Zoe was grinning like a lunatic as she woke up.
And then she wasn't. It wasn't a dream, not really. A memory.
Unlike most people, she hated it when she woke up on the right side of the bed. The memories always reminded her of her Stigma, of how good it could feel to stop fighting it. The equivalent of waving a bottle of wine right in the face of an alcoholic, except with more collateral damage. It wasn't her that got hurt if she was weak, she couldn't afford to think about it. No, she could forget about it. Push it to the back of her mind. She didn't have to remember the
freedom that came with letting go, the
thrill whenever she was able to-
A knock on the door thankfully took her off following that train of thought. Getting up and blinking sleep from her eyes, she opened it to the sight of a rifle pointed at her face. With an irritated sigh, she glared at the guard, blue eyes flashing with anger.
"Morning to you too. Can I at least get dressed before you point that thing at my face?""...You have two minutes. Don't waste time.""Wouldn't dream of it."
Once she arrived in the classroom, Zoe decided it would be a good idea to just sit down wherever there was space - ending up somewhere in the middle of the desks that had been set out. Despite her putting conscious effort into hiding it, she was noticeably jumpy, eyes darting around the room and very specifically avoiding looking at anyone when she could. If anyone actually looked her in the eyes, they'd be confronted with a dangerous mixture of hunger and aggression that hinted at what was going on in her head.
It wasn't uncontrollable, not yet. Rather, she'd just be a lot easier to provoke than normal - which, considering her usual temper, meant it really wouldn't take much. Besides, being taken to class at gunpoint wouldn't have done wonders for her mood at the best of circumstances. These were not the best of circumstances.
Risking a quick glance around the room, she at least noticed that Aaron wasn't present. Which was a relief. She already wanted to strangle him anyway, and if the sight of anyone was going to make her snap, it would have been him. She didn't give much thought to it beyond that. She was curious about his disappearance, but she wasn't about to spend time trying to figure anything out about it. She wouldn't have been too surprised if some people thought she'd gone and killed the guy. Not that she had, obviously.
Don't think I'll miss him either way. Wonder if he has anything to do with all the guards?Lost in thought, she didn't really register much else of what was going on in the room until the man started speaking to them. Mr. Francisco - or Fred, apparently - was oddly warm in how he spoke, considering that they'd been forced to class at gunpoint and all. The math teacher, on the other hand, seemed to be about as keen on teaching them as Zoe was on learning math.
Speaking of staff, the introduction had barely finished when another woman walked in, one that Fred referred to as Daisy, who was almost unnaturally cheery for the time. It was too early in the morning for anyone to be that happy about anything, as far as Zoe was concerned. Still, she was saying something about... Presents? Raising her head, Zoe looked at the soldiers filing in behind the woman with slight suspicion.
Thankfully, Zoe's suspicions were unfounded. Seemed like the 'presents' that the woman was talking about were their requisitions from the forms, at least judging from the items that were dumped on her desk. After a quizzical glance at the woman and hearing confirmation that the survival kit was actually hers, Zoe gave a thin-lipped smile, picking up the knife and turning it over in her hand, testing the weight. It felt sturdy enough anyway. Yeah, it'd do.
Absentmindedly playing with the knife as she leaned back in her seat, Zoe directed her attention back to Fred as he resumed his speech. Apparently it was important. Trying her best to take in what he was saying, she nodded along with the talk.
So we're getting special treatment, huh? Gotta wonder what everyone else on campus thinks of that.Somehow, she doubted many of the resident Aberrations would appreciate having to get tranquillised because the new kids had to do combat training, but hopefully they wouldn't go picking a fight over it. Or if they did, hopefully it was with her - she could handle it if she needed to. She'd have to watch out for anything being directed at the others so she could deal with it though, which was a pain in the ass.
As far as classes went, Zoe swiftly decided she wasn't that interested in most of it. Keeping up with an education had seemed worth a try when she had some choice about her future, but DC monsters didn't give half a shit how good she was at metaphors. Saying that, if they were going to be given study time, she'd probably grab a biology textbook at some point. Considering her ability, learning more of that stuff could actually help her be a lot more efficient, especially if she ended up fighting other people.
She didn't need the warning about skipping training, though. If there was one thing she didn't want to end up doing, it was to fall behind the others. Any chance to practice with her abilities was one worth taking. If she was really lucky, it'd help her to deal with her Stigma as well, but she wasn't counting on that. Ultimately, she couldn't afford to skip it. People might question that, and she couldn't let them figure out she was struggling - that would make her vulnerable. She couldn't let them see her like that.
But that was all after lunch anyway. For all the classes up until lunch, she just sat staring at her desk, breathing slowly and trying not to think about attacking anyone. Not succeeding completely, as evidenced by the slight smile that never quite managed to leave her face, but enough that she didn't risk actually doing anything to anyone unprovoked due to the Stigma's effects.
Not that it ever
forced her to do anything regardless. It was always a choice, just one that got harder and harder to resist over time. She was always at least somewhat conscious of what she was doing. Could always stop herself if she really tried, if it really wasn't what she wanted to do. If anything, that knowledge just made things worse, feeling that not all of what she did could be blamed on her Stigma. That at least part of the normal her wanted to lash out too.
Once they were told to break for lunch, she was noticeably quick to leave the room, although she figured she could pass it off as just being bored out of her mind. While she still wasn't far off doing something she'd regret, her thoughts were at least coherent right about now. Having made it through the morning, Zoe was pretty sure she could keep it together over the next few hours. As long as no-one went and pissed her off, anyway.
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