[h1][center][color=a0410d]RUSS[/color][/center][/h1]

Despite her best efforts, Russ had fallen in behind the massive crowd that had exited and made their way to the cafeteria. It was a veritable sea of large weapons, animal ears, and bright hair, and she was stuck wading through it at a slug's pace. Each time she managed to slip past one person, two more would come together in front of her and she'd have to find a whole new way around. She never thought she'd miss crawling under the shacks back home. 'No, not home," she thought, inwardly annoyed. 'That grungy old shithole was [i]not[/i] home.'

Her stomach growled and she looked down at it as if an angry gaze would shut it up. [color=a0410d]"You're not helping,"[/color] she mumbled, doing her best to ignore the intermittent rumbles. But her body was right, she hadn't eaten any real food since she'd left for Beacon, and here she was about to miss a more than decent, [i]free[/i] meal. It growled again and she grimaced. [color=a0410d]"Alright alright, let me think."[/color]

Russ's eyes darted around the students in front of her, trying to figure out a way to get past them quickly. With each passing protest from her stomach though, her ideas slowly became more sinister. She contemplated tripping someone, but at best that would effect maybe three people, and at worst they'd turn around and beat her to a pulp. No, she needed something bigger, something that could create a gap for her to close. Her eyes caught the sight of a student not too far ahead of her with his weapon sitting in a horizontal sheath on his back. It was a rod that he'd probably made himself, seeing as the mechanics were blatant and obvious. There was a large button at its middle and segments at either end to indicate that its purpose was to extend out. No blades that she could see, so the guy probably had a rad semblance to make up for it, not that it mattered. Plan set, Russ made her move and stumbled forward as if she'd caught her feet. It knocked her past a couple aggravated people, but most importantly it brought her right behind stick-boy. She eyed where the button was then stood up and turned towards the people she'd stumbled through. 

[color=a0410d]"Clumsy me, sorry about that,"[/color] she said, and at the same moment behind her back, she pressed the staff's button. 

It all happened in a matter of moments. The staff extended out about two feet from either side of the center piece and was thin enough that it didn't strike anyone so much as shuffle them out of its way. Someone gasped in surprise, and it caught stick-boy off guard, he whirled around to see what all the fuss was about and in the blink of an eye toppled nearly a dozen students, who toppled at least half a dozen more. Russ ducked beneath it and moved so that she was on the other side of the fallen students, before melding into the crowd of those who had not been knocked over. There were a few angry shouts, but most were directed at the boy and were quickly drowned out by the laughs of those with lighter hearts.

She kept her grin on the inside and continued onward through the loose remaining students, and before long entered the cafeteria. Things were pretty full but Russ managed to snag a seat at the end of a busy table and chow down. As expected the food was leagues beyond anything she'd had before, and though she didn't have a big stomach she ate what she'd taken on her plate. When the rest of the crowd began to filter in no one took notice of her, but she'd been confident enough in her subtlety anyway. 

[color=a0410d]"Happy now?"[/color] she muttered, patting her stomach once she'd finished. With that done, she tried to remember back to the speech. What had the woman said? Ballroom? Great, now she could get lost looking for the ballroom. Russ got up and left the cafeteria. Oh well, she figured at least she wouldn't be lost [i]and[/i] hungry.