[center][h1][color=springgreen]Paulina Benson[/color][/h1][/center]

Giggling to herself at her friend’s antics, Paulina grabbed a plate and began piling her favourites. The cook staff had pulled out the stops again this year, so coming to the yearly socials wasn’t an entire loss. [color=springgreen]”Vivi, if you’re gonna tease him like that, at least remember to learn his name before you start playing with him. And try not to wear this one out; you’ll ruin him for other girls, and that’s just not fair for the rest of us,”[/color] she teased, poking the other girl in the side. Since the two of them had met a few years ago, Paulina had proved to be one of the few who could keep up with the hyperactive ball of insanity that was Vedika Venkatranman. She couldn’t do it all the time (privately, Paulina thought there was nobody who could keep up with the girl’s seemingly inexhaustible stamina), but it was enough that the two had quickly become friends. Paulina would often lend her a hand when she fell behind on her school work (which was often), and in exchange the enchantress always had a willing participant in her experiments and a combat teacher of sorts (not that Paulina was a good student in that regard either).[@Stern Algorithm]

When she turned back to Ashleigh, however, she sighed. There often was no reasoning with her when her thoughts slipped back into the past. Paulina knew a little of what had happened to her growing up, on the occasion that Ashleigh deigned to share with her, and Paulina respected her privacy, never prying and always thanking and reassuring her when she did chose to let her in. So, instead of arguing, she simply let the conversation between her friend and the newbie she had scolded flow at its own pace. She didn’t really hold anything against him; it wasn’t the first time she had seen a new-comer act superior like that. People who had or gained powers reacted to them in different ways, and sometimes they had to be reminded that just because you had powers didn’t mean that people stopped being people. It took all kinds to make a world, and often times the way things looked wasn’t how they were. It was something that she hoped to be able to show her troubled friend.

So, she simply let the conversation flow without her, at least until Ashleigh began starting into her self-deprecation routine again. Then Paulina paused and placed a hand on her shoulder, giving Ashleigh a firm, but kind smile. [color=springgreen]”Nobody thinks you’re a freak, Ash. Anybody who does is a dunce and doesn’t matter. You’re wonderful, your powers are incredible, and I love you for them. You can connect to people on a level that almost no one else can. The only person who thinks the less of you for it is yourself.”[/color] Her smile became slightly wicked. [color=springgreen]“And if you don’t believe it, then Vivi and I will hug you until you do. I know you can tell how much we love you, and you know she’ll do it.”[/color] [@Caits]

She glanced towards Zach, tilting her head and giving him a smile that had left many a boy (and occasionally a girl) weak in the knees and tight in the pants. [color=springgreen]”So, what’s your name, newbie?”[/color][@Natsu]