in the room. Her hand dropped from her hair, the pin still holding it in place. She took a deep breath, holding back those few traitorous tears. There wasn’t time to redo her make-up now. She tied her mask and left the room, heading downstairs.
The hall where the dance was being held was set up perfectly, with more than enough room for dancing and yet the tables weren’t crammed together. She was due to open the ball in two minutes. She sank into a seat just beside the steps leading to the stage, allowing herself a few minutes to regain her composure.




Danny rolled over to glance at his clock. He’d needed to sleep off the exhaustion from the thirteen hour flight from Edinburgh. It felt like he’d only gotten about an hour of sleep, but his suspicions were confirmed when he saw that it was, in fact, 7.45. The dance started in fifteen minutes. He rolled his eyes and swung his legs out of bed, getting unsteadily to his feet. He stretched, before pulling off his t-shirt and tossing it across the room to the laundry basket. Thankfully, he’d had the foresight to leave his clothes on the front of his closet and didn’t have to freak out about finding everything. He pulled on his shirt and buttoned it up, before firing his jeans across the room and switching them for his smart trousers. He grabbed his mask and walked over to the mirror. He was still a little underweight. He could make out the faint shape of the scar on his right shoulder though his shirt. He sighed and tied on his mask, before pulling on his jacket. He wasn’t hungry, despite the fact that he’d missed dinner. He had only just eaten lunch before his nap, and airplane food tended to put off his appetite for a day or two anyway.

He took one last glance in the mirror, before heading downstairs. He still had to get used to the school, but thankfully there was a steady stream of people heading for the dance. Danny couldn’t deny the anxiety in the pit of his stomach. Umbrase was his last chance. If he mucked up here, he was going back to the streets of Edinburgh. Now that he was going to a boarding school, the agency that had picked him up had signed him off their housing list. While they were still trying to track down his lost files, if he messed up, it was still back to the streets. Back to being a courier. Back to being one of the invisible people.
He entered the hall and looked around. There was a huge space cleared for dancing, and a stage that the band was setting up on. The drummer looked like Pete Wentz, Danny noted as he slid into a seat at a table on the edge of the floor. He wasn’t ready to socialise just yet.




Stefan buttoned up his white shirt. The new, clean dressing on his back still felt cold, as did the bandage on his thigh. He had taken advantage of his roommate being out of the room for a little while to change them. He pulled on his trousers and winced as he stood up, pain arcing across his back and along his thigh. He half-limped across the room to where he had left his mask on the desk. He pulled it on and looked his outfit up and down. He knew most of the other guys would be probably wearing jackets. But he didn’t want to. His limp already singled him out. He felt like he should emphasise that difference. His mask completed the whole outfit, he thought.

He couldn’t ignore the pain in his back and his thigh, however. The hospital had given him painkillers, but he couldn’t remember where he had left them. He limped across the room, rooting in his bedside table. He thought he would have left the pills in there so he could get at them easily- but evidently not. He couldn’t deny that the paranoia had gotten to him since that incident. He had probably put them somewhere where someone wouldn’t look if they were searching for high-dose painkillers. But first, he’d better check the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. He opened it, wincing as the stretch pulled on his back muscles. He had been right- he hadn’t put them in there. He suddenly had a vague recollection of putting them in his desk drawer.
He went back into the main room, limping over to the drawer. He pulled it open and grinned as he pulled out the bottle, swallowing two pills with a mouthful from a bottle of water he had left on his desk. As he put them back in his drawer, he took a step back. He stumbled and put all of his weight on his injured side, crashing to the ground. He groaned, banging his head off of the carpeted floor for his foolishness. He heard the door open, but didn’t look up. The painkillers hadn’t kicked in yet, judging from the pain in his thigh, and he knew that trying to get to his feet would be excruciating.

In retrospect, maybe Valerie should've taken a pair of scissors to her dress and ruined it beyond repair so that she would've have a legitimate excuse to skip out on the masquerade tonight. She really didn't want to go, and it wasn't because she hated her dress either. In fact, Val quite liked the turquoise piece she'd bought but it left her arms bare, whicht was a huge problem because her arm was still wounded and everyone would notice the stitches.

Valerie stood in front of her full length mirror and bit her lip. She'd already tried using concealer on the stitches to hide them, but this was an academy of elite fighters with keen vision and they'd spot the surface wound a mile off. Her gut told her to keep the incident to herself so she couldn't confide in Katie. Umbrase had probably been compromised, and as much as she hated to think of her friends being one of the culprits, Valerie's training demanded that she take no chances.

Val exhaled loudly, turning away from the mirror. No, she had to attend; her absence would raise more suspicions than if she made an appearance, even a short one. She checked her make up for the last time, added another layer of foundation to her arm, and picked up the mask from the layers of tissue it had been wrapped in. Holding it gingerly, Val ran her fingers over the delicate peacock feather contemplatively. It would be a shame to waste it...

Alright, that was it. She was going to attend, wound or not, date or not (okay, that last bit was an exaggeration; Valerie had been going stag for as long as she could remember so that bit didn't apply). Grabbing her clutch, she closed the door behind her and headed for Katie's room down the hallway. She knocked on the door, glancing around her nervously; she hoped no one saw her, because her wound was still visible at the moment. "Katie, can I borrow a shawl?" She asked softly, leaning closer to the door so that her voice could be heard.

Faint ticking sounded in the background of Drew’s suite-like room, the man himself leaning back skillfully in a wooden chair in front of a laptop, his head tilting from side to side as his eyes flickered across the screen. He held a mechanical pencil in his right hand, the eraser side- if it had an eraser- pressed softly below his lower lip, shifting back and forth every so often to tap against his skin. “Hmm….” He muttered, taking in the information and dwelling upon each tidbit.

Z’s attention departed from the screen to the clock that was ticking almost silently on his wall. His eyes suddenly widened as he realized what time it was, and a laughing smile teased the corners of his lips upward. ’I have, what, fifteen minutes?’ He thought to himself as he shut the lid of the computer, pushing away from the desk and getting up from his chair to stride past the doorway into his bedroom. ’It’s hardly enough time for me to get ready!’ His tone of thought was mocking and amiable, and he grinned at himself, shaking his head and dropping the personal jape.

He stopped in front of his closet, and pulled out a white suit with a jet black tie, and quickly changed into it. Stooping over a small decorative table, Drew picked up a silver pocket watch and fastened it to his pants, and then grabbed his mask, securing it around the back of his head before swiping his hair out of his eyes with another grin.

As he walked back towards the door, he took a cursory glance at the mirror to make sure he looked fine, and then paused before exiting to place his black dress shoes upon his feet and tie them. Mr. Z then slipped out of his room and locked the door, walking down the halls whistling quietly to himself.

It wasn’t long before he spotted a familiar face, and a wry smile took up his features. “Hey, Beeg Gherman Guy!” He called out with what seemed to be a mischievous twinkle in his eye, imitating the man’s accent.



Loud music blared through speakers strategically placed throughout the room, and slightly shuddered breaths escaped Von’s lips as he stood upside down, one hand behind his back and the other supporting him on the ground as he did a form of push-ups. “Feefty-fore, feefty-five….” His voice came out in puffs, a light sheen of sweat covering his bare torso as his muscles contracted and shifted as he put a good deal of strain on them. “Seexty, seexty-vun, seexty-two….” The music came to an end, and Ivon suddenly stopped his exercise, righting himself and stretching back his arms until he heard his spine crack softly.

Almost immediately after, an alarm clock humorously decorated as a cuckoo clock sounded, the bird announcing its namesake, and Ivon rolled his eyes, walking over to it panting a bit from the exertion of his training. He picked it up, and walked over to the trash can, but his hand wavered. ’Every seengle time. I don’t know vhy I keep this thing.’ Drew had given it to him as a gift- more of a joke than anything else. He stared down at the thing, and covered one eye with his hand, spreading his fingers slightly to look at it with a comical shame-like appearance to his facials.

Turning around, he placed it back where it was; at least once a day he would go through the almost-throwing-away ritual, simply to put it back in its place. With a small sigh, he glanced back at the time. He’d need to take a quick shower and then get dressed as soon as possible. He had maybe twenty-five minutes.

He stepped out of the shower ten minutes later, a towel wrapped around his waist tightly and another in his hands and draped halfway over his head as he dried his hair. He paused in front of his closet, his eyes scanning the rack until he found what he sought.

After dressing in a simple black and white suit with tie and dress shoes, he tied his mask on, and stepped out the door, locking it and walking down the halls purposely.

However, a couple of minutes later, the unmistakable voice of Drew called out to him. “Hey, Beeg Gherman Guy!” Ivon huffed, turning to the playful tone and crossed his arms with a roll of his eyes. “Vhat do you vant?” Z wasted no time catching up to him and then grinned brightly. “Fancy-shmancy.” He commented, ignoring the comment with a brilliant smile. “I feel like an idiot.” Was the response that came from Wolf.

“Aw, is the Beeg Gherman Man not comfortable in ze tight suits? It must be quite a new trend for you, Mr. Physical Ed Teach~” A nice punch was squarely aimed at Drew’s chest, but the Analysis teacher danced away from the blow easily, and he grinned. Andrew’s tone had been good-natured despite the teasing, and Ivon was quite used to it, plus he knew that it’d be rather difficult to land anything on the man, so they both shared a quick chuckle- it was sort of a customary greeting between the two.

“You’re very annoying, you know zat right?” Drew shrugged with an innocently cheerful smile, and the two walked towards the room where the masquerade was being held. They entered through the large doors of the hall, and Drew’s eyes scanned swiftly over the scene. It had obviously not started yet, though the students would be flooding in within a few minutes. Ivon’s gaze did the same, though more for just enjoying the sites unlike Z’s critical eye. His gaze fell to Rosa, who seemed a bit rattled.

“Mozher Rosha seems a beet stressed, no?” Came Ivon’s comment, using his nickname for her without a second thought. Most people should be used to them- and he had a nickname for most everyone he knew. Drew’s line of sight stopped on Rosa with the remark, and he shrugged his shoulders with a cheery smile. “Well, she does have the whole school on her shoulders. She’s just worried about the masquerade.” ’I hope.’ It was a silent thought after his own observation, and the two then made it over to one of the walls. Drew leaned back against it, while Ivon stood centimeters away from it, and the two chatted a bit in German, waiting for the students to show up and make this night entertaining.

Alex Marshall


Checking his phone to make sure he wasn't too late, Alex brought his brisk walk to a trotting jog. After taking a quick swim, he had showered and was now ready to get ready. He had made plans with his best friend, Lily, to get prepared for the dance together, and though he knew that it wasn't a big deal, he was pretty excited for the dance. As he had explained to Lily, he had no idea what he was suposed to wear, though he had a tux, suit, and basically any form of formal clothing a boy could have, thanks to his mom. As he arrived at his dorm door, he raised his hand to knock, pausing it mid in the air, not sure of whether he was supposed to, or not, considering they shared it, and decided to just enter, though the time it took to turn his key gave his roommate more than enough time to prepare for someone entering, and hopefully not something that would upset him.

During his first year at a boarding school, Alex's roommate had been a complete freak. Along with having the most strict sleeping schedule he had ever heard of, he needed the room to be a certain temperature or he would complain to housing. He only ate foods that started with the letter F, and on Tuesdays, he liked to have two hour baths. But the most annoying, and strangest thing about that roommate had been that he hated Alex entering without knocking and waiting for him to answer, or making a doorbell noise with his phone. So in comparison, simply making noise while opening the door was a simple requirement.

Opening and entering, Alex didn't really look at his roommate, calling a simple "Hey," over his shoulder, walking to his bed and starting to go through the pile of stuff at the end of his bed, sorting it quickly, then putting it into his closet and drawers. He started looking through his closet, trying to figure out what he was suposed to wear, though coming up with nothing. Turning around to his roommate, words of desperation flowed out of his mouth. "So what exactly are we supposed to wear?" he asked, yet again checking the time, knowing that Lily was bound to be there any second to help him decide what to wear. He pulled out his dressy clothing, his pants, shirts, belts, shoes, and layed them out on his bed, running his hand nervously through his hair, and hoping Lily would hurry herself up.

---

Katie Waltz

Looking herself up and down in the mirror, Katie couldn't decide if she liked it. Any of it. Her dress, her hair, her makeup. But it was too late. There was not long before the dance and she had to go like this. People don't know who you are, she reminded herself, closing an eyelid and touching up the already perfect eyeshadow patted and pressed down onto it. Her yearn for perfection in how she looked was unmatched by any of her other wants, though the likely hood of her achieving this was another thing unknown to her. Looking herself back over again, her eyes landed on her hair, curled into loose large ringlets falling down near and framing her face. Her blonde hair had been something she was ashamed to say she inherited from her mom, though it was true. Her brother had gotten their fathers think and brunett hair, though when people asked, Katie used to say she dyed hers so that they were thought of as more similar.

Her eyes welling with water brought Katie back into time, and she made a mad dash to grab a tissue. Pulling one of, she lightly dabbed and brushed it under her eyes, making sure not to smudge any of her make up. She hadn't been wearing a lot other than on her eyes, though generally she didn't wear any make up, so she was sure that there would be a few people noticing the difference. She hoped so. She hoped someone noticed her, anyone at all. She tossed the tissue into the trash, standing up straight, then bending over to pick up her shoes. Her eyes scanned them, the nude heels nothing special in her opinion, though they had probably cost a fortune. Money doesn't buy happiness, she thought, convinced that was her fathers plan.

She looked at the last part of her out, the mask that was required, as it was a masquerade. She lifted it up, ready to tie it onto her head, then paused, as a knock could be heard from the door way, followed by a call from a voice she recognized. Grinning foolishly, she placed the mask back on the table, pulling out one of her many cameras, a vintage Polaroid 300, and poising it at her eye. "Come it." she called, snapping a picture as Val entered, taking it and covering it, not letting it exposed to the light. "Shawls and scarfs are hanging in the top right corner." she said, grinning at her friends dress. "And you look gorgeous, by the way."

"Come it." Relief poured through her veins, urging Valerie to duck into the room before anyone caught her outside. She slipped inside, only to be momentarily blinded by a flash from Katie's ever present camera. "Katie!" She yelped, holding up an arm to shade her eyes, but it was too late; the damage was done, and Katie had captured her entrance on film. She only hoped the girl wouldn't look at the picture too closely because the arm she'd raised had been her injured one, with the stitches evident. Damn.

Fixing a grateful smile on her face that she hoped didn't betray her anxiety, Val made a beeline for the closet. It was neat as a pin, each scarf folded and hanging neatly from the rack in assorted colors. A beautiful black pashmina with turquoise and green embroidery on the edges caught her attention, almost as if it had been made especially for her. The anxiety immediately vanished, replaced with gratefulness. She shook out the shawl and draped it over her shoulders, checking herself in the mirror before turning back towards Katie. Now that she was secure with her arm decently covered by fabric, she could relax and observe her friend.

"My, my, what an angel. You look stunning, Kats. Hoping to impress someone in particular?" Valerie grinned.

Stefan tried to shove himself into a rough sitting position as he heard his roommate come in, but gasped as pain arced across his back. The doctors had warned him, admittedly, that the drugs took a while to kick in. It was irritating, really. "Hey," Alex called. "So what exactly are we supposed to wear?" Stefan rolled his eyes to himself and tried once again to sit up. "Give me a hand and you'll know exactly," He called. He knew that Alex probably couldn't see him- he was on the far side of his bed, which was the bed furthest from the door. "Don't just stand around, Alex- the dance starts in five minutes." He grumbled.

The pain in his back began to fade, and he managed to shove himself into a sitting position without too much pain. Trying to stand, however, provoked too much pain. He adjusted his mask and leaned against the bed, breathing through the pain. It was moments like these he cursed the men who had caused him such agony. He waited for Alex to come over and help him up, waiting all the while for the pain to fade for good.

Lily moved quickly towards the door, slipping on her shoes and securing her hair with another pin as she hurriedly made her way out the door. She had decided to take a nap an hour before she was supposed to be getting ready, assuming that she would be up long before then, but of corse woke up with fifteen minutes when she heard her roommate moving about. "Bye!" She called to the girl, as she made her way to Alex's room. Knowing him, he was probably standing there completely cluelessly. Hopefully Stefan was able to somewhat help him.

"For my sake, if either if you are naked please cover yourselves." Lily called from outside the door, before taking out the key that she wasn't supposed to have and letting herself in. Alex had said that he lost his key, got another one, then gave his old one to her. With that, she quickly closed the door behind her and grinned at her best friend. As she had expected, he was running his hand through his hair and looking through his clothes hopelessly.
"What do you think?" She asked, with a smile. She wore a deep blue dress, with her blonde curls tumbling over one shoulder, pinned to the side with a royal blue jewel rose.

When she heard Stefan asking for Alex's help, she gave Alex a chiding look. "Leaving your roommate to fend for himself? How terrible, Allie." She tsked, teasing her friend. Lily made her way over to his roommate, with a friendly smile. "Hey, Stefan!" Although she wouldn't exactly say they were really close friends, with the amount of time she spent in Allie's room with him she had gotten to know him somewhat. She slipped her arm around him, taking as much of his weight as she possibly could. Although she was short an not particularly strong, she had good balance and strong legs. "See, Allie? This is how you dress. I'd say, wear the tux with the dark blue tie. When you're changed come over here so I can fix your hair."

Alex Marshall

Alex ran his hand through his hair again, turning around at a set of Stefan's groans of pain, biting his lip, and making way to help him up, though pausing as Lily entered the room. My my, she really did look stunning. Not that she didn't normally, but with the dress to compliment the curves and crevices of her body, there was just something about her that was amazing. Alex snapped back into reality as Lily went to help Stefan. He sighed, knowing that he was probably a horrible roommate. He gave Stefan a helpless look, then cocked his head and looked at him as Lily helped him up. "You know, the pain meds you're taking must be shit." He said, walking over and taking Stefan's other arm, helping him up more than Lily by taking a majority of his weight.

He grinned once they had him up, holding onto him for a second to balance him, then looking him up and down as Lily spoke. "Right, right," he said, walking to the other side of the room and grabbing the tux off his bed. Not really caring if they saw him changing, he turned his back to the two, stripping his pants, though leaving on his boxers, and exchanging them for the pair that was assorted with the tux. He did the same with his shirt, buttoning it quickly, then pulling on his jacket, straightening the whole outfit, and getting out the tie. He had years of practice when it came to tying ties, so it was probably no shock that it took meer seconds to get it on.

Alex walked over to Lily, watching her as she thought of how she would fix his hair, and turning to look at Stefan. "So who's the lucky lady?" he asked, a friendly grin on his face.

---

Katie Waltz

Katie grinned at Valerie, watching her temporary blindness wear off, as she fixed a smile on her face and headed into her closet. A lot of people would consider Katie a neat freak by looking at her closet. But that was certainly not the case if you were to look at anything else of hers. The only reason her closet was so neat was because she was worried that if she didn't keep it neat, and if some of the stuff were to go crazy in her room, that her roommate would complain and have her moved into a different room, into a single. And she couldn't have that happening, she just wouldn't. So thanks to this fear, everything in her close was either hung, folded, or pressed into a color coded order, whether it be her shawls, dresses, pants, or even her socks. It was quite a wonder that she had so many clothing anyway, considering she didn't wear much of it.

She smiled wide watching her friend's usually laid back personality turn up in a fluster as she was grabbing a shawl, but she allowed it be. If she wanted Katie to know, she would tell her. The shawl she had chosen had been one she had obtained the first time she had actually tried to run away, when she had gotten as far as the Mexican border, and bought it at a gift shop, before getting scared, and going back home. She chuckled lightly as Val spoke, shaking her head slowly, while beginning to answer. "Don't you think if I was, you would know?" She cooed, lifting the pillow case she had covered the polaroid with and checking on the picture, happy to see it was done. She pulled it out, smiling wide at the picture as she examined it closely, taking in her friends dress. "You really are gorgeous," she said, each bead in her friends dress catching the light at some degree.

Katie's eyes stopped scanning, pausing on Val's arm in the picture. Funny, it almost looked like she had stitches, or a cut of some sort. Her eyes quickly rose to Val's real body, though the shawl now covered her arm, then they went back to the picture, as she pushed the smile back onto her face. "This one's going on the wall." She said, going to a wall that was nearly half plastered in polaroids. She had another wall next to it for normal pictures, but this was just polaroids. She grinned, then turned to her friend. "And I ask the same for you? Who are you trying to impress?"

Charlotte Candor

Charlotte vaguely heard a door shut behind her but wasn't paying much attention to it. She had fifteen minutes to get down to the dance and had only just now realized that she had forgotten to buy a curler. She had recently broken her own when it had burnt her and she insinctively through it at the wall. She regretted that now and stared at her reflection hopelessly. Her hair had its signature wave in it, but she knew that the waves weren't ball material. They were to...flat. That was when she got an idea.

Running into the bathroom she grabbed her teasing brush and poofed up her bangs, then she pinned them up to where they were a bump with a small black bow. She went on to tease the rest of her hair then looked in the mirror in approval. The rest of the steps to being ready were easy. She slipped on her dress http://www.sunp.com/images/prom-4/ball-gown-strapless-red-and-black-3038-beads-658.jpg and applied some eyeliner and shimmering shadow. Rummaging around her room she managed to find a good pair of black heels and her mask http://www.costumeshopper.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/64504.jpg, which she tied on quickly, not wasting any time. Looking at her clock she saw she had to minutes to get there and her eyes went wide. She decided there was no time to fix anything else so she grabbed the travel-size bottle of vodka she kept hidden, stuffed it in her bra so it couldn't be seen, and walked as fast as she could to the ball.

When she arrived at the ball she looked around. There were quite a few people here, but she didn't see any of her own friends. Oh well, it gave her some time to grab some punch. She walked over to the punch bowl and pretended to be pushed into the table where she slipped out the vodka and popped off the cap, emptying the bottle in one swift motion. Even though she knew it was only a ball, not some top secret mission, she had found herself scoping out anybody who may or may not have been watching her for just that purpose. She had spotted the teachers Drew and Ivan a little ways across the gym but was sure she was safe. Although they were her teachers she had in her mindset that she should think of them by their first names. She said their proper names aloud, but when thinking of them, she seemed to prefer a first name better.

Scooping up some of the punch she walked over to a seat near the two teachers and sat down, enjoying a moment with her drink. She looked beside her and realized that somebody else was sitting right beside her. Charlotte didn't recognize him, then again he was wearing a mask. She may not be good at reading faces but she knew when somebody didn't want to talk to people. So she looked ahead of her and continued to sip on her punch. Hopefully something exciting would happen soon or else she would have to solve the uneventful problem herself.

A sound could be heard coming from the dark room. It resembled the ping of a computer when you received a message. The problem was that this pinging would just not cease. The source was an alarm on a cell phone, made so the owner of said phone would be more inclined to awake to it. The owner in question peered drowsily to the phone. Was it already time to get up and get ready? Upon plucking the phone from the side table, Tim could see that it was indeed time to get ready for the masquerade. He rubbed his face, wiping the sleep away from his eyes. He stopped at the beard that was growing thicker on his face. He should trim it at the very least, but he had no time for that triviality.

He rose from his very comfortable bed and flicked the lights on. It was much brighter now, and his room could be seen more clearly. The only part of his room that did not have some type of machinery on it was the space where his bed was. He preferred it this way, with wires littering the floor and screens at every turn.

Sighing, Tim grabbed the tux he had set aside the day before from the closet and meticulously pulled it on. He brushed his teeth and ran a hand through his hair. He had only five minutes now to get to the ballroom where the masquerade was being held. He grabbed his mask from the bedside table. HE left the room and closed and locked the door behind him and walked rather slowly to the ballroom. He was in no rush to get there. in fact, he dreaded the thought of even being seen there. He would be forced to interact with somebody, of this fact he was positive. However, seeing as it was required to be there, he didn't have much of a choice.

Upon arriving outside the room, he could see the headmaster seated on the steps with her head in her hands. She looked beautiful, of that he had no doubt, but he made no attempt to speak to her and left her to her thoughts. After entering the room, he could see a few students had arrived already and that his fellow teachers, Ivon and Drew were in a corner speaking to one another. Avoiding eye contact with them, he quickly found a seat towards the back. He was already dying for a smoke, but that would have to wait.

Kendall had just added the finishing touches to her outfit, a long body-hugging silver dress with smokey eye make-up and silver jewellery to match the lovely gown. She took her time tying the ribbons of her ornately decorated mask around her head, careful not to ruin the long curls she had spent hours to perfect. They were pulled back just so and fell over her shoulder dramatically, something Kendall thought to be rather sophisticated for her to manage.

One glance in the mirror told Kendall she was ready to go as her icy blue eyes stared critically at herself, finding nothing more to add or fix. Rosalinda wasn't in the room, to which Kendall released a soft sigh at. Of course. Ignoring this, Kendall quickly left the room, only stopping to lock the door behind her, before making her way to the ballroom.

Upon entering, Kendall let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, her body relaxing as she decided she would allow herself to have some fun tonight. Regardless of the current stresses she'd had going on in her life, those would be put on hold for one night. Just one night for herself wasn't too much to ask, was it?

Either way, the brunette's bright blue eyes flew over the students who were present and watched as more trickled through the doors as she glided over to the punch bowl and poured herself a glass. She sipped from it as she people-watched, finding this to be interesting but hoping the night would still improve once the others had all arrived.

Steam filled the bathroom as Cecillia made the last few adjustments to her hair with a lime green curler. She sprayed her loose bun with hairspray, making sure the loose curls framing her face were to her satisfaction. Hearing a knock and voices coming from the bedroom, she turned, her pale yellow dress moving noiselessly around her, almost seeming to have a life of its own. She quickly, almost thoughtlessly, put everything back in its place, leaving the bathroom spotless.

Deciding she was ready, Cessy opened the door to the bedroom, taking in her roommate, Katie, and Valerie. A smile appeared on her face, and though it seemed friendly, she was not really smiling at them. She was just pleased that she was the best dressed in the room, though she would not say that out loud. She grabbed her lace mask from her dresser and turned to face them. "Well, don't you just look 'pretty as a picture," she said in a teasing tone to the pair. Her eyes immediately took in the black shawl. It seemed odd that Valerie would wear a shawl with that dress, and it gave Cessy the impression that it was a last minute addition.

Hiding her analysis, Cecillia gave a cheerful smile as she said, "Well, shall we be off?" She slipped on her mask and strode gracefully to the door, looking back at the two before simply phasing through the door. Cessy seemed to do this just for the purpose of showing off, her long, light skirt fluttering behind her a moment before disappearing to the other side of the door. She gave a soft chuckle as she turned and walked down the hall, her steps silent. She had no intention of waiting for the two. She impatient to get to the masquerade, and seemed thoroughly excited about it.

Entering the large room, she paused a moment at the door, looking to see quite a few people there. She pondered a moment who would be the most interesting to talk to, immediately disregarding the teachers. She noticed Charlotte sitting quietly sipping punch and decided she would be as good for entertainment as anyone else. Walking over, she greeted Charlotte with her typical teasing tone, "Hello, Latte. Well, isn't this a lively party?" She acted like she did not realize she used a nickname Charlotte did not like, but really, she was curious how the girl would react. She watched Charlotte's face out of the corner of her eye.

Rosa got to her feet. She couldn't put this off for any longer. The clock had just struck eight. Drew, Ivon, and Tim were all present already. It looked like most students had arrived as well, and she was willing to guess that the rest would be along shortly. She took a deep breath and mounted the stage. A hush fell over the students as the noticed her. She stood in front of the old fashioned microphone.

"Ladies and gentlemen, teachers and students, I welcome you all to a new term here at Umbrase. I'm glad to see you all back. This year is to be no different than any other. But that talk is for another time. I am pleased to open tonight's masquerade ball!"

She stepped back from the microphone, leading the applause for the band as she returned to the floor. She headed for Ivon and Drew. While they were masked, she knew their habits- and she had heard Ivon's distinctive accent as he entered. She grinned at them as she approached and folded her arms. "So, gentlemen. What does a woman have to do around her to get a dance?"



Stefan grinned as Lily chided her roommate and came around to help him up. Alex appeared and took some of his weight. "You know, the pain meds you're taking must be shit." Stefan chuckled a little as Alex went into the bathroom. He'd had to tell his roommate that he'd hurt his back over the holidays as an excuse for taking the pain meds. He wasn't going to tell him he'd actually gotten shot twice. "Nah, just slow acting." He called. When his roommate emerged from the bathroom, smartly dressed, Stefan gave him a thumbs up.

As Alex went over to Lily so she could fix his hair, he asked Stefan, "So who's the lucky lady?" Stefan grinned. He went over to the door, suppressing his limp as much as he could. "Who knows? I don't!"

The old Stefan would never have said that. As he closed the door, he imagined their faces and grinned. The pain meds had finally kicked in to their full strength and his limp was barely noticeable. He entered the hall just as Ms Ferri finished speaking and the band started playing. He spotted a few people sitting by the tables and glanced in a passing mirror. He winked, confident that he wasn't going to be recognized, and headed over to them. There was one girl in a silver dress with his back to them. He wrapped an arm around her waist and leaned into her ear to whisper, "May I have this dance?"

Fiona was sprawled out on her bed, reading intently. She was oblivious to the time, and completely absorbed in her book.
The sound of doors opening and closing jerked her back to reality. Irritated, she opened the door to see who was causing all that noise, only to see a bunch of students in dresses. Oh, crap. I'm late. With a groan, she quickly went back into her room and stared begrudgingly at the dress Rosa had helped her pick out. She hated dresses. In fact, she hated most girly things that most girls loved. Having mostly grown up with just her older brothers, she haden't really been exposed to it very much.

Slowly pulling the dress off of it's hanger, she thought of how she could get out of this. An 'accidental' fall down the stairs? A sudden stomach bug? No, she had to do this. Rosa would be so disappointed if she didn't come, and anyways it couldn't be that bad.
Biting her tongue in concentration, she quickly pulled on the dress and attempted to lace up the back awkwardly without being able to see what she was doing. After at least five minutes of struggling, the dress was on. With a heavy sigh, she tied on her black mask and glanced at herself in the mirror. Her nose crinkled at her girly appearance, as she adjusted her dress uncomfortably. "This is going to be just brilliant." She muttered sarcastically, pulling on her shoes. Since nobody was going to see her feet anyways, she wore her favorite combat-style boots with black lace instead of shoelaces.

When Fi made it to the masquerade, she immediately made her way to the other teachers. "Sorry for being so late." She offered them a half smile. "Well, the two of you clean up nicely." She grinned at Drew and Ivan. "And Rosa, you look lovely! I lot more comfortable too." She chuckled.
"I look like some sort of minted lassieQuine." She muttered, standing next to Drew and readjusting her dress uncomfortably. "And this is absolutely the most uncomfortable thing I've ever worn. Well, one of them at least." With a sigh, she gave on on trying to make herself feel comfortable and glanced at Drew. "Do you mind fixing my bow? I can't do a bow when I can see it, let alone when it's behind my back." She offered him a smile, and turned to show him the sad-looking, half done scarlet bow at the base of her spine where she had laced up her dress.

"Don't you think if I was, you would know?"

Val smiled. "Would I?" She wondered, walking over to Katie's vanity and helping herself to a tube of mascara. She brushed another layer onto her already perfect eyes, trying to mask her anxiety as Katie waited for the photograph to develop. "You're biased," she laughed, setting the wand down and turning around to face her friend. "Go look in the mirror, would you?" They could play the compliment game all day, but it still wouldn't change the fact that Katie had porcelain perfect skin and an equally flawless figure to match.

"And I ask the same for you? Who are you trying to impress?" Valerie tightened the shawl around her shoulders, fingers gripping the material tightly enough to turn her knuckles white. Relief poured through her veins; Katie either hadn't noticed the stitches in the picture, or even if she had then she wouldn't speak of it again; her silence was very telling. Val once again blessed the big man upstairs for giving her such an understanding friend at the Academy; this was a hard world to navigate without allies.

She smoothed down the beaded fabric of her dress with shaky fingers, silently berating herself for betraying such telltale signs. Obviously she needed to train more; her physical tells were becoming more and more obvious each day as the weight of her secret became heavier and heavier. She needed to get a grip."Well, don't you just look pretty as a picture." Cecilia's entrance quite effectively snapped Val out of her thoughts, reminding her that there were matters beyond her superficial wound to consider.

Val returned her cheerful smile with a one of her own, glancing at Katie. "You heard the lady," she grinned, and finally slipped her peacock feathered mask over her bright eyes. "Shall we?" She offered her arm to the girl, dipping down in a mock curtsey. They might not be able to make a flash an exit as Cecilia, but if they were going stag, at least they'd do it right.

---

Two days. Two days, seven hours, sixteen minutes... and counting. That's how long Edric had gone without touching anything with a microchip, a pretty formidable feat indeed considering just how high tech Umbrase was. The Academy was outfitted with state of the art security systems, training simulation technology and other various gadgets that would go haywire in a split second if he so much as looked at them, but avoiding contact had been remarkably easy so far: he'd practiced being a hermit and didn't leave his room. At all.

Easy.

Now, if only he could pull this off for the next, say, decade or something... But no, the Headmistress had to go and throw a wrench in his plans by making attendance mandatory at this stupid masquerade. And by 'mandatory', Edric took that to mean 'presence required short of death', like a mission or something. He scowled at his reflection in the mirror, wrestling with the tie around his neck forcibly. If he thought he could get away with it, Edric would have gone in a tee and jeans instead of wasting big bucks on his suit and mask (although the last bit had been relatively cheap, being a cultural marker of the twenty first century or something). He was pretty sure the staff wouldn't appreciate his choice of 'masquerade interpretation' too much, but Edric was content in his little victories, and this one required minimal effort on his part so all was good.

Finally wrestling his tie into submission, he buttoned up his coat and took a cursory glance at the mirror before leaving the room. The trek to the ball venue was a short one, but it gave Edric enough time to mentally reinforce his will against instinctively reaching out to every digital device in the vicinity. It was difficult and required some concentration on his part, but as long as he wasn't taken by surprise or met with a reflexive need to defend himself, all would be fine. It had to be, because the only other option was permanently uploading himself onto the internet... and even though eternal youth was a fetching idea, he kind of disagreed with that particular medium of immortality.

Feeling more secure than he had two minutes ago, Edric paused by the entrance to readjust his V mask before stepping inside. His eyes peered through the eyeholes with pale interest, hands stuffed into his pockets loosely and posture quite nonchalant. No, nothing had really changed over the summer. Nothing obvious, anyways.

---

---

She was momentarily surprised when she felt the light brush of an arm curling around her waist but, after her initial uncertainty, a slow smile spread over Kendall's lips as she kept her eyes forward and a masculine voice whispered into her ear. "May I have this dance?"

Kendall turned her head to settle her curious eyes on the male whom the arm and voice belonged to, taking in his jacket-less appearance and his mask. She couldn't even dream to guess who this was as his was a voice she didn't recognize. But, of course, that didn't matter to her as the brunette took another small sip of her glass of punch before placing it on a nearby table.

"I'd love to," she replied as she turned to face the male, blue eyes sparkling.

Tonight was a game to her, a time to enjoy herself and not think of the outside world. This guy right in front of her had given her the option to play and she was taking it.

This whole "hiding identities" thing was rather interesting indeed.

Charlotte looked up in distaste at whoever had so graciously uttered that nickname. Her mouth was almost pulled into a snarl but she kept it in place, instead adjusting it to a smile. Who was this girl in front of her? With a mask on it was impossible to tell but she cared to know, so she began looking at the details. Her hair was brunette, she had an asian kind of town to her skin, and she had an utter disregard to the fact that Charlotte would sometimes explode at whoever dared to call her that. So it could only be one person then....

"Cecillia, what a nice suprise." She said it with a tip of an edge to her voice. This was a public gathering, not the fighting arena. She would not be kicked out of yet another dance. Looking around she half-heartedly chuckled. "I'm suprised the police haven't driven here to shut it down, being such a rager." She got up and tipped her cup up, gulping down the last of her secret ingredient punch. She gave a loud and content sigh then looked back at Cecilia. "Hey, the punch is pretty good. Better than usual if you ask me." She winked and basket-hooped her cup into the trashcan. The great thing about Umbrase was that, no matter what, the people worth hanging out with could pick up the subtlest of hints. At her old school she would practically be speaking in pig latin, jerking her head towards the punch bowl, and would say, "odkava in the unchpa." I mean, come on. Like a teacher isn't going to realize what's going on there.

Although Cecillia had started the conversation on a bad note, everyone knew it was just for fun. She never meant anything by it. Besides, if anybody was worth partying with that she knew, it would be her. Most of the boys were shy and all the girls would want to hang out with those guys, making everything boring and...well, boring. It would be nice to have an outgoing boy around here, but she had yet to meet one at this school.

Charlotte looked back at the boy sitting silently in the chair beside the one she was just in. Although it was impossible to say for sure, she didn't think that she knew him. For some reason her just didn't fit any of the other boys profiles in her head. He could be new, or she could just be making some mistake and it was one of her best friends. She hated having to thing so much about who is who. She only knew Cecillia, but that's only because nobody else would call her Latte like that. Some people would recognize her, by her standout eyes or the fact that she was one of the tannest people at the school. She thanked genetics for that, and the fact that many of the people here were frighteningly pale. So what could they do? By the end of the night if Charlotte hadn't done something exciting than she might just have to take out her disappointment on everyone else tomorrow.

Katie Waltz

"Would I?"

Katie watched Val make her way to her vanity, brushing on mascara, though her eyes were already perfect. This question made Katie's mind pause for a second, thinking. Would she tell the girl who she considered one of her best friends? She's basically my only friend, she thought, and though it seemed morbid, it wasn't sad for her. She was pleased to have any, not feeling like she deserved her though. It'll change, she thought, breathing out and imagining the possibilities a masked night could lead to. She shook her head with a light smile as Val made a comment about looking in the mirror, not trying to, but unable to not look after that suggestion.

She had to admit her skin was nice, but then again, Katie'd never had acne. There had been one time, where she had gotten a single pimple. By then, she was on her own, having already left her family. She had stopped in some small town near Atlanta at a gas station to pee and get food. While in the bathroom and washing her hands, she had noticed the distasteful red mark perched on the right side of her forehead. Having never had one before, and not having anyone to explain exactly how to deal with them, she was confused. But she knew one thing; she didn't like the way it made her look, and she was going to get rid of it. With the hundreds she had saved up before ditching her house, the thousands she'd stolen from her fathers safe at the house, along with the money she was withdrawing from his bank account, she had tons for spending. And being young, and being teen, she decided she wanted a facial. So she got one. And they got rid of the single pimple, popping it, and it being gone the next day when she woke up.

Fingers tracing the spot where a single fault had once cursed her skin, she looked at her body, really looked at it. A frown emerged on her face as her hazel eyes yet again upset what she wished she had. She shrugged it off, the thought not important for her happiness, or for Val's, and therefor not important at all.

Katie glanced at Val as she asked her, noticing each movement she made, recognizing them to be nervous ticks. The girls knuckles whitened with a fierce grip on the shawl, seeing her hands shaking, but she floated her eyes back on to Val's face, her beauty overcoming her as it did every time she glanced into the face of her friend. She pursed her lips, then opened them, about to speak, before her roommate entered the room. She smiled half heartedly to the girl, distaste ridden in her eyes, though she covered it immediately. That was selfish, she thought, upset with herself with thinking like that, though she didn't mean to. At Cecillia spoke, she could feel the teasing in her voice, something she often heard with her. She shrugged it off, pleased that she didn't wait for them, and turned, with a huge grin, as her friend stuck out her arm, taking it with a smile.

"We shall."

And she began to walk down the hallway with her, glad the walk wasn't far, as she pulled her mask over her face.

“Ich verachte tanzen, wird in dieser Nacht sein wird schrecklich.” <”I despise dancing, this night is going to be awful.”> Ivon’s voice had an irritated edge to it as a slight frown etched its way onto his facial features, leaning with his back against the wall and looked at Drew with his arms crossed. A bright smile was immediately on Z’s face as soon as the second word left the German’s mouth.
“Sie wissen nicht zu tanzen haben, können Sie einfach zurücklehnen und zusehen, wie die Schüler trampeln einander die Füße statt.” <”You don't have to dance, you could just sit back and watch the students trample one another's feet instead.”> A simple smirk flashed across Drew’s lips as he said this, his eyes departing from Ivan’s form as a few students began to enter the room. “Was, haben Sie noch nie getanzt in Ihrem Leben?” <”What, have you never danced before?”> That teasing tone pushed stronger into Drew’s voice, and he turned his playful smirk on his fellow teacher.
“Ich tanze nicht.” <”I don’t dance.”> Came Ivon’s terse response, his form tensing a bit. Z caught the body motion, but just shrugged it off for him being a stubborn individual sometimes. More and more students began to pile in, before Rosa rose from her place to step onto the stage and begin the night.

Once she concluded, the band started playing, and she made her way over to them. Drew had a genial smile on his face as she approached, and it only grew when she made her comment, though it gained the faintest trace of mischief. "So, gentlemen. What does a woman have to do around here to get a dance?" Without a second to spare, Z’s hand rested on Ivon’s shoulder with a beaming grin, “My friend here would be more than delighted to help you out there!” ’I sure couldn’t, I’d be sure to finally break and ask you what’s been up, and that’d be a definite night spoiler.’ Not a second had passed after he spoke than he immediately spun around to make a break for it before Ivan could catch him.

But he only got that far before he realized Fi was just stepping to his side, almost causing him to run straight into her; he would have as well if he didn’t have cat-like reflexes. ’Crap.’ He thought to himself while he tried to keep his cheerful smile, but nonetheless he still looked a little sheepish, returning to the German’s side. “Ow,” He hissed quietly as a soft crack sounded from his shoulder.

"Well, the two of you clean up nicely." Drew’s grin returned to his face, forgetting the pain in his shoulder as he received the compliment graciously, making a small bow to Fi. “Why thank you.” Ivan just made a face and pulled at his collar. “I feel like a brotvurst.”

"Do you mind fixing my bow? I can't do a bow when I can see it, let alone when it's behind my back." As Fiona turned around to show Drew, a loud laugh escaped his lips as he beheld the sad excuse for a decoration. “Well no wonder, you missed at least two holes when you tried lacing it up.” He smiled amiably at her despite the tease in his tone.

“Hold still, I’ll fix it.” He pulled on the strings of the bow, undoing it before pulling out a few of the laces. Luckily they were at the top, so it didn’t pose to be an awkward scene. His fingers worked nimbly at rethreading them, and then he paused to look at what was about to become a bow. “Bet ya Ivon could tie this bow into a unicorn.” Z’s eyes shut when yet another brilliant smile took residence, before opening them and looking up at Ivan. He received a look of disdain from the German, and Drew chuckled, tying the bow.

“Feel any better?” He ran a hand through his hair lightly, looking at his work. It wasn’t bad at all; it wasn’t anything spectacular, but hey, he did what was asked of him. It wasn’t like he was an expert at tying bows anyway.



After speaking with Drew, Ivan’s attention was drawn to the stage as Rosa ascended the steps to speak at the microphone, introducing everyone back to another year at Umbrase, and then formally beginning the masquerade. He kept his arms crossed as he leaned back against the wall, but a very small smile of greeting flickered across his face as she reached the two of them, the band beginning to play behind her.

"So, gentlemen. What does a woman have to do around here to get a dance?" Ivon blinked two or three times, his hands dropping to his side and his mouth opening to say something, but Drew beat him to it. He felt his colleague’s hand rest on his shoulder as words started pouring out of his mouth. If Ivon didn’t have good control over his facial features, a look of terror might have begun to form on his face. "My friend here would be more than delighted to help you out there!” After Drew was finished, two words tumbled out of Ivan’s mouth. “Vait, Vhat?”

It wasn’t that he had anything against Rosa, he was actually quite fond of her, or at least appreciated her leadership, but dancing just wasn’t something he did. Ever. Nonetheless, declining it would make him look awful and possibly hurt her feelings. He sent a death glare towards Drew, but he had just begun to turn around, obviously intending to make a run for it. Luckily, Fiona had just arrived on the scene to stop him, and he turned back to the two of them.

A smirk turned up his lips softly, and he silently slapped a hand down on the man’s shoulder with a hardly noticeable strained smile, and a nice little crack sounded as he did so. ’You deserved zat one, Meester ‘I don’t haff to dance.’ The German thought to himself as Drew hissed out his discomfort quietly with a look of satisfaction on Ivon’s part.

"Well, the two of you clean up nicely." Ivon shifted his gaze to her, making a face. He appreciated the compliment, just didn’t feel it. “I feel like a brotvurst.” As Drew went to help Fiona with her dress, Ivon watched them for a little bit before turning to Rosa. "So Mozher Rosha, w-“ “Bet ya Ivon could tie this bow into a unicorn.” After the interruption, he abruptly closed his mouth to turn a disdainful look at the man before returning his focus onto Rosa.

Extending his hand and making a very small bow, Ivon requested for the dance in a rather none too elaborate way. “Shall we?” Hopefully this would be over soon and he could get back into his sweats.

The hallways was barely wide enough to accommodate two people walking side by side, let alone two full skirted gowns that some of the girls were wearing. It made Val thankful that both she and Katie were dressed in more sensible finery; at least their skirts, while long and still dangerous in terms of mobility, didn't fan out with a two meter diameter.

"I feel like I'm going to prom all over again," Val murmured to Katie as they headed for the ballroom. The band playing inside could be heard as they approached, along with the gentle murmur of voices and laughter that usually accompanied such a gathering. Val noticed a tall figure nearly obstructing the entrance and gave him a once over, trying to recognize who it might be. He was tall, fit, and... well, that V for Vendetta mask wasn't exactly too original, was it? But still, Val appreciated the effort and smiled at her follow student as she passed by with Katie on her arm.

She subconsciously touched her mask, making sure it was proper before they swept inside. As expected, the students had already gravitated towards their comfort zones--some were clustered around the punch bowl, others were busy being pretty wallflowers. Val glanced at her friend, and then looked out at the dance floor. It was still early, but stray couples were already beginning to make their way to the center where the band was playing.

"Socialize, linger, punch or dance?" Val listed their options to Katie, moving away from the door to get their bearings before making a decision.

Tim sat in his corner of the room, sipping at his punch. It tasted off, like someone had put alcohol in it, but he wasn't about to call attention to that fact. Fiona came in and he watched as all the other teachers socialized with one another, smiling and laughing and dancing. He tugged at his collar uncomfortably. He wanted to be a part of the fun, he wanted to fit in, but how would he go about even starting a conversation. He felt he had nothing worth really talking about, unless they liked computers too.

He supposed that he should at least introduce himself to his new co-workers. The phys-ed teacher, Ivon and the headmistress, Rosa had already begun dancing, so he would need to properly introduce himself to them later, but the negotiations teacher, Fiona, and the linguistics teacher, Drew were both available. Tim took a deep breath and made his way over to where they were standing.

They didn't seem like they were that deep into conversation so he cleared his throat slightly to gain their attention. "Hi, I'm T-Timothy Fi-Fisher." He said stumbling over the words. Normally he would be ok with speaking, but Fiona was there and he had never talked well in front of women. "I'll be t-teaching Decoding and Computer Analysis fr-from now on." He held his hand out for one or the other to shake, not being very particular.